Her Secret

Late

    When Jeanine's eyes flutter open the next morning, she smiles as she is met with a face full of blonde hair. "Morning, Tris," she says quietly, whispering in her ear.
    "Ten more minutes, mom," she groans, clearly half asleep.
    "Kinky," Jeanine jokes before looking at the time. "You can have ten more minutes," she says, slowly brushing a strand of hair off of the girl's face. Jeanine awkwardly puts an arm around her before drawing it back. This time she had actually asked Tris to say as she was sober. Jeanine takes a deep breath before deciding to place an arm around Tris again. Suddenly, Tris bolts up. Jeanine's arm falls down and Tris looks over at her. "Did we actually do anything last night?" Tris asks quietly.
    "Look at us! Roles reversed," Jeanine jokes. "But no. I just asked you to stay. Don't worry. I was sober this time."
    Tris nods and falls back on the bed. She mumbles something under her breath.
    "What was that, dear?" Jeanine asks.
    "I- um . . . It was just a dream," she says quietly, clearly embarrassed.
    "Aw. You were dreaming about me. How cute," Jeanine says with a smirk.
    Tris flushes a deep shade of red and starts to get up. Jeanine rests her arm on her, pushing her back down.  "I don't care," she says, pulling Tris closer to her. Tris smiles as she curls up next to Jeanine. They're silent for a long time. "I'm sorry about the whole divergent thing," Jeanine whispers. Tris turns her head to look up at Jeanine.
    "I am too," she says.
    "It's not your fault though. It's mine," Jeanine mumbles. "I was the one who joined Norton in the first place."
    "What's your thing with him anyways?" Tris asks.
    "My father died when I was pretty young, so Norton became like my father figure when he took me on and mentored me. But then he slowly turned against me and I realized what he was really like. That's all," Jeanine says uncomfortably.
    Tris can tell that there's more but lets the conversation drop. "So you believed everything he taught you."
    "Yeah, I did," Jeanine says in a small voice.
    "What do you want for breakfast? I make a pretty good omelet," Tris says, changing the subject.
    Jeanine chuckles. "I'm sure your oatmeal tastes professional too."
    "Shush. You're just jealous," Tris jokes.
    "Yes. Very jealous by your abnegation platter."
    "Basic eating structure. Healthy," Tris remarks. She then snorts at her own comment. "Why do you even like me?" Tris asks.
    "You're tiny. Tiny people are cute," Jeanine mumbles. Tris smiles and rolls around to face Jeanine. The two study each other, their faces inches apart.
    "Is that why you wear heels? Cause cute people aren't intimidating?" Tris challenges.
    Jeanine looks taken aback, clearly not expecting that comeback. "I'm not cute. And I'm not tiny either. Must I remind you how much taller I am then you?" She asks, raising an eyebrow.
    Tris giggles. "You're cute to me, Jean," she says quietly.
    "Of course I am, chère," she says with a smile. "I'm your girl- wait. Am I? What is our status? Like are we dating or something?"
    "First of all, French?" Tris asks. Jeanine smirks and Tris continues. "I don't know, to be honest. I'm new to this too. I think it's too soon. I'm not sure."
     "I'm fine with what you want," she says. Jeanine then sits up. "I should go make breakfast. You can get changed. I have some old clothes in the bottom drawer that might fit you," she says. Tris nods and Jeanine exits the room, taking a dress with her.
    Tris stares at the ceiling for a few seconds before sighing and getting up. She does as Jeanine instructs and grabs a blazer and a blue dress, quickly changing into it. She walks out into the kitchen. "Do Erudites usually tend to keep their old clothes that don't fit them anymore?" Tris asks.
    "Nope. Those were just some of the clothes that your grandmother spent way too much money on back in the day. She felt bad for me cause of the whole 'mother forgetting my birthday every year' thing. I think she mainly did it to spite me because I didn't want her to waste her money on me," she says with a shrug.
    Tris lets out a small chuckle. "She seems like a nice woman. I wish I could've met her."
    "She's still alive," Jeanine says quickly, looking up at her. "We haven't talked much since I became faction leader, but we used to be good friends before that. I apparently was comforting to her after Andrew left."
    It partially amazed her how casually Jeanine talked about her family. The sides Tris didn't even know of them. "Do you think I could meet her?" Tris asks quietly.
    Jeanine sets a plate in front of Tris with a couple of pancakes on it. "I suppose I could take you to see her. If that's what you want."
    Tris nods. And Jeanine smiles. "Oh! Speaking of family, as you know, visiting day is..." she pauses to check her phone. "Three days away. I was wondering if you would like me to arrange a private meeting with your parents in which you could discuss with them. And I say private because of the whole erudite and abnegation rule thing . . ." she trails off as she sits down next to Tris at the counter.
    Tris looks up at Jeanine. "I would like that," she says quietly.
    Jeanine doesn't say anything until she finishes chewing. She smiles. "Good. I'll be sure to email Mr. Prior." True to her promise, she pulls out her laptop after placing their dishes in the sink. Jeanine hesitates, almost as if deciding if she should say something or not.
    "You can say it," Tris urges.
    "You realize we can't be public about our relationship, right?" Jeanine asks quietly, scared of the response.
    Tris nods. "Yes. And that's something I'm okay with," she says, leaning towards Jeanine. She starts laughing. "You must have syrup on your lips or something," she jokes. Jeanine smiles before checking the time.
    "You have to go. Your first class starts in ten minutes," she says. "I really don't mean to push you out like this, but you don't even have time to stop at your dorm."
    Jeanine seems worried. "I'll just go with you or send a note that it was my fault. You were talking to me, okay?" She asks. Tris nods and they set off towards the dorms. By the time Tris made it to class, she was ten minutes late, and Jeanine had arrived with her to explain why she was late. Tris slides into the seat next to Audrey.
    "So that's where you were last night," the girl said with a smirk.
    Tris rolls her eyes. "Nothing happened. Stop being a hopeless romantic."
    "You can only dream," Audrey says with a grin before turning back to focus on the lesson that had just been resumed.