Super long chapter coming at ya!

I received a comment asking about if I'll be doing any POV's from Four or just sticking with Tris, what do you guy wants to see? I most likely wouldn't do full chapters with Four, until later on (hint: when they include him going on missions) but his day to day isn't as important to me as Tris…lol. But if it's what you guys want to read about, I can definitely make it happen, or just throw a POV from him in some of the chapters.

Disclaimer: I do not own Divergent.

There are two things I love in this world that do not fall under the category of a human or animal. I love running, and I love writing with a freshly opened pen.

I love running because it is the freest, I have ever felt. It starts with the sound of my shoes hitting the pavement, falling into a rhythm that I can pair with my breathing. The feeling of my thigh muscles working and how strong my body is in that moment. Running early morning, leaving before the sun rises and then being on the go as it begins to peak thru the horizon, is the best. It feels like I've accomplished so much before the city is even awake.

Writing is something I have always loved. Nothing specific. A journal entry about life, trying to write poems or just scribble out my feelings. But there is something about a new pen, when it writes perfectly smooth, and it seems like every word comes out impeccable because of it. That feeling inspires me to keep writing because the control and perfection of the pen puts me at a different kind of peace.

Both of these things make me feel in control, at peace, and free. Freedom is what I craved, and freedom is why I left home. Not that my parents really tried to control my every action, but the expectation was always there. I had my small ways of rebelling, like the drinking with Susan or the occasional sneaking out of the house to meet up with friends. But I didn't desire rebelling to get to this freedom, it was just something I wanted. I wasn't naïve to believe the military was going to give me ultimate freedom, we can't even drive over six hours away from base without filling out some safety form. But it gave me that freedom from the anxiety of disappointing my parents, and the ability to focus on doing things for me.

However, that freedom has recently felt disrupted because my mind is currently revolving around this guy I barely know. It's not his fault, he didn't ask for me to develop a crush, but he certainly did not help the situation when he talked to me, hung out with me, asked me for number, and then hugged me. And it's not like he's restricted this freedom that I've been seeking and found a piece of, but I do know that I was expecting to focus on myself. Do things for Tris, do what Tris wants, be selfish. Now I want to do things that will put me closer to him.

It has been eight days since I last saw Four, and to put it simply, the overthinking is driving me insane.

AAAAAA

9 days earlier; Friday

The alarm clock wakes Christina and I up with its screaming at 0700 and I cannot comprehend that it is already time to get up. It felt like I had only blinked since my head hit the pillow.

"Turn that off," I hear her mumbling into the pillow.

"We have class in an hour," I turn off the horrendous sound and stare at the ceiling, not wanting to leave my blankets. I'm not sure why we decided to go out on a Thursday night, but I am now thankful we at least followed Uriah's idea to come home when we did. Christina, Marlene, and I made it back to the dorms at midnight, but Marlene sat with us until one in the morning. They really wanted to dissect things with Four, everything from the conversations to the hug. I had made a comment that we could talk about their love interests but apparently it wasn't as exciting because they didn't have mystery going on in theirs. Mystery? That is not what I wanted, but I let them run with their funny guesses and assumptions.

Friday is an easy day for our training schedule. Classroom instruction from 0800 to noon, and then it is expected we work out on our own at any time after that. I brew the coffee while Christina showers, then we swap places, and she throws together some on the go breakfast bags for us. This is usually a piece of fruit and granola bar, keeping it simple has worked the best for us.

When she comes out of the bathroom and I grab my things to head in, she stops me.

"Have you checked your phone for any text messages yet?"

"Nope!" And I close the door before she can poke at me for it anymore. Last night, Four told me to text him when I got home. Once we got back and I sent the text, I expressed to my friends that I kept checking my phone to see if he responded…but it felt obsessive. I had checked my phone at least 10 times in one minute. Marlene, who apparently struggles with double texting and filling up people's inboxes, told me if it's nighttime and she needs to go to sleep, she'll silent her notifications and put the phone under her pillow. So, that's exactly what I did.

On top of doing that, I have always had a morning routine that doesn't involve me checking my phone until I am heading out the door. I do this because it always felt like a positive morning ritual, the first moments of the morning we're solely focused on me. But of course, Christina being the nosey but also supportive friend that she is, was asking if Four texted me back as soon as Marlene left. My response was, "I'm tired and I rather not be disappointed before I go to sleep if he didn't answer."

