I'm through accepting limits,

Cause' someone said their so.

Some things I cannot change,

But till' I try, I'll never know

~Elphaba/Idina Menzel, Defying Gravity, Wicked.

Chapter 4

Tris POV

The next morning, Anna informed me that I would practice skating by myself 4 times a week and pair skating one hour, and pair skating 3 times a week for five hours and by myself for one. I assumed she told the same to Christina, Will, and Four.

I got up and made my way over to Christina's place. We decided to go out for breakfast before we hit the rink. Time had past quickly this month, and the freshly fallen snow would concur. I couldn't believe that I'd gotten a skate partner two days ago. We would never be good enough to compete in the Olympics. The open was at little over a year away since this one was about to conclude, and that was cutting it close to the actual Olympics. I mean, people train their whole lives for this, and we are expected to be prepared in a year and a half or so. Crazy. Anyway, it was a typical December afternoon here in Chicago. Tomorrow was Christmas Eve, and we only had one hour of skating practice in total, but it was with our partners. Everyone else got the day off, but it wasn't bad. We got Christmas off.

We sat in a cafe, and drank some hot chocolate. "Don't you love the snow?" I ask Christina.

"It's breathtaking, and very, very cold," she responded, laughing.

"Aren't you use to the cold by now?" I ask her teasing.

"Maybe," she responded. "Ready to go shopping?".

"Do we have to?" I complained. I hate shopping. I rather eat an ant, I thought.

"Tris, that's disgusting. You shouldn't feel that way."

"Did I say that aloud?" I asked Christina, surprised.

"Yep," she responded. "Plus, you have to buy a gift for everyone at the party," she added in a sing songy voice.

Right, the party. We have to go to a Christmas party at Zeke and Uriah's place. They invited us, and Christina forced me to go with her. The only bad thing is that we have to get a gift for everyone that's going. That means Zeke, Uriah, Four, Will, Christina, Caleb and I will exchange gifts. The only good thing is that Peter's not going.

A half hour later, I had most of my gifts bought. I got Christina this scarf she was really excited about, Uriah got a whoopie cushion, Zeke got a fake hockey stick, I gave Caleb a book, and Will got some chocolate. The only person I still had to shop for was Four. I didn't know what to get him. Apparently, neither did Christina, so she just got him a gift card.

"I don't know what to get Will," Christina complained. "What if he doesn't like it?"

"Don't worry, Christina.I'm sure he'll like whatever you get him,"I reply.

"At least you don't have to deal with him everyday if he doesn't like it." A smile crept up her face. "But you do have to deal with Four. He's so quiet, I doubt his friends would know what to get him."

I felt a flare of anger, but managed to playfully punch Christina in the arm. Without bruising it. "Don't be so mean Christina!" I scolded.

"Why's that? You like him?"

"What? No!" I said,turning around, preparing to turn the tables."You're only saying that because you like Will."

A light blush spread across her face. "N-n-no," she stammered. "I just care about what others think about what I get him." She grabbed my hand and pulled me into another store. We spent about forty minutes shopping until we found the perfect gifts.

"Come on, Tris!" Christina yelled. "We have to go skate. Then I'll get you ready for the party!"

I groaned, and tried to prepare for the worse.

I entered the ice rink and slowly warmed up. Will skate up next to me, and looked at Christina, who stuck her tongue out at me.

"Hey, Tris, can I ask you something?" he asked.

"Sure," I replied.

"I got Christina this necklace, and I wanted to know if you thought she would like it." He pulled it out of his pocket. It has a sapphire gem on it, and was a beautiful aqua color.

"She'll love it," I replied. "But is the gem real?"

"No," he said, grinning. "I'm not that rich. Can you not mention it to her. At all. I want it to be a surprise."

"Of course." I pushed him down onto the ice.

"What was that for?"

"So Christina doesn't get suspicious." He grinned at me, got up, and skated off the ice. I smiled and shook my head before turning around to find Four.

We skated around, and practiced our routine. We were doing it to the song "Imagine" by John Lennon. I was so excited. We were finally able to skate with songs that have lyrics instead of classic music.

"You excited for the party?" I asked Four as I plugged in my Ipod.

He shrugged. "Zeke and Uriah like to do the same thing every year. But since you guys are going, I guess it might be more exciting."

"Glad to hear it," I say and smile back at him. "Let's begin."

Our routine was mostly lyrical, but I'm sad that there aren't any jumps. I know there aren't supposed to be jumps in pair skating, but I miss them. We do have a few lifts, and those are terrifying. I'm afraid that Four will drop me. We got the first 30 seconds in yesterday, and it wasn't too shabby. Anna showed us what the routine would look like, having another skater skate it with her. It was crazy. Today, we practiced the first lift, because it looked awkward. I skated up to Four, and he bent down a bit. I jumped up and he grabbed my waist, and lifted me up. I tried to spread my feet out, and accidently kicked Four in the head. He dropped me, and we both ended up on the floor. I looked around. Anna was with Will and Christina.

I sighed, feeling a knot of fear slowly unravel, one that I didn't know I had. Then I turned around to look at Four. "I'm so sorry," I blurted. "I didn't mean it."

I reached my hand out, and he grabbed it and got up. There was a shallow gash over by his ear. "Are you okay?" I asked, sort of panicking, but mostly scared that he didn't seem to notice. "You're bleeding."

"I'll be fine," he responded. "I'm used to it."

I stared at him, because it looked like it stung. I cut myself with my skates a lot when I started, and hurt so bad I cried a few times. I wonder if it's from playing hockey, but I had a nagging feeling that it was from something else.

"Should we continue practice, or stay here and waste time?" he asked coldly.

I shook it off, dismissing the thought. "Let's go," I said, responding to him coldly as well. We continue the practice, but it was kind of awkward, and very quiet.

After the practice, I caught up to Four as he left. He turned around and caught my gaze. "See you at the party," he said as he walked away.

I froze in my tracks. The party. That's right. That means…

"Oh Tris," I hear Christina call. I tighten my grip on my bag, and run as fast as I can, hoping to get away from Christina. She sees me run, and dashes after me. She catches me at my house. "Let's go," she panted. I put my head in my hands as she dragged me to her house for torture hour.

Hey guys! Sorry for the late update. I got busy with school. I decided to do a two part Christmas special, to fit the season. Hope you enjoyed it!

Question of the Chapter: What TV shows do you watch? I'm into The Flash, The Arrow, and Once Upon a Time. And they're all over until next year after today. My problem is that Arrow and Flash come back during Finals Week.*Tear*. Well, enough babbling. One more question...

Question of the Chapter 2: What do you think Tris got Four?

Chau!

~DauntlessPokemonRide