AN: This is my first modern day fanfic. I hope you like it. Please leave a review. I am open to all perspectives. Thanks for reading. Check out my other stories Selfless, Brave and True; and Becoming Ten.

Just Sayin'

By Paige Lee

Cinder-fucking-rella

By Thoughts on Paper.

"Who does it work out for, who Kit? Name me one girl, like us, it has ever worked out for." Julia Roberts' famous line from Pretty Woman. A line that undoubtedly any girl, who dares call themselves a true girl, can quote. Along with the equally famous answer. "Ok I'll name one...cinder-fucking-rella." Which is followed by laughter because everyone knows how rhetorical the question was to begin with. Which leads me to my next question...

Why do we spend all of our time telling little girls stories of princesses and the princes that come to rescue them, love them from first sight, and hold their beauty beyond compare and in the same breath tell them that love is just a fairy tale? Seriously, what is the point? Why create an image of happily ever after in one breath that we spend every other breath trying to destroy? It is so pointless. Fairy tales are just that, fairy tales. A made up reality. There is now Prince Charming. Nobody on a white horse is going to come riding in, so why are we spreading such vicious lies, just to have to clean up the aftermath? It is like psychological warfare on young girls. We are trained our whole lives to wait for the guy that will treat us like a princess while at the same time being taught by everyone, including karma, that it is not going to happen.

Love. Love is a myth. Sure you might find someone who wants to put up with you for the rest of your life, and you might even find that person tolerable enough to agree, but love? No. Love, the kind of love we hear stories about our whole life, does not exist. The sooner you learn this and accept it as an inevitability the better. Love that stories are made of does not exist, nor did it ever exist. Love is the greatest lie ever sold to mankind.

I know this because I was that girl. The girl that spent hour upon countless hour pretending that my Prince Charming was coming. Looking for those qualities in anyone and everyone that showed some sort of romantic affection towards me. Wanting, no hoping, no praying that it was true love, that kind of love I had heard about my entire life, just to have my prayers dashed to shreds along with my heart time and time again. Well to that I say fuck you Cinderella and your happily ever after. That is why they never went on to tell the rest of the story. What exactly did happen in that happily ever after? Clearly nothing worth writing stories about.

I vowed long ago to stop believing in happily ever after and to not perpetuate that myth if I ever did have my own little girls. Not that I ever will because I refuse to allow someone that close to me. Not now, not ever. I am not some damsel in distress, I don't need saving. And I dare any so called prince to say differently.

I don't need you. I don't need anybody...except this lamp. I bet less than half of you can name what movie that line is from (and no, I'm not going to tell you). It is by far the best line in movie history, because of how ironically true it is. I do need the lamp far more than I need another person. The lamp provides light in the darkness, but people ... people only add to the darkness.

So here I sit, with out a 'you', without an 'anybody' but I do of course have a lamp. See, irony at its best. So what do I need? What should I believe? I believe what I can see, what can be proven through sheer unquestionable fact and that is how I like it. Facts may be hard to accept sometimes, but they are facts none the less. In that sense they can at least be accepted. But people? People are never what they seem. So again, fuck you Prince Charming and the horse you rode in on. The minute you and that stupid horse showed up love became complicated.

"Tris...Tris!" I can hear Christina yelling from down stairs. "Beatrice Grace Prior! If you are not down here in two shakes I swear on everything that is sacred and holy I will leave you and then murder you in your sleep later!"

I consider both of those things for a moment. I wouldn't actually mind if she left me here. I am not really the club scene type of girl. The club is full of the kinds of girls looking for their 'prince' to come rescue them and the kind of guys that are more than happy to play the part for a night or two at least. Then I consider the other part of her statement, the part about murdering me in my sleep. While I know she wouldn't actually murder me, Christina knows me well enough to exact her revenge in the most unsuspecting of ways. Death might actually be better than the torture I would have endure, and I know it would include shopping. I hate the mall almost as much as the club, almost.

"Just finishing up my blog post. Sending it to Cara now. My deadline was tonight." I yell back, sometimes I lie so well I actually believe it. At least the part about the blog post is true, the deadline part may have been a stretch.

"I'll be in the car. I'm going to text the others and let them know we are on our way. You have five minutes." She yells back huffing in annoyance and frustration, then I hear her heels clicking on the tile before the door to the garage shuts.

I press the send key on my blog post and then send a tweet to my followers that the new post is up. After that, I throw on a pair of distressed black skinny jeans, an off the shoulder black t-shirt, and the only pair of heels I own because I know they will make Christina happy. I touch up the little make-up I have on and add some tinted lip gloss. My hair is still in the messy braid I put it in this morning but it still looks ok. I grab my purse and head down stairs, carefully so that I don't break my ankle in these damned heels.

