Chapter 14!
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Jenna
Rick, Tim, Shauna, Dax, Jace and I had spent the afternoon talking about our past lives and building friendships. I really liked Tim and Shauna, they were very loquacious, especially Tim! He grew up in Amity with his parents and two sisters. He was part of a triplets, but he was the only one who had chosen Dauntless today. He was not the person to disparage, because even though he grew up there, he was more Dauntless than Amity. I would know, I'd never been wrong about anyone ever. Iris told me once that I always see through people, which is true. Dax and Jace were nice, but they had a voracious appetite, they stuffed their faces with "hamburgers", "cake" and more. Before this day, I had no idea that those foods even existed! Apparently, the Dauntless' were hungry all day long. 'That's what we do, J,' Shauna laughed when she saw my face. 'We train and eat a lot!' Rick and I shared a look that said it all.
We finally got rid of those damned salads.
'You know, it looks good, but I'm still kind of high on the peace bread. If I start ripping the food out of your hands, it's worn-off, all right?' Tim said with a grin. We all laughed and nodded. 'Right, well, I could eat,' Rick said. I fully agreed, that cake looked delicious! I wasn't really keen on eating meat, so I'd probably be stuffing my face with cake and that yellow brownish stuff, what was it again? Oh right! Shauna had called it "fries". We were about to stand up when we heard someone screaming. Uh oh, that sounded like... I looked up quickly and saw Iris screaming. It was lucid, Eric had provoked this reaction, because she hardly ever got mad. He must've said something bad.
She ran up to Eric, but Zeke pulled her back, telling her he wasn't worth it. 'You are pathetic, ALL OF YOU!' She said, then stared at Eric, Layla and finally at Four. From this distance I could see thatFour was hurting, and it broke my heart. All he probably wanted was to be with us, this new choosing was as nerve-wrecking for him as it was for us. At least we had each other, but he was bound to hang around with Eric and Layla and be cogent.
I did really miss him. Tobias was one of my best friends and we'd gone through a lot together, especially when he entrusted me with the story about his dad during our volunteering job in the hospital. That's when I first realised how much he meant to me, as he was like a brother. He and Iris had spent days trying to teach Rick and me everything Amar taught them, because Rick and I had asked them to. They had no idea we had been planning on joining them in Dauntless. Abnegation and our parents had felt like a prison to us so we decided to dissemble and did everything we were supposed to do. Except for our usual meet ups with Tobias and Iris, as those were the only things that kept the four of us going.
Iris and Zeke walked over to us when he pulled her arm and said something. She raised her hand and wrapped her arm around him, and he wrapped his around her. I smiled, Zeke was frank, and nice. I glanced at Four again, but he'd gone back to his new attitude and the only thing I could do for him was hoping he was able to keep it up. I stood up and walked over to Zeke and Iris just to hug to latter. 'What did he do?' Rick demanded and stood next to me, as he and Tim had apparently followed me. 'He talked about Tobias,' Iris said, her face sullen. Tim was the only one looking confused. 'He was my boyfriend back in Abnegation, and he was the leader's son. He went missing three days ago,' she explained quickly. His face fell. 'That's terrible, I'm sorry.' She smiled and shook her head. 'It's all right, I'm here now and I've got you guys!' He nodded quickly.
'Now PLEASE can we get something to eat?' She asked, sounding voracious. I laughed, 'we were about to!' We walked over to the buffet and grabbed plates of food. 'Tonight's going to be epic,' Zeke grinned when we had all sat down again. 'Why?' Rick and Tim asked with their mouths full. Iris, who was sitting in between, raised her eyebrows at the both of them as she grinned. 'And you're supposed to be from the two well-mannered factions?' Tim shook his head. 'Not anymore, I was perfidious towards my family and came here. I deserve to do this.' We all laughed and Iris nodded. 'Fair enough.' 'But, what's happening tonight?' Rick asked seriously. 'Well, let's just say that Amar asked his two favourite cheeky bastards to arrange something,' Zeke said.
