A/N: Back with another chappie! Well here ya go!
To the reviewer who went by the name "Hi": Do not worry! We have a plan of revenge (can't say who though or else we'll ruin it) on one of the characters coming up in a future chapter. It will be brutal, not MacGyverish, but we don't think it will disappoint on badass-ness! (If it isn't good enough, let us know and we will work on it :D )
****Tris's POV****
After lunch, Tobias dropped me off at my house where Christina was waiting. "We need to get ready for the town dance! Come on Tris!" I roll my eyes. Typical Cristina wanting to dress me up and do my make-up like I'm a doll.
I slide on my dress and Christina straightens my hair and adds some glittery clips as accents. Christina puts makeup on me: eyeliner, mascara, eye shadow, lipstick, blush, etc, etc, etc...
Once she finishes with me, she quickly does herself and we are ready to go to the dance. When the clock hits six Tobias' Jeep pulls in the driveway. He and Will come up to the front door to meet me and Christina. We decided to a restaurant called Candor, seeing as Will didn't want to go to the restaurant he works at.
I sit in the passenger seat and buckle myself in as Tobias pulls out. My dress feels awkward beneath the nylon strap. Christina and Will chatter in the backseat, whereas Tobias and I stay quiet. We don't feel the need to be constantly talking, because we only say what needs to be said. I like that about him.
When we arrive at the restaurant, a waitress with black hair and blue eyes comes over to seat us and take our orders. The restaurant is extremely busy.
"Four margaritas," Tobias says immediately, causing a grin to snap onto my face. If Caleb would have come with us, this wouldn't be happening.
Will and Christina laugh because Tobias used his nickname in a sentence.
I order a salad for my meal, wanting to eat light and not pop out of my dress and Christina does the same. Tobias orders a roadhouse steak with fries, and Will orders a taco salad.
Christina and I excuse ourselves to go to the bathroom before our food comes.
***Tobias's POV***
Girls and their need to go to the bathroom in packs. Christina and Tris get up to go to the bathroom together, like typical girls do.
"My guitar is still in the Jeep right?" Will asks.
"Uhhh.." I start, seeing a look of worry start to form on Will's face.
"Don't tell me you forgot it!" He yells.
I smile, "Dude chill, I was messing with you, your guitar is still in the Jeep."
He breathes a sigh of relief. "I was thinking. How about I do it before the dance, so then Christina can show me off at the dance."
Time Lapse!
***Will's POV***
I can feel my hands sweating as I pull the guitar out of the jeep. The girls stayed inside with Four to pay the bill. I slide the strap over my shoulder, and strum a few chords.
When I see Christina come out I start strumming and press my fingers into the steel cords. Here goes nothing.
***Tobias's POV***
When I walk out of the restaurant with the girls Will is strumming his guitar. When he sees Christina he starts to sing:
"A hundred and five is the number that comes to my head
When I think of all the years I wanna be with you
Wake up every morning with you in my bed
That's precisely what I plan to do
And you know one of these days when I get my money right
Buy you everything and show you all the finer things in life
We'll forever be in love, so there ain't no need to rush
But one day I won't be able to ask you loud enough
I'll say, "Will you marry me?"
I swear that I will mean it
I'll say, "Will you marry me?"
Ooh whoa ooh oh
Ooh whoa ooh oh
Ooh whoa ooh oh
Oh, yeah
How many girls in the world can make me feel like this?
Baby I don't ever plan to find out
The more I look, the more I find the reasons why
You're the love of my life
You know one of these days when I get my money right
Buy you everything and show you all the finer things in life
We'll forever be in love, so there ain't no need to rush
But one day I won't be able to ask you loud enough
I'll say, "Will you marry me?"
I swear that I will mean it
I'll say, "Will you marry me?"
And if I lost everything
In my heart it means nothing
'Cause I have you,
Girl, I have you
To get right down on bended knee
Nothing else would ever be better, better
That day when...
I'll say, "Will you marry me?"
I swear that I will mean it
I'll say, "Will you marry me?"
I'll say, "Will you marry me?"
(I'll get down on one knee)
I swear that I will mean it
I'll say, "Will you marry me?"
Got me singing
Ooh whoa ooh oh
Got me singing
Ooh whoa ooh oh
Would you marry me, baby?"
I look to see Christina crying and she bobs her head up and down at Will
Will finishes his song:
"A hundred and five is the number that comes to my head
When I think of all the years I wanna be with you
Wake up every morning with you in my bed
That's precisely what I plan to do, yeah"
There are tears running down Christina's eyes, and she looks to Will and runs to him. Will pulls a ring out of his pocket and puts it on her finger as she squeals.
