Chapter 21 (One month later)
Tobias
I take a deep breath and stare at myself in the mirror. I notice every detail about myself, my hooked nose, my cold eyes, my Dumbo ears. I hate how I look. I hate me.
Despite that, exactly a month ago, Tris confessed that she wants to marry me. She said it, outright. There's nothing else she could've meant, and as far as I can tell,
no hidden meaning. You can do this, Tobias, I think to myself, and I know I'm right. Not only am I capable of doing this, but I have to. And I want to. It took a month of double dates with Christina and Will, and occasionally Zeke and Shauna, to figure out how to propose to Tris. It's the cutest thing I can think of,
and I know it'll make her happy. I just hope I don't screw it up. Before I know what I'm doing, my phone is in my hand dialing Zeke's number. He picks up on the fourth ring. "Zeke Pedrad."
"Zeke, it's me." He sighs. "Are you having second thoughts?" What?
"No, no. I'm more sure about this than anything." "Well, what's the problem then?" Fuck. He's so stubborn. I groan. "I just don't know if I'm doing this right. Be honest, Zeke. Is this proposal gonna suck?" There's silence on his end for a few seconds before he answers. "Do you want my honest opinion, Four?"
"Yeah."
A pause. "I think it's perfect. I wish I could propose to Shauna the way you're going to propose to Tris. You'll do fine. Do you wanna go over the plan again?" I nod, waiting for a few seconds before I realize he can't see me. "Oh, yeah. Walk me through it one more time." "Okay. First, you're going to take Tris to that cozy little diner by Millenium. Correct?" "Yeah, and I'll make sure to buy her the most expensive-"
Zeke laughs. "God, Four. That kind of shit doesn't matter. By the end of the night, she won't care about what went in her mouth, only about what's about to-"
"Zeke, that's fucking gross. Can we continue with the plan?"
It takes him a minute to calm down, and he continues. "Then, you're gonna go for a ride on the Ferris wheel. I'll be at the bottom, making sure everything's running okay."
"You better be," I grumble under my breath.
"What was that? You want me to stay home? Okay, I can definitely-"
"Zeke! This isn't a joke." He's really infuriating sometimes. But at least he's talking to me. Zeke and I have been distant since they pulled the plug on Uriah, but I think he's starting to forgive me. He cares enough to help me propose to Tris, and that means the world to me.
"Earth to Four. Stop dreaming about tickling your girlfriend's pus-" His cussing snaps me out of my thoughts. "Zeke, enough."
"Okay, okay. I'm sorry. Anyways. After the Ferris wheel ride, I'll follow you two lovebirds to the skating rink, and hide in the bushes. You'll skate a bit, on your shoes,
and then 'fall down' and land on top of Tris, all cute and shit. When you land on top of her, you'll roll her over and pull out the box at the same time. She'll say yes, and scream and I'll be filming the whole time. Sound good?"
I sigh. "Yeah, it sounds good. Listen, Zeke.. I just want to tell you how much I appreciate this, especially from you of all people. I know we had a tough time, and I'm really glad you're trying. Thank you."
The line is silent for a few minutes. Finally, Zeke speaks up. "You know, after Uri died, I thought I'd never forgive you. I thought I'd hate you for the rest of our lives. But I was wrong. Now don't get me wrong, I despise what you did, Tobias. I loathe that. But that doesn't make me hate you. I can't hate you, man. You're like a brother-" he chokes on the last word "-a brother to me. And I'll always be here, anything you need. I got your back, bro."
I can feel tears burning my eyes, and I know he's feeling the same way. "I'm... glad, Zeke. I gotta go. I love you, man. No homo." He chuckles before replying. "Love you too, bro. No homo. And good luck. Text me whenever you're ready." He hangs up. I put the phone in my pocket and run my hands through my hair.
