A/N: I want to say thank you for reading this story, reviewing, liking and sharing it. It was a wonderful experience writing it, but all good things must come to an end. This story was for this year's NaNoWriMo and i'm proud that I have finished it.
I am currently working on the epilogue and hope to post it these days. Also, as I've mentioned it before - in a previous author's note - I was so inspired by this story that my brain came up with alternative story lines and I've written quite a bit. maybe I get to finish and post it. We'll see.
Enjoy the last chapter of "The Trials of a Misunderstood Teenager"!
Today is Thanksgiving. Today, Tobias and I will tell our friends and the rest of our families that we are a couple. And I am shitting my pants, to be honest.
About three weeks ago, Tobias came home and looked all panicked. I didn't understand what had gotten into him, until I saw Zeke behind him.
"I knew it," he shouted, triumphantly. I glared at Tobias, who just hung his head in defeat.
"What the hell, Tobias?" I had asked, outraged that he broke his promise not to tell anyone.
"It's not his fault, Tris," Zeke defended, and I glared at him, making him flinch. "Man, your woman is scary," he said to Tobias, who gave him a slight nod, before I glared at him again.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to," Tobias tried to explain, but Zeke took over for him.
"Look. I've been pestering him for weeks to tell me what was up with him. We didn't hang out as much as we used to; he didn't want me to hook him up with anyone; he even asked me to convince Shauna to stop trying to fix him up with Myra again." At the mention of Tobias' ex, I stared at him, waiting for an explanation.
"Babe, you know I've told you about Shauna wanting to convince me to get back together with Myra," he said, and I nodded. "I told them that I was seeing someone, and while I know Shauna was curious, she didn't ask for details. She probably figured that Zeke would get it out of me, anyway," Tobias explained.
"Well, I didn't, so I followed him here, and he had no choice but to let me in, now that I know where he lived," Zeke told me, rolling his eyes at his best friend.
We ended up telling Zeke everything, and asked him to keep our secret for the time being. He accepted, but made us promise that if Shauna kicked him out for not telling her about Tobias and I being back together, we would let him sleep at our place. I had no problem with that, although I doubted my sister would stay mad at him for long.
I have to admit, though, that it was kind of refreshing to have Zeke know about us. He was more supportive than I thought. I would have expected him giving me a speech about how crappy I was when I dumped his best friend, and that I had some nerve luring Tobias back in. However, Zeke seemed to understand at least certain aspects, and assured me that as long as Tobias is happy, he is happy. Nevertheless, he warned me that he would get really mad if I hurt his friend again. Obviously, I reassured him that that won't be the case.
It was a good thing too that Zeke found out when he did, because he told us that Shauna didn't buy Tobias's story that he was seeing someone. She was convinced that he just didn't want to get back together with Myra because she dumped him, and he felt too proud to go back to her. It seems that my sister was planning on inviting Myra to our Thanksgiving dinner, but after we found out, I called Mom and told her about my sister's plans. Needless to say that between Evelyn and her, they managed to keep Myra away from the party.
Shauna protested at first, trying to convince at least Evelyn to allow her to invite Myra, seeing that the two always got along while she was Tobias's girlfriend. However, Evelyn refused, saying that Tobias will bring his new girlfriend to introduce her to the family, and it would be highly inappropriate for Myra to join them. While Shauna was disappointed to not see two of her friends back together, I couldn't feel too sad about that. After all, I am Tobias's girlfriend now, and I sure as hell don't want him anywhere near his ex, just as much as he doesn't want me around any of mine.
Tobias and I arrived late last night, and instead of me going to my parents' house, I slept over at his place. I don't think I would have been able to sleep anyway if I was at home. I've gotten so used to sleeping next to him, that I find it nearly impossible to sleep without him.
To say that Marlene flipped out completely when she came into Tobias's room to wake him and find me in his bed instead is the understatement of the century. Tobias was out with his Dad to buy last minute stuff, while he let me sleep in. I hadn't even thought of Marlene when I crashed at his place the night before, and it was a bit awkward at first until a wide grin split her face and she launched herself at me.
"I knew it! You two are meant to be together," she cheered, and jumped into bed, hugging me so tightly, she actually cut off my air supply.
