Disclaimer: I don't own Divergent
Tris POV
I thought that I had finally moved on, that I was over it all, but that was proved wrong today. I don't know where to go, and I don't exactly know whether to be angry or upset, so I sit down next to a random locker and bury my face in my knees.
I can't believe this is happening.
I don't know how long I sit there repeating the same sentence in my mind until I hear footsteps. I look up, and it's Tobias. I sigh in relief.
He doesn't say anything, just sits down next to me and wraps his arms around me. I return the hug, and rest my head in the crook of his neck. We stay like this for a minute or two, and it is as if the world is frozen.
"I'm not going to ask if you're okay," he finally whispers, "Because I know you're not."
After he speaks, I pick my head up and look into his eyes. I notice that his shoulder is now wet, I hadn't realized that I have been crying. "I- I don't know what to do," I admit.
"We could make out," he suggests, and I laugh and hit his arm.
"Just lightening the mood!" he defends, and I laugh again.
"You always know how to make me feel better," I say, but then realize that the feeling was only momentary. Everything comes crashing back down on me a few seconds later, and I feel hopeless and miserable again.
"It's going to be alright," Tobias says soothingly into my ear.
"I don't think it is," I say bleakly. Al's appearance today has brought me to a place I haven't been since I've come here, it's put me trapped inside an inescapable and dim hole.
"He's never going to touch you, never going to come near you ever again with me around," Tobias says, "Actually, you might not even need me, you whopped his ass pretty bad just now." I give a weak laugh, and then just lay down, resting my head on his arm. We are silent for a few moments.
"If I lay here," I say, "If I just lay here, would you lie with me and just forget the world?"
He smiles, and lies down next to me. "Forget what we're told," he says.
"Before we get too old," I say.
"Show me a garden that's bursting into life," he finishes.
A/N: Chasing Cars by Snow Patrol
"I love you," I say out of nowhere.
He smiles, and says, "I love you too."
-PAGE BREAK-
A/N: I actually know pretty much nothing about football and the specifics of how the game actually works, so I am skipping to the end of the game :P sorry.
As Uriah catches the ball in the end zone, the time runs out and the game is over. We beat them 28 to 26, much closer than I expected. That was the winning touchdown, and everyone storms the field.
I push through the mass of people around me and run out to Tobias who is standing near the 50 yard line, smiling. It was a miraculous throw, and an even more mind-blowing catch. I am so proud of him.
When he sees me appear out of the crowd, the grin on his face grows even wider, and I find myself smiling too. He runs over and picks me up, spinning me in a circle and I laugh. He puts me down, and I kiss him square on the lips. I don't care if it's in front of the whole school, not anymore.
"You were amazing out there," I say when we pull apart.
He gives me a big hug, and picks me up a bit again, sending me into a fury of giggles.
"Four!" I say, and he lets me go.
"I just really love you," he says smiling.
"Well, it's a good thing that I really love you too," I say back mockingly, and we both smile even wider.
We look into each other's eyes for a few moments, his hands on my waist and mine around his neck, until I hear my name being shouted behind me. I turn around and see Christina calling, "Tris! Tris!"
"Yes?" I shout back, and she finds her way over.
"We need to get to the party!" she says.
I shoot her a look, and Tobias laughs. "I'll meet you there, okay?" he says.
"Okay," I say giving in, and Christina takes me arm and drags me off. I struggle to look back at him, and he is standing there with a smile on his face mouthing have fun. I mouth back you're dead and he laughs.
Christina takes me back to her house, where all of the other girls are already. Well, except for Lynn. She always gets lucky with these types of things.
"Are you ready?" Christina asks me, beaming with excitement.
"Ready as I'll ever be," I mumble, and then she gets to work.
At the end of the two hour-long torture session, I am outfitted in a skintight red cocktail dress that comes down mid-thigh, and shows everything much to my distaste. The entire back of the dress is red lace, and there is a small cutout just above the waist.
"Christina, are you sure about this?" I ask her, tugging at my dress again. She puts a big bulky necklace around my neck, a thick silver one with lots of detailing. The diamond studs I always wear are left in their place.