Zeke's right. Everything will be just fine. I'm overreacting. One thing Zeke said in our conversation sticks in my mind as I shower and get ready to wait for Tris. "I wish I could propose to Shauna the way you're going to propose to Tris." I hate that partially because of me, Zeke's relationship will never be normal. He'll never be able to do the things Tris and I do, and I don't even know if Shauna can have kids. I ruined his life, and he still found it within himself to forgive me and continue being my best friend. I can't imagine how hard it must be to look me in the eye every day. Zeke is one of the strongest guys I've ever known. And me? I'm weak, pitiful, compared to him.
I step out of the shower and wrap a towel around myself. I spend an hour looking at all my clothes, finally picking out my normal Dauntless attire: black T-shirt and pants,
accompanied by a black belt, black socks, underwear, and black combat boots with (oddly) silver buckles. Just as I finish putting my deodorant and aftershave on, I hear the door to our apartment, and Tris's voice announcing that she's home. I take a deep breath before walking outside to meet her.
"Toooooobias. Tobias. Tobiassssss." She says my name over and over, begging me to tell her our plans for the evening, but there's no way that's happening. Tris and I are walking down the road towards Milennium park, and I can see the cafe lights in the distance. "Please tell me. I won't kiss you until you do." It's an empty threat. I know she couldn't go an hour without kissing me. And frankly, I feel the same about her.
I look down at her. Large snowflakes have settled in her blonde hair, and they twinkle each time we walk under a streetlight. She wears a dressy black coat, paired with black leggings and grey knee-high winter boots. In her ears dangle the diamond earrings I bought her for Christmas, which was two weeks ago, making today January 8th. Our engagement date. "Tris, I would love to tell you, but there's a reason I can't. I promise you'll have a great time, trust me. Okay?" I hold her hand in mine, and give it a reassuring squeeze through our mittens. Our mittens are the type where you put four fingers in one compartment, and your thumb in another, so we can't interlock our fingers, but I think it's cuter this way.
I think Tris does, too, because she blushes and a piece of her hair falls onto her face. Almost automatically I tuck it behind her ear, and her face deepens to a crimson color. I chuckle. "You're so cute when you blush." She is; she's breathtaking. The way her eyes light up when I talk, how she shudders when I touch her face. The way her breath catches when I kiss her. She's perfect. She shakes her head. "You're cute all the time." I laugh and bend down to plant a kiss on her cheek. "I love you, Beatrice." She raises an eyebrow. "Beatrice? You can only call me that on special occasions!"
I chuckle softly. "Exacly. Well, my dear, we have arrived. After you." I hold the door open for her as we enter the small cafe. The place is so warm and cozy, I couldn't help but bring Tris here. There's a fireplace on one wall, and dotting the area are numerous spots for couples to eat dinner,
a few of which are taken. I lead her to the table in front of the fireplace and pull her chair out for her.
Almost immediately after we take a seat, a waitress bustles over to our table and asks us what we'd like to drink. I order a coffee, and Tris asks for a hot chocolate.
I hand her a menu, and she scans it thoroughly. She looks confused and glances up at me. "What's a... 'poutine?'" She pronounces it like poo-teen, and I smile at her. "Poutine. It comes from a place called Canada. It's fries, gravy, and cheese. I've never had it, but Will told me it's fantastic." At that moment, our waitress walks to our table holding a notepad. "Ready to order?" she asks us sweetly, and I gesture for Tris to go first. "Ummmmm, I'm gonna try the poutine, please." The waitress jots it down and smiles.
"Great choice. And you, sir?" I think about it for a second. "Make that two poutines, please." She nods and rushes away to prepare our dinner. Tris sips her hot chocolate and stares at me. "So, where did you find this place?" she asks.
"Exactly right here," I reply smartly, and she sighs dramatically. "Oh, Tobias. You know what I meant."
I nod. "You love me. Well, actually, Will told me he took Christina here a couple times. He said she loved it, and I figured you would, too."