Like with Zeke, I told her how Tobias and I got back together and how we decided to see where our relationship was going without the interference of our friends and families. Thankfully, she understood where I was coming from, and then badgered me to give her more details. I satisfied her curiosity by telling her about our little house back in California and how we told our parents. She was very excited about me being her brother's girlfriend again, and as soon as Tobias came into the room, she squealed excitedly like a little schoolgirl.
"I gather you told her," Tobias said laughing, as his baby sister was hanging around his neck like a monkey.
"I had no choice. She came in while I slept," I told him, and he just nodded. Marlene promised to keep our secret for a few more hours, just as excited as us to tell the rest.
Zeke promised to keep Shauna occupied by taking her out on an impromptu date in the park, which she found very romantic. It gave us the time to prepare everything, seeing that other than her no one actually knew that Tobias was supposed to bring his new girlfriend home.
I tried to help Evelyn as much as I could, and between preparing the food, we actually got some time to bond, and talk, and she told me that while she was upset over how things had ended between me and Tobias the first time around, she couldn't blame me solely for the break up.
"Tobias might have been eighteen at the time, but he was still a kid himself. As a mother, it broke my heart to see my baby in pain, and maybe if I wouldn't have known you and seen what a toll it took on you, I might have thought of you as just some stupid little girl who only wanted to be popular. But I did see you and how much it affected you," she told me, without actually looking at me.
I think, this was her way of saying, that while she knows I made mistakes, she doesn't hate me and is willing to give me a second chance just like her son. I wanted to promise her that this time around things would be different, but then shut up. I couldn't know that for sure. But I was adamant to try my hardest to make our relationship work.
When it was time for dinner, everyone had gathered around, and Tobias invited all into the family room to make an announcement. We had already decided to do it there, before dinner, so that we could eat peacefully afterwards.
"Thank you all for coming," Tobias starts saying. "I am not really good at speeches, so I will cut to the chase. These past four years have been a real roller coaster, with ups and downs, smiles and tears, joy and grief. The friendship between me and Zeke, as well as me and Shauna got tested; I fell in love and got my heart broken," he says, and I look away, not wanting to face him right now, but he soon continues.
"I graduated high school and started college. I wasn't quite sure what I wanted to do in life, but college helped me figure that out. At the time, I had many questions, many thoughts on how my life would be if it wasn't the way it was. At that time, I wanted to hate someone, but I could never bring myself to do that. It was probably because deep down I knew she was just as broken as me," he adds, and looks at me. I feel his gaze burning into the side of my head, and I turn to meet his intense gaze. The room is silent, and other than the sound of people breathing, nothing else can be heard.
"It took me some time to find myself again or rather to see who I'd become on my own. And while I am proud of the man I've become, I knew deep down, that something was missing. Someone was missing. I thought I found that someone in a sweet girl who was so innocent that all I wanted was to protect her. And I loved her, but not the way she deserved to. She was wise to end what we shared, because it became toxic without me even noticing. I know she tried to desperately capture my whole attention, but that was a losing game. My heart would forever belong to only one person," he says smiling directly at me. "Realizing that, I fought to win her back, convince her to give us a second chance, away from everyone and everything, and she did. And for the first time in four years, I feel whole again. I love you, Tris Prior, with all my heart, and I hope that I am making you as whole as you make me."
By the time he finishes, I am a sobbing mess. He sure isn't one for speeches, but all he said went straight to my heart, making it pound in my chest, telling me that it belonged to him and him alone. I stand up, and wrap my arms around him, kissing him deeply, ignoring everyone else in the room.
I can faintly hear voices, but right now, the only thing I care about is the man in my arms. He holds me close to him, our bodies seemingly occupying the same space, melting together in a sweet symphony of love.
"Tris is your new girlfriend?" I hear Shauna behind me. Tobias detaches his lips from mine, sighing softly, before looking up and at her.
"Yes. We got back together on her birthday, and have been a couple ever since," Tobias tells her, and Uriah asks why we haven't said anything sooner.
"We wanted to see if we would work before we got people's hopes up," I say, and pull Tobias to sit with me on the couch.
We explain to them how we had our post-breakup talk after the shooting. We tell them how we stayed in touch for the following weeks until my graduation. And how I misheard something Tobias told Zeke, making me think I was getting between him and Myra, only to be corrected a month later on my birthday, when Tobias confessed that he was still in love with me, just like I was still in love with him. We tell them about us living together and making our relationship work.
