I can only take credit for my own ideas... everything else belongs to Veronica Roth.

I am re-posting because I noticed a ton of typos.

Christina

I finish breakfast and decide to check back at the dorm for Tris. She wasn't there when I got up this morning and I am a bit concerned about her. When I get to the dorm, I am confused to see Four at Tris' bunk, messing with her things. I walk up behind him, quietly, watching as he starts packing up her clothes. I am getting more and more nervous by the moment and, when I can't hold it in any longer, I speak.

"What are you doing with her stuff, Four?" I ask, trying to keep my voice under control.

"I am just gathering Tris' belongings." He says simply. There is something about the way he says this that instantly brings me to a near panic.

"Why? Is she ok? What happened to her? Is that why she was gone this morning? Please, Four, you have to tell me what is happening!" I say in a rush, no longer able to control the fear in my voice.

"Christina, calm down." He says, putting a hand on my shoulder. I am slightly taken aback by this gesture. He looks me directly in the eyes and continues gently. "Tris is ok."

"But why are you getting her things?" I say, trying to regain my composure.

"It's a long story, but if you come with me, Tris can explain." He says.

I help him pack up the rest of her stuff and follow him silently until we reach an apartment. He unlocks the door and holds it open for me to enter. Once inside I try to ask him what is going on, but he says to wait for Tris. He takes an outfit out of her bag, slips it through a door that must be the bathroom, and asks me to have a seat on the couch. I oblige while he goes to the kitchen sink and fills three glasses with water before returning to the couch and placing them on the coffee table.

We sit in silence for several minutes until I hear the sound of the bathroom door opening. I turn and see Tris walk through. Her eyes lock with mine and she looks absolutely stunned to see me. I have a feeling that my face also shares the same look. I look her over and am shocked and horrified at what I see.

She is wearing a black tank top that shows massive bruises and scrapes on both of her arms and the deep neckline shows another on her chest. Her legs are covered by her jeans, but they undoubtedly are bruised as well. Of greater concern to me is the marks on her face. Her left jaw is swollen with dark purple bruises, her right eye is black and blue all the way to her temple, and she has scratches all over. She walks closer and I see that she is limping slightly. I am on the verge of tears just looking at her like this. I start to stand, but she motions for me to stay seated. She walks over to the couch and sits next to me.

"Tris, what happened to you?" I ask.

"I will get to that, but first, what are you doing here?" She replies.

"I saw Four gathering your stuff from the dorm and I was worried about you, so he brought me here to see you. Where are we, by the way? "

"This is my apartment." Four says.

"What happened to you Tris?" I ask again.

"Last night... I was attacked."

"Attacked! When? Where? By who? Are you ok?"

"Take a deep breath, Chris, I will tell you everything. First off I am fine, a little bruised and sore, but fine. Second, it happened late last night when I went to get a drink of water at the fountain." She says, then pauses as if she is unsure if she should continue.

"Who did this to you?"

"Honestly, I am not sure if I should tell you."

"Why? You know that you can trust me, Tris." I say, confused as to her reluctance.

"I know that I can trust you, but I also know your temper, and I don't want you to do anything crazy when I tell you."

"I promise you that I will TRY my best to keep my cool. Please just tell me."

"Ok." She takes a deep breath before continuing. "It was Peter, Drew, and... and... Al."

"Did you say Al?" I ask in disbelief. She simply nods in reply.

It is as if by body has a mind of it's own and, before I even realize what I am doing, I am on my feet and headed towards the door. I am overcome by anger and, though I am not sure what I am going to do, I know that I will make them pay for this. Then, as I make my way to the door, I am lifted off my feet. Four has his arms wrapped around my waist, with my arms pinned to my sides and has picked me up. I wriggle a little as he walks back to the couch. I see her smile as he does this.

"Let me go, Four!" I demand.

"Not until you calm down a little." He replies.

"Calm down?" I hiss. "How can I possibly calm down? After what they did to her. I swear I am going to kill them! How can you two be so calm?"

"Oh, trust me, I was anything but calm last night. But killing them isn't going to help, it would just get you executed." Four says. Why does he have to be so stinking rational?

"Well they can't just get away with hurting her!"

"They didn't get away with no repercussions. Tris made sure of that!" He says.

"What do you mean?" I ask.

"It would be best for Tris to tell you the whole story."

"Will you at least put me down first?"

"As long as you promise to stay put." I nod and he sets me down.

I sit down beside Tris on the couch and take her hand into mine. She then tells me the entire story of last night's events. I am still reeling about everything, especially Al's involment. I am beyond proud of how she handled the situation though. She was stronger than ever before and she survived.