I frowned, 'aw man, why are you one of his favourite cheeky bastards? He's known me so much longer!' He laughed and wrapped his arm around me. 'It's okay, Jenna. You've got plenty of time to try and prove you're cheekier than me.' Shauna smirked. 'No one's cheekier than you.' He shook his head proudly. 'Exactly.' We laughed. We finished our food and chatted until Amar joined us an hour later. He whispered something into Iris' ear and she nodded in return. 'ATTENTION PEOPLE OF DAUNTLESS, I NEED EVERYONE IN THE TRAINING COURT, ASAP!' He yelled loudly and everyone in the cafeteria stood up. 'That includes you, you, you, you, you and you,' he said, pointing at Rick, Tim, Shauna, Jace, Dax and me. We all groaned and stood up. Zeke and Iris waved happily and turned to Amar. 'Get it done, guys. Twenty minutes,' I heard the latter say. 'Okay,' Iris said, and they ran out of the hall. Amar caught up with us and shoved us all into the training court.
Iris
Zeke and I hung the last decorations and stood still to look at our work. The cafeteria was covered in lights and it was dark. We put down a large stereo set so the music would be clear, and on all tables were drinks and certain foods. That's what Amar had been doing all afternoon, secretly getting the equipment. Zeke grinned and high-fived me. 'Well done Shorty,' he said. My heart skipped a beat. Shorty... That's what Tobias used to call me. I smiled, as I realised that even though it had been the wrong guy who said it, the right one would eventually be able to call me like that again. 'You too, tall one,' I said with a nod. We looked around whether we'd forgot anything, but we'd done it all! And right on time, because Amar ran back into the cafeteria. 'You guys rea- wow! This looks amazing!' He called and pulled up his thumbs. 'I'll go get them, you take your positions!'
Zeke and I nodded as he ran away again. 'Are you nervous?' He asked as I looked at him. 'Yeah, quite,' I admitted. 'You?' He nodded. 'You'll do great,' we told each other and laughed. 'We got this,' I added. We nodded at each other and absconded. He hid in a hall way on the left of the cafeteria, and I hid in a hall way on the right. We could see each other, but no one else could see us. Yet. My legs were pretty much shaking and my heart was pounding. Was I really about to do this?
I heard people coming in and exulting as they understood what was happening. It was a party meant for the initiates, but everyone was welcome. Which was why half Dauntless was standing in the cafeteria right then. I put a hand on my belly and tried to breathe calmly. Even though my mind raced solicitously, I knew that we would at least have a few fans out there. 'Hello initiates and other Dauntless folks! Tonight is going to be one hell of a party, thanks to my two favourite cheeky bastards. They've got a great party planned for you, and by turning on the music, I'm passing the pic onto them. Give it up for: Zeke Padrad and Iris Valentine!' He called, and turned on the music.
Zeke ran onto our improvised stage, a mat, introducing the song we'd chosen for that night. Don't Worry. 'We can own the night, don't worry 'bout a thing, don't worry 'bout a thing,' he sang. I ran onto the stage as well and sang with him. We danced along with the beat, our made up choreography and he took the first stanza. Everybody was exulting as we danced and sung, dancing along with us. Amar, Jenna, Rick, Tim, Shauna, Dax and Jace were jumping, waving their arms in the air. Eric's face was like he was pissed, and annoyed that he had to watch us and take part in the party. Layla's face was quite the same, all though she seemed to be enjoying it somewhat more, it was just that Eric was watching her. Four's faced showed an incredulous smile. He stood behind Eric, so the latter couldn't see his smile, but he looked proud as he looked at his best friend and his girlfriend rocking the stage.
My heart was pounding even harder when it was time for my stanza. 'Let's get down to business, and show me what you've got,' I started and Zeke and I continued dancing as I had the crowd exult and throw up their arms when I finished my part. He twirled me around during the instrumental part and then it was time for the -in my eyes- creepiest part, the rap. I would do it, with Zeke join in halfway. I looked at the crowd and noticed that they were really enjoying it, so an unknown feeling spread itself in my stomach. I was truly happy, for the first time in my life. Apart from having my parents there, I finally was where I belonged.
