Inferno

Chapter 3: Not What I Was Expecting

As soon as I rounded the corner, he had me in his arms.

"Oh god, it's so good to see you again." He whispers into my hair. I close my eyes tightly and wrap my arms around him.

"Same." I say quietly, and that's all that's said. We stand there like that for a minute, just enjoying the feeling of one another once again.

"I'm so sorry abo-"

"No. Tobias, don't even start. I wanted you to leave." I say, and he pulls away from me to look at my face.

He's smirking. "What?" I ask, puzzled.

"It's been 4 years since I've been called Tobias. If it were from anybody else, I would punch them in the mouth." He replies, the smirk still evident on his face.

"Well I'm glad I'm not just anybody else." I reply, smiling softly. He let's go of me and leans against the wall.

"So, has much changed?" He's not smirking anymore. I know what he's implying, and I know he doesn't mean to make me uncomfortable, but it does.

I shuffle my feet and lean my back against the wall, letting out a puff of air in the process. "Not really. Without you, I've done more traveling to other factions. In all honesty, the only good thing that's happened is that I've spent more time at Erudite. They've been really working with me, and I feel like I'm kind of going to miss them. Other than that, it's also been worse." I say the last part quietly, and look down at my shoes.

It's quiet for a minute, and I can feel him staring at me.

"I'm sorry." He says quietly, crossing his arms over his chest.

"No, I don't want you to be. Obviously you made the right choice coming here, and I want you to live a happy life." I turn to look at him. "I'm proud of who you've become."

He stares at me for a second before hugging me again. I wrap my arms around his neck, and pull him close. "I love you, Tobias."

"Love you too, Cryssy." He says back. I smack him playfully on the back of the head. He chuckles lightly. Ever since I was little I've hated that nickname.

"Um, uh... Crystal?" I hear Tris behind us.

I pull myself away from Four, and turn to face her. She's standing awkwardly in the doorway, looking anywhere but at us.

I chuckle softly. "Yeah, Tris?"

"Do you want to get changed? We were going to head down to the dining hall in a couple of minutes..." She says, looking between Four and I.

"Uh, yeah, sure. Oh! Tris, this is To-" I go to introduce him, but he squeezes my side a little. I turn to him, puzzled.

"Don't tell anyone my real name. That's a part of my life I want to leave behind. You can tell them we're siblings, but just not my real name, ok?" He whispers. I nod, and then decide against what I was going to say.

"This is Four. You already know him. Tris, can you keep a secret?" I ask, and she hesitates before nodding. I urge her closer, and once she's right in front of us is when I lean in close to her ear.

"Please don't tell anybody. But, Four is my brother." I whisper, and then pull back to see her face shocked.

"Oh... I wasn't expecting that. I thought-"

"What? That we were together?"Tobias inserts, smirking at me. I roll my eyes an softly elbow him in the stomach.

His hard stomach. "Holy shit, Four, what happened to you?" I ask, staring in awe at his stomach as I poke it with my finger.