I'm glad you guys have been leaving such robust comments! Even though I've already written 95% of the story, I still love your perspectives. I might surprise ya'll again in the next few weeks with an extra chapter again. There's still some time before Tris and Tobias get back together because I wanted to reflect on some real-life situations. Sometimes our relationship isn't a straight line. Tobias is healing, but he has some more to work on. And Yes, there's more drama coming!

Tris and Zeke walk slowly from the student center towards the gym. They had just eaten lunch together and Zeke was walking her to the gym for practice. The Lady Warriors had breezed through the Peach Belt Tournament and secured a number 1 seed for the NCAA women's tournament again. There were only 2 days before they headed off to Dallas for the first round of the tournament. Even though it had been three months since they had ended their relationship, Tris and Zeke hadn't really missed a beat, falling back into their comfortable friendship.

"So tell me, have you made a move on the grad assistant in the athletic office?" Tris asks as she loops her arm through his.

Zeke laughs and grins. Only he and Tris could have this type of relationship where she was giving him dating advice.

"No, I haven't, and her name is Shauna. We've hung out a few times in a group with some of my frat brothers. We chopped it up at a party last weekend"

"Shauna, I like it. So what's stopping you from asking her out?" Tris pokes him in the side and laughs as he tries to get away but she tightens her grip on his arm.

"Umm, I don't know," Zeke admits. He had no idea why he was nervous around Shauna. She was nice and he had butterflies when thinking about her now.

"Just do it, Ezekiel, time waits for no man"

"Thanks, Beatrice" Zeke replies sarcastically as they continue on their walk toward the student center.

"Why haven't you made up with Tobias yet since Uriah and Caleb have?" Tris asks curiously after a few moments of silence.

Zeke sighs. Tobias had called him twice and he hadn't responded. Now that Caleb and Uriah were speaking to him again he knew he wouldn't be able to avoid it forever. Even though he and Tris weren't together anymore he still felt protective of her.

"I don't know, I guess I want to see if he was serious….Have you talked to him?" Zeke steals a look and sees her thinking.

"No, I haven't…Zeke, Tobias, and I are complicated because we were together. You don't have to stay mad at him just because of me. Just hear him out if he wants to apologize"

"Are you going to take your own advice, Tris?" Zeke wanted Tris to be happy even though he was worried that Tobias hadn't changed. He hated seeing her hurt by Tobias and he couldn't stand to have him do it again if he was just going to play with her.

"I don't know" It was an honest answer. She had been going over it in her mind since Christmas but he hadn't called her and she definitely wasn't ready to pick up the phone and call him.

They keep walking and Tris decides thinking about Tobias is going to have to wait. She had a tournament to play.

Tris takes a deep breath and blocks out all the noise of the arena. The crowd was going wild, Dauntless was down by 4 points and there were 2 minutes left of the clock. Two minutes were all that stood between her and her first NCAA Women's Basketball Championship and the end of her college playing career.

She inbounds the ball to Christina avoiding the trap defense set up by the Lady Huskies of UCONN. She knew they were going to play her close trying to get a steal. She had to play smart. She moves the ball up court knowing that the player defending her had 4 fouls. She swings the ball to Marlene and cuts inside and then back to the top of the key and catches the ball from Lynn. She immediately pulls up to shoot a 3-pointer. As soon as it leaves her fingers Tris knows it's going in. Tris hits a clean 3 pointer In the process of shooting the ball she is hit by the player guarding her.

The whistle blows with the referee calling a foul. UConn calls a time-out since the player defending Tris has now fouled out of the game. Tris runs to the sideline to the huddle.

"Good job Tris, that's how you shoot under pressure" Tori praises as she draws up a play quickly on her whiteboard.

Lynn, Marlene, Christina, Tris, and Madison all nod as Tori explains what she drew up.

"Tris, make this free throw" Tori adds as the buzzer sounds indicating the timeout is over. Tris breathes in deep as she makes her way over to the free-throw line.

