Tobias' POV
It's six p.m. when we finally arrive home. I find my car parked in the drive way, which means Tris is at her place. I run upstairs to take a shower, since Caleb had to be home by six and skipped the shower at school. I finish in the bathroom and head into my room just in time to answer my phone. I smile when I see Tris' picture appear on the screen announcing she is the caller.
"Hey, babe," I say.
"Hey," she replies. "You tired?" she asks.
"A bit. Why?"
"I was wondering if you could help me with my algebra homework," she says sighing.
"Sure. I'll be right over."
"No, I'll come to you. Did you eat anything?" she asks.
"Not yet."
"Do you want me to bring you something? Mom made eggplant parmesan with garlic bread. You want some?"
"Yeah. Sure. But I'll come over."
"You sure?" she asks. She sounds like she doesn't want me there.
"I mean if it's okay with you," I say apprehensive.
"Of course it's okay."
"I'll be right there. Love you."
"Love you too," she says and hangs up. What was that? It really sounded like she didn't want me there.
I get my own homework and leave a note on the kitchen table for my parents to know where I am, although they know I'm either with Tris or Zeke. I walk the short distance to the Prior's house and knock on the door. Tris opens it smiling. She pulls me inside and kisses me fiercely. I let my books fall to the ground and wrap my arms around her, pulling her closer, leaving no space between us. When we part we are both breathless and smile goofily.
"What was that for?" I ask her.
"I've missed you," she says. "Come on. Let's go upstairs."
"Shouldn't we stay here? I don't think your dad will be pleased if we lock your door again," I say with a chuckle. A couple of weeks ago Tris and I were home alone and even though we didn't go all the way we were both in our underwear and making out on her bed. I think if it wouldn't have been for her dad knocking on the door we would have had sex. We quickly got dressed and Tris managed to sneak me out. She told her dad she wanted to be alone and that's why she locked the door. She says he believed her, but the next day he was eyeing me suspiciously.
"Don't worry. I won't take advantage of your innocence," she says giggling. I laugh at that and follow her upstairs after picking up my books.
"I thought you would feed me some of your mom's famous eggplant," I say jokingly.
"I am. It's upstairs. First you help me with algebra, then you get to eat," she says looking over her shoulder, a mischievous grin on her face.
"That's called blackmail," I say.
"Good thing you love me," she says laughing.
"Yeah. Good thing."
I help her with her homework and when she gets the hang of it I sit on her bed eating dinner. When I'm done I want to take my plate downstairs, but Tris insists she will do it later. I leave it on her nightstand and start reading the history chapter for tomorrow's oral test.
Around nine p.m. we are both exhausted and even though I would love to stay with her I decide to go home. We have a tough morning tomorrow and I want to be rested. I kiss her goodbye, lingering for a while, before I finally head back home.
The next morning I wake up even before my alarm goes off. I get up, do some push-ups and sit-ups and take a quick shower before eating my breakfast. I text Tris that I'll be out in ten minutes and she quickly replies that she will be there too. I smile and eat my cereals.
On our way to school Tris asks me questions to test me for my history exam, while I do the same asking her all kinds of things about algebra. Thankfully, the day is pretty much uneventful and by lunch we all gather in the cafeteria. Today we don't have soccer practice which is a bit of a relief. These past few weeks Amar pushed us harder than ever since next Thursday our team will go up against last year's State's champion.
"How did you do on your test?" Tris asks me and my classmates. Most of us groan. "That bad?"
"It was okay," Shauna says unconvincingly.
"What about you?" she asks me directly.
"Got a B," I say.
"That's good," she says smiling. "Isn't it?"
"Yeah, I'm just tired from studying last night," I tell her.
"Did you continue even after you left?" she asks.
"Yeah, for a while. What about algebra?" I ask her. She groans.
"Sucks. But I got a B minus. Thanks for your help. It would have been an F otherwise. I just don't get it," she says pushing her tray away.
"You are much better, baby. You just need to focus and pay attention," I encourage.
"Yes, sensei," she says and bows. I laugh at that.
"Sensei?"
"Yeah. You are like my algebra-sensei, you know, if algebra would be a martial art," she says chuckling.
"Alright. Then you can call me Master-san," I say with a grin, which makes her raise an eyebrow.
"Master? Aren't we full of ourselves," she says punching my arm lightly.
"You don't like it?" I ask with a straight face.
"Oh, you still have to earn the title," she says smiling.
"Tris," Christina shouts startling us.
"What?" Tris asks irritated.
"Did you even hear a thing I said?" Christina asks angrily.
"Of course," Tris says smiling but then her expression turns sour "not. I was lost in my boyfriends eyes," she says cocky.
"Ugh, you two disgust me," Christina says jokingly, although she was our strongest advocate.
