The Motto- Drake
Ty
I stuff my hands into the pockets of my black jacket as I walk through the dark room. Blue and red lights flash around the room, only adding to the thrill that comes from the loud, eardrum shattering music that surrounds me. I take a seat on a barstool and look around, trying to see if I can find Ashton.
I don't want to be here, I'd rather be home, alone with my thoughts.
That's how I like my life.
My eyes scan the room, and eventually I do find Ashton, leaning against the wall, a beer in his hands. A girl grinds on him, and I almost throw up. Of course it's his girlfriend, Maddie, but it still makes me sick.
Ashton and Maddie are perfect for each other. They're both wild, they like to party, they're loud, and they're addicted to a bad combination—alcohol and sex. I look up once again and see Ashton kissing her neck. She stands in front of him, her hands on her thighs as she dances against him.
They both work in bars, so they practically live here. I think that I would get tired of being around my girlfriend 24/7 like Ashton is.
I had a girlfriend, but she left me because I wanted to wait to have sex. She was nothing but sex, addicted to it like it was a drug. Her name was Rita. Rita West, the popular party girl.
Sometimes I find myself deep in my thoughts, missing her, but other times I find myself drowning myself in alcohol, missing her. Both are unhealthy, but I can't stay away from them.
Sometimes I might wake up in a stranger's house, laying in their bed or on their couch, a slamming ache in my head.
Slowly, I'm killing myself, all because of one mistake I made, a mistake with eight letters in it's name, a mistake that would ruin my life for the long run.
Rita West.
>> Ashton
She's naked, nothing covering up her body, a body that's built on insecurities and alcohol and sex. She lays beside me, blankets covering her so that she's not cold.
I'm going to hell for all the things I've done in my eighteen years, all of the mistakes I've made, all the lives I've ruined.
I can add another name to that list, too. Madison Eaton.
She was innocent when I met her. She stayed in every night, she lived near her parents and talked to them every day. She didn't have a boyfriend, but I always thought she would be perfect for my quiet, introvert for a brother.
Deep down, though, I loved her for her reserved personality. I wanted to show her what life was actually like. So I took her hand and held it in mine, placing a bottle of alcohol in the other, and that's how it started.
Now, here we sit, nearly three months later, naked in bed after having sex for about the five thousandth time. Soon, she wakes up and smiles at me.
"Hey babe." She tells me. I smile, and she pushes herself up and over so that she's laying on top of me. She pushes her arms against her boobs, making them look bigger, so I stretch a hand out and place it on them.
She throws her head back as I massage her skin, and positions herself so that she's nearly on top of me, and I feel my eyebrows furrow and my lip begin to get caged between my teeth.
Like I said earlier, sex for the five thousandth time.
My lips cover her skin as I pull her directly against me. She's sitting in my lap with her legs draped around my waist. She moans loudly when I find a way to align myself, then sighs when I push in.
"Fuck, Ashton!" She screams as she fists my hair in her hands. My hands trace patterns on her skin, and I kiss her on the lips slowly. Soon, I move to turn us over in a way that can allow me to go at a faster pace, since all Maddie's doing is yelling, "Faster!"
Her body moves up and down against the mattress as I move faster, and she smiles, her eyebrows slightly creased. Then, I hear shifting and fast footsteps in the living room.
Ty comes running through the hallway and starts screaming wen he sees us. He covers his eyes and falls down, then just lays on the ground. "What the fuck?" I ask him, still in Maddie. She moves to pull blankets over the two of us, and I smile.
"Jordan's chasing me. I put that shave cream that you don't need a razor for on his eyebrows and it made his eyebrows disappear." Ty laughs.
"Yeah, sure," I say as I continue to push into Maddie, Ty now turned around. I don't really know what to do if you're in the middle of sex and you have to quit, so I'm still going. "But why are you at my house at two a.m.?"
"The real question is," he says as he runs a hand through his hair, "Why are you having sex at two a.m.?"
"Shut up and get out!" I say loudly. He groans. "Get out!"
"I hope you know..." He says as he gets up and walks to the front door, "that you are the shittiest brother anyone could have!" Then he walks out and slams the door behind him.
Damn, what have I done?
