Four's POV
After asking Julia to be my girlfriend in a sickeningly romantic fashion, I scanned the crowd for Jason. My eyes bitterly conveyed, "Was that good enough for you?" The slight, almost imperceptible nod of his head reassured me; at least Tris would be safe.
And then, I saw Tris. Her horrified, heart-broken expression shattered me. Hiding my emotions under a cold facade, I looked away. In the corner of my eye, I watched her break away from the crowd. Jason's words echoed through my head: "I don't have to hurt Tris. You've already done that for me."
Since then, it's been four months. Four dreadful months. Every time I saw Tris, she averted her eyes and walked away in the opposite direction. It broke my heart. But each time, a small voice inside my head whispered, "Four, you deserve it."
And the small voice was always right.
Julia's voice broke through my thoughts. "Four, sweetie cakes, will you go shopping with me?"
"No," I replied absentmindedly, wincing at the sound of my nickname.
She poked me and pouted. "I'm going to tell Jason."
I sighed. Why does she have to whine so much. "Fine, I'll go with you. Whatever."
My eyes were focused on Tris, who was standing on the balcony with Jason. I furiously watched as Jason cautiously snaked an arm around Tris. She stiffened, but didn't inch away. My anger flooded me and I stood up, ready to run over and punch the life out of Jason.
Julia noticed my sudden movement and followed my gaze. She grabbed my arm. "Four, Jason doesn't want you near Tris."
Normally, a little girl's complaint wouldn't have stopped me, but this time, it did. I remembered Jason's blackmail and reluctantly sat back down.
After a few more minutes, I watched Jason leave Tris. I turned back to Julia. "Hey, um, Julia, I don't feel so good…"
Julia immediately looked worried. "What? Are you okay? What's wrong?"
I almost felt bad about lying, but I pretended to wince. "Uh, it's just my stomach. It hurts. I'm going to go rest at my apartment."
"Our apartment," Julia corrected. "Okay, see you!"
I staggered away until I was out of view, before stalking down the hallway. I spotted the guy I was looking for. Creeping up behind him, I shoved Jason up against the grey walls.
His surprised expression rapidly morphed into contempt.
"Hey, look who it is. It's Four. Long time no see. I've missed you," he greeted sarcastically.
My grip on his neck tightened. "Hello, idiot. Too bad I don't feel the same way: I don't miss anything about you."
"Well," Jason snarled, "that doesn't explain why you randomly came up to me and hugged me."
"Oh trust me, I try to stay as far away from you as possible," I hissed. "But I'm here because I need to warn you to keep your hands off of Tris."
"Don't tell me what to do. She's my soon-to-be girlfriend. I can do whatever I want with her."
I gaped at him. He smirked. "Four, don't open your mouth that wide. It makes your face even more unattractive than usual."
"She will never agree to go out with you," I managed.
"We'll see. You broke her heart in two; all I have to do is glue the pieces back together."
He looked like he wanted to say more, but he didn't. Curiously, I wondered why he was quiet, before realizing that I was choking him. Loosening my grip, I delivered a sharp punch to his gut.
Jason cringed before breaking into a wide grin. His toothy smile eerily reminded me of someone. Someone I didn't want to remember.
He saw the flicker of recognition flash across my face and his smile turned malicious. "Hmm, maybe it's time to spice everything up," he mused quietly.
That's never good news. "What do you mean?" I asked cautiously.
"I saw it on your face."
"What?"
"Four, you never asked what my last name was."
I scoffed. "I'm sorry, I wasn't aware animals had last names."
Anger lit up Jason's eyes, but he calmly held my gaze and patiently waited. Finally, curiosity overcame me, and I gave in.
"Fine. What's your last name, then?"
Jason smiled his toothy grin again. "Eaton. My name is Jason Eaton. Pleasure to meet you, Four. Or should I say, Tobias?"
I felt like I had been hit by a truck. "Say… say that again," I rasped.
"I'm Jason Eaton."
"That's… that's not possible." I'm Marcus' only son. This can't be true.
Jason simply rolled his eyes at me and attempted to leave. I pushed him back up against the wall.
"Explain," I demanded.
"Well," he mocked, "when a mommy and a daddy love each other very much, they call the stork, and the stork brings them a little baby, and—"
I flicked out the switchblade in my back pocket and held it up against Jason's neck. "Tell me the truth."
His pupils dilated with fear and the whole story came tumbling out.
"Right, so, let's not get too carried away here," he said nervously. "Um… right, so after our father, Marcus Eaton, divorced your mother, Evelyn, he met another girl. I'm sorry for Evelyn's death, by the way, it must have hit you very hard."
I looked away. Of course it had hit me very hard. But I turned back to face Jason. "Continue."
"Father fell in love with a singer named Persephone. Of course, 'Persephone' was just her stage name, and her real name was Penny Guerra. Anyways, a year later, Penny gave birth to me. When I was twelve… she passed away."
Jason swallowed, sorrow filling his eyes. "Well, I'm glad I finally got the chance to tell you. Hello, half-brother. Can I call you Toby?"
I put my switchblade back into my pocket, but I punched Jason in the face. "Never. No one is allowed to call me Toby."
Half-brother? Jason Eaton? What? It was all too much for me. I turned around and raced back to my apartment. I needed time to think.
Tris' POV
Jason was starting to get on my nerves. He kept following me around everywhere. He even tried to hug me. But there was no room left in my heart for anyone except for Four.
Yet one day, something surprising happened. Julia came running into my apartment. "Tris Prior, I need to talk to you."
I raised an eyebrow at her. "Since when do we even talk to each other?"
She shifted her feet impatiently. "That's not the point, Tris!" Her voice took on a whining tone. Inwardly, I sighed. What could Four possibly like about this little girl?
However, I complied and reluctantly welcomed her into my apartment. "What do you need?"
She sat down and made herself comfortable in my bean bag chair. "You should know that I moved in with Four."
I froze but hid my surprise. "Ah—of course."
Julia's conversational tone grew urgent. Her eyes darted from side to side. "He's returned home really late every day. I think—I think he's been in the Dauntless office. I'm worried that he's poking his nose in Maxwell's confidential files. I think he has unearthed some top secret information."
Curiosity replaced my surprise but I casually met Julia's eyes. "So?"
"I think he learned something important. And… I think he's planning on leaving."
"Leaving?"
"Yeah, he packed a backpack full of water and snacks from the kitchen. I think he's planning on leaving on Wednesday."
Wednesday? That's tomorrow! "Really?" I asked, fighting to keep my voice calm.
Julia nodded slowly. I frowned. "Why are you telling me this?"
"Because I love Four. Because if anyone finds out that he broke the Dauntless code and stole confidential information, he's as good as dead. And because… because you're the only one who could possibly stop him. And if you can't stop him, at least you're fully capable of protecting him. Keep him safe, Tris."
And with that, Julia stood up and left.
I sat back down in shock. Four's leaving? Where could he possibly be going?
But by the end of the day, I had made my decision: I was going to follow Four and leave the Dauntless compound with him on Wednesday.
So I'm on vacation (yay!), and I went on a writing spree on the four hour plane ride, which is why this chapter is up so early!
Let me know your opinions on this plot twist. Doesn't it explain why Jason is so evil, though? Anyways, regarding Jason's mom's name... Persephone means "bringer of destruction", and her last name, Guerra, means "war". I thought that was really appropriate... ;) You'll see why!
I already have the next chapter written out, so I'll post it whenever I get ten reviews! So, review, review, review! Because that means I could even update tomorrow.
~BubblyFanatic