"Well, you were right. I adore it. We have to come back here." "We will. I promise." At that moment, the waitress arrives with two delicious-looking plates of poutine. She sets one in front of each of us, and my mouth waters at the smell. The waitress, Kathy, (I read her nametag), notices our looks and laughs. "Is this your first poutine?" she asks, and we both nod. "Well, all I'll say is it's better with ketchup. Enjoy, you two." She walks away to order drinks for a couple who just came in. I eye my food and glance at Tris, and she's already devouring it. She moans, causing me to stir a bit below the belt. "That good?" I ask her, and she replies. "Mmmm... yeah. Try it, Tobias," she says with her mouth full, and I oblige. I squirt ketchup all over my poutine and cautiously take a bite. Oh my God. This is amazing. I eat bite after bite until my plate is scraped clean, and I'm wiping my face with a napkin when Kathy comes to grab our plates. "So, how was it?" she inquires, and before I can speak, Tris pipes up. "Um, perfect. Glorious. Incredible." Kathy laughs at Tris's enthusiasm. "Well, tell you what. Since you liked my food so much, this one's on the house." I open my mouth and close it. That must've been a thirty point meal! (A/N: In my mind, one point is equal to one dollar, so yeah.) Before I can protest, Kathy holds up a hand, balancing our plates and mugs in the other. "Don't bother. You guys deserve it. Stay in love, and try to stay young. It's worth it." And with that, she makes her way to the kitchen. I turn to Tris, and her face mirrors mine. "Well, okay. That works. Shall we?" She nods, and we walk out of the restaurant. A city bus happens to be parked at the bus stop a block away, and we hop on. I swipe me point card, and the bus driver tells me it'll be about fifteen minutes to the Ferris wheel.
Tris and I take a seat about midway down the length of the bus. I wrap my arm around her shoulders and pull her close. "Thank you," she says, and I kiss her forehead. "Of course, love. It's my pleasure." She lifts her head up and I gently press my lips to hers. "So, where to next?" she asks, and I shake my head. It's incredible how stubborn she is. "Well, I guess it won't hurt to tell you the next part. We're taking a ride on the Ferris wheel." Tris almost jumps out of her seat at this. "Oh my God, Tobias. You're incredible." She kisses my cheek, and I turn my head so our lips meet, and by the time we break apart we've arrived at our destination and the doors hiss open. I thank the driver as we exit the bus and make our way to the wheel. Zeke is nowhere in site, but my phone vibrates with a text message. I read it, and it says -4. Can c u. Get in wheel.
I shake my head. How people understand Zeke's text lingo is beyond me. I lead Tris to a seat, and when we sit down, I reach under and pull out a blanket I had Zeke plant for me. She stares at it like it has two heads or something before looking up at me. "I know I already said this, but you're incredible." I kiss her cheek and we sit in silence until we reach the top of the wheel. Oddly, the height doesn't bother me anymore. I guess I must be Three now. I make a mental note to go through my fear landscape sometime in the future. I look down, and notice Tris's feet sticking out of the blanket. One of the buckles on her boot has come undone, and I smile as I lower myself to one knee in front of her.
Tris
My eyes grow wide as Tobias gets down on one knee in front of me. Oh my God. Oh. My. God.
This isn't happening. No way. My breath rushes out and Tobias looks at me funny. I look down to see him buckle my boot, and something inside me deflates. "Tris, are you okay?" he asks, and I nod. "Yeah, I'm fine. I just thought.." What do I say? How do I tell him I badly want him to propose, to make me his fiancee, and then his wife, without hurting him? Tobias looks at me expectantly, and I flounder for a lie. "I thought the blanket was going to fall." I offically win the award for lamest excuse in history. Ever. He pulls me close, and it takes a lot of willpower for me not to shy away. I can't let him know he hurt me, not while our date is going so well. "I love you, Tris," he murmurs, and it makes me feel a little better to hear that. I return the sentiment, and before we can say anything else, our seat has reached the bottom of the wheel. "I wasn't scared," Tobias blurts out, and I stare at him. He continues.
