A/N- Hope everyone is having a good Christmas Eve! Have pushed myself to get this chapter out today as the days correlate! Christmas day wont be until next week though because I've had no time to write lol. I'm looking forward to Christmas being over and my hours at work coming down! Have a great Christmas and i'll see you all next week.

Chapter 14- The Whole Truth

I sit on my bed, pressed as far as I can go into the corner. The girls stare back at me, Mar's mouth dropped open, and Christina slowly grinning like a madman. Lynn, leaning against the wall of mirrored wardrobes, looks over at the two of them like it was her secret to tell.

"If you would have given me a few more days I would have worked it out," Christina says, shaking her head still with a smile on her lips.

Mar, on the other hand, looks confused. She leans forward, honey blonde hair falling over her shoulder. "And what was the reason for helping Peter out?"

I open my mouth, but shut it quickly. I know Christina won't care about my motives, probably thinking it's funny or something. But Mar…

"She was trying to get Al off of her back."

I sit up, my head shooting to Lynn, "what the hell?"

"We'd be here all night if I let you tell the whole truth."

I shake my head, not looking towards Marlene. I can already feel the disappointment rushing out of her.

"Look, you guys can't say anything. I've still agreed to this, so it's not really fair on Peter-"

"Not fair on Peter?" Mar scoffs. Forcing my eyes to her, I lock onto her pretty disgusted face. "Have you had any passing thought of how Al would feel if he found out?" Her head swings to the other girls, "do you two not have a problem with this?"

Christina's face quickly changes, her brows pulling in comically, "of course I do!" She looks back to me, shaking her head, "Tris, you should have come to me first and I would have told you not to tell Mar-"

Mar stands up suddenly, "you two are as bad as each other," her eyes meet Lynn's, "you as well, Lynn."

Lynn's face drops, her eyes glued onto Mar as she walks out of the door. Silence hangs in her wake, then Lynn rushes out after her.

"I, personally, would have given her some space." Christina says, walking over to me. Flopping down on my bed, she grabs her phone out, "she'll get over it."

"I hope so," is all I can think of saying back, knowing everything Mar had just said was completely right.

Chucking her phone on the bed, she sits up, positioning her body towards mine. "So, what's going on with the instruction then?"

My mind filters back to this morning, my hand securely in his, "you saw that?"

"It's not just been that, hun," she shrugs, "it's why I couldn't understand why you were with Peter." Grinning, she adds, "you can't hide your true feelings from me."

I don't know why I thought I could keep this thing between Tobias and I a secret. This is my best friend, there shouldn't be such things as secrets. "I don't know what's going on between us. And now I have to tell him all of this and who knows how he's going to react. If it's anything like Mar's-"

She shakes her head, cutting me off, "he won't react like Mar, he doesn't know Al so he's not going to care about him. Just tell him the truth, it's not like you actually like Peter."

I know she's right about the Al thing, Tobias isn't much of a people person to begin with. But I still can't help but doubt myself. What if he thinks this whole situation is cruel and unnecessary?

"When are you seeing him next?" She asks, her brown eyes soft, but intrigued.

I let out a tired breath, rubbing my forehead, "tomorrow morning. We're meeting up with his mum in the afternoon-"

"Woah, stop right there. You're meeting his mother?"

I let out a laugh, "no, no! Not like that!" My smile stays on my face just thinking about him, "turns out we've met before, back when we were small. Our mums were Uni friends."

Surprise coats her face as I twist around, feeling under my duvet for a certain bear. Pulling him out, I hold him in front of her, "guess where the name Stanley came from?"

She moves the bear out of the way, "Four's real name is Stanley?"

"No!" I laugh, "Stanley was Four's, but he left him on one of our skiing trips. I took him and apparently the only thing I remembered from that trip was the teddy's name."

"So you know his real name?"

I nod, but keep my mouth closed.

Her head tilts to the side, "does Zeke know it?"

"Uh," I think back to last night. He didn't say anything about anyone else knowing. "I don't think so?" She begins grinning, and I know where her mind's going. I shake my head, "No, Christina, he didn't tell me. I remembered it."

"But you call him by it when you're alone," she pushes.

A smile slowly creeps onto my face, "yes."

"It's official then!"

"Shut up," I giggle, pushing her shoulder. Standing up, I hold out a hand for her to grab. "We should probably try and find Mar. I need to clear the air."

Her slender hands grab a hold of mine, and I pull her up. "Let's hope Lynn's worked her magic."

...

