near north side//peter hayes

15

I woke up before Peter. I take a shower and start to get ready for my day. Once I'm finished Peter is still asleep. I pick up my pillow and throw it at him. Peter groans but doesn't get up.

"Stage three starts today, you can't be late," I remind him. He ignores my words and cuddles deeper into the blankets. "Nope. Not happening," I say. I pull the blanket off of Peter.

Peter rubs his eyes as he sits up. "Morning to you too."

I chuckle. "Come on. We've both got things to do." Peter reluctantly gets up from my bed and tugs on his pants. I smile. "There we go." Peter shakes his head as he puts on his shirt. I pull Peter towards me and kiss him. "Now go make your face seen so no one gets suspicious."

Making my way to the dinning hall I see Four and Tris holding hands. I run to catch up to the two.

"Tris," I call after her. She stops and looks at me. I catch up to them and ask, "How are you doing?"

"Fine," she tells me. I give her a look. "Really I'm fine, just a bruised check and some bruised ribs." I let it go, not wanting to push her any farther. "Thanks for what you did, beating up Drew."

I smile at her. "Trust me it was my pleasure." We make it to the dining hall. I look at Four and Tris. "I'm gonna head in." I smile at them before going inside.

I sit down next to Christina at the table Tris normally sits at. Will sits across from me. I smile as Peter walks in and sits besides me. He cheekily places his hand on my tight.

A few minutes later I notice Tris walking in. She is walking slow and hugging the wall. Four must have told her to act weak to make Drew and Molly think that they got to her, that she is no longer a threat.

Tris comes over and sits next to Will. For a moment, everyone at the table just stares at her, I'm sure curious as to why she has a bruise on her face.

"What happened?" Will asks, lowering his voice.

Tris looks over his shoulder. I follow her gaze and see Molly sitting at a table by herself. Drew must still be in the infirmary. He's lucky I showed him any mercy otherwise he would be hurt to the point that he would be factionless.

"Molly, Drew..." Tris says quietly. Tris holds her side as she reaches across the table for a piece of toast. She wines and hunches over. "And... and Al," Tris gets out.

"Oh God," says Christina, her eyes wide.

"Are you all right?" Peter asks.

"Not really," Tris answers.

"But you're just..." Peter purses his lips. "It isn't fair. Three against one?"

"Yeah, and Drew and Molly are all about what's fair. That's why they grabbed Edward in his sleep and stabbed him in the eye." Christina snorts and shakes her head.

"Al, though? Are you sure, Tris?" Will questions.

I bit my muffin looking around for Al. I don't see him anywhere. I'm sure he doesn't want to face Tris, or anyone else for that matter. Al is now lumped in with Molly and Drew, somewhere you don't want to be.

"Yeah," Tris says. "I'm sure."

"It has to be desperation," says Will. "He's been acting... I don't know. Like a different person. Ever since stage two started."

I notice Drew shuffling into the dinning hall. Tris's mouth drops open and she drops her toast. Calling him "bruised" would be an understatement. His face is swollen and purple. He has a split lip and a cut running through his eyebrow. He keeps his eyes down on the way to his table, not even lifting them to look at me. I can't help but smile. Drew deserves everything he got and then some.