>> Ty
It's been three months since the night when I walked in on Maddie and Ashton in the middle of their millionth time to have sex. I haven't talked to either of them, which has been weird, since I normally talk to Ashton every day.
"Hey, Ty. We're going to have a new artist coming in later today. You think you could train her?" Tori asks as she sets up her station with ink and new packages of needles.
I nod. "Sure. Do you know who it is?" I ask as I take a seat by Tori, the only other person here today since Bud is at Candor for the next two days.
"Um, let me check." She says, finishing placing the ink on her desk. She then walks over to the break room and flips through some pages on a clipboard. "Looks like we'll have Madison Eaton starting today."
Fuck my fucking life.
"Hm," I say, "That's Ashton's girlfriend. I wonder why she's going to start working here?" I ask. Tori shrugs.
"Beats me. Oh look, there she is." She says, pointing to the entrance. "Well," she pats my shoulder. "I'll be over here," then her phone buzzes, "Scratch that, I'll be on the phone." She walks into the break room just as Maddie steps in.
"Oh," she says as she looks at me, "It's you." Her shoulders slump.
"Yeah," I laugh, "It's me. I thought you worked at one of the bars?" I ask her. She shakes her head, then moves to sit on top of one of the countertops. I walk over and stand beside her.
"I used to work there, with Ashton, but I quit. I couldn't work with him anymore, especially after we broke up." She says as she scratches the back of her neck awkwardly.
"You guys broke up?" I ask. She nods.
"You didn't know? I can't believe Ashton didn't tell you. We broke up two months ago." She shrugs.
"Ashton wouldn't tell me anything. He wouldn't even talk to me, and he hasn't since that one night like three months ago." I say as I sit beside her.
"Oh," she says. I nod.
"Ready to start the training introduction?" I ask her and she nods eagerly. "I bet you're just excited to start something that's far away from Ashton. Everyone gets tired of him eventually. Even I do." I laugh and Maddie giggles lightly.
And with that, we begin.
>>
At the end of the day, Maddie knows all of the training basics and is pretty much ready to give people tattoos. Right now, she's working in, my favorite, the sketchbook! Even I could hear the sarcasm there.
She sets down the sketchbook and walks over to where I stand. She leans her head against my shoulder, and I feel my heart begin to race. "Hey Ty?" She says, but it sounds like a question.
"Hm?" I ask.
"What would you say," she turns me so that I'm facing her, "If I asked you to give me a tattoo?" She lifts my arm up and places it on her wrist. "Right there." Her gaze doesn't leave mine, but mine moves to her wrist.
"I'd say of course, that is, if you want me to give you a tattoo." I raise my eyebrows and she nods. "Okay, what would you like a tattoo of?" I ask her.
She pulls me with her over to the tattoo column and points to a design on the top row. It's a feather with tiny designs inside of it. I pull it down for her and she grins.
"Okay," I say, "I'll go get the equipment set up." I walk over to my corner of the shop and get out a can of ink, along with the needles. Maddie stares at the glass and grins. As I look at her, I can begin to see why Ashton would fall in love with her. She's absolutely beautiful, and she's also such a shy, sweet girl.
I finish setting up, then smile at Maddie. "Ready?" I ask her.
She smiles at me brightly. "Yes. I'm going to trust you with this, okay?" She says and I nod. She takes a seat and leans back. I catch her eyes moving down past mine, but I ignore it. Tori smiles at me when she comes out of the break room and hands me a pack of antiseptic wipes. She then begins to talk to Maddie while I wipe her wrist where she's getting the tattoo.
I then make a transfer sheet with the design so that it will be easier to give Maddie the tattoo. When the sheet is done, I take it back over to the chair where Maddie is and smile at her.
Tori rubs her hands together. "Boy, I really want to see th—" she's cut off by her phone ringing. "Fuck!" She picks it up and begins walking to the break room once again. Maddie and I both laugh.
I sit down on the stool beside the seat and pull on my gloves. I place the sheet down on Maddie's skin once she's finished telling me that I'm putting it in the right spot. Maddie helps me and holds the sheet down on her wrist for a few seconds.
I remove the sheet and see a blue imprint of the tattoo. "That's going to look nice." I tell her and she smiles warmly at me.
