Chapter 21

I don't own Divergent!

Tris

My hands are slick with sweat, the perspiration caused by the near death experience just minutes ago. Also, there is something, something that I feel will cause me trouble if I pinpoint the thought- I suppose I will anyway- yet it scares me slightly.

"Are you sure you're ok, Tris?" Four asks me cocking his head.

That.

Something about him... It makes me feel as if I'm about to fall. Or turn into liquid. Or burst into flames. The feeling is highly controversial.

"Oh! Yeah, I'm fine. Near-death doesn't scare me at all," I say.

He chuckles and I feel myself go warm inside. I didn't know that there was a side to me that would enjoy taking risks and taking culinary to a loud- yet exciting- level. I never thought I would be a Dauntless- the people my father quote-on-quote called hellions. I am Dauntless, though.

I suppose, in an alarming sense that makes me a hellion.

Dauntless-born initiates, three of them, sit on the carousel leaning on the scratched plastic of the horses glare as Four and I arrive back.

"I swear, Four, you may be pretty badass in the kitchen but really," somebody I don't recognize says as we emerge.

I feel as I am in a dream. I haven't been outside in a while- ever since meeting with Caleb- which seems like a lifetime ago. The vertigo running in my head from the climb is alarming although I don't think I can attribute all of that to the pleasure of the height.

"Where'd the others go?" Four asks his eyes wide, excited.

"Did you guys turn on the wheel?" One of them, and older girl, asks. "What the hell were you thinking? Might as well just shout out 'Come and get us, Eric!'" She clenches her teeth.

Four glances at me biting his lip a smile withheld. I can see his expression. Well this will be good. Wait until she hears this.

"If I lose again, God forbid, this year the shame will be unbearable! Three years in a row?" She mutters giving Four, our obvious leader, a condescending glare.

"The wheel doesn't matter!" Four says rolling his eyes. "We know where they are."

"We?" Christina shifts her eyes from Four back to me.

"Yes, while the rest of you were twiddling your thumbs, Tris climbed the Ferris wheel to see if she could find the other team," Four says.

"What do we do then?" A Dauntless-born initiate- I'm pretty sure- says yawning.

Four turns to me as if I will have a plan and I'm alarmed. I have never been turned to as the leader because of my height or how childish I appear physically, I can't be sure, but this is a first.

Slowly, Christina's and the others gazes migrate from him to me. I ready myself to shrug and say I don't know but the image of the pier stretching beneath me comes to mind. Yes, I do have an idea.

"Split in half. Four of us to the right side of the pier and then three to the left. The other team is in the park at the end of the pier. The group of four will charge them as the other three sneak in and steal the flag," I say.

That sounded good.

Christina stares at me as if I am foreign to her. I don't blame her for having that expression.

"Well," the older girl drags out the word. "That sounds good to me." She claps her hands together. "Let's get this night over, shall we?"

"Yeah, I feel like cooking after this. Who's in?" A chorus yes's from the Dauntless-born or the initiates I have never meant chime. I don't recognize the speaker either.

Christina joins me with the group going to the right. Uriah stands smiling his bronze skin against the moonlight. I notice now how intricate the snake that curls around is ear is the blacks and green intertwining into a multiple single double helixes. Then suddenly, Christina starts running. Two of my strides match hers and at the pace she is running I struggle to keep her next to me. I reach her heels struggling for breath.

She's not waiting for me on purpose.

When we reach the pier the silence is eerie enough for me not to want to cause any sound- besides the fact that I need to keep silent to win. We slow down walking to not make noise. The pulsing light is visible and I point at it as we near. Then suddenly the quiet is disturbed by puffs of air accompanied by ricocheting paintballs. Uriah hits a girl with purple hair in the leg staining it with color and she throws her gun to the ground having a tantrum. The sight makes me smile.

I have to sprint to catch up with Christina seeing their flag hung up high above my head on a tree branch. At the same time we both reach for it.

"Come on, Tris. You're already the hero of the day. And you know you can't reach it anyway," Christina says. Then quickly she gives me a patronizing look as if I am acting too adult and am a child. Without looking at me she reaches up snatching the flag and gives a whoop of victory.

Uriah's cries of happiness join in and in seconds they are all screaming. I stand angry yet not sure if I actually am; I'm trying to shake off the look that Christina gave me, but I'm not sure if it's me who is right or her- her being fair.

I don't want to be greedy. Maybe she is right, I've had enough recognition for the day and I should share. Then again... I couldn't be sure.

Christina holds the flag high and people cluster around her their joy infectious. I can't reach her- or anybody else for that matter- so I stand to the side still at least happy from the win, grinning. A hand touches my shoulder and I turn.

Four's expression does not show what he thinks exactly so I don't know what he has come to say. "Well done," he says.

His placid demeanor doesn't change yet I'm sure I see his smile when he turns back around.

That is all the recognition I need.

"How could it be possible that I didn't see that?" Will asks as the train starts pulling us along.

"It's called being amazing, Will," Christina says laughing.

