Hey Readers, here is the next chapter. Sorry it's late, hubby was late with the editing. Thank you to everyone who continues to support this story through your various ways. I hope you all enjoy this chapter. I don't own Divergent. I only own the plot, any military-related mistakes are mine. Just a friendly reminder, I did take some liberties with this story in regards to this story to make things more interesting. Happy Reading!

Chapter 44: Water Balloons

A female voice quips from behind Tobias's looming presence, "What's going on?" I can't answer. I stand there, shaking like a leaf, staring at my name clearly on the screen between Tobias's hard fingertips. One of Tobias's hands gently touches my shoulder, and I nearly jump out of my skin at the contact. He whispers, "You are okay," pulling me against his chest, his arms tightly encircling me. Into my hair, he murmurs, "I've got you. Nothing is going to happen to you," his arms pull me tighter against him. I breathe in his scant, trying to gather my strength from him. I feel weak for letting some crazy person, whom I don't know, bother me, destroy my sanity, and ruin my day with my friends. I feel stupid for keeping a secret from him.

Chris snaps, "What the hell is going on? Will someone answer me!" I attempt to smile through the fear that is gripping my mind. To lighten the mood, I smile, "Nothing, just a crazy person, trying to scare me, the usual." When my words hit Tobias's ear, he flinches, his hands ball into fists, and quickly he masks his emotion from his face. His eyes are blank before I can read them. I hate he can hide his feelings so well from me.

Chris rolls her eyes, replying, "Whatever you say, Tris, but Four looks ready to break something or punch someone. I'm not sure which." I smirk, "Let's get to decorating. This place isn't going to decorate itself," I toss a bag of blue streamers at her and a bag of balloons at Tobias, hitting him with it in his chest. Concern momentarily flashes through his eyes. Opening the bag, handing him a red balloon, I whisper, "Use some of that negative energy for this." Tobias eyes me, rolling his eyes dramatically, placing a balloon to his lips, and lets out a huge breath to begin begrudgingly blow them up.

As the hours tick by: the house comes to life with Stephen, Mattie, Mark, Zeke, Shauna, and their daughter Harmoni, Sam, Uriah, Marlene, and Will slowly show up. The party is a success, even with the text message setting my nerves on fire before. Harmoni captivates my attention most of the time. Tobias and Will grill while I spend my time cooing and holding Harmoni, wishing with all my might I could have a baby with Tobias. Every time I glance at Tobias, his eyes are trained on me holding Harmoni. Tobias has a certain look in his eye; he wants a baby as much as I do, he just isn't saying anything to me, but neither of us wants to bring up the elephant in the room again like he accidentally did that day on the beach, the day after we got married.

Tobias and Will do a marvelous job manning the grill, taking food orders from everyone. Tobias takes jabs from Zeke as he sports my kiss the cook apron. A smile tugs at my lips: all the memories float through my mind of all the times Tobias's lips were on mine each time I wore that apron in the kitchen. After we eat, Will smirks, "Let play hide and seek with water balloons."

Will lugs out a tub full of water balloons. Chris nudges my shoulder, whispering, "Those aren't filled with water. I heard Will plotting last night on the phone with Zeke. Those are filled with paint." Chris and I grin, "Girls against boys sounds like fun!" Zeke snorts, "Should I tell her, or do you want to do the honors, Four?" Tobias rolls his eyes, "I think Zeke is trying to get at the fact we would have an unfair advantage since we have the height and the whole military expertise thing. You know target practice with guns and all."

I giggle, "That is with a gun." Sam quips an eyebrow, "A water balloon will be much easier to hit you with, at least for me." Laughter erupts from my lips, "Shut up, Sam!" Will stays silent during the entire ordeal, watching, observing everyone, waiting for a decision. Uriah smiles, "How about teams of two." I grab Christina, grinning, "Fine, but I call Chris!" I drag her into the house, glancing at Tobias over my shoulder. He looks in shock at the idea I would choose Chris over him. Chris and I change into our black spy clothing and use black eyeliner to draw lines under our eyes. When Christina and I emerge from the house, Tobias laughs, "That outfit looks familiar!"

Will whistles at Chris, smirking toward Tobias, "That outfit does look familiar, doesn't it." Chris flips both Tobias and Will off while she slings her arm around me, singing, "William Kennedy, the only thing you are going to be seeing that is familiar in this outfit is when I drench you in paint."

He smirks, "Promises, promises!" Taking a step closer to her with a balloon in his hand. He playfully attempts to throw it in her direction. I run toward Tobias for cover, away from Will and Chris's exchange. Tobias wraps his arms around me, pressing his lips against my forehead, whispering, "You look adorable in this. Why does this outfit look familiar?"

Locking eyes with him, I smirk, "It's from the night I broke into your camp when you were drilling or whatever for deployment." Tobias nods his head laughter vibrates through his chest. He pulls me into his side, replying, "Oh yes, that was a good night, other than getting caught. Now, let's discuss how we are going to win this war, partner." I roll my eyes, pushing him away, giggling, "Chris is my partner, not you. I didn't want paint on me before we started."

Tobias squints his eyes, smiling, "Break my heart. You would trade me for Chris!" I answer, "In a heartbeat." A smile tugs at my lips while Chris appears next to me, slinging an arm around my waist. She smiles, "Enough fraternizing with the enemy. We need to come up with a game plan." Movement from behind Chris draws my attention. Tobias smirks at something, and before I can warn Chris. She's hoisted away by Will, grinning, "Not a chance, you two. Sorry Trissy, but I already called Chris years ago as my partner for life." I groan, "That's not fair!" Chris laughs, "Will, put me down!"

