"Hey Al. What are you doing here?" Tris asks. She's here at Candor Inc. to eat lunch with Chris and unexpectedly found her officemate here.
"Oh, hey Tris. I'm here to meet with my friend but he's still visiting his girlfriend," Al replies.
"Okay. I'm here to meet up with my friend too."
She sees Christina and Will walk out the door. "Chris!" Tris says.
"Will!" Al shouts.
What?
"You know Will?" Tris asks Al as they come over.
"Yeah. And Christina. We're childhood friends. I didn't know you knew them."
"Hey guys!" Christina says, "You guys know each other?"
"Yeah, we're officemates," Al tells her.
"Ohh okay. You ready Tris?" Christina asks.
"Yeah. Bye Will, Al." Tris says.
"Bye. Have a good time," Will says.
"Huh. Small world," Tris says once they're in her car.
"Yeah."
"Do you think it's okay for him to meet the gang?" Tris asks. She doesn't really know if Al has a lot of friends and he is single.
"Of course. We can invite him over later. Zeke's having a party. I don't know why, though. Maybe because the Pedrad brothers are finally dating," Christina laughs. "And he can stay for truth and dare."
"Yeah, I'll text him later," then Tris has an idea. "Why don't we all bring one friend? Just for tonight. It can be a family member."
"That might be fun. Let's ask Zeke later."
"Hey Trissy!" Zeke says once the door's open. He steps aside letting Tris in.
She goes in and sits on their couch. "Zeke, can the gang all invite one friend over for after the party?"
"Of course. The more the merrier. Why'd you come up with this?" Zeke says.
Tris replies, "Well, I have a friend who I think needs more friends. Don't worry he's very nice."
"Okay. I'll text the gang. Christina already knows?"
Tris nods, "Thanks Zekey. Bye!"
Once she's home, she texts Al.
Hey Al. You have plans tonight?
After about 3 minutes later he replies, No. Why?
My friends having a party tonight. Wanna come?
It takes a long time before she gets a reply.
Sure.
She texts the address and time and that he'll be staying for their games. But of course, doesn't say that there are games, just something after the party. She starts to go through her clothes. She already told Chris that she'll pick her own clothes which she surprisingly agreed to. Since there's truth or dare, she wears layers. She picks out a tank top to wear under a pink sweatshirt, leggings and a grey mini skirt to go over it. She really doesn't want anyone to see her naked, especially the strangers that will join their game. She feels like a teen again once she's wearing everything. She puts her hair in a messy bun and puts on mascara, blush and lip gloss. Of course she doesn't forget the necklace, she wears it all the time. Once she's satisfied she goes to wear heels because she knows Chris won't accept this outfit if she wears sneakers. She takes out her favorite book and reads it again to pass time.
Tris enters Christina's house. No need for knocking. "Hey guys!"
She sees all the girls in Chris' bedroom wearing their semi-mini skirts and dresses. "Guys, there's truth or dare right?"
"Yes, why?" Christina asks.
"Nothing." Well maybe they're comfortable with strangers seeing them in their underwear.
Marlene says, "You look cute Tris. Like back when we were 16."
"Yeah, Tris. You do look younger. Just put on a flower crown and 18 year old boys will be chasing you for your number," Shauna says.
Tris blushes while shaking her head and laughing and says, "Thanks, I guess. So who are you guys bringing?", taking the attention away from her.
"My younger sister, Carrie," Christina says.
Shauna says, "Lynn."
"Ted, the other waiter," Marlene says.
"Okay. You guys ready to go?" Tris asks.
"Wait a sec," Chris says then goes over to her dresser. She gets something, hoops. She puts them on Tris. "There."
"Thanks Chris. Let's go."
As they near the house, the vibration of the music gets stronger. They arrive at 9, thirty minutes after the party started. They will be here for the rest of the night so no need to be on time. Once they enter, they are immediately stung by the smell of alcohol. People are wildly dancing everywhere, some making out, some young, some not so. It feels like they went back in time to their high school days. The Pedrad brothers were very well known for the parties they host. It's kind of funny because even now that they're working, they still hold some. They live in only one house because they're really close and just have this inseparable bond. When Uriah would throw a party, Zeke didn't mind. He was even the one who got drunk and started to sing on the living room table and puke on everyone in front of him, just like in the movie known for the acapella singing but worse. The girls go into the kitchen, where they always go to first, for a drink.
They see all of the boys there and four other strangers, two girls and two boys. "Hey guys," Marlene greets them and goes over to Uriah. They all say a form of "Hey" back. They introduce each other.
