Chapter 22:
*Friday, November 20th*
TRIS POV:
Once Tobias and I arrive, just two cars are parked outside, one I recognize as Wills vehicle, and the other I'm not sure I remember ever seeing. We both don't say a word as we approach the door, Tobias giving a hard loud knock just below the peephole. Soon enough I hear the sound of someone's feet pounding against hard wood flooring, running towards where Tobias and I stand. Not to long after the door is ripped open, Uriah's face is the first to greet us.
"Hello Tris, Four." He addresses us, pulling the door open wider and exclaiming with has hand for us to enter.
"Hey Uriah." Replies Tobias, carrying all the bags of chips and dip into the house, me following close behind. He leads the way to the basement, the noise of everyone obviously not hard to miss. When the three of us enter, I notice that the whole group is already here, probably carpooled with couples, like Tobias and I.
"Finally, I wasn't sure if you guys were going to show up." Christina shouts, taking the bag of regular potato chips and opening it while shoving a few in her mouth.
They all gather in a circle, everyone having their own side conversations, until we hear a yell, "Hey everyone! Shut up!" Our attentions are all then placed on Zeke who is standing, beer bottle in hand. "Let's begin strip truth or dare."
"What?" I ask incredulously, looking over at Tobias and Christina. Nobody told me I would have to strip, and I know I don't plan on it. Tobias looks at me with guiltiness in his eyes, but Christina just looks at me smirking.
"I'm sorry Tris, I forgot to tell you, but if you get uncomfortable at any moment we can leave, okay?" Tobias offers, pulling me in for a side hug, his left arm thats around me rubbing up and down my arm.
"Fine." I huff, looking to the ground. I really don't want to be here anymore, I'm the type of person who would rather be at home reading a good book then out at social parties.
"I'll start!" Yells Uriah, searching the faces of our group, finally narrowing in on Christina. "Truth or dare, Christina."
"From you...definitely dare." She relies grinning, challenging him that he can't do a good dare.
"I dare you to kiss all the guys in the circle for thirty seconds," Uriah says, then quickly adds, "except for me!"
She groans but accepts, starting off with Zeke who sits one spot to her left. She kisses him, not getting into it, just a soft touch that seems to last forever, but only for thirty seconds. Then she walks over to Tobias, not wasting any time to press her lips to his, and I have to look away, anger coursing through my veins. Finally when the time is up, Tobias makes it evident that he didn't enjoy it, by wiping his lips off then peaking me on the cheek.
I glare at the ground, not paying attention as Christina kisses Will, going a little overtime in their kiss, though she nor he seem to notice. Zeke clears his throat loudly, getting the attention of the two who have seemed to put it upon themselves to start making out. Finally Christina pulls back, no blush in her sly expression. Just watching the way she brushes everyone's stares off, not having a care in the world makes me wish I could be like that, not be embarrassed by little things, and being the center of attention.
"Tris, truth or dare?" She questions, taking me from my own thoughts with one eyebrow quirked up while she smirks mischievously at me. I get the feeling that I should pick the less threatening option, but I know not to look like the weak one, especially with my sort of past.
"Dare." I state confidently, shocked faces lighting up around the circle.
"I dare you that every time someone chooses dare for the rest of the game, you have to whisper a dirty saying into Tobias's ear," She tells me, grinning like a maniac, "Oh and you picking dare counts so go ahead."
I don't have words that form in my mouth, I know I'm definitely not confident enough to do something like that, so I try to find a way around it, a loophole. Eventually, they push me to say it so I lean in and whisper close to Tobias's ear, "Mud all over your white clothes."
Tobias's eyebrows scrunch up in confusion, staring at me like I'm crazy, then realization strikes his face and he burst into laughter. I blush and look down, our friends laughing along even though they have no clue what I told Tobias, though my reaction makes it seem more like I did what she was meaning for me to do.
"Okay, okay, Zeke, truth or dare?" I ask, shifting around on the ground, my tailbone starting to hurt from the hard flooring.
He wiggles his eyebrows at me while chuckling, "Dare."
I roll my eyes, turning to whisper into Tobias's ear again, "A porta potties toilet seat." He only smiles, trying to contain any laughter building up inside him. "I dare you to call your favorite female adult and tell her you are pregnant." I say, directing it at Zeke smiling slightly.
"Um, alright Prior, you're on. I will be calling Lauren." He tells me, smirking as he pulls out his phone, quickly dialing Lauren's phone number. Zeke begins to talk, but Tobias next to me gives him a look and he puts the phone down on the ground, putting it on speaker as he leans closer so that Lauren can still hear him.
