Collide

"How was your weekend Haven?" Alayna asked me, her angelic voice soft in the morning air.

"My weekend was great, how was your weekend?" I replied, flashing her a small smile. She walked gracefully along the pebbled path, her sandals barely making a sound. Her curly blonde hair was down as always and she wore a yellow dress. She looked extremely pretty.

"My weekend was excellent! Mother and I went out and picked apples together," Alayna recalled, her blue-gray eyes bright.

I balanced on the edge of the train tracks, my arms spread out straight to keep my balance. My red skirt blew slightly in the wind as Alayna and I walked to school. We had left early this morning to bring the teachers apples, as it was the Amity type thing to do. I had found myself doing that a lot - claiming whatever I did was because I was in Amity.

I liked my faction, we were kind and that meant that our faction was peaceful. Somehow everyone was always happy and I believe that it is a better place when the area is full of happiness. Amity always has a welcoming feeling when I return from school, and I liked it that way.

"Please walk beside me Haven, the train will come by soon," Alayna pleaded, glancing over her shoulder in worry. Even though I knew the train would not be coming till we at least reached school, I stepped off the tracks and walked side by side with my friend. She linked her arm through mine and we walked in a comfortable silence.

My footsteps sounded clumsy next to Alayna's as we walked. She had always been more graceful, and I couldn't help but be jealous. I would never let it show though, such feelings as jealousy lead to irrational behavior. So I kept the green monster deep down in my stomach where it could be ignored and not acted upon.

"It is a beautiful morning, isn't it?" Alayna murmured, squeezing my arm and smiling. I looked around at the cloudy sky, some of them gray with the warning of rain. I disagreed with her, but I guess some people could see beauty in everything.

"Very beautiful," I agreed, returning the smile. It wasn't long until we reached the school, an almost eery silence surrounding it as it seemed no other students were here yet. I opened my mouth to comment on how we beat the Erudite here, but quickly closed my mouth. Alayna would have found the comment rude.

Before long, we had passed out an apple to each teacher and school was about to start. Alayna and I were standing in a group of Amity, where we shared our weekend stories and smiled at everybody.

"I'm going to head to class, I'll see you all at lunch," I told the group, giving them all small hugs before slipping away to get to my first class. The crowds seemed thinner around this time of the year, kids were turning 16 if not having already. It was the last week before the Aptitude test and everyone seemed both nervous and excited. I had already spotted one Erudite girl eyeing the Candors with longing, my guess is she will be a transfer. I wasn't sure how someone could transfer factions, it would be leaving your family forever. Faction before blood. We were taught that rule ever since we were able to talk. Leaving my family seemed both drastic and frightening, and I was sure that I would get Amity. But the churning in my gut hinted that I didn't really believe what I was telling myself. Walking past a window, I stopped as I spotted the train making it's way towards the school. I could already see the kids dressed in black preparing to jump. My heart rate seemed to speed up as one one by one they started jumping into the grass below them. I wondered how it would feel to do something so wild, to feel the rush of adrenaline. It was hard to imagine I would ever feel that much adrenaline in Amity, the closest I got was climbing the trees in the orchard but there wasn't any real adrenaline rush in that. With a small sigh, I turned away from the window and continued to class.

I walked into my first class, Faction History, with my mind still clouded. I distractedly walked to my seat in the middle of the classroom, Dauntless and Candor usually sat in the back of the class, while the Erudite fought to sit up at the very front. Therefore the few Amity students and me were stuck awkwardly between them. It really was an inconvenience, meaning as Candor and Amity didn't get along and we also tended to stay away from Dauntless. I sat down in my seat, ignoring the jabs from the Dauntless as I sat near them. Although I would rather be around the Dauntless then the Candor, my friends chose the opposite by sitting closer to the Candor. I had already zoned out, staring blankly at the wooden desk in front of me, until shivers went up my spine as someone's arm purposely brushed mine.

"Hey," The boy behind me whispers, his breath tickling my neck. I discreetly turned around and looked at him, taking in his short, cropped black hair and striking dark blue eyes. He had a small, knowing smile as I stared at him. He was dressed in a fitted black shirt and black pants. If you hadn't already guessed, the boy behind me was Dauntless and when he touched me, I always have a small reaction. Whether it's shivers down my spine, or a tingle on my skin, he causes me my heart to skip a beat and everything around me disappears.