"Where are your friends?" Zeke asks.
Tris feels something vibrate in her bag. She reds a text from Al saying he's here.
"Wait, he just arrived. I'll go get him."
Once she's gone, they stare at Four. "What?" he asks.
"Hey guys, why don't you go and dance for a while. Have some fun. Don't worry we'll be right here," Zeke tells the friends they brought. They nod and leave.
"You brought a girl and Tris brought a boy. Seriously?" Shauna says.
Four looks confused, "What's wrong?"
Will says, "Well, we know Tris isn't the jealous type, just insecure. But have you seen Lauren? Compare her to Tris. Don't you think she'll feel something?"
"Lauren's my closest officemate. Don't worry, she's nice," Four tells them. "And no one can compare to Tris."
They see Tris enter with a very tall guy but he looks very shy. "Hey guys, this is Al. He's my officemate."
Four gives them the look that says 'See, she also brought her officemate that is her opposite gender'.
Tris asks, "Where are the others?", noticing that they are no longer here.
Zeke hands Al a drink. "Thanks," Al tells Zeke.
"Okay, wanna go out guys? Dance, sing, make-out, whatever," Zeke says.
"Okay, bye!" Uriah says, excitedly dragging Marlene. Oh, Uriah.
They all leave and Four and Tris are left in the kitchen. She doesn't know what to do so she gets a bottle of beer. She certainly doesn't want to sing or dance and she might need to drink during the games so she only allows herself one.
Four tries to make conversation, "So, you have work on Monday, right? I can, um, pick you up if you want." He's kind of cute when he's nervous but of course Tris won't say that out loud so she just smirks. Of course she would love a ride, that would help her save up. No other reason. No other reason to admit.
She pretends to think about it, looking up from left to right, as if sorting out the pros and cons. She sees Four rub the back of his neck, and smiles, "Of course. Thanks."
Four smiles too then says, "Okay. Don't drink too much." He winks and leaves the kitchen with a frowning Tris.
Soon, she exits the kitchen and starts to look for Al, careful with the drink in her hand. She spots him on the couch talking to a girl. Surprisingly the girl is Four's friend, Lauren. They look like their having a good time so she leaves them, smiling. Soon she hears the voice of the one and only, Zeke Pedrad, on the speakers.
"Okay, all here who aren't the gang and the friends that came with them can leave. Bye!" And with that, only sixteen people are left. They head to the sofa and sit in a circle. Tris sits next to Al who sits next to Lauren. They introduce each other again and say a thing or two about them. So there's the gang, Al, Lauren, Lynn, Carrie, Ted, Danielle, Mike and Jonathan. So the people here are either co-workers, neighbours or family members. Now, it's time for the games to start!
"So, are you guys familiar with truth or dare?" Uriah asks the newbies. They all nod. "The strip version?"
Now confusion is seen on their faces. Then shock. Then regret. Their faces are priceless.
"Pedrads! You never told me!" Danielle, their cousin, tells them.
"Seriously? What are we, juniors?" Lauren says.
Zeke answers, "Don't worry, it'll be fun. It's a once in a lifetime offer. You don't see this everywhere. No backing-out! Now let's start!"
Uriah goes first, "Ted, truth or dare?"
Ted's blonde, blue eyes and about the same age of Marlene. He looks at Uriah from head to toe, "Truth."
"Okay. What was your first impression of Marlene?"
Ted thinks about it. Tris' first impression of her in high school was the girl who always had a guy who chased her everywhere, basically because she was pretty and kind. Turns out she was wrong about the boys thing. Marlene turns out to be tough, not the really girly girl. She could take a guy down in minutes. He finally answers, "Girly, to be honest. She was so perky like a cheerleader." Well, not exactly but she is very happy most of the time.
"Okay, um Carrie, truth or dare?"
"Dare," Christina's sister answers. They look very similar except for their eyes and she's a smaller version of Chris.
"I dare you to sit on Jonathan's lap for the rest of the game," Ted says with a smirk. It turns out that Ted, Jonathan and Carrie went to the same high school.
Carrie thinks about it and then goes over to sit on Jonathan, Will's neighbour. Tris wonders why Ted made Carrie sit on his lap but then she sees the color rising in Carrie's cheeks even if her skin's a dark shade. Oh.
Christina sees this too so she says, "Car, are you blushing?"
"What? No! I'm not, no," she stumbles. She looks at Jonathan who is smirking at her, then looks down.
