Her Secret

The Lab

As soon as Jeanine was gone, Tris hurriedly climbs down and runs out after her. "Jeanine! Wait!" Tris calls. Jeanine spins around to face her. "I'd like that. I'd like that very much," Tris whispers quietly.
Jeanine stares at her. "Great. But where does that leave us?" She replies softly.
"I'm not sure, but I bet we could figure it out together," Tris says in response. The two were speaking softly, and anyone who walked past them would have just assumed that they were having a normal conversation.
"Maybe we try the friends thing, first," Jeanine mumbles. She awkwardly reaches back and straightens her hair.
Tris smiles. "Yeah. I think that could be possible."
"Meet me in the lab tomorrow at eight," Jeanine replies. "We'll go from there."
Tris smiles. "And, uh, can I actually keep this?" She asks, pulling at the sweater.
Jeanine shrugs. "It doesn't fit me anymore anyways," she says. "I hope you have a nice day, Beatrice. I'll see you tomorrow."
Tris smiles to herself as Jeanine walks off. She then heads back to her room and goes through her closet. "And Audrey thought I needed her help," Tris says out loud with a quiet chuckle.
"I thought you needed your help with what?" Audrey asks, who had just slipped back into the dorm.
"Bloody hell. I need to remember to shut the damn door," Tris mutters, practically jumping out of her skin.
Audrey chuckles. "Good to know you can't be left alone. Did you even accomplish anything while I was gone?" She jokes.
"Other than stalking my crush's diary, and getting a date, no," Tris replies casually, adjusting her glasses.
"You did what?" Audrey squeals. "Is it with her?!"
"Well, it's not officially a date. But she asked me to the lab tomorrow to talk things over," Tris replies. "I think that's a good start. Maybe?"
Audrey nods and gives Tris a bone-crushing hug. "I'm so excited for you! Can I help you get ready?" She asks, seeming quite hyper.
"I think I have it cover- you know, why don't you help me pick out an outfit?" Tris suggests.
"Okay. So it's not an official date?" Audrey asks. Tris shakes her head.
"So we're going for nice but not trying too hard. Got it. That's not too hard. " she stares at Tris' inventory before pulling out a light blue blouse and a darker blue skirt. "Try this."
"This outfit looks like a uniform," Tris protests.
"All of the clothes in Erudite look like uniforms. Besides, it's not a date. You don't need anything too special." Tris nods and looks over at the clock.
     "I should probably head to bed. Eight is early for me," she mumbles. 
     Audrey nods. "Sleep well. Have good dreams. I don't want to wake up to screaming again," she jokes.
     "I did what?" Tris asks, slightly alarmed.
     "It was a joke. Although someone screamed last night. You slept right through it."
     Tris shrugs. "Sleep well too," she mumbles. She lays the clothes out on her desk and heads to bed. Tris gets up the next morning almost two hours early. She quickly gets dressed and changes her hairstyle about a dozen times before settling on a low bun. She kills some time in the library before heading over to the labs at quarter to eight.
     "Password. What did Joanna say was the password?" Tris mutters to herself. "The monthly sudoku puzzle that's it!" She pulls out her laptop to try and figure it out but comes up empty-handed when she can't find the answer to the highlighted boxes. She sighs and looks up as Jeanine walks over.  "Miss Matthews," she greets.
     "I thought we decided on Jeanine?" She asks, swiping her card. The door opens and tris sighs. She had just spent the last ten minutes trying to solve the puzzle when she could've just waited for Jeanine. Tris follows her in and watches as she sets down two coffees and a small box. "I wasn't sure if you have had breakfast or not yet, so I got one for you too," she says with a shrug. She then pats the seat next to her where Tris slowly walks over and sits down. Jeanine opens the box and pulls a donut out, sliding the other one over to her. Tris stares at it. She had never had one yet and wasn't sure how she felt about them yet. "Trust me. They're good," Jeanine says with a small smile.
     "Thank you, Jeanine. And no, I haven't eaten yet," she replies quietly. They eat their food in silence until Tris cleans their trash up and stands up to throw it away.
     "I could get that for you, you know," Jeanine mumbles. True shrugs and throws it away before sitting back down next to the faction leader.
     "So..." Tris says awkwardly.
     Jeanine clears her throat. "Right! I wanted to walk you through some basic lab work I have to occasionally do," she says with a shrug. Tris nods, and Jeanine proceeds to explain it to her. "It's really quite simple," she says with a shrug.
     Tris nods. After a few tries, she seems to get the hang of it, and Jeanine is left shuffling through paperwork. She looks up as she catches Tris staring at her. Tris looks down and digs through her bag for a few seconds before pulling out a journal. She hands it to Jeanine. "I'm sorry I took it. I was just worried about you the day you got into a fight with Joanna. I used it to find you."
     Jeanine seemed visibly angry. "You mean to tell me that you've had this the entire time, and I was just stressed out looking for it?" Jeanine asks. "I bet you read this entire thing, didn't you?" She states icily.
     Tris ignores Jeanine's glare. "Please don't hate me. I was only concerned for you," Tris whispers in a small voice, she almost seemed scared.
     Jeanine was about to reprimand her when her face relaxed. "I'm glad you were worried about me, but let's try not to make you stealing my stuff a habit, okay?" Jeanine asks. On the outside, Jeanine was calm, but on the inside, she was about to lose it. She didn't want the girl to know everything about her. Not only that, but she also had written about their kiss. It wasn't something she had wanted the girl to read.
     Tris nods and Jeanine awkwardly puts it away and places her hand on the table. Tris awkwardly touches it. "I'm sorry. Please accept my apology."
     Jeanine doesn't say anything but slowly moves her hand to hold Tris'. "I think I can do that."