Hey ya'll! I'm finishing up the end of this story and it's killing me to slow-roll this out to you because I really can't wait to see what ya'll think about everything that's going to happen! Thanks for all the love on the last chapter! Love Ya'll!

The weeks after graduation before going to Dauntless are the best days for Tris and Tobias. There was nothing to do but hang out, play ball, and make love when they could steal away. They talked and argued as usual but it was lighter and carefree. With everyone moving to Atlanta the friends had fun picking things for their dorms. Zeke had chosen to go to Dauntless to dual major in sports management and business. Susan was going to Spelman College, a Historically Black Women's college in the Atlanta University Center, across town from Erudite University and Dauntless to major in pre-law. Caleb was dual majoring in business and accounting at Erudite and playing on the golf team.

The days flew by and soon it was time for Caleb to leave for his honors program retreat that started the next week. Susan's family was going on vacation before she moved in and Zeke and Uriah were going to visit their grandparents before heading to Atlanta. The last day they were all together they were at the Eaton house for one last hang.

"T. do you even have a major?" Uriah teases as he leans back on a floaty in the pool.

Tris had been keeping him in line with picking out his classes and things that were not basketball-related. Tris had decided on Broadcast Journalism as her major thinking that she could fall back on calling games or sports reporting if she couldn't play. Uriah was going to major in physical education, thinking he would be a great health education teacher and basketball coach if his NBA dreams fell through.

"Ehhhhhh, I'll get around to it, I gotta take a bunch of math and English stuff first, I have time to figure it out," Tobias says as he leans back against the edge of the pool and places his arms on Tris's thighs as she was sitting on the edge of the pool with her legs on either side of him.

Tris shakes her head, The assistant coaches from Dauntless had signed Tobias up for his classes, handpicking his teachers. Tris was already starting to see how a powerhouse Division 1 program made expectations and cut corners for the star athletes and Tobias hadn't even set foot on campus or played a game yet. He was already spoiled in high school, the hand holding was definitely going to go to his head, Uriah's too.

"Are we going to be able to do this in Atlanta? Hang like this?" Susan asks as she swings her legs in the water on the side of the pool.

"I hope so, but it does kind of feel like the end of an era" Zeke comments.

"We gotta make time for this, no matter how busy we get '' Caleb decides as everyone else agrees.

They stay there soaking up the summer sun, excited for their journey into adulthood but also appreciative of this moment. It had truly been the perfect summer.

Tris is excited when they arrive for move in day. The athlete dorms were located on the west side of campus with a short walk from the training facilities. All of the basketball players, men, and women lived in Roth hall. Tris's room was on the 4th floor and Tobias and Uriah are on the 2nd. Zeke was on the east side of campus in the freshman dorms.

Tris walks into her suite, carrying a box of stuff while Andrew goes to the car to grab her suitcase.

"Hey, You must be Beatrice," A tall girl with big natural hair and warm deep mocha skin says as she emerges from one of the bedrooms in the suite.

"I prefer Tris" Tris corrects as she sets the box she was carrying down on the coffee table. She had toured Dauntless her junior year and been okay with the dorms but the athlete dorms were nicer than what she toured.

"I'm Christina but you can call me Chris if you want, You're the last one so the room there is the one that's left" She points to an open door.

"Nice to meet you," Tris says. She wasn't picky, so any room would be fine. She was just overjoyed that she was here and not fighting for a walk-on spot. "Are you a freshman too?"

"Yeah all of us are, Lynn and Marlene went to grab something from the dining hall. I knew Lynn already and Marlene seems cool, I think we should get along fine"

"Forward?" Tris asks, guessing at Christina's height, her position.

"You're good," Christina laughs as she nods and turns her head, and squints her eyes to look at Tris. "Point Guard"

"Yep," Tris chuckles. With her shorter stature, it wasn't hard to guess her position. They chat casually for a few minutes after Tris inspects her room before Tris's family comes back with the first load of her stuff.

It takes about an hour for Andrew and Caleb to get all of Tris's things in, Natalie insists on making sure has all the household things before they head off to get Caleb set up.

Lynn and Marlene come in just as The Priors are leaving to move Caleb in. After a few pleasant hellos and goodbyes with Natalie wiping tears, she hugs Tris goodbye.

"Ma, will you please stop crying?" Tris pleads as she gives her parents a final hug.

"I know, I know, I'm sorry, my babies are really in college" Natalie sniffles as Andrew wraps an arm around her.

"See you this weekend?" Caleb asks. He and Tris had never really been apart except for the occasional sleepover. Even though he was just across town it felt weird for both them to not be sleeping across the hall from each other.

"Of course" Tris smiles as she puts her hand out for them to do their personal handshake. "Now get out of here before Mommy starts crying again"

Andrew chuckles and gives her a kiss on the forehead as they head down the hallway.

