Author's Note: I'm sorry this has taken longer to post. Crazy couple of weeks, but I will do my best to get back on schedule! Thank you for the patience and the persistence. Enjoy!

Chapter 19

TRIS POV -

I am standing in front of my closet, wearing my robe with my hair wrapped up in a towel. The shower washed off part of the scab from the scrape on my thigh and it started bleeding again. I am trying to decide if I should just wear a skirt and some tights, or risk bleeding on the inside of a pair of jeans. I don't really want to bowl in a skirt, but I also am not certain that a tight fitting pair of pants will feel good on the scrape.

My phone rings and I am happy to see it is my mom calling, "Hi mom!"

"Hey Babygirl. How have you been? How was your soccer game today? We haven't had much time to catch up this week."

"No we haven't. I'm glad you called mom, how are you?"

"Oh, I'm doing fine. I want to hear about you."

"Well, the game today went well. We were on the road so no one got to watch the game this time. I was pulled for an injury, and..."

"What?! Are you alright?" she interrupts, "What happened?"

"No, sorry Mom. I'm okay." I rush to reassure her, "I was slide-tackled and I got a scrape on the outside of my thigh from the other player's cleats. It started bleeding and the nurse made them pull me. Really it is not a big deal, but it did start bleeding again a little in the shower and now I don't know what to wear. We are supposed to be going bowling tonight."

"Oh? You have a date?"

"Yes, I suppose it is a date. We are all going to meet at the bowling alley. Four will be here soon to pick me up. I don't really want to wear a skirt, but I don't want to wear jeans either."

"Hmm, why don't you wear your black leggings and a long top? They're easier to move in than your jeans, right?"

"Yes! Thanks mom. Hang on a second, I'll put you on speakerphone while I finish getting ready."

Mom and I chit chat for another twenty minutes and then I have to get off the phone to head downstairs. I know Tobias will be on time, he is always on time. To be honest, I am glad that I have an excuse to get off the phone. It is really hard keeping a secret from her and I don't want to be the one to spoil the surprise of the deck. It would be impossible to explain why Uriah and Zeke and Four were here today without also revealing the project they were working on.

As I pass through the living room, Dad and Caleb are on the couch watching a show about pirates, or pirate ships maybe, I can't tell. "Are you sure you don't want to come with us Caleb? Zeke meant it when he invited you to come."

"No thanks Beatrice. I don't need to waste my time with your friends."

"Caleb, that was rude! They're being nice to you and trying to include you and you're just being a jerk about it. I'll see you both later, I won't be late. Oh, Dad, I almost forgot, Mom called me and we chatted a bit. I didn't mention anything about the deck, but it was hard not to! You should call her, she sounded a little down."

"Thanks Beatrice, I will call her now."

I watch dad walk back through to the kitchen and turn back to Caleb, "Why aren't you even trying to be nice to my friends?"

"I don't know what you're talking about Beatrice. I was nice to them all day. I just don't need to socialize with them."

Just as I am about to respond, I see headlights pull up in front of the house and I turn to grab my purse, jacket and keys. I walk out the door without another word to my brother. Instead I plaster a smile on my face and jog down to Tobias' jeep. The leggings are not particularly warm, but they are more comfortable than jeans would have been, and the oversize tunic shirt and my green army jacket will keep me warm enough to and from the Bowling alley I am sure.

I slide in and lean over for a kiss hello. After the kiss, Tobias smiles and says, "You look nice. Mmmm, smell nice too. New perfume?"

I chuckle and duck my head, "No, just a new body wash I tried tonight."

"I like it. You ready to go? I will still have to be home by 10:30 p.m. so we better get going if you want to actually bowl tonight."

"Yep, lets go."

When we get to the Bowl-A-Rama, Zeke and Shauna have already staked a claim to two lanes at the far end of the building, by the Arcade. Will and Christina are there too and are tying on their bowling shoes. Shauna announces the teams will be boys versus girls and Four starts inputting names for the two lanes while I go to pick out balls. Uriah follows along behind me and asks, "Do you know how to bowl?"

I stop, mid reach for a ball and stare at him. "Of course I know how to bowl! There are only about three things to do in Colfax, and bowling is one of them! My friend Susan had a summer job at the bowling alley, so we spent lots of our time there."