"Thanks." She says and I smile.
"No problem." I turn on the machine and hear Maddie's breathing hitch in her throat. I smile, but it turns into a small smirk. "What? Is this your first tattoo?" I ask her. She nods, trying to smile but failing. "Ah, don't worry. It'll be over before you know it."
I begin drawing the outline once I take out the new needles and the ink jar and screw on the ink cap. Maddie cringes, but eventually gets used to the pain. "You know," she says as I continue to draw, "I really like you. I always have. Even while I was dating Ashton, it didn't feel true to who I am to be dating him. You always seemed so quiet, so sweet. Ashton's too much of a party-goer for me." She closes and I feel my heart flipping in my chest.
"So what you're saying is that you like me and you want to date me?" I ask her and she looks at me smugly. I finish drawing the tattoo and turn off the machine.
"Only if you're single and if you'd want to." She says, "By the way, this tattoo is sweet!"
"Thanks, only for you." I say as I look at her wrist, then I allow my gaze to travel back up to her eyes. "Hm, Sure. Maddie, would you like to go out with me to dinner tonight?" I ask her. She smiles as she stands.
"It would be my honor." She grins as I place a bandage on the tattoo, then she hugs me. I guess Ashton pretty much taught her how to not be afraid of physical contact, because she's surely hugging me tightly. I hug her loosely, and then pull away when Tori walks out into the shop from the break room.
"All done?" She asks. I nod. "Great! What'd you get a tattoo of?" Tori asks her as she looks down at Maddie's wrist.
"I got one of a feather." She says, then smiles as she looks over at me. I smirk. Tori steps in between the two of us. "Well, oh I guess I'm gonna go. My shift just ended like thirty minutes ago." Maddie says as she winks at me. I nod.
"Yeah, mine ends in about five minutes." I say and look at Tori.
"Okay, stop guilting me into this. You guys can both go now. Ty, you put in some good work today. I'm proud." Tori says as she smiles at me and I thank her before I walk out. Maddie follows me and runs up to walk beside me.
"What time should I meet you?" She asks me.
"Wait, we can walk together. Where's your apartment?" I ask her. She looks up at me, squinting in the bright light.
"Oh it's by the chasm, apartment 453." She says. I smile. She only lives a few halls away from me.
"Oh that's cool," I tell her. "We live near each other. I'll meet you at your door at eight thirty." I tell her and she grins even wider than before.
"Okay." She smiles as we part ways, her soon on the path to her apartment and I to mine.
And I couldn't be happier.
>>
I arrive at Maddie's door in my usual attire—a black sweater and jeans. I smile as I approach her actual door, then knock on it softly. She answers it and smiles at me warmly. "Hey," she whispers, "Can you hold on just a second? I'm gonna go get my phone, it's back here." She says and walks back into her apartment.
I look at her as she walks back into her apartment. Her clothes almost mimic mine, which I find a little coincidental. She wears a maroon sweater and black leggings, her hair down. She comes walking back out and I smile.
"Shall we?" I say when she turns around from locking the door.
She grins at me widely and giggles before speaking, "We shall."
>> Four
"Zeke." I say sternly as I walk into the control room. I'm walking so fast that my jacket is blowing back behind me. Zeke, Gus, and a couple of other young guys are the only people here. Zeke is the only one without his headphones on, though.
"Fuck, what now?" He says in an exasperated manner.
I take a seat in my chair, beside his, then frown. "Your son broke my daughter's heart, okay? That's what it is now!" I say. He rolls his eyes.
"Yeah, whatever. Maybe if they didn't move so fast, neither of them would be where they are now. But, you know, on the other hand... You might hate one of my sons, but the other one," Zeke makes a thumbs up motion, "He's fuckin' great."
"Who, Ty?" I ask.
"Yes!" He exclaims. I knew that already but I wanted to hear him say it himself, just to be sure since I've only seen Ty maybe two times as long as he's been alive. "Anyways, how's Maddie been taking it? Ashton's a damn wreck."
Zeke scrolls through some things on his computer and sighs, clicking many boxes on the screen, only to be rewarded with Amity fence footage. "Ah, I think she's alright. She was just a little stunned at first, but now, she's great. She got a new job, too. So, I guess she's doing okay." I tell him.