"Yes, I'm positive. The first post-football game party of the year is always formal," she responds, and I just sigh.
She's also curled my hair, and put some product in to make it incredibly shiny and soft. And of course, the makeup was saved for last, Christina's favorite part. She applied foundation all over my face, making it look flawless, and concealer was put under my eyes. This was all set with a powder, and then she applied blush before she went onto my eyes.
I don't even know how she did it, but after blending a million things together, I came out with a dark brown and grey smoky eye, and thick black eyeliner with a wing. She then layered on the mascara and filled in my brows, then finished it all off with a rose lipstick.
Looking in the mirror now, it was all worth it. I don't look like myself, I look like a better version, more perfect version of me. It may be a bit much for the occasion, but I don't look fake. I like it.
"Thank you Christina," I say as she puts the finishing touches onto her own outfit, and I notice that Marlene and Shauna are nearly ready as well. If anything, I am the most underdressed on the group. Thank goodness that I convinced Christina to let me wear silver flats, the heels she is wearing would break my ankles in a heartbeat.
A few minutes later, we all head off to Zeke and Uriah's house. I can tell that we are late because everything is already packed, music blaring and cars lined up all down the street. We park a block away, and then walk.
As soon as we enter, I can tell that Christina was right. Everyone is dressed nice, girls wearing dresses and guys wearing dress shirts. Even so, the atmosphere is the same as any other party, young and dumb and free.
Despite my protests, the girls drag me onto the dance floor. I really want to find Tobias, but I end up having to wait out a several songs until I can wiggle my way through the crowd again.
I immediately head to the kitchen, hoping to find the gang where they were last time. When I walk in, I am disappointed; it's completely empty. I decide to get a water while I'm here, and search through the fridge, finding one in the very back behind all of the alcohol.
I am about to leave the room and look around some more when someone shoves me into the wall. I am dazed for a few seconds until I see who it is: Eric. "What do you want?" I hiss at him, extremely annoyed.
"You," he says, speech slurred. He is obviously well past drunk.
"Go away," I say confidently; maybe he's too confused at this point to even know what he's doing. But I'm unlucky, he doesn't go away. He comes closer to me and starts groping my chest with one hand, and dragging down my zipper with the other, then smashes his lips to mine.
I am beyond disgusted, but I've trained for things exactly like this. I kiss back for a millisecond, then bite his lip hard, drawing blood. He yelps and pulls back, and while he is distracted, I knee him in the crotch and punch him in the jaw, knocking out his tooth and his consciousness. He falls into a heap on the floor.
I quickly pull up the zipper on the back of my dress as best as I can manage on my own, and then run out of the room. I don't know exactly what to do, but I know that I can't stay like this. I take Christina's keys from her clutch that she put to the side on a table, and then take her car back to my house.
I run upstairs as quickly as I can, my mom calls behind me but I ignore her. I take off the dress and replace it with a baggy white t-shirt, Tobias's varsity jacket from earlier, and a pair of yoga pants. I finish it all off with my black tennis shoes.
I then go to the mirror, and realize why my mom would be concerned. My eyes are red and puffy, I must've been crying on the way home. I take off all of the makeup that Christina put on me, and then let my skin relax for a bit. I brush the stiff hairspray feeling out of my curly hair, and then put it up in a ponytail. I then put on a bit of concealer and mascara to cover the fact that I'd been crying.
I really want to stay home, but I realize that I have Christina's car and have to go back. I walk downstairs, and my mom immediately jumps up at the sight of me. "Are you alright sweetie?" she asks frantically.
"I'm fine, mom," I say, and she gives me a disbelieving look. "Really, I am, but I have to get back to the party."
"Okay, I won't expect you until late but have a good time," she says.
I leave my house, and drive back, parking Christina's car in the same spot it was previously. I check my phone for the time: 12:30 A.M. Wow, I hadn't realized how much time had passed. I also see a few missed calls and text messages from Tobias, but I don't respond because I know I will see him soon enough.
