~DIVERGENT~ Paradise

Day 9

"I have an idea!" Uriah proclaims at breakfast.
"Oh god, now what," Marlene says. He just smiles and lays out a pamphlet in the middle of the table. I look at it, but it's upside down, so I can't really make out exactly what it is.
"Water slides?" Zeke says.
"Yeah, man! On the other side, the back part where all the family stuff is, there's a kids area full of slides and stuff."
"Uriah, it's a kids area. Meaning you have to be a kid to go in there," Marlene says.
"Oh come on. It's worth trying to sneak in. It looks like a blast."
It does look like fun, and we all agree that after breakfast, we're going to do whatever we can to get in there.
"Hi," Marlene says to the guys working the entrance.
"Hey," he says with a smile.
"So, I was wondering if maybe my friends and I could go in here today."
"It's supposed to be 13 and under," he says. She looks back at us and makes a pouty face, and we follow suit.
"I see adults in there," she says.
"They have kids."
She reaches out and runs her finger down the guys chest. I could never do something like that, which is why I'm here in the back, slightly blushing. "We could have kids too, or siblings even," she says as she leans into the guy.
He stutters a bit before saying, "Okay," and handing each of us a wristband.
"Oh, there's four more of us, they just haven't made it here yet," she says with a smile. He nods and hands her four more wristbands. "Thanks," she says and gives him a peck on the cheek.
"Got it!" she yells out, and the boys come out from around the corner. She hands them their wristbands and gives the guy working the entrance a wink. He sits there, mouth open as we make our way into the little water park.
"You're bad," Shauna says.
"What? If some guys wants to give me something because I bat my eyes at him, that's his fault."
Shauna rolls her eyes, but says no more. She did get us in, after all.
We run as a group up to the first slide, and after that, it's a free for all. Four, Christina, Will and I stick together, and find a group of kids to tag along with. They tell us about some water cannons, so of course that's the first place we head off too.
There's five pairs, set up across from each other. We take one side, and the kids take the other. It's a continuous stream, sort of like those fill the balloon games at carnivals, only much larger. We each pick a kid and take aim. The kids love it, and they get their fair share of cannon water on us as well. A loud buzzing noise interrupts us after a few minutes, and a countdown from 20 starts over a loudspeaker.
"What's that?" Will asks.
"Come on! Hurry!" the kids yell, and we waste no time running after them. "Stand here!" they shout.
We do, and when the countdown reaches one, a loud bomb noise goes off, and a giant bucket of water overturns right above us. I don't know who shrieked louder, the kids, or Christina.
"Oh my god!" she yells out. "I was not expecting that!"
The kids point and laugh at her, and we chase them back to the water cannons.
They tell us about a slide at the back of the little park that just drops you without any warning, so we follow them back there. The rest of the gang sees us as we head back and follows. It's for kids, so it's only two stories, but that doesn't make it any less scary. You stand on a platform with your back against the wall, and suddenly the platform falls out from beneath you, and you slide almost straight down into a pool.
"I'm going first!" Zeke yells, but the little kids push their way in front of him. "Man, these are some cool kids," he says as we wait in line. "Lousy cheating cutters, but cool."
I must say, I'm freaking out a little bit. I don't like the idea of being out of control and not knowing when I'm going to drop, but it's almost my turn and I'm not about to back out now. Four is just in front of me, and I laugh when he lets out an "Oh shit!" as he falls.
I step into the little cubby, and lean against the back wall as I'm told. I take a deep breath in in anticipation for the drop, but nothing happens. I let it out and inhale again, but nothing happens. I'm just about to turn and ask the guy if something is wrong when the floor drops out. I don't even have time to scream or think; it's quick and suddenly I'm under water. I kick and flail my way to the top, letting out a laugh when I get my head above water. As I swim to the edge, Four is waiting with a smile and helping hand.
"There's that look again," he says as he pulls me from the water, and I smile.
We wait for everyone else to go before following the kids again. They man the water guns while we take turns trying to run through them, laughing and failing every time at dodging the spray. When a crew member comes up to us and asks us who we're with, the kids lie and say we're with them; we buy them each a snow cone as thanks. We hear the countdown start again, and watch as the kids convince the others to follow them. We follow and wait with them too, because what's the point if you're not going to get soaking wet? The bomb goes off, and we laugh as the others are taken by surprise by the bucket of water.
"I'm going to get you for that!" Zeke yells at Four, and they take off running.
"I'm not sure who's the bigger kid here, the kids, or them," Marlene says pointing to the boys who are now all chasing each other around.
"They're equal," Shauna says.
We spend a few more hours chasing kids around, chasing each other around, and generally goofing off in the kid area before calling it a day.
"I'm exhausted," Marlene says. "I'm going to call an early night."
"Me too," Uriah says with a wink.
"Early night my ass," Zeke says and takes off running when Uriah chases after him.
Most of the gang decides to just do their own thing tonight, and that leaves me and Four together again.
"Want to grab dinner?" he asks me.