"Zeke did you get a condom stuck down there again." She states, huffing into the speaker. I could tell Zeke and Lauren were close but I didn't know that they were that close, though that only adds to the hilarity of the call.
Zeke rolls his eyes, quickly coming to say, "That only happened once, and for your information, you were to only person who could help me, as Four wasn't available, and there was no way in hell I was going to Uriah."
I glance at Tobias and see the smirk on his face while he chuckles at his friends struggle.
"I didn't even know about this," Shauna states laughing a little but clear blush is spreading throughout her cheeks.
"Anyway, I was calling to tell you something along the same lines, though it's much more important." Zeke tells Lauren, rolling his eyes while fighting off the urge to laugh. "I'm pregnant."
All we hear is silence, then a serious sounding Lauren on the other line, "Does your mom know? Is she okay, why didn't Shauna tell me, I'm like her best friend."
"No, Shauna's not pregnant, I am." He states again, earning a small giggle from the group surrounding the phone. Another pause. Then, suddenly, she burst into laughter, her cackles loud and obviously hard enough to make her fall.
"What the hell, Zeke. You are not a girl, unless you need to have a serious talk about sex and how girls have the eggs and shit, then I'm pretty sure you know that guys can not get pregnant." Lauren announces, her giggles unable to be contained through the phone. Then as soon as it started, the laughs are cut short by a buzz, telling us that she ended the call, hanging up probably from over-laughing.
Zeke only takes a minute to blush, then he's back to the game, turning to Tobias immediately it seems, making direct eye contact. "Four, truth or dare."
Tobias, glances quickly at me, then rolls his eyes finally saying, "Dare."
"Since we are just starting out, and we all know this will get worse as Tris continues to undress...and whisper dirty things in your ear, but let her sit on your lap for the rest of the game." Finishes Zeke, giving me a mischievous smirk, then his eyes go back to Tobias just as he shakes his head, pulling me firmly into his comfortable lap.
After a minute of blank stares at Tobias and I, I nudge Tobias, telling him to pick another person, but unfortunately that wasn't why they were staring.
"Aren't you going to whisper something dirty in his ear?" Asks Christina, eyebrows raised, while a devious grin is spreading across her lipstick covered lips.
I lean back into Tobias chest, barely moving to the side while putting my lips against his ear whispering, "Cows rolling in their own feces." He chuckles slightly, earning a strange look from Marlene and Christina.
Tobias quickly goes on with the game, ignoring the questioning looks from some of the girls, asking Marlene the question of the night. The game continues and after what feels like hours upon hour, which turns out only to be a singular hour, Shauna is the most undressed, only in her bra and underwear from a few good dares involving Zeke's parents and not kissing Zeke for a full month. Christina is next in line, in her bra and spanks as well as underwear, that being a result from Uriah continuingly asking her personal truth's.
Will, Zeke, and Uriah are all not wearing shirts, they took off their muscles shirts, t shirts, and jackets. All of those clothes were shed because of stupid reckless dares that could have resulted in them close to death, which they obviously passed on. My back is rested against Tobias' still clothed body, as he has only taken off a jacket and pants, and I'm pretty sure if he had a choice he would rather take his boxers off rather than his shirt, revealing all those scars and fresh cuts from his father would not make for a joyful afternoon.
I, on the other hand, along with Marlene have not been asked often, resulting in our fully clothed bodies except for our comfy jackets, and t-shirt, leaving us in tank-tops. Currently it's Christina's turn, and I know as soon as I make eye contact with her that she will purposefully make something bad happen.
"Tris, pick your poison." She smirks, her eyes glinting with a growing fire of mischievousness.
"Truth," I mutter, not sure of myself, and as soon as I see her grin, my heart drops.
She gives me an intimidating smile, then says, "What is your biggest fear?"
I glance at Tobias, fully aware that the next thing to go is my tank-top, not wanting to show all the people in this room my body in only a bra, I barely had the courage to show Tobias the other day. Tobias rubs my back, and I watch as he glares at Christina, obviously upset with the question.
The answers easy, saying it outloud is the hard part. I will never be able to admit this to anyone except Tobias, and I never planned on telling him, it just happened one day. The room is met with complete silence, and I'm sure they can all hear as my breathing got heavier and deeper.
I lean my back into Tobias's chest, further than before, whispering in his ear, "I don't want to play anymore."