"You are just jealous," Tris says. "What up, buttercup?"
"Homecoming," Christina says and Tris groans.
"Is there anything else in this universe that interests you besides that stupid dance?" Tris asks her.
"It's not stupid. It's very important," Christina defends.
"Yeah, right," Tris says bored.
"Just because you never lived among girls and don't know anything about dresses and make-up doesn't mean that the rest of us are the same," Christina says angrily.
"Like that's so important," Tris bites back.
"It is. You could be such a babe, but you dress like a thirteen year old boy, no make-up, no nothing. Do you know that all the girls in school think you only landed Four because you learned some freaky hooker skills on those mountain trips," Christina says.
"Christina," Shauna shouts angrily.
"What? It's true."
"Christina," Tris says standing up "that's enough. It is not my fault people are so close-minded and stupid around here. Maybe if they would go out of this suffocating city they would actually see that no one, absolutely no one, gives a fuck about them or their opinions. It is no one's business if I landed Four because I'm a sinner or a saint. Besides, those who spend so much time dwelling on it are just jealous that the freak who came down from the mountain claimed the hottest guy in school. I don't care what people think, because newsflash their opinions don't matter to me. My friends' opinions do matter. But if you think the same, Christina, as these girls then maybe you and I aren't really friends."
Tris picks up her things and leaves the cafeteria leaving everyone with their mouths hanging open. I look after Tris who walks calmly through the rows of tables and exits the room. I look back at Christina and glare at her.
"What the fuck?" I ask her.
"I didn't mean it," Christina says defensively.
"Yeah, you did. Otherwise you wouldn't have said that," Shauna says.
"Why didn't you tell her before?" I ask.
"And what should I have said?" Christina asks angry.
"Maybe the same you just did, but in private," I say just as angry.
"I wasn't the only one who knew," she says looking around and all the girls look away.
"Seriously?" I ask. "You know, the phrase with friends like these who needs enemies comes to mind," I say, get up and leave. I go out to look for Tris. I know she has chemistry next so I go up to the lab, but she isn't here. I wonder if I should just wait here or keep looking, but the way Tris left the cafeteria makes me think she won't come back. I walk aimlessly through the halls until I get to the gym. Maybe she came down here. I walk in and hear someone punching a bag. My heart starts beating faster and I start running toward the bags. But to my misfortune it isn't Tris who is punching the bags, but Amar.
"Hey, Four. What's up?" he asks stopping what he was doing and taking a sip from his water bottle.
"Have you seen Tris?" I ask.
"No. Wasn't she in the cafeteria for lunch?" Amar asks looking at his watch.
"She was, but she had an argument with Christina," I tell him.
"Oh, relax. Girls always fight about stupid things," he says dismissively.
"I don't think this will be fixed easy. Did you know that the girls in school think that Tris is…" I stop myself, unable to speak the word out loud.
"A whore?" Amar asks. "Yeah. I heard the rumor. But I can assure you it isn't true. I've known Tris for years. That's not her."
"I know that, Amar. Where could she have gone?" I ask looking around frantically.
"There are two options. She either went home or she climbed a mountain. Since a mountain isn't a close enough option at the time I guess she went back home."
"She came with me this morning and I haven't seen Caleb giving her his car keys," I say.
"Four, the girl can walk for hours up mountains. Do you really think she needs a car to get somewhere?"
"Uhm…" I say unsure.
"Trust me If she went home she went by foot. But you should leave her be. She needs time to think if she's pissed. She is a hot-head. She'll calm down eventually. Besides don't worry about her. Worry about your friend who pissed her off. Although, I never saw Tris hit someone who is weaker than she is. But she did beat the shit out of Scott once," Amar tells me.
"Did he deserve it?" I ask, even though I'm fairly certain I know the answer.
"What do you think? Of course he did. He played Latin lover with her and Tris was too drunk to tolerate him. We actually had to restrain her," he says with a chuckle. By the expression I must have had on my face Amar bursts out laughing. "God, you are easily fooled. She did beat Scott, but we didn't restrain her."
"Okay, but seriously now. Do you really think she went home?" I ask him.
"Yeah," he says serious.
"I'm going after her."
"Leave her. If she wanted to talk to you she would have answered your call," Amar says and I feel like a wall of bricks just hit me. "You called her, right?" I shake my head no. "God, you are dumb. Give her a call. If she doesn't answer it means she wants to be left alone. Tris always answers her phone, unless she needs time to think." I thank my friend and head outside to the parking lot. It's already time for the next period but I don't care. Tris needs me and I won't leave her alone. How can anyone think those vile things of her? And how can our friends, her friends, not tell her? Or at least me. I had no idea that people thought those things of her. I call her cell, but she doesn't answer. I leave her a voice message and just sit in my truck. Maybe she didn't hear her phone ring and she will call me back once she listens to the message. I spend the remainder of the period in my car glaring at my own phone, trying to make it ring, but it remains silent. The next period I have PE again. I go into the boys' locker room and change. Tris obviously wants to be alone and I don't want to push her. My friends fill in one by one all of them avoiding me. They know I'm pissed and don't want to talk about it. But as usual one of them has a death wish. This time it's Will, Christina's boyfriend.
