Hey guys! Now that the series is over, and we're getting some hella sweet movie adaptations, I've decided to pick up this little nugget right here and try (slash fail miserably) to rewrite this story. I've seriously forgotten what the main idea of this story was, actually, so I'll do my best to make this as awesome as I thought it would've been. Sigh.
Disclaimer: Characters and series owned by Veronica Roth. Plot and OCs were created by me...unless otherwise mentioned.
Summary
Other than her name and the names of those she loved the most, Tris has no memory of her past before the accident. 2 years after admitting her loss and losing all hope for someone to remind her of who she was, she finds comfort in Christina, the girl who claimed to be her best friend from past times, and their apartment neighbour Tori. In those two years of finding for the light she once had, life has been good to Tris so far. But when she comes across a young man whose eyes that give away the ghosts of his past and only a number to call his name, Tris is in for things that she never thought possible.
Everyone is keeping a secret from Tris, and there are people out there who want her dead before what they claim to be the biggest secret can be revealed to the world. But the only way for her to know what this secret is, she'll have to find out who the real Tris Prior is, and what she has done to make the whole world want her dead.
Prologue
On the cool December night of 2012, a family of four were driving through the snowy streets of Amity City. It wasn't normal for Beatrice Prior to be out so late at night; she never liked going beyond the 10 pm curfew. But, despite her efforts to not come with them, her parents had forced her and her brother, Caleb, to come along. This is important, they had told the two siblings. We need to visit your Aunt Edith.
There was something wrong when they said that. It was obvious by how their eyes flew left and right when they talked to them. Almost as if they're lying, she thought. She wasn't born in Candor city ("The City of Jerks" as Ryan likes to call it sometimes), so she had never been good at knowing whether people were lying or not. But being best friends with Christina since childhood, she's already learned a few things from her.
Of course, another reason was because she never knew of any Aunt Ediths in her 16 years of living.
Thinking about her long-time best friend made her sigh. The two had been inseparable until recently, when both of them turned 16. Both had been preparing for the school of their choice and knew how harsh the entrance exams were. Christina told her she wanted to go to Dauntless Academy since they take academics lightly and focus more on learning how to survive in the world, while Beatrice... Well, she was still unsure of where to go, but hopefully she'll find some sort of giant sign with the words "Choose This School" in bright neon lights soon.
"Sis," her older brother said, bringing her back to the present. She hadn't realized that she was singing one of the songs she heard her mother sing to her as a child. "I love you and all, but your singing was slightly—no, terribly off key." Caleb was looking at her with a soft smile on his face, and it annoyed her a little. It was one of the flaws of being Abnegation-born: like the Candors, the people here were just too honest and selfless to her own liking. People tried not to gain the other cities' attention unless necessary, and everyone would look at you like you were satan himself if you had ever tried to do anything selfish.
Except for one.
"Just lighten up a bit and learn to lie, especially if it makes other people happy," she says. "Besides, you love singing with me."
"No, I don't." He protested calmly, crossing his arms over his chest.
"Says the boy who sings Celine Dion in the shower," her smile grows wide and she's trying not to laugh. Celine Dion used to be a worldwide idol in the past, or so she read in historical autobiographies. "In fact, I'm pretty sure you sing in your sleep."
"I don't!"
"Yes, you do."
"No, I—" He was about to say before their dad interrupted.
"Okay, okay. Stop fighting. Caleb, if Beatrice wants to sing, let her; off-key singing isn't a crime. And Beatrice," he turns from his seat to catch a glimpse of his daughter. "stop embarrassing your brother and let him do whatever he wants. Just be happy that neither of you two actually sing in public."
There's a small smile playing on their father's lips, and Beatrice can't help but return the gesture. Her parents may not have been the most fun, but she was sure that they were the best. Even if the entire world lives by the universal manifesto, "Faction before Blood"—concern for your city before concern for your family, or something like that—they'd still go against that just for the sake of making them happy.
She pretends to be offended and huffs. "Sorry," she mutters to no one in particular before letting her eyes land on the person seating in the passenger seat. Natalie Prior; he mother.
She had almost all the features her mother has: blond hair, sparkling blue eyes and a petite-but-sturdy body. Her mother had always told her that she was the kind of beautiful that always made a person look twice. It made people want to know her, yet at times she looks intimidating, especially when she's in a sour mood. It made anyone who knew her want to make her smile, because seeing her smile brought light wherever she went.
That was what Ry told her.
She and Ryan didn't have the best love story, but it was perfect nonetheless. He had accidentally bumped into her during the pre-Choosing Ceremony, when they were taking their tests, and made up for it by treating her out. She remembered their first conversation quite clearly:
"Why would I? Cute as you might be, you might be some serial killer. Or a cannibal who plans to eat me once we're in some dark alley."
"I'll give you an A for creativity and for calling me cute," he winks at her and flashes a bright smile, making her blush. "but I'm just a normal teenager who plans on doing nothing but treating this lovely lady out as a means of apology. If she'd say yes of course."
"Yes," she says, almost too excitedly. On their way to the coffee shop, she remembers that she hasn't introduced herself yet. It was stupid for her, really, to stop in the middle of the road just to extend her hand to him. "I'm Beatrice by the way."
"That's a beautiful name, Beatrice." He takes her hand in his and, instead, kisses the back of her hand. "The name's Ryan, but you can call me Ry."
They had grown closer and closer within each passing day. In time, she had learned who Ryan really was, while he learned about how being an Abnegation child, especially one of a man who has a seat in the government, was suffocating. They kept their secrets in ways that even the wind couldn't carry their secrets away. But one thing that wasn't a secret was the attraction that grew between them as the days had grown by. Even love itself has not known such sweet, innocent people like these two.