"Sure. Let me shower and change first. Come get me in an hour?"
"Okay."
"Girl, what are you going to wear?" Christina asks as she rifles through my things.
"Whatever. It's not like a date, date. It's just dinner."
"Yeah, okay. You keep telling yourself that. He clearly like you, Tris, and you like him too. It won't kill you to dress it up a bit."
"It won't kill me to dress it down, either," I say.
She rolls her eyes at me, but plants a kiss on my cheek and hops in the shower. I smile, but still choose to be comfortable; leggings, flats and a sun dress.
When Four arrives, he's in jeans and a t-shirt, and I motion to what he's wearing while looking at Christina. "Oh, okay. You win. Go have fun," she says.
"She was trying to get me to dress up," I say when I see the look on Four's face.
"Ahh," he says. "Well, either way, you still look nice."
"Thank you."
"You're welcome."
We have dinner at The Burger Bar. You create your own burger on a touch screen, and a waiter brings it to your table. I'm not too creative, just adding black olives on top of the usual basics to mine, but Four adds a fried egg, bacon and onion straws to his.
"That actually looks good," I say when they arrive. "The whole egg thing threw me off, but now that I see it, I kinda want to eat it."
"You want half? I can share," he says.
"No way. I can't eat all of that."
"Here, look." He cuts his burger in half, and then takes my plate and does the same, switching out one half for the other. "There," he says. I smile and take a bite of his burger.
"Oh god, that's good," I say with my mouth full.
He laughs and takes a bite of mine. "This isn't half bad either." We make some small talk, but mostly we stuff our faces full of burger perfection and seasoned fries.
"I think I could eat here every day," I say when I'm finished.
"Same," he says. "Dessert?"
"Oh no. I don't have any more room."
"Okay. Rain check?"
"Rain check," I say.
We take a walk afterwards, and before long, we find ourselves in a part of the ship neither one of us has seen before.
"This must be where all the rich people stay," I say as I look around at the fancy decor; golden chandeliers with golden flowers, chase loungers with silk pillows and flowers embroidered on them, floral themed artwork. "We probably shouldn't be here."
"Don't worry about it," he says with a smile. "We won't get in trouble."
We're walking down a long corridor by ourselves and find that it dead ends in a glass door with dark tint. A large tree, dozens of flowers, and the word Amity is cut intricately into the tint, allowing what's inside to be just barely visible.
"What is this?" I say as I open the doors. The blast of cool, fresh air hits me, and I am in awe. "It's an atrium," I say breathlessly. There are butterflies flying around, and I see a couple of birds chasing each other. "Did you know this was here?"
"No," he says as he looks around. "It doesn't seem small either. Want to check it out?"
"Sure," I say.
We take our time walking around, stopping to read the plaques for each tree, bush and flower. "My favorite," I say as we reach a group of lilies.
"Which type is your favorite?" Four asks.
"Stargazer, of course," I say, pointing to the pink and white flower. He gives me a smile and takes my hand, pulling me further down the pathway, until we finally reach the end.
"We're pretty far in here, and nobody else is," he says. I look at him, but he's looking at the tree in front of us. "Want to climb it?"
I look up and see that this tree would be an easy climb. "Sure," I say.
He lets me go first, and I go up a few branches until I find one that looks comfortable enough to hold the both of us. I sit further away from the trunk, allowing Four to be up against something. I'm not sure how his fear of heights works and I want him to be comfortable. He sits with his back to the trunk, legs dangling over each side of the branch, and gives me that small smile that I know is a thank you.
"So," he says, "Tell me something about you."
"Anything?" I ask. He nods.
"Okay. Well, I don't like chocolate ice cream."
"What? Chocolate is the best!" he says.
I shake my head and scrunch my nose. "I don't like it. I don't mind like chocolate cake, and some chocolate candy, but there's something about ice cream. I prefer vanilla," I say. "Okay, your turn."
"I love chocolate ice cream," he says with a grin.
"Ha, ha. Very funny. Something I don't already know," I say.
"Okay. How about, I'm glad I met you."
"I said something I don't know."
"Fine, fine," he says looking down. "I would like to kiss you."
I stare at him for a moment, heart pounding, and run what he just said over again in my mind. When he finally looks up at me, I smile. "I would like to kiss you too."
He smiles, and leans forward. I laugh and blush, because I'm a little too far away for anything to really work. "Hang on," I say as I scoot closer to him. "Let's try that again." He leans forward and finds my lips. It's a quick, sweet kiss, and when he pulls away, I swear he's blushing a little. I smile, and he places a hand on my cheek, pulling me towards him. He kisses me again, and there is more passion in it; I've had a handful of first kisses, but none of them have ever made me feel like this before. My heart is pounding and my head is foggy, allowing me to concentrate on one thing only; his full, warm lips. When he pulls away, it takes me a moment to catch my breath. His lips are red, and I imagine mine are too.
I scoot as close as I can and lean into him, closing the gap between us. "Four, I don't think I've said it, but I'm glad I met you too." He kisses the top of my head as he wraps his arms around me, and I am content to stay like this for as long as I can.

YAAAAAAYYY, IT HAPPENED! 😆
I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, as much as I loved writing it.
Thanks for reading!
Be brave,

Christina Eaton 🔥