Disclaimer: All Divergent ideas belong to Veronica Roth.
As soon as we get in the car, Christina turns on the radio. She doesn't say a word, but even after just a few days of knowing her I recognize the glint in her eye.
"Chris, what are you planning?" I raise my eyebrow.
She grins. "Oh, you'll see."
"Good afternoon, listeners! Welcome back. I'm Zeke, and I'm with my loyal sidekick, Tobias. That song was Fireblazin by Capital Kings."
I roll my eyes. "Are you still trying to prove that for some reason I have a silly crush on Tobias?"
Christina doesn't answer and instead turns the volume up.
"If you guys liked that song, there's actually a Capital Kings concert coming up in November! Tickets are on sale now so if you're interested, just go on their website, .com. Again, that's .com." As Tobias' deep voice resonated through the car, I couldn't help but think about what happened at the station. Was Christina right? Did he like me?
Did I like him?
"So before we start the next song, we're going to have a caller session. You guys ask us questions, we'll answer them! These can be questions about us or advice. Whatever it is, we'll answer." Zeke's voice snapped me back to the present. Christina fumbled for her phone.
"No handheld devices when you're driving."
Christina let out a huff. "Okay, then, Miss Goody-Goody, you hold it up to my mouth, okay?" I sighed and held it for her while she called whoever she wanted to call.
"This is 95.7 WBUJ, what's your name?"
"Hi, I'm…uh…Keirstin," Christina says into her phone. Her voice echoes on the radio, and suddenly it hits me.
"Christina!" I whisper-yell. She just ignores me, a smile playing on her face.
"This is a question for both of you," Christina-Keirstin-says.
"Okay, shoot."
"Who are the people you guys have crushes on? Cliché, but we have to know!" She giggles into the phone, and I know exactly why she's asked this question.
"Well, my heart's pledged to my girlfriend Shauna. Babe, if you're out there, I love you!" I can practically hear Zeke's personality flowing through the radio.
"Aww, that's so cute! How about Tobias?"
"I'd, uh, rather not say." I gulped. Tobias…
"Oh come on! Zeke said that you have to answer," Christina pleads.
"That's right, I did." Zeke seems too happy.
Wait. Are Christina and Zeke plotting together?
"Fine. I don't like anyone. That's a stupid question anyway." When Tobias says this, I'm glad that I proved Christina wrong, but for some reason, a tiny part of me is also disappointed.
Still, I turn to Christina. "See? I told you." But she just looks to me with a finger on her lips.
"Hmm, you know what, guys? I think Tobias is lying," Zeke says in a sing-songy voice.
"No I'm not." It's then that I realize that Tobias sounds defensive. That tiny part of me soars. Zeke's right; he's lying.
"Tobias."
"No."
"Then at least describe her."
I heard Tobias sigh in defeat. "Okay, what do you want to know?"
Christina laughs. "What do you like the most about her?" I feel my eyes widen. This could either go very well or very badly.
"Um, well, I actually don't know her as well as I'd like to, but she's very kind and she's easy to have fun with. She's also the most beautiful girl I've ever seen… Her smile lights up the whole room, and her laugh is like…man, there just aren't any words to describe it…" Tobias trails off awkwardly. I bite my lip and look at my hands. It's not me. I'm not very fun, and I'm certainly not beautiful. My heart sinks.
"Toby's whipped!" Zeke laughs loudly.
Christina grins. "I never thought I'd see the day."
"Christina? Is that you?" Tobias' voice has an undercurrent of anger, and there's a moment of silence where I watch the color drain out of Christina's face. She hangs up without a word, and Zeke hurriedly puts on a new song.
I immediately turn off the radio. "Stop the car."
"What?"
"I said stop the car."
She pulls over to the edge of the road but keeps the doors locked. "Tris, please don't be mad at me."
I press my lips together and look out of the window.
"Tris…" She puts a hand on my arm. Something snaps inside of me.
"No!" I yank my arm away from her. "You barely know me. Tell me, what do you know?"
Christina's eyes are wide, shocked. "I mean…"
"You know nothing," I spit. "Nothing at all."
"Tris." Christina's voice is hard, firm. "I just made a simple phone call to a radio station. It's not a big deal."
"Yes, it is, Christina. You don't understand!" I put my head in my hands.
The silence was deafening. I felt a tear slip down my cheek and wiped it away with the heel of my hand.
"You know you can trust me with anything, right?" I turn to see Christina, her eyes soft and her voice quiet.
"I…" my voice breaks. "It's just…"
Christina nods after a moment. "You don't need to tell me what it is right now. You're right, Tris, I don't know you very well. But I'd like to."
"I'm sorry." I glance down to my intertwined hands, and then look back up at her. "I shouldn't have yelled at you."
"It's okay." She gives me a small smile as she starts the car again and pulls back out onto the road. "I know you'll tell me when the right time comes."
That's all for this chapter! Thanks for reading and please review :)