Divergent: Change

Chapter One

«Tobias»

"So how many guys have you hooked up? It got to be over 100 now, right?" I ask, amusement lacing my tone as I arch an eyebrow at her.

"You want me to list them alphabetically?" she questions innocently, a mischievous grin taking over her features.

"God no, we'd be here forever" I tease although in all honesty I wouldn't mind spending forever with the girl beside me.

She punches my shoulder playfully, a rare goofy grin curling at the edges of her lips.

"Good" she laughs "because I can't even remember half there names."

It was a Friday night, my favourite night of the week and I'm pretty sure it was hers to. We're in my bedroom Lyon close on my bed while The Perks of Being a Wallflower playing in the background. The film had been forgotten long ago.

I don't know how the topic of her hook ups had come up but although it wasn't my favourite subject I was just happy to hear her voice, happy to be lying beside my favourite girl. I'd barely seen her this week.

She seems more distant than usual. I absolutely hate that she feels she can't confide in me anymore, that she feels unable to speak to me whenever she needs. Slowly over the years since she'd lost her mom and brother she's become more and more closed off, unwilling to share what's going on. Sometimes I wish we could go back to being the oblivious 5 year olds who were unaware of all the bad in the world, who didn't feel weighed down by there own problems. The two 5 year olds who only cared about being in each other's presence and what adventure we'd go on next.

I watch the goofy grin leave her lips now turning down into a frown as she rubs her palms anxiously on the material of her sweatpants.

I turn today on my side, still looking at her.

"Hey" I whisper "What's going on Tris?"

She lets out a tired sigh.

"Can I stay here tonight?" she questions timidly "I don't want to be a nuisance, it's fine if I can't, it's just I had another argument with my Dad and he told me not to come back and I don't know Tobias, I'm sorry. . . I just. . ."

I press my finger to her lips to stop her rambling, revelling in the feel of her soft lips.

"Sshh, you never have to be sorry Prior" I cut her off "You don't even have to ask, stay whenever you need."

"Thank you" she whispers.

"Of course" I reply.

She turns her attention back to the screen as mine remains on her. I want to ask how this argument came about and what it was about but I've never been one to pry into her business no matter how much I want to know or be able to comfort her. I watch as her lips moves slightly as she mimics the words "We except the love we think we deserve." My lips turn up, slightly in amused at how well she knows the lines.

I continue to watch her as she continues to watch the movie.

"You know it's rude to stare" she mumbles, not even glancing away from the screen.

"Is it?" I question, then she turns to look at me with a small smile.

"It is" she replies "But I'll let you off just this once."

She winks at me and although it was supposed to be playful I feel something stir deep inside of me. That's when I lunge at her and begin to tickle all over her stomach, like I did when we were younger.

"Tobias, stop" she breathes through her fit of laughter. But I don't, I continue to tickle her until she flails beneath me while releasing a melodic fit of giggles. Suddenly she winces and my hands stop moving, resting on her hips to steady her as she covers her side with her hand.

"Shit Tris, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you" I frantically stutter.

She laughs humourlessly.

"Don't be stupid Tobias, you didn't hurt me you idiot, calm down" she throws me a weak smile.

"I did Tris, don't lie to me" I sternly say. I always promised myself, from the day I first met her, that no matter what Tris would be the one person I would never hurt.

"Tobias it's fine, trust me you didn't hurt me, it's not like you'd have a chance anyway" she teases at an attempt to lighten the mood.

I nod slowly still not fully believing her.

"C'mere" she whispers while opening her arms.

I move closer to her, putting my arms around her waist hesitantly attempting not to cause her any harm. She lays her head on my chest and at the back of my mind a thought lingers, I wish we could be doing this as more than friends. Maybe it was a bad to think I wanted more, that nowadays her being my best friend didn't feel like enough, that I didn't like any other guys to look at her a certain way let alone let alone touch and kiss her every time she's hooking up with a new guy. I had no right to think these things, she wasn't mine, she wasn't my girl, but I damn well wished she was. I move my hand up and run it through her long, blonde hair.

"So if it wasn't me that hurt you, why do you wince?" I question, still internally pinning the blame on myself.

She looks up at me and let's out a soft sigh.

"I got a bad bruise from some real rough sex"

The look on my face must tell everything I feel as a few seconds later she bursts into a fit of hysterics.

"I was just messing with you." she sputters through her giggles and I stifle my sigh of relief. "I was playing soccer with Uri the other day, one bad tackle and he ended up on top of me, sometimes the kid feels like he weighs 1000 kilos"

I let out a soft chuckle.

"I thought you hadn't spoken to any of the guys in a while you know with your busy lifestyle and all" I send her a wink.

"Shut up" she murmurs as she nuzzled her face into my chest "and I haven't I just bumped into him one free period he practically begged me to hang out for the rest of the day as we haven't in forever"

Tris had always been close with Uriah, he'd always treated her like family after they met at a support group that they'd both been forced to go to after Tris lost her mother and brother and Uriah had lost his father. They'd always shared a special bond and often hung out together but recently we'd barely seen Tris, sometimes she was out partying others were spent with a new guy, most of the time we had no idea where she was, some weeks the only time we'd see her apart from in the school halls was when she came over to see me on a Friday night. I didn't like it one bit.

I tuck a stray piece of hair behind her ear as she attempts to stifle a yawn yet fails miserably.

"We should get some sleep" I whisper.

"You want me to take the floor?" She questions, even though I'm pretty sure she knows what my answer will be, we've shared a bed many a times.

"Don't be silly, stay here" I tighten my hold on her waist just to back up my statement.

"If you say so" she mumbles into the material of my t-shirt.

"I do say so" I grin slightly as I look down at her in my arms. "Goodnight Tris"

I feel her smile slightly against my chest.

"Goodnight Tobias"

----------------------------------------------------------

Authors Note - Hey guys, I'm so sorry for the wait, all my school work and exams are making it really difficult to update.

Hopefully I will update 'Return' in the next few days.

Thank you so much, spread the word about this story.

Vote, comment, let me know what you think.

Love you guys <4