"I expected the same thing to happen again, my heart rate to skyrocket, my chest constricting, hyperventilation, but it didn't. I just.. wasn't afraid. I guess I'm three now." He grins at me, and I hug him. "Tobias, that's incredible. Do you want to make sure, though?" I can tell he knows I mean fear landscape, because his eyes harden and he steps away from me. "Eventually. Not now, though. We have one last stop to make before we go home. And no, I'm not telling you this one." I laugh. "You know me so well," I tell him, and he doesn't reply, just takes off running in the direction we came from. So he wants to race. "Tobias, that is so unfair. Wait till I catch up!" I take off after him, and jump on his back when I reach him. I expect him to trip, or at least stagger a little under my weight, but he just continues like nothing happened. I scream as he barrels towards Millennium Park. "Tobias!" I manage to get out, and he stops abruptly. "Yes?" he says, and he isn't even out of breath. I, on the other hand, can barely breathe. "You're crazy," I tell him as I slide to the ground behind him. "Only about you," he replies, and I feel my cheeks redden. I look around us, and I realize we're at the skating rink. A thin layer of snow covers the pond, gradually thickening as it perpetually falls from the sky. I turn and look at my boyfriend. "Tobias, this is amazing. I... don't have words. Thank you." And despite being in public, where anyone could easily see us, I press myself to him and crash my lips to his. I run my tongue along his lip, begging for entrance, and he lets me in. Our tongues dance a passionate dance, and I tug on his lip with my teeth before pulling away enough to look into his eyes. We're both breathless as I stare into his eyes. "I love you," we whisper at the same time, and we both blush. I wrap my arms around his waist and lay my head against his chest. We stay like that for a few minutes before I hear a bird chirp.
What? A bird chirping in the middle of winter is rather odd. We learned in Upper Levels that most birds migrate south for the winter, to stay warm and have babies. Tobias steps back, and before I can comment on the bird, he says "Let's go skating," and pulls me to the pond. We don't have skates, but Tobias doesn't seem to care. He rushes onto the ice and within seconds falls flat on his face. I fall to my knees, clutching my side as I try to catch my breath from laughter. I hear his voice, muffled by snow. "Tris, come on! It's fun!" I shake my head and slowly make my way onto the ice. Tobias manages to make his way to me, and by the time he reaches me, we're both covered in snow. I throw some in his face and he spits at me playfully. He stands beside me, and grabs my hand. "I want to try something," he says, and I nod. "On three."
"One."
"Two"
"Three."
And on three, he slides me around his body and spins me so I'm facing him. We travel a few feet, but all of a sudden my feet slip and I'm falling, pulling him with me. I close my eyes, expecting his weight to land on me and crush me, but nothing happens. My eyes open, and he's holding himself up on his elbows so his face is inches from mine. We're close enough that I can feel his breath on my face. "That was fun, eh?" he says, and I laugh shakily. "Well, I thought I was gonna die," I reply, and he pretends to pout. "Is that a fat joke?" Tobias jokes, and I put a hand over my mouth. "No, Tobias, of course not. You're perfect." He shakes his head, and smiles a little bit. He cocks his head, studying my face. I want more than anything to kiss him right now, but something tells me I should wait. Female intuition, maybe. "Can you do something for me, Beatrice?" Tobias asks me, and I nod. What could he want me to do? "I want you to close your eyes, and don't open them until I say so. Promise me you won't look." "I, Beatrice Grace Prior, promise you, Tobias Alexander Eaton, that I will not so much as crack my eyelids open unless you otherwise command me." He chuckles.
"God, you're weird. Now, close them."
I oblige. I close my eyes. I can hear him moving around above me, fidgeting. His breathing rate is fast. I hear a bus drive by the park, and a gentle wind rustles the trees. A pile of snow falls and hits the ground. I can feel his breath on my face, and before I can register anything else, He is flipping me over so he's under me, and I'm on top of him. I keep my eyes shut, until he whispers, "Open your eyes, Beatrice."
