As always, Divergent and its characters are the property of Veronica Roth.

Chapter 12

I stare into the mirror, checking my curly dark hair one more time. Today is Visiting Day.

For Dauntless-born, Visiting Day is just a day with our families. Don't get me wrong—I'm really looking forward to time with my mom and Zeke. We're closer than most families, I think, and while I've gotten to see Zeke here and there, I have barely caught a glimpse of Mom since Choosing Day over a week ago. Usually, every Sunday we have dinner at home and then take turns choosing a game to play. Like a card game or dice game usually. I didn't get to do that last weekend, and probably won't tomorrow (today is Saturday), and I'm especially excited, but also nervous, because I intentionally set up today so that we'd mostly be doing an early dinner and games thing so that I could invite a certain transfer initiate to come along without interrupting her time with her family.

Which brings me back to my obsession with my hair this morning. I want to make a good impression on Tris's family if they come. I hope they'll come. Especially since we'll need their help stopping this war or at least minimizing the damage.

Tris is already in the hall when I step out of the restroom. Her shiny, long blonde hair is pulled back in an Abnegation bun, just like I always saw it at school all those years. I can't stop myself from looking her up and down. She looks amazing in those black skinny jeans and fitted black t-shirt, and totally badass in her black combat boots. Her whole face lights up when she sees me, and I know mine reflects the same delight.

"Tris!" I call out, walking a little faster toward her, instantly wrapping my arm around her waist when I reach her. She used to tense up at first when I'd do this, but today she stays relaxed—she's getting a lot more comfortable with me. More Dauntless. I lean down a bit to kiss her cheek before pulling her into an empty hallway.

We sparred after Four's fear landscape the night before last, but we each kind of just spent time with our own friends yesterday and only saw each other at meals. It feels like every second she's not with me, I'm just searching for her, hoping for at least a glimpse, but I know that if I don't make a point of spending time with my friends, I'll lose them, and they've been there for me forever. If things go south with Tris, they'll be the ones to pick up the pieces. So yesterday was spent with Marlene and Lynn, then a couple beers by the chasm with Eli and Gabe. I'm thankful I had the sense to stop after two last night or the hangover I'd be nursing this morning would make me a lot less likely to make a good impression. But two beers isn't enough to bother me the next day. Not even really enough for a buzz.

I The hallway is narrow, dimly lit, and appears to be rarely used. My hands find her waist and I push her, gently but firmly, into the wall. My body is inches from hers and I lean my forehead against hers, staring into her eyes for a moment before stealing a kiss. This kiss is slow and tender, and not too long. Our foreheads lean against each other again as I close my eyes and reach deep inside me to gather my nerves, searching for that confidence I've always had, but seems to disappear when she's near me.

"Tris," I breathe, then finally open my eyes. I get caught in her gaze for a moment before I continue. "Your family might be here today." I close my eyes again before getting the next sentence out. "I wondered if maybe you'd want to introduce me as your boyfriend?" I'm afraid to open my eyes, and it feels like my lungs are stuck, not letting any air in or out.

Then I feel her lips against mine, and I kiss back without any hesitation, opening my eyes when she pulls away. "I'd love to, Uri," she whispers with a shy smile. Then she smirks, "will I meet your mother today, too? And how will I be introduced?"

I grin, "yes, I'd like you to come to dinner, and I'll be honored to introduce you as my gorgeous, kind, smart, brave, utterly amazing girlfriend. I'm sure you'll use similar adjectives to describe me when I meet your parents, of course."

Her smile falters. "If they come."

"If they don't come, they're crazy. Who would ever pass up an opportunity to spend time with you, Trissy?"


Visiting Day is always strange. Everyone in Dauntless wears black, so it is a little like being in an alternate universe every year when Visiting Day comes around and the Pit is filled with color. Lots of Erudite blue and Candor black-and-white; a little Amity red and yellow, though Amity doesn't often transfer here (a lot more often than Abnegation, though). We don't have any Amity transfers this year but families usually continue to visit for a few years after the kids transfer, and then those connections usually seem to fall away.

