Chapter Four

I don't own Divergent!

Tris

"I bet Four couldn't even cook like that when he was a softie!" Zeke whistles lowly, awe apparent in his voice.

"I bet I could've," Four grumbles watching my hands fly over the multiple pans that are on the stove.

"Christina could you possibly hand me the sugar?" I ask wiping my brow quickly.

A hand hovers over me with a small bag of browned sugar. I grab it sprinkling the contents directly over the second pan and wait for about five seconds.

"Oh man, did you hear her?"Could you possibly?" Oh jeez Tris-o! Lighten up a bit!" Uriah says taking the contents of his cooking out of the oven.

"Sure Uriah, and what did you cook exactly?" I ask glancing over at him careful not to leave my pans unattended to so that they might burn or topple.

"Um, personally I don't even know," he mutters.

I make a pointed look at Zeke. "How'd he get into FCS exactly? This is top-notch."

Four laughs and I find my mouth twitching at having made someone laugh. At home, we don't laugh, well not much, we were too busy being selfless to indulge ourselves in leisure time, much less take the time to crack a decent joke.

"I told you she was funny," Uriah smirks although he's masking a slight frown.

"Hey Tris? Do you know where Will went?" Christina asks an oven away from me.

"He said something about sugar earlier... Where is the sugar?" I ask searching.

I stand on my tiptoes opening up the cabinets and scan the bottles. It's peculiar because I scarcely just used it and it has disappeared.

"Uriah? Do you have any sugar?"

Uriah shakes his head staring into the oven's blazing warmth. His face is illuminated with the fire playing over the sharp planes of his face.

"Anyone?" I exclaim in frustration.

Will abruptly scampers into the Training Room door and smiles sheepishly as he sees everyone gaze at him expectantly. I catch Christina glancing over at him more than once after all of us briefly acknowledged him.

"Couldn't find any sugar," Will says searching the pantry that is in the left corner of the room.

"How am I supposed to cook pancakes without sugar?" I ask.

"Well what about the ones that are cooking now? Are they sugar free?" Zeke says patting his knee idly.

"No, I had sugar but then it disappeared. I need to make more batter," I say frustrated.

I'm glad I can show my frustration here, and it isn't frowned upon as being selfish.

"Do we need to go on a sugar hunt? Because Tris's pancakes look like the best goddy pancakes I have ever encountered," Uriah says shutting the oven and pressing a couple buttons. "I totally want one."

I roll my eyes, but nod. "If you could possibly find the sugar I'll give you five pancakes."

"Zeke! She offered me five of 'em! Come on! Let's go find the sugar!" He says excited tugged at his older brother's shirtsleeve.

I turn my attention to my pans, flip one pancake over, and remove another one to rest on a plate.

"You needed sugar right?" Four asks.

"Yeah."

"Ok, just making sure," he says. I can't help notice his voice again. It seemed to stay as if he had just woken up and was barely aware of his surroundings even when it is more than half way into the day. It sounds nice.

"Are you just going to stand there?" I ask a creasing appearing between my eyebrows.

"Would you like me to leave?" He asks.

"Question with a question," I say matter-of-factly.

His mouth quirks again as he turns away from me. I sigh, flipping another pancake. They do smell delicious; I had to admit to myself.

Two of my pans are vacant and I pour a circle of batter into them forgetting the new batch I made didn't contain any sugar. A growl of frustration reverberates from my mouth slightly startling even myself.

"You know… The batter would taste so much better if you added this," Four says behind me holding a fancy bag labeled "CANE SUGAR". "You never actually asked me directly if I had they sugar."

My jaw drops. "Oh my God, Four are you serious?"

I hear Christina chuckle, but she walks out of the room before I take a chance to say anything to her.

"Well you didn't!" he says emphatically.

He doesn't act like he carries a overburdening sense of authority right now as he did in the morning when he was introducing himself along with Eric, he acts like he should, being a senior. He hands me the bag the godforsaken half-quirk smile written all over his face.

I add sugar to my batter and then decide to restart the whole thing because there is barely any left anyway. I allow the room to fall into a silence that signifies that I'm not happy.

"If it makes you feel any better I feel bad," Four says sitting backwards on a chair running a hand through his dark hair.

"It does," I admit.

I dump an oval of sweet-smelling batter in my second pan and watch as it sizzles becoming a solid object opposed to a liquid one. I flip another pancake over accidentally charring the middle.

