Chapter 29

**OKAY OKAY OKAY OKAY OKAY! I'M FINALLY DONE WITH THIS CHAPTER HOLY CRAP! This took me a solid month to write and edit because guys…. This chapter is 17,561 words long! On my word document is was 35 pages! I could have EASILY split this chapter into three, but I wanted this to be the ultimate chapter! I have never written a chapter this long and I'm happy with the result! This is a chapter of kissing, underwear switching, shoe licking, and alcoholic dancing. And... THERE IS THE LONG AWAITED FOURTRIS CONFRONTATION!

IMPORTANT: This is the M version of my Into the Night's chapter 29. This is my original writing, the T chapter is modified. I like this one better personally :) Large amount of alcohol use in this chapter, slight nudity, and talk of some inappropriate things. Happy reading!

And thank you to one of the first reviewers for noticing my favorite color mistake! Ahh sorry about that :) it's now fixed**

Tris POV - Sunday, December 21st

For the last couple of days, I couldn't think of anything but Eric, those Abnegation girls, the mysterious EJ in the Gutter, Marcus Eaton, and Tobias . . . They flash in front of my eyes every time I blink. It's so hard to picture how they all so easily tie in together. It's infuriating to say the least. Eric wasn't at Dauntless last night, nor Thursday. Sapphire was, and she too looked confused when Peter was in charge again. Where is Eric? My promise still stands with him, mostly. Christina saw a strange determination in me and assumed it was about locating or making up with Four, but eventually I told her my revelation. She told me there was no way I could kill Eric. At least not without getting caught or killed myself. So, in light of recent events I've decided that if I can't kill Eric Matheson, I'll at least shoot him. Maybe in the leg. Christina said she could live with me in jail, but definitely not dead.

Speaking of Christina, she is way too excited for this party. She started planning what she was going to wear a couple of days ago, then changing her mind all over. What's worse, is she was doing the same for me. She woke me up at the ungodly hour of 7AM, when I had fallen asleep around 3:30. I tried everything my tired body could do in order to push her away. Pillows, alarm clocks, books, they all went flying at her head. She just laughed and proceeded to dodge everything. Then she grabbed my ankles and yanked me from my heater blanket. I wanted to scream at her, but didn't for fear I'd wake the neighbors. She then chucked me in the shower, and for the next three hours, picked, plucked and brushed me.

I insisted multiple times that the extra effort wasn't necessary. Plus, I just wanted to go back to sleep. I had every intention of just going in a nice pair of jeans, long sleeve shirt, and call it good. Christina deemed that to be an insult as we haven't been to a real party outside of Dauntless in two years. And technically, we aren't even really outside of Dauntless. Almost everyone attending knows about Dauntless or works there. At least that's what Uriah told me.

"We don't even know if there's going to be dancing!" I complained as Christina had me trying on some of her old dresses.

"Dress your best Tris. You never know who may be watching. Plus, we still have a deadline to meet."

I scrunched my face. "Deadline?"

Christina smiled. Then I remembered.

"It's not going to happen Chris."

"Yes it will."

"No it won't."

"Why not? You're hot. Worse comes to worse, I'm sure Uriah could help."

"He's with Marlene! How could you even say that?"

She raised her hands up innocently. In each hand were two pairs of shoes. "I'm just trying to give you options."

"My answer is no."

"Maybe Matt could—"

"No! I am not losing my virginity to Matt, nor to Uriah, nor anyone else and certainly not before New Years!"

She became quiet. "You're still care about him."

I turned away from her and stalked back to my room, taking the dresses with me.

"Look I know you, and I know you don't let go easily. But after what he did, the way he reacted… He's not worth it Tris. I mean, look at Will, he took it so well."

There's a switch in my head that just about flipped – I was mere moments away from snapping at her: of course he took it well, HE'S A DANCER HIMSELF! At current, I'm very impressed with my self-control.

My dad told me on multiple occasions that I got my hot-headedness from my mom. But my mom was the epitome of cool and collected. There was just no way. They both brought me up to remain in control of my emotions and my thoughts. To only really speak when spoken to, and to always be polite. Especially to elders. My mom volunteered every weekend at the homeless shelter for goodness sake! She never once raised her voice at me. How could she be hot-headed?

"Come on Tris," Christina whined from outside my room.

I was still angry as I open the door to her, but like most things in life that don't go my way, I swallow it down.

I let Christina have her way with me, and even found it hard not to smile at her constant moving mouth. Many people don't really care for Christina's nonstop talk and lack of filter, but I find it calming. Unlike the outfit she has me in now.

"Stop fidgeting you look good!" It's the second time she's had to swat my hands away from tugging on the skirt I'm wearing. It's an old one of hers that comes up mid-thigh and is an in-your-face blue. "We're almost there."

Christina finally agreed that I don't have to wear a dress, but I do have to wear a skirt and tight top. I just had no idea she was going to pick out a black crop top. I grabbed my gray cardigan for warmth before Christina could see. When she got to the car, I had it on and she didn't argue. The top itself isn't too revealing – only showing a few inches of skin, and coming up in a high scoop neck rather than low. The sleeves were long too. Shoes were a different story entirely – Christina was in charge of that department and I didn't have the nerve to keep arguing. Now, my feet are crammed into sparkly black stiletto sandals. My toes are also painted blue accordingly.

We arrive twenty minutes past eight. There was no fresh snow today, and the sun was out. Meaning tonight and tomorrow will hold plenty of ice on the roads. Uriah knew this was a possibility and offered to house us overnight. I initially refused. Christina accepted. I have no idea how many others accepted, or how Zeke and Uriah plan to hold us all.

Christina grabs our overnight duffle bag and leads the way inside, walking with complete confidence in heels on the icy sidewalk. I stumble a couple of times, and hope nobody saw.

The house is on the smaller side, but it reminds me of my parents' first house. The one I used to see in pictures with the two of them just after they were married. Caleb was born in that house. He was an unusually fast labor and by the time they had realized what was happening, he had arrived. I was slower, and they made it all the way to the hospital emergency entrance before mom could no longer hold back a push.

It's covered in snow, and based on the shape of the house, I'd say there's only one room upstairs. The downstairs looks lively – lights on in the windows, Christmas decorations up, and I can even see a couple people move passed the sheer curtains. The side of the house grabs my attention though; there's one large pile of snow – it looks like a snow plow going over the roads scooped its load and dumped it next to the Pedrad house – with a sign stuck in front of it that Zeke no doubt made reading "It's so ICE to be home :) "

The noise coming from the house already is unbelievable. Mostly from whatever music is being played. I suppose it is a good thing that they live in the industrial area of Chicago. Barely any neighbors, except for maybe a homeless person or two.

Shauna opens the door for us before we reach the top step of the patio. She has a red cup in her hand, and it first worries me. Until it lowers just enough for me to see the contents: water.

"You guys are early." She says smirking at Christina.

Christina on the other hand balks. "We are not early. We were told to come at eight."

Shauna rolls her eyes. "Fashionably late is at least forty minutes late Chris."

"Everyone knows that." Uriah says joining us. "You ladies look nice."

"Nice?" Christina is just getting offended in rapid fire. "We look Hot Uriah and don't you forget it."

"Yeah yeah." Uriah waves her off. "I'll take your bag upstairs." He reaches out and takes the bag from Christina who immediately walks off in search of Will. Uriah almost stumbles under the weight of the bag. "What the hell does she have in here?"

I shrug. "I have no idea."

He grunts. "Drinks are in the kitchen. Make yourself comfortable."

While Uriah manages to get the bag upstairs okay, I take a moment to survey the room, and curse myself for looking for the exits first. There are three of them. Front door, back door, and sliding glass door on the side of the house.

Myra and Marlene are chatting about something by the kitchen, and both look enthusiastic. It's nice to see a carefree look on the girls. Especially Myra. Both girls are also dressed equally provocatively. Marlene in a strapless romper of sorts that would have reminded me of one of my Dauntless outfits, had it not been for it's hot pink color. Myra is in a two piece like my own, except her skirt is longer, but her top is higher.

Shauna who is running around making sure everyone is okay and has everything they need is dressed conservatively, but still nice. Lynn, who is lounging across the length of one of the couches is dressed similarly, except with tighter darker clothing. Not that I'm surprised, but it still sends a shock through me when I follow Lynn's line of sight and see she too, is watching Shauna like a hawk. And when her attention isn't on Shauna, it's on Marlene.

Zeke is over at the makeshift bar that consists of two coffee tables stacked on top of each other, a keg, a cooler, and a few bottles of gold and silver colored liquid. Not to mention the abundance of red plastic cups. A small jar also sits on the bar, with keys inside. Smart.

Christina drops her own car keys in and takes two red cups from Zeke.

"Will isn't here yet." She pouts slightly as she hands me a cup. The bronze colored liquid that foams and sloshes in my cup smells terrible. It tastes even worse. Christina laughs at my scrunched face, "Want a margarita instead?" I nod and she takes the cup from me. Beer was never my poison of choice.

She comes back in less than a minute with a cheap margarita mix drink for me. It still leaves a dry burning feeling, but it's more welcome than the beer.

We sit down on one of the floral print couches in the living room and listen to the loud music. Shauna joins us after a while and tells us that some people couldn't come till later, so we're mostly taking it slow for now.

I glance over at Zeke, who is on his third red cup since I've been here. "Slow?" I raise an eyebrow.

Shauna gives me a tight lip stare, and it's just at that moment that Will walks through the door, and Christina is up off the couch, spilling a little of her drink on the hard wood floor. Shauna goes to get napkins.

Christina and Will are all but making-out until she shoves him down on the couch next to me, then turns to go get a drink. Will had a momentary look of fright on his face before calming down. "Sometimes I forget she's strong," he mumbles.

I snort, feeling a little looser from the near empty margarita in my hand. I don't want to avoid anything tonight. It'll be good to see people, and honestly not have secrets. Which is why I turn to Will and ask him flat out, "Have you told her yet, Spike?"

His expression hardens at his alter ego. "No."

I get up to get a refill, suddenly not caring how much I have. "Don't wait too much longer." He doesn't reply.

Halfway through my second drink I start to feel the buzz. That weird adrenaline running through my limbs, slack jaw, fuzzy headed feeling that alcohol gives me. This time, I do everything I can to enjoy it. I dance to the loud music with Christina and Shauna. I even laugh loudly with Zeke a couple of times while we wait for everyone else. I have no idea how many people are coming, or when they're supposed to come. I try not to care too much.