Tris and I are searching for Abnegation gray. Her hand is beginning to sweat in mine and I know she's nervous that they didn't come. But suddenly her face lights up, though I can still see in her eyes that she's very nervous. "I see my mom!" Tris points and I finally see the splash of gray, too. I can't see her well from here. "Let me go say hi to her for a minute before you join us." A moment later, my hand goes cold as she lets go and hurries away.

Delicate, cold hands cover my eyes and I hear, "guess who?" The voice is way too sweet to be Lynn, so the most likely candidate is… "Marlene?"

She removes her hands and bounces around so she's in front of me face to face, before giving me a hug. Lynn appears next to her. "Where's your mom?"

"Oh, we have plans for later. I'm going to meet Tris's parents after she gets a few minutes with them."

Lynn raises her eyebrows. And as much as she tries to hide it, I don't miss the flash of sadness and jealousy that crosses Marlene's face. I have suspected for a while that she might want to be more than friends, but I just don't think of her that way. I love her more like a sister. "Where are your families?"

"Well, I still see more than enough of Shauna, but Hector and my parents should be here soon." Lynn sounds bored with the whole thing. I'm sure her sister Shauna, who is also Zeke's girlfriend, will be around any minute along with Lynn's brother and parents.

"I'm going home around lunch time," Marlene says.

"Oh there's Hec! I'll see you when they reveal the rankings, Uri." Lynn is off to meet her family. Marlene mumbles something about getting some breakfast and walks off, so I guess now is the time to go meet the parents.

My feet are so heavy, like bone and flesh has been replaced with lead, as I trudge across the pit. What if they don't like me? What if they think I'm not smart enough or not brave enough or, more likely, not selfless enough for their daughter? I'm not really looking at who I'm walking up to as I trudge toward the figure in gray standing with my girlfriend – I love that, that I can call her that now—until they're right in front of me.

I intended to start this meeting with a very charming lopsided grin, but instead it's with wide eyes and a dropped jaw. Because when I finally look at her, I realize I've met Mrs. Prior before. Not even two weeks ago. She's the stiff lady who administered my aptitude test. The one whose name I didn't bother to try and remember.

"Mom, this is my boyfriend, Uriah," Tris says nervously. She looks at me and cocks an eyebrow, asking me what's wrong. "Uriah, this is my mother."

I poke Tris in the side and grin. "That introduction was weak. What about all the flattering adjectives we talked about introducing me with?" Tris blushes and Mrs. Prior laughs.

"So nice to see you again, Uriah." Mrs. Prior's smile is kind and not showing any signs that she might be upset about our relationship, so there's that at least. "Call me Natalie."

"Nice to see you again, Natalie, though I never thought I would." Her handshake is strong for a Stiff. Handshakes are a Dauntless greeting; Stiffs barely touch, so they just nod their heads at each other in greeting. I turn to Tris, knowing she's very confused right now. "Your mother administered my aptitude test."

Tris's eyes are round as saucers in shock at the connection. "Oh! Well, um… Mom, Uriah's been helping me out from the start, he's been very good to me. His brother, too."

"Thank you for looking out for Beatrice, Uriah. I've been worried, I know Dauntless has a tough initiation."

"Well, she's doing well," I reassure her. Tris shakes her head. "Yeah you are, Tris. You're doing better than you think. Four even stopped me the other day and told me so." I turn back to Natalie. "My older brother Zeke and I have been training her for the fighting since her first night here." Natalie looks slightly confused.

"Four is the name of my instructor," Tris explains. "And he's also best friends with Uriah's brother, Zeke."

"You'll probably meet him soon here…" I glance around to see if I can spot Four. "Anyway. I'm sure you miss your daughter, because who wouldn't miss her? But I've liked her for a long time in school and I'm very glad that she's here at Dauntless."

Natalie leans in and whispers something to Tris, causing her to blush even brighter than before. She's so cute when she blushes.

Tris begins to lead Natalie around and introduce her to Christina and Will, while I finally spot Four leaning against a railing and approach him. "Hey man." He turns to face me, leaning against the railing, his posture somewhat tense. "Don't worry, Marcus isn't here. The only Abnegation is Tris's mom." I can see his muscles release as he relaxes at the news that his bastard of a father isn't here.