"Are you waiting for an apology?" He asks wearily biting the bottom of his lip.

I need to make an impression. You don't get anywhere in Dauntless without making an impression, Christina said earlier in an offhand manner. It wasn't a piece of vital advice she was offering me although I am taking it as one. Just because I'm a sophomore, an initiate- a small one at that- doesn't make me incapable and weak.

Four was joking, I know he was, but something in me wants to find out if making an impression will actually work.

"Ok Tris, I, Four, your almighty instructor apologize for hiding your sugar when you so direly required it," he says exaggerating each word.

"That wasn't sincere, but ah I accept your apology," I say turning another pancake over.

"Well you're quite hard to please," he grumbles.

Uriah comes running back in with a lazy-looking Zeke behind him.

"I found some... Oh, well that was a waste of time!" Uriah exclaims holding an identical bag of cane sugar.

"Sorry Uriah l acquired some," I say raising my eyebrows and glancing at Four.

"May I have my pancakes now?" Uriah asks innocently. He bats his dark eyelashes and juts out his lower lip in a pout.

"Yes, Uriah you can have six pancakes," I say.

"I'm gonna faint Zeke! Food! Oh my freaking... Food!" He jumps up and down wildly.

"How are you so freaking energetic?" Christina asks him sitting in a chair next to Will.

"This isn't even half of it," Zeke says rolling his eyes. "Trust me."

Four still sits in his metal chair backwards his feet on both sides. He seems to be thinking deeply about a sudden thought because when I push a stack of pancakes in front of him he appears to be startled.

"Sorry, do you not want any? I thought you might've-"

"I want them," he says the quirky smile present.

I flush thinking of the same situation that occurred in the morning. The morning seems like a week ago.

"Tris Prior would you like to cook for me every single day of my life?" Uriah asks shoving the pancakes in his face.

"No thank you Uriah."

He fakes a pout but then globs a mountain full of syrup on his pancakes and scoops them into his mouth. I smirk and take the only seat left next to Four.

"Would you like me to analyze this little culinary experiment also?" Four asks neatly cutting his stack of three in half.

The die-hard chef part of me wants to know every single flaw in my cooking- and told how to perfect it-, but the other part of me is just frankly exhausted and craves some praise. Nevertheless, I nod my head curtly leaning forward slightly in anticipation. Four cuts a small piece out of the stack his blue gaze flickering to my face, the pancakes, and back again. He unceremoniously shoves the slice into his mouth and chews thoughtfully. I feel as if I'm experiencing déjà vu.

The quirky smile is back and before he talks, he rakes a hand through his already mussed hair. "I'm not one to exaggerate-" I snort. His mouth quirks into a higher smile. "But this is an exceptional piece of culinary work."

I withhold my desire to utterly sit down and beam with pleasure because my instructor enjoyed my "piece of culinary work".

"The sugar content is near perfect, the pancakes are sweet enough without syrup- well not in Uri's opinion- but this is quite good for a sophomore. Not that I'm suggesting sophomore can't cook," he says. "On another plus side they are fluffy and light although this one's middle is slightly charred from not flipping fast enough I suppose?"

I inwardly groan at giving him the one that I burned.

"I- Yes, not fast enough," I agree. "Thank you for your candor on my cooking though, I enjoy total honesty on how I performed."

"No prob." His mouth quirks. "I'm a Candor now?"

After finishing my breakfast for dinner all of us initiates herd back to the dorms exhausted from our intro day. Christina talks to me about the schedule tomorrow and how after classes we should go to the shops together. I agree although I'm not entirely awake at the moment. Four and Zeke parted ways- Zeke to his dorm room and Four trailing behind us following us to the dorms.

"I suggest sleep for all of you initiates because tomorrow will be a hell of a day if you don't," Four says departing with a placid expression.

I decide to take Four's advice to mind and immediately head to the showers. I clean myself up and get dressed. My thoughts are turning slow and my eyes droop as if I might fall asleep any second. I luckily stumble upon my bed and as my head hits the pillow, I'm out discovering the variety of hues that the color black is capable to possess.

A/N: Culinary, culinary, and culinary. Read & Review! Please, do enjoy and tell me what you think. Ideas are always welcome.

P.S. - "Like calls to like." If you know, what character says those words then you deserve some Dauntless cake.

-TFW