By 9:30PM, Uriah gets visibly bored, until he shouts suddenly, "I'm not waiting anymore, it's time to play!"

"Play what?" Christina asks.

"Truth or dare. Or, as those of us in this hellish world of dancing can appropriately refer to it as, Candor or Dauntless!" How clever.

Myra who has been quiet most of the night nods enthusiastically. Marlene starts laughing and helps Will start making a circle out of the furniture. I sit at the kitchen island slowly eating some pretzel sticks. Because while I'd like to let go and have fun with my friends tonight, I can't ignore the fact that if I want to continue having fun, I need some food in my stomach, and water. I grab a bottle on my way to the circle. I'm still surprised my heels haven't hurt my feet. They haven't been worn all that much and the soles aren't even that comfortable.

I take a seat on the couch from earlier, next to the arm rest, and set my water bottle on the window sill behind me. Christina sits next to me, with Will next to her.

I grab Shauna's arm as she walks by after glancing at our smallish crowd of nine people, myself included. "How many more are we expecting?"

Shauna looks up at the ceiling, counting in her head. "Seven more." She doesn't give me names. I glance around at our space. We're going to need more furniture.

While Uriah and Zeke are struggling to move their make-shift bar closer to our playing field, Tori walks in which surprises me. Then almost immediately after Tori, Sapphire saunters through the door, followed quickly by an even more surprising Slade.

Lynn is now squished between Will and the other armrest of the chair, looking none too happy about the situation. Uriah brought down a rocking chair that Zeke now proudly sits in as though it were a throne. Slade sits on the floor against the wall, looking as though he were questioning his motives of coming. Sapphire is happily seated next to Uriah and Marlene on the smaller couch. And Tori and Myra surprise everyone by engaging in a heated conversation about carpet cleaners as they both sit on the floor with their backs to the kitchen.

"Alright! Let's begin. No use waiting on the others." Zeke states cheerfully. His words aren't slurred at all. "I'll start!"

"Who says you get to start?" Uriah protests.

"My house, my rules."

"Our house, our rules."

Shauna looks ready to smack them both upside the head. "It's your mother's house. Let's call her and see who starts."

Christina giggles at something Will whispers to her, as Lynn tosses Zeke his phone. Within seconds, the sound of the dial tone is on speaker.

Uriah suddenly pales. "Oh no. Zeke hang up!"

"Why?" He looks over at his younger brother.

"Ezekiel Pedrad there had better be a good reason you're calling me in the middle of my massage!" A husky woman's voice bites at the other end of the phone.

"H-hey mom. We were—" Zeke stammers. Uriah is motioning for him to cut the line.

"We? Uriah are you there too?"

"Just, um. We… never mind!" Zeke hits end just as his mother's voice begins to rise once more.

The room is silent, up until Tori smirks. "Your mother is getting a massage?"

Zeke and Uriah look at each other painfully. "No," Uriah says quietly. "She's giving one."

It starts with Marlene, the Christina, then Shauna, until just about everyone but the two brothers are howling with laughter. Tori just shakes her head smiling. Even Slade smirks.

Zeke stammers to explain, "She joined this online thing- they meet once a week… it's a bunch of old people, massaging other old people, all night."

Tears begin to stream down my face, and Christina complains that she's going to pee her dress. She gets up on wobbly legs and bolts to the bathroom, still laughing. My gut hurts in the best way, and my cheeks become sore from smiling.

"Okay that's enough!" Zeke yells, doing everything he can to look tough. It makes everyone laugh harder. Even Uriah starts giggling like a child.

Zeke tries again, this time getting our attention. "You! Dark haired chick!" He points across the room. "I don't know your name."

The girl in question is Sapphire. She grins at him with full dark pink lips, and piercing blue eyes. She twirls her slightly curled hair on one finger. "Who me?"

Zeke nods.

Her grin widens. Then she looks around the room. "Are we using real names now?" Her voice is almost shaky and unsure. It startles me, and reminds me once again that she really is just a child in this business. No matter how creamy her dark olive skin is, or how silky her voice is, or even what she wears, she's still only 18. Barely 18 by the looks of it. She could easily pass for any age between 15 and 24. A pit drops in my stomach at the honesty in her voice.

Shauna looks at the rest of us too. "Yes, I think it's okay. Everyone here knows everything anyway."

I sneak a glare over at Will, who is purposely avoiding my eyes. Christina doesn't notice. Maybe he really is perfect for her. No one else could keep this kind of lie from her for so long. That, or Christina isn't as good of a lie detector as she once thought.

Sapphire's sly grin turns to a modest smile. Her eyes soften, and her shoulders relax. "My name is," she swallows hard. "Elizabeth." She looks nervous now, and quickly adds, "But if you call me that your face will meet my fist. Just call me Lily."

Shauna nods approvingly.

Lily. Matt thought she had the name of a flower. He has better observation skills than I've ever given him credit for. I wonder what else he's noticed that none of us have picked up on.

Zeke's gaze travels over to Slade next, but Slade glares right back at him. Zeke shrinks in his seat and turns back to Lily. I guess Slade isn't ready to be anyone but Slade yet.

"Lily." The name rolls off of Zeke's tongue. "Truth, or dare?"

Lily's smirk returns. "Dare."

Uriah hoots. "Way to start the game right!"

"Hush up!" Zeke yells at his brother. "I'm thinking."

Uriah laughs. "Bullshit. You never think with this game."

"Shut up douche waffle."

A laugh bursts from my mouth before I can stop it. It must be the alcohol because at present, douche waffle is the best insult I've ever heard.

"Lily," Zeke regains control of his throne room. "I dare you, to get a tattoo, from Tori, right now."

My stomach rolls at the thought of a needle, even though I have two tattoos myself. Lily isn't fazed at all. In fact, her smile has widened.

Tori stands up. "I'll go get my stuff." She walks out the door, as Uriah and Marlene pull out a dining room chair for Lily to sit in under the kitchen lighting.

"What if someone doesn't want to do something?" Myra asks, much louder than I think she intended.

"You drink." Uriah says immediately and pulls out a bunch of different colored and shaped shot glasses. He pours scotch into each of them and sets them in a circle around the coffee table making it look like everyone has their own designated cop-out shot. He then tips his red cup to Myra and takes a swing. She smiles. Marlene bristles a bit at the interaction, and leans her head on Uriah's shoulder. I never would have taken her as one to be jealous.

"Speaking of drinking," Lily fills her cup from the keg. "I believe it's my turn." She scans our odd group. "Uriah. Truth or—"

"Dare." Shauna and Lynn say at the same time in an almost bored fashion.

Uriah nods happily. "What they said."

Lily smiles, once again raking her eyes over all of us. Her smile widens and she takes a sip from her cup. "Do a belly shot off of your brother."

Uriah pales for the second time tonight. Christina chokes on her drink, and Lynn begins to cackle. Zeke happily strips his shirt off and lays flat on his back in front of his brother, wearing a shit eating grin. "Come on little bro. Slurp it up will you?"

Lynn happily pours a small amount of tequila into Zeke's belly button.

"When was the last time you cleaned it out?" Marlene asks Zeke, while grinning at Uriah.

Uriah all but screams. "Don't you DARE answer that!" He makes some hand motions like he's calming himself down, which looks a little diva-ish to me. I try not to judge an intoxicated person too much when I myself am well on my way there. My initial buzz has gone, but my legs still feel like something is running up and down my bones.

Tori comes back in then. "Wait! I need to see this!" She sets her equipment for Lily's tattoo on the table and pulls out her camera.

"Really Tori?" Uriah whines.

She smirks. "You said nothing was off limits to cameras last time we played."

The last time Tori played with the Pedrad brothers? How long have they known each other?! It seems I'm not the only one confused. Christina is moving her pointed finger back and forth from Tori to Uriah with a furrowed brow. Will puts his hand over hers to lower it back to the couch, and I hear him whisper, "Pointing isn't polite." She smacks his arm.

Al walks through the door then, mumbles an apology for being late, and seems to immediately know what's going on.

Tori, still waiting for Uriah to do the shot, walks over to Lily as she sets up and Lily points to a spot on her foot, then Christina blocks my view by leaning over Will to give me a look. "They invited Al?"

I shrug. "I didn't know he was coming."

She grimaces a bit. "I've always found him to be kind of like a creepy teddy bear."

Will smacks her leg. "Not nice."

Al goes straight for the bar, grabs a red cup that's half full and abandoned on the counter and moves to sit next to the couch, almost on my feet. I shuffle them away politely to try and make room for him even though there's plenty on the other side. He smiles at me as I sip my water. I've never found Al creepy I guess, but something is definitely off as he looks at me. There's an uncomfortable churning in my stomach, and the urge to move away from him intensifies. The last time I felt like this was with Professor Thompson – before what happened that is. It's not that extreme with Al, but the feeling is there, and I can't ignore it.

"Hey Tris."

"Hey Al."

"You look nice."

I'm about to murmur back a quick thanks, but I inhale a stink of warm booze on Al instead, rather than his usual lemon grass and sage. He's already had a few drinks before coming. The discomfort spreads to my chest, and I do all I can to push down the fight or flight feeling.

"I heard you were coming." His smile broadens.

My words are sticky. "Did you?" I glance at my water bottle's label, suddenly not feeling up to talking to Al.

"Yeah." He breathes on my knee and it makes me shiver. Maybe I should get up, just to stretch. Then I'll feel better. I hope.

"Is someone going to suck the liquid from my button of belly or what?" Zeke yells, mostly at Uriah.

There's a choking sound from the door. Matt is red in the face. "I honestly never expected to hear that phrase uttered in my life, but I'm suddenly glad it has been. Especially by you Zeke, I expected no less." Matt smiles as he walks over and takes Zeke's throne-like-rocking-chair-seat. "This is sure to be a memorable experience."

"Uriah's being a Pansycake."

"I am not!"

Shauna groans. "I thought you two outgrew that word ages ago!"

They both smile at her, then Zeke turns to his brother. "Now suck my belly." Tori also moves back into view, camera in hand.