They all laugh, "It's okay Carrie, you're like twenty now," Tris says.
"Okay, whatever. Shauna, truth or dare?"
"Dare," of course. In the gang, truths are very rare.
Carrie thinks for a moment then has an idea, "Everything you say should rhyme for the rest of the game."
"Okay, hosay. Mike, I like your hair. I have a question, truth or dare?" Well that's a good one. His raven black hair does look good. He's the guy who pressed the doorbell the night before Tris' birthday.
Mike smiles and answers, "Truth."
"Who's the most attractive looking person in this room? By the way, I like Zeke's perfume."
He laughs then answers, "Tris."
Uh-oh. Four's face suddenly changes. His expression unreadable. Tris' eyes widen and she blushes, looking down. She then asks, "Are you sure?"
Mike looks at Tris but then he sees she's looking at Four then answers, "Yeah?", well more like questions. "Four, truth or dare?"
"Dare," he says looking him in the eyes, no expression still.
Mike's gaze goes to Tris, "You and Tris, in that room," he points to Zeke's room, "do whatever you want for the next five turns."
Four's face suddenly lights up. He looks at Tris who looks like she doesn't know what to do. She nods, it's okay. They don't have to do anything. He gets up and so does Tris. They walk to the room and Four turns around to see all of them smiling and Mike winking at him. He doesn't know if he should be happy about the dare or mad about Mike's truth.
"So, what you wanna do?" Four asks.
"I don't know. We could just talk or something, it's only five turns," Tris replies.
"Okay. So..."
They start to talk about the things they've been doing for the past six months. They both notice that some things have changed but most did not.
"You still dreaming about that X1?" Tobias asks.
Tris smiles, "You still remember, huh? Well, yeah."
They don't know how long they've been in here, but no one is telling them time's up. Tris peeks outside, "Hey guys, what's taking so long?"
"Two more turns, darling!" Marlene shouts, obviously drunk. Why? Drinking contest maybe with Lynn who looks like she's going to pass out.
She goes back inside. "Well, might as well enjoy this. Where's the remote?"
Tris wakes up to a bright flashing light. She's blinded for a moment but she hears footsteps and hushed whispers. Now she's awake and realizes what happened. A picture. Of her and Four. Snuggled together. How did that happen? She has no idea.
"Four, Four!" Tris tries to wake him up.
"Huh? What?" he sits up. She checks the time, 3 am.
"Seriously? They haven't passed out yet?" Tris mumbles to herself.
Four's now awake, "What happened?"
"Come on!"
They go outside to see more than half of them lying all over the place, some with a bottle in hand, some half naked, some barely clothed. The other half is sitting in the kitchen, sipping coffee.
"Hey guys! Why didn't you call us?" Tris asks.
"You guys were just so peaceful sleeping," Christina answers innocently.
"Yeah, we didn't want to wake you guys up," Danielle says.
Tris glares at all of them, "How could you all be awake at this time? And somber?"
"We didn't drink much. And more than half of us is lying on the floor so how on Earth would we get them home?" Zeke says.
"Okay then. Shauna, can I borrow your phone? I forgot to tell Caleb that I went here. I told him the other day to pick me up at 5 at my place."
Shauna's eyes widen slightly then she looks at Christina. "Why would you want to get picked up at 5 am?"
"We were supposed to help deliver some goods to Abnegation," Tris answers smoothly.
"Okay," Shauna answers as she looks for her phone.
"Thanks," Tris answers as she looks at the gallery. Aha! She finds it and deletes it immediately. She glances at Four who is seated next to Al, sipping coffee.
"Thanks again," she tells Shauna handing back the phone. Tris gets her own coffee and asks, "So Al, you had fun?"
"Yeah. It's nice meeting new people." Maybe he meant Lauren.
"Zeke, how come you're not drunk?" Four asks.
"Remember what I told you the day before Uri asked Mar out?" Zeke answers and winks.
Four remembers. "Love can do that," Zeke had said. Well then, Shauna does mean a lot to Zeke. Zeke was always hung over before. Four smiles at him and thinks about what happened last night.
"Hey Tris?" he asked.
"Mhmm?" she answered. He knew that Tris wouldn't remember what he said now. "Thank you," he whispered. He watched Tris as she snuggled beside him on the bed, just like old times. He finally gave into sleep, smiling at the beautiful sight in front of him.
A/N: Okay. I hope you liked the chapter. I named Christina's sister Carrie because I don't think her name was mentioned in the book.
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