Dauntless High School

Chapter 51

URIAH

Marlene starts the next game while Zeke offers to walk Tris out. I'm not stupid, I know he wants to talk to her alone. There's no other reason he would do that. I'll get it out of him later.

Marlene kicks me with her foot and I jerk my attention back to the game. I kinda sorta try to win, but then there's Tris and Zeke walking away and damn, she looks good in those jeans. It's not my fault that Marlene gets I don't know how many hits in, it's the designer of those jeans. I think it would be physically impossible for me not to stare at her ass. When she is out of sight, half my hit points are gone while Marlene is nearly at full health.

I caught Four staring after Tris, too. But, again... who wouldn't? It has to be physically impossible not to, with Tris wearing that outfit. My girl is hot. Well, ex-girl. I still don't understand why we aren't together. Maybe she is thinking about giving me another chance. She looked especially hot today in those sexy jeans and showing off her abs in that crop top...

"I won!" Marlene shouts. She pushes herself up from the bean bag chair and jumps up and down and does something like a touchdown dance. "I beat you, I beat you, I beat you," she taunts, wiggling her cute butt.

"I was going easy on you," I lie.

Marlene rolls her eyes but she is grinning the whole time, and then she flops down onto the couch, taking the spot that Tris left. She's sitting really close to me but I find that I don't mind. She smells really good, like some sort of flowers and...I don't know, just sort of fresh and... girly.

"Ready to get your ass kicked, Four?" Marlene challenges. Four cracks a smile for the first time since he got here as he lifts himself out of the bean bag. I feel this weird heaviness seeing him act so different with Marlene. I don't like it.

"Bring it," Four taunts as he snatches the controller out of my hand.

Marlene and Four start their game. He is only slightly better at the game than Marlene. I remember she only had a Wii at her house, so she hasn't gotten to play games like this very much. Maybe Four doesn't have a Playstation either. I don't know many guys who don't have extensive gaming collections. But I really don't know anything about Four. Only what Zeke has told me: that he moved here a few weeks after school started, that he bumped Peter down to second string, and that he is a damn good quarterback, and Zeke's new best friend. Looking at him I get the feeling that he could have any girl he wants, between his looks and star quarterback status, but he doesn't seem to be any competition when it comes to Tris. They hardly said two words to each other the whole time they were here together.

Marlene and Four are trading teasing insults while they play, it is easy to see that they know each other well. The weight in my stomach is back, and while I wait for their match to finish, I go over my medications in my mind. I have never had to take so many pills before. It makes me feel like I am sick and helpless. Even worse, those feelings are pretty valid at the moment.

Marlene's body moves as her character does on-screen, leaning side to side and tilting the controller at weird angles. At one point she practically goes upside down. I keep having to dodge out of the way before she can hit me in the head. I can barely keep myself from laughing at her, she's adorable and so amusing to watch.

-o-o-o-o-o-

FOUR

When I tell Marlene I'm ready to head out, Zeke follows us. I'm about to ask when he became such an attentive host when he grabs my elbow, pulling me to a stop next to him. Marlene stops at the door and raises her eyebrows. I narrow my eyes at Zeke and yank my arm away from him.