Divergent UNIVERSITY ✅

chapter 15

I own my ideas, but I don't own the characters. Just in case you weren't sure.Chapter 15Tris wakes in the morning extremely happy. The fact that Four came here to see her in the middle of the night because he missed her made her heart flutter and her stomach have butterflies. Every time she sees him she feels like that and every time they are together, she can't believe that he wants to be with her.She quickly readies herself and goes outside to wait for Brian and Four to come get her for training. As she stands there she sees a man standing a block away looking at her. She tries to ignore his presence, but he continues to stare.He begins to walk down the street toward her when Brian's car pulls up and Four jumps out of the car and runs the man down and tackles him.Brian and Tris run toward the commotion just as three armed men converge on the situation. Brian gestures for them to stay back and just listen. He is hoping that Marcus will admit to something while they are in earshot."What the hell are you doing here?" Four screams."We had a deal. I was coming to discuss the situation when I saw your little tramp friend here. I just wanted to talk to her about some things," Marcus says with Four's kneeling on his chest."We never had a deal. I never actually agreed to anything. I said I'd see what I could do.""You will regret not following through. There are a lot of very angry men out there looking for me. When they don't find me, they'll come after you.""Why would they come after me?""When I told them to bet against the Tigers, that you were going to lose the game they assumed that we were working together. Now they'll believe you got cold feet or something.""One of your little friends already came after me and I knocked him out. Maybe I should do the same to you," Four says cocking back his arm to throw a punch. Marcus cowers, this is the first time Four has ever stood up to Marcus."What, do you actually think you have the nerve to hit me? After all of these years you are finally becoming the man you are supposed to be?""You son of a..." Four shouts and punches him hard in the face. "Stay away from me. The next time I see you I swear I'll kill you. And stay away from my friends," he growls.Brian gestures for the agents to come and arrest Marcus. When he is taken into custody Brian walks up to Four, "You did good kid!"Tris goes to him and pulls him into a hug. "Are you alright?" she asks."Fine," he looks down at her and smiles. "Are you okay?""I'm fine," she smiles. He leans in and presses his lips to hers gently. This is only the second kiss that they have shared. She is shy and he doesn't want to push or pressure her, so he has been holding back his feelings for her. Only initiating contact when the feeling overwhelms him and he has to touch her. He tries to let her initiate their moments of affection. But either because of inexperience or being unsure she really hasn't.She pulls back and smiles at him.Behind them Brian clears his throat, "Alright, excitement is over for now. Time to train."Tris looks at him and nods. Together, hand in hand, Four and Tris walk to Brian's car and they go down the street to the batting cages."What is going to happen with Marcus now?" Four asks."Well, we'll arraign him on charges of terroristic threats, child abuse, and conspiracy to commit theft. We have managed to get one of the kids from another school to come forward about what Marcus did to him and his family. We have the falsified contracts between this boy and Marcus, which should be enough for a conviction. We may need you to testify against him for what he did to you though."Four nods. He looks worried and not completely happy with the idea of testifying. Tris turns to look at him sitting in the back seat. She smiles at him and reaches back to take his hand. "I'll be there for you through whatever you have to do."He smiles at her. "How about a drive after your game tonight. I'm thinking another tattoo?"She smiles and agrees. She doesn't know about anything for herself, but it seems she has created a monster."Tris, does your mother's parlor do parties?" Four asks. "A couple people have asked about my tattoo and they want to go with us to get a tattoo. I was thinking that maybe we could just take over your mother's tattoo parlor one day and bring along some of our friends.""Yeah, my mother's done that before. But we have to make sure we have enough paying customers to make it worth her while.""That shouldn't be a problem. Maybe we can talk to her about it tonight?""Sounds good. I wanted to talk to her about something anyway."~oOo~That night after the Tigers softball team won their game and earned the top seed in the playoffs for fall ball, Four and Tris got onto his motorcycle and started toward her hometown and her mother's tattoo parlor. She phoned her earlier to let her know that they were coming and that Four wanted to talk to Bud about some more work.As they ride Tris can't stop the feeling that she needs to focus more of her attention on Four. He isn't complaining, but when she sees how affectionate Marlene, Shauna, and Christina are with their boyfriends, she wonders if she is doing something wrong. She doesn't want to do things that she isn't ready for, but she also doesn't want to lose him.She wraps her arms tighter around his waist and presses herself tight against his back. She feels his hand graze hers then he must put it back on the handlebars. But that little bit of contact makes her heart race. She needs to talk to her mother about this. She doesn't know what to do and her mother has always been the person that she could confide most in. She just hopes that will extend to boy stuff too.They get to the tattoo parlor and Four goes over to Bud's station to talk about what he wants to get now. While they are discussing tattoos, Tris goes