She sat in a plastic lawn chair near the smoky haze of the fire pit She on the end and her best friend, Christine, in the middle, legs stretched out. They were having a good time, one more humid, lazy summer night to spend with their friends. The patio and backyard were especially packed too at Eric's house. He was older, graduated two years ahead of them, and had become the permanent party-throwing guy in their town. The town was small, so anyone who stayed around immediately grew closer to one another. She sipped her drink and smiled at the comment Uriah made; Christina slapped him playfully in jest.

"Oh my God." Christina's mouth dropped and Tris glanced at her before following her eyes. "Look at him." Tris was silent as they watched the tall, muscular guy walk out on the patio. An immediate weird and familiar coil wrapped in the lower part of her stomach. "I didn't think he'd ever make it back here." Christina said quietly. Tris watched as some girls flock to his side.

"Uh," She started. "What was his name. I forgot."

"You forgot?" Christina laughed. "Tobias. Or Four, or whatever they called him." Tris drank and looked at him over the rim of her cup. His own eyes wandered around, seemingly searching, and they landed on her. She looked away. Of course she knew his name. She remembered everything about him. "Didn't you go on a date with him or something?" Christina asked.

"Yeah, two." Tris shrugged, playing it off. It hadn't been two dates though. It had been months. Months and months of hiding a relationship from their friends in two very different circles, from their parents who were well-known members of the community, and perhaps even slightly from themselves. He was private, Tris remembered. For her, that had worked.

"So what do you think now?" Christina asked nudging Tris with her leg. Tris shrugged again and glanced over at Four. "Oh come on! You have to have some sort of reaction!" Tris shook her head, lying.

"I don't see what the big deal is," Uriah answered.

"Don't be jealous!" Christina countered. They bickered for a moment, as they usually did, and Tris found herself stealing glances at Four. At one point, they locked eyes, and his dark and brooding stare got to her. She felt a blush creep up over her chest and heat settle its way over her body. Even though she was outside, she felt like she couldn't breathe. She stood up abruptly, smoothing down her skirt with one hand.

"I'll be back." She said to her friends and disappeared in the crowd.

Tris sat out on the front stoop of Eric's house thinking about Tobias. He had changed only slightly in appearance. His face had grown older, more mature, but he still seemed to her like he was the day he left. Except maybe tired, worn from something, perhaps life. She sipped her whiskey. Why was he even here?

The summer night reminded her of their first date. She had felt completely nervous and small in comparison to him, but he had been gentle and kind. He took her to get ice-cream on the edge of town. They had sat and ate it as the sun set behind them, barely even talking to each other. She couldn't help but burst out laughing when his vanilla dribbled down his chin and melted over his hands simultaneously. He was embarrassed, and she thought it was adorable. They had ended the night with a kiss, her first, and he had driven her home and asked to see her again. To which she said yes.

The door opened behind her and his heavy footsteps out onto the stoop couldn't be missed. There she was, Tobias thought. He had sought her out, watching her leave, and waiting a short amount of time before following her. He stepped toward her and she looked over her shoulder at him. There was nothing in her eyes. She turned her head back. He took a seat next to her on the steps, close enough to smell the same perfume she wore back in high school. Her legs were stretched out in front of her and she balanced a cup in her hands on them. He looked out into the dark yard.

"Some things never change," He said quietly. She didn't look at him. Didn't answer. He looked at her, sighed, and turned back away.

"I'm not the same girl I was back then," She said. Her voice wasn't hard, rather indifferent as if she was trying to pretend she was okay with his proximity. He studied her, but she still refused to look at him.

"What are you drinking?" He asked after a moment. She looked down into her cup and shook the ice.

"Whiskey on the rocks." He smiled, chuckled even, at her answer. The whiskey was the same.

"You seem the same to me," He said. She turned toward him, his matter of fact tone melting away the sweet memories of melting dripping ice-cream and first kisses.

"What are you doing here Tobias?" Her voice was tight. He shrugged his broad shoulders up, tilted his head and looked away from her.

"Hanging out." Her eyes squinted at him.

"No. What are you doing here, back in town?" Tris asked.

"Helping my dad. Putting down roots." She raised an eyebrow. He waited for a response, but instead she drew her knees up, swallowed her drink, and stood. "Who's driving you home?" He asked looking up at her.

"That's not your business." She responded starting to leave. Of course he was going to try and push his way back in, she thought.

"Tris." His voice was firm and he reached out to touch her fingers hanging by her side. She pulled her hand away.

