Paper Planes: Chapter Four
Her dark hair reached towards the mulch when she threw her head back as the swing descended to the ground, her laugh drifting through the breeze. The air was starting to chill by October and Tobias gripped the cold chains of his own swing loosely, watching her with a tiny, amused smile.
The sun was slowly starting to creep over the horizon, spilling sunshine like a broken egg yolk. The sky was painted a serene blue that day.
The playground was completely abandoned, except for the two teenagers.
Nita squealed excitedly as her swing reached its highest point and she jumped from it. She landed badly on her feet and her body wobbled before she rolled to the ground. Tobias shot from his swing and ran to her, and when he tugged her into sitting position, she just laughed. Little leaves were stuck in her thick, straight hair.
He saw a fire in her eyes then. He lightly gripped her face with one hand and, with the other, pulled the pieces of nature from her hair. He looked at her adoringly.
"Now you can check 'playing at a playground before sunrise' off your bucket list." Nita informed him, hopping onto the hood of his car and crossing her legs. They were bare, her light yellow sundress rode up, exposing goosebumps layering her skin. His jacket was around her shoulders. She didn't seem bothered by the chilly, morning temperature.
"I can also check off 'having the most beautiful girlfriend'." Tobias replied, putting his hands on either side of her legs, enclosing her.
She hummed and leaned in, pressing a kiss to his lips. He warmed up automatically. She pulled away first.
"I've got sandwiches in the car." Tobias told her and she clapped her hands together.
He got the car two weeks ago, for his sixteenth birthday. It was certainly a beauty; a sleek, vintage Corvette Stingray. He gushed about it to Nita over the phone when his dad left for work- Tobias was surprised he even remembered his birthday, let alone got him an amazing car -but Nita didn't seem too thrilled about the type of car, she just cared about all the free rides she could get. Her sixteenth birthday wasn't until May.
He handed her a peanut butter sandwich, no jelly because he knew how much she detested it, and he bit into his own.
She reached into the pocket of her sundress and pulled out a flask. She unscrewed it with her teeth and held it under his nose. It smelled like the nail polish remover he remembered his mother using and he wrinkled his nose. "Athletic Code of Conduct." Is all he said and she shrugged, tipping her head back and downing the alcohol. He didn't dare to remind her that she, also, had a Code of Conduct for cheerleading. He took another bite of his sandwich. The peanut butter glued his mouth shut.
His girlfriend was breathtaking. He knew that, so did everyone else, but that didn't mean she was perfect. She had her habits, ones that he wasn't proud to share with anyone else. She drank like his father and every time he kissed her, he tried to forget that her mouth tasted like an ashtray.
"So, I wanted to talk to you about something." Tobias started as Nita finished her sandwich. She regarded him, her thin eyebrows furrowing.
She reached over, taking his hand. Her hand was freezing and her nails were long points. "What's that?"
"When am I meeting your parents?" He asked, watching as she looked out on the horizon.
She automatically exhaled and dropped his hand. "That's what this is about?" She laughed. "You worried me."
"Nita, it's been, like, three months-"
"Ugh, Tobias," Nita groaned, flicking her hair over her shoulder. She unscrewed the cap of the flask and took another gulp. "stop suffocating me. You have to give me time! My family is, like, crazy."
Tobias's eyes widened. He witnessed that Nita before: the defensive Nita that, if you press too hard, will flip out. But, he wasn't used to it yet.
"I'm just asking-"
"Well, stop." She said harshly and he cringed away from her. "It'll happen at the right time."
"Okay." Tobias murmured. "Sorry I asked. Jesus."
"It's okay." Nita replied smoothly, like he did something wrong and she was just reassuring him. Like a baby who pulled the dog's tail. He tried not to get annoyed. She hopped from the hood of the car and turned to him. "Race you to the Merry-Go-Round!" And then she took off, her long, dark hair flying behind her. Her laugh drifted toward him and he couldn't help but follow its trail, trying to forget what happened.