Without meaning to, I realize that I shower and get dressed twice as fast than most mornings.

Christina looks like she's about to poke fun at me for it, but I give her a look. Then I finally allow myself to check my phone.

I have a few notifications, mainly from Susan, and one text notification from Four

T: Made it home!

*Four has liked your messaged*

"That's it? I waited all not for that!" I gasp at my phone; this shouldn't bother me like it does but I'm not sure if I'm annoyed or sad or even angry. "He liked my text."

"That's it?"

"See! Disappointed. Ok let's get out of here," I grab my backpack and coffee and walk out.

The majority of the walk I can tell Christina is thinking of what to say.

"Ok I've got it!" she says clapping her hands together.

"What?"

"It was late at night, he was still out, he knew you were probably tired and had class today, so he didn't want to keep you up. Also, no offense Tris, but on top of all of this, look at who you're talking to!"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Well, I've always said he's intimidating… what I mean is that he doesn't seem like the type to blow up your phone. Don't overthink it… like how you are right now."

I sigh. She's right. I'm overthinking this which is making me annoyed…sad…mad…whatever I'm feeling. It could be nothing and I won't know until I see him again because unless he texts me, which I doubt he will, I do not plan on texting him first.

"Alright, that concludes our lesson on testifying when using foreign evidence. Any questions?" The classroom remains silent. "Great. You're free to go for your weekend. One more thing though, first week Air Force recruits, you have a mandatory physical fitness test in 30 minutes."

There's a groan from the people sitting around me, and I hear Lynn behind, "are you joking?"

The instructor puts his hands up, "Don't shoot the messenger. It's your first week here so they want to see what's to be expected."

I meet Christina and Marlene right outside the door, and we change in a nearby bathroom.

"This is a great time to be Tris Prior, easy 100 on your test," Marlene says as we head towards the track, and I blush.

"Not my fault I love running…and that the rest of you are slow," I smile when I throw in the last part.

"Guys! Wait up!" The three of us turn around; there jogging towards us is Uriah, Will and Al.

"What are we doing tonight?" is the first thing out of Uriah's mouth.

"Movie? Study group? Relax?" I say but receive blank stares from everyone.

"I was not getting that we stay in. That's what Sunday is!"

I sigh, "You guys just let me know where to be."

"What's the down face Tris?" Will has his arm around Christina's shoulder. Jesus, can these two go more than five seconds without touching each other?

"I KNOW it's boy trouble. Four was all about you last night," Uriah says. I shake my head and keep moving towards the track. Everyone stays a few steps back except Uriah.

"Uriah it's not a big deal. Nothing happened. I'm not upset. I was just thinking how it would be nice to stay in tonight, that's it."

"If you're sure… but are you sure you aren't a little upset BECAUSE nothing happened?" I give him a little side eye but don't respond.

"I'm just saying, I have known Four for a while now, and my brother is his best friend. He never, ever, wants to talk to girls who show more than a friendship interest in him. And what was going on last night was more than friendship vibes. Just don't expect him to be sweeping you off your feet in like two days, I don't exactly know what he's like in relationships…but I can tell he moves a lot slower than some of us."

I laugh, "Yeah I'll say, you and Marlene are acting like there's a wedding around the corner." He winks, "Maybe there is." We reach the track, and within a minute the rest of our friends and the other recruits meet.

I don't realize I'm looking for Four until I see him, walking towards us from the parking lot. He's wearing the usual blank dress pants and shoes but has one a light blue button up, sleeves rolled to his elbows as always. Why is he so good looking and why can't I stop staring? I try to distract myself by focusing on the group and listening to Al tell his story of this amazing girl he met last night and how they're going on a date tonight.

A whistle blows and one of the instructors calls out, "Form up!" We get into our lines and stand "at ease", feet shoulder width apart and hands resting on our lower backs. The instructor goes through his mini speech on what is expected from us, and we begin the test. I complete my 50 push-ups in a minute and 60 sit ups, giving me max points. All that is left is the run. Every time I glace at Four, he's looking down at his clipboard, taking notes. I feel disappointed that I haven't caught his eye once, but then I think it might be for the better since I've looked at him more than necessary.

As the run begins, I release all my butterflies and lack of self-confidence. This is where I thrive and where I feel the most alive, so I forget about Four and I forget about the stress of classes and being homesick. I hit my mile at six minutes and thirty-five seconds.

