0 6| g e t t i n g  h e r

Tris groaned loudly, turning to look at Rosie. She had a smirk plastered onto her face, anxiously waiting for what she hoped was good news and Tris finally decided to give up.

"We almost kissed." she mummured, pinching her fingers together, "We were this close."

Her best friend squealed unpleasantly as if the news hurt her but the smile on her face said otherwise. "You kissed!" She jumped, her grin almost splitting her face into two. Then she suddenly frowned, her bouncing ceasing, "Wait, almost?"

Tris nodded with a shrug. As much as she didn't believe it, she wasn't as sad as she thought she would be because just the fact that Max had tried to kiss her was enough. The two continued to walk to the cafeteria with minimal and hushed conversation before Rosie left, informing Tris that she had a  date with her boyfriend.

Soon, Tris got to the football field, her eyes moving to the tall, well-built blonde on the field- Zayne. He was practicing as usual, the sweat on his grey vest visible and his breath growing more audible as Tris approached him.

"How's your eye?" She asked, stopping behind him. If she scared him, he didn't show it as he turned to look at her. The eye that had been an ugly blue-back at the party was now normal, though slightly red. So was the other one. Tris refrained from commenting.

"Good." Zayne mumbled, grabbing the football on the ground. He threw it, watching as it flew in the air and landed a few metres away. A satisfied smile spread onto his face and he turned to Tris again, "You ok?"

She had a grimace on her face without realising it, and she blinked at Zayne in confusion before nodding. Instead of nodding immediately, he first gave her a long, analysing look, and then he nodded.

"So," He gestured for them to walk, "what's the plan for today?"

She shrugged silently, looking at her watch, and nibbled at her bottom lip. "Let's practice," she mumbled suddenly, a smile spreading onto her face as Zayne blinked back in surprise.

"Practice?" He asked.

Tris nodded, "Practice."

Soon they were both throwing a ball at each other, the only thing Zayne reckoned they should do after pulling her up on countless occasions as it seemed like she had two left feet. They were silent.Tris inhaled the grassy scent that lingered in the air and caught the ball firmly in her hands, smiling at Zayne.

Her mind wandered towards Max. The entire week they hadn't talked, like Max had been ignoring her for no reason whatsoever and she wondered why.

She caught the ball, tilting her head as she contemplated on whether on not she'd ask Zayne the question that was eating her up. Considering the hatred Max and Zayne shared, she didn't find it safe to ask him frequent questions about his enemy.

But, every time she even thought about keeping the question in, the memory of them closer than they'd been before plagued her mind and she was eager to know.

So she took a deep breath, hoping that she wasn't a mistake and threw the ball back at him, watching the smile on his face gradually fade into nothing as she asked him whether he knew where Max was.

"Busy," Zayne answered, throwing the ball onto the ground, "We've got to go."

Tris frowned and checked her watch, "Already? It's only fiv-"

"Yeah I know," He cut her off and began to walk towards the benches where his red gym bag sat. She followed him, her eyebrow raised in suspicion. Never in their two week relationship had Tris ever seen him this hostile and she was worried.

Though she didn't want to, she kept her mouth shut and they both walked back to the car in silence. Zayne's eyes travelled in every direction but her and she huffed under her breath.

"Why are you pissed?" She blurted out before she could stop herself. He paused and gave her a side glance.

"I'm not," He lied, nibbling at his bottom lip, "just...tired."

A snort of disbelief left her mouth but she didn't comment. Instead, she fiddled with her fingers, using the sound of his footsteps as a distraction before he finally stopped. She looked up at him with a raised eyebrow.

"I'm sorry if I'm acting like a douche." he sighed, "It's just that Max and I's relationship is completely....hostile. It just irks me I guess that two completely different people could actually be attracted to each other."

Tris blinked back at him, trying hard not to look so shocked and folded her arms over her chest. She tried to sound calm,"What's that supposed to mean?"

As if he realised what how wrong his statement must've been interpreted, he raised his hands up in a defensive manner. "It's not what you might think I mean!" He muttered,"What I mean, is....you're so nice and he's a jerk...."

"It would be the same as you and I having an attraction," the words left her mouth before she could stop them and his eyes narrowed darkly. He inhaled a deep breath of air and ran a hand through his blonde curls.

"You can call me a jerk," He said in a low whisper, "but never ever compare me to Max Grey."

▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃

"Someone's done something to piss Zayne off," Rosie said, looking up from her homework to the group of boys gathered in T.J's living room. The football team had gathered for a meeting there and all of them were bunched up into a group, looking  through a playbook while Zayne barked orders at them.

Rachel gave her a look,"What gave it away? His constant remarks on their sloppiness or the glares he's throwing in our direction?"