"Who is that? Does he go here too?" Marlene inquires as she watches the Priors head down the hallway to the elevator trying to get a better look at Caleb.

"Umm that would be my twin brother and no, he's starting at Erudite," Tris says.

"Damn, he's a cutie, does he have a girlfriend?" Marlene asks. Tris was shocked, She was used to girls inquiring about Tobias or Uriah but not Caleb.

"Umm yeah," Tris laughs out as she plops down on the couch in the living room of the suite with Christina joining her and Lynn taking a seat on the floor.

"He is a cutie, but I saw Tobias Eaton moving in downstairs earlier today. He's so much more good-looking in person than from what I've seen on ESPN. The BDE is evident. Tris, you're from North Carolina too right, did you know him" Christina asks.

"Yeah, we went to the same high school" Tris replies in an even tone.

"Oooooooh now that is someone I get next to." Marlene laughs as he plops down in the chair next to the couch.

"He's alright" Tris replies, still trying to keep her voice even. She imagined this would happen, women lusting over her man. It wasn't like it hadn't happened in high school.

"Come on Tris, I'm gay and I can tell you that man is fucking perfection," Lynn says as she leans back on hands with her legs stretched out in front of her.

Marlene, Christina, and Tris all fall out laughing. Tris only really had Susan to talk boys with and since she was dating her brother it kind of put a cap on the girl talk. She could already tell her new roommates were definitely comfortable sharing.

"Well he happens to have a girlfriend too" Tris smirks as she shakes her head still not letting the cat out of the bag. She wondered how long she could keep this up.

"Really?, maybe she's back in North Carolina '' Marlene sighs with a dreamy look in her eyes.

"No, she actually just moved in a few floors above him" Tris quips with a wave of her hand.

"Oh shit, you're dating Tobias Eaton?" Christina squeals, putting all of Tris's comments together.

Marlene's eyes grew wide as she quickly sat up to start apologizing. "I'm so sorry Tris, I had no idea"

"It's cool, I promise," Tris says with a smile and a shake of her head. She didn't feel like Marlene or Christina were being malicious in their comments. It wasn't like anyone here would know she and Tobias were together. And her man was fine, there was no doubt about that.

"How long have you two been together?" Lynn asks.

"Not long, six months but we grew up next door to each other and went to school together."

"Awe, that's so cute! And now you are here together playing too. That's some real-life movie shit, Tris!" Christina gushes.

"If only you knew" Tris laughs out thinking about how far she and Tobias had come from rolling around in her front yard the day he asked her to be his girlfriend in 6th grade.

The new roommates spend the next few hours getting to know each other, exchanging numbers, and making some ground rules for their suite.

"Are both your parents Cuban? If you don't mind me asking" Tris says curiously after Christina finishes talking about her family. Tris takes in Christina's complexion and hair texture again. Christina was from New York, her parents immigrated from Cuba as political refugees when she was 2 years old. She could hear a slight accent now that she focused on Christina's speech and how she pronounced Cuba.

"No I don't mind, I get it a lot. Hollywood will have you thinking all us Latina's are supposed to look like J Lo but the African slave ships that came to America also went to Spanish colonies in the Caribbean or South America and the same dynamics with colorism are part of those countries too. People hear Cuba and only think of Gloria Estefan but we come in all shades"

"I get that. Because my hair is more wavy than curly, people ask me all the time what am I mixed with, it gets on my nerves, that people think I have to be something other than Black because my hair isn't in tight coils or an afro" Tris remarks.

"I feel you," Christina agrees. "Lynn, are you still dating that chick from Crown Heights?"

Lynn was from New York too and a shooting guard, she and Christina had known each other from playing at rival high schools. Lynn played in the 2 or 3 spot and Tris was relieved that she and Lynn didn't have to compete for playing time for the same position. Tris thought she looked tough with her short relaxed hairstyle that was shaved down in the back. It complemented her face. Her complexion was similar to Christina's. Tris could tell her fashion style was edgy whereas it was already clear Christina and Marlene were all into more glam.

"Naw, that went south. We are still cool though but it's a good thing. I don't think I could handle the distraction of a long-distance relationship right now, Coach Wu is tough"

"That's an understatement" Christina scoffs.

"Well at least we don't have the pressure of fighting for playing time this year, we will all be riding the bench" Marlene adds woefully.

Marlene was from Houston and could play the shooting guard or power forward position. Her high school won its state championship that year. Tris knew she was good but here they were all equally good players now competing against the best of the best across the nation.

Tris sighs. She knew this was going to be an uphill battle, no starting spot, and fighting to get noticed on top of everything else with the added pressures of college and playing at a high-ranked Division 1 program. Tobias was in a much better spot. He was already going to be a starter. He was that good, Tris envied him that he didn't feel the same type of pressure that she did.

