Divergent (Fanfic)

Chapter 23

'Woooo!' We cheered, holding our drinks above our heads. The tables had been pushed to the sides of the Dining room, and snacks had been laid out across them. There was also a bowl of non-alcoholic punch for the kids, or under-sixteens, and a broad selection of different drinks for the rest of us. I took another sip of he vodka in my hand.

We were standing in the middle of the crowded Dining room, music pumping from loud speakers around us, vibrating my skin with each heavy beat. In two weeks, myself and Nathan would be preparing to train next year's Initiates - our chosen job. Chelsea and Ross would become chefs, and their training started at the same time. Jack Kang, the Candor representative, had presented us to the faction as new Members, before we stated the job we wanted to take from the list he read out before. Then, he announced that the party would begin, and we were all handed glasses of champagne. We drank to the new Members, and the music had started.

Chelsea, Nathan, Ross and I downed the rest of our drinks. Today, in the words of Jack Kang, we didn't have to be responsible - we just had to get pissed.

And that's exactly what we intended on doing.

We all went to the drinks table to refill the cups, downed it, and left the cups on the table. Those were our fourth drinks each.

We all went back into the crowd of dancing bodies, and the music slowed down. My hands found their way around Nathan's neck, and his were suddenly around my waist, and we swayed together in time with the music.

Ross and Chelsea were next to us. 'You know what I think?' Chelsea slurred drunkenly. 'I think that I am stupid.'

'Why's that?' Said Ross.

'Because I did this,' and she pressed her mouth into Ross'. It wasn't exactly romantic, but they were both too drunk to care.

Nathan and I looked at each other and sniggered. We had secretly bet each other that that would happen tonight.

The song came to an end, and Nathan kissed me quickly. Chelsea and Ross had started dancing together, too, after they were finished kissing.

Chelsea and Ross had decided that Nathan and I weren't drunk enough, so we went to get more drinks. On the way across the room, Chelsea stumbled. Ross caught her. 'Whoa, I nearly got a little floor on my face there!' She said, laughing.

And we all burst out laughing.

And then, we realised how mortal we were, and it made us laugh even more.

So, of course, we drank some more.

'I'm hot,' Chelsea said after a while.

'Yeah, you are, baby,' said Ross, a few words that I never thought I would hear him say.

'No,' said Chelsea, 'I'm hot. Let's go outside!'

She bounced happily towards the door, and I followed her. I could feel Nathan and Ross following me, too.

We got outside, and Chelsea threw her arms out. 'Ah, air,' she gasped, and leant backwards as if she were passing out.

I caught her, and then collapsed under her weight. 'Whoa, bitch, you have no drinking tolerance,' and we burst out laughing, Ross and Nathan included.

But then, Chelsea rolled over and puked.

'Great,' I muttered, and crawled over to her. I pulled her hair back so that she didn't puke all over it. 'Can you go get coffee?' I said to Nathan, who nodded. Ross followed him, and I stayed in the floor next to my best friend, rubbing her back. 'Thats okay, Chels, get it all out, you're okay, we don't have to do anything tomorrow anyway.'

When she was don't puking, Chelsea turned around to face me. I pulled her forwards so that she didn't fall back into the puddle of puke.

That was when Nathan and Ross reappeared, each holding two cups of coffee. Nathan handed one to me, and Ross handed one to Chelsea. We drank the coffee, and my head began to clear a little. It was very blurry around me, still, though.

'Whoa, what going happen here?' Chelsea mumbled, not making any sense, but seemingly buzzing from the caffeine. She handed me her half-full cup, and stood up, holding onto my shoulder for balance, so I rose with here.

'God, you're hammered,' I muttered.

'Hammer?' She said dazedly.

'Drink this,' I said, handing her the coffee.

Chelsea took a sip, but spat it straight into the pile of puke, thrusting the cup at me. 'No,' she said defiantly. 'I want strong stuff.' She let go of my shoulder and strutted shakily over to Ross, and grabbed the sleeve of his t-shirt. 'You look blurry,' was all she said before pulling him back into the Merciless Mart, leaving her coffee in my hands.

'Praying Ross isn't too drunk to handle her,' muttered Nathan, taking another sip from his own coffee.

'Praying Chelsea is drunk enough that she forgets all this,' I said, taking a sip from my cup. 'She'd freak if she knew how drunk she is right now.'

We just stood there drinking coffee for a moment. Once we had finished our own cups, I split the remainder of Chelsea's between us. Everything around me was clearing up - I could think more clearly, even though my head ached.

Now that I was here, I'd rather have the headache.

Nathan looked at his watch, and then chuckled. 'What a pair of lightweights we are,' he said. 'It's only just gone eleven.'

'I'm not sure the whole drinking thing suits me very well,' I said. 'I prefer being able to think for myself.'

'You were lying earlier when you said that people told you that you weren't smart enough for Erudite, weren't you?'

'What makes you think that?' I said, smiling.

'I don't believe for a second that you're not one of the smartest people I've ever met in my entire life.'

And suddenly we were kissing. His lips on mine were gentle at first, but everything became more urgent. We pressed our bodies together, but there was no more distance to fill. My hands pulled through his hair, and his held my back tightly.

After what felt like forever, it was too much. 'Lets go back upstairs,' I whispered into his lips, and he agreed silently.

Our hands intertwined, our arms pressed together, we walked back through the Merciless Mart and up the stairs until we reached the apartment.

Once we were inside, Nathan turned to me and pushed a strand of my hair behind my ear. 'I love you,' he whispered.

'You've only known me for two weeks,' I whispered back.

'It feels like a lot longer.'

I pressed my lips to his again, and pulled back, just for a second, to say, 'I love you, too.' Then, we were lying top of Nathan and my own pillows on the floor, kissing, his hand against my back, my hands pulling at his shirt.

This is something that sober me would never have done.

But I wasn't quite drunk. I was in control of my actions. This was something I wanted, and I had never felt so real, so alive.