"Where's she working?" Zeke asks as he types random numbers into a code box on his computer screen. He then leans back in his chair and puts his headphones around his neck, turning the volume all the way up.
"Uh, I think she's working at the tattoo parlor. She wanted to be far away from Ashton." I shrug. Zeke continues to type, until his eyes widen and he smirks.
"Are you serious?" He asks. I nod, and he grins. "She might be far away from Ashton, but she's only a foot away from Ty. He works there, too."
I almost scream. Maddie, working with another punk Pedrad boy?! Absolutely not. I will just not stand for this. She's going to quit. I'll be sure that she's fired. I can't even think straight. "Dude! You're on the Chasm corridor tonight!" Zeke says as he logs me into the Chasm sector cameras.
Another night shift. Damn, I hate them. I look at the clock on my computer and see that it's 8:25. I'm rotating through all of the Chasm cameras, until I see a guy in Dauntless black clothing walking through the halls, looking down. He shoves something into his pocket, probably a phone, then stops at a door.
I pause the footage, then zoom in on the still so that I can see what room it is. Room 453. That number sounds very familiar, and it should be. It's Maddie's apartment.
He knocks on the door, then looks around, as if he thinks someone's watching him. Maddie opens the door and smiles. She tells him something, then walks back inside. He stands there.
When she comes back out, he watches her lock the door, and they leave. "Zeke, look at this." I rewind the tape and turn my monitor towards him.
I look down at my calloused hands as Zeke watches the footage. He types some things in and pulls up live tracker footage. It's now 8:37. "Oh," he says as he looks over at me. "Shit."
"What?" I ask him anxiously, looking over at the screen. I see Maddie and the boy laughing as they walk through the Pit. she hits his arm playfully and he grins. They lock eyes and then laugh even more. "Who's that guy, Zeke?" I ask him.
His face pales, "It's Ty."
>> Maddie
After Ashton's loud party life filled with sex, alcohol, and no looking back, it's nice to have a break.
And of course, my break, well, it's his older brother.
It sounds so fucked up and messed up, but I liked his older brother, even back then, when Ashton and I were together. I liked him a lot, but I was too scared to talk to him because he's older than me. Ashton is a month younger than me, also one of my close friends. Ashton didn't want us, his friends, to talk to his brother. I don't know why, he just never did.
I didn't ever actually have a deep, heartfelt love for Ashton. He was too wild. I only dated him because he wanted someone that wasn't afraid to have sex and deep down, I just wanted an escape.
That little dangerous escape was Ashton's bed five or more times a week.
But I pretty much ended everything with Ashton the night Ty walked in on us. I knew after that that I would have no chance with him, and I was sad about it. So of course, I thought, Why not be cheesy as hell and talk to him while he's giving you a fucking tattoo?? It worked.
Now, I sit next to Ty at a pizza place. "So, what is it about you? I wonder why my brother was so intrigued by you, because I already feel the same way." He winks.
I feel my face turn red as I smile at him. I want to say, Oh yeah, he only wanted me for sex, which I had with him like 5,000 times, but I keep my mouth shut. "Oh, I don't know. I think he just kind of liked me for... Well, I don't know. He never really told me." I say, looking at Ty but not looking at him.
It's really like I'm looking past him. I'm thinking of the one time that Ashton called me beautiful. He said it right before we had sex for the first time, and that was it. After that, it was just alcohol and then Here's a bedroom, oh we should have sex!
Ty takes a sip of his water and then looks at me. "Well, my dear Madison, let me tell you something." He smiles. "I knew you before you and Ashton were a thing. Ashton didn't want us to hang out, but you know, I saw you with him all the time. I knew that you were too quiet and shy for someone like him. I always secretly thought hat we'd made a better couple than you and Ashton. I just felt like we'd work well together, you know?"
I nod. I don't want to leave him hanging but I don't know what to say. "Me too." I whisper. He smiles widely, so I know that I've done something right. It's silent for a minute, and then I smile. "Ashton's such a fucking loudmouth." I laugh.
Ty almost spits out his water but doesn't. "That was a quick turn." He says, and I smile. "You're pretty funny though." He laughs, and my smile becomes a wide grin.