Uriah grimaces, but does as he's told. He leans forward on his knees and soon a slurping noise fills the room. But before it's over, Zeke yells, "Belly bump!" And thrusts his hips high off the ground so his lower abdomen smacks Uriah in the nose. Uriah in turn growls and wipes his nose free of his brother's skin, then gulps down the rest of what was in his drink.

"Tasty Uri?" Marlene teases.

He growls again. "I should have done it as soon as it was poured. Instead I let it sit there for a couple of minutes soaking in his juices."

Everyone groans, "Uriah please, I don't need sensory descriptions!" Will exclaims. Tori snorts and Shauna gags.

I finish the rest of the water in my bottle, and get up to use the restroom. Passing by Tori and Lily, I can see an outline of sorts being drawn on the top of her foot and part of her ankle. It looks distorted to me, but then again I have been drinking. Alcohol is still swimming in my blood, and my cheeks and chest feel flushed accordingly. My jaw is less slackened now, but as I plan on having more tonight, I can expect that feeling to tenfold. Anxiety flares in the back of my head at all the things that could go wrong if I continue down this path tonight, and for once, I shove it all into a little box and tuck it away. I should let go a bit. I have that right. Besides, who knows how much longer I'll be able to live in such a carefree way with all my friends around me, even for just one night?

Upon exiting the restroom, I immediately go make myself another cheap margarita, with more tequila and less sugary mix this time.

Uriah has his gaze fixed on Christina, she must be his target. She's smiling widely, waiting for him to say something.

"Kiss the girl you'd go lesbo for!" He shouts triumphantly. "On the lips."

She must have picked dare. "Done!" Christina gets up from the couch, and strides confidently over to me. I'm honestly not that surprised. She's told me before.

The boys start to make catcalls at the both of us. Christina takes my drink from my hand, sets it on the table, then reaches up to push my wavy hair behind my ears. She takes time caressing my neck and jawline, then turns us sideways so everyone gets a side view. Her heels make her about four inches taller than me, but she still manages to lean down gently as though she's done this before. The room goes silent as Christina's lips touch mine. She doesn't push it, probably because Uriah didn't specify a kiss from making out, though he'll probably be disappointed now. Her lips are soft, unlike any of the kisses I've received from men at the club. Even the three women who have stolen kisses from me in my time there. And just to up the ante, I wrap my arms around her neck and release a noise from the back of my throat. I can feel Christina's shoulders shake with hidden laughter as the guys in the room start to react. But soon, she pulls away, winks at me in view of everyone and walks back to her seat. Then, just for shits and giggles, I lick my lips at her.

Zeke and Uriah are wide eyed, and both look slightly ashamed. Marlene is whispering teasing words to Uriah and Shauna is giving Zeke a look that can only be described as, seriously? Matt smirks at us as he leans back in the chair, and Slade, surprisingly has looked away and closed his eyes.

"Well, that was one of the most fun dares I've ever done." Christina says casually as I take my place back on the couch next to her. Her arm rest seductively on my arm. "Tris honey, can't wait to get you upstairs."

"Anytime babe," I say lowly back at her. Warmth spreads in my chest as the others laugh, and I smile wide. This truly couldn't get to be a better night. I just didn't realize that we'd only just started. Sure I'd played Truth or Dare before, but it's only ever gone barely one round with this size group of people, because everyone gets drunk or bored after a while.

Christina looks over at Tori, who is just about to start inking Lily. "Tori?"

"Truth," Tori says almost immediately, earning some laughs from the Pedrad brothers. There must be a story behind this.

"What's your biggest regret?"

Tori doesn't even pause before the words, "Nipple piercing" fly out of her mouth.

"No way!" Myra exclaims.

Tori looks over at us, "I'm not drunk enough for this," and takes a large swing of one of the silver bottles on the counter. Then suddenly she lifts her shirt. My tongue has swollen in my mouth and it seems others have too. Sure enough, she's pierced. Tori's ample breasts are both lovely and round, but that's beside the point. In both of her dark nipples, are silver hoops.

"I've worked with you for years and I never knew!" Shauna shouts at her.

Tori shrugs then begins to laugh, pulling her shirt back down.

"Doing anything later Tori?" Matt asks jokingly.

She replies sharply. "Not with you."

"If you regret it, why not take them out?" Marlene asks, actually looking interested. I wonder if she'd get one.

Tori takes another swing. "They get caught on everything, took forever to heal. But I leave them in cause I think they're cute. Now," She finishes her cup. "Marlene, truth or dare?"

Marlene leans back in her seat. "Truth."

Uriah smirks. "Pansyc—" Marlene smacks him upside the head, much like how Shauna does Zeke. I giggle.

"What's the worst crime you've ever committed?" Tori asks now paying attention to the needle in her hand.

Marlene thinks for a moment, running a hand through her hair. "Umm. That's a good question."

"Have you committed any crime?" Lynn asks with wide eyes. Marlene has the image of the perfect good girl. But that can be easily changed to the school girl look one might find at Dauntless.

"Oh yeah. Lots actually. Pretty much all small stuff though." Marlene giggles to herself. "I would have to say the worst one, was setting fire to the hot dog stand on the pier when I was 12."

"I remember that!" Al says suddenly. "I was there that day, my dad really wanted a hot dog, but as soon as we got close, it was up in flames."

Marlene nods. "It wasn't that hard, just a little spilt lighter fluid from the burners and suddenly, boom." She laughs. "I actually burned myself a bit, right here." She shows us the underside of her arm, and there just as she said, is a shiny patch of skin like you would see on someone who had suffered a bad burn.

Uriah kisses her arm in that spot, and rubs the back of her hand with his thumb. The pair look at each other deeply. It's a look of love with no lust or longing, just full-fledged I-care-about-you-your-pain-is-my-pain love. I've shared that look with my parents, with Caleb before the accident, and now most often with Christina. It's a family love.

"Alright Marlene, pick someone." Zeke says impatiently. He just wants to be dared now.

Marlene smiles directly at him. "Shauna," she says then glances over at Shauna. Zeke is visibly disappointed. Shauna asks for a dare which surprises me, but Marlene doesn't push it. She dares Shauna simply to wear her bra on her head for the remainder of the evening. Shauna is the first of us to refuse a dare, even if it wasn't that bad. Zeke tries to push her designated shot on the table to her. Shauna picks it up and dumps it into her red cup. Marlene, Lynn, Christina, Matt and I are suddenly on edge. But clever Shauna, she dumps the drink into her mouth then pretends to gag and take a large swing of her water to wash it down, but she really spits it back into the water, smiles, then excuses herself to get some more.

Shauna then finally gives Zeke what he wants and gives him a dare. "I dare you to have a dance off, with Will."

Zeke stands immediately. Will looks a little nervous. "Do I have to?"

Christina is already giddy for the show. "You just haven't had enough alcohol. Here, drink." She shoves her cup in his face, and he smiles for her and drinks.

Matt starts the music after plugging his phone into the stereo system. "Front and center boys. Let's see what you got." Everyone looks interested now, even Slade. Lily and Tori are peaking in as well, pausing their tattoo session.

The music is low, deep, with drums beating so hard it could shake your bones. This is my music; this is what I like to dance to at Dauntless. The pounding helps me escape my reality. I can feel myself sway involuntarily, and tap my feet to the beat I would normally stomp on. Lynn dims the lighting.

Zeke begins his dance. It's awkward, and very uncoordinated. Many begin to laugh, but cheer him on as well. Uriah adds a catcall to his brother for good measure, and as Zeke does a 360 turn with his hips, he flips Uriah off. Marlene and Myra begin to dance to the music as well. Marlene keeps herself in check, but Myra is banging her head so hard I'm sure she's going to hit the wall. Once the song has ended, Zeke looks absolutely winded and red in the face, but purely happy.

Will steps up, and he glances over at Christina. He's going to actually dance, like he would if he were Spike right now.

His music is a little different. It's lighter, with more of a whistle to it in the background, but it still feels heavy, and masculine. Will moves his hips expertly, and I feel my own cheeks blush. He unbuttons his shirt slowly and begins to get hollers from some of us. He drops low when the beat drops, and is high into the air when it climaxes. His song ends abruptly, as he leans against the front door, in an effort to slide down it, but the door is thrust open from the outside, and knocks Will over with an unmanly like cry.

Christina giggles, but just moments ago her mouth was watering. Does she still really not know?

I'm laughing too as Will picks himself up, about to turn and yell at whoever knocked him over, but he stops and says "I don't know you. I'd feel bad yelling." Then he turns and walks back over to Christina, who hugs him tightly, bumping me as I try to drink my margarita.

I'm anxious to see who Will doesn't know though. I thought everyone here knew everybody.

The first thing I see through the door is a female with bouncy dark brown hair, almost black. She takes off her coat before turning back to the door. "Well come in. It's your friend's house." The alcohol in my mouth takes a sour turn. Her voice. Her fucking voice. There's only one person who could be with her. My stomach explodes into my chest and my cheeks flame. I long to release a long scream, and suddenly have the urge to cry. At least no one can tell, because my face becomes stonily guarded in an instant.

Nita.

Then, he walks in, his back to the living room, to me. I can't take my eyes off of him, yet I really don't want to look at him. It'd be better if he just never came. Oh I wish he didn't come. Then again, I'm drinking tonight. I want to have fun. I can't let him ruin that. He's with Nita. So fuck it. Fuck him.

"You were so good Will! You could be a, dancer!" Christina shouts before kissing him. She almost knocks my drink out of my hand in the process.

"Chris," Will begins.

"Yes?" Christina's eyes flutter. Suddenly on top of everything, I feel like I'm hit with a truck. I know that look. That's Christina's I'm giving you the chance to tell me the truth because I know you've been bull shitting me look. That sneaky little bitch. I snigger.

Will breathes heavily, staring at her. "You knew."

She sips her drink, pinky out. "I'm sure I have no idea what you mean, Spike."

"When did you find out?!" He asks her hurriedly.

I smile at the altercation between them. I guess no one really can tell a lie to Christina. At least not for long.

"You sir are late!" Zeke is out of his seat as soon as he can be, after drinking so much, competing in a dance competition – which I think he lost – and pours Nita and Four, drinks of their own.