"Hi," I breathed, letting a smile form on my face. His eyes brightened, and as I turned back around, I could feel him rest his hand on my shoulder for a quick second. It was a small and soft caress that made me clench my teeth so I wouldn't make a sound. The effect he had on me was just quite crazy. I shouldn't be feeling this way about a Dauntless, but even as I thought this, I could feel myself relaxing into his touch.

Mathias Porter, Dauntless born through and through. We had gone to school together for years but I didn't start talking to him until about a year ago when we bumped into each other in the hallway. I guess I had sparked his curiosity when instead of apologizing, I accused him of being in my way. After that, we kept running into each other, like we were meant to for some reason. So we kept talking, and eventually it lead to more. For the last few months, things had gotten more serious as we started to not think like friends, but as more. With him, I felt alive and that I was more than just a person with a fake happy aura.

The rest of class flew by, as all I could focus on was Mathias behind me, finding small ways to touch me. And as the teacher dismissed us, I was reluctant to leave. This was my only class with him and I was going to miss having him near me. As I stood to leave, he pressed a small piece of paper into my hand. Clinging to his hand for a few more seconds, I let go and walked out of class. My heart was racing and my stomach erupted with butterflies as I could still feel the lingering of his touch. The note felt heavy as I gripped it in between my fingers. I waited until I reached my locker to risk opening it. I don't know what would happen if someone found out. Someone would for sure try to keep us apart.

For a few days anyway, a voice muttered in the back of my mind. I shifted uncomfortably on my feet. For the past few nights, I had began to dream of joining Dauntless to be with Mathias. It bothered me that I was so willing to leave my family for a boy, so I kept pushing away the thought. If I didn't think about it, then it wouldn't have to come true. Opening my locker, I unfolded the note.

Meet me at our hallway after lunch - M

Excitement bubbled inside me, and I folded the note back up and shoved it under a couple of my books. Our hallway was where we had first run into each other, both of us running late to class and taking the abandoned corridor as a shortcut. Since then, we met there in secret and away from prying eyes so we could talk without people talking about us. It was all because we were told to stay away from the Dauntless, being as they stood against everything we believed in. It was the same for Mathias, he was instructed not to hang around a 'peace lover' like me. But that didn't keep us apart.

"Hey sis!" A sweet voice greeted from behind me. I closed my locker and turned around to face two identical twins. I smiled at my sisters, they were both so alike. The only difference between their straight white blonde hair and violet blue eyes were their cheeks. Like me, Aurora had light freckles across her cheeks and nose while Dawn's face remained flawless. All three of us were irish twins, but I was the older one.

"Hey! I'm sorry I didn't walk with you guys to school, Alayna and I brought apples to the teachers," I apologized to them, closing my locker and turning to them.

"Oh, no worries Haven. We missed you, but it's so good to Mrs. Dayse in a good mood so early in the morning," Dawn reassured me, offering me a big smile. I returned the smile and all three of us turned and headed for our next class that we luckily all had together. As we walked into the class, someone caught my eye. I must have a knack at being acquaintances with Dauntless boys because one of them happened to be waving at me with a small wink.

I had been having a bad day some few weeks ago, and I had been so sure that I was hiding my emotions but Kaden had come up to me and tried to cheer me up. He didn't ask any question but instead started to tell me jokes and while some of them were mean towards other people, they cheered me up. After that, he would quite regularly come up and tell me jokes but up until about a month ago, he stopped. I wasn't sure why and I missed his stupid jokes, but I didn't feel the need to ask him why he stopped. Now he just waves at me across the hallway and sometimes winks at me, which I know is just to make me laugh. He had the Dauntless look, short, cropped hair that was a darker shade of brown and mischievous dark green eyes that seemed to be always looking for trouble.

"You know, I swear he has a crush on you Haven," Dawn said under her breath as we sat down in our seats. There were a bunch of Amity students in the class, and we sat in the middle of the group. I stared at her in shock.

"Why would you think that?" I asked her, the surprise evident in my voice. I didn't talk to him very much at all since he stopped telling me jokes and even then, he told me a joke which would make me laugh and then he would walk away. I mean I was kind to him in passing, but nothing more than that. Dawn's cheeks reddened as Aurora and I stared at her intently.

