Author's Note

I hope everyone liked the previous chapter; I did!

rubberduckybugati: Thank you so much! Your reviews were so positive and exciting; it made my day to read them; I'm super glad that you like the story! I'm glad you liked the kiss; I was pretty happy with it, too; I was hoping I'd written that scene well. Okay, so, about the spinning chair serious face "I've Been Expecting You" scene, you and I both have to try it someday, and when you do, you have to tell me how it goes! Deal? I'm super happy that you followed it; that got me extremely excited! Do you write any stories on FanFiction? If so, let me know, and I'd love to check them out! Again, thank you so much!

I hope everyone enjoys this one as well!

Wearing His Jersey

Chapter Thirty~Two

Tris's Point Of View

Pulling apart, I didn't know what I was supposed to say. Was there even a 'supposed to say?'

"Uh . . ."

Tobias immediately stepped away, his eyes lowering to the ground and his hands falling away from me.

"I'm sorry," he said quietly. "I . . . I don't~"

"Do you regret kissing me?" I demanded, wanting to know for sure if he was sorry about kissing me for me, or he was sorry, wishing he'd not done it for himself.

He looked up at me quickly.

"Do you," I began again. "Regret kissing me for your own sake? Don't think about me. Do you wish you had or had not kissed me?"

"I don't regret it."

"Okay then." I smiled up at him. "I don't either."

The second those five words left my mouth, I saw him visibly un~tense.

"I just thought . . . after you didn't say anything . . . I thought you wished we had not kissed."

"No, I just didn't know what to say."

"Okay," he smiled, and the smile took only seconds to upgrade to a full out grin. I grinned right back.

About an hour later, I noticed the Christmas tree by the door again. It had slipped my mind for a brief time, but now it's all I can think about. What if they really do just get rid of the unclaimed papers, the unclaimed wishes? I sighed, and Tobias took notice.

"What's wrong, Tris?"

"Nothing. I mean, it's just, what if no one takes those?" I gesture toward the tree, and his eyes follow the movement, and a second later I see realization pass through his eyes, then a glimmer that I couldn't recognize.

"Well . . ." he began. I nodded him along, urging him silently to continue. I could practically see the wheels turning in his mind as he developed and analyzed the idea; Tobias looked over at me for a long moment. "I may have an idea."

"Well, you may tell me! Preferably now!" I nearly screeched.

"Okay, well, you see . . ."

And he went off into his plan, me nodding my head along and occasionally letting out an excited shriek at his idea.

"But, we have to figure out when they're taking the tree down, for obvious reasons," Tobias reasoned.

So, we headed off into the crowd to find the principal, who was sure to be lurking around.

Finally, I spotted her near the snack table, clearly keeping quite the eye on the punch bowl, seemingly expecting there to be a student with a bottle of alcohol, ready to spike the punch like in the movies.

"Hey!" I greeted when we reached her. She turned, smiling at Tobias and I.

"Tris! Four! How are you enjoying the dance?" she exclaimed.

"It's really nice!" I said. Behind me, Tobias was nodding along. "How are you liking it?" I then shook my head slightly at my attempted politeness. It was a mid~December weekend, and she had to spend her night staring at water bottles, punch, and brownie plates.

"Well, it's pretty well so far. No fights. No alcohol that I've caught; hopefully none at all. Everyone seems quite happy; it's nice to see all you together having fun; it's rarely like this. Do you know, on average, how many boys and girls are sent down to my office just for physical fights per day? This isn't even including everything else they come down for, and it's only including our school."

"Um . . ." I didn't know what to say; if I guess too high, she might think that I don't trust her in her job as principal keeping everyone in order, and if I guess too low . . . I don't know.

"Twelve," Tobias guessed.

"Almost!" she exclaimed, throwing her hands up. "But more. Fourteen. A day." She paused, shaking her head, then said, "Crazy, no?" I nodded.

"That's a fairly big number."

"Anyway, I'm sure you two came over here for something; can I help you?" She asked.

"Yes, I was wondering: when does that tree get taken down?"

"The one for Christmas by the entrance?" She clarified, and I nodded. "Tomorrow, actually. It's really quite sad, isn't it? That not so many of you young children are even giving it a second glance. I perfectly understand that it's the holidays, and it's a tough time for many people, so they might not have the money, but there are plenty of you, I'm sure, that could take one or two. I know the both of you have helped, and I know that the gifts aren't being collected until tomorrow morning, so i hope no one forgets theirs. I should probably make an announcement tonight. Thanks for reminding me; anyways, yes, the tree is being taken down tomorrow."

I glanced back at Tobias and saw him deep in thought.

"We could do it tonight?" he asked me a moment or two later. "If you want to. We'd probably have to leave the dance a little early, though, to make sure we have enough time for each of them."

"Oh, what are you two doing?" the principal asked.

"Nothing too big, just giving a little holiday happiness," I responded and she smiled at the both of us.

"You two are intelligent and kind kids; that will get you far in life. Don't ever forget who you are, understand me?" We both nodded, and she smiled, before stepping away, going back to keep an eye on everyone.

"We should probably tell everyone we're leaving," Tobias commented. I nodded.

"Don't want them to worry," I murmured, and we headed off in the direction of the table we'd all been seated at, hoping to find them there. Zeke and Shauna were, but Christina, Will, Lynn, Marlene, and Uriah were said to be out on the dance floor.

"Remember Coach Lee?" Zeke asked.

"Yeah," I nodded.

"Okay, remember the day you didn't tell anyone where you were going after your accident, and you went to the coffee shop and met that kid Ryan and learned that he's Lynn's brother and they're Coach Lee's children?"

"Yes . . ."

"Well, I guess Ryan ~ who had decided not to come to the dance ~ changed his mind, and is here, and him and Lynn are hanging out."

"Okay," I said. That reminded me: I should probably text Caleb to tell him I was leaving the school and might not be home for a little while. I pulled my phone out and sent a quick message. A moment later, I got a response, asking why, and I quickly explained. He responded with a quick:

Okay, have fun and be careful. Got to go; Matt and I are getting ready to go dance. :)

I smiled and responded with a smiley face before sticking my phone back in my bag.

"Ready to go?" Tobias asked after telling Zeke and Shauna to fill the others in. They agreed.

"Yup!" I smiled, and grabbed his hand, pulling him toward the school's exit.