When I get in the car, Christina looks over at me and shrugs at my outfit, but its too late for her to do anything about it. She backs out of the garage and we head towards downtown. We ride in silence for a moment until her phone rings.

"Hey Tris, answer that for me, you know I can't talk on the phone and drive especially in this traffic." Christina says.

I reach for her phone and can't stop myself from making a sarcastic comment under my breath about the phone not being the reason behind her bad driving. She scoffs at me. I roll my eyes and giggle slightly as I tap the screen.

"Chrissy's phone. How may I help you?" I giggle, expecting to hear Will's voice on the other end.

"Oh...uh" a deep male voice I don't recognize says, "Will told me to call and let y'all know we are at a booth in the back. Just tell Al you are on the list and he will let you in."

"Ok. And exactly who should I tell her is calling?" I say.

"Hey babe, sorry I went to the bar and told Four to call and let y'all know where we are." Will says.

"No problem babe." I say back imitating his voice and trying not to laugh.

"Very funny Tris. Tell Christina I will see her soon." He laughs.

"No problem. We are here so we will meet you inside." I say. Will ends the call, while we find a parking spot. Soon we are all set and walking up to the front of the club. A well built guy with a kind face is standing with his hands clasped in front of him behind a red velvet rope. There is a long line of people to the side waiting to get in. We walk up to the guy behind the rope. Christina gives him our names and he nods.

"Mr. Renalds and Mr. Eaton have been expecting you. Right this way ladies." He smiles and winks at me. Then it hits me. Mr. Eaton has been expecting us.

"Thanks Al." Christina says as she saunters past him. I grab her elbow and pull her close to me so that I know she can hear me over the music.

"You set me up, didn't you?" I hiss into her ear.

"I don't know what you are talking about." She says back while smiling and nodding at people we pass.

"Don't lie to me Christina. You grew up in Candor. You are a bad liar." I say, planting my feet and refusing to walk any further. I cock one eyebrow up at her and set my jaw and draw my lips into a hard, thin line.

"Yes and no." She says, while frowning a little. She pulls her arm away from me and turns so that she is facing me. She looks around like she is trying to make sure no one is listening. "Look, Will and this guy were fraternity brothers. Will is trying to get him as a client. He invited Will and I here tonight and Will thought it would be more fun and that he would feel like less of a third wheel if I brought you. Will's friend only knows I'm bringing my roommate. We never said anything about trying to get you two together. So calm the hell down and try to have a good time. Please?"

"Ok, I guess. But, if he so much as looks at me wrong I won't play nice." I say, still feeling like this is some type of setup.

Christina smiles at me. "Deal. Now smile. They are sitting right over there."

Christina points to the corner booth where I see Will sitting with him. I can't help but stare for a moment. He is handsome for sure. He has dark, short, kind if curly hair. A spare upper lip and a full bottom lip. His features are angular and strong, like some type of Greek statue has come to life. I try to break away from staring at him as we walk up. When we get to the table, I see his eyes. They are the most mesmerizing shade of dark blue. They look almost black in the dim lights of the club. I feel Christina nudge me to sit down and realize I have been staring a little too long. Will grins at me and I can tell he noticed. Hopefully bright eyes over there didn't, talk about embarrassing.

"So Christina, Tris, this is Four Eaton. Four was one of my fraternity brothers. Four this Christina Williams, my girlfriend, and her roommate, Tris Prior." Will says.

Four sticks out his hand and shakes Christina's first and then mine. The minute his hand touches mine I feel as if there is an electric current flowing through me. His eyes snap to mine and I know he must have felt it too.

"Nice to meet you." I say.

"And you too, Tris." He says, his hand still gripping mine. "Welcome to Dauntless."

"Excuse me?" I say, a little confused by that last part.

"Dauntless, the club we're at." Christina says giggling a little at my cluelessness. "Four owns it."

I blush. I must have sounded either really rude or really stupid, either way I am not starting off on the right foot here. "Oh, sorry I didn't really pay attention when we came in." I say, trying to cover for my mistake.

"No big deal." Four says, "I know Christina had to practically drag you here. Will told me after our ...uh...phone call."

I glare at Will and he looks away sheepishly.

"Come on Chris lets go dance," he says taking the opportunity to get far, far away from me. I don't blame him. I would want far, far away from me too, if I was on the receiving end of the look I'm giving him right now. The look that tells him he will die a slow painful death by my hands later.

Four makes an amused face at the sight of us and then takes a sip of his beer. I order a drink and he leans over and whispers something to the waitress before she leaves. He looks over at me and she nods and then goes back to waiting on her tables.

"So, what do you do Tris?" Four says, as if that whole creepy whispering thing didn't just happen.