"Great pace!" One of the instructor yells. I have two more laps, I'm in first place for the girls and only four guys are in front of me. Not too far away from me is Peter, and that really ignites something in me. I will be damned if I let him beat me right now, his ego deserves to be stepped on. I decide I'm going to get a little closer but still maintain some distance for this lap. Then we get onto our last lap and I start picking it. I can tell by the breakdown in his form that he's exhausted, but he must hear my steps because he starts to push himself.

"You're not passing me, little girl," he breathes hard once I'm close enough to him. All I have to say is, ew. Did he just call me little girl? That's enough to do it because once we turn the last curve and hit the straight away, I let my body go and I'm in a full out sprint. It feels almost too easy passing Peter, and I hear him calling me a bitch but I'm smiling.

"Nine minutes and forty seconds. Amazing time!" the instructor with my score sheet says, as he scribbles down the time and I sign off on the form. Now I catch Four's eyes, his face is expressionless but there is a look in his eyes. I walk a lap around the track, cooling off while everyone else finishes.

As soon as the last runner comes in, we're dismissed.

"Recruit Prior, can I speak with you?" Four says as everyone is getting to leave.

Christina lets out a low whistle, "Uh oh, someone's in trouble," followed by her laughing.

"We'll catch you later Tris!" Marlene waves as they leave me on the track with Four.

"Hey," he says when I walk up to him.

"Hi."

"How are you feeling?" I feel like he's studying my face, his look is so intense.

"Good, I like the running part…obviously." Still no emotion on his face, what's the point of this?

But then the edge of his lips twitch. "Well, I meant if you felt hungover at all."

"Oh… no I was good. Just a little tired." It's silent for a second, him staring at me and me looking at him but then looking somewhere else. I'm not sure why I feel so awkward all of a sudden.

"Tris… what's wrong?"

"I'm sorry, I'm not trying to be weird. I think I'm just confused on why you called me over here."

"Because I wanted to talk?" it comes out like a question when he says this.

"You have my number, we can text," maybe he'll catch the hint here.

"I hate texting… messages can be misunderstood through it too easily," he clears his throat, raises his eyebrows, and it doesn't take a genius to see that he knows exactly what I am thinking. He can see right through me, and he knows I've been overthinking everything.

I start to laugh because the whole situation seems stupid now, and when I let my laugh out, he smiles.

"Well, if you're done analyzing why I didn't send you a text with words last night, I wanted to ask if you wanted to go out tonight. I think your friends are going to hear about it anyways, but it's a restaurant bar so we can sit off to the side when everyone starts getting wasted."

I can feel the bright smile on my face, sometimes I wonder if I look stupid smiling like this, but the way Four is looking at me says that it isn't stupid.

"That actually sounds like a great plan."

"Alright, I'll see you tonight. I can't hug you, don't know who's watching," when he says that I naturally look around. There aren't a ton of people out, but there's enough to make a possibility of someone noticing me or him.

He turns around and is about to walk towards his car but then looks back at me.

"And Tris… you know you have full ability to text me if something is bothering you right?"

I laugh, "Ok we get it, I overthink. Go away now." A small smirk forms on his face and he walks towards the parking lot, while I turn to go to my dorm.

I walk into the dorm and it is way too crowded in there. At our small kitchen table is Uriah and Will, Marlene sitting on my beg, and Christina digging around in her closet.

"Are we hanging out, or you all came here to interrogate me?" I raise my eyebrows at the room of faces.

"Can't it be both?" Will asks.

I laugh, "Well… Uriah did your brother text you about plans for tonight?"

"Yeah, how'd you kn…. wait one second. He asked you out!"

"You're going to be a great agent." I walk past them and sit on my bed next to Marlene.

"We knew it was nothing to stress about!" Marlene leans over and wraps her arms around me.

"Ok ok! I wasn't depressed or crying all day. Damn guys."

"So, what are we wearing tonight?" Christina moves the topic to clothes.

"This is a pretty casual place," says Uriah, then he stands up moving towards the door.

"I'm going to go get some food and get ready. I'll catch up with you guys later!"

"I'll text you!" Marlene says and he winks at her.

The hours seem to crawl by, we finished our test at 1:15 and the plan was to leave for the bar at 8:45. A bouncer shows up at nine to keep the underage souls out, but they don't kick out the ones who are already in. Uriah told us it's the way for the bar to have such good business but then keeps the cops from questioning what's going on there.