"So you don't need bumpers, or for me to take it easy on you tonight, huh?" He flashes a smile.

"HA, hardly. I am what you might consider a ringer!"

"Then it is too bad we are playing boys versus girls tonight! I'd sure love to be on the winning team."

"You don't think you guys can beat us?"

He looks back at the table considering, "It's a toss-up. If you are as good as you claim, it could be very interesting. Zeke and Shauna are good. Four and I are good. Will is okay, Christina is hopeless and it's three on four so the teams aren't even."

"Why didn't you invite Marlene and Lynn?"

"I did, they both had dates tonight. I am crushed, just devastated I tell you, that they don't sit home pining for me on a Saturday night."

"Well, it serves you right for waiting until the last minute to ask them out."

"Not my fault. I didn't know we'd be doing this tonight. For all I knew, your dad would have set up spotlights and kept us laboring til dawn."

"Hardly. I think he was more than happy with the work you all got done today."

By now we are back with the group, and as we set the balls in the return rack, Zeke pipes up, "Tris, you could have warned us about your brother!"

I turn around to look at Zeke, confused. "My brother? What did Caleb do?"

"Do? Not a whole lot actually. That boy is completely helpless isn't he?" Zeke asks me.

I feel the need to defend him, even though I am sure what Zeke is saying is the truth. "That isn't fair to say, Zeke. He is good at a lot of things, just not building. He has never used any of the tools you guys had today. You can't hold that against him, can you? You were patient with me when I didn't know what I was doing."

"Yes," Zeke replies, "But you weren't a whiny brat about it were you?"

"I am sure he will be better next weekend."

Christina is first up on the girls team and she picks a hot pink ball with finger holes that are much too big for her and likely weighs too much. She sashays up to the line, swaying her hips too much, and peeks over her shoulder when she gets into position to see if the guys are watching. I smile a little, realizing that Will is the only one besides me watching her. She smiles brightly at him, and then hurls the bowling ball down the alley. It lands with a loud THUD, thud, and then skitters into the gutter on the right side and gets lodged about halfway down the lane. She pouts and turns around to walk back for a second ball. This does not bode well for our team. We end up having to wait for an attendant to come and push her ball so it will go into the conveyor system behind the pins, before she can throw her second ball. This time she just granny rolls it down the alley, bending over so that Will gets a nice look at her butt in her very tight, yet artfully distressed jeans. 'Subtle, really subtle', I think. I glance over at Four and he is watching me watching Christina. He smirks at me, and I know he knows what I am thinking.

Zeke and Uriah are trying to master bowling a curve ball, so they aren't even using the finger holes. They're trying to get the ball to spin and have managed to get a few pins down, but no strikes or spares yet. Shauna got a 7-10 split, and missed both remaining pins, and now it is my turn. I walk up to the return rack and select the swirled purple and blue ball that I picked out with Uriah earlier. It weighs about 12 lbs, which he thought was way too heavy for little ole' me. I can't wait to show them all what I can do. There is that pride again, that my Pop is always trying to get me to tone down. I walk confidently to the first set of markers and take a deep breath. I am showing off, and I know it. None of them know I am actually a really good bowler. It isn't something that you would guess by looking at me. I am focused on the king pin and my breathing. I lift the ball and hold it still in front of me, supporting its weight with my left hand. I take a slow step with my right leg and lift the ball up and forward, then step with my left foot as my arm swings back behind me and I crouch as my arm swings forward and releases the ball with my right arm fully extended toward the pins. It rolls straight and true, just to the right of the King pin and they all tumble down in a loud mess of red and white. I turn around to walk back for a second ball and they're all staring with their mouths gaping open, all except for Uriah who is absolutely howling with laughter and cheering for me.

"Whooo Tris, that was awesome! Who knew Babygirl could do that! Wow! Next time you are the first pick on my team!"

I laugh and shrug my shoulders, "Nobody asked me. I bowled a lot back in Colfax."

A few frames later, Zeke and Shauna leave to go pick up the pizzas they ordered. Four sits down next to me and rests his arm on the back of the row of seats. He leans down and quietly says, "You did that on purpose. You wanted to be able to shock everyone, didn't you?"

