"Should we head over to Uriah's party now?" Will asks Christina.
"I don't mean to pry, but what was that all about anyways?" I ask.
"Oh, nothing. Just that someone was taking his sweet time in officially asking me to be his girlfriend."
"What? I was trying to think of something romantic," Will states defensively.
"Officially?" I thought they were already official. Then again, what do I know about relationships? "Well, I'm happy for you two," I say with a smile. "I think we should go."
"Al?"
"Yeah, all right."
"Well then it's settled. We party like the Dauntless till the break of dawn!" Christina yells as she pumps her fist in the air, followed by cheers from the Dauntless in the cafeteria.

We head into The Pit, and it is pure chaos. A large crowd is dancing to loud thumping music playing from the stage. Another is passing out what I assume is alcohol to everyone. I see a few people run by with paintball guns. Sometimes I wonder how anything gets done around here. We stop walking and I realize that Christina has no idea where she's going.

"He said it was in room 1338," she shouts over the noise before shrugging. That's just down the way from Four. I motion for them to follow me. We pile into the elevator and I push 13. I catch the three of them are staring at me in the reflection of the doors as they close.
"What?"
"How do you know where to go?" Christina asks.
"I've been up here before."
"How? Why? With who?" I sigh. I guess now is as good a time as any to tell them everything.

I touch my neck. "When this happened. Peter had attacked me. I wasn't able to fend him off. He practically had me dangling over The Chasm, when Four-" I trail off, lifting the left side of my shirt and showing them the lingering bruise on my ribs. "I had passed out and when I came to, I saw my shirt was ripped and my pants were...I spent the night in his apartment to be kept away from Peter. "
Christina's mouth hangs open as Will places a caring hand on my shoulder. It's Al though who speaks up first.
"I'm sorry Tris. I should have followed." I press the stop button on the elevator to keep us alone for a few minutes longer.

"Followed? Al, what do you mean?"
"I heard you get up and leave that night. I thought maybe you were just going to take a walk or something because you couldn't sleep. A few minutes after that I heard someone else get up. I couldn't tell if it was Molly or Peter, but I should have followed. They both hate you and if I had followed this wouldn't have happened. I didn't even get up when I heard them come back and not you. Instead I just went to sleep. I'm such a coward. I don't belong here."

We stand in silence together before the elevator lets out a loud buzz and continues up.
"You shouldn't blame yourself Al," Will finally says.
I watch the tears start to form in Al's eyes when Will asks, "Why is he still here?"
"What?"
"Peter. Why didn't he get kicked out?"
"We didn't report it."
"Why not?"
"He would have been Factionless," I say.
"So?" Christina says. "It's better than he deserves."
"You haven't seen them the way I have. I could never live with myself knowing that I was the reason."
"But Tris, you're not the reason."
"I know, Will. I know."
"What were you doing out anyways?" Christina asks.
I look away, avoiding both Al's tears and Christina's Candor eyes. "Taking a walk, just like Al said."
The doors open and I grab Christina's arm. "Enough of that. Let's go meet your friend and celebrate."

The apartment looks just like Four's, only filled to brim with people.
"Hey! You made it!" I hear a voice call out. A tall boy with dark skin and a big smile greets us at the door.
"Hey Uriah! These are my friends Al and Tris, and this is my boyfriend Will."
"Hey guys. Welcome, welcome. This is my brother Zeke's apartment. He's the one over in the kitchen that looks like a less cuter version of me. Now, let's go get ourselves a drink and celebrate!" He shouts, followed by everyone cheering and taking a drink.

We follow Uriah over to the kitchen. I've never had alcohol before. It smells awful, so I take a small sip, and it tastes just as bad as it smells. But judging how willingly everyone else drinks it down, you must get used to it.
"Hey guys, this is my brother Zeke. Zeke, these are some of the cool kids this year."
"Ahh, transfers?" We nod. "Cool. Nice to meet you guys. I don't think you'll know anyone here. Except maybe Four." I see Christina smile at me out of the corner of my eye, and I try my best to ignore her. "Make yourselves at home!" Zeke says before getting back to hosting.

