Since You Been Gone

Chapter 28

Tobias P.O.V.

"Finish your chicken nuggets," I tell Lucas. He shakes his head and crosses his arms. I arch my eyebrows and say, "Eat your chicken nuggets and I'll get you an ice cream cone."

"I'll finish my nuggets and french fries for a chocolate dipped cone," he bargains. I squint my eyes and shake my head so he knows that I don't like his form of bargaining. Slowly, I hold out my hand to shake on our deal.

"Deal," I say as he shakes my hand. Uriah gasps and looks at me.

"Do I get ice cream if I-" he starts.

"No," I quickly say, cutting him off. Zeke, Christina, Will all laugh. Then, something dawns on me: Tris has been missing for almost half an hour. "Hey, Christina, do you know where Tris went?" I ask. She shakes her head.

"No. She just said she was going to go get her wallet from her car when we first came in," she says. I nod and glance out to the parking lot where the only visible people are an elderly couple slowly walking across the parking lot.

"Should we go check on her?" I ask. She nods and takes a sip of her sweet tea. "I'll go, I guess," I mumble. She nods again. I stand up, ignoring the questioning looks from the rest of our table and walk out to the parking lot.

I walk through the parking lot, winding my way through the maze of cars. When I reach Tris's car, her figure comes into view in the windshield. She is wiping at her eyes as if she is wiping away tears. I walk over and open up the passenger side door. She looks over at me as I slide into the seat.

"What?" she asks in an annoyed voice. Her eyes are puffy and red. Her face has tear marks.

"We were worried about you. What happened?" I ask. She shakes her head and for a minute, I think she is refusing to answer.

"Same reason I almost didn't come to prom," I answer. I nod.

"An accidental pregnancy from Vegas?" I ask in an attempt at a joke. She raises her eyebrows but still gives me a half smile. "Sorry, what was it?" I ask.

"Lauren," she mumbles.

"Oh, what happened?" She points to a black car across the parking lot that I assume is part of the problem.

"She and Al were. . . together and. . . I don't know," she says. A few more tears stream down her face. I lean over and wipe them away.

"Can I ask you an honest question?" I ask. She nods. I move her face away from where it is looking at the car and into my eyes. "Did you really like him?" She shrugs.

"He was a nice guy and all, but. . . I never really felt anything with him," she answers. I nod.

"So, then, why are you upset?" I ask. She shrugs again.

"I'm not sure. . . I guess because he is really the only person I've allowed to get close to me other than our friends since you left. I mean, sure, we've only been dating for like a week but for him to turn around and be with her so quick," she replies.

"Tris, he wasn't worth it then. Don't waste your tears on him," I say. She gives me a forced smile and nods. She folds down the mirror and looks at her reflection.

"I look like a mess. . ." she comments. I laugh and she looks over at me. "You aren't denying it," she says.

"You never asked me to," I reply. She gives me a genuine smile and flips the mirror up.

"I'm going to go home and take care of this mess I call my face. Can you bring Lucas home for me?" she asks. I nod.

"I guess I can. You aren't going to go home and consume a ton of ice cream are you?" I ask, thinking back to all the times she or Christina were upset and we would find at least a dozen empty cartons on the floor around them in addition to moist tissues. When she looks away and through the window across from me I know her answer. "No! You can't!" I protest.

"Why not? I have nothing better to do," she mumbles. I grab her shoulder and pull her around so she is facing me.

"You do have something better to do," I tell her. She arches her eyebrows in a questioning way.

"And what is that?" she asks. I give her a warm smile.

"You are going out with me tonight," I say. She shakes her head like I figured she would.

"No! I am not going out and drinking or whatever else you might think is fun. And besides, who would watch Lucas?" she asks. I motion towards the building.

"One of the idiots or Christina can," I reply. She runs a hand through her blonde hair.

"You know, you're I forgave you so quick," she says. I raise my eyebrows, not only to question why I'm lucky but what her definition of quick is.

"And why is that?" I ask.

"Because I guess it wouldn't be completely terrible to have a night away from everyone else."

Update! Yay! And, um, yeah. I feel like all of a sudden these notes are getting shorter and shorter because I forget everything I need to tell you all before it's too late. This isn't the greatest ever because I wrote this during free time in class so.. Comment and vote please!

Disclaimer: Veronica Roth owns Divergent, not me.