Splatter [DIVERGENT]

sixteen; inevitability

Did she just say what I think she said?

Eyes widening, my eyebrows shoot up. "You do?"

For a moment, I'm greeted with the same Beatrice Prior from a month ago. The one who feared to make eye contact, always gripping the edge of her seat as she felt like she had to run out of the room.

The distance between us makes me long to hold her body in my arms again. I don't remember the last time that I'd liked somebody as much as I like her. There's just something about her that drives me out of my mind.

The little things about her that she seemingly hates—how she always bites down on the same part of her lip, how nail beds are shredded instead of perfectly maintained—are what mange to intrigue me the most.

She's just so dedicated to what I do. So, um, driven. Nobody dares to get in that girl's path once she's ready to fly because if you do, you will get knocked over because not only is she flying—she's soaring.

Tris nods, pushing back a strand of gooey hair. "I want to be with you so badly," she mumbles. "Why is this so hard for us? I mean, we're twenty-five yet struggling with relationships like we're teenagers."

I can't help but laugh at that. "Here I was thinking that these problems don't exist after high school."

Smiling weakly, I notice her breathing pick up because it starts getting louder and louder. Eyebrows shooting up, I feel my heartbeat pound against my ribs.

"But?" I ask, extending the vowel for as long as I can. Some part of me is desperate for the truth, yet another part wants to curl up away from it.

She steps back, her fingers rapidly covering her face. Pale hands shaking, Tris paces back and forth in a mini circle.

"But, everything is just so. . .perfect."

Now, I feel my eyes really widen. I don't know whether to be flattered or confused.

"Tris, what are you talking about?"

"Everything between us is so perfect right now, don't you think?" She asks while removing her hands, curling them into fists. "Tobias, whenever I'm around you I feel special and happy and just, full of life."

"Tris, do you think it's any different with me?"

Her cheeks flush such a deep shade of red that it's nearly impossible to restrain myself from allowing the slightest curl of my lip.

"No!" She exclaims. "Tobias, relationships start off amazing. If we date, the first few weeks will be like walking on clouds."

My hands reach out to her, gently enclosing around her wrists. I feel a mixture of desperation and fear reverberate at the pit of my stomach, alongside the part where our skin meets.

"And it'll stay that way!"

"No, it won't! Tobias, dating me is like a fucking nightmare. Do you think that I don't know that I'm insane? That I'm such a workaholic that I can't separate my work life from my personal one?"

Does she actually feel this way about herself? Honestly, if I said that Tris wasn't a little too focused on work that would be a lie. But I don't think she's insane.

"You're wrong," I reply, my voice so soft that it amazes me. "You're not—"

My voice gets cut off by hers, and I watch her snatch her wrists out of my grasp. "Shut up! Just-Just shut up, please. You can't be with me."

Despite how my heart feels likes it's being ripped to shreds inside a blender, I shake my head. After all this time of wanting to be with her, I can't give up now. I can't.