Divergent UNIVERSITY ✅

chapter 36

They won the series two games to one. They fought hard and became national champions. This was the first national championship for baseball at their school for twenty-three years and the first time in school history that they had national championships in baseball and softball in the same year. They had never won simultaneous national championships before.Natalie, Bud, and Tris return to Illinois the day after the third game of the series. Two days later Four returns. He gets to campus and is greeted by Tris at the training center. They pack all of his bags into her car, then they go to the frat house to collect his Harley. They arrive at Bud's house about forty-five minutes later.When they get into the house, Natalie calls them into the kitchen. "Hey, Bud and I were just talking. We wanted to know if you wanted to invite your friends to come spend the weekend with us. We can have a little victory celebration.""That sounds great!" Tris explains. She goes off to text Marlene, Chris, and Shauna.~oOo~"Well room arrangements will be tight for the weekend. We will have Zeke, Uriah, Will, and Four in the game room downstairs and Tris and Christina in one bedroom and Shauna and Marlene in the other bedroom upstairs."Four flashes a smirk at Tris and gathers her things into his hands. "I'll carry your things upstairs for you."Will and Christina follow behind them with Christina's plethora of bags. She sent a significant amount of belongings back to her parents' house in Michigan, but she still has enough clothes to dress all four girls for a month.Zeke and Uriah also follow with Marlene and Shauna's belongings.When the group of them has delivered the girls belongings to the rooms, they return to gather the guy's things and take them to the game room.They enter the game room and are pleasantly surprised. The room is huge with two pull out couches and two air mattress beds sitting around the room. There is also a huge television mounted to the wall, a pool table, dart board, a refrigerator, bar, and two pinball machines. This is a man's paradise. Even the girls are impressed with this room."So, what are we going to do first?" Marlene asks."I don't know about you guys, but I'm dying to get out on that beach!" Christina says."That sounds like fun," Will agrees."Alright, it's settled then. We're heading out to the beach. But first, we need to go get ready," Shauna says.Tris looks nervous. She knows that she will be forced into another bikini and a lot has changed about her over the past few months. Her body has filled out a little more, she isn't as skinny as she was before and her breasts have increased by one cup size. She was so upset and nervous about that, she went to the doctor to make sure that was normal. The doctor explained that breast size can increase on a girl into her twenties. Tris had always been so active that it took her body a little longer to develop fully.When the girls reach their rooms, Christina turns to Tris. "I bought you something." She pulls out a cute little two piece and hands it to a horrified looking Tris."Chris, I don't want to wear a two piece. I've...""You've got curves that you never had before. Tris, your body is perfect and it deserves to be seen. Hell, Four deserves to see it."Tris blushes and takes the bikini from Chris. Then Chris hands her something else, "It's a wrap. You tie it around your waist. It isn't going to cover you as much as you would like, but it is better than nothing."Tris takes the wrap and begins getting dressed. She notices that the bottom of the bikini is not a normal tiny piece; it is made more like a boy short. Tris looks over at Chris who is smirking. "Okay, so I thought you would prefer a two piece with a little more substance to it. It's athletic looking, the top looks like a sports bra and the bottoms look like little shorts. It is still adorable, but there is a little more material and the top isn't all string like the last one."Tris has a huge smile on her face, "Thanks Chris. This is definitely more... me."Once they are ready, Chris and Tris walk across the hall to Marlene and Shauna's room. Marlene is sitting there crying and Shauna is trying to consol her."What's wrong?" Chris asks."I don't know, she started to put on her swimsuit and started crying.""Mar, what's wrong. We've all noticed that there is something up with you and Uriah. We are your friends, we can help you," Tris says."I think I'm pregnant. I haven't had a period since April," Marlene says, tears streaming down her face."Did you take a pregnancy test?" Shauna asks."No, but I've never skipped a period before.""Well you can't be sure until you take a test," Chris says."We'll go get you one. There's no need to panic until you take a test," Tris says."We can do it now if you want," Shauna says.Marlene dries her tears and takes a deep breath, "No, I don't want anyone