A/N: I think this is one of those chapters that you're gunna go "Wait... What?" But I don't know... Tell me what you think! Just a reminder: I do not own Four or any of the Divergent books.
I turn my head to look at Amar as he comes in. He comes back in with his face hard, mad. I wonder what Max said to him? Amar sits in the chair next to the bed.
"What's wrong?" I ask. I use my hand to lift his face so he's looking at me. His face relaxes in my hand. He touches the hand that is cradling his face.
He turns his face. "Nothing. He's just blowing steam about how I should take better care of my initiates." His soft lips tickle my hand as he speaks. "Now how are you really doing?"
I drop my hand. Automatically, it goes to my side. "It hurts." I stare at him with big eyes. "Amar, what happened after I blacked out?"
Amar stands up and gently sits on the side of the bed. He runs a hand through his hair as he explains, "Eric stabbed you and you just fell. I watched the whole thing. He was mad that he couldn't hit you because you were so fast. He got one good hit and you dropped like a rock." He stops and looks at me. He adjusts so that he is lying next to me. He leans so our noses meet at the tip. "I could've stopped him. I saw that crazy thirst for blood in his eyes. I could've stopped him"
I make my forehead meet his. "It's not your fault." I don't want him to think that is his fault that Eric is the way he is. "Eric went too far. You couldn't have known what he was going to do."
He sighs, "I could've stopped him, though… After you fell, it felt like my heart shattered into a million pieces." He moves back from me and looks me in the eyes. "I thought I lost you, Abby."
He leans in and our lips meet. Each of us are desperate to become one with each other. I feel him turn, getting closer to me, without trying to hurt me. His hand glides into my hair. I want this kiss to last forever. Of course, it doesn't.
We separate. I take his hand from my hair. Intertwining our fingers, I whisper, "I'm still here."
"I know," he whispers back. "Abby, please," he begs. "never scare me like that again."
I kiss him again. "Okay," I say as I give him a small smile. My smile melts, becoming serious. "Will you stay with me tonight?"
He wraps his arm around me, careful not move me but so much. "Of course. I didn't want to leave you, anyway."
I nuzzle against him so that I'm lying on his chest.. I can sleep now. Knowing that Amar is here and that I survived. Everything is perfect.
I wake up in the middle of the night. My head rises and falls from laying on Amar's chest. Warmth surrounding me. He's so cute when he sleeps. I stare at the face of an angle: his jaw bones tightening then relaxing with his dark hair very tangled and piled on his head.
I get closer to him. I hear a noise: sniffling. Is someone crying? Using just my eyes, I glance around the room. No one is in here except me and Amar. Who could be in the room?
"I guess I deserve this," a voice says in a whisper. I stay quiet and lie still. "All I did was hurt you. It's only reasonable for you to find someone who will protect you. Someone who will-" he chokes, "who will love you." Eric. Eric is here. Why is he, of all people, in my room? How long has he been here? I hear him walk to the bed. I close my eyes and try to relax, attempting to make it look like I'm sleep. He leans down, his lips touching my forehead. "I hope he's the one, Abby. Even if I can't be." Then he walks away.
What the heck was that?
When I wake up, the next morning, Amar is gone. I'm left in my bed, all by myself. A few nurses come in and go out. They check on the wound, change bandages, etc. It's like this for days: Amar comes in at night, stays with me, then he is gone by morning. I feel empty when he isn't with me. When he leaves, I want him to come back and I take all my thoughts away. All I have is time to think. What do I think about? I think about Amar, Eric, fighting, surviving Dauntless, my choice, everything.
When Amar is in the room, I swell inside and I want him near me. We share beautiful kisses, each having some hidden surprise. Every touch is special in it's own way. Unlike Eric, Amar tells me he loves me. Amar is good to me, good for me.
About a week later, I start moving around. It's painful, at first. It's just me sitting up but pain slaps me in the side. Then, I start standing. Each part of me having to remember how it works. Pretty soon, I can walk again and it's not as painful.
Amar comes in one night.
"Come with me," he says as he holds his hand out.
I take it without question. We jump on a train and I struggle to get up. Amar helps me stand. A girl explains why we're here.
We're playing a game, a Dauntless game: Dare.
Amar helps me shuffle to the back of the train. I see Four and Zeke and a few other people that I recognize. The game is a crazy Dauntless tradition. One person is dared to do something by another person. Before they do the dare, a bottle is passed around. I hold my side lightly, the smell makes my stomach hurt. This is a good way for me to forget about Eric, though. Tomorrow, I will have to go back so that I can finish stage one. Amar warned me that I have two fights I have to survive. One is against the weak girl from Candor, Mia. The other one, Amar had told me with sad eyes, is Eric.
Amar is the first one to get a Dare. When I heard the dare I nearly died laughing. A bottle is past around. Amar takes a swing. I stare at him with big eyes. I wouldn't place him as a drinker. He looks back at me with a crazy grin. I see his face flush.
A few moments later, bright lights appear and people start jumping off the train. We're in the Erudite section. My stomach twists into knots. Amar takes my hand and we jump. Tucking myself into a tight ball, I hit the ground. I try not to cry out in pain from the impact. Amar helps me up again and we begin walking the streets of Erudite. Home. My home. My old home.
