Author's Note:
Hey, guys! I'm proud of the previous chapter; I don't think it had any spelling mistakes, and if it did, few. That's something I'm happy about.
I wanted to seriously thank you guys for all your support with this story. :*) *Tears of joy* *air hugs all around*
countryblueeyes: No worries; Ryen probably won't be messing with FourTris too much! *squeaks back* I plan on updating a lot more often now, so yes, I'm back. :) Thank you for your continued support of this story; it means a lot to me!
badass4ever: I'm glad you liked the chapter and are looking forward to more! And as for the previous chapter being too short: this one's double; I hope you like it! Thank you for your review and your support; I appreciate it lots!
Samloveseaton: Ello to Elmo: that's funny! I'm glad you liked the chapter, and I hope you like this one as well! I want to thank you for your continued support of this story; it means a lot to me!
Athena: I like the name you use on here; have you read the "Percy Jackson" books? I'm so happy you like the story so much, and I like Fall Out Boy, too! I know you reviewed for Chapter Five, so I hope it's alright that I put this here. Kiera's books are great, and I hope you enjoy them! Tell me what you think of them! If you do get an account, let me know! I'd love to check out your stories! I'm happy you like this story! I look forward to your next review if you do another, and thank you for your review and support of this story; it means so much to me!
Enjoy the chapter, everyone!
Wearing His Jersey
Chapter Nineteen
Four's P.O.V.
I was listening to Zeke tell me about how great a ninja he is when I got the message from Caleb, who I had exchanged numbers with yesterday so he could keep me up-to-date on what's going on with Tris. I have her phone number, but I don't want her to worry about texting updates while she's recovering from her injuries. I followed her as she was taken to the hospital yesterday in my car. I had Will, Christina, Marlene, Zeke, Uriah, Shauna, and Lynn in there with me. There were more people than there were seats, but we managed, sticking Zeke on the floor between the two middle seats. He was clutching the armrests around him the whole way. Tris was released from the hospital pretty quickly, with a broken arm, bruised side, and minor concussion - it would only cause slight dizziness and possible ringing in the ears. She's okay.
Is Tris with you? the message said and I could tell it was important and urgent, for there was no sort of greeting or anything other than the point.
No. I haven't seen her all day. What happened with her?
Mom had to go to Salt and Pepper (where she works) to take care of the customers and keep track of sales and such; her employees weren't there today; she had to go. Dad and I went to the store to get some things, and we came back and she wasn't there. We don't know where she is.
I jumped up from my seat on Zeke's couch.
"We got to go," I said, and rushed to the door, shoving my feet in my shoes.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa. What's wrong? Is everything okay?" he said, following after me, sliding on sandals and grabbing his keys.
"I'll explain on our way; come on!" I quickly text Caleb saying we were going out to look for her. He responded a few seconds later saying that they already were, and they had already checked the malls around. I could barely manage a smile; I doubted she'd be at the mall, but it's good to check everywhere, and the busiest places are a good place to start. We were in the car, driving out of Zeke's neighborhood.
"So, what's going on? Where do I need to go?"
"Tris is missing." He turned to look at me, wide-eyed. "Well, like, I mean she isn't at home, and they don't know where she went."
"That's almost the same thing."
I ignored him, and said, "Let's head down to town and just stop in each place we pass." He nodded, and sped up, heading toward town, where there were all sorts of shops and places to hang out. We parked the car and jumped out.
"You take that way; I'll take this way," I said, pointing.
"Okay," he said. "I'll text you if I find her, and you text me if you do."
"Okay," I agreed and ran off in the direction of the flip-flop shop. It was empty, except for the employee behind the desk. Dodging through people, I ran through more crowds, and into the small grocery store. She wasn't in there, or in the book store. I checked the library, too, and she wasn't there either. I checked along the lake, and didn't find her there. My legs were beginning to protest a little. I checked Starbucks, and didn't find her in there. Then, I checked Diddly Doo's Coffee and Donuts. In there, I walked briskly around the shop, looking from table to table. When I walked to the back, there were a set of small booths, and I saw a blonde ponytail poking up from a seat. I walked over, and when I saw her there, I couldn't help but let out a large sigh.
"Tris!" I said, and wrapped her up in a hug. I felt her good arm go around me, and she leaned into me.
"Hi," she said. After a moment, she added quietly, "You know, this is nice and all, but what's going on?" I smiled into her hair, glad she was okay. Then, I pulled back, and only then did I notice the boy sitting across from her. I felt myself exhale a sigh, and my shoulder fell forward a bit. I gave the boy a small smile, trying to be friendly, and turned back to Tris.
"Where have you been this whole time?" I asked hurriedly. "We were all so worried about you! If you were going out, especially in your current state, you should've told someone! You could have called me, and I would have came with you, or you could have called Caleb, or your parents." I paused to take breath. "And what are you even doing out? The doctor said you need to take it easy for a few days, and you decided to come here? How did you even get here? Did he pick you up? I gestured to the boy. "And who is he?" I turned to the boy. "Hi, I'm Four. Who are you?"
"I'm Ryen. Nice to meet you," the boy said. I nodded in response. I heard Tris laugh and turned back to her.
