Soli Deo gloria
DISCLAIMER: I do NOT own Divergent. Now, Will and Christina, while not having a lot of time together (ugh), they don't have many stories together! (Outrage.) So here is what must be their first last date.
Oh, and it's my fanfiction-versy. Two years ago, I published Pascal's Point of View. My very first fanfiction story. XD. Needless to say, this site has ruined my life and produced over 100 stories out of me. Thanks for reading. You guys make my life. :)
Everyone is drunk. Well, everyone under the age of twelve. And the scientists monitoring the simulations. And the initiates, who know that it is probably a good idea not to be drunk if they're becoming full Dauntless members or factionless. Nothing like getting kicked out onto the streets unable to focus on something three feet in front of you.
But to Christina, it is exciting. And nerve-wracking. She'd be lying if she said she isn't nervous. She's so nervous. It's the last day of initiation, and she has to face her fears. Quite literally. In front of a lot of people who are supposed to be tracking her results. No pressure there.
But somehow this is relieving the pressure. Seeing all the happy, stumbling people shouting and laughing, cursing and swinging toasts to the new batch of initiates, it fascinates her and keeps her focus off her spine-tingling fears. Like fires and screeching owls and knocks in the night and the ability to not being able to breathe and stupid, stupid moths . . .
"Don't fall in," she hears a warm voice say. It's slightly chastising, but in a worried sort of way. Will.
She turns with a grin, saying, "I'm not drunk. Don't expect me to fall in." Her hands grip his shoulders, which feel harder and denser because of all the training. She rubs them and says, "You've been sneaking into the gym to work the punching bags, haven't you?"
"You've noticed?" He can feel the firm circles she's making in his skin, her fingers burning through his shirt like something hot against butter.
"Yessss. Definitely," she says, giving him a mischievous look. Her brown eyes are full of light and she seems not at all nervous about the test. Not when he is standing right in front of her, his arms around her waist like a fitting puzzle piece.
His eyes travel past hers to the splashing, gushing white chasm, with its spewing water and flying droplets that dart and escape onto the rail's edge.
"You're near the rail's edge," he says.
"Yes. And?" she asks.
"And you're not afraid?" Will wonders.
"Nah," Christina says, leaning a little closer to him. Her teeth are so white. He can see the glint of a curve to her lips as she says, "As long as I'm not hanging over it with a chance of imminent death, I think I'm fine."
He looks back in her eyes. And as he brushes her short black hair away from her face, he sees the glint of fear in her eyes. She had told him the telltale signs of lying over the past couple of weeks.
Her aptitude is definitely not for Candor.
"You're lying," he says. "The chasm makes you nervous. Fearful. So why are you hanging around it?"
Christina's head turns down and he tilts her chin up with two fingers. His shaggy blond hair hangs to one side as she says, not looking at him, "Today's the day that we're facing our fearscapes. One of mine was . . . falling off the chasm. So I was thinking if I tried to be near the chasm today, I wouldn't be so scared of it."
It pains him to think that she's putting herself in a grand amount of pain just to get into the faction.
"That's all you can think of, isn't it?" he asks.
She twirls a finger in his hair. "Same for you."
He nods, after a moment.
She kisses him and he can barely breathe but grin against her lips as she whispers, "That doesn't make you brave, you know."
"I know. It just goes to show that I have the same anxiety as that of any Dauntless initiate this morning," he says.
Christina sighs. "We're both so uptight."
"Yeah. And I have an idea about how to fix that," Will says.
Her face screws into something curious and adorable and she asks, "What is it? Are we going on a food binge? Or pranking Eric? I'd be all for it if it wasn't the final day."
"Better."
Better? His promises are, well, promising.
"What?" Her voice is an excited whisper.
For an answer he drags her away, his arm around her firm shoulder as they run, run, run. Run past the drunk Dauntless members, who nearly fall over or drip their drink as the two sweep past them, their feet pumping, more muscular than they have been their entire lives. A laugh bubbles in Christina's throat as they run through the compound and down a winding path to an open court of sorts, a market, where there are many shops and places to visit. THIS is one of the main reasons Dauntless has felt right to her. To feel free, fast, furious, was amazing. Is amazing. Especially with the boy next to her.
Will leads her to a place and makes her stop and take in the name. She turns back to him with a smirk. "Knew the Dauntless were crazy. But climbing a rock wall is insane."
"And not safe either. Apparently, in the old days before the factions, it was said that the people would do this with straps around them to keep them from falling," Will says.
Christina blows a raspberry. "How childish." Inside her insides are churning and flipping around. Climbing a wall with nothing but her bare hands sounds scary and terrifying and thrilling and now she's the one dragging Will into the place.
The manager drunkenly takes the credits out of Will's account and they walk up to the massive wall. It is natural, cut into the shop to fit it. It stands out as around it crumbles orange clay. But it's huge and tall and Christina is amazed this amount of solid rock can be found this below the ground.
Will gazes up at it, and his Adam's apple bobs and he closes his eyes. But then suddenly he is leaping up onto it like a monkey. He stops for a moment, but takes a deep breath and continues. Christina looks back up at him in amazement. She knows that one of his fears is heights. Last night she had been in his arms, whispering, and they had said many things. Including fears. And now she watches him climb after the fear to show it up, like a practice, so he can make it through his fearscape.
She has no fear of heights. Thank goodness. It looks like a tall fear to conqueror. Christina laughs and grips the rock edges with her hands. She begins to climb, finding fun in capturing the edge with her fingers and carrying herself up. There's no water behind her, none of Eric's threats. Catching hold of the ledges is not scary here.
She's higher than she thinks she's gone when she hears a low moaning below her. She's nearly at the top when she looks down and catches sight of Will shaking like a leaf.
"Hey," she says.
He breathes heavily.
"Look up. Not down. Look at the goal. Not at the ground," she says. Her voice is quiet, encouraging.
He takes in another breath. Then he leans his head back and exhales. Then his hands are reaching up and he goes up and up and up, at Christina's side in thirty seconds. It's all worth it when he sees the sweaty but proud look on her face.
"There. You got it," she whispers. A pause. "You're going to do well in the fearscape."
"You tried to face yours first," Will says, catching his breath.
"There's ten spots available, Will," Christina says, grinning.
They climb to the top together. Then Christina and even Will look hesitantly down at the ground. There's a mat there. Not too thick. But it's a little reassuring to know that the faction they want desperately to join is not too suicidal.
She reaches out and clasps his hand in hers. She needs a little help. Someone to pull her.
It'll be like jumping from the train onto the roof. Brace your knees, and don't think.
They jump and bend their legs and catch the ground and fall over together, laughing. Relieved laughter. Laughter at the ludicrous things they do here. And laughter for being with the one they're with. Because it's something to distract them from their fear, it makes them feel lighter, full of air, when the oncoming horror is just hours away.
They still have now, though. Each other. On their first last date.
WILL/CHRISTINA. UGHHHHHH.
Thanks for reading!