The Day She Boarded - A Divergent 9/11 One-shot

Hey guys!

Yeah, I know, I meant to put this out on the twentieth anniversary of the attacks, September 11, 2021, but this one-shot ended up being longer than I anticipated. 21 pages in Google Docs, holy moly!

All rights of characters go to Veronica Roth. Her trilogy is absolutely amazing, you should definitely read it if you haven't. But the plot is mine.

This promised one-shot is finally here, so, enjoy!

The day that Tris Prior Eaton boarded United Airlines Flight 93, she was confused as to whether she should have been happy or upset.

After all, she was going home, but for the worst reason.

Her trip to visit her friends, Uriah and Marlene, for their wedding, had been amazing. In the week before the wedding, she and her husband had been dragged around New York city, reveling at all the sights of the city.

In a matter of days, they had boarded a ship to the Statue of Liberty, visited the Empire State building (although they didn't go up, because of Tobias' fear), had a picnic in Central Park, walked across the Brooklyn bridge, attended a musical at the Radio City Music Hall, toured the Museum of Metropolitan Art, visited Grand Central Station, walked through Times Square at night, watched animals at the Bronx zoo, and so much more. Tobias had even taken her for a date at Windows of the World, a fancy restaurant in the Twin Towers' north tower. They had had to sit away from the windows, though, for obvious reasons.

She smiled at the memory.

The wedding was a beautiful mix of grand and delicate, sort of like the bride and groom themselves. Marlene, the sweetest person you would ever meet, and Uriah, the goofiest and craziest of their whole group, rivaled only by his brother, Zeke. They were perfect for one another.

But then she had gotten the call. Her brother, Caleb, and his girlfriend, Susan, had been killed in a car accident back in San Francisco. Her parents were devastated, and even her other high school friends, Christina, Will, and Rita, who hadn't known Caleb and Susan that well, were distressed.

Tris wanted to break down and cry every time she thought about her brother, with his green eyes that shone every time that he learned something new, or when he looked at Susan.

She would never see them again.

Tris glanced at the empty seat beside her, sighing as she saw nobody there.

The company that Tobias worked for was based in New York, and it was the perfect opportunity to finish up some business that couldn't be done from across the country. While Tris understood the reasoning - it would cost less to just check in while they were there, instead of having Tobias come back home only to fly out again - the emotional part of her still wished he was sitting next to her, with his goofy grin that he reserved for only her.

Even though he had insisted that he come with her, saying that he could fly out again after the funeral, Tris had encouraged him to stay and get his work done. After all, even though she felt better having her husband beside her, she couldn't depend on him. If she wasn't even brave enough to fly in a damned airplane without him, how could she put on a strong face for her parents and friends?

So, Tobias had reluctantly agreed to stay, but promised to be back home in time for the funeral. He had stayed with her as long as he could, giving her one last long, lingering kiss in the lobby of the Newark airport.

At 8:42 AM, the plane began speeding down the tarmac. Tris stared out the window, towards the tall buildings that identified the heart of New York City. Where her husband was. As the plane lifted off, she touched her lips, where she could still feel the ghost of his kiss.