Four. That's not his name. His name is Tobias. Tobias Eaton. His father knocks up Abnegation girls and he helps kill those that even the Gutter doesn't want. I wonder why he goes by Four, more now than ever. Anyone with a dad like that, must have a gruesome past. Maybe I could really piss him off by calling him by his real name tonight in front of everyone. Embarrass him. Ridicule him. Make him feel as low as he did me. Then again, maybe his name is a really sore subject that could hurt him. I can't do that. Dammit!

"What'd we miss?" Four asks. His voice sending shivers down my back. And the word we stings like a slap in the face.

Zeke hiccups. "Well for starters… Her name is Lily," he points over in Tori and Lily's direction, now halfway through her tattoo it looks like. "Shauna refused to wear her bra on her head, Uriah did a shot from MA BELLY BUTTON! Tori has a nip regret, Marlene set hot dogs on fire and I just CRUSHED William over dere at dancing." He hiccups again.

"Actually," Shauna says from the kitchen. "It was my dare, I think I should get to decide the winner." She smirks. "I think Will had you Zeke."

Zeke begins to stammer, sloshing the drink in his cup over his arm, and almost onto Nita's shirt. I'm sorry it missed. It's a pretty purple shirt, on her stupidly pretty face, with her delicate little prissy arm entangled in the crook of Four's elbow.

I down the last of my third margarita. My buzz returning in a frenzy, and I know I'm headed for trouble. "Hey Al," I say suddenly, "would you mind getting me another margarita?"

Al's face lights up like it's fucking Christmas, and he nods, immediately standing and jogging to the bar. My heart pounds a little heavier, and I know almost instantly that it's not from Four. Alcohol makes me slower, weaker, louder, dumber. I'm having too much again. I should stop.

Four walks over with Nita, not even noticing me.

I don't think I'll stop just yet.

He sits down across the room on another chair that Shauna pulled into our circle, and Nita sits at his feet. Why the fuck would he invite her anyways?

"Who's turn is it?" Lily asks suddenly joining us once more. The top of her left foot and part of her ankle are covered in a clear gloss. The design is a dark blue outline of an orchid, with little added swirls around the stem and petals.

"Mine!" Zeke yells from the kitchen. Soon he's racing back to our game, Al too. He hands me my drink, filled almost to the brim. I smile widely at him, and he returns it. Sitting once more at my feet, well, now he's actually on my left foot. Not like I can feel it anyway, my feet have gone numb from the heels.

I glance over at Zeke to see he's scanning the room, and I happen to notice that Four is staring into his own cup, across the room from me. He doesn't pick his head up at all. Nita however, is looking over at me. I can't tell if her look is a glare or curiosity. My vision is slowly becoming near sighted.

"You sir, of the unknown origin, are next!" Zeke shouts with minimal slur, pointing directly at Slade. Slade who has remained quiet this whole time, cracked a smile once or twice, whose favorite color is charcoal gray, and is still sticking to only drinking water. I'm suddenly surprised he's even here, with all the alcohol around him, I'd have thought he'd gone running. Then again, that's only based on what I've heard about him and my one experience having alcohol in his presence.

Slade nods to Zeke, and before Zeke can ask, says "Dare."

Zeke looks pleased with himself. "Sir, I dare thee to remove thy shirt. So that all the world may see thy glory."

Slade looks over at the alcohol for a moment, but in the end, reaches over his head and removes his blue shirt. However, before any of the girls can gawk too long, he pulls on his gray jacket and zips it up to the neck. It's smart of him, and I can't help but giggle. The scar on his chest looks less prominent in florescent lighting rather than the backstage black lighting at Dauntless. But it's still an ugly scar, and I really want to know what happened. If my theory that someone he cared about was killed by a drunk, driver or not, I suppose it's possible he was with them and was injured as well. Or maybe he's a masochist.

Zeke has begun to pout at Slade's loophole. Slade wears an impassive face right back. At least it's not a glare.

There's a tickling sensation on my ankle. Al has begun to rub it, consciously or not.

"Tris." Slade's voice catches my attention. His brown eyes lock onto mine. "Truth or Dare?"

"Truth." I smile back, sipping my drink once more, and almost choke on how much sugary mix is in this margarita.

Slade continues to stare at me now in silence. I find it almost impossible to look away from him, yet I also don't want to. I know it's crazy, but it almost feels like Slade is trying to communicate with me about something. His gaze is not sultry, nor lustful, or loving. It's rough, captivating, and comforting. A look that family shares after fearing they would never see each other again. It's so intimate it's terrifying.

His voice breaks my trance, "What's your favorite color?"

"Moss green."

The corner of his mouth smirks up, but dies quickly as he nods and finally ducks his head away.

Everyone in the room is quiet. All eyes on Slade and me. Even Four. He stares at me with an intensity I couldn't put to words. I can't read his expression, and it irritates me.

Nita on the other hand, looks fairly happy, sipping on her drink, her hand now resting on Four's leg. Four either didn't notice or doesn't care. And that pisses me off even more. Her bouncy dark hair is rolled up into a side bun tonight, and her eyes are lined heavily. What I wouldn't give to see her in a position at Dauntless. Just to see her fail. In fact…

"Nita," I say leaning back in my seat, my voice going high at the end of her name. Must be the sugar.

She looks actually surprised that I called her name. "Yes?"

"Truth or Dare?" Please pick dare.

Nita pauses, and almost looks unsure of herself, before giggling and answering. "Dare."

I don't pause. I don't falter. I don't give myself any chance for second guessing. "Give Four a strip tease."

Everyone's eyes nearly bug out of their heads at my tone. My conviction. Zeke and Uriah give a small holler and snicker until they too actually realize – especially Uriah – what exactly I'm doing. If Four wants Nita, he can have her. But now he'll know that she can strip and dance sensually just like me, except I get paid for it. I'm certified to be great.

Nita on the other hand, looks unsure of herself now more than before, and her face turns a bit white. I enjoy every second of it. She casually gets up and looks at Four. I hope she sucks.

Zeke looks dangerously close to snickering at the discomfort on her face, but Uriah is the one to smack him out of it this time.

Matthew hits Play on the music.

She begins to move around Four, circling him, dragging her hand across his shoulder every now and then, and leaning over him. Her moves are sloppy, jagged, and not at all natural. Just as well, Four looks every bit uncomfortable as I'd hope he'd be. He's leaning so far back in his chair, he might tip it over, and his face is contorted in confusion and dare I say it, despair. His shoulders tense, and a heat builds in his neck and travels up his ears, turning the corresponding areas a flaming red.

Christina looks over at me as Nita takes her jacket off, revealing that her pretty purple shirt is backless. "What are you doing?" Christina asks in small tones.

I shrug. "Playing the game."

Four glances over at me quite a few times, and from the corner of my eye, I take pleasure in the fact that he's not enjoying himself at all. I could do way better than Nita. And Four knows it.

Nita only goes for another ten seconds before blushing furiously and sitting back down and slamming a shot. The entire show was awkward from start to finish. She only ended up removing her jacket, and her socks. I can't help the feeling of guild dueling the feeling of victory in my chest. But they both lose out to the floating feeling of alcohol.

Apparently, Nita doesn't like eyes on her, as everyone is still staring at her and she shakes like a leaf. She quickly points to Will, and earns a glare from Christina. Will however, is a nice guy, and immediately says "Dare" before she can ask.

Nita looks around the room wildly, until her eyes land on the kitchen. "Do a shot of salsa verde."

Will does the shot, and retches once or twice into the garbage can. This earns him a large cheer from the Pedrad brothers.

Four is still glaring at me, even when Zeke bumps his shoulders enthusiastically. Nita is still red in the face.

Will then goes on to keep the theme of edible dares, dares Myra to eat a spoonful of cinnamon. Myra, looking more and more like her usual self every day, politely refuses and does a shot instead. She then proceeds to tell us that she did that same dare when she was younger, and ended up puking for the next couple of hours.

Myra also seemed to have picked up on the tension between me and my former T.A. and picked him as her target.

"Dare." His husky voice affects me more than I'd like. I'm supposed to be mad at him. I drink more alcohol, feeling as though I've hit a plateau.

Myra gleams. "I dare you to bake Zeke a cake."

Zeke is up on his feet in the next instant. "YES I FULLY SUPPORT THIS DARE!"

Four looks a little taken aback at first, but agrees reluctantly after taking a shot himself. Zeke has his arm looped in Four's and is practically skipping him to the kitchen. Everyone begins to laugh, including myself. This is what they must have looked like when they were at the Male Dancer Night at Dauntless last month. When everyone thought that Zeke was a frilly little thing of a man and Four was the brooding boyfriend along because he wants to keep Zeke happy. Well, that's actually pretty accurate as they are, except for the boyfriend part.

"Hey Tris," Al says from my feet, louder I think that he intended. "You're really pretty."

"You already said that," I shrug at him, but nod in thanks.

He stops rubbing my ankle, which had gone numb from his hands on it. "No, I mean you're really pretty."

A swarming feeling fills my gut. Al is drunk, really drunk. He wouldn't be saying this if he hadn't been drinking. "Uh, thanks." I shift in my seat to sit up a little straighter, and pull my skirt down a little farther, pushing my legs together a little harder and scrunch my face. At Al's eye level, he could see straight up my skirt. Cold air drapes over my shoulders and my skin prickles. I cross my legs suddenly, as he seemingly didn't notice his advantage. I don't help the situation at all by continuing to drink the alcohol in my hand.

I glance over at Christina, but she is fully engrossed with Will, whispering about dances to come between the two of them.

Al's hand begins to travel up my leg. I flinch harshly, almost kicking him in the face. His expression turns sad, like he didn't understand what he did to deserve that reaction out of me.

"Al!" Four's voice booms out across the room. Everyone glances up at Four who is currently stirring something. "Go sit outside."

Al begins to whine. "I didn't even say if I wanted a dare!"

Four glares at him with steam almost rising from his head, and Al reluctantly gets up. Swaying side to side, I'm almost worried he's going to fall over, but he makes his way to the door in one piece. Before going outside though, Al turns back to us and calls Marlene's name.

"Dare." She says through her cup.

Al giggles like a child. "Switch underwear with Uriah."

I feel silent relief when Al is outside, and refuse to look at Four for thanks. His eyes flick to me every now and then, but he says nothing more while he works on the cake.

