We Are Divergent

Chapter Eleven

I spent the rest of lunch making small talk with that group of initiates whom I think might be my favorite group. I’m anxious to talk to the others, since I don’t prefer the presence of a lot of them, but I know I have to be fair. We spent the rest of the day doing more fights. Monday will be their final fight, and we will test their accuracy of guns and knives before we move on to stage two.

I knew Four would want to go to bed when we got to his apartment at around nine. He’s still exhausted from his hangover. I want to take advantage of my Friday night and go zip lining, since it’s been almost a year now since I last went. Uriah caught up with me earlier in the hall and asked if I was down to go with him and some of his friends tonight.

“Today went really good,” I said, as he took off his shoes. I sat on the edge of the bed. “People improved in their fighting, and a lot of them have good aim with the guns already.”

He nodded, sitting next to me.

“Four? What’s wrong?” I asked, looking at him. I know when he is thinking something that he doesn’t want to share with me. “Just tell me,”

“I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to get close with the initiates. It’s dangerous for you. We don’t know who to trust and… you know that there’s a good possibility that not all of them will make it. I don’t want you upset, or to change your opinion on them because you’ve made friends or don’t like some of them.”

My eyebrows furrowed. “We aren’t technically friends, and I don’t plan on sharing anything with them that they don’t already know. I think it’s better to get to know them a little more, that way I can understand how to help them succeed. I’m not trying to make friends; I’m trying to make allies. I know it sounds dumb, but we could use a few more people around here that we could possibly rely on if something ever comes up. And I know that there’s always the chance that they won’t make initiation, or that they might even die. But I’m going to be the best instructor that I can be and help them succeed in more ways. And I’m not going to put myself in a shell just because people die.”

He pulled me onto his lap, stroking my cheek with his thumb. “I trust that you can read people good enough to know who to not trust. You have always been extremely good at that. I just don’t want to see you… hurt more if you lose some of them. We can’t save them all, and in the end it comes down to who is best fit for this lifestyle.”

“I know that. And I don’t want to grieve over any more deaths either Four, but I’m going to try my damned best to make Dauntless better. Even if it’s in the smallest ways.”

He stared at me deeply for a long moment before pressing his soft lips to mine. I wrapped an arm around his neck, my fingers brushing against his short hair. His tongue brushed against my lower lip and I opened my mouth, giving him access. Eventually the intimate contact made me lose too much breathe and I pulled away, resting my head against his neck as he held me in his lap.

“I’m going zip lining tonight with Uriah, Christina, and some other people,” I told him.

His arms tightened around me. “Okay,”

“I will try to get home as soon as I can,”

“Don’t worry about it, we can sleep in tomorrow. We aren’t doing anything except for capture the flag, Dauntless style, but thats later on at night.”

I smiled. That’s always guaranteed to be interesting. “Get some sleep, okay? You look like the living dead.” I reached up to kiss him once more. Then twice more. Then three times. “And Four,” I said, brushing my lips to his quickly for the fourth time.

He laughed as I stood. “Have fun Tris. Please be safe. I love you.”

I waved goodbye. “I love you too,”