But it wasn't until one sunny afternoon, though, did love come running to her house with disheveled hair and an ear-shattering knock on her door.
Ryan stood by the door, crouching on the floor with a cup of coffee, much like the one she ordered when they first went out, in his hand. He was panting and sweating, but none of that mattered now that he was here. None of it mattered except this exact moment, in this exact place, with this exact person.
"I may or may not be in love with you, Beatrice Prior, and I may or may not have been dying to say it since the first day we met."
She ran up and kissed him then, smiling as he lifted her by the waist and spun her around. "You're an idiot, Ry," she says, kissing him again, "and I may or may not be in love with you too."
In the end, that was all that mattered.
She was all that mattered.
A smile crossed the young girl's face at the sweet memory. They've been together for 2 years now and never has he stopped treating her like she was the most beautiful person in the world, looking at her as if she was his entire life. It made her wonder, sometimes, how a carefree rule breaker like him fall in love with a girl like her? Guessing him, he's probably playing video games with his older brother, laughing when he wins and calling him the weirdest of names when he lost.
"Andrew."
She turned to her father to see his shoulder stiffen in response, but it was the way he looked, so uneasy and terrified, that made Beatrice worry. She turned to Caleb, who wore the same expression as her, and knew something was wrong.
"Dear," their mother said, a voice full of worry as she placed her hand on her husband's arm. "What's wrong?"
"Something's not right," He replies, eyes focused on the road ahead. It was starting to drizzle now. "We're going the wrong way."
"I checked the GPS. We're in the right track."
In that moment, Beatrice swore she could hear a string inside her head snap. And she understood now.
She knew why her parents were eager to leave.
She knew why Caleb, for the first time, went against his parents and begged them to leave him behind.
She knew now why her brother had begun to tell her things she never knew of since last week.
They're trying to run away.
But from what?
"Dad," Caleb uncharacteristically cuts in, pulling his seat belt and fastening it. He knew what was happening too. "Turn around." For the first time in Beatrice's life, she sees her own brother snap and panic.
He knows it.
He knows what's happening.
"What?"
"Turn around, Dad. Turn around!"
"Caleb Prior," their mother warns. The tone of her voice makes Beatrice shiver. "Don't talk to your father like that—"
"No, Mom, you don't get it. You're going to die! I'm serious!"
"This is no time for jokes," his sister replied. "Stop stressing dad out, Caleb."
And maybe it was the way he looked at her, as if he was desperate. Maybe it was the way his eyes were clouded with nothing but fear and regret. Maybe it was the way he mouthed a simple sorry did she know that this was what he was talking about.
They both know what is happening and why.
And they knew who was the reason behind this.
But—
It was too late.
"Honey," Their dad starts. "I… think we should—"
But in that instance, time seemed to stop still as light flashed before their eyes.
"Shit," Caleb muttered.
They were going to die.
And maybe if Caleb hadn't been acting so suspiciously and just told what would happen, all this could be avoided. Maybe he could've found the courage to tell his parents the truth and accepted the possibility that they may never forgive him. But he wasn't brave; his sister was.
Unforgiven. That was how he hoped to die.
Their parents, on the other hand, were in shock. In the last few seconds of their lives they thought of each other, of their children, of how proud they were of their children, even if their lives had been cut short by an accident.
Except it wasn't an accident at all.
But for Beatrice… It was different. People told her that when a person dies, all they see is a world of white and millions upon millions of memories flashing into view. It was ridiculous, she thought, but she never truly knew that what they said was true until now.
Pages and pages of her life was spreading out, as if a stack of papers had been knocked over and had left a huge mess in its wake.
She sees her younger self, playing with her brother and best friend. She sees her mother, singing her songs about love and happiness.
She sees Caleb, laughing from when she tried to cheer him up because he failed in one subject. She sees Christina, frowning when her ice cream fell on the ground.
She sees Ry, looking down at her with a smile when she starts talking about her favorite shows, and it's a sudden ache in her chest. I'll never see him, she thinks. I'll never get the chance to say goodbye.
You and me against ourselves, huh, Tris?
It was a nickname that he gave her one day, when he thought that her first name was too long.
You and me.
The world had stopped spinning and slowed down, but in that moment another memory flashed before her. It was an old one, one that she would like to forget.
"I love you, Beatrice. Forgive me."
And she did. She's forgiving him again and again and she doesn't know why she's forgiving him, why he's saying sorry. She's crying and crying and thinking about the boy's face, the cloudy blue eyes that seemed to see through her. She knew him. She knew his name. It was... It was...
Too late.
A/n:Aw yiss! First goal completed! I feel so hyped! Sorry for the 2k words though UnU
Next chapter will be written in Tris' P.O.V., and hopefully it remains that way until the end. Writing in 3rd person really isn't my forte.
Yes, yes, I know my writing style isn't normal... And it'll be ever more abnormal when it becomes 1st person P.O.V. (I am a really descriptive writer).
Also, if you guys were wondering, this story is a rewrite of my old fanfic entitled "FADE". I lost interest in it for half a year (!), but now I decided to remake it since I gained interest in it again. Hopefully it turns out much better than the old one. You can still check the old one on my site though.
So, how is it so far? Good? Bad? Average? Leave me a review and tell me what you think. Sadly, I don't think I'll continue writing this if I don't get any form of criticism for improvement. Sounds rude of me, but yeah...