Tobias and Uriah come up after getting their rooms set up and bring their roommate Will who was also a freshman on the men's team. Will was a power forward and very handsome standing a little taller than Tobias with tawny skin and curly dark hair. Tris notices how Uriah flirts with both Marlene and Christina. Christina flirts back and Tris reminds herself to ask Christina about it later. Just from the few hours, they had spent together she thought she and Uriah would be a good fit. They all hang out and play cards for a while before Tris and Tobias slip off to go for a walk on campus.

Tris weaves her fingers together with his as they stroll through the center of campus that was known as the Horseshoe due to its shape. She loved the Dauntless Campus. She had decided if she didn't get a scholarship to play basketball she was going to come here anyway based on how much she loved the school after her visit her junior year.

"Can I say that I'm kind of overwhelmed already?" Tris confesses.

"Why?" Tobias asks as he squeezes her hand.

"It's so much, promo shots and hype videos like I just want to play, and now I have to balance all this other stuff along with classes that we didn't have to worry about in high school"

"It's going to be tough, but we can do it. You worked so hard for this, Baby, this is our shot, take it"

Tris nods as they stop and Tobias leans down to kiss her. He knew she had been worried and not as confident about everything.

"You and me, we are going to do this together," Tobias says before kissing her again.

While she was getting used to all the requirements of college basketball Tris, Tobias, and Uriah all found themselves settling into the lifestyle. Christina, Marlene, and Lynn were great. They had fun at practice, and in their dorm room. Coach Wu had a strict ban on social media once the season officially started. So Tris and the other freshmen have fun making IG reels and tick toc videos while they can. They make up dances and all kinds of fun things when they aren't focused on the court. There were also the politics of the NCAA playing requirements. The state of Georgia was now allowing students to get stipends for living expenses in addition to their tuition, housing, and books included in their scholarships. Tris, Uriah, and Tobias realize how fortunate they were that their parents were well off and they were able to do what they wanted with the money. There had been some grumblings in the media about Tobias and Uriah receiving scholarships since their parents were professional athletes and could afford to pay for their school. Tobias suspected that there were other implications such as donors being willing to give more money because of his father's connections and name. It frustrated him because he wanted to be known for what he could do on the court not just because of who his father was. Another freshman on the men's team was Will Thompson. He was a high-ranked recruit from Chicago and seemed to gel well with Tobias and Uriah. Tobias noticed the amount of pressure Will put on himself, determined to secure a starting spot if he could in the starting lineup.

By October, Tris was figuring out a balance. Practice and workouts were still grueling but she was managing better. Except for today. Tris tries to keep from rolling her eyes as Coach Tori Wu yells at her for what seemed like the 100th time that day. She swears the woman is trying to punish her.

"Tris, point guards lead from the front, not the back, Pick up the pace"

Tris digs deeps and pumps her legs to move to the front as the women's basketball team runs laps at the athletic field. The first month had flown by at Dauntless. The season didn't start until the end of November but training started the same week as classes started. Tris, Tobias, and Uriah had kept up running over the summer. They had a small weight room at Abnegation but the level of weightlifting and physical conditioning was nothing like Tris had ever done.

To say Coach Wu was a hardass was an understatement and Tris felt as though she was constantly being chastised or made to run drills over. This was the most humbling experience she had ever been through. Her saving grace had been Marlene, Christina, and Lynn. They stuck together and became close very quickly, spending so much time together between practice, living together, and having most of their classes together. Tris couldn't ask for better roommates. Tris didn't have that level of closeness with her high school teammates so this really felt like family.

After running two miles, the team heads into the weight room. The freshmen are paired up with upperclassmen who play the same position. Tris paired up with Nita Rodriquez. She was the senior point guard and a damn good ballplayer but it was clear to Tris that she didn't like her.

That afternoon as Tris is on the weight bench while Nita spotted her.

Tris grunted as she pushed the bar up to hit her 10 reps. Nita keeps her hands just under the bar not touching it.

"You know just because we play the same position doesn't mean we have to compete," Nita says she Tris struggles with the added weight as she tries to push out the final two reps.

"I've been the starting point guard the last two years, and no soft-ass freshman is going to take my spot." Without warning, Nita moves her hands from spotting and Tris can't keep the weight of the bar up. It falls on her chest but it's so heavy she can't push it up.

"Damn Nita" Zia Cooke, another senior says as she quickly comes over to lift up one end of the bar so Tris can get up.

"What the fuck is her problem" Tris gasps out as she sits up.

"You're okay, Freshman," Zia reassures, shaking her head. "Nita can seem like a bitch but she's just really competitive"

Tris nods. For some reason, it didn't feel that way right now. Whatever this chick's problem was, she felt like this wasn't going to be the end of it.