Marlene on the other hand looks wary at Uriah, but he's all for it. They both excuse themselves to the upstairs, and come down a minute later. Marlene walks just fine, but has a scrunched up look on her face, and her cheeks red from laughing. Uriah comes down next, and he hesitates with every step. One hand is fixed on his butt and the other on his crotch.

"My God Marlene! How do you wear this?!"

Marlene snorts again, and immediately covers her mouth with her hands. "I thought you'd be used to it working at Dauntless."

"None of my thongs are this tight and this thin!"

Christina and Will begin to laugh as well, and I feel myself smile. Zeke on the other hand walks over to Uriah, almost inspecting him. "How thin?"

Uriah sniffles. "The boys are hanging out. And Mr. Snake barely fits. He's squished!"

"Mr. Snake?!" Lynn gapes.

"No, no no no no!" Shauna covers her ears like they were bleeding. "That is NOT something I needed to ever hear!"

Lily on the other hand is smiling like a cat, "So that's how you got your name." Her eyes rake him up and down once more, like the first time I met her. Marlene notices and scoots closer to Uriah's position.

Nita, sitting on the floor just beside them, glances over towards the kitchen. I find my eyes traveling that direction too, up to Four. Nita would just barely be able to see him from her angle, but she sighs and smiles all the same. Four is currently finalizing the batter mixture and adding in a little more flour. I have to stifle a laugh when some of the flour he stirs in spits back at his face. He looks absolutely ridiculous. He even put a blue apron on. The sleeves of his black shirt rolled up to his biceps and the concentration written on his face is almost malleable.

He picks his head up a bit and pours the mixture into the cake tin. I look away before he can feel my eyes on him, and finish off my drink in a rush.

It takes Uriah a solid five minutes to sit down on the couch comfortably. Still, he shifts his hand down to his most private area every now and then to adjust. Marlene teases and coddles him at the same time. "You should be honored. You're the first person to wear my underwear and the last person to ever wear that specific thong."

He grumbles at her.

"Okay," Marlene claps her hands together, "Zeke,"

Zeke leans back against the wall, a cocky smile on his face. He's been called on twice now while others haven't been called at all. He must be feeling good about himself. "Dare."

Marlene smiles. "Paint your finger, and toe, nails blue."

Zeke doesn't miss a beat. "Christina!"

"Dare." She smirks, seeming to know where this is going.

"Paint my nails blue." He then proceeds to march into the other sitting area that I can only assume is the dining room and comes back with about five different shades of blue nail polish. "I am at your mercy. Be kind and do me proud."

Christina snorts and kneels with him on the floor sorting through the colors determining which pattern would look best, or they could do individual designs, and either way it had to be perfect, and oh! where was the top coat, or even a base coat would work.

I took the opportunity to stretch out a bit on the couch now that Christina was on the floor. Will got the idea too and soon we were shoving back and forth trying to get space. Eventually, I ended up with my feet over his lap. "Christina says you give good foot rubs."

Will almost turns red. "Well, I, uh, guess, um I could try."

I have no idea if he actually gives good foot rubs, but I figured Christina had demanded it at one point or another, so I just went with it. But the shade of red he turned, I'm assuming it was most certainly something within the sexual boundaries that couples experience. Or so I'm told. A neon sign of Christina shouting "VIRGIN" at me in my head blossomed just then, and I felt my own cheeks redden.

"Can I come in yet?" Al shouts from just outside. Lynn and Lily snicker as Four immediately says "No." through the door.

Myra sways as she stands and giggles at herself when she trips a bit. Will is currently trying to remove one of my shoes. "Grab me another beer!" Matt shouts as Myra makes it to the kitchen.

"Me too!" Uriah shouts.

Myra nods, but suddenly pales and dashes for the bathroom. The sounds of her retching fills the room with a sudden disgust. I wouldn't call myself a sympathetic vomitter, but the noises don't help at all.

"Never mind then." Matt says as he stands.

I grab his arm as he passes. "Grab me the vodka bottle."

He nods, but looks slightly confused at my request. He and Four both come back to the room then, as Tori gets up to go check on Myra. Matt hands me the bottle, "They only had vanilla vodka left."

"That's fine," I say as I take the bottle.

He gives me another look. "You're really going for it aren't you?"

"Might as well," falls from my mouth after my first swing. I need to be careful or all my thoughts will start pouring out without my say so. It's only happened twice, and both times were times I only got tipsy. If I'm going for drunk, who knows what will happen.

The buzzing in my brain intensifies after my next swing and a rush of warm air floods my throat and through my nose. Happens every time with vodka. My fingers start to feel numb and my lips smack together. Will laughs at me as his fingers dig into the soles of my feet, now free of those horrible shoes, and I sigh loudly in relief.

Four is looking at me. Staring is more like it. He looks concerned, confused, and almost angry, though I can't tell at what. This time I stare right back, and even raise the bottle to him.

"Christina." Shauna says, "It's your turn."

"Oh right!" She picks her head up from Zeke's toes, which must not smell that bad. With the lightest of the blue polishes in her hand, she points to Lynn.

The door opens and Al crawls back in. I roll my eyes and pray he doesn't come over here. His lips are blue. Christina notices Will rubbing my feet, and Al's less that subtle entrance.

"Dare," Lynn says nonchalantly.

"Sit upside down for an hour. If you have to come down before the hour is up, you must spend the next hour rubbing Al's frozen feet."

Lynn gapes at her. Al on the other hand looks rather pleased. Lynn could easily pass out after an hour of sitting upside down. Lynn almost looks towards the alcoholic shots that have gone mostly untouched. She would be the third person tonight to refuse to do something. It's actually quite impressive how long we've all gone. It's nearing 11:30 now, and I can still see the clear night sky through the window.

Zeke and Uriah (although uncomfortable) are itching to call her a Pansycake. I can see it on their faces. I wonder if there's an actual recipe for it. Maybe that's what Four is making right now.

I giggle to myself. Will gives me another odd look, Shauna does too but I ignore them and take another drink.

"Matt," Lynn asks as she moves to sit upside down on the couch.

"Truth," he answers smiling.

Lynn smirks upside down. "You a virgin?"

Matt pauses for a moment, but has no shame in his answer. "Yes."

I certainly wasn't expecting that answer. It seems others weren't as well. Christina's hand slips on Zeke's nails and she cries out in frustration.

Uriah begins to giggle, "Dude…"

"Missing out," Zeke says and winks at Shauna. Her face flames.

"First time might be sloppy though." Will adds. "Especially if she's a virgin too." Christina gives him a look, he shrugs. They weren't each other's firsts. They must have known that, but probably never mentioned it.

"Can we do a virgin count?" Uriah asks.

"Okay!" Zeke shouts, answering happily for everyone. "Room wide truth time. You must take a shot if you're not answering. All those who are virgins raise your hands."

Al's hand goes up almost instantly, as if he's pleased with himself. Matt's hand goes up as well. Lily, surprisingly also raises her hand. Then again, she's only eighteen. Myra and Tori are still in the bathroom so we'll never know for sure, though it can be assumed based on what I know of both of them that they're not.

"Now raise your hands if you lost that puppy."

"Please don't refer to virginity as a puppy." Marlene groans as her hand goes up. Followed quickly by Lynn, Shauna, and Zeke's hands. Christina and Will both raise their hands shortly after. Nita also raises her hand, looking completely embarrassed. Slade too, raises his hand. I thought for sure he would take a shot on this one. Then again, it's alcohol. . .

"Wait a minute!" Matt says quickly. "Two people in the room haven't raised their hands." His voice is almost song like. "And they haven't done shots either." I feel like had this conversation happened a couple of months ago, I would have punched Matt for singling me and my sexual status out in front of people. Now, it doesn't bother me as much. I can't decide if that's progress at being more open or not.

All eyes land on Four and I.

I shrug my shoulders and reach for the pre poured amber liquid still in the middle of the floor. I tip it to Four while not really looking at him, and shoot it quickly, gasping at the dry burning after taste. Scotch has never been my favorite.

He follows my lead and downs his own shot quickly. There was less grimacing on his part.

"Wouldn't it be cute if they were both virgins?" Lily asks while drawing patterns on the carpet and looking at the two of us with half lidded eyes.

"They could be each other's firsts! It'd be so fairytale like!" Marlene claps her hands and squeals.

"There's room upstairs!" Uriah cheers almost as if he were invited.

Four's face reddens and I just laugh at the fact that we're even having this conversation. But the redness in his face makes me question, is he actually experienced at all? He could either be embarrassed at lack of experience, or ashamed from experience. Nita looks a little confused as well.

Shauna looks over at me. "Wait, Tris I thought you lost it on your birthday a couple of years ago."

"Oh yeah I remember that!" Lynn shouts happily from her upside down hang. "That was the loosest I've ever seen you outside of work. What was the guy's name?"

"Edgar." I finish for them, smiling.

"Right, so did you?" Lynn asks.

I take another swing. "Guess you'll never know." Then laugh, partially at their expressions, and also at the grave look now on Four's face. That's right Four, other guys have been near me. Close enough where even my friends thought I'd sleep with them.

Only Christina knows the truth. Edgar was nice and handsome, I had just turned nineteen, and he was in his twenties. We danced, we drank, and I considered giving it up to him when we got back to Chrsitina's and my apartment, but he passed out on the couch almost instantly after walking through the door. I was disappointed (and under alcoholic influence) at the time, but the next morning through my slight hang over I was happy nothing happened. It actually scared me at how easily I was willing to participate in such an intimate act with a guy I'd probably never see again. Every time I've thought about it since, it's continued to scare me a bit.

Maybe Four would be different? No. Tobias would be different. He's already proven his interest in my mind and who I truly am behind my looks and physique. He watches me like a specimen to be examined and I find that his attention is more often than not, intoxicating.

Maybe I just never wanted to really admit it to myself. Maybe I didn't really understand my own feelings.

I don't want to hurt him.

My smile dies, and a weight settles in my chest. I take another large gulp of alcohol and instantly regret it. Alcohol can make a person looser, but it can also drown you in your own sorrows. It multiplies my feelings and suddenly I can't decide which I want to do more – jump him, or cry over him.

"So in this moment of silence, I would like to continue by selecting my next victim," Matt says gleefully. He looks over at me, and his expression softens just a bit from his large smirk. Then he winks. "Nita."

Nita's head pops up and she looks instantly nervous again. At least I can still smile at that.

