Author's Note: I'm back! Sorry for the delay in updates in this story, I got pretty busy the past few months, and, frankly, uninspired. But now I'm back and I'll be updating regularly. This is also the point in the story where I'll be breaking off from the book's events and making my own. This is a (very) short chapter, but I've decided to change my writing strategy. I've been trying to write chronologically so far, but now I'm just going to write scenes that come to me and figure the rest out from there. Thank you for your patience!
Naturally, Christina does not forget my promise of "later" and I make good on my promise when we get to our room. I recount my run-in with Al at the Mall and his proposition.
"Seriously? When did that happen? I'm normally good at sensing that stuff," Chris tells me. I can tell it's actually bothering her, not realizing Al had a crush on me. Is it still called a crush when you're in your twenties? It makes me feel like I'm in grade school again, talking about a boy with a crush on my.
"I don't know, but apparently Four knew, he told me at Zeke's last weekend," I add.
"Four knew? Four? And I didn't know?" she nearly yells. "What is happening to me? What is this place doing to me?"
"Maybe you're just distracted, Christina," I tease, not-so-subtly referencing her relationship with Will if that's what it is. I'm definitely on the mark, Christina blushes and throws a pillow at me. "I'm going to head to the gym, I want to practice with the bag a bit more," I tell her, excusing myself to change and head out.
I do go to the gym for a bit. It's nice being there alone. My cold shower afterward soothes the aches in my body. I never thought I'd be one for cold showers, but hey, I'm learning a lot about myself here. It also helps wake me up again to meet Uriah, which it's almost time for. I'm five minutes early to the rendezvous, but there is already a small crowd gathering out by the vans. I'm surprised to see members amongst the initiates. When I see Zeke and Shauna with Lynn, a small voice in the back of my mind wonders if Four will be coming too.
I try and squash that voice as soon as I hear it.
Instead, I remember that before today's outing, I was trying to track down Zeke. As uncomfortable as this is going to be, it needs to happen. I make eye contact with Zeke and give him a slight wave. Thankfully, that's enough to get him to come over to me.
"Hey Zeke," I greet him with a smile.
"Tris! I'm surprised to see you here. New kids don't normally get invited."
"Uriah actually told me I should come." I look down at my hands, fiddling with my nails. How do I bring this up? "So, the other day, uh," I glance up to Zeke. The look on his face tells me he knows where I'm going. Good. "My roommate was hooking up with a guy and Four told me I could stay with him. And that's all."
"Yeah, Tris, it's fine, I won't say anything."
"No, I'm serious. Nothing happened. He just gave me somewhere to sleep."
"I know. He used his scary voice and told me the same thing. I wasn't expecting you to come say it too. What'd he do, spend all night teaching you his scary voice?"
That gets me to smile. Do I have a scary voice? That would be so cool. I've never intimidated anyone before. "Thanks Zeke," I tell him as sincerely as I can. "So what exactly are we doing? Uriah conveniently left that part out." I look around us, scanning for Uriah, but I don't see him yet.
"He didn't tell you? That little bastard. We're going clubbing," he says with a grin. Suddenly, I feel underdressed. Whatever. I've never been clubbing before. "Come on, it's almost time to go, let's get in the cool kids van."
I follow Zeke back over to Shauna and Lynn and we all start loading into a van. Uriah does show up, along with two other people I vaguely recognize, and we set off.
When we get there a half hour later, I'm ready for a drink. What I'm not ready for is the sheer amount of people in this building. Anywhere I go, I'm touching at least three strangers. I understand why Four didn't come along on this trip; I'm not claustrophobic and I can't wait to get out of here. I can't imagine how he'd feel here. I do my best to be a part of the action, dancing with Uriah and Lynn in the throng of people. I'm having fun, but after a few songs, I'm just too hot and too covered in other peoples' drinks to enjoy myself, so I call it quits on the dance floor.
Standing at the side by the bar, I watch my friends dance and drink and have fun. It's not my scene, but I'm glad I came. I'm reminded of my first party at Shauna's place, standing on the sidelines and observing the crowd. I see people making fools of themselves, drunk people barely standing, and the designated drivers, like Zeke, who are just having a ball being a part of the night. I only have one more drink before I decide to head out. I find Shauna to confirm I can take an Uber back to the compound, and once I do, I'm home in 45 minutes.
Arriving back in the middle of the night is serene, a stark contrast to the franticness of leaving almost 24 hours earlier for our game of capture the flag. It's nice to take some time to myself and get lost in my thoughts as I head back to my room. I fall asleep thinking of my time tonight and how Tris three weeks ago would have never gone out to a club, especially on a weekday.
The next couple days of training are much like the days before the game. We train, we fight each other, and we do our best not to lose. Molly and I were paired for the last round of fighting and I actually won. After all the fights had concluded on Friday afternoon, Four addressed us as a group.
"Starting next week, we will be moving onto mental training. Monday, Wednesday, and Friday you will each be with me for a designated block of time. Tuesdays and Thursdays are for you to maintain your physical fitness independently. If you fall behind on mental or physical fitness, you will find it impossible to keep up with training," he tells us with a flat voice, like he's bored. Four makes his rounds telling everyone what time their meeting time is for the next phase of training and dismisses them when they're through. When he gets to me, we're the only two people left in the room, and there's a smirk playing with his lips.
"Prior, we'll be meeting from 4-5 PM Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for this phase of training." That stupid, adorable smirk is still on his stupid mouth.
"What?" I ask, not even trying to mask the irritation in my voice. All it does is make the smile more pronounced. Ass.
"Nothing," is the only reply I get. That stupid smirk is turning into a full-blown grin.
"What, Four?" I ask again, raising my voice. I feel my lips turning up, his smile is contagious.
"I asked you not to call me that," he reminds me, stepping closer. "Zeke told me you went with them to the club."
"Ah. Yeah, not my thing apparently."
"Mine either, and I'm sure you could guess why."
"Yeah, Shauna said you're the only person who's left faster than me." We share a laugh at that, and when I feel his breath I'm made aware again of how we are in each others' personal spaces. This doesn't feel anything like how the club felt. This is a welcome closeness. I wonder if Four feels the same way.
He takes a step back from me, rubbing the back of his neck. "Are you going to any parties this weekend?"
"I don't think so, Christina hasn't mentioned anything." Am I imagining the way his expression falls, just a bit?
"Alright, well I guess I'll see you," he says, nodding in dismissal. He's still wearing that silly smirk as I leave the training room.