He grins, "Not until you agree to be my partner." She answers, "Fine." Tobias grins, "Guess you are stuck with me!" His arms wrap around my waist and legs before I can give him my answer, running with me to find cover behind the house.

While Tobias and I are hiding with our bucket of balloons, he informs me that while Chris and I were in the house changing, teams were created: Tobias and me, Uriah and Marlene, Chris and Will, Stephen and Mark and Mattie, and finally Sam and Zeke. Shauna decided to sit out of the game with Harmoni. Quietly, I ask, "What are the rules?" Tobias replies, "Each couple gets a bucket of balloons. Once the ballons are gone, to get a refill you need to make it back to the base which is where Shauna and Harmoni are. To get a person out, you must be hit five times by an opposing player. My heart races in my chest at his words.

Mattie runs around the yard, throwing balloons at everyone, giggling each time a balloon makes contact. Zeke and Tobias pelt each other with balloons every time they spot one another. I set my sights on Christina, aiming for her.

For some reason, she keeps getting hit by ballons from Will, who laughs each time his balloon makes contact with her clothing because his hits don't count. Halfway through the game, having had enough of Will's torture, she turns on him, and she joins Tobias and me.

We take Stephen out first, who wasn't expect it since he was too busy running from Chris. He ran straight into Tobias's and my trap. He grins while I pelt him with a pink-filled paint balloon in the face. Chris, Tobias, and I, easily take Uriah and Zeke out, who grumble about the unfairness of the situation while they move to the sidelines to watch the rest of the game. Zeke makes faces at his daughter while attempting to kiss Shauna. She places her hand over her lips, giggling, "You are covered in paint."

Chris and I stalk through the yard, attempting to find Will and Sam. I tiptoe around a tree, listening for any movement. My ears perk when the grass rustles even though there is no wind. I launch a balloon in the direction of the sound, only for hands to grab me, throwing me to the ground. I laugh, my eyes meeting Tobias's. Suddenly, I hear, "Got you! You are out!" I squeal as a balloon smashes into my chest, covering it and my face in yellow paint. I screech, "Tobias, I thought we were on the same team!"

He smiles, "We were, but I switched sides when Chris did, without you knowing it. Will and I teamed up and have been hunting Chris and you for a while." He grins, kissing my forehead. When he pulls away, his lips are covered in yellow paint. For a minute, I laugh, then grumble, "You suck!" I take some of the paint from my chest and smear it onto his cheeks, giving him war paint to match my black lines. He grins, "No, I don't. You love me." He pulls me from the ground, carrying me to the sidelines. Then returns to the game after his lips touch mine in a short, sweet kiss. I laugh when his lips pull away from mine. His lips are covered in even more yellow paint than before. Tobias stalks toward Chris. Will closes in on her from behind. I yell, "Run, Chris!" She darts while Will takes off, after her, only to catch her. She laughs, throwing herself onto the ground, covering her head. Will breaks a balloon over her head, covering her in bright green paint. Tobias aims his last balloon at Will, throwing it at him, covering him in yellow. A laugh bursts from my lips at the look on Will's face. His unexpected, surprised lips smirk, "You are done for Eaton!"

Tobias taunts, "Do your worse!" Tobias pelts Will with another balloon. Will tosses a balloon, but Tobias narrowly avoids it. I giggle, watching them both act like teenagers. Tobias grabs a balloon from Christina's bucket, continuing to throw balloons at Will, hitting him with blue paint, taunting, "For an Army guy, you certainly can't aim very well."

Chris whispers, "I wouldn't taunt him," from the sidelines. I roll my eyes toward her, replying, "Oh well, let him learn the hard way." Will grabs another balloon from Mark's bucket while Tobias opens his mouth to begin to speak, but he doesn't get to finish his sentence because a red paint-filled balloon hits him directly in the face. Will laughs, "I'm a bad shot, right?" He crosses his arms tightly over his chest, standing across from Tobias with his eyebrow lifted. Tobias smugly smiles, "Did I say that?" Chris and I laugh. We run and jump at both Tobias and Will, who catch us, covering us in even more paint. Glancing at Tobias, I ask once again, "Can we go watch the fireworks later?" Tobias shrugs his shoulders, answering, "Maybe."

While everyone leaves to return home, I ask, "Sam, will you go with us to watch the fireworks?" Sam nods his head, no, replying, "I can't. I have to stand watch tonight." My eyes glance to Will, asking, "Will?" Will only laughs while his cellphone rings, replying, "You couldn't pay me enough to watch those things." Chris pipes up, "I'll go with you, Tris. Will never wants to go with me. It will be nice to have company for once. Don't feel too bad about him not wanting to go, and try not to take it personally. I don't. He hasn't gone to fireworks since he joined the Army." I giggle, feeling slightly better. She laughs, "I'll meet you back here in an hour or so. I need to take a shower to get all this paint out of my hair. Hugging her, I reply, "It's a date. I will see you a little bit for some fireworks!"

Thoughts and opinions on this chapter. Whose excited for the rest of the 4th of July? Please review. The next update will be up on the weekend of Nov 6