I walk back inside, and the party is still in full swing. I put Christina's keys back, and then continue to look for Tobias. I can't seem to find him until I see him up by the karaoke, holding a microphone.
Tobias POV
After Tris leaves, I notice that Al is still collapsed on the floor. I pick him up by the shirt, and pin him against the wall. "You never go near her again, you hear me?" I ask threateningly, and he nods furiously.
"You made her life hell, you don't deserve to ever be near her again. I suggest you leave this school," I say.
"I- I came to apologize," Al chokes out.
"Apologize?" I spit out, "What you did is unforgivable, you will never talk to her again do you hear me?" He nods furiously.
I deliver a quick hard punch to his temple that finally knocks him out, and he falls to the ground. I go out into the hallway to find Tris.
I don't have to look far. She is right outside the cafeteria doors, sitting up against the lockers with knees bent and her head down. She looks up with tears in her eyes, and sighs.
I sit down next to her, and wrap my arms around her. She is so delicate, so small and in this moment I want to keep her in my arms forever to protect her from everything bad in this world. She doesn't deserve any of the awful things that have happened to her. She rests her head into my neck, and we stay like this in silence.
"I'm not going to ask if you're okay," I whisper into her ear, "Because I know you're not."
She picks her head up, and we look into each other's eyes for a few moments. Hers look stormier than usual, and are outlined in red from tears. "I- I don't know what to do," she says.
"We could make out," I say jokingly, and she laughs and hits my arm.
"Just lightening the mood!" I say, and she laughs again. I love her laugh, so light and free even in moments like this.
"You always know how to make me feel better," she says, but then her face darkens again a few second later.
"It's going to be alright," I say into her ear, rubbing circles into her back. I can feel her start to relax a bit.
"I don't think it is," she says quietly. I can tell from her voice that she is starting to lose hope.
"He's never going to touch you, never going to come near you ever again with me around," I say, "Actually, you might not even need me, you whopped his ass pretty bad just now." She laughs a bit, but then just lies down next to me, using my arm as a pillow.
"If I lay here," she says, "If I just lay here, would you lie with me and just forget the world?"
I smile, recognizing the lyrics, and lie down next to her. "Forget what we're told," I say, continuing on.
"Before we get too old," she says.
"Show me a garden that's bursting into life," I finish.
"I love you," she says, and my heart bursts with joy. I love when she says those words to me; it reassures me that this is all real.
"I love you too," I say.
-PAGE BREAK-
I can see that we only have seconds left of the game, and the score is 26 to 22. The other team played much better than I expected tonight, and I know that a touchdown is the only way we will win. I spot Uriah at the other end of the field standing in the end zone. It's a strech, but it's our only chance, so I throw the ball all the way across the field, over 60 yards, and wait.
I hear the buzzer go off, and see Uriah holding the ball and lifting it in triumph. I look at the score: 28 to 26. We actually won, he actually made the catch. I can't believe it. I start to jog in as I see the people in the stands flood onto the field. I can't help but smile.
It is a few seconds until I see Tris emerge from the crowd, and I smile even wider. I immediately run over to her, and see that she is smiling too. I pick her up and spin her around in a circle while she laughs. I put her down, and she kisses me right there on the middle of the field for everyone to see. It's movie perfect.
We pull apart after a few seconds, not wanting to having a full makeout session in front of everyone. "You were amazing out there," she says.
I don't know what to say, but I do know that I miss her touch and the feeling of our skin against each other, so I give her a big hug and pick her up a bit.
She giggles, and shouts, "Four!" and I finally put her down.
"I just really love you," I say, still smiling.
"Well, it's a good thing that I really love you too," she says, and then we stand there for a few seconds just smiling at each other and looking into each other's eyes. It's perfect just standing here with my hands on her waist and her arms around my neck.
The moment is cut short with Christina shouting, "Tris! Tris!"
"Yes?" Tris shouts back, and Christina comes up as we pull apart.
"We need to get to the party!" she squeals.
I see Tris glare at her, and I can't help but laugh. I know that she hates the overly girly stuff that she is subject to under Christina. "I'll meet you there, okay?" I say.