At seven I feel distraught by my wardrobe choices.

"Tris calm down. This guy has literally seen you covered in mud and sweat. I don't think he cares what you wear," Christina laughs as she hears my sigh of frustration.

"Christina… help me."

"Say no more!" She jumps up, and immediately picks a pair of faded black ripped jeans that I never wear because it has more holes than material. She pairs it with my all-white low top converse and a dark purple crop top.

"Perfect! Do you feel comfortable?"

"Yes, thank you! I own all these clothes and I can't ever figure out how to pair it together."

"Ah, young grasshopper, we will get there." I roll my eyes at her grasshopper comment. I go to the bathroom and add light natural looking make up, and a few curls into my hair.

Once we're ready to go, Marlene and Christina are significantly more done up than I am. Although they didn't overdo it too much, they both have small skirts on with heels and tight tops, which works on them. At this point, it's to be expected.

We have the same routine as last time. Meet with guys, get a van cab, and get to the bar. Once we get there, from the outside it seems like a plain bar that doesn't try to attract too much attention. Inside there's a big oval shaped bar with four bartenders in the middle, taking up most of the building. Against the walls are tables that either sit couples or groups of four, and then in the back left is a DJ booth with a medium sized space for a dance floor. The DJ is setting up but the music playing right now is from the radio. No one is dancing but it is noticeable that most people in here are college kids that came before the bouncer showed up.

"Ok so when you order drinks here, they'll still ID you, it's only to make sure you're at least 18. They aren't trying to serve to high schoolers. I recommend just showing your military ID… work faster," Uriah coaches to us. We go up to bar and show our IDs to get a stamp on our hand.

"I want to know why it was never this easy for me in my hometown," Christina says looking at the stamp on her hand.

"Because you're from a city and that's where all the hooligans come from," I smile at her.

We all get a drink and sit at the bar, getting lost in conversation while we wait for the night to pick up. At about 9:30, more people begin pouring in and the DJ starts with his playlist. I'm halfway through my second white claw when I see Zeke walk in, Four a few people behind him.

Pushing aside any feelings of shyness, I get up and meet him halfway.

"Hey," I smile, and he doesn't hesitate to pull me in for a hug. I breathe in before he lets me go, he smells like fresh laundry.

"Hey," he responds, with his hand on my lower back, he goes through the crowd with me to our friends. Uriah doesn't waste anytime ordering shots once everyone has gotten their own drinks.

"Get ready kids, we don't have class tomorrow. We aren't going to sleep tonight!" He cheers and some of the others from Zeke's group gives out a holler.

"Uriah is crazy," I laugh.

"You should have seen him two years ago," Four shakes his, and we're given our shot. It's red, and I crinkle my nose looking at it. It doesn't stink the way the tequila did.

Four notices me staring at the shot. "Red headed slut."

"Excuse me?"

"It's a red headed slut. It's jager, peach schnapps and cranberry juice." I nod my head as if I completely understand what he just explained to me.

"It's good, just shoot it back," and without hesitating he throws the shot back. His face doesn't react at all but then again, it didn't with the tequila either. Shrugging my shoulders, I give it a try. I am pleasantly surprised by the taste and the missing burn from my throat.

"Oh wow. Much better than tequila," I laugh. I finish my white claw and order a long island.

"Let's move over here," Four picks up his beer and I follow him to a table off to the side.

"So I guess this is when I get to learn everything about you," I say when I take my seat.

"Well not everything, how am I going to keep you coming back if I dump it all out in one night?" I feel heat in my body, I take that as him suggesting there will be more of this in our future.

"So why did you join the military?" I start with my first question.

"Pass."

"Oh, come on, you don't have to give me the whole story. Just the basics," I say leaning forward.

He takes a long sip from his beer, "I really wanted to get out of my home, and I didn't get along with my dad. I didn't have an interest in college, so I graduated high school at 17, got my dad drunk to sign the 'under 18' release form, and here I am."

"How long have you been in then?"

"Almost 5 years."

"And how long have you been a special agent?" He lets out a low chuckle at me firing off questions.

"Are you writing a school report on me?"

I smile, "I'm just a curious person. Just answer!"

"I've only been a special agent for eight months. They have me as a part time observer because I've been known to pay attention to detail with people." I nod approvingly at him actually answering my questions.