Tris looked up, not surprised to see Zayne glaring at her and she swallowed thickly before looking down at her books again. Ever since the day she'd 'insulted' him, he'd been throwing her nasty looks and had grown quite distant.

"What did you do?" Rosie asked her accusingly. She looked down, using her hair as curtain and shook her head wildly.

"Not important..." She muttered, "not at all."

Rosie looked like she wanted to say something but decided against it after recieving a warning kick on her shin from Rachel. Tris refrained from commenting and looked up at again.

This time, it wasn't Zayne staring at her but Max. She smiled at him, her heart jerking when he smiled back, pointing at a nearby corridor. She nodded and excused herself, aware of the eyes that followed her.

"Hi," Max said, smiling at her as they two leant against the wall. She nodded back at him, unable to completely smile at the thought of Zayne being upset with her. Max pretended not to notice her off-handedness and instead slipped his hand into hers, holding them up so they could both stare at the beauty that was them.

"It's funny huh?" He whispered, "How much I missed someone I rarely talk to."

She grinned at him and nudged his shoulder, her heart beating violently at the thought that her crush was actually attempting to flirt with her. "Sure," She chuckled, resting her head on the wall. She could feel his eyes on her, making her stomach churn with that strong to urge she had to kiss him whenever he was around her. A part of her hated the Tris she was around him. The girly stupid Tris.

The one who would get hurt one of these days because of her stupid actions. She pushed herself off the wall.

He stared at her, still against the wall and she leaned towards him, a smirk gracing her lips when his hands automatically wrapped around her waist, pulling her closer. But she froze last second when she heard Zayne shout in the next room and she was filled with the inexplicable guilt of making him angry.

"Excuse me," She muttered to Max, pulling away from him. He sighed in frustration but let her go, slowly as if he hoped she'd change her mind. She didn't.

Instead, she stormed into the next room where Zayne was still barking out orders and tapped his shoulder, waiting for him to turn around. His friends all froze at the sight of her and Chase made silent gestures to make her stop. She ignored them, her eyes dead set on Zayne who after a long time, turned to look at her.

"The snogging got boring?"He hissed, quietly so that only she could hear. She felt Max shift beside her and turned red, her arm wrapping around Zayne's bicep.

"Let's talk about this somewhere else," She whispered, looking up at the boys who were leaning forward slightly. Her eyes met his again and she hoped he couldn't see the desperation in her eyes, though it was evident in her voice. She swallowed, "Please?"

Something in her voice made his whole demeanour change. He leaned towards her more and nodded, muttering a few words to his teammates before he began to walk away. Tris took note of the distance he put between them and she felt the need to close it. She shook the thought away from her head immediately.

He didn't stop walking until they were in the backyard, staring out at the lawn and the treehouse that probably held many memories of when Tj was young. Tris let all her attention fall onto it, her heart beating as she tried to find the words to say.

She didn't understand why he was so upset by the fact she'd compared him to Max. Sure, they were enemies, but she expected it to just blow over. His gaze burnt her side, making her squirm before her eyes met his.

"I'm sorry for comparing you to Max,"

Despite the situation, her thoughts echoed into her voice. She didn't sound genuine; she sounded more confused. She was confused-why was he so upset?

Zayne raised an eyebrow at her, "You don't mean it."

She inhaled a deep breath, fumbling with her fingers as a wave of frustration rolled over her, reminding her that she was still very confused. That he was still upset with her. She guessed the rest of the frustration towards him was because of the sort of closed-offness she'd noticed he had. It was in the simple looks or times he spaced out that she noticed it but  she hadn't said anything.

"You don't mean it," He narrowed his eyes at her, straightening from the bar he was leaning on.

Tris shrugged, "I don't get why you're so upset."

He stared at her for a long time, like he was trying to see a part of her no one else could. She shivered slightly, leaning against the balcony bar, praying he wouldn't do or say something stupid.

"It's wierd, okay?" He sighed, "Someone like you liking Max. He doesn't deserve you."

She snorted, "Who does. You?"

It was meant as a joke, but the look Zayne gave her begged to differ. He ran a hand through his golden locks and stared at the roof, as if asking for patience.

"I never said that," He said.

Trying hard not to be pissed, Tris stomped onto the hard wood floor, her arms crossing over her chest. A furious wind blew threw the backyard, whipping their hair.

"God Zayne just say what you want to say!" She almost screamed, waving her hands in the air, "What do you want from me? Why are you so-"

"Go out with me," He cut her off.

She paused, her eyes widening as she looked at him. He looked dead serious and she felt her heart thump at the determination on his face.

"What?" She asked and he stepped closer, looking down at her.

He said it again, slowly, "Go out with me."

▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