Call Me Six

7: 'Say That I'm Just As Pretty A Princess As Zeke' -Tobias

TOBIAS-

"Christina, babe, please talk to me."

"I said just leave me alone, Tobias," she grumbles and begins to pack up the remnants of her lunch.

I grab her hand in an effort to make her stay which only makes her pack faster. "Please? You know whatever Tris said was complete and utter bull-"

"That's the point!" she screams - cutting me off - and pulling a hand through her dark hair. "Everything she said was true; I'd be lying to both myself and you if I said I believed any different."

"So what? Just 'cause some blonde whore tells you something, you automatically believe them?"

"It's not what she told me, Tobias," her tone is so eerily calm now that I'm perched on the edge of my seat, "it's what she made me realise."

"And what did you realise?" The question I dare to voice hangs in the air.

"That I don't even fucking like you." Damn...

"What does that fucking mean?!"

"You're a dick! An asshole caught up in your own world!

"Sure, the fucking's fun... But that's all we do. We fuck.

"And for once... all I want is a fucking relationship that doesn't leave me wondering when the fuck you're gonna get fucking bored of fucking me."

Holly shit, I think as my eyes grow wide and my jaw hangs slightly. "I-is that what you think this is?"

"No, Tobias, that's what I know this is. And right now, I'd really appreciate it if you'd leave me alone."

"You're being irrational," I say as she picks up her bag and starts to walk off.

"Maybe I am, maybe I'm not. Give me a call later if you want to know which. But Tobias, this has to be over... What we're doing, it's unhealthy - for both of us." And with that, she was gone; walking away calmly as her combat boots, leggings and denim jacket fade into the crowd.

The rest of the day goes by a blur with only gym and history before it was time to go home.

My blue truck feels empty without Chris beside me and the silence where her chirpy voice used to be was surprisingly deafening.

I pulled into the driveway and could already hear the music blasting out her open window.

The truck's engine hums lowly as it ceases and I make my way to the front door. The lock clicks and I walk in - the Disney soundtrack is even louder than I'd expected.

I throw my keys on the small table, only to find that they'd landed in a pile of glitter.

"Soph?!" I shout, hoping that there's any chance she'll hear me.

"Toby!" Apparently, she does...

Her tiny feet come charging down the stairs and it takes mere seconds for her thin arms to latch round my leg.

"Play princess with me?" She stares up at me through blue eyes.

"Sophie..." Her gold dress is covering my jeans in glitter, and her face, as the sparkling flecks merge with the faint freckles.

"Please?"

"Fine."

"Yay!"

"But-"

"Oh..."

"Zeke is coming over in an hour."

"He can play too!"

"I don't think Zeke wants to play princess, Sophie."

~

"I call dibs on the purple dress!" he hollers whilst charging towards her open closet.

"That makes you Rapunzel and that means you have to wear the wig," Sophie says and climbs up on her dresser so that she's tall enough to squish Zeke's fat head into her blonde wig. "There... you look beautiful."

"I wouldn't go that far, Sophie - this is Zeke we're talking about."

"So?" she pouts and her bottom lip sticks out. "He can be a pretty princess just like you, Toby-poo." She doubles over in a fit of giggles and flops down on to her bed. "Although... You're quite an ugly princess!"

"You little..." I awkwardly hop across her cluttered room and tickle her ribs, making the high pitched squeals louder.

"T-Toby! S-stop!"

"Say that I'm just as pretty a princess as Zeke."

"You're the same prettiness as Zeke! Now, stop!" I let go and she squirms to the other side of the bed. "On second thoughts... Zeke's quite an ugly princess also..."