"What did you tell her?" I ask defensively. I don't know why I feel defensive. Something about Four makes me feel like I can trust him almost instinctively, but I still feel angry about him whispering to her.

"You answer me and then I'll answer you. A little quid pro quo." He says smirking slightly when I let out a huff of frustration.

"Fine. I write a blog for the site Life Lessons and for Texas Monthly." I say.

"I was telling her to let Zeke know he was in charge of front of house, because I was busy with a special guest tonight." He says without a hint of irony or sarcasm.

"Oh, Will. Christina said something about him trying to recruit you as a client?" I say.

"Yes, Will is trying to recruit me."

"But Will is a sports talent agent, I thought you owned this club." I say confused.

"Careful Tris. That was two questions. Quid pro quo remember and the special guest I was referring to was you, not Will." He says. "What kinds of articles do you write?"

"Advice columns and editorials mainly. Texas Monthly knows that their audience is old guys, so they were looking for a way to bring in a fresher more female friendly perspective. My blog is more of an open journal concept, kind of like one giant opinion on life." I say, before taking a sip of my drink. He looks at me like he is studying me. I feel like he is looking straight into my soul. I shiver slightly and hope he can't see me in the dim lights of the club.

"Makes sense, but I thought Texas Monthly was based out of Austin." Four says.

"It is, but they let me submit online. I only have to go to the actual offices once a month, but the drive isn't bad. I used to live there, so I usually just end up hanging out with my friends for the night. But that was way more than one answer, so that is all you get." I say indicating for him to explain why Will is trying to recruit him.

"Will is trying to recruit me because I am an UFC fighter." He says.

I look at him curiously. I certainly wasn't expecting that, but I can't say he doesn't have the body for it. "Cool. Maybe I can watch you fight sometime. So, why am I your special guest? You barely know me?"

"That is exactly why. Because I want to know you. If I didn't tell Shauna that, she and everyone else would be bothering me all night. I would never have gotten to ask you anything."

I blush a little at his answer. I look down at my drink and take another sip. I'm not much of a drinker. I hope he doesn't think there us anything wrong with it, but I notice he is still nursing the same beer that he had when I sat down. He is grinning at me and I can't help but notice how young and handsome he looks right now. He can't be much older than I am. He doesn't say anything and neither do I. His eyes meet mine and once again and this time neither one of us looks away. It is like we are connected. I can't really explain it, mainly because it has never happened before.

Will and Christina come back laughing and panting slightly. They both grab their beers and take a few swigs before looking over at us. Our eyes broke contact the moment we heard their voices. I am currently trying to stop the furious shade of red that is spreading over what feels like my entire body and Four seems to be watching the dance floor closely. Christina catches my eyes and raises an eyebrow, then nods her head towards Four. I give her a small smile and shrug my shoulders slightly. Will seems oblivious to all of this, as the next words out of his mouth are random facts about both of us.

"So Tris, I don't know if Chris told you, but Four owns this club. Business isn't his only talent though, he is also a UFC fighter. Sources say he is the next middleweight division champion." Will says.

"Really?" I say grinning over at Four. "What brings you to Dallas?"

Four gives Will an annoyed look. He clearly doesn't like being the center of attention. Surprising, since most guys that look like him live for the attention. Will seems too into his introductions to notice or care, but Christina is looking between the two of us like she is watching a tennis match.

"My trainer, Amar. He moved here and opened the Dauntless training center. He got me onto the sport. I could have found another trainer in Chicago, but I wanted to stay with him. I wouldn't be here today if it wasn't for him." Four says taking another swig of his beer. His demeanor is completely different than before. He seems closed off, intimidating even. There is a story there.

I finish the drink I have and nod at him. Christina looks at me and narrows her eyes. She knows there is something going on and she will make me tell her later, but I act like I don't notice. I am too busy looking at Four. He is smart, and loyal, good looking, and so far, a really nice guy. There has to be something wrong him. A fatal flaw I am not seeing. He's gay. That can be the only explanation. No straight single man can be this perfect.

Will continues by introducing me. "Tris is a writer for Texas Monthly and writes a blog. Maybe you've read it. It's very popular, Just Sayin'. Her segment in Texas Monthly is called Life lessons from a Lone Star Girl."

Now it is my turn to give Will a look of contempt. I hate being the center of attention. If I wanted people talking about me I would write under my real name, not a pen name. I write under the name Bea Belle because it sounds southern and charming, not to mention you can't really trace Bea Belle to Beatrice Prior no matter how hard you try. Thank God he didn't say my blogger name, Thoughts on Paper. Then, I really would end him.

"I love your column in TM. Never would have guessed I was sitting here with Bea Belle herself." Four smirks.

"That was kind of the point." I say, now glaring at Will. Four chuckles, but not so much you would notice if you weren't paying close attention.