"So, Four's here," Christina whispers in my ear while elbowing me in the ribs.
"And?"
"And go find him."
"Christina, he's our instructor."
"So? I've seen the way you are around him. And he tries to hide it, but I can see right through it. Go," she says, shoving me towards the middle of the room. "Have a good time. Maybe kiss your boy. Hell, kiss all the boys!" she yells out, the people in the room responding with a series of whoops.
I smile at her with a look of thanks on my face. She winks and turns her attention to Zeke, asking him if he could teach her how to make the drinks he's serving.

For such a small apartment, it takes me a long time to navigate my way through. I finally find him sitting in the corner, in the same chair that's in his apartment.
"Tris!" he yells loudly "What are you doing here?"
"Uriah invited Christina, so we all came."

He gets up to offer me the chair, stumbling in the process. He manages to stay upright thanks to grabbing onto some guy who had the misfortune of standing right here, right now.
"Hey man! What the hell?" the guy yells out.
"Sorry!" I yell back, grabbing Four off the poor guy. "I think he's just a little drunk."
He leans into me and whispers rather loudly, "Tris, have I told you how beautiful you are?"
"Yes, you have, actually," I say, pushing him off me and back into the chair. "And I'm going to assume you have had a lot to drink?"
"No. Yes. Well, just a few." He grins at me.
I roll my eyes. "Stay here. You need this chair more than I do. I'll get you something that doesn't have alcohol in it, okay?"
"Yeah. Good luck finding that in here!" He yells out, laughing to himself.

He slumps down into the chair and closes his eyes as I make my way back through the crowd. Christina is in the kitchen with Zeke while Will, Al and Uriah cheer her and her newfound skills on. "Hey, Zeke? Can I have something to drink, like water?"
"Water? What, are you quitting on us already?" Christina asks.
"Not for me. Four is uhh, really, really drunk."

Zeke starts cracking up before turning and rummaging through a drawer. "Plain food is better. This is a key to Four's apartment. It's number 1350 and it's just down the hall. If I'm ever hungry, I just go to his room. Bread and water work best." He winks at me as he hands me the key. I take it and go, smiling that I already know where he lives.

The apartment is cleaner than it was last time. It's sort of weird being in here, and yet, it's oddly comforting. I look around for a moment and think about us. The possibilities are endless. Will we stay just friends? Maybe become work partners? Eventually lovers? Could this be our apartment? I blush at my thoughts a little and quickly make my way to the kitchen. Zeke is right, the small fridge is full. I think about bringing him more than just bread, but since I've never been drunk, I stick with what Zeke told me and grab two slices. There is a small bottle of water in the fridge, so I grab that too.

"Here Zeke. Thanks," I yell as I toss him the key.
"No problem Tris. Take care of my boy for me!"

I clutch the bread and water in my hands and slowly make my way through the crowd again. When I finally make it back, there's a couple kissing very passionately in the chair now. Dammit Four. I turn to make my way through the crowd to find him, yet again, when it dawns on me what I just saw. I slowly turn back around. Long black hair. Lots of tattoos. Curvaceous in ways I am not. The room stands still as I make my way around the chair, allowing the boy in this equation to come into view. I watch as his hands run up her back and into her hair, fingers tangling into it, and I've seen enough. I head back to the dorms, alone.

As I make my way through The Pit, I feel a gentle hand on my arm. "Did we scare you away?"
"Oh. Hey Uriah. No. I'm just not feeling too well."
"That usually happens when you drink anything my brother makes," he says with a big grin on his face.
"It's not that, but I can imagine."

We stand together awkwardly for a few before Uriah speaks up. "I'm a good listener, if you want to talk about it."
I don't, but I also don't really want to be alone either. "Sure."
"Well alright! Let's go get some cake then. It makes everything better," he says as we walk to the cafeteria.

I like Uriah. We make small talk. I ask him what it's like growing up Dauntless, he what it's like in Abnegation. We discuss what jobs we might take before finally landing on our families.
"I think it's really cool what you guys do for the Factionless. And your mom sounds like an amazing woman. She must be where you get your strength from."
I smile. I never really thought of it that way before. "Thanks. She is amazing. I miss her."
Uriah frowns. "I can't imagine life without Zeke. He's the biggest pain in my ass, but I love him. Do you have any siblings?"
"I do. Caleb. He's in Erudite now."
"Oh, wow. Is Abnegation that bad?" he jokes.
"It's not. But it's definitely not me." I don't really want to talk about this anymore, so I change the subject. "So tell me more about Zeke. I feel like we could talk all night and you wouldn't have even scratched the surface of stories to tell me."