The next afternoon Tris and Tobias are walking out of the student center after lunch. Tobias has his arm thrown around Tris's shoulder. Tris had on her black Dauntless University t-shirt and a pair of basketball shorts with socks and her Adidas slides. Her hair was pulled up in a curly bun but she had taken the time to slick it down with some edge control and her brush. She had been doing better about her outward appearance but practice had been so grueling the past three weeks, it was all she could do to lift her arms to do her hair. She could admit that she was not prepared for the physicality of training and conditioning.

Tobias was wearing a red Dauntless t-shirt and a pair of Adidas joggers. His body was aching too. His coach Amar wanted him to put on more muscle so he could be more dominant against post players when he drove to the basket. He and Tris usually spent the night in one of their rooms snuggled together even though there were only twin beds. It had been a week since they made love last because they were both so exhausted from classes and practice they would pass out every night as soon as they laid down.

Even though they had mandatory study hall time with the team, Tris made sure that she was on top of all her classes. She was only taking 15 credit hours, Tobias was taking the minimum 12 credit hours to be considered full time. They had three classes together, one of which was English. Today they had been working on a paper, and Tobias was supposed to be working on his homework for the intro to business class he and Zeke were taking. Tobias had half-heartedly chosen business as a major not knowing what else to choose.

"Did you finish your Intro to Business paper?" Tris asks with a yawn. She had no idea how she was going to make it through the two-hour practice this evening.

"Ummm, mostly, I was supposed to talk about a business plan, but I'm my business plan"

"Really T." Tris says with an eye roll.

Tobias was only focused on playing. Marcus had been trying to get him to focus on thinking about how he would invest his money once he got to the NBA but Tobias didn't think that it was important. That was another part of playing ball that still overwhelmed Tris. She had listened intently to Uriah and Zeke's Dad as well as Marcus but she could understand where Tobias was coming from. Right now, she needed to focus on working on her game and playing.

"I'm going to make mad loot in the NBA, that's the business plan. I don't see the point in having to write about it for a class"

Tris knew her boyfriend was cocky, sometimes it was cute but sometimes she wished he would take school more seriously. All it would take was one injury and their entire plan for the future would be gone in the blink of an eye.

As they walk down the steps two girls walk past.

"T Money are you going to take us to the Final Four," one of them says with a flirty smile.

"I hope so," Tobias says with a grin as Tris tries to quell her anger.

"I'll be watching," says with a seductive tone and the two girls continue up the steps giggling.

Tobias starts off down the steps again but Tris does move.

"Ummm, what's wrong?" Tobias asks, turning around.

"What's wrong? You do see me standing here right?" Tris says with an annoyed tone.

She wasn't naive enough to know that girls wouldn't throw themselves at Tobias but the fact that some were so bold to do it when he literally had his arm around her was just full out disrespectful. And for him to engage just made her feel some type of way.

"What? I can't be nice to a fan?" He asked as he shrugged his shoulders. He didn't see what the big deal was, girls came up to him all the time. It didn't matter to him how bold he was, Tris was the only one he wanted. His days of running around were done.

"Fine, Tobias." Tris rolls her eyes as she throws her bookbag higher on her shoulder as she starts back down the steps so they could head to the gym for afternoon training.

Tobias could see she was upset, he had learned over their time together that Tris needed him to show that she was his only one. Tobias gets a devilish grin and as soon as she hits the bottom set up he quickly grabs her bookbag and then grabs her by the legs to throw her over his shoulder.

"Tobias Amari Eaton, you put me down!" Tris hollers out as she tries to get down.

"Nope!" Tobias replies loudly as he gives her a slap on the behind and continues to walk down the path toward the other side of campus.

"I mean it PUT ME DOWN!" Tris laughed out even though she was yelling. She could see other people on the horseshoe pointing and laughing.

Tobias finally gives up and puts her down, pulling her down with him into the grass. Tobias wraps his arms around her pulling her back close to his chest as he pulls her in between his legs. He kisses her scar and tickles her side causing her to laugh. She still loved when he did that. It was not a point of pleasure despite how it got there.

"Stop it" Tris giggles out. "You get on my nerves"

"Yeah I know, but you love me" Tobias replies playfully but then turns serious. "Out of all these girls, you're the only one I know that's real"

Tris turns in his arms so she can look him in the eye. She sees how intently he was looking at her. He was still so handsome, sometimes she couldn't believe he was hers. She runs the tip of her index finger over his perfect lips.

"I love you, T."

Tobias leans down and gives her a quick kiss. She was his, and everything seemed right in the world. Basketball and Tris, that was all he wanted.

"I love you, Tris"

I've started incorporating some of the real politics surrounding NCAA sports, and college basketball. I'll highlight some real situations and some real players. Zia Cooke is one of my favorite current college players who is a Junior at the University of South Carolin and plays for the Lady Gamecocks. Athletes being able to be paid off their images is one of the most current changes that has garnered a lot of attention.