But, he copied the look in her eyes to his memory. There was a fire there, burning brightly in her chocolate eyes and he's seen that familiar fire somewhere else-
Whack!
His forehead smacks the top of the lunch table as his elbow is shoved off the surface, forcing his hand to stop supporting his head. The memories fly from his mind.
"What the fuck-" He groans, lifting his head and rubbing a hand to it.
Zeke shoves a handful of potato chips into his mouth. "You've been staring for the past five minutes." He speaks with his mouth full and his shoulders form a shrug.
He looks across the cafeteria and finds Nita giggling with her friends. She doesn't sit with him anymore, which is a given, but it still surprises him every time she takes a seat at a table at the opposite end of the room.
"That doesn't mean you have the right to physically abuse me." Tobias mutters and Zeke pats him on his back. He looks down at his apple core. When did he eat an apple?
"You're right. I'm sorry, honey." Zeke apologizes, fake sincerity oozing from his voice. "I'll just stick to what I do best: emotionally abusing you."
"You're an asshole."
"But, I'm your asshole, right?"
"Stop talking." Tobias tells him, rubbing his temples. "I have a headache now."
He hears him chew another handful of chips. It radiates through his skull. He wonders if he has a giant red welt on his forehead. It sure feels like it.
A high-pitched scream grabs his attention, as well as everyone else in the cafeteria, and he whips his head towards the disturbance.
Tris sits at the round table right in the center of the room, laughing and squealing as food is thrown her way by the other people at the table. She grabs a spoon and launches a tater-tot at a girl with deep mocha skin and dark hair. The girl just catches it, with a free hand that isn't holding a utensil, and pops it into her mouth. Tris bursts into laughter and lobs another one as an apple slice is thrown at her head, hitting her ponytail. She playfully glares at the culprit.
The entire table is loud and alive, smiling and laughing while food flies, but everyone around them sneers and rolls their eyes. Tobias just watches the blonde as her checks alight with a pink hue and her eyes are flaming. Hair falls from her ponytail as she pulls her arm back to throw another food-bomb at her next victim.
He can't help but notice that the innocence of her blush is adorable. He doesn't know her, doesn't want to because she reminds him too much of Nita and her rebellious, wild ways, but he does know that she skips class, thrives for detention, and has a foul mouth. She's a bad girl, but the little flush of her cheeks is endearing to him.
He wonders how he's never noticed her before. She's been in his lunch every year, probably since grade school, but now he's finally just realized her existence. And her existence is loud. So loud it's hard to not notice her and watch with curiosity. Tobias thinks it would be a crime to not acknowledge her presence.
There's just something about her that demands justice.
He doesn't want to know her. He doesn't want to be put through another hurricane that is a bad girl's life. No, Tobias doesn't want to know her, but you can't always get what you want.
His entire body is set on fire as she takes her eyes off the fight to look right at him. He shivers, despite the intense heat washing over him, and her eyes dig into him, looking into every crevices, examining him. Finally, her mouth curves into her usual smirk.
Her eye closes in a sly wink and he gulps, looking back down at his apple core.
He looks for her in the swarm of teenagers wearing black-and-red marching band uniforms.
It's difficult to pinpoint her with everyone moving at once, dressed in the same thing. But, finally, he notices the shortest clarinet and watches, her face contorted in concentration. Tendrils of blonde hair are falling from her hat and sticking to her face with sweat, caused by the humid, late summer night. The instrument is in her mouth and her fingers move quickly over the keys. He can't take his eyes off her.
She looks so real. Her face is blotchy red and slick with sweat and her hair is shoved into the hat. Her uniform is shapeless on her and, honestly, not attractive in any way, but he likes her this way. So focused she doesn't have time to think about which way she should shift her face to make her look more scary. Nita was never like this. She was always prim and proper; never sweaty and gross, always dressed fashionably, makeup always done. Tobias always thought she was the most beautiful thing he's ever laid eyes on...
He's starting to go back on that statement, though.
Cheers fill the restaurant just as the team enters and Tobias's face smooths into an exhausted, but proud smile.