"What job did you originally come in as?" When I asked this, Four clears his throat, hesitation lingering. It's a simple question, so I'm confused on why he looks like he doesn't want to respond.

"Pararescue." My mouth makes an 'oh' shape and I nod. That's supposed to be one of the hardest special forces to get into, and the longest special operations training for the Air Force. Not only do you have to be able to deal with all the insane parts of special operations, the point of pararescue is to save people from combat injuries. While everyone else is running away, he's the one that was running into the fight to help his brothers. I feel amazed by him, but I can tell he feels awkward after saying it.

"Do you miss it?"

"Sometimes. It was a lot of deployments and obviously being in the middle of war. But when I'm not observing recruits, I work specifically in the terrorism and intelligence part of OSI. So, I feel like I'm doing a lot more of the background work." I nod and he clears his throat again.

"Anyways…enough about that. Those are heavy topics."

"If I could go anywhere in the world, it would be Iceland in winter to see the northern lights." At first it seems like Four is caught off guard by random fact about myself, but I figured blurting out something like that would ease him.

He nods, sips his beer, and says, "I want to be on a beach in Hawaii… maybe there's too many… a tropical beach somewhere, where there are minimal people."

I laugh, "I guess we have opposite dreams."

"Opposites attract," and as soon as he says this I blush.

Danza Kuduro begins playing from the DJ booth and he turns the volume up, now the music is pumping through the bar.

"Uh oh," I say and Four raises his eyebrows at me.

"You'll see…" I'm looking around, and here she comes. Christina's slightly tipsy and now the song has clearly given her a ton of energy.

"TRIS! WE HAVE TO DANCE" I give Four a look as Christina grabs my arm and drags me with her. I don't fight her though, because even though I never say it to Christina, I love this song. Mine and Christina's experience with it is listening to it in our dorm room…over and over again. The dance is simple which makes it a perfect drinking dancing song, and it doesn't require shaking any body parts in a seductive way…also something I prefer not to do.

Shauna, Marlene and Uriah join us, and I'm laughing at Uriah for how extra he makes his movements. I see Four standing at the bar with Zeke and Will, they're all talking but watching us. As always, when a song plays that I love and actually enjoy dancing to, it comes to an end fast.

"I love that song!" I yell to Christina over the noise, as I hook my arm with hers, walking back towards the guys. Weaving our way through the crowd, a hand grabs at my free arm. I stop which halts Christina and turn around to see if it's one of our friends. Instead, it's a tall guy who clearly represents a college frat boy. I can smell the alcohol coming off him even though he's an arm length away.

"You ladies can move!" Although I do not appreciate the unwanted physical contact, he doesn't creep me out with the way he says this. It comes out more like a slurred sound. Then he continues, "My buddies here don't think I can get one of you to dance with me."

I yank my arm out of his grasp when he says that I should have done that right away.

"Your buddies are right." Then as I turn around to keep walking, he grabs me again.

"Don't touch her!" Christina yells, but one of his friend's steps in between me and her.

"If you don't let go of my arm, I will break your nose," I say, my voice is shaking with anger.

I look back and I can see Four heading our direction, and he looks pissed. I'm completely aware that if I don't take care of this situation on my own, Four's going to get himself put in jail.

The guy laughs, his grip tightens, and he goes, "Just one dance! You got the moves…" leans down to my ear, "and the body." OH MY GOD, GROSS.

I know Four is getting closer, but the crowd makes it difficult for him. I hear him telling people to move.

"Three seconds," I say to guy and he just smiles at me. Three…two…one.

Just as I can see Four at the corner of my eye, I throw a punch and hit the guy right in the nose. His friends around him are too shocked to move, and I see a bartender watching. To make it obvious that I'm not the one at fault here, I yell, "Do not ever touch me or another random fucking girl again!"

"You bitch," the guy says, holding his face.

"If you keep talking, it's going to me you'll have to deal with and not her," Four says, clearly still angry. I put my hand on his chest to keep him from moving forward.

"Not worth it, I'm having a good night," I say. Four looks down at me, and then I grab his hand and lead him back to our friends.

"Some people are just so unnecessary!" Marlene says with a disgusted look. I blow out the air I was holding in and shake my head.

"Annoying," I breathe out, and order a drink. The female bartender laughs when she brings my drink and says, "That was awesome. This one is on me." Everyone begins to relax but Four still seems quiet.

"Stop thinking about how you want to kill that guy," I whisper. His face softens and he looks at me.