"So what is going to happen to them?" I ask Four.

"That is entirely up to Tris. She has the option to press charges, and if they are found guilty, they will become factionless. Otherwise, she can try to forget that it happened and move on."

"Where do we go for her to press charges?" I ask.

"She would have to go to Max and make a formal complaint, then he would assist with filing. After that they would be put on trial and she and I will testify in the hearings." Four replies.

"Let's go to Max then!" I exclaim.

"I don't think that I am going to do that." Tris says quietly.

"What do you mean? They need to be made accountable for their actions! They can't get away with what they did. They could have killed you! They deserve to suffer as Factionless for the rest of their lives for that." I say, as I begin to cry.

"I have decided that I don't want to press charges Christina. I want them to see me every day and remember what they tried to do and that they failed. I want them to remember that a tiny girl from Abnegation kicked the crap out of them. I want them to see that I don't fear them anymore. I want them to cower at the very sight of me because they now know that I am stronger than they will ever be." Tris says, powerfully.

"I still think that..." I start and am interrupted by Four.

"It's her decision, Christina. We need to respect that." He says.

"I will try." I then remember that we packed up all of Tris' stuff, which means that she is not going back to the dorm. "So where are you planning to stay until you get your apartment? At your mysterious friend's place?" I ask, and she nods.

"Would you just tell me who this friend is?" I plead. She looks unsure, she makes eye contact with Four, and he nods slightly.

"Ok, I will tell you, but you have to promise to put your Candor nature aside and keep this a secret for now." She says sternly.

"I promise."

"I am going to be staying here...with Four."

"Wait! Your 'friend' that you have been talking about is Four? Are you two..." I wiggle my eyebrows suggestively.

"No Chris! It's not like that. We are just friends." She exclaims.

"So wait, you started staying with this friend right after we transfered, and I remember you mentioning a friend here on the first day. So, exactly how long have you two been friends?" Again she looks at Four.

"Eight years." He answers.

"Eight years! But that means... that you... came from... Abnegation?!" I say, and they both nod. "This is insane! Who could have ever imagined that two of the toughest people in Dauntless, are both originally from Abnegation. Does anyone else know about you two?"

"Just my friend Zeke. He has known about our friendship since I got here two years ago. He actually helped me get letters out to her while she was still in Abnegation. But Christina, you HAVE to keep this information private. I do not want anyone to know where I came from." Four says, and I can tell from his tone that he really means it.

"I promise!" I say. Then I realize something. "So wait, this means that you know his real name!"

"I do." Tris responds.

"And it is...?"

"Something that I am not going to tell you." She smiles. I pout a little and they both just shake their heads.

"Fine!" I say. Then I notice that it is almost lunch time. "Are you planning to go to the dining hall for lunch?"

"I don't know Chris, I want to show that I am not afraid of them, but at the same time I don't want to go in there looking like this." She gestures to her battered and bruised face and arms.

"Well, lucky for you, I can fix that."

I jump up and head to where her bag is sitting. I begin rifling through her belongings until I find the little black bag that I had stuck in the bottom of her bag. I pull it out and take it over to her. She has a bewildered look on her face as I open it up and reveal the makeup that she didn't even remember I made her buy. Eventually I convince her to let me try and cover up the bruises with makeup. I also give her a long sleeve shirt that will hide the bruises and scrapes on her arms. After about 20 minutes I have finished applying makeup to her face neck and shoulders, effectively covering all the bruises. Her jaw is still a little bit swollen but is not very noticeable.

After some time of convincing her that no one will notice her injuries, she and I head to the dining hall for lunch. Four says that he will meet us there, after he stops to speak to someone about tomorrow. We walk into the dining hall and I watched rest as she casually scans the room looking, most certainly, for Peter, Drew, and Al. I see Peter sitting at a table in the corner, looking rather dejected. I laugh to myself as I see him struggle to lift his fork and the giant black eye on his normally smug face. Drew and Al, on the other hand, are nowhere to be seen.

We get our food and head to our normal table, where a few of the other initiates that we have become friends with are sitting. We begin eating our meal and I see out of the corner of my eye when Four comes back into the room, looking frustrated. He grabs his food and sits down with us. I try to ask him what's the matter but he dismisses me with a wave and says I'll find out later. Then I see Al make his way through the door slowly walk across the room. Tris, however, doesn't see him enter as her back is to the door. I glare at him, hoping he will take the hint and stay away, but he continues walking towards us. I look to my right, where Four is sitting, and see him visibly tense up and grip the table. Al approaches the table and places his hand gently on the Tris' shoulder.