"You got this Chica," Christina tells her before she takes her place on the floor.

Lynn gives her an encouraging nod. It was so loud she could barely think but she closed her eyes as the referee tossed her the ball. She feels in her hand and at that very second, she goes back to Charlotte. She had missed a free throw in the state championship her junior year. She beat herself up about it and Tobias had stayed out in his driveway with her for hours shooting free throws. She can hear his voice in her head as she turns the ball in her hand and mimics the motion of shooting, not quite ready to make the shot yet.

"Bend your knees, pull up, arch your wrist and let it flow"

And that's what she did. Tris felt like time stopped as she watched the ball travel to the basket. She hits the free throw cleanly to tie the game with 56 seconds on the clock. The crowd was going insane. She hears Tori yell at them to press, meaning she wanted them to play pressure defense when UCONN inbounded the ball.

Christina tries her best to keep the ball from being inbounded but it slips past her. Tris is set to sprint down the court but stops short when Lynn steals the ball. As UCONN scrambles, Lynn calls for Tris.

Tris runs to the corner and gets behind the three-point line. She had hit 4 three-pointers already that night, she just needed to stay with her stroke and pull up before the defender got to her. She looks at the clock, there were 20 seconds left.

As soon as the ball lands in her hands she immediately pulls up and shoots. The ball goes in cleanly again for another 3 points.

She pumps her fist and runs back to get on defense. When UCONN inbounds the ball, Tris hustles to the other end of the court. They only had time for one shot. Their best shooter goes up for a three-pointer but it bounces off the rim and Marlene grabs it and holds on tight as the buzzer sounds ending the game. Marlene throws the ball into the air as Tris runs to hug her and soon they feel more bodies piling into their hug.

"We did it!" Marlene screams in her ear.

She was crying happy tears as she hugged Tris tightly. Confetti starts to fall from the ceiling as Tori makes her way over. Tris feels herself start to cry. She was so overwhelmed with happiness. Four years ago she was sitting and praying for just one school to give her a chance to play college basketball and now she had just won a National Championship and probably played one of the best games she had ever played in her life. She hugs Christina and Lynn who are grinning from ear to ear as she untangles herself from the rest of the team and runs to her coach.

"I'm so proud of you Tris" Tori screams at her with a smile.

"Thank you for believing in me!" Tris screams back, throwing her arms around her coach. She was sweaty and dirty but it didn't matter.

Tris takes one of the championship t-shirts being handed out and slips it over her jersey. Lynn grabs one of the hats being handed out and throws it on. Tris looked over in the stands to where Uriah, Caleb, Zeke, Lauren, Natalie, and Andrew were on their feet clapping and cheering. Andrew looked proud as ever as she waved to them.

Tobias smiles as he watches Tris land her 3-pointer to tie the game on the TV. He was so happy he didn't have a game that day so he could watch the Women's Championship game. He had done a lot of thinking, he missed Tris, but he was still unsure of what that meant for him especially knowing that she and Zeke weren't together anymore. He knew he was an asshole when they broke up but Tris had broken him in a way that he wasn't sure he could come back from if it happened again. Did he want to open that door again? Would she be open to it? Could he handle being shot down by her? He couldn't handle thinking about that so he does the one thing he does feel good about. Calling her to tell her congratulations. His heartbeat wildly thinking that she might answer the phone but he was banking on the team still celebrating.

It's a wild few hours after the game. Tris gets pulled for a few media interviews. She was still breathing hard and sweating but she knew ESPN wanted immediate interviews as soon as the game was over.

"Tris Prior, after a heartbreaking loss last year in the finals after the struggles playing during the pandemic, how does it feel to be an NCAA Champion?"

"I can't lie, this is the best feeling in the world, my girls and I have fought so hard to get here. This was the culmination of years of hard work and us not giving up on each other"

"You have grown so much as a player, dominating during this entire series, what do you attribute that to?" The reporter asks.

