Her Secret

Visiting Day

    Visiting Day came quickly, and Tris was nervous. She had wanted Jeanine to stay with her while she talked to them, which the elder blonde had reluctantly agreed to as long as the rest of the Priors were alright with it.
    Jeanine walked into the Dining Hall in which she found Tris talking to Audrey's parents; who had surprised her by showing up.
    "It's time to go?" Tris asks, looking up at Jeanine.
    The faction leader nods. "They are already in my office. I don't think it would be wise to keep them waiting." Tris then says goodbye to Audrey's family and starts walking with Jeanine.
    "What are you going to tell them?" Jeanine asks, looking over at Tris.
    "I'll probably tell them about my rankings of the first stage or something," she whispers.
    "I meant why you're having me stay. Abnegation isn't... well, you know. Accepting. And if your parents find out that..."
    "That what? I'm with a girl? That's their fault if they have problems. Besides, I don't have to deal with them anymore."
    "Are you sure this is what you want?" Jeanine asks. She stops walking to look over at Beatrice.
    "Yes. I'm sure. Plus we're not going to tell them."
    "Your father was an erudite, Tris. We have to be careful."
    "And we will," Tris says bluntly. She continues to walk; having memorized the way to Jeanine's office by now. Jeanine trails behind her but walks quickly to keep up. Tris bursts into Jeanine's office, not bothering to conceal her excitement. She immediately gives her mother a hug. Andrew looks uncomfortable as soon as Jeanine enters the room. The two awkwardly stare at each other before Jeanine drops her gaze, and Andrew seems surprised.
    "It's good to see you again, Beatrice," Andrew says awkwardly.
    Natalie lets go of the girl to get a good luck at how much she's changed. "You look so much more grown-up," she whispers.
    Jeanine leans in the doorway while the family catches up for a bit. Andrew suddenly walks over to her. "You seem sad," he says awkwardly. Natalie and Beatrice watch them quietly. "Is this about the whole leaving thing?"
    Jeanine rolls her eyes. "For fucks sake, Prior. Not everything is about you."
    Tris lets out a small laugh but quickly tries to suppress it. Andrew seems surprised that Tris would seem to take Jeanine's side.
    "Speaking of which, why are you here in the first place?" Natalie asks.
    Jeanine fumbles, clearly looking for an excuse.
    "Because I asked her to be," Tris says, looking between her parents and Jeanine.
    Andrew walks over to her and bends down slightly so he is looking at her straight in the eye. "What did you think we were going to do that you would need the faction leader to intervene?" He asks in a business-like manner.
    Tris sighs as Andrew still treated her as if she was a small child. "Nothing. I- I just..." she's quiet and glances over at Jeanine.
    "Go ahead, Beatrice," Jeanine says softly. "You might as well. They are your parents. They have a right to know."
    "Know what, sweetie?" Natalie asks, sitting down in one of the chairs.
    Andrew and Tris sit down too. "I um... Jean and I are good friends. That's all," Tris says quickly.
    Andrew seems relieved. "I thought you were going to tell us you were dating or something," he says with a small chuckle.
    Tris forces a nervous laugh, before looking over at Jeanine. "Us? Dating? No way," she says, her voice seeming high-pitched.
    Natalie, who had previously been silent smiles. "You can tell us the truth, Beatrice. I think it's nice that you've found someone."
    Andrew starts coughing, clearly caught off guard. "I'm sorry, repeat that for me."
    Tris slowly stands up and walks across the room. She grabs Jeanine's hand and leads her to their small little group. "Jeanine might be my girlfriend," Tris says quietly, her face flushed red in embarrassment. Jeanine herself seems slightly surprised as the word 'girlfriend' comes out of the girl's mouth.
Andrew stares between the two in shock. "You're gay?" He finally stutters out.
Natalie gently whacks the back of his head. "Don't be so daft. Try to be supportive."
"I'm curious. Whom was your question directed to?" Jeanine asks.
"Both," he mutters while enduring a glare from Natalie.
"Are you going to be nice?" She asks him.
"It's not my fault I just found a girl I slept with when we were sixteen is now dating my daughter," he mutters.
"Andrew, we were drunk," Jeanine hisses. "Plus it was New Year's Eve and you were the one who wanted to try alcohol."
Beatrice stares between her father and Jeanine. "This just got really awkward really quick," she mutters.
"This weird love triangle just got turned into a square," Jeanine adds.
Natalie starts waving her arm around. "Mom, what are you doing?" Tris asks.
"I'm trying to cut the tension," she jokes.
Jeanine stands up. "I sense I should go," she whispers.
Tris catches her arm. "Stay. Please." Jeanine looks to Andrew, and he nods before she sits back down.
    "Tris, I would like to talk to you though. Privately," he says. Tris nods and they exit into the hallway. "What do you think you're doing getting involved with her?" He whispers. "You know how much she hates Abnegation. And the Divergent. She wants all of those innocent people dead."
    "First of all, be quiet. No one can know. And second of all, it's not like what you think. It's not all Divergents."
    "Let me guess. You're special to her and she doesn't want you dead even though you are one," he states flatly.
    Tris stares at him. "It sounds so bad when you put it that way," she whispers.
    "Beatrice, I just don't want to see you end up dead, okay?" He whispers. "Be careful around her."
    Tris nods. "Yeah. I think I can do that."
    "But why can't anyone know?"
    "Because. People could think the reason I'm doing so well in initiation is that I'm sleeping with the faction leader."
    Andrew stares at her. "You're sleeping with her?!" He asks loudly.
    Tris rolls her eyes. "No. That's what we're trying to prevent people from thinking."

    Back in Jeanine's office, Natalie was excitedly asking Jeanine questions. "How long have you two been together?" She asks. "What are your intentions with my daughter? Are you-"
    "Calm down,  Natalie. We've only been officially together for two days," she says with a small smile. "It's not like we're getting married in the near future."
    "But if you were-" Natalie is cute off as Tris and Andrew walk back into the office. Jeanine looks relieved to have an escape from the brunette's questioning. Andrew's gaze meets Jeanine's, and he nods.
    "I suppose we ought to be going," Andrew says.
    Tris gives both of her parents a hug. "I'll miss you two. Say hi to Caleb for me," she whispers. Natalie nods before they exit the office.

    "Do all parents question their child's girlfriend like they're giving them a background check, or is it just yours?" Jeanine asks as soon as they exit. 
    Tris lets out a small chuckle. "You forget we don't date in Abnegation," she says, walking over to her. She gives the woman a hug. "Mom seemed pretty cool with it though. I think you impressed her, Jean."
    Jeanine nods. "Your father not so much. I could hear your little conversation." Tris seems surprised at this. "I have good hearing," Jeanine says with a shrug. "And I guess the way Andrew phrased it, I do sound pretty bad."
    "No you don't," Tris says, giving her hand a reassuring squeeze. "But trust me. You didn't need a bodyguard to interfere, so it went well."
    Jeanine chuckles at Tris' bluntness. "I guess you're right," she whispers.
    "Hey, you can't be the smart one all of the time," she jokes. Jeanine looks down at the girl, wondering how lucky she was to have ended up with her.