else to know yet. And I don't want Uri to know that I told you. He wanted to keep it to ourselves until we found out for sure.""Well, while we're at the beach, one of us can run over to the pharmacy and get a test," Chris says.Marlene nods in agreement and finishes getting ready. She doesn't look any different, but it's early.Once the girls have packed bags of towels, gloves, softballs, a beach ball, and other games they can play on the beach they walk down the steps and meet the guys in the foyer.Four takes the bag that Tris was carrying, "What do you have in here, bricks?"She snickers, "Gloves, balls, a football, and a couple other things.""You are such a jock!" Uriah says through a laugh. "Isn't our job to think about grabbing all of the sports equipment?"Marlene hits him in the arm, "You are such a butthead sometimes.""Let's go before my brother says something else that will get him hit," Zeke snickers.They all gather their things and go walk the short distance to the beach. Once they get there Tris, Chris, Marlene and Shauna lay the blankets out and sit down to start applying sunscreen. Zeke, Uriah, Will, and Four sit the coolers around the blankets and start going through the bags to see what the girls brought.Four goes over to Tris and takes the sunscreen from her. He starts to apply some to her back where she couldn't reach. "Want to play catch with me?" he asks."Sure," she says standing. She and Four grab their gloves and a ball and start to play catch. Will, Uriah, Chris, and Marlene all go swimming. And Zeke and Shauna decide to lie on the blankets together and talk.They spend their day playing and being together. When it starts to get dark, they pack up for the evening and go back to Bud's house. When they arrive, they find that Natalie and Bud have made a huge spaghetti dinner.They sit together and eat the meal that was prepared for them. After dinner Uriah challenges Zeke and Shauna to a pool game, so they decide to play teams and Will and Christina decide to play pin ball. While their friends are playing, Tris drags Four out the door."Where are we going?""I just thought it would be nice to spend some time together alone. We haven't been alone since before I left for Oklahoma. I thought maybe we could just go hang out on the beach for a while.""Sounds good to me," Four says. He takes her hand and laces his fingers with hers and they start walking toward the beach. When they get there they sit together in the sand and watch as the water laps on the beach."I do have some news," Four says after a few minutes. "I got a call the last day I was in Nebraska. I was drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the fifth round of the draft. They called to tell me that I will be playing triple-A ball for one of their feeder teams in Indianapolis next season.""I'm so proud of you, but what are you going to do until then?" she asks."Well, I've accepted a position at the university to be an assistant to the school's athletics doctor. We will split time between all of the teams so there is always someone with medical training available."They sit quietly for a while, Tris sitting between Four's legs. She leans back into his chest and his arms are wrapped around her. Her insecurities start to fester inside of her as she thinks about him being in another state. What if he finds another girl that he doesn't have to work so hard for or one that he doesn't have to share with sports?He doesn't have to see her face to know what she is thinking. He has learned over the past nine months that no matter how many times he tells her she has nothing to worry about, she always worries. "Tris," he says lifting her so she has no choice but to look at him. "I don't want anyone else but you. You have nothing to worry about. I've basically been waiting my entire life for you; there is no way I would let you go now.""But what if you get sick of waiting for me? What if my athletic career takes me away from you? I could be in Akron and you could be in Pittsburgh, they aren't exactly right next to each other.""They aren't exactly a million miles away from each other either, Tris. We will work it out. Besides, professional baseball and softball don't last all year. We can be together during the off season. We will work it out, I promise."She doesn't argue any more. She just plants a kiss on his lips. She doesn't want to lose him and she is still worried about what is going to happen to them.They spend the evening on the beach watching the sunset and looking at all of the stars. When the night air gets too chilled for Tris to sit comfortably any longer, they decide to return to the house. When they arrive, the guys are in the basement watching television and the girls are all upstairs either in beds or preparing for bed. Natalie and Bud sit on the couch watching television."Did you two enjoy your alone time?" Natalie asks."Yes," Tris