Inked

Chapter 4

Hey, everybody! This chapter kind of wrote itself, and I don't like it very much since I feel like it's pointless rambling, but that's basically what all my stories are, right? XD So here you go; here's chapter 4. Hope you enjoy, and be sure to let me know what you think! - Loopy

"Why Poe? I meant to ask before..." Tobias's voice was unexpected, but Tris didn't flinch, didn't even let her eyes drift from his back. This was her element.

She smirked. "Didn't you go to school? Not that I'd be surprised if you didn't..." her voice trailed off. It was clear she was teasing, despite her tone remaining deadpan. Tobias's eyebrows rose, his mouth curling into a grin.

"Geez, someone's pissy today," he chuckled. He was only partially joking. This session had been going differently than the last one. Tris had been uncharacteristically quiet for the first hour and a half of the appointment, not even bashing on his outfit, which he admitted he wore just to piss her off. He'd triggered a passionate, hateful rant the last time he'd brought up Captain America, so naturally he picked out the shirt with his shield as the one to wear today.

But it was like she hadn't even noticed. And while he usually admired how lost she could become in her art, today it was like she was drowning in it, hiding in the buzzing of the machine. It worried him more than it should've, but she was the only friend - and that's what he felt she was to him - he had that he felt completely comfortable around, and he was protective of that trust. It was selfish of him, he knew, but he didn't know what else to do. Trust wasn't something that came easily to him. But then he met Tris, and he wanted to tell her his life story, his social security number, his blood type, his zodiac sign-

Oh my god. What's happened to me?

"Just a long night," she grumbled, her ghosted smile fading. She didn't want to explain to him that she hadn't slept in over a month, that when she tried she was plagued by nightmares. They weren't even sensible nightmares, like things that would've been triggered by actual events, but they were enough to remind her that she wasn't good enough for this, for him, for Tori, for Poe, and that she never would be.

Tobias had already seen her weak enough. She didn't need him leaving the shop because he didn't trust his artist to keep a steady hand, to remain stable. It had been almost a year since her last full-fledged panic attack, and she'd been trying very hard to keep herself calm, to make herself better, but it would be just her luck to have a breakdown in front of this man, this friend. That's what he was now, right? He took too much enjoyment out of pissing her off to not be her friend.

He wasn't quite sure what she meant by that. Fleetingly, he wondered if she had a hangover, but she didn't seem the type to get shitfaced on a work night. Or to get shitfaced at all. But he'd noticed the purple rings under her eyes when he'd walked in today, even if he couldn't see her face now. Judging by her words, she was scowling, and it was obvious she hadn't slept at all last night, but she didn't want to talk about why.

"So... he is named after the poet?" he changed subjects. Tris was relieved at the shift of focus. He'd been coming dangerously close to shit she didn't want to talk about. She nodded before she remembered he couldn't see her.

"Yep. Edgar Allan Poe. He's my favorite writer." Tobias could hear the smile in her voice, and it made him relax.

He winced slightly as the needle started across a particularly sensitive area. To his surprise, Tris laughed. "Yeah, that's what happens when you get tattoos on your shoulder blades. I'm sorry, it'll be a while on this section." It was the first time since he'd met her that her apology sounded genuine, and it brought the contentment back. She doesn't like hurting me. That was a concept he wasn't all too familiar with, considering his horrible parents and secluded childhood, but it spread a thick warmth through him, like honey running through his veins. It felt indescribably good.