Rampant: A Divergent FanFiction (Book Two) ©

Prologue

Prologue: Danny "Dan" Gallows P.O.V.

                It's surprising just how fast a person can transform. Even as I watch him day in and day out, I still can't wrap my head around it. It's been almost a year, but that time seems to have done nothing to lessen my best friend's grief, not even slightly. He's not the same, and though I try to understand him, I feel like there is more behind the way he's been acting than what meets the eye.

               The change was quick and without warning. One moment he was the boy I'd grown up with my entire life, my brother, and now he is this; practically a stranger with secrets I can't even begin to guess. I watch him closely now, as his listless eyes stare out into the distance. No, not the distance, they stare in the direction of the chasm; he's thinking about Randi again.

               "Sage, did you hear me?" I repeat when he doesn't respond.

               "Hmm?"

               "I asked if you're going to come with me and the guys tonight. Finn found some old fireworks in one of the abandoned buildings they were scouting and they're going to see if they work."

               "Oh," he says distractedly.

               He furrows his brow in thought, but as the seconds pass, I realize he's not here with me, not mentally anyway. I wish I could be angry at him for acting this way, for not trusting me enough to tell me what's going on with him, but I can't; all I feel is worry and a deep concern for him.

               I want to help him, but I can't if he won't talk to me. I know he's keeping things from me, big things, but whenever I try to approach the subject he shuts down. I can practically see the invisible wall shoot up; his face goes slack, free of emotion, and his voice becomes bored and monotone. It makes it impossible for me to read him.

               I miss the days when I never had to try. I knew what Sage was thinking without even having to be in the same room as him. Now, with him but a foot away, I don't have the slightest clue as to his state of emotions. Is he angry, sad, bored, pensive? Damn it, I don't even know if he's hungry or just eating because I dragged him in here.

                "Yeah fireworks, and then tomorrow we were going to head over to the abnegation sector of the city and streak across the streets in broad daylight. You know, stark naked, as god intended us to be." I test him.

                "That's cool," he says, lowering his head as he takes a bite of his toast. I snatch it away and he snaps his head up in surprise.

                "Yes, yes it would be cool to run around in the nude, but that's not what you heard was it?" I demand, poking a finger in his direction. "What's wrong with you, have you heard anything I've said?"

                "Nothing is wrong with me," he says; again in that completely nonchalant tone.

                I immediately note that he hasn't answered the second part of my question. I want to throttle him, to shake him and make him tell me what he's hiding, but I resist. I sit back down and cross my arms, frowning at him. It's quiet for a few seconds, and then I watch as Sage's shoulders slump and he gives me an apologetic grin.

                "I'm sorry, I've just been distracted," he explains, running a hand absently through his hair.

                "Really? I couldn't tell," I say sarcastically, though I can't help but smirk. "What's on your mind Sage? Tell me now, or your toast will meet its doom," I threaten as I wave the piece of bread closer to my mouth.