I look to Tris, who now has tears in her eyes, and she embraces me in a hug. She looks up at me and I lean down to kiss her.
We pull into the parking lot of the town dance at the civic center. We get out of the Jeep, Will and I pull the corsages out of the trunk, ready to give them to our fiancees. The one I got for Tris is a mixture of white and blue flowers to match her dress, whereas Christina's in just white. I move to the passenger side to help Tris out of the Jeep like a gentleman would for a lady coming out of a carriage.
I present the corsage to her, and her face is graced with a smile. I put it on her wrist and grab her hand, watching Christina and Will hug. Once their "moment" is over, we head inside. The outside is covered in streamers and balloons, so I don't expect the inside to be able to top it.
When we walk in it's revealed that the inside is more jazzed up than the outside, streamers hanging from the ceiling, and balloons scattering the floor, tables of food, and people dancing everywhere. Throughout the halls, the gymnasium and the auditorium there are decorations. As a group we gravitate towards the dance floor.
We stand in a line along the edge of the people dancing, our backs almost pressed up against the wall for all of the people here. Most girls are in longer dresses like Christina and Tris, but a few have on dresses resembling ballerina skirts. I can see Edward manning the DJ station and realize why good songs are playing.
Unfortunately, Will also sees Edward and exclaims that he didn't know he would be the DJ. He drags Christina along with him to say hi and undoubtedly get caught up in a long conversation. Tris and I watch them weave through the crowd.
"How about I go get us some punch?" I ask.
She smiles. "Sounds great. Get it before it gets spiked."
I chuckle and give her a chaste kiss before heading to the cafeteria section. I make a detour to the bathroom, deciding that a margarita really wasn't the best choice for my bladder. On the way I swear I see silky black hair, but when I move to investigate, my perp is gone. I shake my head and brush it off, continuing my path to the men's room.
***Peter's POV***
When Eric reaches us, I pull away from Lauren. "Peter boy, moving from chick to chick?" Eric questions.
"Lauren, this is Eric. Eric, this is my fiancee," I say.
"Well nice to meet you Lauren. Julia this is Lauren, Lauren this is my fiancee," mimics Eric.
Lauren and Julia give each other quick glances before looking back to us. The muscles in my jaw move as I struggle to keep my comments to myself, a trait that I've never had.
"Does Lauren know about Tris and Julia?" Eric asks, laughing. "Oh, honey, let me tell you!" he looks at Lauren.
She crosses her arms in a disinterested way, but he still continues.
"He kidnapped Tris for quite a while, even had her phone bugged. She has a boyfriend, too. Then, he moves on to Julia over here. Let's just say they 'hooked up.' Good luck," he snorts.
I clench my hands into fists, only to make him jump on the subject more.
"Poor Peter even got beat up by Tris's boyfriend. I bet you were wondering how he got that shiner on his eye. Or maybe that was his dad? Wait, it couldn't have been, because he's dead!" Eric gives me a smirk.
"Wow, what a loser," Julia says, making both her and Eric laugh.
"At least I didn't give a blowjob to a guy who's best friend I'm dating," I find slip out of my lips.
"Best friend?" Eric asks with amusement. "Right. Just to let you know, Peter, we were never friends. It was fun to help you with your schemes for a while, but then you got weird. Maybe daddy hit you too many times."
Lauren seems to snap back to reality with this comment, giving Eric a cold glare. He must have somehow struck a nerve about her own father.
"Your mom was no help with the situation, either. Remember how you used to tell me over and over how you just wanted her to stand up to him and stop it? She ended up dead because she couldn't open her fat, damn, mouth."
I'm seeing red. My vision is blurry, but not from tears. The entire earth spins and every other person but Eric is not there. How could he do this to me? Had I been so blind as to not see his betrayal; his disloyalty?
The smirk on his mouth is smacked right off, quite literally.
"Eric, you're a douche-canoe, you should take a look in a mirror and see what a freaking punk who can't get a chick other than one that sleeps with everyone. You know how many times she's been engaged? So many times, that I can't count them on all my finger and toes," Lauren then looks to Julia, "Ya, word got around to the people on Factionless drive. Actually, all the guys asked me if I was like Julia, there one night, gone the next." Lauren looks back over to Eric, "She'll slip right through your little jerk fingers. Don't trust her for a second you douche-canoe." Lauren grabs my hand, "Let's get away from the whore and the douche-bag. I hope they both rot in hell. Let's go have some fun." She pecks me on the lips and turns us to go inside.
I'm almost as dumbfounded as Eric and Julia are, but I let her guide me through the front doors. She stood up for me? She hit Eric for me? Who is this girl?
Lauren and I head for the punch bowl straight away, and while I'm ladeling the red liquid into our plastic cups, she pulls out a flask and dumps its contents into the punch. She gives me a small smile that reeks of fake innocence.