"Dare."

Matt taps his chin as if in thought. Then Zeke who still sits next to him, puts a hand over his stomach and a large grumble floods the room. Uriah begins to laugh. Shauna gets up and brings in the last of the food we had set out.

"I dare you," Matt watches as Zeke and Uriah practically devour the snacks. Four's cake only has about 15 more minutes in the oven, but then it'll have to cool before the frosting is applied. It starts to make my mouth water with the smell of said pastry beginning to fill the room. I don't know what flavor he made, but it smells delightful. Zeke on the other hand has picked up on the scent too and continues sniffing the air madly.

Matt once again looks at the food, then back to Nita. "Order us some pizzas, then make out with the delivery kid, as long as they're legal of course."

Nita seems pleased with the dare. It's easy enough. What irks me though, is when she looks to Four as if needing his permission in order to complete the dare. He doesn't even acknowledge her. His eyes are still downcast at the floor.

She puts in the orders a couple of pizzas from the nearest pizza parlor, which to our dismay, was called Papa Max's Pizza. No association with our boss, but everyone still cringes then laughs awkwardly. Shauna and Marlene begin an animated conversation then about what Max might look like if he were Papa Max in the Papa Max's Pizza logo, and Lily ends up spitting some of her drink out at their description of him in not but an apron with a large black mustache.

"While we wait, am I allowed to ask someone?" Nita asks, again looking towards Four.

"Be our guest." Uriah says eagerly. I think he just wants to get picked now to redeem himself from doing a belly shot from his brother and being involved in Marlene's dare of switching underwear. The latter of which he seems to have gotten used to now. I make a vow to dare him next if I ever get picked again.

"Tris." Nita says suddenly. As if I had seen it coming.

"Truth." I slur slightly back at her. Even though I'm one of the lighter weights when it comes to alcohol in the room, I've had plenty to put a normal person on their ass. Plus I don't want to get up. Will only just moved his hands to massage my other foot.

Nita's eyes narrow. "Have you ever done the walk of shame?"

I bark out a laugh. "You just reallllly want to know what happened to my chastity, don't you? Have a crush on me Nita?" My voice drawls, but it earns me a few chuckles in the room.

"I asked the question, you're supposed to answer."

I wave my hand at her dismissively. She's smiling now. She's trying to discredit me in front of Four. He tensed slightly at my name being called, and shivered at my voice, yet he still doesn't look at me. I must have some insane power over him. It makes me feel good again.

I lean over on my side, and rest my head on my arm looking at her. "Fine. What counts as the walk?"

Nita looks confused. "What do you mean what counts?"

Lily pipes up then, "Could mean anything physical really. Just that you walked home the next day, in partial shame wearing the same thing you did the night before or in someone else's clothes. Nights coming from Dauntless don't count."

Nita settles for this since she doesn't find anything else to say.

I smile at Nita. "Not yet."

Some of the guys chuckle. Christina widens her eyes at me, and smiles in anticipation. I just nod to her and she claps her hands. Only then I realize that I just promised Christina that I would do a walk of shame, which means I'll eventually spend the night with a guy and return in his clothes or my own from the previous evening. Which in Christina's mind means I'll finally have sex. Joy.

Nita on the other hand looks a bit ruffled at my answer, and narrows her eyes when my own flick to Four of their own accord. She scoots a little closer to him, and I smile knowing I can make her insecure and jealous, even when I'm not even a threat.

I don't want to keep the silence going for too long though. "Uriah."

He practically glows. "Dare."

"Fantastic. I dare you to jump off of the roof into the snow pile on the side of the house in nothing but Marlene's underwear."

Uriah's face falters at first then he begins to grin. Downs two shots and bolts up the stairs.

"QUICK!" Zeke yells jumping to his feet with remarkable speed. "GET OUTSIDE OR HE'LL DO IT WITH NO WITNESSES."

Everyone who is not piss drunk (meaning Lynn who is also still sitting on her head impressively and Al mostly) gets up quickly and rushes outside. Almost not fitting through the door. I glance towards the bathroom on my way out, and the light is still on under the door. Slade even comes with us. Tori is going to be sorry to miss this. Myra too.

Four and Nita hang back slightly inside, and in the midst of everything, I forget to put my shoes on.

My feet sting instantly as they hit the cold cement walk way. I cringe and pray the warmth of the alcohol flowing through my blood will be enough to keep me from losing my toes.

I look up just in time. Zeke is howling with laughter and so many others join in. Shauna is busting a gut, and Marlene looks just a bit mortified that it's her underwear currently displaying Uriah in all his glory.

I've seen the full male physique multiple times. But Uriah is something else. He stands there after crawling through the upstairs window almost butt naked, proudly wearing Marlene's blood red thong. It's at that moment I see Uriah was right, it doesn't hold him at all. His sack dangles almost god-like in the moon light, and his member is clearly squished, but the cold is accommodating and probably shrinks him a bit. Still, he's of impressive size. His body on the other hand is hard and distinguished. I didn't pay much attention to it at Dauntless, and now I realize what a mistake that was on my part. He's very handsome. His hands clench and unclench from the cold, and his teeth visibly chatter together. I almost feel bad for him.

"Go URI!" Zeke shouts. Lily whistles loudly.

Uriah looks over at the snow pile. The top of the mound is only three feet down from his location, but I think he's hesitating because of how cold it will be once he's landed inside the mound.

"Okay!" He yells back, sounding very unsure of himself. Then, he covers his junk and leaps.

Almost instantly he's swallowed by snow and it reminds me of a clip off the internet where someone jumps into a small puddle and CGI makes it look like they fell all the way in. It was one of the funniest things I'd ever seen, and now I have my own real life version. I will forever have that in my head, and I'm grateful.

Uriah bursts through the pile of snow and looks like a brownie coated in powdered sugar. It only makes me laugh harder and makes me hungrier. His hands never leave his junk. "FUCK." He looks over at my, eyes wild with survival.

I shrug between breaths. "Sorry dude." It's the first time in a long time I've said the word 'dude' and it feels weird.

"Uri, get into the house before you freeze your potential spawn to death." Matt slurs, and then snorts.

"FUCK."

Zeke moves over to his brother then and whispers loud enough for all of us to hear, "Ice ice babies."

"FUCK." He says again and scurries into the house.

"His vocabulary seems to be very limited at the moment." Christina laughs so hard I'm worried she'll pee herself.

"Can't imagine why!"

A car pulls into the driveway, startling all of us. A car sign for Papa Max's Pizza glows on the roof of the car, and out steps a pimple faced Justin Bieber wannabe who is barely five feet tall. "Pizza?" He asks with a cracking voice, and beginning to eye Christina and myself up and down.

I glance over at Nita. I hadn't seen her and Four follow us out here until after Uriah jumped and they moved out of the pathway to the door for him to bolt inside. I wonder if they missed it. Too bad, Uriah will probably never do that again.

Nita on the other hand is cringing, hard. Matt eagerly walks up to the guy, hands him some cash and brings the five pizzas inside. He stops before the doorway, "How old are you?"

The kid straightens up. "Turned eighteen yesterday! This is my first night delivery."

Matt and Zeke snicker. Nita puts her head in her hands and I can hear her groan. I'm far too pleased with this development. Four even begins to look a little amused at everyone having a good time. It's just the smallest of smirks, but it floods me with emotions. Emotions I don't quite know what to do with at the moment, so for now I'll settle on watching Nita make out with the pizza guy.

"How long?" Nita asks as the kid is about ready to get back into the car.

"At least a minute." Zeke says smiling, "We're kind."

"Pizza guy!" Matt shouts now from the kitchen window. "The girl in the purple shirt has your tip."

The kid looks confused and counts the money Matt gave him. "You already tipped me $15."

Matt smiles sinisterly. "Not that kind of tip." Then he walks back outside to get a better view.

Nita is a good sport. She walks up to the kid, and I swear she threatens him if he gets handsy, before she presses her lips to his. The kid flips out suddenly and his hands go around her in an instant, grabbing whatever he can get a hold of. I can see his jaw angle open more and I know he's trying to tongue, but Nita is not letting that happen. She's a head taller than him, and it makes it even better.

When Zeke calls time, Nita pulls away and runs to the house, wiping her mouth in the process. The kid on the other hand, looks thoroughly fucked up. His hair is wild, even if she didn't touch it, and his lips are red and swollen. And the little friend in his pants seems to agree. I half wonder if he's ever actually been kissed before. Especially to earn that kind of reaction. He then has the gall to ask if anyone else wants a turn, since he's more than willing to pay the tip forward. Zeke starts swaggering towards him smirking and the kid races back to his car, locking the blue-finger-and-toed-crazy-eyed-Zeke out.

After some more snickering, we all make it back into the house. Not before Zeke shoves snow down Shauna's shirt and Matt fall flat on his butt twice. I never would have taken him to be a light weight drinker.

When they do come in, Four goes straight to the kitchen and takes the cake out of the oven. It's browning but yellow mostly all throughout. Zeke will be devastated it's not chocolate, but I don't think he'll complain too much once he actually begins to eat it. Four then begins to make a frosting, and that's when I see the chocolate come out. Hot heavy cream mixed with a small amount of cream cheese, powdered sugar poured over chucks of white, milk and dark chocolate in their own individual bowls. I'm more anxious to see him frost the cake than finish this game. I sit down with my cold aching feet – all of Will's hard work has regrettably reversed itself – tucked underneath me, and grab a slice of pepperoni from the side table.

"Ok-k-kay." Uriah says coming back into the room dressed like he lives in the Arctic Circle. "M-my turn-n. Lil-ly." He sits down and his hands immediately go down his pants with a couple of hot hand warmers. Marlene is audibly disgusted and amused at the same time.

Lily batts her eyes. "Yes?"

Uriah narrows his eyes at her. She smiles innocently and saws "Dare."

It takes him a minute to get the words out, but he ends up daring her to eat a head of raw broccoli. Lily scowls suddenly and takes a shot. She must be a picky eater.

"Shauna, truth or dare?" Lily asks, downing another shot.

"Truth." Shauna says crossing her arms over herself to help warm up faster. Goosebumps still pimple everyone's arms.

"What's your biggest fear?"

Shauna's face scrunches up, "Failure."

