I met him at school. He was in my year and I despised him for his Erudite-like knowledge. He and his Erudite friends were always showing me up. He was the perfect Dauntless. We found we had a lot in common and slowly (and secretly) became friends. Then, his Dauntless friend Keith threw a party for a Dauntless holiday called Halloween. My newfound friend snuck me in. The holiday was weird because everyone was dressed up in strange clothes that Kendal said were called costumes. Kendal was quick to introduce me to the host of the party, Keith.
"This is Dana." Kendal stated. "She's a Candor." He nodded and called a Dauntless girl over. Keith whispered in her ear and left.
"Come with me." The girl said. Kendal and I started to follow. The girl stuck her tongue out in a playful way. "Just the girl, Kendal." Kendal rolled his eyes and put a hand on my shoulder.
"I'll be right out here, okay? And don't let them push you around too much!" He walked out into the crowd of masked Dauntless.
"Well, stay silent for a bit, Candor, and I'll tell ya what's going down. My name is Carla. I'm supposed to make it possible for ya ta hang out here more. Un-noticed."
I frowned. "Isn't that... illegal?" Carla smiled, but didn't answer. She asked a bunch of questions, like how much black I have in my closet and how I got on the trains. Then, came a make-over.
I walked into the crowd in my new clothes. Carla had put me in a black tee with a red heart on the front and dark blue jeans. She had also pulled my long brown hair back into a single braid down my back. The strangest thing was the lipstick. I had never worn make-up, because Candor beliefs stated that make-up is hiding the true you therefore lying. She told me I had flawless skin, so all she did was put on some flaming red lipstick. As I looked in the mirror, I was stunned. For a second, I believed I was a Dauntless.
We stood at the back of the crowd. Keith got up and started asking if anyone was up for something called "Karaoke". Carla grabbed my hand and dragged my through the crowd. As we passed Kendal, I grabbed his hand. He smiled as we ran up the stairs to the stage. The four of us stood on stage. Carla and Keith each grabbed a mic as the music started. It was an old song, "Wild Ones". Carla sang the beginning, Keith the first rap verse. As his part came to an end, Carla handed me her mic, gesturing that it was my turn to sing. I sang hesitantly at first, but slowly warmed up to the song. I started dancing and probably looked like a total spaz. Kendal took the second verse. Carla took Keith's hand and slowly, they went offstage, Carla winking as she went. She had set us up! Kendal and I took the rest of the song. As I sang the end, Kendal's hand slipped into mine. I stared at his beautiful eyes as I ended the song. It was perfect.
For the rest of that year, I would sneak into the Dauntless HQ at night. I just wanted to be with Kendal. He slowly took over my thoughts. When he transferred to the year above mine, I realized he'd Choose before me. So I secretly promised myself to find him and Choose to be with him.
