Divergent One Shots (Eric & Tris)

Eighty-Five-A Camping Adventure 26.1

Tris

I ride the bus through the gate to Amity.  The pit stop at their headquarters lasts about a half hour while more people load up. The bus pulls out and we drive through the orchard, then along the fence.  The apple orchard is the furthest I've gone previously. We surpass that and continue on to peaches. The forest is next and I've never seen it before. It's incredible. On no occasion have I ever viewed trees growing so close together—only intentional plants, methodical orders, or the random miscellaneous growth throughout Factionless and the city.  I stare in awe as we turn and observe the trees go by rapidly within my line of sight. There's a brief break and I oddly see one of the Dauntless leader's vehicles down that path. I shake that thought out of my head. Why would a Dauntless leader be over here?
I sigh and continue to watch the trees pass by quickly into a pleasant trail of blurry green. It's beautiful.  This is nice—relaxing.
I've needed this time away. I ended things with Four a while back but he still persists on pursuing me. He was mad that I took the position under Jax as his assistant in security—too close to leadership for his liking. Then after I told him I chose my job over him, he backtracked and apologized. It took him a week to do so but he still expected me to come running back to him after that. I said no. He was shocked. Now, every time a guy asks me out, he pretends that we're together, claiming me or something.  I've even asked a few guys out on dates and they're too afraid of Four. His legacy alone keeps men at bay. It's infuriating.
I take in a deep breath and let it out shakily. Let everything go. I'm here to relax and indulge for the first time ever. Just... breathe...

*****

Eric

I pull into my childhood excursion location at the pond—the family cottage. I've needed this vacation. Things have just been too stressful as of late. This sounded like the best out of my choices—the most relaxing and dare I say... peaceful? I can't believe as a leader of Dauntless that that's what I'm craving but it is. I put my truck in park and climb out. I open my trunk and grab my bag of clothes and box of groceries. Most of it's bread. Some I'll freeze to last the whole trip. I knew the bread here tasted weird before—kind of off—but I'm grateful to Jude for giving me a heads up on the peace serum added. I didn't know that growing up. Had I known, I would've brought our own for sure.
I walk up the steps to the patio and set the box aside. I grab the loose floorboard and pull the key out. I unlock the door and replace the key. I grab my box of food once again and enter the space of my childhood. I sigh in relief. It's good to be back. The only thing missing is my sister. But that can't be helped. I'm hoping she can find her own escape...
I drop my bag on the sofa and take the food to the pantry. I set the box down and grab a flashlight, turning on my power and water. I'll call the electric and water companies when I get back to settle the bill. I'm actually thinking to pay up a bit and use this place regularly. By the dust on everything, it's clear I'm the only one who would.
I put the food away in the pantry and fridge before I take my bag upstairs. I decide to use my parents old room with the adequate bed for someone my size. I open the drawers and see their clothes exactly as they left them. I sigh and close the drawers. I forgot about the old worries. I'll find something else to do.
I change quickly, figuring I'll go to the garage to get out my bike for a tuneup and ride. That always was relaxing. I pull my dad's bike out since my old one is too small. I've actually been using this one for years. I wipe it down, oil it, and tighten the screws. Everything seems to be in good order.
I decide to take it out straight away since I've got nothing else going on and it always soothes my nerves going through the forest trails.  I climb on and ride down the path.  It swerves and bows through the woods.  I love the sound of nature—the birds chirping, the squirrels chewing and chattering, a woodpecker is searching for food, the water lapping in the distance is calming.  I breathe in the fresh air and sigh in contentment.  I dodge a swarm of gnats as I descend a hill flying down rapidly.  I've always loved this—knew that I was bound for Dauntless early on because of my love of the rush. I'd say I'm a thrill seeker in my spare time and I'm not ashamed of it.
I continue through the path and see it opening up to the cabins of the camp at Amity. All the school-aged kids come here to camp as well as anyone looking for a vacation. I see some kids playing in the water. There are some adults sitting on the beach. I pass the dock and notice a gorgeous blonde stepping into the water—for what looks like her first time. She's wearing a black tank top and shorts. The helping hands of Abnegation on her bicep sticks out to me and I break. I see the Dauntless flames matching on the other arm. God, she's beautiful. I grin as she turns around and realize I've been checking out the Stiff. I should've known from her tattoo. That totally threw me off but it's completely obvious now. The only other transfer in recent history from there was Four. I can't believe how hot she is. I should definitely pay more attention to her from now on.