"Thanks." I smile.
His hair is somewhat tousled from running his hand through it, a nervous habit I guess he's picked up lately. He looks down at my wrist and smiles. "That turned out well." He says as he looks at the tattoo.
"It did. I'm just glad that I had you do it." I say, then cover my mouth once I realize that I shouldn't have said that. Ty is like a foot away from me. He grins from ear to ear, then smirks.
"Hm." He says, then scratches the back of his neck. "Uh, you're pretty cool. You um, want to hang out again?" He asks me and I shoot him a toothy grin.
"Sure." I say. It's silent for a while, Ty just looking down at the ground, smiling or frowning, then he looks back up at me, his eyebrows furrowed. "What's wrong?" I ask him.
He shakes his head. "It's nothing. Just, would you, you know? Want to be my girlfriend or whatever?" He asks, then laughs. "I suck at romance. Will you be my girlfriend?" He asks again.
I tap my chin with my finger in mock thought, which drives Ty insane. I look at him, then down at the ground. "Hm," I say as I smile, "I guess I will be your girlfriend."
>> Zeke
"Well boys, see you later. I'm heading out." Gus says as he grabs a key off of his desk. He throws up a peace sign and heads out, choruses of goodbye being bid to him as he exits.
I tap my fingers on the edge of the table that I sit at, trying to pass time. Everyone else besides Four and I have their headphones on, listening intently to music or audio tapes that go with the footage.
Four's eyes are red as they dart back and forth at his screen. Then he reaches over real quick and grabs my hand, stopping me from tapping my fingers. "Dude, chill." He says seriously, instructor mode, and then leans back.
"How about you chill? I'm not the one flipping out about the Maddie, Ty and Ashton situation." I roll my eyes and Four narrows his. "What?" I ask rhetorically. "I'm just stating a fact."
"I was not freaking out. I just don't want her heart broken by your son again!" He exclaims. I roll my eyes once more. "I can't watch her be hurt again."
It's silent for a moment, but soon I speak up. "Four, you're wrong. You're acting like the Pedrad that she's with is the Pedrad that broke her heart, but you're wrong. Wrong. Ty hasn't done anything to her. Ashton and Maddie moved too fast, only to find out that they aren't a good match. Ashton's taking this breakup way harder than her so shut up." I say.
I click a few things on my computer and Four sighs. "I just, it seems like I'm having more trust issues than her." He says, laying his head in his hands.
"Yeah, Four," I whisper, "You're just gonna have to let her go. At least at some point. If she's happy, you'll know, and then, you'll let her go."
>> Maddie 1 month later
"Fuck." I whisper as my body is lifted against the wall of my apartment. My legs wrap around his waist, then dangle there as he holds my thigh with one hand and my side with the other.
He caresses my side in between each kiss that we share, and I grin against his soft, plump lips. We've been dating for a month now, and everything feels so right. Everything with Ashton felt like an act of doing wrong.
Nothing seemed to fit the right way with him. Not our hands, not our lips, not our bodies as we hugged or held each other. That all feels right with Ty. He's already so much sweeter and so much more kind to me than Ashton ever was.
He tends to over-think and think less of himself, but that's okay, because I like to bring him back up. I like to put a smile on his face, even when there's not one on my face, either.
I love how Ty tells me that he loves me often. Ashton never even told me that he loved me, he just used me for sex. Ty kisses me again, then smiles, but his smile quickly fades into a frown when he hears the knock on the door.
"Maddie! Open up! I know you're in there!" It's Ariana. I bite my lip as I get down, then pull Ty back to the bedroom. No one really knows about Ty and I yet. I mean, our parents do, but that's it; and frankly, I really don't want Ariana to find out just yet.
"Sh, stay back here. I'll try to get rid of her as soon as possible." I say, then kiss him quickly and leave the door cracked as I walk back up to the door. I pull it open and there stands Ariana. She marches in, then goes and sits down on the couch. "What is it, Ariana?" I ask her as I cross my arms after shutting the door.
"Well," she starts, "Your brother. What a fucking hunk!" She exclaims. I roll my eyes as I gag. Everyone knows that my brother is like, nothing when it comes to physical strength.