"I just thought the party needed a bit more fun to it."
We go to the dancefloor, Lauren pulling me along and rocking back and forth to the music. I would have expected her to not be into this kind of thing, but I was wrong about her before. She grabs my hands and talks over the music.
"Was what he said true? Because if it is, you really have a screwed up life."
I nod my head in response. She opens her mouth to say something else, but is cut off when someone accidentally bumps into her. It's Will and Christina, who rush to apologize and then run off when they see me. They go to Edward to chat.
"You know them?" Lauren asks me.
I pull a hand from hers and scratch the back of my head. "Sort of. They're friends with Tris."
"I see. Hey, I'm going to go get us some punch," she grins widely and winks at me, "so I'll be back soon."
She rushes off before I can even agree, leaving me alone like an idiot. I quickly try to correct that by moving to outer parts of the crowd. Once here, I see what I was dreading: Tris.
She stands in the beautiful blue dress that she bought when I attacked her at the mall. I can't help a pang of something resembling guilt in my stomach. She doesn't see me yet, and for that I'm grateful. I don't know what I'd even say to her.
Eric apparently has a lot he'd like to get off of his chest, because he strides over to her, without Julia but not without confidence. He grabs her arm and I flinch at the contact. Tris doesn't and instead jerks away from him.
I can barely make out their conversation…
"Don't touch me," Tris hisses.
"Come on, princess, I'm not Peter. I'm not going to hurt you," he taunts.
"Tobias is coming soon. You should leave." Her words sound eerily familiar to what she told me before.
"He can't make me princess," he says and touches her chest. Tris slaps his hand away and I feel as though I need to step in and help. I was the one who got her involved with Eric in the first place.
As I start navigating the crowd to get to them, Eric grabs Tris's wrists and pulls her away. There are so many people, and I attempt to follow them, but eventually lose their trail. I hate to admit it, but I need Lauren's help to catch him.
***Tris's POV***
Tobias excuses himself to get us some punch, and I'm left alone on the dance floor. I try not to feel awkward, but I feel so alone. I don't feel right without Tobias. I see Eric in the distance, and just ignore him. I scan the crowd, looking for Christina when I feel someone grasp my arm. I turn to see Eric. What does Eric want? I set Peter up with Julia, now Eric must be jealous and want me... great.
"Wow Tris, nice dress. It would go really good on the carpet of my room," he says, shooting chills down my spine.
"What in the hell do you want, Eric? You jealous that Peter has Julia now?" I question.
"Wowww," he says, shocked, "I stole Julia from him in less than 24 hours. Then I took her here and she strolled off with some old friend, I assumed it was you, but I guess I was wrong. Now I want you Tris," he says with a smirk on his face.
"Don't touch me," I hiss.
"Come on, princess, I'm not Peter. I'm not going to hurt you," he taunts.
"Four is coming soon. You should leave," I say with stellar confidence
"He can't make me princess," he says and touches my chest. I slap his hand off in haste.
He grabs hold of my wrists instead, dragging me away from the crowd of people and my safety. Where is Tobias? Or Will or Christina? I look around in vain to try and locate any of them. Eric continues to pull me closer to an abandoned hallway. I feel my stomach growing sick and turbulent as we near corridor, bile coming in the back of my throat.
He thrusts me against a wall, both hands locking above my shoulders to keep me in place. I notice how up close, he's not an attractive guy. All the angles on his face that make him look hardened are too straight and unrounded. His eyes pierce mine and a frown lines his mouth, as if he can hear what I'm thinking about him.
"You're mine now, princess." He chuckles. "It's funny, Peter couldn't get to you even with my help, and yet here I am. And here you are."
I fight off the shaking of my hands and the wobbliness of my knees. I can do this. I can be strong. I can fight him off. I can be brave.
His hand reaches for my waist to pull me closer to him. When I protest, he jerks me harder into the wall behind us. Some kind of panelling digs deep into my back and I have to hold a scream of pain in.
He lifts his hand, about to strike me into submission, when something clamps over his mouth like an iron vice. He is pulled back and thrown to the ground, where he huddles in a fetal position for a further attack. When it doesn't come, he tries standing back up. A heel keeps him in place.
A girl with dark hair, blue eyes, and a very short black dress stands over him with her hands on her hips and a glare on her face. She looks like the type to normally have an attitude, and now that she's mad it's even worse.
A shuffling noise makes me look up to Peter standing only three feet from me. His dark green eyes hold an emotion that I've never seen before and can't quite put my finger on. He wears a tux and has his silky black hair combed through quite nicely.
