"You okay?" Jenn pauses, and turns around to look at me.
"Yeah. Sorry. This is just….this is my old street." I frown, and look away, taking a moment to collect myself.
"Oh. I'm sorry. Usually we don't have to go into Abnegation. They don't even have anyone working there. The Abnegation don't fight. But you already know that. Don't you? We'll only be in here for a second. We just gotta get this guy out," Jenn rambles.
"Yeah."
"Alright. You can wait here, if you want to." Jenn suggest.
"No. I'm good. I knew I'd have to come back here eventually." I force a smile, and begin walking. Jenn pauses for a moment, before jogging to catch up with me.
"He's right over there." Jenn points at the Factionless man, sitting on the curb in front of a grey Abnegation house.
"I can handle this. Alone- I mean." I say, and she nods her head. "I'm right here, if you need me." She smiles, and I begin walk towards the man.
I pass two identical houses before I reach him. He looks up at me, and despite his beard and eye patch, I instantly recognize him as Edward.
"Tris! I've been waiting for you!" He smiles and stands up. His smell hits me first, even before I take the time to notice how torn up and threadbare his clothes are. Knowing someone who's Factionless makes them a lot more real. He's not just another Factionless man to avoid on the street; he's someone I knew, living on the streets.
"Edward!" I take a step back, in my surprise of seeing him. "You've been waiting for me?" I narrow my eyes at him, and he laughs.
"That's why I'm here. I was hoping you would be the cop to come, even if you've got your friend over there." Edward explains, not seeming to realize how strange he sounds.
"What do you want? With me, I mean?" I ask, my guard still up.
"I'm here to warn you." He says, his voice lower.
"About what?" I ask, preparing my self for him to launch in a crazy Factionless rant.
"You're Divergent." He says blatantly, throwing me even more off guard.
"Edward! You can't go blurting accusations like that!" I lower my voice, and look around to make sure no one heard him.
"No, it's okay. I'm Divergent, too." He smiles, as if that makes it better.
"You don't know anything about me." I shake my head.
"Okay." He says, letting go to my not admitting my Divergence. "I'm just here to let you know that things are changing. The truth about us, it's coming. And you need to be prepared." He warns, his tone serious and knowledgeable.
"Edward, what are you talking about? What do you know?" I ask, knowing that my time is short, before Jenn suspects something.
"I can't really say anything. Just have you're guard up, because this is about you. You're valuable. You're Divergence is different." He cautions.
"How so?" I ask, not being able to contain my curiosity.
"I don't know. I'm not a frickin' Answer Magician." Edward shrugs. "I've told you what I know. Or rather, what I can tell you." Edward shrugs again, and I know that Edward has given me all the information I'm going to get from him.
"You, um, you can't be here. This is Abnegation land." I stammer, knowing that I need to do my job.
"Oh, I know." Edward smiles, and I notice that he's missing a tooth. He leans down and picks up his duffle bag, and says, "It was nice seeing you, Tris. I'll see you later," as if he didn't just warn me about the safety of my life, and future. With that, he stands up and ambles down the street, towards the Factionless sector.
I slowly walk back to Jenn, my mind churning with thoughts. What Edward told me definitely correlates with what I overheard my mother saying, but it doesn't make anything clearer; it only blurs the lines even more.