Chapter 12

I don't own Divergent!

Four

Avoiding three people was more problematical then I had expected the task to be. Zeke, Lauren, and Shauna were, in a literal sense, everywhere. I had a gut feeling that after I stormed out the discussed me and agreed to figure out what was wrong because by the time I snuck into my apartment yesterday fifty texts and seventy Kik messages demanded to be opened on my phone. I hadn't made any verbal contact with any of them until now seeing as they are here with their sous-chefs.

"Four, are you ok?" a voice sounds next to me reaching about shoulder height.

My gaze breaks from the wall down to the sophomore initiate standing on my left, waiting rather patiently for me to break out of my daze.

"Huh? Oh, sorry my bad," I say grimacing and quickly raking the hand that is not whisking the batter through my hair.

I forgot to put gel in.

"No problem. What's the baking time?" She asks genuinely interested.

The students I see are here for a name, a prominent title in society that will commence their rise to fame. Undoubtedly, half of these self-called "chefs" will end up without the title they dreamed of and nothing near the position the expected while they jacked around in school. She understands though, that the title isn't just what she should be here for, and she is smart for that.

I hope she understands that.

"I play at it..." Suddenly for no reason I wonder what she thinks of me.

Do I look fine? Should've gelled my hair, damn it.

I quickly brush the thought away a wave of confusion following it, but I dismiss the feeling also.

Not the time, Eaton, not the time for this.

"So it's about 40-45 minutes," I say promptly, before the silence turns awkward.

"Sounds good," she replies drumming her small fingers against the black stone of the counter.

"You were kidding when you told me you haven't had Dauntless cake thought, right?" I ask.

She scrunches up her eyebrows which I find funny and she responds with an exasperated, "I wasn't lying, Four."

"Well, God, I didn't know how deeply the Dauntless have deprived you," I say my tone incredulous.

She laughs; the sound is high-pitched and sweet, but painfully fleeting. "I don't think it's that bad."

"If you never had Dauntless cake then you wouldn't understand, initiate," I say raising the side of my mouth slightly, in a half smile.

She laughs again, just as fleeting as the first, but for some reason equally satisfying.

"Pass me the sugar would you?"

"Sure," she says handing a measuring cup and a small glass jar of sugar to me.

"Thanks."

"No problem... So did you sign up to be an instructor or...?" She is curious; more than a former Abnegation would be and should be. An act of defiance all these years I suppose.

"Believe it or not," I my mouth hitches on one side, talking to her is easy although it shouldn't be. "I signed up to deal with you devils."

She smiles for some reason although in my tone it should've sounded reproachful or something of the sort.

I'm not positive that joking away my worries while making Dauntless cake with an initiate will help me later with my problems, but right now I don't have any desire to confront my dilemma. The memory of that burning in my stomach, the aggravation almost makes me want to apologize and not worry about being in the competition or not. Although I convince myself that I am purely paranoid I can still feel my friends' eyes at the base of my neck watching, wondering why I won't talk to them.

[Page Break]

The class is long, lengthy, extremely undeniably time consuming although I do not feel as if my time was wasted. The benefit of being a cook in Dauntless is the cake.

The oven sounds with a series of beeps that get overly monotonous after hearing it multiple times so I press the Oven Timer button and the sound halts although I can still hear a self-invented echo of the rings in my mind.

"That smells…" Abnegation don't talk about their opinions, and I see Tris battle the selfless instincts that are still brewing inside her.

I remember the trouble I had as a sophomore. Being a so-called 'Stiff' and lame Abnegation the Dauntlessborns and transfers didn't take a liking to my grey on the first day and didn't for a while. I proved myself, I didn't earn the respect I have any other way, and I suppose Tris has to the same.

"It smells really good."

My mouth quirks upward, she's starting.

The smell of the chocolate laces through the air, soft waves of cocoa and vanilla dancing to people's noses making them sigh with a contented expression. In a literal sense, I can feel the cake already in my mouth, light, melt-in-your-mouth deliciousness, slightly frosted middle with the ever-appealing douse of chocolate to compliment the thick layer of it already in your mouth.

Quickly I frost the cake with an experienced hand, smoothing the layers down with the icing spatula and slightly skimming my fingers across the side of the base to rid of the excess icing. The aroma is tantalizing and leaves any Dauntless, including myself, breathless and cake-hungry. I turn my head to see Tris eyes wide mouth ajar as if she can consume the smell if she waits long enough. I chuckle.

"Like a piece?" I ask.

She nods vigorously still gazing longingly although she leaves her mouth closed this time.

"Four?" a voice asks behind me a hand on my shoulder.

"Zeke," I reply not turning to meet his worried gaze that I know is present.

My hand finds a knife the appropriate size and I slip forward to the counter causing Zeke's hand to drop although being him he will be casual about the gesture.

"Can I talk to you man?"

My arm tightens and I straighten my back, but I cannot get any higher in height than I already am. I slowly slice the cake emitting a warm buzz to appear in my stomach although I am still rigid.

"Yes, later. I'll meet you there," I say stoically.

I know he will not argue because he finally made progress, he got me to talk to him. I don't need to specify where 'there' is either because he knows where I am talking about already. He claps my back half-heartily and walks back to Uriah who is vigorously flipping a pan that contains a substance I can't identify because of my distance.

"Here," I say handing Tris her slice of cake.

She smiles a thanks, but my half-smile doesn't even reach to the half because my dilemma is back and the sense of dread that was gone for a while has reappeared.

[Page Break]

"What's up man? Come on tell me please, what's up?" Zeke says leaning against a jutted rock wall of the Pit drumming his fingers rapidly against the black demin of his jeans.

The area where the stone wraps around the ceiling high pole and the light is dim from the lanterns is where Zeke took me when e figured out I was a transfer and soon it became our hideout. Zeke was ecstatic that he had a "Stiff" to show around when he met me and I was actually grateful for a friend so I complied.

"Nothing," I respond averting my gaze.

"I know you, Eaton, what's up?"

"Ok. Just…" I rake my fingers down the stone causing my nails to become filed down and considerably shorter and for Zeke to wince. "I don't know what to do about this sous-chef stuff."

"Is that all?" he asks his tone incredulous.

I grit my teeth and inhale deeply. "Yes, that's all."

Zeke makes a face knowing he said the wrong thing. "Sorry, I meant uh… what's wrong with the competition?"

"You don't understand."

"No! I don't, and you won't tell me so it's not going anywhere!"

"I just don't know how to choose somebody to partner with me!" I say my voice quieting dangerously.

Zeke stops and gets an odd expression on his face. "Why don't you just choose like Luke or Hank or someone?"

"I don't-"Why don't I just choose one of them. "I don't know ok!"

"Come on man," he says clasping my arm.

I shake him off biting my lip in thought.

"Where are we going," I growl narrowing my eyes.

There is a gleam in his eyes that I have only seen when teachers told us that drinking allowed for us seniors that I frankly don't understand is legal.

"We," he raises his eyebrows. "Are getting a drink."

A/N: This was, in the literal sense, (I'm obsessed with writing that) the most difficult chapter to write for no absolute reason. Please do enjoy and thank you for follows, favs, reviews, etc… Allegiant is coming out soon, like 89 days soon. I'm exceptionally excited. To the nerdfighters: Best wishes

-TFW