smiles. "We haven't been alone since before I left of Oklahoma. We just needed some time to talk.""Everything okay?" Natalie asks concerned."Everything is fine. We were just discussing what's going to happen when Four has to report to Indiana since he was drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates and was placed on their feeder team.""Really? You were drafted?" Bud asks."Yeah, I got a call from my coaches while I was in Nebraska.""Congratulations Four, that is fantastic!" Natalie says giving him a hug. "We're very proud of you."Tris smiles, but she feels like she is going to break any moment. She has him for a few more months, but as soon as he has to report for spring training, things are going to change."I almost forgot, Brian called earlier. He and Tori will be arriving here in a couple days. I will be hiring Tori to work at the tattoo parlor for a while.""Why would she want to work in a tattoo parlor, she's a federal agent.""She is on a leave. They just found out that they are going to have a baby. Tori decided that she doesn't want to be put into dangerous situations anymore and she doesn't want a desk job at the bureau. Apparently she was an artist in college, she made extra money tattooing."The thought of a baby reminds Tris about Marlene and the fact that she needs to take a pregnancy test. She starts to get anxious to get upstairs to where the other girls are, but she doesn't want to be obvious."That's awesome," Four says. "What is Brian going to do?""Speaking of tattoos, you said that you would teach me how to tattoo," Tris says to her mother."Is that something that you still want to do?""Yes, I'm a good artist. I want to learn."Natalie nods and smiles. But Four looks at her like she is a new person."Wait, you can draw?"Tris smiles, "Yes, I'm not bad.""Not bad?" Bud asks. "Her artwork is fantastic. She is going to be a phenomenal tattoo artist.""Will you draw me a new tattoo?" Four asks. "I would love to be the first to have one of your tattoos.""Speaking of tattoos, Four, I have something for you to see," Bud tells him. He gets up and gets his sketch pad from another room. He returns with the pad open and hands it to Four.The image that is on the page is awesome. It is a griffin surrounded with the same flames that are currently covering his back and his right side."I was thinking the griffin would be a good addition to the dragon and phoenix that you already have.""What does the griffin symbolize?" Four asks."It is the king of birds and lord of the air united with the king of beasts and lord of the earth. Griffins are a symbol of the sun, wisdom, vengeance, strength, and salvation," Bud explains."This is amazing, I absolutely want this. When can we do it?" Four asks excitedly."We can do it now if you want. I have all of my equipment here.""Let's do it! Where should I sit?" Four asks taking his shirt off."Let's do it in the kitchen, the light in there is optimal and you can lie on the counter or sit on a higher stool in there."They go into the kitchen and Tris helps Bud prepare his tattoo gun. She sits down next to Four and he takes her hand."I really have created a monster, haven't I?" she smirks."What do you mean?""You didn't have any tattoos, now in a couple hours most of your torso is going to be covered.""Well I still have an empty bicep that can be your canvas. Or there's always my chest," he says kissing her hand."Well, while you are doing this, I'm going to go upstairs, I'm getting tired, I'm going to head up to bed," Tris says. She kisses Four, "Goodnight."She rushes up the steps and finds all three girls in Marlene and Shauna's room. After all of the news that she has received tonight, she almost forgot about her friend's problems."Sorry, I'm late. Did you take the test?"Marlene hands her the stick. "What does this mean?" Tris asks."It means you will still have a catcher this fall," Marlene says smiling.Tris hugs her, "That's good. I'm sure you'd make a great mother..."Marlene smiles and cuts her off, "But not yet.""So where were you anyway?" Shauna asks."Four and I went outside while you guys were playing. He told me he was drafted in the MLB draft by the Pittsburgh Pirates. He will be playing for a triple-A team in Indianapolis.""That's amazing news!" Chris says.Tris nods. She knows that this is a huge opportunity for him, but she worries about the future and what will happen to them.

Okay, so here is what has gone on with this story. It has been completely revamped, especially from chapter 31 to the present chapter. I reread the entire story and wasn't happy with the flow in the last couple chapters, so I rewrote them. There was some information that needed to be shared between the characters and for the audience. Some of the information that I took out will find its way back into this story at a different point, but not yet. As always thanks for the reviews and thanks for reading.