"We wanted to see if our new relationship would last, and we are both confident that it will," Tobias tells them proudly.
I look around and see many smiling faces, asking a few more questions, which Tobias mainly answers. However, I don't see Shauna, and a quick glance at Zeke and a nod of him towards the porch, tells me she is outside. I wiggle my way out of Tobias's arms, and go to find my sister. Finding her overlooking the street before us, I take a step towards her, but make sure she hears me and doesn't startle.
"It's my fault," she suddenly says, and I stop moving. What is she talking about? "It's my fault what happened between you and Tobias," she adds, and I can hear her sniffing.
I close the distance between us, and go to stand next to her. She looks forward, but I can see her tear-stained cheeks.
"The fight between us was a contributing factor, but it's not your fault we broke up. Well, we didn't break up, I dumped him. If anything, it's my fault," I tell her regretfully, and following her example, look towards the empty street.
"I was trying to hurt you, and one way to do so was making Tobias dump you. Only thing is, he didn't. He loved you too much to dump you. Made me furious," she confesses.
"Why? You had Zeke," I tell her, confused by her statement.
"I know. It made me furious that despite all the shit that Nita and I did to you, you still kept fighting, still resisted and didn't let anyone bring you down. I was so stupid to follow Nita, be her loyal puppy, and betray my own sister. And for what? Fifteen minutes of fame? Because that's what high school was. No one will remember me, at least not for anything good. I will always be the bad sister who tried to get her baby sister in trouble, and failed colossally. You, on the other hand," she says, and looks at me, tears running down her cheeks, "you were student body president without even trying to convince people to vote for you. At first, I thought you rigged the election, but the principal counted each vote in front of the whole school. And so many kids said they had voted for you, even girls on the cheerleading team voted for you, a freshman, a nobody. You know why?" she asks, and I shake my head. "Because they were all sick and tired of the popular kids. I was sick and tired of them, but I was one of them, and at the time, being popular was the only way to live."
I feel my heart break for her, but I am glad she sees how wrong she was. You don't have to be popular to be successful in life. Many of the nerds Shauna and the other popular kids bullied ended up at the top of the food chain, so to speak, with high paying jobs, promising careers and a lot of yearly income that the so-called popular kids can only dream of earning. But all the money in the world doesn't mean anything if you don't have your family and your friends in your life.
You can be Tony-Stark-rich and still feel like the poorest person in the world if you don't have people to share it with. If I'd have to choose between my wealth and my loved ones, I'd pick them any day, without regret. I can always make more money, but my family is everything to me.
"I forgive you," I tell her, and her eyes widen.
"What?" she asks hiccupping.
"I forgive you. I want us to put all that bad stuff behind us, and be sisters again. You weren't the only moron who caused trouble. I was just as stupid. The only good thing about all that we've been through is that we grew as individuals and are now wiser for it. I wish I could change the past and spare all of us heartache and pain, but pain is just as much part of life as anything else. It helps us appreciate what we have and fight harder for what we want. I had to hit rock bottom to realize what a fool I've been for letting Tobias slip through my fingers, but at the same time, he had a chance to grow as a person too. I am so incredibly proud of him. He is a wonderful human being and I love him so much it takes my breath away. I am really lucky he gave me another chance," I tell her, and she smiles at me through tears.
"I am the lucky one," I hear Tobias's deep voice, behind me.
Turning around, I find not only my boyfriend, but also the rest of my friends and family watching us.
"Stalker much," I tell them with an eye roll, causing some of them to laugh.
I turn back around to my sister, and hug her. It feels so good to set aside all the negativity and look forward. There's so much pain and suffering in the world; I really don't want it close to my heart any more than the next person.
We all return inside, heading to the dining room, where the wonderful Thanksgiving meal is already on display and waiting to be devoured. Each of us takes a seat, with me sitting between Tobias and Shauna, as we go around the table saying what we are thankful for.
I am thankful for many things, but mostly for the people in this room whom I love so dearly. I am thankful that we all got a second chance to be a family again, and even grow in numbers, as it becomes clearer, that we will always stick together, no matter what life will throw at us.
The End.