A Different Divergent

~chapter one~

Chapter 1

Will and Christina kiss, a little too sloppily for my taste. All around me is the pounding of Dauntless fists. Then I feel a tap on my shoulder and turn to see Tobias standing behind me. I get up, beaming.

"You think giving you a hug would give away too much?" he says.

"You know," I say, "I really don't care." I stand on my tiptoes and press my lips to his. It is the best moment of my life. When I'm kissing Tobias, time seems to stand still. I swear I could remain here with his lips on mine forever.

Too soon, though, I feel a hand firmly grip my arm and pull me away from him. I turn and see Christina staring open-mouthed with a look of disappointment on her face. Disappointment? What could that be about?

"When? How? Why? Ugh! TRIS!" she stutters. "How long has this been going on? Why didn't you say anything to me ... ME? I told you about Will." I knew when this secret came out she'd be less than pleased with me.

"Listen, Candor," Tobias starts to say in his intimidating Four voice but I look his way and shake my head slightly, stopping him.

"Christina, I'll tell you whatever you want to know but not here, not now." I was getting ready to say I'd tell her everything but some of the secrets I keep aren't mine to share. "I promise. Tomorrow after breakfast, okay?" This seems to pacify her somewhat.

All this time, Will has been sitting at the table staring open-mouthed at Tobias and me. He must gather his wits because he comes up behind Christina and puts his hands on her waist, steering her away from us.

"Congratulations, Tris," he says to me. Then he turns his attention to Christina. "I think we've taken up enough of Tris' time right now, don't you? There are tons of people wanting to talk to her."

"Yeah, congratulations, Tris," she says, tightly hugging me then she whispers in my ear, "Tomorrow." I silently acknowledge Will with a nod of my head and a smile, and he leads her away. I'm very thankful for him right now. Christina would have grilled me for hours about Tobias. What am I thinking, she is going to grill me for hours when she gets the chance.

I look around and realize Will was right. Surrounding me are dozens of expectant faces, both friend and stranger, waiting to congratulate me. I realize I'm not going to get my wish of kissing Tobias again for the rest of the night and I sigh.

"What's wrong?" he asks, his mouth up against my ear. I can't believe he heard me over the roar of the crowd.

"Nothing," I reply.

For the rest of the night I smile, laugh, and make small talk with hundreds of Dauntless members. I've seen so many new faces and learned so many new names that I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed. All I want to do right now is crawl into my uncomfortable bed back at the dorm and get some much-needed sleep. I had no idea that the fear landscape would act like a time-release sedative. I'm barely able to keep my eyes open. I feel Tobias' hands lightly resting on my hips, and I lean back against his hard chest. I can't believe we're actually alone right now. We haven't had more than two minutes to ourselves all night.

Just then, movement on stage catches my attention. Max, Eric, and the other three Dauntless leaders whose names I never bothered to learn are gathered tightly together. Max is talking very animatedly with his hands. By the way the others are listening and leaning closely toward him, I can tell their discussion is very important. Suddenly Eric's eyes meet mine, and he gives me a cold, ruthless smile. A shiver runs up my spine, and I drag my eyes away from his.