"Four, man, Christina didn't mean it like that," he says.
"Really? How did she mean it? And I'm not only speaking of the rumor, but also about her attitude. Tris isn't like other girls, she doesn't like the same things. Up until now she hasn't said anything to any of the girls," I say and walk out into the gym. The guys follow me outside and I avoid looking at Christina when I spot her next to the girls.
"Four," she says coming after me.
"Christina, just leave me alone," I say trying to remain polite.
"Four, it's not my fault. I didn't start the rumor," she says in her defense.
"Christina," I growl and turn around. "Don't you get it? You are pushy. Tris isn't into this girl crap you like. She kept her mouth shut because she likes you and didn't want to upset you. Did it ever cross your mind that Tris felt uncomfortable? No, of course not. You didn't see her as your friend, but some guinea pig, an experiment. You wanted to turn Tris into a blonde version of you," I say.
"That's not true," she shouts.
"Four, I think that's enough," Will says serious. I glare at him.
"No, it's not enough. Did any of you ever consider how difficult it is for Tris? She came here and had to adjust immediately. Do you even know what she went through? Do you? Any of you?" I ask angry.
"How can we, Four? She doesn't talk to anyone," Caleb says.
"That's not true," Lynn says. "I often talk to her. And I'm sure Four knows all about it, too," she says and I nod.
"What do you know?" Caleb asks angrily.
"A lot. For starters, even though it's not a secret, Tris doesn't like to brag. Did any of you bother to ask her about her hobbies?" I ask.
"She likes hiking and mountain climbing," Christina says confidently.
"Yeah. Do you know what that means? Do you know the training behind it?" I ask. They all look away sheepish.
"Did you guys know Tris went to the South Pole?" Lynn asks and they stare at her shocked.
"What? Why would she go there?" Zeke asks.
"To climb the tallest mountain there," I say.
"Or did you know she and her dad climbed the tallest mountain in Australia?" Lynn asks.
"Really?" Marlene asks surprised.
"Did any of you know why her parents made her stay put this year?" I ask.
"She screwed up," Caleb says.
"But do you know the reason?" I ask and he shakes his head. "Because she forged your parents' signature and went to Nepal to climb Mount Everest," I say. They all look shocked. A girl behind me starts laughing. I turn around to find Nita laughing hysterically. "What's so funny?" I ask glaring at her.
"Tris, Mount Everest," she says laughing uncontrollably.
"It's not a joke," I say angry.
"Yeah, right. Not only is she a whore, but she is also a lying whore," Nita says with a snarl.
"Take that back," I say and get in her face. She flinches and takes a step back.
"That's enough," we hear Principal Reyes shout. Everyone in the gym turns to look at her. "Mr. Eaton, take a step back," she says glaring at me. I do as I'm told. "Can I have everyone's attention, please. Earlier today I was informed of a vile rumor about one of our students. Some of you might know what I'm talking about. I want to assure you that what you heard is a lie and I hope the one responsible for this rumor will stop spreading such hurtful and more importantly untrue things. As for you, Ms. Alvarez, you couldn't be more wrong about Ms. Prior. I was told that Beatrice is modest about her accomplishments but maybe you should know a few things about her. Among many records she has set during her life, Ms. Prior conquered the tallest mountain in the world, at just fifteen years old. For those who skipped geography I'm talking about Mount Everest in the Himalayas. Ms. Prior did something extraordinary which most of you don't even know. I'm not telling you this to praise her over you, but I think you should know not to judge a person solely by appearances. You might be surprised what lies beneath them." With that Principal Reyes leaves the gym. The moment she is outside everyone starts talking, asking questions, wanting to know more.
"Did you know that?" Caleb asks me accusingly.
"Yes," I say. He looks at me hurt and then his expression changes to anger.
"Why wouldn't she tell me?" he asks.
"Did you ever show any kind of interest in her life? Did you ever ask her anything?" I ask getting in his face.
"She never talks about it," he says unconvincingly.
"Come on, Caleb. That's a lame excuse. Maybe all of her friends," I say and look around "should spend some time and get to know the real Tris Prior, instead of whatever image you have of her." I leave the gym, ignoring everyone and run toward the locker room. I change into my street clothes and pick up my backpack. Just as I'm heading toward the parking lot I get a text. I read it and sigh in relief when I realize it's from Tris.
Please, come to my house. I need you.