"Tris," he says, taking a step towards me. I immediately jump back and into the wall, remembering what Eric said about Julia not working out for him. Does he still want to try and kidnap me, or does he have this mystery girl?
He lifts both hands slowly. "Tris, I'm not going to hurt you."
Despite his strange behavior just the other day at his apartment, I don't believe a word that comes out of his mouth. He sounds genuine, but after all he's done, I can't bring myself to chance trusting him. And so I run.
The girl has caught up to me in less than a second with her lightning fast reflexes and has hold of my upper arm. She spins me around and huffs at me.
"He's telling the truth! He drug me along to help him find you," she says while jerking me back towards where he stands, arms at his sides.
"Find me? That can't be good," I say under my breath.
"I know what he's done to you, but he's not that person anymore. At least, not from what I've seen. I'm his fiancee, so if he lays a finger on you, I'll kick his butt."
I smile slightly at her comment and know that Peter's got his hands full with this girl. We approach him more quickly now that I've agreed to it and reach him within seconds. Eric hasn't attempted to get up yet.
"Thank you, for helping me," I say to him. Eric's mouth opens with a snarky comment ready to spew. The girl's foot kicks it back down.
"Listen, Tris, what you did with Julia? That was… generous. You at least tried to make peace. I'm, well, I'm not exactly sorry for what I did to you, but I'm sorry I made you feel like crap."
He averts his eyes to the ground and I bite back a laugh. That's the best apology I'll get from him, I suppose, and it's better than nothing. The girl kicks Eric in the face one last time to knock him out cold. If anyone walks by, they'll just assume he's drunk out of his mind.
"You've met my fiancee, Lauren," Peter says as we turn to go back to the dance.
"How'd you guys meet?" I ask out of actual curiosity.
"We were paired together early," Lauren informs me.
"Oh, I didn't kno-" I begin to say.
"Tris!" Tobias calls out from the entrance to the hall. His expression is a mixture between relief, confusion, and anger. He looks from me to Peter, then back to me, then over to Lauren.
"Stay away from her!" he calls out to Peter. Like me, he still distrusts Peter after the incident at his apartment. Lauren's presence seems to calm him a little.
"It's fine. Eric attacked me and they helped me get away from him," I console.
He finally looks to Eric's body at the ground. There's a bruise by his mouth and blood spills from a busted lip thanks to Lauren's heel.
"Lauren? What are you doing here?" Tobias asks her.
"I'm Peter's fiancee now. What about you? I thought you were still fighting. Do you still go by Four?"
Peter and I exchange a glance of confusion, and for the first time ever I feel something other than neutrality or anger or fear. I look away quickly and hide a stray blush from the awkwardness of the connection.
"You know it," he tells Lauren.
She laughs. "Bet you can't knock me out in four seconds anymore!"
So that's where his nickname comes from? He never told me the story, and I never thought to ask. It became such a common thing to think of him as Four that I didn't question it or its origin. Tobias shakes his head.
"Bet I can! What about you? Where'd you go after fighting?"
Her expression darkens. "Factionless drive."
Tobias finally looks to Peter and I. "We did MMA together at the same studio. I didn't know she was even still in the city."
"Well, as great as this little reunion is, we better get going before Eric wakes the hell up," Peter brings to our attention.
"For once, I agree with you, Peter," I say.
We move back through the cafeteria and onto the dance floor. Tobias mentions not getting punch, and Lauren tells him not to worry about it. We find Christina and Will sitting at the DJ stand by Edward, Christina on Will's lap. They seem content for the time being and I decide to hold off on texting her to come meet us so I can tell her what happened.
"We're heading out early tonight," Peter says quietly.
"It was nice seeing you again, Lauren," Tobias says. He grabs my hand while we watch the two leave. I feel strange knowing that Peter has now saved me twice, once from his father and now once from Eric. But I know Peter, and there's no guarantee that he won't change back to how he was before. The question is, can Peter save me from himself?
Tobias pulls me from my thoughts by saying, "Do you?"
I blink at him. "What?"
He gives me a small smile. "I said that they're playing the song for engaged couples to dance to. Do you want to dance with me, fiance?"
"Oh," I blush, "of course. Let's go."
He wraps an arm around my waist and sweeps us to a good spot to dance in. He knows simple steps and the song is pretty, so the dance is an overall success. I lean my head against his chest and forget all that has happened to me tonight. In fact, I forget all that's happened to me since he first came into my life. All there is is the here and now with Tobias's arms around me.
A/N: So, a lot happened in this chapter, and Peter's "transformation" is coming along. Keep in mind this is NOT a Petris story, but we still like him. Question of the Chapter: Do you guys like Lauren and where we're headed with this? (Lame question, we know, but we want to make this story good!)