"That's gross, Ariana." I say as I sit down beside her. I bite my lip when I pull the sleeves of my sweater over my hands and remember that the sweater is Ty's. I almost cringe.
I run a hand through my hair, and Ariana frowns. "So Mads, what's been up with you? How are you handling the breakup?" She asks, her eyes soft, and I shrug. If I was a good friend, I would tell her, Yeah, you know, I'm actually dating your other cousin, you know, THE OLDER ONE, but I don't. I bite my lip, feeling how swollen it is and I grimace.
"Oh, I'm fine. I'm over it, you know. I figure that it's just, you know, time to move on. There are other guys in this faction besides Ashton Pedrad." I tell her. She nods, then smiles.
"Well, it's good to know that you're moving on. After all, Ashton's not actually that great." She laughs and I fake my giggle. Really, Ashton's not that great, but his brother is just a couple rooms away, and I don't want him to get upset or offended, even though I don't think he will.
He's probably asleep by now anyway. "Hey, is Ty here?" She asks me. I furrow my eyebrows, trying to act surprised.
I shake my head. "No, he's probably out in the Pit with his friends or something. Why do you think he'd be here?" I ask her. She shrugs, then pops her knuckles.
"You two are best friends, Maddie. So that's why I'm a little surprised that he's not with you. Friends with benefits." She mumbles the last part.
I lean over her and narrow my eyes. "What was that?" I ask her.
"N-nothing." She says, and I nod.
"That's what I thought." I say, then stand and walk over to my refrigerator. "Water?" I ask Ariana, who still sits on the couch, but now scrolls through something on her phone.
"Sure," she nods, so I grab a couple of bottles of water and walk back over to the couch, handing her one. I look up, and see through the crack in the bedroom door that Ty is laying in bed, asleep. I smile. I sit back down beside her and she starts showing me a bunch of off-guard pictures that's she's taken of Hunter in the Pit.
In one picture, he's holding a bottle of beer, in another he's laughing. "Ariana, are you...stalking my brother?" I ask when I finish looking at her pictures of Hunter.
She looks down at them and smiles, "No, I mean, I don't really know. It's just, God, he's so hot!" I almost gag, literally. I tap my chin with my water bottle in mock thought, then frown.
"I can mention you to Hunter, someday, and see what he says about you." I say as I raise an eyebrow, and Ariana nods.
"Heck yeah, bro!" She exclaims, then taps our water bottles together as if it's a celebratory toast. I smile.
"Well, I guess I'm gonna be heading out. I've gotta go meet Ashley and Amanda at Dauntless Secret for my shift." She says, and I nod. "Bye Mads."
She's walking towards the door, and she turns around, smiling. "Bye Arian—" she cuts me off as she looks back in my hallway.
"Is there, is there someone in your bed?" She asks as she squints and looks back into the bedroom. I look back and see Ty's body under the blankets, but frown and shake my head, sticking my hand into the pockets of my shorts.
"No," I say. She raises her eyebrows as if to say Oh Really? And I nod. "Ariana, I think I'd know if someone was in my house..." my voice fades. "Anywho, I'll talk to Hunter." I say as I open the door.
She nods, grinning. "Alright, I'll see you." She says as she begins to walks out and I nod, telling her goodbye. "Wait a second," she looks at my mouth. "Why are your lips so swollen, Maddie?" She narrows her eyes.
"I don't know what you're talking about. You're gonna be late." I look down at my watch and fake a laugh. "Bye." I say, rushing what I say to her so that she'll leave faster, then shut the door and race back to where Ty is.
I push open the door, and he sits on the bed, grinning at me. His hair is disheveled, but that's actually the way I like it. I shut the bedroom door, then walk over and stand in between his legs. I lean down and kiss his forehead and he smiles up at me.
God, oh how I love that wide, toothy smile.
He somehow picks me up and I giggle when I'm in the bed beside him. I wrap my arms around his side and eventually just end up hugging him. I close my eyes as I bury my face into his chest and breathe in his scent, feeling his heart as it beats slowly in his chest.
Soon, I just listen to that repetitive, steady beat and I feel my eyes closing for long periods of time. As I drift off to sleep, I know in my heart that Ty is the right one for me.
And it's been that way all along.