"Okay," she says with a sigh, and Christina grabs her and pulls her off the field. I smile as I watch them go off, and see Tris look back. I mouth to her have fun, and she mouths back you're dead. I laugh.
I leave the field a few minutes later, pushing through the crowd as people say their congratulations. I finally reach my car and drive to my house. I take a quick shower, washing off the sweat and dirt from the game, and then change into a black dress shirt and jeans. I know that he first party of the year after a football game is dressy.
I mess with my hair for a few minutes until I get it just right, then head off to Zeke's house. When I get there, Zeke and Uriah are still setting up. "Hey dude," Zeke says when he sees me.
"Hey," I say in response, and then help them out. Will arrives a few minutes after me, and helps as well. A half hour after we finish, people start arriving, and soon enough the music is blaring and the alcohol is all over the house.
I know that the girls will be late as always, so I don't bother looking for Tris just yet. For most of the time, I lean against the wall watching everyone else. Zeke starts off the karaoke for the night with him and Uriah singing a duet of Problem by Ariana Grande, and it was freaking hilarious.
Lots more people get up to perform, and then Zeke tells everyone that there will be a quick break and normal music starts playing. After a few songs I realize that it is already 11:30, and Tris must be here by now.
I start looking, making my way through the people on the dance floor. I can't seem to find her anywhere. I text her, and she doesn't respond. I call her, and she doesn't pick up.
I start to worry a bit, but then I dismiss the feeling. Literally the entire school is here, and there are a lot of places I haven't looked yet. She's fine, I keep telling myself. She's fine.
I go into the backyard, where there are still a lot of people but not as many as inside. I can't seem to see her out here, so I am about to go back inside until someone taps my shoulder. I turn around, and before I even get a chance to see who it is they kiss me right on the lips.
For a second, I think that it must be Tris and start to kiss back. She then shoves her tongue into my mouth, and I know that this can't be Tris, she would never do that. I pull back, and see that it was Lauren all along.
"Hey, wanna get out of here," she says while batting her eyelashes suggestively. I can't believe she just tricked me like that, I can't believe I kissed her.
"Go away Lauren, I don't like you," I say, and start walking away.
She grabs my hand, and turns me back around. "You seemed to be pretty into me just then," she says, referring to the kiss.
I wiggle my hand out of hers. "I thought you were Tris for a second, you tricked me," I say.
"Oh come on, I'm so much better than Tris," she says, and I want to punch her but I resist because she is still a girl.
"No, you're not. You are pathetic and slutty, and I don't like you one bit. Now if you don't leave me alone, you won't leave me any choice but to beat you unconscious," I say, threateningly, and she storms off after.
I go back inside to keep looking for Tris. I check upstairs, and she isn't there either. I walk into the kitchen to check when I nearly trip over a person lying on the floor. When I see their face, I chuckle a bit. It's Eric. He passes out drunk at every party, it gets hilarious. No one likes him, he's the biggest jerk at the school.
I then see a large bruise on his jaw that is a sickening shade of purple and green. I also notice a bit of blood dripping down his chin and pooling in his mouth. He definitely didn't pass out drunk this time, someone knocked him out.
This makes me laugh even harder. Whoever did this has guts, I wonder who did it.
There is no one else in the kitchen, so I walk out leaving Eric where he is on the floor. Knowing him, he probably deserved it.
I don't know where else to look, so I go back to the living room. I see that Zeke started up the karaoke again because a person I don't know is currently singing Holy Grail by Jay Z.
I am now getting more worried, I can't find Tris anywhere. I text her a few more times, and call her again, but she hasn't responded.
About a half hour later, I spot unmistakable blonde hair across the room. I want to go up to her, but she doesn't see me yet, so I go up to Zeke.
"Hey, can I go up next?" I ask him. I had been planning to sing again for Tris tonight.
"Ssure," he says, definitely buzzed. After the person finishes, Zeke hands me the microphone and I make eye contact with Tris across the room.
A/N: This took longer to get up than I expected, and I apologize. But what did you all think? The rest of the party will be in next chapter.
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