'Yeah, on the rooftop, surrounded by the stars and views hot,' I started, and people started whistling. I continued and Zeke fell in, making it even better. We kept dancing, singing and finally finished the song. 'YOU WERE AMAZING!' We called at each other as we hugged and the crowd clapped. We bowed and grinned. 'Good, because we've got a few more songs to do,' he winked. 'Good evening awesome people of our faction. As you could see and witness, the cheeky bastards nailed their entrance,' he called out loud. Most people laughed and exulted once more. 'Tonight will be the night of making friends, because when the morning comes, we'll have to punch them in the face during training,' I continued. People laughed again. 'So we suggest having a great night, filled with dancing, and finally...' Zeke said, trying to spark their interests:
'All initiates have to have a tattoo by the end of the party!' He called. All people exulted again, waving their hands in the air. 'Initiates meet at half past twelve, in front of the tattoo parlour. Not showing up means cowardice!' I yelled and the crowd went wild, screaming: 'DAUNTLESS, DAUNTLESS!' over and over again. Zeke turned on the music, playing the first tunes of Footloose. 'It's time to get footloose!' He yelled and we took our places again. We sang another couple of songs, and then let real bands do their jobs. I was really thankful for Amar and Tori, teaching me how to dance. I can't imagine the people in Abnegation even wanting to dance! But I did, and so did Jenna, Rick and secretly Four. He liked dancing with us, but when I glanced at him, I saw him sitting on a chair, accompanied by Eric and Layla. They seemed to be in a heated discussion, what would it be about?
I shrugged off those thoughts, I was there to have fun right now, dancing with my friends. I was jumping around with Rick and Tim as Jenna was dancing with Zeke. She was blushing brightly, and Zeke seemed to like that. Shauna danced with Amar, and Dax and Jace were stuffing their faces with food. AGAIN! What was wrong with them?! Rick and Tim were twirling me around, causing me to laugh. Yet, that stopped abruptly when I tripped over my own feet and almost fell down, when someone caught me. I let my fingers slide over my hero's arms. I recognized those arms anywhere. It was Four.
'What are you doing,' I hissed, subtly hinting my head at Eric. Four's eyes were blue, and loving, yet his body language was distant. He put me down on my two feet again and reached out his hand. He wasn't supposed to be anywhere near me, what was he doing? 'Will you dance with me?' He asked. My eyes widened and my heart skipped a beat. 'We are not supposed to,' I said softly, shaking my head. 'Punch me,' he hissed. I raised my eyebrows. 'Excuse me?' Since when had he become masochistic?
'This is Eric's plan, I need to grow close to you and get information from you on where Tobias is,' his voice was really soft. 'That includes you punching and rejecting me because I've been rude to you.' I could hardly understand him, but my mind raced. 'We have to be careful,' I said, then slapped his cheek. His eyebrows raised. 'I said púnch, Shorty. You can do way better than that.' I smiled, hearing my nickname. He blushed slightly. 'I know, but I didn't want to,' I explained. 'Try and look angry, and pose like we're fighting,' he said. His body language grew distant again, but his eyes were still blue, he didn't seem to be able to go cold now he was so close to me. 'I've missed you,' I said softly, trying to look as angry as possible while putting my hands on my hips. 'You always look funny when trying to pull a mad face,' he said, his voice like he wanted to laugh. 'So do you,' I said, can't helping another smile creeping on my face.
'I've missed you too. Now dance with me,' he smiled and started moving. I moved along, and after a few seconds we were into the beat again. Jenna and Zeke looked confused as they saw us dancing together, Rick grinned slightly, Tim didn't quite understand and I didn't blame him. Amar's mouth fell open and he clearly didn't understand what was happening. 'One second, Four,' he said, pulling Four away from me. I walked after them and heard Four explaining his new role as double-agent. 'We're talking about this later, it's dangerous!' Amar said with a sigh. 'But I do like seeing the two of you together again.' I smiled behind my hand to cover it. 'Me too.' Four nodded and looked at me, his eyes showing his happiness.
If Four had to act with me, then I would have to get to know more about what was going on, right? 'So I'm into the mission now?' I questioned. Both guys looked mad immediately. 'Most definitely not,' Four said curtly. 'I'm supposed to act along with you in a certain way, Four. I get to have some information!' I hissed. He looked at Amar and gritted his teeth. 'I don't want her in, but she's right, A.' Amar sighed again and nodded. 'Fine. But no telling Jenna!' I raised my eyebrows. 'OKAY FINE, just Jenna all right?! You stubborn pain in the ass,' he groaned. I covered my laugh with my hand. 'Sorry again, brother.' 'Now cover up this conversation, Ris,' he said with a slight smile. He knew that I was stubborn, he knew I was right, I had to be taken into the mission. What would make Eric think that Amar was just the overprotective brother? 'AMAR, JEEZ. I'M NOT READY FOR A NEW BOYFRIEND, AND I MOST CERTAINLY DON'T WANT HIM TO BE. LEAVE HIM ALONE WILL YOU,' I yelled loudly. Both guys winked at me, I winked back... And stomped off, back to my friends.
This was getting interesting.