Agents of the Forgotten Faction

|Chapter 7|

That night went I went to the dorm I lay on my bed while I listen to Hill give me an update on everything.

"Tris you have to be more careful. Your heart rate was spiking the entire time. Remember you are on a job. It's not to be the hero its to save the entire faction. I get that you are 16 and you want to look out for your friends but you need to remember who has authority at Dauntless. Its Eric, not your boyfriend. AND need I not remind you about the no strings attached. That means no making eyes at him. The only thing that you can do if you must is seducing him to talk. He works in intelligence and that means he works with Zeke," Hill says.

By now I would have said all theses smart comments but since I can't talk without waking all the initiates, I have to keep all the smart comebacks and protests to myself.

I let myself fall asleep and I dream that Christina hangs from the railing again, by her toes this time, and someone shouts that only someone who is Divergent can help her. So I run forward to pull her up, but someone shoves me over the edge, and I wake before I hit the rocks.

Sweat-soaked and shaky from the dream, I walk to the girls' bathroom to shower and change. I'm used to having the nightmares, I get them all the time. When I comeback, the word "Stiff" is spray-painted across my mattress in red. The word is written smaller along the bed frame, and again on my pillow. I look around, my heart pounding with anger.

Peter stands behind me, whistling as he fluffs his pillow. It's hard to believe I could hate someone who looks so kind-his eyebrows turn upward naturally, and he has a wide, white smile.

"Nice decorations," he says.

"Did I do something to you that I'm unaware of?" I demand. I grab the corner of a sheet and yank it away from the mattress. "I don't know if you've noticed, but we are in the same faction now."

"I don't know what you're referring to," he says lightly. Then he glances at me. "And you and I will never be in the same faction."

I shake my head as I remove my pillowcase from the pillow. Don't get angry. He wants to get arise out of me; he won't. But every time he fluffs his pillow, I think about punching him in the gut.

"Tris cool it!" Hill warns.

Al walks in, and I don't even have to ask him to help me; he just walks over and strips bedding with me. I will have to scrub the bed frame later. Al carries the stack of sheets to the trash can and together we walk toward the training room.

"Ignore him," Al says. "He's an idiot, and if you don't get angry, he'll stop eventually."

"Yeah." I touch my cheeks. They are still warm with an angry blush. I try to distract myself. "Did you talk to Will?" I ask quietly. "After...you know."

"Yeah. He's fine. He isn't angry." Al sighs. "Now I'll always be remembered as the first guy who knocked someone out cold."

"There are worse ways to be remembered. At least they won't antagonize you."

"There are better ways too." He nudges me with his elbow, smiling. "First jumper."

Maybe I was the first jumper, but I suspect that's where my Dauntless fame begins and ends. I need to make a new reputation but what?

I clear my throat. "One of you had to get knocked out, you know. If it hadn't been him, it would have been you." The dialogue I have to do for appearances.

"Still, I don't want to do it again." Al shakes his head, too many times, too fast. He sniffs. "I really don't."

We reach the door to the training room and I say, "But you have to."