It's team tradition to hit up Pedrad's Pizza Shack after every home game for celebratory junk food. Tobias has always liked it at Pedrad's; it's warm and inviting and smells like good food, which is why he has never minded joining Zeke there for homework. Hana always brings out new pizza creations and has them taste-test them. They never really get any homework done, but he doesn't really care when his stomach hurts from laughing and too much pizza.
He clinks his glass with Zeke's at their usual table. He praises his team mate and best friend and takes a sip of the Vanilla Coke, the only kind he drinks. Chatter and laughter surrounds him in a nice, cozy blanket. This is where he belongs. He belongs surrounded by the most admired people in school, clinking drinks with his best friend after a great win. He belongs in the life that he's made for himself.
But, then he catches Nita's eye from across the restaurant and he feels an ache in his heart and embarrassment flushes his face against his will. She turns her head away quickly, her long ponytail whipping her in the face.
Maybe he doesn't belong here, anymore.
The bell above the door jingles and a loud voice calls out, making Zeke groan into his Sprite. "Yo ma, where's the pizza at?"
Tobias sometimes forgets Zeke has a younger brother until he's right in front of him. Uriah Pedrad looks nothing like Zeke, their only similarity is the dark, olive coloring of their skin and the dark, shaggy hair.
Hana Pedrad walks out of the kitchen with a grin on her face, wiping her floury hands on a pink polka-dot apron. Her dark hair is held up by an alligator clip, little tendrils falling around her round face and a line of flour is smudged across her forehead. She either doesn't notice or doesn't care.
She envelopes her youngest son into a hug and Uriah struggles to get out of her motherly grip. That's when Tobias notices the blonde, standing in the corner next to the claw machine. Her hands are moving in quick gesticulations as she talks to the same girl she pitched a tater-tot to earlier at lunch. Her eyebrows are arched upwards and her face looks serious. She pulls a phone from the band of her shorts and looks at it, her eyes skimming over the screen. Then she hands it to the girl and crosses her arms, her mouth twisted like she bit into a lemon.
Zeke grumbles from the seat next to him. "What the hell is he doing here?"
Tobias looks at his friend. Uriah and Zeke are very close, from what he has heard, but most older siblings don't like their baby brothers following them around, so he can't blame him for being annoyed. "Well, he probably wants pizza."
Zeke gives him a look and then turns his attention back to his brother, who's talking to an excited-looking Hana. "Yeah, but him and his band geeks usually go to Amanda's."
All Tobias knows about Amanda's is that it's a tiny, little diner closer to the city, unlike Pedrad's, which is only a couple blocks from the high school. Amanda's is only about a ten minute drive, but Pedrad's is more convenient when curfew is eleven and they get out of the stadium at ten.
"What's up, big bro?" Uriah asks cheerfully, swaggering up to the team's table and pulling a slice of pizza from the platter. Tobias sees Tris, out of the corner of his eye, slide into a booth, still talking to her friend. A blonde male sits next to the mocha-skinned girl and is having conversation with a harsh-looking girl with a shaved head. It's quite a unique group, Tobias'll say.
"What do you think you're doing?" Zeke asks sternly, flicking his brother's ear. Uriah doesn't even flinch, just swats his hand away.
"Eating a piece of pizza." He replies smartly. "What're you doing?"
"Trying not to strangle you because our mother is in the kitchen."
Uriah winks and takes another bite. The cheese stretches from the bread. "Good thinking."
"You know this is where the team goes after every game." Zeke snaps and Uriah swallows his food. "Why are you not at Amanda's?"
"Change of scenery?" He offers, the shrug of his shoulders.
He flinches when a loud crash comes from his friends' table and he turns his attention towards it. Tris is pulling napkins from the dispenser and lying them on the table, soaking up a drink. An empty cup is rolling on the ground. "It's under control!" She calls to him, offering a thumbs up.
