Different in the Same Ways

Reunion to Rescue

The boy in front of me gently cupped his cheek, wiggling his jaw, "You hit harder now...I probably deserved that."

"Probably!" I exclaimed, "You undoubtfully deserved that! I thought you weren't coming at all! You're late, where were you?"

"Calm down Ellie, I was at school. They wouldn't let me go, you know how it is. I tried to bring dad but mom literally locked him in the basement. I had to run a few blocks to get away from mom or else she would've locked me up too." He said trying to fix his messy hair.

I sighed, "I knew it. What's her problem with me anyway?"

Chris shrugged and continued to brush dirt out of his fluffy brown hair. I rolled my eyes and shooed his hands away, "You jumped off the train?" I asked trying to make conversation while fixing his hair myself.

"Yeah, I did. It was horrible and terrifying," he said, scrunching his nose up in disapproval. I rolled my eyes, "Well I think it's fun. Deal with it." His hands fell completely to his sides while I worked on his hair.

"Yeah whatever," he mumbled. I used my fingers to swipe strands of his hair to the side.

I fixed his collar and his tie then stepped back to admire my work. Chris smiled, "Thanks, by the way you look much too Erudite with glasses. Shall we get you some contacts."

He held his elbow out for me to take. I rolled my eyes and linked our arms, "Sounds good." Erudite now, then and forever.

I led him through the dark halls quickly, and held tight for him because I knew of his fear of the dark. It's a new thing, and I honestly don't blame him at all.

Finally we made it to the Pit. Chris gaped in wonder though he tried his best to hide it. He didn't even notice all the Dauntless that shoved past him, distaste smothering their faces. Mental note: Dauntless don't seem to like Erudite much. I took a peek at the remaining families at the bottom of the Pit. Only a few Amity and Abnegation families were left and they were surrounded by hundreds of swarming Dauntless with the same look of objection. Scratch that, they don't like any other faction but Dauntless in their Pit.

Suddenly self conscious I gripped onto the sleeve of Chris's light blue suit and dragged him away, "I want to show you the waterfall first Chris! Come on!" I said excitedly. I learned to mask things like nervousness with a smile. It's one of my many talents. He smiled, suddenly excited and followed happily. My brother has the same talent but I can pick out the fake smiles from the real ones. This is a real smile but at the same time, he's trying to hide how nervous he is. He must've noticed the stares too.

The closer we got to the waterfalls, the louder the water's constant splash became. The roar wasn't loud enough to drown out the repeating voice in my head, something is wrong! Hurry! My heart beat a little faster with every step. I couldn't shake the feeling that something was definitely wrong, eventually I started jogging.

I could hear a faint scream for help, quiet yet desperate and I broke into a run.

"Hey! Ellie slow down, what's wrong!" Chris shouted behind me, confused and worried. I didn't reply as I finally reached the roaring waterfall, a light spray chilled my skin.

When I didn't see anybody I thought it was just a false alarm, that nothing was wrong till I found Scar. Hanging with slippery hands on the iron railing.

"Scar!" I screamed and rushed to the rails, almost falling on the wet, slippery concrete. My brother was by my side in a second, breathing heavily with a desperate look on his face. Together we grabbed each of Scar's wrists and pulled her up.

Chris took her from me and gently set her on the floor, sitting up. We were all out of breath and I was choking back a few screams. Scar was holding herself up with one hand while the other rubbed her temple.

"Scar, what happened? How did you end up hanging over a waterfall! Who did this!" I fussed, sitting close to her side.

"Um...no,"she said breathless, "No one did it to me, I fell."

"How did you fall? Were you sitting on the edge or something?" Chris asked carefully, using his worried but serious big brother voice.

"Um...no, I uh, got dizzy and fell over," she said, confused.

Chris nodded in understanding, "You're probably just exhausted, have you eaten lately? Or have you drank anything? Are you tired?"

"I...uh...I haven't eaten anything since lunch yesterday, and...I had a little trouble sleeping last night," she said scooting farther from him.

"Oh well in that case if you just eat some breakfast, remeber lunch and dinner and drink plenty of water in between then you should be fine. If you want a nap that's fine too but you shouldn't have trouble sleeping tonight after you've eaten," he said in his doctor voice. The one when doctors are telling you how to get better and you're supposed to be paying attention. He's studying to become one and it's going well obviously.

Uh...okay...thank you?" Scar whispered, looking uncomftorable and unsure.

"Oh where are my manners! I'm Chris Stunning by the way, Ellie's older brother and you are?" he said standing up and holding his hand out for her to take.

Scar relaxed a bit and took his hand, "Scarlet Montgomery but call me Scar or else I'll throw you over the rails," she said her confidense growing. Chris smiled politely and looked to me, "Why are you still on the floor?"

I realized that I hadn't moved or breathed a word since we saved Scar. Quickly I scrambled to my feet and brushed off my pants, "Scar what were you thinking! You scared me half to death why didn't you eat."

She shrugged, "Wasn't hungry."

"Okay fine, we were on our way to get me some contacts and now you're coming so you can eat," I commanded, leaving no room for argument.

Scar rolled her eyes, "Fine but I'm too dizzy," she whined.

I turned so my back was facing her and bent foward a little, "Jump on," I said holding my hands out behind me to catch her.

Scar jumped on my back I caught her, as promised. With Scar resting her head against the back of mine, I led Chris back to the Pit.

"What do you want to eat Scar?" I asked.