Holding On||Peter Hayes (Divergent)

Chapter 10

Peter came up to me during breakfast on the morning of stage two. I nibbled feebly at my slice of toast, not feeling the slightest bit hungry. "Jones, you good?" Peter asks, sitting in front of me. I ignore him, sipping my water. "Jones? Are you deaf?"

"No, I shook my head, I'm just not stupid enough to talk to a murderer." I said airily.

"What are you on about? I didn't kill anyone!" Peter exclaimed defensively.

"No, but you could have killed that Edward guy," I snap. "You're sick, stabbing someone in the eye with a butter knife! For your information, I also came second even though I worked my ass off, but do you see me stabbing Uriah who got first place? No! So why you, Hayes?"

Peter stared at me, his lips parted. He is so good looking. Why did that have to come into my head just now? Yes, it was undeniable that Peter good looking; he had a great body and cute face, but I couldn't let that get in the way of me trying to tell him off. "I - I didn't think straight," Peter whispered. "Piper -"

I got up, glaring at Peter. "I'm leaving. I'll see you later, but don't expect me to want to talk to you."

***

"So," Lynn dragged the 'O', "which one of you was ranked first?"

All the Dauntless-born and transfers sat waiting in a white hallway, steel chairs lining either side. There were fourteen initiates left. Molly, one of Peter's lackeys, was the first person to enter the room Four was in. We didn't know what was coming, but we knew it was about facing our fears. Lynn, AJ, Uriah, Marlene, Rita, Jack and I took up one side of the room while the transfers took up the other.

Every transfer was silent. Edward was first, but because he dropped out and became factionless Peter had taken his place. Peter cleared his throat before speaking. "Me." After Edward was stabbed, you heartless freak.

"Bet I could take you," Lynn says, turning the ring in her eyebrow. "I didn't come first, but any of us could, really."

"I wouldn't be so sure about that, if I were you," Peter pressed his lips together in a thin line. I glare at the boy, clenching my fists together. I damn well could take you on. "Who's first?"

"Uriah." I speak up. "And I'm pretty sure we all could take you on. Do you know how long we've spent preparing for this?"

Lynn is just about to add on to what I say, but then she is called into the room by Four. I smile at her, waving goodbye. Uriah moves up a seat next to me, Marlene following. Will then speaks up. "So," he began, facing Uriah, "you're first."

"Yeah, and?" Uriah said airily.

"Don't you think it's a little unfair that you've spent your entire life preparing for this and we've been expected to learn it all in just a space of a few weeks?" Will asked. His Erudite was showing, as clear as a neon sign.

"Not really." I shrugged.

Uriah nodded. "Yeah, I mean stage one is all about skill -" 

AJ interrupted. "Which Jack doesn't have." There was scattered laughter among the Dauntless-borns. Jack's face flushed red, but he didn't say anything in return.

"Yeah, and well, you can't exactly prepare for stage two, as I'm told." Uriah told us. His words left a lingering reticence in the air. Peter glanced over at me a few times, running a hand through his hair. I was furious at him. How could someone do something so sick? I'll never forget what he did to Edward.