He laughs. "My favorite story is on his initiation day. He was first jumper right? But when they were on the roof, he was a little too cocky, and instead of jumping, he lost his balance and just fell. He wasn't even lined up with the hole and almost took his head off on the way down!"
"What? I was terrified! I can't even begin to imagine what he was thinking."
"I know! My mom almost killed him when she found out," he says, laughing. "One time he and Four got locked out of the compound all night. I think it was right after they finished stage two. Mom almost killed him then too. And Four."
"Four?" I say, surprised.
"I know, right? You would think that he's a jerk. But he's actually a pretty nice guy. At least he is when he's around my bother. They've pretty much been inseparable since day one. I think it's really Zeke though. Being a bad influence and all," he chuckles.
My curiosities getting the best of me again. "Really? How so?"

"Well, he seems to only open up around certain people. And by certain people I mean Zeke. When he's alone, he's quiet, keeps to himself. When he's with Zeke? He actually speaks. And laughs! It's true! I've seen it with my own eyes. They sneak out. They get in trouble. They drink. Play pranks. He gets the girls, thanks to my brother. I don't think he's ever had an actual girlfriend though, come to think about it."
I watch Uriah get lost in his thoughts for a moment before I say, "No, I think he might have."
"Really? Who? He's like my second brother and I know nothing of this girl. Spill it," he says, leaning forward.

I try my best to hide my emotions, thinking back to the conversation we had in his bathroom. "I don't know her name, but I've seen her before. Long black hair. Lots of tattoos. Pretty."
"Girl, you just described half of the female population."
"That's all I know! I've seen them before, and then I saw them again tonight, making out."

Uriah rubs his hand on his chin, pondering the information I just gave him. "Wait. Does she have a giant rose on her thigh? And then a big skull on her arm?"
"I think so. I know she has some sort of pattern down one arm."
"Yep. That's just Mia," he says, waving his hand in the air. "She's definitely not his girlfriend."
"Well they were sure acting like it."
"Yeah. She likes him. Like a lot. And they kinda went on a date or two, but that was it. At least that's what I heard him tell Zeke. I eavesdrop a lot. I saw them kiss at a party once after that. He pushed her away and then she decked him afterwards. He probably just didn't feel like getting his ass kicked again."

I think about what Uriah said. It's possible it's true, but it doesn't excuse anything. If we're going to be together, he's going to have to make it clear to her, to everyone, that that is unacceptable behavior, ass-kicking or not. If we're going to be together? I think about it again when-
"Hello? Are you in there Tris?" Uriah says, waving a hand in front of my face.
"Oh. Sorry. Lost in thought."
"Obviously. Hey, it's been nice talking with you. I'm gonna go check on Zeke real quick before taking my girl out. See you later?"
"Absolutely."
"Cool. And hey, good luck with the rest of initiation."
"Thanks Uriah. You too."

I sit by myself for a little while longer and think, before heading to the dorms and passing out myself.

Four

I crack an eye and immediately close it. My head is pounding and it is entirely too bright in here. I shove my face into my pillow, squeezing my eyes shut tight before bringing my arm up to create a light barrier. I move my head only the slightest amount needed to check the time. 11:41. There's only one reason I could possibly feel this bad. Zeke. I smile into the pillow, thinking of all the shit we get ourselves into before trying hard to recall last night. Zeke's apartment. Alcohol. That's really all I can think of. I fumble for the blanket and pull it up over the back of my head, completely cocooning myself into darkness. I'm just about to drift back into a deep sleep when my eyes shoot open, heart thumping hard against my chest, startling a memory out of me. Tris. I remember seeing her. Or do I? Perhaps I was just imagining her there, like always. My heart finally settles back down after a few, so I close my eyes once more, willing this headache to go away with a few more hours of sleep.

I roll over to make myself comfortable, stretching my arms straight out in front of me. When they run into something warm, I panic, pulling them back instantly. I reach out again. This time, it moves. There's someone in my bed. I slowly reach up and pull the blankets down off of my head, finding a pair of brown eyes staring into mine.
"Morning."

Mia.