I smile yet I don't feel as if Christina has apologized to me for her rudeness. In Abnegation it was customary but now I must suffice by biting my lip to withhold some choice words. She made me sound weak. Look weak. It isn't something I want her to become accustomed to when she talks to me.

"Ugh, why'd I have to be on the other team?" Al grumbles.

"Because Albert, life isn't fair and the world is conspiring against you," Will says his accent turning posh.

At that I roll my eyes actually feeling laughter come on. Erudite sarcasm is arguably the best sarcasm you can come by- especially Will's.

Peter, Molly, and Drew sit in the corner of the train whispering staring at the flag in Christina's grasp. I bite my lip withholding my glare.

"Nice flag, Candor," Peter sneers.

"Nice face Peter- oh wait it isn't nice at all," Will retorts.

I glance away. There's no use in getting into a fight that isn't my own.

"Settle down initiates or I'll handle you myself," Eric snaps twisting his rings viciously.

He is still angry at his lost and that small thought makes me smile. I glance at Four who holds both sides of the railing of the train cart angling his body to the wind. He must be happy too; he doesn't like Eric.

"I know all this talk of cooking after we get off this train and I want to warn you that even though it is curfew I don't really care if you go to the Training Room unless you do something stupid," Four says his eyes smiling at me for a second. "So my message is basically: don't do anything you'll regret me turning you in for."

There are several chuckles from Four's acquaintances and a couple nervous giggles from girls. His tone although strict makes me smile.

Uriah bumps my shoulder with his and motions for me to follow as our friends file out of the train cart. I was staring at Four longer than I thought I was. The thought flushes my cheeks with color that I wish wouldn't be there.

"Wanna cook Tris-o?" Uriah asks me.

I nod. When would I not want to cook?

I watch as Christina lightly pats a layer of butter over her hot pie crusts making them look golden.

"Damn Christina is that for me?" Uriah asks inhaling the steam from the pie.

The pie had been cooking for little over an hour and I had to admit the smell made my mouth water.

"You wish Uri!"

"For me, my good lady?" Will asks bowing.

"Maybe." Christina giggles.

I sprinkle finely diced pieces of the scarlet tomatoes into my small portion of spaghetti and sprinkle cilantro over the top. Sluggishly I prepared myself a serving of pasta with just not enough marinara sauce after arriving back from the field trip. The exhaustion apparently was settling in just on time for me to eat.

"Why do you ladies torture me with the food I long to eat, yet am too tired to make?" Uriah groans dramatically.

"I suppose it's a second nature," I say sliding the bowl over the counter to him.

"My dearest Tris are you actually giving me the honor of eating this exceptional work of culinary fineness minus the small yet sufficient enough amount of marinara?" Uriah moans sniffing the plate.

"Do you ever stop talking Uri? Yes, you can have it because I need to crash."

The oven sounds and I remove a series of small connected breadsticks topped with dashes of rosemary.

"Oh my God, do I get a breadstick too?"

I roll my eyes as good-naturedly as I can half awake and throw the bread at Uriah.

"Night guys," I while replies of my friends sound and I distinctly hear Uriah through muffled sounds of his stuffed mouth.

I stride down the hall the tile clicking underfoot until a hand grips my arm spinning me around. I almost scream.

"Tris."

"Four?"

"Do you think you can meet me in the CC room an hour before class?" he asks me.

"For what?" I ask.

"Competition stuff, just say yes please? It's really important."

"I guess so?"

He nods vigorously and smiles a killer smile before biting his lip again as if he's conflicted. "Thanks, don't worry Tori will be there too. She'll probably explain better than I will, but don't- don't tell anybody ok? Promise me?"

"Why can't I tell anybody?" I don't have anybody I would tell yet the worried expression Four wears causes me to be wary of what I will hear later. If it is just about how I haven't been selected I don't think it will be that bad to tell my closest friends.

Suddenly Four's lips are next to me ear his warm breaths against the soft cartilage. I hope he can't feel my shivers of how close he is. Nobody is usually this close. The hallway is cold and Four's nearness causes me to flush hotly.

"Divergence. We'll be discussing that topic. So if you would please Tris… keep quiet," He regards me with a questioning stare as I stare at him wide eyed.

I thought that word was just a figment of my imagination. An insult of some sort aimed at me. I close my eyes briefly before nodding. My eyes burn in remembrance of the word. It wasn't something that was a compliment. It isn't something safe to be labeled as I would think. The mood from the Capture-the-Flag win has been set afire then doused with water.

He must've been looking for me to deliver this message.

"Thank you."

I am rewarded with a slip of paper fluttering against my palm. I don't glance at the paper until everybody is tucked underneath there sheets breaths steady signifying sleep.

Divergence here is dangerous.

-F

I burn the scrap in the fire of the stove the next morning.

A/N: Back to culinary we are! I saw Catching Fire for my birthday and it was pure amazingness so I highly recommend for everyone to see it!

Thank you for reviews, favs, follows, etc...

Random side note: it's funny because I was on a chapter of my fanfic and an ad came up on applying for a culinary school. Coincidence? I think not.

P.S. I'm still searching for LostInThePost!

Read & Review!

-TFW