Sneaking out of the room the next morning was easier than expected. Chris and I didn't find Mar and Lynn yesterday afternoon, so we just wandered around the town, catching each other up on the past week or so.

Turns out, that night on the mountain top bar, Uriah and Marlene kissed on the dance floor. Guilt had seeped in again, as that was a good few days ago, and I've been too obsessed with myself to even talk to Mar or Uri about their budding relationship.

Luckily, there's been little to no change between Chris and Will, which relieved me.

Mar and Lynn were high on our conversation, with Christina hinting that she thinks something's going on. After that, I couldn't help but tell her what I knew. It's hard to believe that there's been so many secrets between the two of us, mostly on my behalf. Usually, she's the first person I call when something's happened. She had said that it was kind of obvious, Lynn's feelings for Marlene, but promised it wouldn't go anywhere passed her. I didn't need the promise, already trusting her with anything and everything. When her and Will had first started going out back in year 11, I had asked if she would start telling Will. "Why would he need to know?" Was her reply, and since then there's been no wall between us.

We didn't get back to the room until late, having gone out for something to eat. She easily took my mind off my pressing situation, our time together being well needed.

When we got back to the room, Mar and Lynn were already in their beds, supposedly fast asleep. We didn't talk much when in the room, not wanting anyone to hear something they shouldn't. We had decided that we'd talk to Mar in the morning, with Christina insisting that she'll have to clear the air between the two of them too. It made me feel slightly better, knowing I'm not the only one in Mar's bad books.

Shutting the door behind me softly, I zip up my coat as I move down the hallway. Tobias had texted last night, saying to meet up at the bar for half 9, an hour before he's due to meet his mum.

Pushing my nerves to the bottom of my stomach, I hurry down the stairs, not wanting to be late.

...

Pushing through the doors, I'm hit by the welcoming heat of indoors. My eyes skim the room for Tobias. It's pretty dead in here, only a couple in the corner and two men at the bar.

"Tris."

I turn around, feeling the cold wind hit me as the door begins to close. Standing behind me is Tobias, just taking off his coat. His cheeks are pink, the frigid temperatures biting at his face.

"Oh, hey." I reply, wondering how I didn't notice him behind me this whole time. He ruffles the snow out of his hair as I take a few steps back, allowing him to fully enter the room. "Were you on the chair behind me?" I ask, moving further into the building. Picking the sofa by the fireplace, I finally take off my coat and gloves, placing them on the empty chair to my right.

"Yeah," he replies, falling into the sofa, "you seemed to be in your own little world, I did call out once." He grins.

I smile, embarrassed, as I sit next to him, "there's a few things occupying my mind at the moment."

"Yeah," he agrees, "let me go get some drinks, and we can talk about it."

He seems to take his time, and when he finally reappears, my leg has begun to move uncontrollably.

He passes me the round mug, but I place it down, thinking that I might throw it up if I ingest anything.

He takes a sip of the hot liquid as I quickly try to think of the best way to talk about this. Why didn't I think about this before? What was I even thinking about on the lift?

He patiently waits, placing his cup next to mine on the table just before the lively fire. I can already feel the heat seeping into me, the slightly overwhelming warmth burning out of my cheeks.

"Whatever you have to say can't be that bad," he says jokingly when I stay silent.

"Well, it's personal opinion at the end of the day." I force out a grin, my cheeks pulling up unnaturally.

"Tris," he sighs, "what is it?"

He has to know it's to do with Peter. I think it's obvious to him now. I take a deep breath, letting it out on my first word, "So, you know I used to go out with Peter." He nods, leaning back into the sofa so he can look at me easier. But his gaze just makes me more nervous and I'm tempted to ask him to turn around. "Right, so when I was dating him, Nita, in the intermediate group, had a thing for him. Never liked him before, but as soon as he was taken she wanted him." My fingers rub against each other, trying to stimulate something other than my mind, "But then we broke up, and she turned off like a switch. At that point, I couldn't care less about who she liked or if he liked her back, so that was finished with. That is, until a few weeks ago, when Peter told me he likes her."

He listens intently, his right fingers drumming against his joggers. "I doubt you remember the day you were meeting up with Zeke and Shauna, and you were just going into the coffee shop-"

"Yeah, I remember that." He cuts in, looking into the fire, "you were outside with him, talking about going somewhere for a chat."

Surprised, I question, "how'd you remember that?"

He looks over to me, "why'd you think I remembered that?"