The room quiets a bit as Shauna's serious answer brings back a huge pressure point for everyone here. If we fail, we die. But Shauna soon wipes the expression off of her face and calls on Slade next. He doesn't look as tense as he did when he first came here tonight, but he doesn't appear relaxed either. I wish he would. Shauna asks him if he's ever gotten a tattoo from a dare.

"Yes."

Zeke snorts, "Wouldn't it be funny if tough guy over here had something like a heart on his tushy?"

Slade, for the first time I've ever seen, blushes furiously and his brown eyes widen immensely.

Matt's jaw drops. "No way . . ."

Uriah mumbles something slurred and stuttering that sounds vaguely like, "You said that was a birthmark in the dressing room."

Zeke tips backwards into the standing lamp and crashes, unbelieving that he just guessed it. Slade could deny it all he wanted now, but his face just gave it away. And now everyone in this room knows that Slade, mystery of the universe, has a red heart tattooed on his ass. It's fucking perfect.

Zeke now wears the lamp shade for a hat, but doesn't seem to care.

Slade, eager to not be the center of attention looks around the room quickly. His eyes land on me, but he already got me once. It'd be too conspicuous if he picked me again and he knows it. This drunk group of people would automatically assume Slade and I had something we weren't telling to the others. It's best to avoid that kind of situation as often as possible.

Tori emerges from the bathroom then, just setting her phone down, and goes to bring a water bottle back for Myra, who is still being sick.

"Tori." Slade calls.

She looks up, a bit exasperated, and instantly says "Truth."

"As a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?" Slade is a good conversation starter.

Tori takes a piece of Hawaiian pizza. "An artist. I wanted to work mostly with watercolor and pastels. So, when I realized I needed money, I started tattooing. Turns out I'm bomb at it. That's actually how I started at Dauntless, by getting hired at their home tattoo parlor, then turning dancer. Turns out I was bomb at that too."

Everyone quiets a bit at the name of our choke hold Dauntless.

Lily looks down at her jelly covered tattoo and nods in approval once more to Tori.

"So, my turn. Will," Tori looks over at Will resting comfortably against Christina.

"Truth." He calls back, and he yawns. It seem the game is dying down.

Tori smirks. "Ever gotten or given oral in a public place."

Will's head hits the back of the couch hard, "Yes." Christina squeaks. "Multiple times in both directions." That earns a few chuckles. Christina looks mortified, the exact opposite as she would have if that had been admitted when she was sober.

A cab pulls up then, and Tori pulls Myra out of the bathroom. She announces she's taking Myra home. Zeke whistles and she throws an empty bottle at him. It crashes hard against the wall scattering glass across the floor. Shauna gets up to grab a broom. We all say goodbye to Tori and Myra.

"Lynn, you can come up now." Christina says after her head comes off of Will's chest. "It's been an hour. Well done."

Lynn flips over happily, and then immediately passes out.

I feel a yawn reaching my lips, but the alcohol is still present in my system. My bottle of vanilla vodka is only half gone. I shouldn't even have had that much. I'll be hung over in the morning for sure. It's just barely past 12:30 now. This is normally early for me, but I'm exhausted really.

"Four, truth or dare." Will calls over to the kitchen.

I didn't even see Four get up, but sure enough he's currently marbling the cake with white chocolate, milk chocolate and dark chocolate frosting. There's even a bowl of white chocolate covered raspberries in a bowl next to him. How fancy is he making this?

"Dare." He calls back, not even looking up.

Will nudges me. "Suckle someone's ear."

Four picks his head up in slight surprise. I can see his eyes are slightly glazed over with the small amount of alcohol he's had tonight. Nowhere near as much as the rest of us. He, Shauna, and Slade are the only real sober ones here. His eyes flash to mine and he scowls. "Later."

This gets everyone's attention.

"Uh-uh Four. Gotta do it now!" Zeke says gleefully.

"Did you state the rules before the game that it had to be done right when the dare is given?"

"No?" Zeke says suddenly distraught.

Four smirks for the second time tonight. "Then I will do the dare. Later. Gotta state the rules beforehand Zeke, you know that." He begins to set the raspberries on top of the cake in a circular swirly pattern starting in the middle and working its way out. "Don't feel too bad Zeke. Your cake is almost done by the way."

A smile returns to Zeke and he sits happily in his seat once more.

"Do I get some?" Uriah asks with his hands still shoved down his pants.

"Only if Zeke says so." Four responds in a very fatherly tone that makes my toes curl.

Zeke's lips rise at his younger brother and Uriah huffs.

"Al," Four says as he brings the cake to the center coffee table in the living room, and sets a fork down in front of Zeke who instantly begins to eat it. Moaning with every bite.

Al smiles. "Dare."

"I wasn't asking you if you wanted a dare." Four says sternly. "Move your feet." I feel myself smirk.

Al frowns and does as he's told, clearing Four's pathway back to his seat.

"On second thought," Four says, "I will give you a dare. Go sit outside again."

"For how long?" Al asks getting up.

"Until I say otherwise."

Al puts his hands on his hips. "Fine, but before I go. Tris,"

Me again? "Yes?"

"Dare?" He asks hopeful.

"Sure."

Al looks triumphant. "Make out with someone in the room."

I roll my eyes. "I already did that."

"That was part of my dare though." Christina says from my right. "Though I wouldn't mind a second round if you're up."

My eyes glance at Four, and his eyes are on me. "Anyone?" I ask Al, not looking at him. Four's shoulders stiffen.

Al nods.

"Fine." I stand up, walk directly at Four despite Nita's harsh scowling and turn at the last moment to Matt standing against the wall and plant my lips on his. Matt's lips are nowhere near as soft as Christina's were, nor are they as full and plump. Matt's lips are cracked a bit, and dry. The beer on his tongue is revolting, but all in all, he's not a bad kisser.

I pull away after a short amount of time and sit back down. Four is once again looking at his shoes and Al looks shot down. "Go outside now." I usher him.

He does as he's told. Matt on the other hand looks great.

"Zeke." I call out. "I already know you want a dare, I'll give you a choice:" he leans in towards me, ready. "Either share your cake with Uriah, or lick the underside of his shoe."

Uriah looks very interested in this dare as his brother scowls. "Shoe." He says pulling a face and wrapping an arm around the plated cake.

"I'll go get it!" Marlene jumps up since Uriah has only just stopped stuttering.

Zeke is so determined when it comes to this game. He puts on a brave face as Marlene comes down the steps with the ugliest dirtiest shoe I could have imagined. It's completely black on the bottom even though they were clearly white when bought. The laces are grimy and almost green and it smells awful. But, ever the king of dares, Zeke gives the underside of the shoe one long lick. And then proceeds to swallow whatever it was on his tongue. He grimaces hard like he ate something sour and shivers unpleasantly.

I stand, suddenly very tired and go to the kitchen. I set my vodka bottle down and trade it for some water. Gulping it down and walking out to the bathroom.

Zeke is still gagging when I return, but this time I stay in the kitchen and munch on some left over pizza crusts from someone else's eating.

"Okay," he croaks out. "Marlene."

"Truth." She says while playing with Uriah's small amount of hair.

"What's your best sex move?"

"Really Zeke?" Shauna asks, disbelief written over her face. That upset her really fast. Mood swings. "You have to ask her that?"

"It's okay Shauna." Marlene adds, "It's just a game."

Shauna huffs and walks out of the room. Zeke looks torn between following her and waiting for Marlene's answer. But Marlene waved him out, "Go follow her."

We never find out what Marlene's answer is. Soon Shauna and Zeke are yelling upstairs. It's muffled, but Shauna sounds upset and Zeke just sounds confused. Just tell him already.

Christina and Will go to the other dining room, and Matt goes with Lily and Slade to the basement that I didn't know existed until now. You can practically see the heat that flows from the room. That must be where they're sleeping.

Nita goes to use the restroom, and Uriah and Marlene drag a now passed out Al from outside to lean against the front door, then also go upstairs to see if there's anything they can do to help. I find myself alone in a room that was once crowded with noise, laughter and friends. Something about it feels eerie.

Half of Zeke's cake is still sitting on the table though. And while sweets don't sound the best right now, I'm really curious since Four is the one who made it.

I grab my own fork and take a small piece. The yellow cake is so moist and strong that I close my eyes to savor the sensation. The chocolate frosting is more like a shell and melts almost instantly in my mouth. I steal one of the raspberries and am delighted at the taste as well. Before I can grab another bite, a voice comes from behind me,

"I thought you were supposed to ask Zeke first."

Heat builds in my chest as I turn to face Four.

"And I thought we weren't on talking terms. Certainly seemed that way these past nine days."

Four's face hardens a bit, but he forces himself to relax. "I was childish, I know. I wanted to talk to you, I just didn't know how to start."

"Maybe by picking up the phone or even coming to the Pit." I add sarcastically, going in for another bite. "Or ya know, if you prefer just come to Dauntless again. I'll give you a discounted dance."

Four grabs my wrist hard and spins me around to face him once more. But he lets go as soon as he sees my distressed face. Something within him changes in that split second and he looks to the wall as if it had the answers. His jaw is clenched tightly as I rub my wrist gently.

"Why did you lie to me?" He asks, finally looking back at me.

I take a deep breath. He wants to do this now? Here? Fine. "I didn't lie to you. I just withheld the truth. I never told you something that was false. And had you not been an idiot and arrive at Dauntless three days early, I would have told you!" I punch his shoulder, and for a moment it makes me feel better. Then the weight settles again and I begin to drown.

Four looks pained at my response. "I know, I just can't understand why you withheld it. Something that big!"

"I didn't know if I could trust you."

"You have a hard time trusting anyone don't you?"

"Yes."

He shifts his feet. "Did you even consider the position you were putting me in?"

Now I'm mad. "Position? What position is that? Sorry I didn't tell you because I didn't want to get killed, I didn't want to get you killed, I don't want anyone to get killed." Well, there's Eric. "It's not just a club I work at, it's a whole underground system run throughout the city run by powerful people. No one would believe us if we came forward, and besides, we wouldn't be able to say it loud enough fast enough before someone within their regime found us out. Not in Chicago anyway. They have eyes and ears everywhere. I wouldn't be surprised if they've bugged the Pit actually." That thought alone is terrifying. "That's why we were reaching out for help. We couldn't do it on our own. We had the information but we needed an out. That's what I was going to tell you, ask of you, beg you if I had to. Because against all of my better judgement, I decided to let you in and take a chance at trusting you!" I get closer to him, just he can understand exactly how difficult this has been. My eyes prick at the corners, but my voice is sturdy. "We're one of their biggest sources of off the books income. Why risk selling drugs or exotic animals when you can enslave girls to dance for you and bring in thousands of dollars a night?" My tone lowers to a deep whisper, glaring Four in the eyes. "Why couldn't you have just walked away? This position you're in, you put yourself there. I didn't ask for your attention. I didn't ask you to like me."