"Calm down." She stood up in front of me. "You're turning red, and you haven't taken a breath in, like, a minute." I paused, and took a few deep breaths to make my face stop turning red and to calm myself down; I could feel my hands sweating. "There you go," she said. "And, I left a note on the kitchen counter telling my Dad and Caleb that I was going for a walk. I stopped here for a little rest. By the way, I know you two basically just met, but I want to introduce you to each other anyway." She paused and gestured for Ryen to stand up, then turned us toward each other. "Four, this is Ryen. We just met a few minutes ago, and he is Lynn's brother, and Coach Lee is his mom. He came over and we talked for a little while. Ryen, this is Four; he's been my friend for about two and a half months now. Don't you guys know each other? We're in the same school."
"Hi," I said again. "And you do look familiar."
"Hey," he said, "and you do, too. I think we were partners for that Science project at the beginning of the year with - what was his name? - Drew?" I nodded, realization coming to my mind.
"Yeah, you're right," I said. "Well, nice to see you again." I smiled. He did, too.
"You too."
"So, you want to join us?" Tris asked, sitting back down. "I was just about to grab a hot chocolate."
"Hold on one second," I said, smiling at her. "I have to let Zeke and Caleb know we found you." I pulled out my phone and sent them each a quick text.
"Found me?" she asked.
"Yeah, Caleb text me earlier saying that when they got back from the store, they couldn't find you anywhere, so he text me, and Zeke and we came out looking for you together. He's probably running through the garden shop right now," I laughed. She and Ryen laughed, too. "All right, all taken care of," I said after I read their responses; Zeke was on his way to meet us, and Caleb and her father were on their way home; I'd told them I could bring her home. "Zeke should be here soon, and I'm bringing you home, Tris, so just tell me whenever you're ready to go."
"Okay," she nodded. "Maybe, like, thirty more minutes here? And I can walk; that's how I got here," I smiled at him. "So, if you don't want to wait, or if you need to go or something, you can."
"That's okay," I said. "It's really not a problem." She nodded, and stood up, heading over to the order counter. I followed. I watched as she asked for a mug of hot cocoa - extra marshmallows - and she ruffled her hands around in her pockets, not knowing I was behind her. I couldn't help but laugh when she said, "Aha! I always leave random money in my pockets." She spun around, smiled at me, then turned back around to take and pay for her hot chocolate.
"I'll wait with you," she said, standing next to me as I stepped to the front of the line.
"Okay," I smiled and asked the worker for a coffee. A moment later, she brought it out. "Thank you," I said, taking the warm styrofoam cup, and I walked back to our booth in the back with Tris. When we got there, I saw Zeke sitting next to Ryen, talking. "I didn't even hear you come in," I said. He smiled.
"Told you I'm a ninja."
Later on, I was walking Tris home instead of driving.
"Come on, the fresh air is good for us!" she'd argued with me.
"But then who's going to take the car back?" I asked.
"Zeke. It's his car."
"Yeah, but . . ." The walk was about two miles, and I was tired.
"Ha! No argument. We're walking." Then, she'd walked out the door of Diddly Doo's Coffee and Donuts, sipping her hot chocolate. I had to follow.
Now, she said, "Wait, I have never been down here before. I want to see what's down here." Then, she'd turned right, and we were walking down a deserted street that was still damp from the rain that'd come while we were in the coffee shop. I walked a few steps behind her, watching the way she hopped with every step and her ponytail hardly moved when she did. She seemed so determined, ready to walk into anything. She stood straight, shoulders back, and her eyes were fixed ahead on the bend that led behind a small brick building. It was starting to get chilly, the sun dipping down behind the trees. She was radiating warmth. As she rounded the bend to go behind the building, I heard her gasp. When I turned, I saw her looking straight out into the horizon above the tree-line. I stood next to her on the hill, and below us, about a hundred bald cypress trees turning orange in the Autumn weather, and standing on the hill we were on, they were about as tall as us, and we could see the sun setting, changing the sky purple, orange, red, yellow, and blue.
"Wow," she breathed. I sucked in a breath. It was gorgeous, and we could touch the treetops. I stepped back, closer to the building and farther from the edge of the hill. After a moment, she turned back around and our eyes locked. She smiled, and I did, too. She walked over to me, smirking. "Look behind you."
I turned and saw the brick wall. It was covered in millions of words, all written in colorful chalk. The sentences all began with: Someday, I dream I can . . .
Someday, I dream I can climb the Eiffel Tower.
Someday, I dream I can marry Eliza.
Someday, I dream I can become a famous singer.
Someday, I dream I can get one of my paintings in an art museum.
Someday, I dream I can meet Alicia Keys.
Someday, I dream I can go parasailing.
Someday, I dream I can climb Mount Everest.
Someday, I dream I can swim with dolphins.
Someday, I dream I can get through my dyslexia.
Someday, I dream I can go to space.
There had to be thousands of them.
The grass around the wall was covered with small packages of chalk. I picked one up and handed a blue piece to Tris, keeping a pink piece for myself. I took the hot chocolate mug from her hand; she couldn't hold both. She thanked me, then said, staring at the wall, "The coolest part about this is that even when the words fade, the dream doesn't."