"Okay, guys, I think we should order pizza now." He announces giving the group a knowing look. They all nod their heads, agreeing with Tobias as he pulls out his phone, calling up Little Caesars.
After about thirty minutes of random chit chat, me just observing everyone talking to eachother, I hear something from Christina that makes my heart pound a little faster. She's leaning next to Will talking louder than she probably anticipated, but she says, "I'm kind of mad at Tris, she ruined the game. I was really excited to play, and it's not like my truth was that bad or anything," then her voice gets quieter, "she tried to commit suicide, she can't really be afraid of a lot right? 'Cause God knows she's not afraid of dying."
I don't know how to react, but I can feel the tears filling in the backs of my eyes so I know I need to go somewhere...anywhere. I stand quickly, bending down a little to tell Tobias I'm using the restroom, but he gives me a weird look, and I know that I've been caught.
"What's wrong Tris?" Asks Tobias, gaining the attention of Zeke who had been talking to him. I quickly turn my head to the side, looking towards the door and sniffling a little, trying to keep the tears from falling.
"Nothing Four. I just need to use the restroom, I'll be right back." I tell him, giving him one more glance and a tight smile before starting to walk out of the room and up the stairs.
Once out of the overcrowded basement, I take a seat on the living room couch, fully aware that I have no idea where the bathroom is. I place my elbows on my knees, putting my head in my hands as I let one, two, and three tears slip from my closed eyes.
I know I can't act like everything is normal now, because it's not, and it never will be. It's just the fact that somebody I may have considered my friend said something like that about me kills me inside, and I want it to stop. I'm positive that if people knew why I was crying they would just say I was over reacting, but I would love to see them in my position.
Soon enough I hear footsteps coming up the stairs, getting closer and closer to me. I know it has to be Tobias because he takes a seat next to me and begins to side hug me while rubbing up and down my arm like at the beginning of the truth or dare game.
"Tris, will you please tell me what's wrong." He pleads, taking my hands away from my face. I look at him, refusing to let more than those three tears slide from my eyes.
"It's not a big deal Tobias, I know I'm overreacting." I state, beginning to stand up to get away for a second.
He sighs, pulling my arm back down, "Tris, don't do that. I know it can't be nothing, just tell me...was it something about the game?"
"No." I state, trying not to make eye contact with him, but I can't seem to help it.
"Please just tell me," He begs, looking at me with big blue eyes that are also pleading with me. I finally give in, telling him about what Christina had said, careful to say it quietly so that the others downstairs can't hear, even though they probably couldn't have before.
"I just…" I continue, but have to take a deep breath to hold the tears back, "I don't like that that's what people see me as. The girl who tried to kill herself and isn't afraid of death. Maybe I am scared of death, they shouldn't just assume."
"I know they shouldn't assume, and it was totally wrong what Christina said, and I will be having a talk with her later tonight, but we should probably go back downstairs. Just know I love you and you are amazing, I don't want people to ever make you upset again." Tobias says, wiping the tear stains off my cheeks while standing up with me and grabbing my hand.
"You don't have to talk to her, it's not a big deal. I'm sorry I overreacted." I tell him, stealing glancing at him as we slowly begin walking towards the stairs.
"You are not overreacting, if anything she is overreacting about you quitting the game. She should know that that is a touchy subject, and she shouldn't be talking around about it, okay?" He asks, stopping to look me in the eyes to make sure I understand what he was saying.
I only nod my head in reply, beginning walking again, but as soon as we make it to the stairwell, there is a knock at the door. Tobias bounds over to get it, pulling me along with his hand still attached to mine. When he answers it we are met with a pizza delivery guy, handing Tobias our pizza while Tobias takes money out of his pocket.
While handing the guy his money, Tobias whispers in my ear, "Zeke and Uriah are so going to have to pay me back for buying what they were supposed to." I can't help but smile a little, though I'm still trying to digest what Christina said, and Tobias reaction towards it.
Oh my gosh guys I know I am a horrible person, and I'm so so so sorry. The last chapter I did was not very good, and I'm sorry for the disappointment. I know this chapter isn't the best as well, I was just struggling to write her in a happy setting, because it seems like she has always been sad. I tried to add that last bit with Christina to show that she is not all better, but I don't know. I plan on updating soon because the next chapter I already have planned out, and I think it will be fun to write about. Just tell me what you don't like, I really want to improve to be able to make a writing career. Thank you for sticking around, I love you all. Please review!
~Divergent24-7