The blond girl from earlier comes buy and says she needs to speak with Four. He grumbles something under his breath and will slides out to let him pass. I can see his muscles through his tight black shirt as he walks away. I also notice the black lines of a tattoo peeking up from the collar of his shirt wrapping their way around his neck behind his ears. Ok, he has to be gay. There is no possible way a guy this hot is straight and still single.

"I don't know what is going on here, but you will tell me everything later." Christina says pointing her finger at me and pursing her lips.

"Ok" I say rolling my eyes, "and just for the record there is nothing going on here. You two left us alone to stare at each other, awkwardly I might add. Thanks for that by the way."

"Yeah cause you two looked so 'awkward' when we came back all giving each other goggly eyes and shit." Christina says back.

"Goggly eyes? What are we eight?" Will says, laughing at the two of us.

"You are." Christina says.

Will rolls his eyes at her and then pulls her out on to the dance floor again kissing her on the way there. I sit alone in the booth. I am seriously considering just calling a cab to take me home. Christina will be fine and that way she can stay at Will's which she does most of the time anyway. Just as I'm about to get up, Four reappears.

"Sorry about that. There was an issue I had to deal with personally." He says sounding rather irritated.

"No problem. I completely understand. I was just about to leave anyway." I say sliding out of the booth. "It was nice to meet you." I turn to walk away and feel a hand grab my wrist. The minute his skin touches mine, my stomach jumps. I turn around and he slides out of the booth.

"Tris, wait." He takes a few long strides until he is standing in front of me. I look up at him. I hadn't realized until now how tall he is, or for that matter how short I am in comparison. Short, skinny, body like a twelve year old. Yep that about covers me.

"Um.." He scratches the back of his neck and looks down. Is he nervous? Why would he be nervous? "Do you need a ride? Because I have training early and need to get out of here myself. I wouldn't mind."

"Uh, I was just going to call a cab, but if you don't mind, sure." I say shrugging my shoulders. I try to seem nonchalant about it all. But for some reason my stomach is in knots and my heart is beating fast.

Four grins at me and takes my hand leading me through the now heavy crowd. Dauntless is one of the most popular clubs in Downtown. If this is what it is like on Thursday night, I can't imagine what it looks like on Saturday. I realize as we walk we are not headed to the front doors, instead we are walking towards the back of the club. Four leads me to a small hallway with a couple of doors. The one at the end has a bright red exit sign over it.

"I just need to grab my stuff from my office. Be right back." He says dropping my hand, which suddenly feels cold in the absence of his. I lean against the wall and nod. My feet are killing me just from the short walk in these heels. He disappears behind one of the black doors. As I am waiting, a guy with tan skin and dark hair walks out of what I assume to be the store room as he is carrying several cases of beer with him. He looks me up and down and then stops in front of me.

"Hey pretty lady. You lost?" He smiles widely showing a mouth full of white teeth. He is handsome and there is a mischievous glint in his eye. "Because if you are I would be happy to help you find your way."

I can't help but laugh at how cheesy he is. I start to say something back, but Four walks up beside me.

"Get back to work, Uriah." Four says taking my hand again and lacing his fingers with mine. "She's with me."

Uriah looks over at Four and then back at me. He winks at me still smiling widely. "You got it boss man. See you later pretty lady." Then he walks off.

Four groans a little and mutters something under his breath that I can't understand. I am too focused on the fact he is still holding my hand to hear what he says next.

"Tris," he says a little loudly, letting me know he must have said it more than once.

"Sorry, I must have blanked out for a second." I say blushing.

"It's ok, I asked where you live." He says shaking his head and chuckling.

"Oh, North Lake. I can take a cab if it is too far out of your way." I say

"It's not out of the way. I actually live in North Lake too." He says unlocking the doors to his truck. He opens the door for me and climb in. He doesn't release his grip on my hand until I have to use the handle to pull myself into his truck because I am so short.

The ride to my house is short and we spend most of it in a comfortable silence listening to the radio and talking about random things. We reach my house and he pulls up the curb.

"Thanks for the ride." I say digging into my purse to find my keys.

"Anytime." He says. I finally fish my keys out and reach to open the door to the truck. "Hey Tris, can I have your number?"

I look at him for a moment shocked that he would want my number. Maybe he isn't gay. "Um..ok. Give me your phone and I'll put my number in it. "

He hands me his phone and then indicates for me to give him mine. I type in my pass code and then hand it to him. He smirks at me and then types his number in. I giggle at him and type mine in his phone. He hands me my phone back and I give him his. I tell him thank you one more time before exiting his truck and heading in my door. I feel tired but going to bed right now is out of the question. I need to write about this. So that is what I do. I pull out my iPad and begin typing. I fall asleep writing about the mysterious eyes that have captured my thoughts.