I feel a nervous laugh rising, butterflies already swarming in my stomach. Instead, I just press my lips together and nod. "He said she didn't like him, and could only think of one way to get her to turn her head."

He nods his head, understanding where this is going. "So, what? You're going back out with him?" His tone is defensive, so I quickly backtrack.

"No! It's not like that at all! We're just faking being in the talking stage, and it's actually working-"

"Working? How long are you going to keep this up?"

"Well, after yesterday I was ready to end it, but-"

"But?" He says harshly, and my stomach drops. His gaze is sharp, and I know he doesn't like this at all. "What's your motive in this, Tris?"

Getting defensive myself, I say, "I was just trying to get someone off of my back, okay? And it worked so I'm supposed to keep up my end of the bargain."

He turns back to the fire, now sitting up with his elbows resting on his knees. He runs a hand through his hair, staying silent for a few moments. "Who's the guy you're trying to deflect?"

I bite at my nail. Saying his name out loud makes me feel even worse, "Al."

His body relaxes slightly as he nods his head.

"You didn't think I was trying to get your attention off of me, did you?"

He shrugs defensively, "you're all over the place. I can't read you at all."

"You can't read me? I can't read you!" I exclaim back, laughing at the absurdity. "Isn't it obvious that I like you?"

My eyes widen, my brain slowly computing what's just come out of my mouth. I can't believe I just said it first.

"Like…"

I scoff, ignoring my protesting brain. "I don't want us to just be friends, Tobias." I reply slowly, my voice lowering as I say his name.

My eyes have stayed glued onto his the whole time, watching them darken with every word I say. My throat feels like it's beginning to close, my heart beating faster the longer he stays silent.

I lean back, not wanting to make him uncomfortable, "do you not…"

Finally seeming to snap out of whatever just overtook him, he shakes his head. My heart drops. How have I read this whole situation wrong-

"I don't want to just be friends either, okay?" He says softly. My own shoulders fall, my confused body trying to figure out what's going on. "But nothing is going to happen until you finish your deal with Peter."

I can't help but smile, nodding quickly along with his words, "yeah, of course. I'll tell him when I get back-"

The bell chimes, and Tobias turns around. I follow his gaze, watching as a bundled up woman enters the shop.

Tobias stands, then holds out a hand, "let's forget about this for now, okay?"

I nod, grabbing his hand. He pulls me along, directing us over to his mum.

...

"We had no clue where she was, then she came barging into the house saying she had to climb out of the window because the guy had locked each door in the house." She laughs, but then shakes her head, "I know it's not funny, but I can still remember the hours we spent after, laughing about it. She had to climb down the drain pipe."

I chuckle, hoping the guy just didn't want anyone walking in on them and not something else.

Evelyn sighs, leaning back into her chair, "you have so much to look forward to at Uni, Tris. It was some of the best years of my life."

I smile at her words, my eyes flicking over to Tobias's. He's smiling at his mother too, his face softer than I've ever seen it.

"It's such a coincidence, though, isn't it?" She gushes, her red lips pulling to the side as she looks to her son, "who would have thought you two would have found each other in the alps."

My cheeks heat up, my eyes moving to Tobias. I know that's not what she meant, but I can't help but let my mind now move to that. His eyes lock onto mine, but I look back to his smiling mother before she thinks too much of it.

"I need to give you my mum's number," I say instead, "I'm sure she'd love to get back in contact."

Tucking some brown wavy stands, she reaches down between her and Tobias, shuffling in her bag.

Bringing out an older phone, she pushes it over to me. "You're better off typing it in. Tobias usually deals with my phone." She pats her son's cheek lovingly. He smiles at Evelyn, and I can't help but smile at the two of them.

I quickly type in Mum's number, then pass her back the phone. She reads over the number, smiling. Then surprise takes over her face, "oh! Is that the time!" She grabs her bag, then stands. We both stand with her, her gaze on her son. "Are you sure you don't want to come and see your grands-parents, Tobias? You can follow me down the hill then come back up later tonight?"

She pleads with him gently, and I can tell she wants him to go. Before he can deny her, I butt in. "I can deal with Zeke, Four. Go spend some time with your family."

He looks conflicted, but Evelyn's face is beaming, "thank you, Tris. It was lovely meeting you. Hopefully the next time we meet up your mother will be here."

"That sounds like a great idea!" I reply, grabbing my coat. I smile at the two of them, my eyes lingering on Tobias's conflicted ones for a second longer, "I'll see you tomorrow."

He nods slowly, then I turn to leave, adamant to get things moving.