"That's my cue!" Uriah says enthusiastically. He shoves the rest of the pizza into his mouth and ventures to his own table. Already, loud laughter echos throughout the restaurant. Tobias tries to focus on his own table and not on the little blonde with the loud mouth, but his team has been blanketed by an awkward silence. Pedrad's Pizza Shack has never been taken over by band geeks.
After about five minutes of conversation about the game, Tobias notices a flash of blonde from the corner of his eye and he watches Tris climb over the girl with the shaved head to get out of the booth. Tobias hates how drawn he is to her and he doesn't even know her.
From his peripheral vision, he studies her as she leans over the counter to the kitchen and talks to Hana, a smile on her face. She has black spandex on and he tries not to focus on a certain area that looks good in those shorts. She wears a marching band t-shirt, like most of the people she came here with. Black Nike socks up to her calves and weird, black marching shoes. Her hair is a mess and she bounces on the balls of her feet, her forearms resting on the counter top.
"Do you want me to get it?" Tris asks politely, but in her voice, there's a friendliness and familiarity as she talks to Hana Pedrad.
"Tris, it's your night off!" Hana's voice drifts through the window and Tobias can barely hear her through the chatter that's starting up again from the team. So, she works here, he ponders to himself. He's never seen her here before. Maybe she's new. "Go have fun with your friends, I've got this."
"It's out of the question, Hana." The blonde laughs and reaches over the counter into the kitchen. "I've got it, don't worry about it."
So, she leaves the window with a pizza in one hand and a water pitcher in the other, and she heads straight for his table. Her smile is genuine when she arrives and she sets down the pitcher. She's so close to him, he can feel her heat radiating from her body. "Pizza refill." She announces and places the full platter onto the empty one. Then she sets to refilling water glasses. He wonders why she's doing this, especially if it's her night off.
A cheerleader scoffs from the lap of a team mate and covers her smirk with her hand. Tris looks up, a smile tightening on her face, and then looks back down at the task at hand.
Tobias hears the girl whispers behind her hand. "Figures she would work here."
The reaction from the blonde is immediate. A cup full of ice water flies across the table, landing right in the lap of the cheerleader, and she jumps off of her boyfriend, startled and screeching.
"Oh my god!" Tris exclaims. Her voice changes an octave and her smile forms a smirk. He examines her. Is it bad he feels like the cheerleader deserved it? That Tris did nothing wrong? Maybe. "I am so sorry. I am such a klutz!"
She picks the water cup from the ground and when she comes back to her full stance, she grips the cheerleader by the front of her uniform top and pulls her down to her height. The cheerleader's eyes are wide with fright and the front of her red-and-black uniform is wet with water. Tris's whispers are harsh. "I don't even want to think about what you meant by your last statement, but if you say something like it again, I will rip your fucking tonsils out. Got it?"
The girl nods quickly and Tris releases her, slamming the empty water cup onto the table with a loud bang! She picks up the half-full water pitcher as the cheerleader's boyfriend pulls her back onto his lap, consoling her. Tobias realizes that the entire restaurant is completely silent, except for Tris's group of geeks, who are all snickering behind hands. Hana watches from the kitchen's window but doesn't intervene. One side of her mouth is tilted up.
Tobias understands why she came over to his table in the first place.
She knew someone would start something and she wanted them to. She wanted to have a reason to fight.
He should feel scared, right? Maybe even sickened? But, he can't. He can't feel anything but impressed. He has no idea why.
She's a wild, little thing.
Her fake smile is back and she looks right at him, starting a fire that will someday turn into an explosion. She turns away. "Enjoy your pizza!"
A/N: Hellooooo!
I've been so productive this week! Look at me, being responsible for once!
So, you guys are absolutely insane and I love you! The reviews and follows and favorites are amazing! Can we try for thirty reviews before chapter five? That'd be fantastic:)
Feedback is appreciated! Questions? Ask me!
Oh yeah! I feel like I should say this before I like, get sued or something someday:
I do not own Divergent or its characters, which belong to author, Veronica Roth. I just own the plot:) This will apply to all chapters!
See you soon;)
-Scorpiius