I don't own anything Divergent, as much as I wish I was the immortal genius that is Veronica Roth. I am going to finish writing this completely, and then going to post it in chapters, so hopefully no one will have to wait that long for chapters. No war. Al, Will, Natalie, ALLEGIANT SPOILERS! Uriah, Tori, and Tris are back. I am also using the movie-version initiation (ten weeks, and twenty initiates make it) simply for the sake that it makes my story flow better. As much as I always like to stick to the story, it would make more sense for this particular time for me to do it this way. As always, happy reading!
M
Tris POV
I awoke with the light pouring in through the window, and onto the white, crisp sheets of our bed. I slowly turned on my side to look at Tobias. He was on his back, with a hand behind his head, his mouth slightly open. He opened one eye, and gazed at me.
"Watching people while they sleep is a little creepy."
He said with a chuckle as he turned his head and opened both his eyes. I sit up on my elbows and lean over his chest, kissing him. I feel him smile, and he puts one hand on the small of my back, the other on my hair. The kiss deepens.
"Ahhhhh!"
We hear a yell, and suddenly, Tobias pulls me to the side and whips out the gun beneath his pillow. I grab at the comforter, hiding my bare chest.
"Uriah what the hell!?"
Tobias yells at him, an arm still thrown in front of me, protectively. Uriah still stands there gasping, and hand over his eyes.
"Nothing. I didn't see anything. It didn't happen, if I didn't see it!" He tells himself.
"We weren't doing anything!" Tobias points out, but by the look on Uriah's face, he thought that something was happening. After all, neither of us are wearing any clothes.
"Uriah, what are you doing?"
I ask, my heart pounding.
"Christina and Will and Zeke and Shauna and Al are all outside with cake. We were gonna wish Tris a happy surprise birthday."
"Oh." I say. I had almost forgotten that it was my birthday. It was also Choosing Day.
"Oh right. Happy birthday." Tobias says, smiling seductively at me. He leans in and kisses me, and I take a handful of the edge of the comforter and put it on the back of his neck.
"Okay, you know what, I'm leaving. We will celebrate your birthday at lunch or something!"
Uriah says, throwing his hands up in the air and leaving the room. I laugh at the look on his face, and only break the kiss when I hear the door close.
"Tobias, he is right, we do have to go to the ceremony. And then train initiates."
I groan, and then heave back the comforter, swinging my legs over the side or the bed and stretching. I walk past the end of the bed, and over to Tobias' side. He had rolled back over on his back, and had his eyes closed.
"Tobi-as!" I said. Throwing my head back and laughing.
"You do have to get up sometime, you know that, right?"
He mumbles something, but I just shake my head and walk towards the bathroom.
"I'll be taking a shower!" I yell over my shoulder.
The wind rustles my hair and my clothes, sending a chill through me. The next time I ride this train, there will be a new batch of initiates behind me, their hopes high, and a determined look on their faces. But only twenty of them will make it. Over the past four years, Tobias, Will, Zeke and I had let go over forty initiates. And people wonder why I avoid the factionless sector.
My feet hit the ground, hard, and I stumble a few steps before regaining my balance and walking to the edge of the roof. I turn around, and a group of twenty seven initiates stand before me, seventeen of them clothed in Dauntless black, the rest in varying faction colors. This is the only year that I have taught that someone didn't fall to the pavement below. I have to admit, that's the worst part of initiation for me.
"Welcome, initiates!" I call.
"You have just passed your first test of bravery. This is the member's entrance to the Dauntless compound. Don't jump here, and your out, so I suggest to you that you suck it up if you want to truly become Dauntless."
I say, turning to the edge, and stepping up onto it. The initiates crowd to the edge, the Dauntless sixteen year olds pushing their way to the front. They see the concrete hole beneath them, and I hear a collective gasp from the group.
"You want us to jump?!"
One of the Erudite transfers asks incredulously.
"Yes." I say calmly.
"I'll go first!"
One of the Dauntless cries out. She shoulders her way to the front and takes a deep breath, smiling at me. Her name is Narmeen, and she is the eldest daughter of Shauna and Zeke. She has her fathers sloppy brown hair, but her mothers eyes. She is effortlessly beautiful, and I see the transfer boys in the back craning their necks to get a better look at her. She steps confidently onto the edge of the building, looking at me, and smiling again. She looked straight ahead, and held up a finger declaring:
"If I die doing this, avenge my death!"
She said to no one in particular, and leaped. We heard he screams of joy over the wind, and then they stopped. The rest of the initiates followed suit, until the last Candor girl had jumped, and landed safely. Tobias had skipped this part, and jumped off the train in front of the glass building, because A. he hates heights, and B. someone has to be at the bottom of the net to help the initiates out.
Once the initiates had been given a tour and sent to the dormitories, Tobias dismissed them for lunch, and then led the entire group, Dauntless born and transfers, to the cafeteria. About half way through lunch, Uriah, Will, Christina, Zeke, Al and Shauna walked in, carrying a large, chocolate, Dauntless cake. Uriah walked over to the light switch, and shut off all the lights.
"EVERYBODY QUIET!"
he yelled, and everybody in the cafeteria went silent. Then he and the others started singing.
"Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you…".
Soon the entire cafeteria had joined in. Once the celebration was over, and the cake cut, everyone was sitting at our table, eating cake.
"Happy birthday, Tris."
Tobias's breath tickled my ear, and he said it just low enough so that I could hear it.
"To Tris!" Christina called out, raising her glass to the center of the table.
"Your twentieth year has come and gone, and with it brought your fourth batch of initiates, marriage, better cake, better fashion choices, and much more fun than anybody should be allowed to have. You ended the second decade of your life with a bang, girl."
Tobias suppressed a smile and looked down at his lap, then back me. I rolled my eyes at him, and turned back to my group of friends.
"To Tris."
Christina said, with a gleam in her eye, and a smile on her face. They all toasted, and I blushed, feeling like this was not necessary. I also felt like a bad friend for not doing this for their twentieth birthdays.
"Thanks guys. Y'all are the best!" I say raising my glass to them, and downing the rest.
That night, as I lay next to Tobias, his hand draped across my waist, and my head on his shoulder, I thought about what my twenty first year would bring. This batch of initiates (my fifth), kids?, Even better cake? I had no clue. I sighed, and adjusted my position on Tobias. I don't have to decide what I want to do with the rest of my life for a long time. I just want to enjoy it.