"Uriah," She said plainly. She looked away from him and sighed. She wanted to kick herself for even answering him, even letting him know the smallest bit of information about her.

"He's drinking." Tobias stated.

"I'll be fine." But his eyes pleaded with hers, and she closed her own and turned away. "It's fine Tobias," She said. He didn't stop though; it wasn't fine.

"Let me take you home. I haven't had that much to drink. I don't want you to drive with him." He watched her jaw tense, her lips purse, and then she blew out a kept breath.

"Fine. I want to go now."

"Okay." He stood up. She walked into the house away from him to get her things and gather some of herself together. She was already jittery just from his close presence.

When she returned outside, he was already in his truck waiting. It wasn't the same light blue pick-up that he had used when they were in high school. The pick-up they had laid out sleeping bags in the bed of to watch the stars at night. Instead it was new, large and silver, and had his dad's company logo on the side. She climbed in, keeping her hands folded in her lap.

They rode in silence for a few minutes before Tobias spoke.

"Tris, I –"

"Stop." She said softly. "I don't want to talk," She said. "Please." Her voice was small then, begging him to not dredge up their past. He could hear her pain, the straining of the remembrance of what they were, and so he nodded and stared back at the road.

Tris walked down the hall of the hospital checking her clipboard on the way back to the nurses' station. It was going to be a long night, and it was only just 7PM. She glanced up and saw Tobias. Her feet stopped moving and the clipboard fell to the side. He was talking to another nurse a little ways down the hall. Suddenly, he happened to turn and caught her eye. He smiled wide. She dropped her eyes, didn't smile, and headed to the nurses' station. The two approached her.

"Hey Tris." Her colleague said leaning on the counter.

"Hi," She said plainly. "Tobias," she said with a tiny forced grin.

"Mr. Eaton was just asking where he could find his dad." The nurse said looking at Tobias. She was certainly checking him out, thought Tris.

"He's in recovery from his heart surgery," Tobias added.

"Oh. I didn't know," Tris answered. "He's not one of my patients tonight." The three were silent for a moment.

"Anyway," the other nurse broke the silence. "It's 404. Right down the hall and to the left." She smiled at Tobias. "Visiting hours end at eight." Tobias nodded.

"Thank you," He replied.

"You're welcome, and it was so nice to meet you." She put her hand on his forearm. Tris turned her head and rolled her eyes. Of course, she'd be hitting on him and Tobias would readily smile, always polite. As Tobias took off down the hall, Tris dared not to watch him leave. Her colleague was already taking care of that anyways. "So," She said when he was out of range. She bumped her shoulder against Tris's. "You know him?"

"I do," Tris said simply.

"What's he like?"

"I don't know. It's been a long time since he's been around." Tris shrugged.

"Well, find out if he's single. He's definitely my type." Tris couldn't prevent her mouth from dropping open. The woman winked at her and turned away to return to her duties. She felt jealousy wash over her, and Tris willed it to leave. When she had been in high school, unable to express her relationship with Tobias in public, watching the girls throw themselves at him had irritated her immensely. She rolled her eyes again.

An hour later, Tris was standing at her mobile station going over a patient's chart when Tobias came down the hall. He looked exhausted, and Tris couldn't help but throw him some sort of smile, something to show that she cared, at least that his dad was ill.

"Hey." He stopped next to her.

"How's your dad?" She asked. He shrugged. His jacket was limp in his hand, his t-shirt wrinkled, eyes red.

"He'll be okay," Tris said. "It was major surgery. Sometimes it takes time for people to return to normal." He nodded.

"Thanks," He said. They stopped at the nurses' station and he turned to her. She wasn't sure what to do next and he too avoided her eyes. Both were unsure of how to handle the awkwardness of their situation, uncertain of how to maneuver their way around each other after so long.

"I'll keep an eye on him," She offered.

"Thank you, and I mean that too." He smiled a bit. "I never thought you'd be a nurse, but it suits you." She smiled back.

"Thanks." They were quiet again for a moment. "See you around," She said. He nodded and walked toward the elevators. She felt calm and that was odd to her. When they had dated, Tobias had been a force of nature for her: protective, masculine, and present. She still felt all of those things from being close to him, even now. But their estrangement had hurt her terribly, and she never thought she could ever get close to him again. She had always drawn from his strength and now, even though she felt calm, she wanted to push it away. That same strength and presence was exactly what caused her heart to break so long ago.

A/N: I do not own any of the Divergent series. This is my first fic in this fandom and I do always appreciate kind and gentle reviews. :) There are a couple more chapters to come once they've been polished up.