We arrive at the library. I see a few of my old friends. I want to talk to them. I miss them. I look over at Amar's face, almost to ask permission before I'm stopped by the evil grin he wears.
I look through the glass at people who look like they're reading but aren't. When I was in the library, I would surround myself with books and speed read. I still remember every word in the first dictionary I ever read. I would love to get another book in my hands. However, those days are over.
Now, as we get to the entrance of the library, Amar lets go of my hand and charges into the library. Shouting something, he turns around and pulls his pants down. The faces of the Erudite are priceless. All of us begin laughing and we try to walk away. We start jogging towards the next train. Amar wraps his arm around my waist and kisses my cheek. Then he lets go and he jumps onto the train, dragging me on with him.
The next few dares are funny. A few majorly dangerous, but this is Dauntless. Everything the Dauntless do is dangerous. Each time a dare is called, the bottle of unknown substance gets pushed into my hand. I pass the bottle to someone else. Finally, it's my turn.
"Hey, chick with the blonde hair!" I look up. A boy with red highlights and spiky black hair points at me. His arms are thrown around two girls who look like they can't even stand. "What's your name?" he calls.
I sit up. "My name is Abby. And don't call me a chick. I'm not a baby chicken."
"Are you a transfer, Abby?" I nod. The guy gives me a wicked smile. "So Amar is your instructor, huh?" I nod again. "Cool. Then my dare to you is that you have to kiss three guys. One can be anyone on this train. The second one has to be Amar. And the last one," his evil grin grows into a full smile. "has to be Max."
Several people gasp. A few even argue with him. He waves them off. "What happens with this game, stays between us."
"You want me to kiss a guy on this train, Amar and….. Max?" The guy nods. I stand up. "Okay." More people stare at me and gasp. The bottle is tilted towards me. I wave it off. I don't need to drink.
I search each guy's face. Yikes, eww, gross, no, oh-heck-no, and bleh. All of these words pass through my head as I look at their faces. Finally, my eyes land on Four. He's doing his best to stay hidden. He's failing. I weave through people, careful of my side. When I am finally within arms length, he raises an eyebrow at me.
"Just do this for me and I wil owe you big time." I whisper.
He nods. He's so sweet. Just then, someone pushes me towards him and I crash against his body. He wraps his arms around me to keep me from falling. I stare into his bright blue eyes. Standing on my tiptoes, I gently kiss his lips. He returns the kiss. I feel a baby spark. Holy Potato Skins. For a Stiff, he's a surprisingly good kisser. I back away from him. We're both blushing. Turning my back to him, I come face-to-face with Amar.
A guy gives him a shove. He shrugs and wraps me in the arms I know so well. When our lips meet, I hear a few dog whistles. Our kiss is deeper than our last. Fireworks go off in my brain. We break away and stare at each other.
He laughs. His voice rumbles my chest. "Woah. I didn't know a Nose could kiss so well."
I roll my eyes at him. Everyone laughs I pass my dare to someone else, not knowing what to do. The next dare is for Four. He has to get a tattoo. This will be interesting.
*Back at Dauntless. In the Pit*
When we arrive at Tori's, the tattoo shop co-owner, she doesn't seem to happy. Somehow, Amar talks her into doing the tattoo for us. We all pile into the shop. Amar slips back and holds my hand. I'm surprised he would do this, in front of everyone. In front of people who know that I'm a transfer. But he doesn't seem to mind. If he doesn't mind, I don't mind.
After Four gets his tattoo, everyone turns to me. I drop Amar's hand.
"To Max's apartment we go," the guy that dared me says. There's a look in his eye that I don't like. There a few quiet cheers and we walk the halls of Dauntless.
When we arrive, a Dauntless girl goes into Max's room and wakes him up. Everyone presses their body against the wall, trying not to be seen.
Max stumbles out of the room and I take a deep breath. Before I lose my nerve, I take Max's hand and I pull him against me. Our lips crash together and I feel my feet leave the floor, he's lifting me. Without thinking, I wrap my legs around his waist. A fire burns between us. Not as intense as Amar but not as dull as Four. Most of the fire has to do with my side, though.
When my feet touch the floor, again, Max says something only I hear. "I've been wanting to do that since I caught you from falling off the platform on Day One." He releases me. Speaking bolder he says, "If you're playing that Dauntless game, leave me out of it. I'm going to bed." He turns towards his door but stops before walking in. "And Miss? Or whoever I just kissed… Please don't let me find out who you are. And I better not hear about this tomorrow. Good night."
With that he leaves and everyone dismisses. The guy that dared me pulled me to the side to tell me both Amar and Max asked if he could give that dare to me. He said he would agree and that he made sure that everyone understands that what happened tonight would be just for tonight. I sigh of relief and turn to walk to the transfer room. Amar gives me the I'll-talk-to-you-later look and disappears. He looks a little jealous.
I try to push that though out of my mind as I walk to the room. Tonight will be my first night without Amar beside me.
The thought makes me a little sad.
As I climb into my actual bed, I wonder what the guy meant that Max asked him if he could dare me to kiss him. Did he just want to see if I would do it or does he have feelings for me? I lay my head down on the pillow. I guess since he told me he's wanted to kiss me since I jumped of the building on Day One that would mean he likes me but I don't know. Only time will tell, I guess.
A/N: So what'd you think? Any suggestions? R&R! Love ya bunches!