I do. Tobias is lying underneath me, a small smile on his face. I meet his eyes, and my gaze travels to his chest, where in his cupped hands rests an open black velvet box.
Nestled inside this box is a band of gray and black. An unmistakeable engagement ring. I sit up, so I'm cross-legged between his legs, and cover my mouth with my hands. Tears brim in my eyes as Tobias begins to speak the words I've wanted to hear since his hands pulled me from the net in Dauntless an eternity ago.
"Beatrice Grace Prior," he begins, sitting up so he can look me in the eyes. "When you jumped into my life, I had plans to leave. I was ready to become factionless, to live a life of poverty and hopelessness. Because I was hopeless. I had no hope, no reason to live anymore. Until you came into my life."
He cups my face with one hand, the other still holding the ring. "As soon as I laid eyes on you, I changed my mind. Your eyes, your determination and strength, your sheer selflessness and incredible beauty, drew me to you. I had never been attracted to anybody before that day, and I instantly fell in love with you.
And since then, we've both grown. You changed me, from a hard, emotionless rock into a man capable of love, something I never thought I'd do. You turned who I thought I was upside down and inside out, and I can't tell you what it means to me.
I've almost lost you too many times, and I can't imagine ever having to lose you for real. I want you to be mine, Beatrice. I want to protect you, day and night. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Beatrice, will you do me the incredible honor of becoming my wife?" He's kneeling before me now, offering me the ring, and tears are streaming down my face. I take the ring wordlessly, and slip it on my finger.
"Yes," I whisper, and the smile on his face is something I wish I could see every second of every day. "Oh my God, Tobias, yes. Of course I'll marry you." He lifts me up and spins me around, kissing me and hugging me so tight I begin to see spots.
"Can't breathe," I manage to get out, and he sets me down. He cups my face in his hands, and before he can kiss me, I crash my lips to his. We spend what seems like forever standing in the middle of the pond, kissing and hugging. Finally, we pull apart, and he looks at me with utter love in his eyes. "Thank you," is all he says, but in those two words, a thousand emotions are conveyed. We stare into each others eyes, losing ourselves in love.
Our trance is broken by a slow, steady clapping, gradually getting louder. I turn around, and none other than Zeke Pedrad is making his way toward us, clapping and grinning at Tobias. "Zeke?" I ask, and he stops. "What are you doing here?" He looks at Tobias, and Tobias nods. "Filming," Zeke replies, and I'm confused for a second.
"Film... Oh. OH." That, is the best possible thing Tobias could have done. His entire proposal was caught on tape. Tears spill over again, and Tobias wipes them away. He holds me, until we hear Zeke mutter "shit".
No. No fucking way. There is no way Zeke forgot to hit the record button on that goddamned camera. He looks up at us sheepishly, and backs away before speaking. "If I, um, forgot to hit record, on a scale of one to Eric on a good day, how mad would you be?" We slowlyt advance on Zeke, and he looks more afraid by the second. Tobias answers him first. "I imagine that was rhetorical, but I'd be a solid ten. Tris? I imagine she's about three or four hundred." Zeke stops and straightens. "Well, good thing I did record it, then." I walk to Zeke and slap him. "That is not fucking funny. Well, okay, maybe it is, but still." Tobias chuckles, and so does Zeke. I giggle, and before we know it, the three of us are rolling in the snow laughing. "Well, congratulations, you two," Zeke tells us as we make our way to his car. "I knew for a long time that this would happen. I'm proud of you both. You two can have the back seat."
I slide into the back seat of Zeke's car, and Tobias sits beside me. Within minutes, I'm falling asleep, and the last thing I hear is Tobias tell me he loves me. I attempt to tell him I love him too, and thank you for such an incredible night, it was perfect and I can't believe you proposed, but I'm too far gone.
So, there it is. Fourtris is engaged! I know it was a bit lame, but I have a harder time writing as Tris than as Tobias. Also, this is the longest chapter yet. Thanks for reading!