"It just bothers me that I was only a few feet away and I couldn't get to you fast enough."

"Nothing even happened Four. You got there fast enough that if it escalated, you would have been there," I lean into him and he places his arm over my shoulder. I feel like my buzz disappeared, so I signal to Uriah that it's time for more shots.

"You got it Tris!" He orders tequila but I immediately call the bartender over and tell him to make mine a red headed slut… I don't feel like drinking that poison right now.

After a couple hours, few more drinks and shots later, I am feeling tipsy and great. Four hasn't been taking the shots, telling me he limits his liquor intake. I don't push the topic, automatically I assume it's because maybe he has some PTSD from his time in special operations. That's not fair to him though, maybe he just doesn't like liquor…or he doesn't like the way it makes him feel.

It's past midnight and Christina is telling Will that she's ready to go back home. He agrees with her, and as they're getting ready to leave, she tells me, "Hey Tris, Will is going to stay the night in our dorm because Al has that other girl back in their room. Don't come in if there's a sock on the handle!" She winks at me and walks away before I respond.

"Oh my God!" I cover my face with my hands and shake my head to get the image out of my head.

Four laughs, "That is certainly unfortunate."

"Uh yeah… I'd say so."

"You can stay with me tonight…if you want," he says it so casually, as if I've stayed with him a hundred times before.

"I don't want to be a bother."

"If it was going to bother me, I wouldn't have offered it." He's right, and even though the thought of staying there makes me more nervous that I would like to admit, I also really want to.

"Sounds perfect!" I smile to him. We stay out for another hour, Four talking to Zeke and Shauna, and me spending more time with Marlene and Uriah.

"Ready to go?" Four asks me at 1:30 in the morning.

"Definitely, I just got so tired," I stopped drinking at one and started chugging waters to avoid any embarrassing drunk acts tonight. However, when I stand up to walk out with Four, I can tell I'm a lot more tipsy than I expected.

"Woah," I laugh out as I stumble a little.

"Are you good?" I don't feel embarrassed like I expected because his voice isn't annoyed, it has a concerned tone to it.

"Yes! I was sitting so long, I didn't expect this to hit me." I then notice we aren't heading to a taxi, but where the cars are parked. I stop walking.

"Are you good to drive?"

He smiles, "We've been here for five hours and I've had a total of three beers and one shot." I nod, trusting him.

He grabs my hand, and I follow a step behind him since I don't even know what car is his.

We walk between two cars, on the left a brand-new Audi and on the right an older styled Jeep Wrangler. He looks like a Jeep Wrangler kind of guy, but then I want to fall over in shock when he opens the passenger door to the BMW.

"Oh…this is an expensive car," I say getting in.

"You aren't nauseous at all, are you?"

"Nope!" He makes sure my legs and all body parts are in the seat, before shutting the door. As he walks around to the driver side, I admire the inside. It's clean, spotless, in here.

"This is the cleanest car I have ever been in," I tell him as he starts the drive. He smiles, "I definitely take pride in keeping my things nice."

"How do you afford something like this?" I'm not sure if that was a rude question, but at this point my filter is turned off.

"Remember, I've been working for five more years than you." I nod, and consider he said he used to deploy a lot and his current job, I doubt he's going on luxury vacations every year.

It only takes about ten minutes and we pull up to a gated community.

"Let me guess, you're secretly a millionaire?"

He laughs, "Yeah right. This just looks expensive, there's actually a lot of military that live here." We drive by houses and then there is an apartment complex in the back of the gated area.

He parks and I follow him into the building, as we ride the elevator to the third floor. I wish I could say that I was able to stay silent and enjoy the moment between us, but since we walked out of the car, I can't stop talking. He's smiling at most of the random thoughts that I'm spewing at him.

Right off the elevator, his door is there. He opens it up and my mouth drops open.

"This is amazing!" It's a completely open concept, the kitchen areas to the left and the large living room space in front. There's floor to ceiling windows lined up, and then the door to the bathroom and, what I assume, is his bedroom to the right. He doesn't have it decorated, but he has nice furniture, matching with a color scheme. That's more than I would expect from most single males.

I go to the windows and look out; you can see lights from the surrounding bars.

"You can't ever walk around naked," I say, monotoned as if this were the most normal thought.

He laughs, "There's a remote that controls shades to come down."

"Oh thank God, I was worried for you!"