"Coach Wu is tough, she has high expectations and she pushes you to be your best even when you don't see it in yourself. Dauntless was the only scholarship offer I had coming out of high school and I can say that Coach Wu made me a better player. She believed in me when I doubted myself. I learned discipline and control and how to play defense with my team"

"Thank you, Tris, Congratulations on winning the NCAA women's tournament" The report smiles as Tris takes off the headphones and runs back to the court as the correspondent moves on to interview Tori.

All the team members and Tori take turns cutting down the net of one of the goals to take back to Dauntless. The team erupts in cheers when Tori puts it on like a necklace. Tris looked around the gym trying to soak in the moment. Nothing could compare to this feeling.

There are awards and presentations and the final presentation of the championship trophy. Tris wins MVP, Lynn wins defensive player of the game. There are pictures and lots of tears of happiness but it's all a bit of a blur for Tris. Andrew, Lauren, and Caleb hug her tightly when family members are allowed down on the court.

"Muchkin, I'm so proud of you. You did this when we all told you to give up" Andrew tells Tris as he hugs her tight as his voice chokes. He loved all of his children but he was damn proud of his youngest daughter, unsure if he had ever been this proud.

"Don't cry Daddy, you made this happen for me, I know you just wanted me to be realistic in high school. I couldn't have done this if you hadn't always supported me"

"There are no words to say how proud I am of this team" Tori starts to say and she stops as tears threaten as they stand in the locker room one last time as a team.

Tris starts to cry again as she and Marlene hug. She was so happy she couldn't stop the tears.

"My seniors, you have fought for this moment for the past four years. All the hard work, the season we had last year, no one can take this away from you and I can't think of four players who are more deserving to win a National Championship"

"We love you coach" Lynn yells out as everyone cheers.

On the bus, Christina takes a selfie of her, Lynn, Tris, and Marlene and declares for the entire bus to hear that she is posting it to her IG page while Tori playfully glares at her.

"Coach, my college playing career is officially done and you can no longer make me run suicides, and just know I'm going to be posting everything starting now"

The entire bus laughs and so does Tori as Christina takes a picture of Tori laughing.

By the time the team is headed back to the hotel Tris, Christina, Marlene and Lynn are dead on their feet. Tris was finally coming down from all the adrenaline. She and Christina were sharing a room for the week and Tris tells Chris she can shower first. Tris finally pulls out her phone while she waits for her turn and sees all her notifications.

She sucks in a breath when she sees she picks up her phone to listen to her voicemail messages. Tobias had left her a message. She had blocked Tobias's number years ago but she knew you could still get voicemails. She feels her heart race as she looks to the bathroom where Christina was still in the shower. She could hear her singing so she wasn't coming out anytime soon. Tris thinks about it for a moment as she chews her lip and decides to press play.

Way to hoop Tris, I just wanted to tell you that you played a hell of a game, and congrats on winning a Natty. Good Luck in the draft, I know you are going to make it. Tris, ...I'm proud of you.

She thinks about it for a minute after listening to the message again. It had been 3 years since they had spoken. They had unfollowed each other on social media. Hearing his voice again brought back so many memories. Did this mean he wanted to talk? Why did he sound like he wanted to say more? He didn't specifically say call him back. The fact still remained that he had broken her heart into a million pieces.

She didn't want to read into it but maybe there was something to be hopeful about. Was this the first step in him testing the waters? What would have happened if she had answered her phone? Would they have had awkward small talk?

She thinks about going to ask Lauren or Christina, Marlene, and Lynn what she should do. She didn't want to make a big deal about this but she also didn't think she could handle all of the opinions.

So she decides to do something simple to see what would happen. She unblocks his number and she goes to his IG page and follows him. She didn't commit herself to call him back or even send a message. She just left herself open to the possibility of having a conversation with him. That she could handle if the opportunity arose again.

After Tris takes her turn in the shower, Marlene and Lynn come over and the four stay up laughing and talking until they can barely keep their eyes open. Tris looks at her phone and smiles at her IG notifications.