"He stares at you a lot, and maybe he just likes that you're kind to him," She replied. I laughed softly and shook my head.

"Maybe dear sister, but I doubt it," I chuckled. The teacher started to speak, and all the Amity in the room fell into a respective silence while it took a couple more seconds for the other factions in the room to quiet down. Mr. Harlen started his lecture and I tried my best to pay attention. Besides Erudite and Abnegation, Amity kids were some of the best students as they are always respectful and kind. Although Erudite enjoys learning and are smart, the kids from Amity try their best to pay attention and remain on the teacher's good side.

After two more long classes, the lunch bell rang. I followed my friend Carter out of the class and told him I would meet up with him in a few minutes. He nodded his head and continued to search for Alayna, the poor guy had the biggest crush on her. I headed for my locker and stood by it as the other students milled around me, trying to get to lunch. It wasn't long before the hallways had few kids scurrying around and I quietly slipped by them and around the corner. Mathias was leaning against the lockers, his eyes brightening as he saw me. I couldn't help the smile that overtook my face and my heart skipped a beat. He met me halfway and put his arms around me, pulling me in for a hug. I wrapped my arms around his body and hugged him back, he was warm and I could feel my whole body melt into him. He smelt like an underground cave, musty and dark. The smell had always comforted me, but I was sure it was just because it was him that smelt like it.

"Hey," He whispered, pulling back and cupping my face. We were still in a close proximity, with our bodies touching. I was shorter than him and came up to his shoulders so I was always looking up at him, but he had told me before that he loved seeing my face turned up to see him.

"Hey," I replied breathlessly, staring into the depths of his eyes. Something shone in his eyes when he looked at me and it made my heart beat faster.

"I missed you," Mathias said softly, his eyes quickly falling down to my lips before returning to my eyes.

"I missed you too," I replied, standing on my toes to kiss him. Our lips met and his grip on me tightened. Happiness spread through me like a fire, and I craved to feel like this all the time. You could, a voice said in the back of my mind but I pushed it away.

"Alright there Porter, I think you're getting a little comfortable," I scolded him in a teasing tone, referring to his hand that had slid under my shirt. My stomach burned where his hand was, but it was such a good feeling. He pulled his hand back and looked at me sheepishly, but a gleam of lust still lingered in his eyes.

"As much as I wish this could continue, we should go," I told him, stepping back. I immediately missed the feeling of him and wanted to go right back to his warm embrace.

"I wish we could just spend the rest of the day here," He sighed. I took his hand in mine and squeezed it.

"Me too," I said, and I meant it. I had dreamed of spending days just with him, doing whatever we wanted to. There was a feeling in my stomach that made me feel like I would be able to do that someday soon. I knew that being with him like this made me want to join Dauntless more and more, and the choice I had to make was pressing on my shoulders.

"Are you okay Haven?" Mathias asked, stopping to look me in the eyes. I knew I couldn't lie to him.

"I'm scared of the choice I'm going to make," I admitted to him, meeting his gaze. At first he looked shocked at my response, then his gaze softened.

"Whatever choice you make, I hope you chose it because you followed your heart." He says comfortingly and kisses me on the forehead. I smile up at him, a feeling filling me. It used to be foreign to me but now the feeling was familiar and I think I had a name for it but I wasn't sure just yet.

"I'll see you tomorrow," I tell him and give him a short but passionate kiss. He pulls back and with a soft smile says, "Goodbye Sunshine"

With that, Mathias turns the corner and is gone. I wait a few seconds before leaving the hallway, a smile still on my face. I keep the smile there as I walk into the lunch room and head straight for my faction table, sitting in between Aurora and Alayna.

"There you are! Were you helping Ms. Kite again?" Alayna asked, her blue-grey eyes filled with laughter.

"Yes, we finished quick today," I lied, opening my homemade fruit cup. Alayna nodded, and returned to her conversation with Carter.

"How are your days going?" I asked my sisters. The both looked up at me at the same time.

"Great," They answered in unison. I laughed, their twin-ness was almost scary sometimes. They joined me, knowing just what I was laughing about.

"How is your day going Haven?" Dawn asked, taking a bite of her strawberry. Remembering what had happened just a few minutes ago, I let the smile return to my face.

"My day is going wonderful," I replied.