1 0| g e t t i n g  h e r

Mrs.Mahone was as gorgeous as expected. She was blonde like both of her children and had a smile that lit up the room. Charlotte, Zayne's 14 year old sister stood behind her, giving Tris constant nervous smiles. She was cute.

"So you must be Tris," She said, pulling Tris into a hug. Tris held her breath, hoping she wouldn't smell anything. She didn't seem to because her smile never faltered. Tris felt Zayne relax beside her and she realised then he was close. She glanced at him and he gave her a firm but visible smile.

Tris tried to smile back but thought about the lecture she'd receive from him later. Her mum walked into the room, a tray laden with drinks in her hands and Tris noticed that her baby sister was silently watching the scene from her baby chair.

"Finally," Mrs.Jacobs smiled, settling into the empty chair as she put the drinks down. Tris grabbed the last cup of lemonade after everyone had gotten one and smiled meekly at her mum.

"Yeah," She mumbled into the sweet-sour drink. "I got a bit distracted."

Zayne's mum hurriedly brushed it away and sat next to her mum. "That's okay,"She smiled knowingly at Mrs.Jacobs, "We've just been catching up. We went to the same high school."

Tris remembered how her mother had recognised Zayne when he'd come to get her and smiled, registering the fact that this relationship had been a strong one before.

"That's great," Tris grinned, sipping her drink, ignoring Zayne's eyes. Zayne stared at her for a moment and scoffed, crossing his arms over his chest. His mum furrowed her eyebrows but didn't say anything.

"Anyway," She said instead, "I just wanted to say thank you. For helping Zayne."

A sadness fell onto her face and the smugness on Zayne's face dropped immediately. Tris felt her heart clench and she looked at Eliza instead who noticed the shift of moods in the room because her face was screwed up into her 'I'm going to cry face'. Tris lifted her little sister and smiled at Mrs.Mahone.

"It was no problem. Your son is...very special to me," The words shocked her as they came out but she didn't swallow them. She didn't want to. She rubbed her chubby baby sister's back. "Excuse me. Eliza needs some air."

It wasn't completely a lie. Eliza looked like she wanted to cry. But Tris left out the part that she also felt overwhelmed by the thickness of Mrs.Mahone's sadness.

"I'll go with her," Zayne said quickly, his face void of emotion. "New York isn't safe."

Tris simply shrugged and soon, her, Charlotte, Zayne and Eliza were walking down the street to the park. Eliza stared at the world from her stroller, giggling as the air blew about the small wisps of brown hair on her head. Charlotte was ahead of them and she sped up when she caught sight of the park.

"Not too far!" Zayne called after her. There was a seriousness in his tone even his defiant little sister noted because she slowed down. Tris raised an eyebrow at him, her gaze turning to the boy before her.

"Since when did you become so conscious about safety?" She asked.

He shrugged, "New York isn't safe....Tris. Max isn't safe."

She paused, her eyes watching Charlotte sing to Eliza by a bench, a happy smile on her face like nothing could make her unhappy. Tris stared at the two girls and then turned back to Zayne.

"I've told you enough times Zayne," She said, "I like Max and I think.....I think he likes me back. He won't hurt me."

A low scoff left his lips, cold and mocking. Tris tried not to be pissed. But she couldn't help it. He didn't seem to believe what she believed- that this, what they had, was real.

He stared at her for a very long time before nodding. "You're going to get fucked up pretty soon," He said, his eyes on the girls, "And you'll remember what I've said."

Tris scoffed and grabbed his arm, capturing his attention. "And who's better for me?" She gave him a blank stare, "You?"

When he didn't answer, Tris chuckled and moved back, placing her fingertips on her forehead. She looked at the sky, hardly believing that this was really happening to her. That he was being this unbearable.

"Oh my," She scoffed, "Where the hell did you come from?"

Zayne flinched, "Tris,"

The people around them gave them stares but she didn't care. She was too busy trying to understand why he was suddenly some un-hired bodyguard that thought he had control over her life.