T Money Followed you back.

She didn't know what it meant but it was a start.

Tris dips a french fry in ketchup as she reads over the page of her broadcast journalism book while she sits in a quiet corner in the student center. She was finally getting caught up on all the assignments she missed during the NCAA tournament. Graduating was surreal for her. The WNBA draft was next week so she didn't have solid plans in place until she knew what was going to happen. She had already submitted her paperwork to declare for the draft so now all she had to do was take her 3 finals and wait.

She looks up when she hears someone call her name.

"Hey Shauna, How are you?"

Tris was happy for Zeke, Shauna seemed like she was nice and she could tell that she adored Zeke.

"I'm good, do you mind if I join you for a minute"

Tris nods. Shauna was hanging out with the group more and more. She and Marlene had seemed to strike up a friendship.

"I hope I'm not bothering you, but I kind of wanted to talk to you about something, '' Shauna asks hesitantly.

"I can take a break, what's up" Tris closes her book to give Shauna her attention.

"I hate to be that type of girl that seems threatened or territorial, I really do but I need to know, Are you and Zeke really over? I… I'm falling for him and I need to know if I should get out now before I get in too deep" Shauna says, holding her head down.

Tris sighed, normally she would have rolled her eyes. There were always girls that messed around with Zeke, Uriah, and Tobias that were intimidated by her friendship with them. She would think it was ridiculous but she felt for Shauna. She could tell how nervous she was.

"How much has Zeke told you?" Tris probed need to formulate how she would answer the question. She wanted to be honest but she didn't want to mess things up for Zeke either.

"He said you two were together for a while, but you had been friends since you were kids first but the timing was always off and that you two wanted to remain friends, even though it didn't work out between you. I don't want to be that girl but being friends with your ex, it just makes me uncomfortable and he seems so protective of you"

Shauna sighs "I'm sorry this was a bad idea" She goes to gather her purse to get up.

"No please don't go, let me explain" Tris grabs Shauna's arm. "Please, Shauna"

Shauna sits back and wipes a tear from her eye.

"I can see how much you care about Zeke, He needs you, someone who loves him that much. Please don't worry about me deciding that I want him back. I care so much about Zeke and we were together during a time for me when I needed him to love me like he did and I couldn't be that for him"

"Do you think he's still in love with you?" Shauna asks.

"I think Zeke was really in love with the idea of me and him. We are really good friends. He had feelings for me in high school. I had no idea. I was in love with one of our other friends whom I ended up dating the last part of my senior year of high school and freshman year here at Dauntless. We had an ugly breakup that resulted in him breaking off his friendship with Zeke. Zeke and I didn't start dating until about a year after that but he decided to break up with me and we both realized we weren't going to make it as a couple. We promised each other if our relationship didn't work out we would still be friends, its super cliche and I know it sounds crazy but if its anyone who I trust to hold to that its Zeke"

Shauna nods her head taking in everything Tris was saying.

"When you say you couldn't be that for him what do you mean?"

"I was still in love with my ex, I guess I still am even though it had been over a year since Tobias and I broke up when Zeke and I started dating. I could never tell Zeke I loved him even after a year and a half. I could have fought for him but I didn't. I couldn't keep things going knowing he deserved someone who loved him fully and completely. I couldn't give him that."

Tris looks as if she's deep in thought. Shauna wanted to feel threatened by her but she didn't anymore.

"Do you think you can work it out with your ex?" Shauna was curious now, she could tell by the look on Tris's face who she was thinking about.

Tris sighs. Her feelings for Tobias confused her and his voicemail after the tournament only confused her even more.

"I want to let him go but I can't. I feel like I suck at relationships. Zeke's and I's failed relationship is another example. Maybe one day I'll be able to move on"

"Thank you for this Tris, I really do care about Zeke, I hated feeling so insecure but it's kind of intimidating knowing he dated you" Shauna admits.