His eyes flash, but his face remains impassive. "Do you like me?"

I thought he was the one supposed to be giving answers here, apologizing. Not me. He's the one who reacted badly and walked out. He owes me the explanation. Why am I so open now? What gives him the right to ask me that question?

Something sparks inside me. I reach down and grab the hem of my shirt and rip it over my head, leaving me in a strapless black bra Christina lent me, and my raven tattoos.

Four stiffens immediately at my newly exposed skin. He's seen me at Dauntless. He shouldn't have a problem with this. "What are you doing?"

"Playing the game."

"The game?"

"You asked me a question. I chose not to answer. So I removed an article of clothing rather than take a shot."

He almost rolls his eyes. "Tris,"

"I shouldn't be having any more alcohol tonight anyway, so this is the next best thing. Strip truth or dare, except now it's just truths."

"Would you please put your shirt back on?"

"Bothered?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

Four takes a deep breath, forcing himself to relax. It's almost comical. His dark blue eyes don't rake over me, or even flick every now and then to exposed skin like any other normal male human being. His gaze is locked on my eyes, painfully. For one of the first times in the last week, I'm right where I want to be. I have his attention. I'm making him understand. I'm explaining, and making him see that I had the right intentions, it just didn't go the way he wanted it to go. Unfortunately for Four, life isn't fair. I can't be molded into something that's easy to handle; I'll act, play along, and be the delicate flower to survive, but if you challenge me you'll get stuck with my thorns.

He opens his mouth just a bit, and although it's hard, I manage to keep my eyes from glancing at his lips. "Tris," he takes my shirt from my hands and turns it back from its inside out fold. Then he reaches towards me and pulls the shirt back over my head. "I'm sorry."

My heart jolts at the sound of his voice – I've broken him down. Those two words that I needed to hear, came out in the sincerest form I couldn't even imagine.

"What I did was inexcusable. I can't even begin to fathom what you've had to endure in order to survive. At first I was just trying to wrap my head around the fact that you were dancing in a place like that," his voice dips. "And you looked like you enjoyed it." Four closes his eyes briefly, and I wish he wouldn't. Does he still question if I enjoyed it? I have to at times just to get through the night. "I was stupid to be there early. I had a feeling, but I didn't want it to be true." He chuckles darkly. "I wasn't even there that night for you. I had fully intended to come when you wanted me to, but something came up, and I saw you there. My emotions took over and I needed to get out of that place. It's small enough as it is, but suddenly everything was closing in." Is he claustrophobic? "I needed to calm down. But by then, you had seen me and I reacted badly. And, I'm sorry Tris."

Moisture touches my cheeks, so I wipe it away quickly, finally breaking eye contact. I don't know what to say to that. I had partially expected him at this point to never talk to me again. I don't know what I was expecting actually. I just wanted to confront him, I wanted him to grow up, I wanted things to be made right. There's still one thing however that I don't know the answer to.

"So," I begin, my voice croaking more than I'd like. "You still haven't told me, whether or not you agree to help me. I'm sure Shauna or Zeke has filled you in on the basics of the plan."

He nods. "They did. And I've never felt more idiotic."

More moisture on my cheeks, but I smirk. "Really? Never failed a class or screwed up other life events?"

The corner of his mouth twitches. "Well, maybe."

"You'll have to tell me about that. In my mind you were already so perfect, it's nice to see you flawed as well."

His mouth moves a little more, and his sarcastic tone comes back. "I'm happy my faults make you so pleased."

I sigh. "I've missed this. We haven't spent much time together, but I miss it." That was meant to only be a private thought. My face flushes quickly. It's that left over alcohol in my system. My filter isn't as guarded as it usually is. "Is that weird?"

"No," he says quickly. "I've missed talking with you too. And seeing you smile. While I don't mind your scowl, it's not as fun when it's directed at me."

My smile widens, and so does his. "Tell me something," I say.

"What?"

"Do you trust me?"

He doesn't pause like I would have. "Yes." The sound makes me feel with a calm warmth from head to toe.

I take a deep breath. Trust test time. "I wish you would tell me your real name."

His eyes flicker off to the side and there's a slight roll in his shoulders. The blue in his eyes lightens for a fraction, and his cheeks gain a slight flush. It's the most vulnerable I've seen him.

Please. Tobias, please trust me.

"My name is—"

"Four?" Nita's voice startles both of us. Her brown eyes stare accusingly at me. Her arms are crossed over her chest tightly, and her foot taps impatiently on the floor. She's acting childish, and it almost makes me laugh. But for the sake of Four I hold it back. I don't even really know what their relationship is, if they have any. Well obviously they have one. They came here together and she's been cuddling up to him all night. Green jealousy blooms in my chest once more, and I begin to narrow my eyes at her.

"Yes?" Four is strictly calm, and it seems he can taste the tension between the two of us.

She almost scoffs like he should have been expecting this. "Are you ready to go now? It's very late."

"I'm staying here tonight."

"What do you mean, you're staying here tonight?" She's about to blow.

"I don't know how else to phrase that so you can understand it. I'm spending the night at my friend's house."

"Right, so you can be with her!" There it is. Her jealousy is worse than mine. It makes me feel just a bit better. She thinks Four has chosen me over her. "I knew you were fucking her behind my back."

Four straightens up immediately and turns to face Nita completely, almost shielding me from her. Or maybe he's protecting her from me. Because if she says much more, I'm going to lose my filter again, and maybe even my collected stance. My fists are already clenching.

"It makes perfect sense. That's why neither of you admitted if you'd slept with someone before."

"Nita," Four begins. But really, what do you say to someone who can't be convinced of the truth? How do you communicate with them? "Tris and I are not," he takes a breath. "Sleeping together." Not yet.

"Did you know I'm his date tonight? He asked me to come here with him."

"That doesn't make it a date." I snap back at her.

Four takes a half step back, closer to me. "Nita I've tried to be friends with you. But it's not working."

"Don't do that. You're mine. You've always been mine." Tears form in her eyes. "Ever since we were kids. I knew you were mine. Why are you doing this to me?"

"You can't force him to like you as something else," I say firmly. "You can't control him."

This seems to spark something in Four, and he instantly relaxes. His hand finds mine then, and our fingers interlock. My breath catches, and for a moment, everything is okay. The warmth from his hand shoots through my arm and up into my chest where it coils and burns into a bright glow. This is right. This is what it's meant to be like. Nothing can touch me like this.

Except for a now pissed off Nita who is charging at me. I let go of Four's hand and try to brace for her impact. She knocks me over, and goes down with me letting out a wail at the same time. Her hands fly at me in all directions, and occasionally her nails pick up some skin. I shove her off of me after poking her hard in the stomach and quickly get to my feet. I wish I had my heels back on. Oh the damage I could do. Nita gets up just as fast.

"Nita stop!" Four shouts getting ready to move between us. My fist hits her first. One punch. My hand screams in pain, as Nita falls flat on the floor and doesn't get up.

Four looks between the two of us. "Was that really necessary?"

"You're chastising me about keeping my temper down?"

He pales a bit and purses his lips. "No." He picks her up over his shoulder and grabs her car keys from her purse. "I have to take her home now though."

"What?"

"If you hadn't knocked her out, she could be driving home by herself right now. I'm not going to just leave her in her car, and I don't want her to stay here tonight, so I have to take her home."

"Oh."

Four stops and looks back at me. His face softer than before. "Don't get me wrong, I appreciate what you did. Apparently I was too subtle with her." He gives me a small smile. "I'll be back in an hour or so."

True to his word, he returns in an hour. Telling me how he left a note for her that her car is still at the Pedrad house. How he had to leave her on the couch because she started coming to, and he wanted to get out of there before she did wake up. He also tells me how here is a nice purple bruise starting on the side of her face. At first I thought he would be mad. There are plenty of ways I could have handled that better, but he was actually impressed. Not to mention glad that I could hold my own.

Everyone else had quieted down by then. It was almost three in the morning. I had gone upstairs just before Four got back to grab Christina and mine's bag. Zeke and Shauna appeared to have made up while upstairs, and Uriah and Marlene were whispering to each other under a blanket, about what I have no idea. Christina and Will had fallen asleep under the dining room table inside his sleeping bag. I didn't go downstairs to check on Matt, Lily, or Slade, but it's quiet so I assume it's alright.

Al on the other hand woke up in the kitchen once or twice, bumbled around spouting things like inner beauty, his parents, Shakespeare and not feeling good. I helped drag him to the downstairs bathroom and shut the door. I then check on Lynn, and help drag her to the downstairs closet for the night, wrapping her in coats and using shoes as a pillow.

When Four got back, he touched my shoulder tentatively like he still wasn't sure it was okay. I gave him an encouraging smile. We go down the hallway to Hana Pedrad's room, as Zeke already told Four he could use it the day before. I glance nervously at Four, and he immediately offers to take the floor. I'm about to argue with him, it's a big enough bed, but he insists.

I change clothes in Hana's bathroom and wipe off the excessive makeup that had partially run down my face from sweat and tears throughout the course of the night. I slide on my black sweat pants and a long sleeve gray shirt. I add my bright blue fuzzy socks for good measure.

Four stands in similar sweats and a black tank top. He wears plain white socks and for some reason they look ridiculous. I can't help the giggle. Four also grabbed me some Advil and a glass of water to start drinking. I take it gladly.

We lay down in silence mostly. There's still so much we don't know about each other. Among the new things I want to ask him are where he learned to cook and when he's going to suckle my ear? Unless he has plans for Zeke. And I need to fill him in on the details of our plan so he's able to participate effectively and without suspicion. I face the wall, with him on the ground just a few feet from me, breathing deeply.

Before I close my eyes and relax into the strange bed, he whispers, "Tobias."

Thank you, Tobias.