"No, Zayne. You haven't cared about me all this time and suddenly you think you can just step in and tell me who to like and who not to?" She could feel the anger running through her body. She didn't realise she was screaming. "Tell me what you want from me! Tell me what you fucking want!"

He cupped her cheek in his hand suddenly and she froze, her eyes moving up to his. Her heart hammered in her chest and as she stared at him, at his green eyes, she realised that this wasn't safe.

But it felt right.

"I....I can't," She said, shaking her head.

"Why not?" He whispered, "Why not?"

She shook her head again.

Zayne frowned at her, furrowing his eyebrows as he tried to get her to look him in the eye. She didn't want to look into those eyes because she knew that she would be lost and she'd be kissing Zayne instead of Max. For years she'd told herself that her first kiss would be with Max Grey.

Zayne Mahone had meant nothing then. He was just a person who went to her school and was overestimated.

But what is he now?

He was still a boy who went to her school. But he was a boy with emotions and the ability to make mistakes. He was the boy who had panic attacks nobody else knew about and had the nerve to tell his mum about them. He loved his mum and his sister. He never talked about his dad.

He baked pizzas for his dates with her and felt nervous. He admitted he couldn't cook. Zayne Mahone made her feel at home, wherever they were.

Her heart clenched as she stepped back. Zayne Mahone was also unfamiliar territory. That knowledge she had of him wasn't enough. It was enough to make her...feel things for him.

But Max Grey was familiar territory. She'd spent years with him. Falling in love with him.

"Tris," He whispered, "Please,"

Her heart clenched again and she took a step back, shaking her head again.

"I can't, " She said again. And before he could say anything, she brushed past him to Charlotte and her sister.

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Zayne Mahone walked into the house, his head pounding as he pulled the cigarette out of his mouth. He looked around, the dim lighting not helping his head and he sighed, turning when he felt a tap on his shoulder.

"What the hell did you do?" Max asked, hissing, "She came to Rachel crying."

The thought of Tris crying made Zayne's heart clench and he inhaled from the cigarette in his hand. "I came to talk about the bet," He said, "I think we should change the girl."

He was glad for the fact that the kitchen was empty. This conversation wasn't one he'd enjoy being overhead. Though the people at the party seemed too intoxicated to even understand what they were talking about.

There was a stifling silence in which Max tried to grasp what he had just said. He raised an eyebrow, "Did you just say....change the girl?"

Slowly, Zayne nodded. It was like admitting defeat. But he couldn't do this anymore.

"What? She's too hard?" Max asked, arms folded over his chest. He let Zayne be quiet for a moment before he scoffed, "That the reason we chose her."

Eyes not leaving the counter top, Zayne nodded. "I know. But...."

Realisation fell onto Max's face and he stepped back, nodding. "So that's the problem," He nodded over and over again before slamming his hands on the counter. "You've fallen for her."

Zayne was silent, lips pursed as he watched the boy he despised lean against the counter. His gaze moved to the ground, his head now filled with a million thoughts. Of Italy. Of starting a life there. Of living a life there. He scoffed.

"You're gonna win," He said, his eyes moving up to Max's grey ones. He felt lost. "What then?"

They both knew the answer. He'd move on and Tris would be broken. And Zayne wouldn't be there. It was part of the deal after all. Music was playing in the background, filling up the silence that constantly seemed to linger in that damned kitchen. A sad smile fell onto the blonde boy's face as he nodded. In acceptance.

In defeat.

"Promise me something,"Zayne said, "I know you don't owe me anything but please promise me something,"

With slight hesitation, Max nodded.

The sad smile grew larger as he walked to the back door of the house that had a raging party going on just in the other room. Zayne paused at the doorway, "If she finds out, tell her that at the end of it all....I did love her."

Max Grey smiled genuinely at Zayne Mahone for the first time in years, "If promise."

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Well....ain't it taking a turn?

Love
Musawa