Dauntless High School

Chapter 17

FOUR

I dread walking into Chemistry class on Monday morning. Things shouldn't be weird with Marlene, but I'm still nervous that they might be, especially with Zeke there. He has probably spent the whole weekend thinking up all kinds of suggestive little jokes to tease us with.

I sit down in my usual seat and Zeke turns in his chair and wiggles his eyebrows at me. I roll my eyes. "Nice try, Zeke," I say, "but your little attempt to set me up with Marlene was a failure."

He raises an eyebrow. "Damn, really? Shauna was sure you two liked each other and just needed a little push to get together. Talked me into helping set you up. Fine by me, that means I get to keep my wingman, if he can stop scaring the girls away before we even make it to the date. You never did tell me what happened with Nicole."

"Just drop it, Zeke," I warn.

He rolls his eyes. "I'll get it out of you one of these days. We can't have a repeat of whatever idiot move you made at that party."

"We won't be having a repeat of any of it. It was a one time deal, remember?"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Zeke says, unfazed.

Marlene drops her purse and backpack under the desk in front of mine and sits down, then turns to face Zeke.

"Hey, Zeke, is Uriah alright?" Marlene asks. "We were supposed to text each other for this psychology project. He usually gets back to me right away, but it took him like an hour to text back and I couldn't even decipher it."

Zeke groans. "He was wasted," he says, shaking his head. "He's not even at school this morning. I told him to get his ass out of bed, but he wouldn't. He said he'll be here by lunch, but I don't know."

"Everything okay?" I ask. Uriah getting drunk isn't alarming in the least, but Zeke actually seems worried this time.

"It's a mess, man," he tells me. "Tris broke up with him." Marlene's eyes go wide, and I find myself holding my breath. Tris is single now?! My pulse races and I almost feel lightheaded at the news. Tris is single! It's all I can comprehend, a singular thought repeating itself in my mind. I force myself to focus on what Zeke is saying.

Zeke continues, "Honestly, I don't blame her. Fuck, this is gonna suck. She's one of my best friends. Hell, growing up Tris and Uri and me were like the Three fuckin' Musketeers. But Uriah's my brother, I have to take his side whether he deserves it or not. But I feel like I'm abandoning Tris."

"Why pick sides at all?" I ask. I get that he is feeling caught in the middle, but can't he just tell them both that he's there for them and stay out of the actual conflict?

Zeke chuckles and shakes his head. "Four, my man," he says seriously, "there always comes a time where you have to pick a side."

-o-o-o-o-o-

Tris's face has been impassive throughout our classes together. I quietly eat my lunch and just observe everyone. About half the gang is their usual loud, lively selves while Zeke seems a little distracted, and Tris seems withdrawn, hardly saying a word the whole time, instead seeming to zone out and stare off into space. She looks tired, worn down. I'm not sure when Uriah arrived to school, but he's here now, his hair disheveled and his eyes bloodshot.

Several of us crowd around Lynn's phone to watch the video of the latest dare. A few days ago, I discreetly dared Lynn to draw a cat nose and whiskers on Shauna's face in permanent marker without waking her up, and video Shauna's reaction when she first saw it in the mirror. The video does not disappoint; Shauna, in all her bed-headed, makeup-less glory, screams at the top of her lungs and shouts obscenities before chasing after Lynn, at which point the video cuts off. Lynn took it a step further by waiting until early this morning to complete the prank, so Shauna is currently sitting against the wall with her arms crossed over her chest with a scowl twisting the thick, drawn-on black whiskers that decorate her cheeks. To her credit, when she was unable to cover it with makeup she just went with it and wore a costume kitty-ears headband to complete the look.

The dare probably would have been funnier if I had Shauna draw on Lynn's face instead, but to be honest... Lynn scares me a little. I wasn't so sure I wanted to get on her bad side.

We all settle back into our spots on the floor of the hallway. "Yeah, yeah, laugh it up, guys. I'm going to be stuck with this cat face all week!" She wags her finger at me. "You're on my shit list now, Four." I raise my hands as if surrendering.

"Okay, my turn," Lynn announces with an evil smirk. I get the feeling that whatever dare she is about to give, she's had in her back pocket for a while, just waiting for her chance to dole it out; she doesn't take any time deciding who to call on next, instead immediately making eye contact with her victim. "Uriah," she says. He curses under his breath, which surprises me; he seems like the type of person who would welcome a dare no matter how shitty his mood. "Break into Principal Matthews' house and rearrange her furniture. Then take something from her fridge and leave an unsigned thank you note for the food." My eyes widen, and I see everyone else has the same reaction, including Uriah. "Take before and after photos as proof. I'll give you... four days."

Uriah just nods. "Challenge accepted."

It's the walk to Spanish class when I first see what Zeke means. In the past I've walked with both Uriah and Tris, but today they are avoiding being too near one another. I try to avoid picking a side and don't walk with either of them.

Uriah falls into step beside me. "So, that dare..." Uriah says. I nod. "There's a school board meeting scheduled for Thursday night. Matthews will have to be there. It's the perfect time to do this. You in?"

"What, to help with the dare? You want me to break into her house with you?" If I get caught... I don't want to think about how Marcus will react. And I have to spend this weekend at his house.

Uriah nods eagerly. "C'mon, Four, don't be a pansycake."

I roll my eyes at Uriah's juvenile insult, but his goading me still does the trick. "Yeah, sure. I'll be there," I say, against my better judgment.

We enter the classroom and Uriah hurries over to a pair of empty seats, waving me to follow. I frown and glance back at Tris, who has come in seconds behind us. She goes to a cluster of empty seats on the other side of the room.

I stare at Tris for a second longer than I probably should, then look back to Uriah. In that moment I realize that Zeke is right; no matter how subtle it may be, there always does come a time that you have to pick a side.

I want to pick Tris, every fiber of my being is straining toward her.

Uriah looks at me expectantly, glances at Tris, then back at me, while I stand there frozen. "Come on, man. She's fine. She was the one who broke up with me." I can see the pain in his eyes as he says this.

I realize, with a sinking feeling in my stomach, that it doesn't really matter that Tris is single now. She's still as off limits as ever: Uriah is my best friend's brother, my friend, and my teammate. Tris is my friend, too, but one thing I cannot afford to risk is for anyone to realize my feelings for her.

So I make a choice: I take the seat next to Uriah and try not to notice the blond beauty slouching with slumped shoulders in a seat across the room.