"I want Zeke to be happy, for real and I know I'm not the one for him. I really hope you two will make it, that's the honest truth."

Tris meant every word but it was a reminder that she needed to sort out her feelings for Tobias.

Tobias takes a sip of the beer in front of him, nervous as Zeke slides into the booth across from him. He was surprised that Zeke had actually responded to him reaching out after ignoring him for months. His season was over in Dallas and he decided to stop off in Atlanta to see Caleb and Uriah. Uriah and Caleb both encouraged him to keep trying and Zeke would come around eventually. Zeke orders a beer when the waitress comes back and he looks at Tobias still not saying anything.

"So I don't expect things to go back to the way they were but I was hoping we could clear the air" Tobias starts.

The waitress drops off Zeke's drink and he takes a swig and nods his head.

"Things got ugly and I didn't balance or handle any of it well" Tobias explains. He could feel the emotions rising up and he willed himself not to get pissed off. He didn't expect things to be great immediately but he hoped Zeke came to try and listen.

"That's an understatement" Zeke scoffs.

"I got frustrated with you trying to tell me how to handle my relationship. I get that I was an ass but it still wasn't anyone's place to decide if I broke up with Tris or not. I needed my friends and I felt like everyone turned on me"

Zeke looks at Tobias and how he seemed to be battling himself as he remembered what he was going through in his life at that time.

"I get that, even though I still don't think you understand how wrong it was for you to handle things with Tris the way you did. You put her in a position to choose between her future and you. That was fucked up, then you fucking paraded another girl in front of her, you punished her for going after her own dreams. You took your shit out on her"

Tobias is quiet for a minute as he actually takes in what Zeke tells him. Was that what he did? He'd never thought about it that way before. He'd only seen that she hadn't chosen him and that he was angry and hurt. He was so used to people making anything happen for him, he had just assumed that because it was him that the same would be extended to Tris.

"You broke her, she wasn't herself for a long time, Caleb and Lauren literally had to have an intervention because she wasn't eating or getting out of bed Tobias. I know you think I was waiting in the wings for a shot but it wasn't like that. I was there for her, helping her pick up the pieces and I wanted to show her she deserved love and someone to put her first. We actually didn't even start dating until after you pulled that stunt in the strip club. She had broken down again and I couldn't see her spiral again."

Tobias takes it all in. He hadn't fully understood how Tris had been affected by his decisions. He felt alone and he thought cutting himself from everyone made all his decisions only about him. That no one cared enough about him to see what he was going through. He still felt like none of them could understand that but he didn't understand how he had broken Tris as well and it was a gut-punching realization.

"I'm sorry I accused you of that, Zeke. I said a lot of shit, my head was twisted with all the shit coming at me and I just couldn't see it any other way. I literally had my entire family fall apart with all the basketball pressure and cut my father out of my life and I felt all alone"

Tobias didn't think he had said all of that out loud before but it felt good to get off his chest.

Zeke nods his head. Even though he was with Shauna now and he had fallen hard for her, he was still protective of Tris. Seeing the remorse on Tobias' face reminds him that Tobias had been dealing with some real deep shit during that time that he hadn't taken into account how it messed him up. He'd let his feelings for Tris get in the way of how he saw Tobias but he wasn't sure if they would ever be close again.

"I'm sorry if it seemed like I only cared about Tris's feelings and didn't consider all of the shit you were going through" Zeke pauses for a moment thinking about what he wanted to say next. "I'm glad you are trying to make things right with everyone T. but don't go after Tris again if you aren't for real, I don't think she can come back for getting her heart broken by you again"

Tobias thinks about it, maybe he was better off just seeing if he and Tris could be friends again. He missed her but things were so different now. She was going into the WNBA draft, who knew where she would end up. If they couldn't handle the pressure at Dauntless, how the hell could they make it work now? He didn't want to hurt her any more than he already had. At the same time, he didn't think he could handle the heartache either.