"Maybe I did. It feels good to be good at something, and even better to surprise people with it, I know I shouldn't feel that way, but it is what it is."

"Why shouldn't you feel that way? You have a talent for the game, there is nothing wrong with that...Babygirl."

"Babygirl?" I raise one eyebrow at the endearment.

He looks sideways at me after saying the pet name that Uriah used earlier, shakes his head, "Ah, Uriah said it earlier and you didn't seem to mind. I thought I'd try it out, but it doesn't feel right when I say it."

"No. It doesn't sound right either. That is what my mom calls me actually."

"Ah, well then. I'll have to come up with my own, won't I."

Shauna and Zeke return with pizzas and pitchers of soda for everyone. As they eat, the conversation turns to the Festival in a couple of weeks, the Homecoming Dance next month and to Uriah's upcoming birthday. He wants to have a karaoke machine and a 90's theme to the party. As the various conversations swirl around me, I follow along without being directly involved in any of them and marvel at the idea, once again, that I have a group of friends so soon after starting at a new school. It is almost as if I was always meant to be here.

As the game has progressed, Christina has gotten more and more flirtatious. Now, she and Will are making out on the bench and I can't sit next to them anymore. I cross over to stand next to Four. He takes my hand and gently tugs me around to sit across his lap, his arms gently resting around my waist and bouncing his legs slightly so I get jostled and need to put my hand on his shoulder for balance.

"Tris, I am sorry, but I need to leave soon to head home. Do you mind leaving early too? I am sure that Uriah and Zeke or Shauna could drop you off if you want to stay, but I feel badly leaving you."

I look around and shake my head. Shauna and Zeke have their heads together over pizza. Uriah is off in the arcade flirting with a random couple of girls. Will and Christina are doing their best to swallow each other on the other bench. I turn back to look at Tobias and say, "No, let's go home. I'm ready to go whenever you are."

"Are you sure? I hate that my curfew will cut your night short too."

"Nevermind that. Let me just get my things and I will meet you at the shoe counter."

He agrees and I go to gather up my things. As I pass by, with my hands full of purse and jacket, I say goodnight. "Shauna, we are heading out. I'll see you Monday. Zeke thank you again for your help today, this was a great idea tonight. Thanks."

Zeke stands up to hug me goodbye. "Any time Trissy, next time you're on my team!"

"Only if you agree to never call me that again!"

Zeke's eyes just twinkle with mischief, "Hahahahha, oh Trissy, you just committed the cardinal sin! Never ever admit when you hate a nickname. That is the surest way to make it stick! You guys have a good night. We will see you Monday. I'll tell Uriah you said goodnight."

"Thanks."

Tobias drives me home in silence, holding my hand. I wonder what he is thinking. It feels like a brooding silence, not a comfortable empty one. Too soon we are in front of my house and I wish we had time to go for a walk or sit on the porch swing for a little while, but I know he has to get home. I say goodnight quietly, clear my throat and say it again more clearly, "Thank you for taking me bowling. It was fun, and thank you for helping my dad and Caleb today."

"You don't have to thank me, Tris. It wasn't just some favor that I did for you, you know."

"What does that mean?"

"It means, you don't have to thank me all the time, ok?"

"What do you want me to say instead?"

"I don't know. All I know is that driving home from the Alley, you haven't said a word to me, and now it's like you're thanking a colleague or acquaintance for helping you out with something. So formal and distant." He pauses and looks at the steering wheel before quietly saying, "I don't like the way it feels."

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you feel that way. I just didn't know what to say to change the weird vibe in the car. You didn't say a word either, you know. It wasn't just me."

"I know. I'm sorry too. Remember, I don't know what I am doing. My mind has just been replaying the day and I wish I had more time with you tonight to smooth out this wrinkle. I hate that I have a curfew and have to be home in ten minutes."

"Does your curfew mean you can't talk on the phone?"

"No."

"Ok. Go home. Call me when you get up to your room and we can continue the conversation then. We won't be together, but we can still be just the two of us."

"You want that?"

"Of course I do. I haven't had you to myself all day except in this car."

"OK." he leans over and kisses me soft, but quick, and stays put waiting until I am inside the house.