to her mother."Hi Honey, how was your game today?""We won. We're in the playoffs starting next week.""Great! I'll come down to see you next week, what time?""The game's at three o'clock.""So did you want something new?""Actually no, I just wanted to talk.""What's up?""Well, it's Four. Mom, I really like him but...""But what? You're afraid? It's natural. You were never one to date much. Most of the guys you hung around with were more like your brothers than anything else. You finally found a guy that is more than that.""What do I do? I kissed before our last trip here to finish his tattoo but nothing else has really happened since except for today when he kissed me again.""Tris, there is nothing wrong with some affection. I know that your father and I aren't very affectionate with each other, but there isn't anything wrong with it. Most people crave other people's touch. If you like him that much then you shouldn't worry about the kissing and hugging and if he respects you he won't push for anything you aren't ready for.""I know," Tris says. "But how do I know when I'm ready? I mean I'm almost twenty-one and this is my first real boyfriend. I'm not very knowledgeable in this department.""There is nothing wrong with that honey," she says. "You have been focused on bigger and better things. I think you noticed this boy because he's the same way and he isn't intimidated by you. Not to mention that he is handsome."Tris blushes and nods her head at her mother."Tris, just go with the flow. If the relationship is meant to be then it will flow naturally and you won't have to think about it.""Are you sure? I don't want to screw anything up.""I'm sure. Now do you want a new tattoo or what?""No, but I did want to ask about a tattoo party. Several of our friends have seen Four's tattoo and now they all want to come here. Could we maybe do a party on a Sunday night or something?""Sure, that sounds like fun. When and how many people are we talking because more than two and Bud and I will need to call in for some backup.""You should probably bring the backup; it was guys on the football team that were showing the most interest."When Four walks over to Tris and her mother, she sees that he has a bandage on his bicep covering his new artwork."What did you get?" Tris asks.Four peals back the bandage revealing the image of a black and gray tiger ripping through his skin. The only color is the bright yellow eyes and the pinkish tongue. Bud's work is fantastic. "Is it staying black and gray or are you getting it colored?""I like how it looks in the blacks and grays.""Yeah, me too," Tris says. "My mom agreed to a tattoo party for next Sunday. We just have to let her know how many to expect.""How many can you accommodate?" Four asks."Well, Bud and I can call in the rest of the crew so probably twelve people depending on what they want," says Natalie."We will limit it to the twelve then," Tris says.Tris hugs her mother and Bud. She and Four walk out into the night and get ready to climb onto his motorcycle."Are you hungry? You haven't eaten since before your game today.""Yeah, there's a great little diner around the corner. Do you want to stop?" she asks."Let's go," he says starting the bike and driving in the direction that she referred to.When they get to the diner, they immediately get seated in a little booth away from everyone. The hostess hands them both menus and takes their drink orders. As soon as she's gone, Four looks up at Tris."So is everything okay? You looked like you were having a pretty intense conversation with your mom."She smiles, "Yes, everything is fine. There was just some advice that I needed and she's the best at giving advice. I've always found it very easy to talk to my mother about things.""What about your father? We've been here a couple times now and I've never seen him.""My father and mother are very different. They are like night and day. My father is a council member in the city, so he's always working. And when he isn't working he is worrying about Caleb and his precious 4.0 GPA.""Who's Caleb?""My older brother. He's at Harvard, prelaw or premed, I'm not sure what he's doing. He's like the golden child as far as my father is concerned so I don't pay much attention. When I actually talk to my father I usually get yelled at for not calling enough, not having a good enough GPA, like a 3.5 is bad or something. He never asks about me or how I'm doing. He doesn't ask about my sports or about anything to do with my classes.""He sounds like a great guy," Four says sarcastically.Tris snickers, "Well, not as bad as some people's fathers.""Yeah, I'm pretty sure mine is worse," Four says looking down."Well, you are better than him and you are making yourself a better life."He smiles at that and takes her hand across the table. "So, next week is homecoming.""Yeah, I think I heard something about that on campus.""They do go a little crazy with the preparations for Homecoming. Anyway, I was wondering if you would want to go to the Homecoming dance with me. It's not a formal thing, you don't have to get all dressed up if you don't want to.""Do you think Marlene and Christina would let me out of the house without dressing me like a Barbie doll?""Is that a yes?" he asks.He's very nervous, in his four years on campus he has never gone to a Homecoming dance and he has never asked a girl to go to any school function with him. But his nervousness melts away when he looks into her eyes and sees the answer before she even speaks it."Yes, I'll go with you," she smiles.He pulls her hand to his mouth and kisses her hand. He never realized he could be such a gentleman. No girl has ever provoked this kind of behavior from him. Most of them made him behave more arrogantly, rude, and piggish. But Tris makes him want to be better. She makes him want to be the man that she imagines him to be.