"Are you still exhausted?" He asks me, handing me a glass of water.

"I'm tired, but I feel like I got a little more energy."

"Oh good, a second wave," he motions for me to sit on the couch. We sit in silence for a moment, and then I speak first.

"Uriah said you never talk to girls," oops… no filter.

He brings his eyebrows together and looks annoyed. Oh God, fix this Tris.

"I mean, he wasn't saying it like he was talking shit. I was just you know, being crazy that one day about the text message and he was trying to make me feel better." Four nods, and I wait for him to say something.

Finally, he speaks, "There's a couple reasons I guess."

"Well…go on…" he leans back on the couch and stares at his hands.

"I guess one is my old job, well even with this job, I'm really busy. I'm not home often. And then the lack of texting thing seems to bother women. But I also think it's safe to say I never really tried because I wasn't interested. I care about my career goals and making the world better… when you put all your focus in that, you don't have much time for anything else." I nod understandingly, but I can't help but wonder something. Is this him telling me that he doesn't have time for me? We've been having a good time, but maybe he just invited me because he feels bad that I didn't have anywhere to go. I need to clear this up before I spend all of tomorrow overthinking.

"So, what about me?" I ask, putting my water on the coffee table and subconsciously move closer to him.

"What about you?"

"Do you usually hang out with girls at the bar then? Then tell them they can stay with you?" I know the answer is no, Uriah even told me that Four doesn't pay attention to girls. But I want to hear him say it.

"Of course not. I like you, and I'm interested. That's why I said I'm usually not interested. But I want to make time for you," I didn't expect him to be so blunt about it. I also do not expect him to pull me towards him, but he does. He doesn't make any further movements, he just holds me close, and I relax with his breathing.

"I have to say something," I blurt out. He pulls me back and is looking at me, he doesn't say anything. Just waits for me to say whatever it is I have to say that killed the moment.

I stutter a little to form words but then get it together, I don't need to be scared of him.

"I haven't been in a relationship before. I mean… I've like had my first kiss… just had to say that so you don't think I'm weird," oh my god, you are rambling. Get on with it Tris, "but I haven't had like a serious relationship. And feeling this way is kind of new to me, which is why I overthink everything. I feel like everything I learned from friends, and TV, and social media is that most guys just want to have sex, or they just want to be entertained and that's it. Or that you might think someone likes you, but they don't actually. So yeah." I breathe. It was a lot that I spit out but if I didn't get that off my chest, it was going to be another thing on my list to think about all day.

He stared at me for a second and put his hand on my cheek. His skin felt rough on my face, but he was so gentle, and it gave me comfort.

"I'm not going to push you to do anything. And you should also know I'm not some relationship expert. This is new to me to, but I want to go your pace." I closed my eyes and enjoyed the feeling of his hand on my cheek. I leaned in as close as I could to him, not leaving any space between us.

When I did this, he spoke again, "Also…if you ever feel self-conscious or that you're overthinking small things…tell me. I'm not going to ditch you just because you need to hear that I care about you." Hearing that ignited something in me. I'm not sure what, but I felt fire and confidence in me. I leaned back, looked him right in the eyes, and without hesitation I leaned in and kissed him. I felt his hands on my lower back, holding me close, calloused and rough from the guns and the training. My hand was on his cheek, feeling the stubble of not shaving for a couple days. I could taste the beer he had been drinking, and I know he could taste the mixture of all the alcohols on me, but if he cared he didn't react in that way. It felt like we had been kissing forever but really it was only a few seconds.

He pulled back, looked at me and brushed my hair out of my face. I saw this look in his eyes that I hadn't seen yet…maybe it was happiness or peace, but whichever one it was, his body seemed so ease.

"Let's go to sleep," he stood up and reached for my hand. I smiled and grabbed his hand, trailing behind him into the bedroom.

So it's still a mystery on why at the beginning chapter I touched on Tris not seeing Four for 8 days. Maybe there's some creative guesses out there. I am beginning the next chapter today but this one was so long; I didn't feel like I needed to combine the two. But you can expect a chapter update within the next couple days…the more reviews I get though definitely adds to the motivation!

I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter! Again, I'm having so much fun writing. I actually started a chapter with completely different ideas; I wasn't feeling it, went to sleep and then got this creative spark and came up with this. So hopefully we're enjoying the flow.

**If you didn't see the message up above, please read my author's note above and let me know in the reviews. Thank you!