"I usually try to avoid coming to Visiting Day because of him, in case he might come. But I thought I should try to be around today since we'll need to meet the Priors soon anyway."

I mimic Four and lean against the railing next to him. When he transferred here, I was a good six inches shorter than him, but now we're the same height. It's funny how you don't realize how much you've grown until you notice how much you've changed compared to someone else. "Do you know them at all, from when you were growing up? The Priors, I mean?"

Four shrugged. "Sort of. Andrew works with my dad, so they came over for dinner sometimes, but I wasn't ever allowed to come down from my room and eat with them. I'd see them walking down the street though—I lived like six houses down from them. I'd never spoken to Tris till she came here. They always looked like the perfect little Abnegation family." He paused for a moment, and I followed his gaze to realize that he was watching the same thing I was—Tris talking to her friends. Getting in Will's sister's face, actually. Her mom has it handled, though. "Tris's mom, Natalie, though, I remember," Four suddenly adds. "Sometimes she was there when I volunteered feeding the factionless with my mother as a kid. She's very kind, that's all I really remember of her."

"I've met Natalie before today, too," I admit. "She administered my aptitude test."

Four raises his eyebrows, but doesn't ask me any more about it, because Tris and Natalie are headed toward us.


"That was weird. It was like my mom knew her way around. And the comment about the cake? And she seemed to know an awful lot about Dauntless initiation." Tris and I are laying on my bed in the dormitory; we wanted some time together before going to my mom's.

"Her handshake was a lot more confident than I'd expect, too," I murmured. "Are you sure she was Abnegation born? She even checked for cameras." After meeting Four, Natalie had pulled Tris and me into a secluded hallway to a spot out of view of any of the security cameras that are present throughout the Dauntless compound. Most people don't even notice them, but I do since my brother and Four work in the control room and have taught me to look for them. She'd also told Tris to have a slice of the chocolate cake for her—the woman's got good taste! She warned us about stage two, but we were able to reassure her than Four had that covered and we knew what to do. We didn't get to tell her much at all about our war concerns but we did make a plan to meet with her and Mr. Prior in a few days.

"Cameras? I never even thought of that." We lay in silence for a moment, just listening to each other's breaths. For once no one else is in here. Tris fits so perfectly pressed against my side, her head on my chest. I absentmindedly play with her hair; I had pulled the pins out as soon as we cuddled up here. Abnegation buns just don't suit her. Beatrice wears buns, but Tris is way too fierce for them.

Tris sighs. "I guess we never talked about my parents' childhoods. We don't talk about ourselves in Abnegation. I guess I never realized how little I know about my parents." I didn't know my dad very well, but it seems sad to go your whole life not knowing much about your own parents. "Do you think she was Dauntless?"

"It seemed that way," I answer.

We're both silent again. I look down at her face. Tris seems deep in thought, kind of staring into space. I wish that we could just be, and have fun, and not have the danger of our divergence and the imminent war darkening our thoughts. I just want to enjoy being together. "Let's just forget the world for a while, Tris. It can be just us here. No worries for a little while."

Tris smiles, though it doesn't reach her eyes. "I would like that." We turn more toward each other and just stare into each other's eyes. I don't know if I leaned in or if she did, or maybe we both did, but before long our lips met, our hands found each other's faces and hair, and finally, Tris and I were all that existed in the world. Just for a little while.


"Oh, my baby, I've missed you!" My mother's arms wrap around me and I hug back, but really? Did she have to call me her 'baby'?! I got a girl here, damn it! Oh well, guess she may as well know from the start that I'm a Momma's Boy.

"You too, Mom."

I pull Tris forward from where she's practically hiding behind me and snake my arm around her waist. "Mom, this is Tris, my beautiful, smart, brave, amazing girlfriend." I wiggle my eyebrows at Tris and she can't hold back a laugh.

"You're much better at remembering the 'flattering adjectives' than I am, I guess, Uriah." Tris turns to Mom. "It's nice to meet you, Mrs. Pedrad."

"Hana," Mom corrects her. "Zeke has mentioned you, says you're a quick learner. And you were an Abnegation transfer, is that right?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Well, I'm so glad you could join us today. Zeke tells me he's never seen Uriah so nervous around a girl," Mom laughs.

You've got to be kidding me. I wouldn't have invited her if I'd known that they'd changed Visiting Day to 'Humiliate Uriah Pedrad Day'. Oh well, I'll just have to pretend I'm not embarrassed. "Shh Mom," I say with a grin, "you keep that up and she'll catch on to how much I like her."

Tris blushes scarlet. Mom waves me off and heads to the kitchen to continue cooking—one of my favorites, lasagna—and I lean down before Tris can follow, my mouth nearly touching her ear. "You are very cute when you blush," I whisper.

I offer a very short tour of the rather small apartment I grew up in, ending in my bedroom. Tris looks almost fascinated by my things—snapshots, toys, sports equipment, art supplies. I sit on my old bed, twirling my dad's throwing knife. I keep it in my bedside drawer; I don't have much of him to hold onto, so this is my most prized possession. Tris sits next to me with a sketchbook in her hands. My sketchbook. "You have so many things… we didn't have toys or pictures or paints in Abnegation. All considered self-indulgent." She sighs and holds up the sketchbook. "Can I look?"

I nod, but I'm so nervous what she'll think about my artwork. Drawing is mostly something I do by myself, one of my only hobbies that doesn't involve a lot of movement. There are only a few people who've seen any of my artwork. Outside of my family, just Marlene, and one other person: my first girlfriend, Alison. She is a year younger than me, so she isn't in our initiation class. But I got hurt, and I haven't trusted anyone enough to share this part of me since.

The sketchbook Tris has just opened is one I've been using for maybe the last six months, and it's almost full now. I'm hoping she'll get bored with it before too long because there is one in the back I'd rather not show her today. She's just a few pages in right now, so, fingers crossed. Tris admires each page as she flips through, studying the drawings—a broken carousel horse; Dauntless flames; Lynn looking totally pissed off, as usual; a slice of Dauntless chocolate cake. Random stuff.

"Oh! This one is your tattoo!" She has stopped at my drawing of a snake, the sketch I took to Tori when I got my first tattoo a few months ago.

"Yeah, I like to draw, and I might want to become a tattoo artist after initiation. I don't often show people my art. Mom always says I'm talented but… I don't know..." Tris's gaze snaps up to my face, her eyebrows raised and eyes wide open. "Anyway, she wouldn't let me get at tattoo before choosing unless I designed it myself and got her approval on everything first."

Tris shakes her head. "You always seem so sure of yourself. I can't believe you don't think your artwork is good! It's beautiful."

I know this line is cheesy as hell, but meh, I'm a cheesy kind of guy. "Not as beautiful as you are." She rolls her eyes but I lean in anyway. The sketchbook drops to the floor, I don't look to see where it fell open to. My fingers tangle in her hair as my lips mold to hers. She deepens the kiss and I slowly lean her back onto the bed, hovering over her, resting my weight on one elbow. Her tongue grazes my lower lip. My heart is pounding as our tongues explore each other and I press myself closer against her, sliding my hand slowly down her side. Her hands run under my shirt, slowly up my back, leaving a trail of heat in their wake. I kiss down her neck and god, she smells good… like vanilla and fresh air.

Again I capture her lips with my own, kissing her passionately, as I play with the hem of her shirt. My hand slips under the fabric. I am not thinking about what I'm doing, I'm lost in the moment as my hand caresses her skin. I don't even notice how much higher my hand has moved until she pushes it back down to her waist.

"I'm sorry," I mumble against her lips. "I wasn't thinking." She just kisses me again and I flip us over, scooting up toward the headboard as I do, Tris straddling me. She looks shocked so I pull away from the kiss.

"I know this is new for you, Tris. I don't want to move too fast. I don't want to do anything you're uncomfortable with. I don't mind waiting-" Tris silences me with her lips on mine, her hands running through my curly hair. She's pressed against me, her shirt riding up and leaving several inches of exposed skin, my hands under her shirt, ghosting over her back. Tris's lips are on my neck when the door bursts open immediately after a very short knock.

In the doorway, gaping at the position he's found Tris and I in, is Four.