Hi everyone!
Gosh, I'm a bit sentimental. This is the last chapter of What Hapenned! Thanks to everyone who's read/favourited/followed and reviewed. I'm so happy, and I hope that everyone has enjoyed the story as much as I have. I've started the sequel, it's called the same (What Happened ~ Sequel) and I hope to deliver.
I have written, rewritten and I can't believe I finally finished the story! Thanks again to everyone!
Disclaimer: I only own my own imagination.
Nick
Sera, Julian and I were so, so nervous. I could hardly think straight when we had to jump out of the train. Mom and dad looked so broken when we said our goodbyes, and I felt the same way. To be honest, I still wasn't sure whether I would see them again. Well, of course I would see them again, but I wasn't sure when. If I'd pick Dauntless I would see them tonight, if I picked another faction... I wouldn't see them for a long while. A lump got stuck in my throat, and I had to cough to mask it. Julian looked at me, realising I was struggling with my choice.
'You know what I'm going to choose, Nick. You know what Sera is going to choose. There's a possibility that we'll be apart after today. You need to know that I think you are the best friend I could've wished for, and that I hope I'll see you again. If I don't,' he started, then smiled. 'I hope you're happy.' I pulled him in for a hug and slapped his shoulder. 'Thanks, Juke. You are my best friend too.' Sera smiled. 'I love you, twin.' I smiled and hugged her too.
We arrived at the hall where we would have to choose. We ran in and took our Dauntless seats. The leader of Erudite, Meera, started her speech soon enough. I looked at all the other factions... Every 16 year old's parents were here except for Dauntless kid's parents. We were supposed to be brave enough to deal with this alone. I grabbed Sera's hand, I wasn't brave enough to deal with this alone. Sera pinched my hand softly and smiled encouraging. During Meera's speech, I thought of my parents and my family in Dauntless. I would miss them so much. Wait, I would miss them? Had I made my choice?
Sera
I had hoped that Nick would realise how brave he was today, but it seemed like he wouldn't realise it anymore, and I started feeling desperate. I didn't want my twin to leave me... But when I looked at his face, he was scanning the Amity crowd, and he was smiling. Was he really cut out for Amity instead of Dauntless? I shook my head and tried to stick to Meera's speech. Soon enough she started calling out the names, and Julian was the first of us to choose. We all exulted, and even though I knew he'd come back to me, I kept my fingers crossed. Julian was just like his father: prototype Dauntless, but still.. The idea of the surprise element of this faction thing would always be scary.
Julian ran up to the front, cut his hand and let his blood fall. 'Dauntless!' Meera called. My heart skipped a beat. Nick and I jumped up and exulted again. Julian ran back to us and kissed me. 'I'm back and I'm not going anywhere!' He said happily. After a little while, I was called to go up front. 'I love you, Nine,' I told my brother who was looking sad. 'Just in case,' I added. He nodded, and pinched my hand. 'I love you too, Six.' It almost brought tears to my eyes, but I swallowed them away, and I walked up to the front. Meera's eyes were exceptionally blue, they were almost lucid. Almost judgy.
She and I knew each other, because dad had taken me to a lot of meetings. I never knew why, but he always took me, and I loved attending. Meera was staring straight into my eyes, as if she would sentence me if I didn't choose Dauntless. She and dad had become... Well what you could call friends in her eyes. I smiled at her, took the knife and cut my hand. I looked at all the bowls, smiling as I saw no other option than Dauntless. I let my drop of blood fall onto the burning coals and smiled big. I was returning to my family! Couldn't wait to see the look on my parents' faces and to hug Savannah again. She was now two, and cute as a kid could be.
'Dauntless!' Meera called, and all the Dauntless exulted. Julian and Nick were the loudest of all. I ran back to them and hugged them. Usually I would be focused on Julian, but this time I could hardly see him. I only saw the doubt and pain in my brother's eyes. He was really torn, and I couldn't help him. As soon as I threw myself in his arms, Meera called Nick. He kissed my cheek and nodded. 'Bye, S.' My throat was closed so tightly that I couldn't breathe.
He smiled at Julian and he walked up to the front. As soon as he arrived, I started crying. 'I'm losing him,' I said to Julian, and I cried harder, trying to cover the sound with my hand. Julian wrapped his arm around me as we looked at Nick together. We was staring at the Dauntless and Amity bowls, and finally he glanced at Meera. What was he doing?
Iris
After a little while of waiting, Zeke, Jenna, Tobias and I became terrified. Zeke and Jenna because they were scared of Nick's actions on our behalf. Julian and Sera would come back. They would. I had to keep telling myself that. DAMN IT, this was nervewrecking! It took three hours, several makeup checks because a few tears had escaped, and multiple heartattacks when I thought I heard Amar call that the initiates had arrived, but then finally... Amar did call.
Tobias and I ran over to the place where the parents gathered to see the jumpers. I looked at my husband of nineteen years. His face was still the same, apart from a few subtle lines in his forehead and a few grey hairs mixed with his dark blonds. I thought it made him look more distinguished, yet he moped about how old it made him seem. It only made me love him more, the sign of all those years together.
His eye were blue: ready to see whether our children came back to us. 'I love you, Ris. Always have, always will,' he said with a smile. 'Even if our children do not come back, I have you, and I enjoy all my time with you.' I smiled and hugged him tightly. 'I love you too, Tobias. We have a wonderful life together,' I said softly, and kissed him. He wrapped his arm around me, and we waited in anticipation for our kids.
Zeke and Jenna joined us, and we were all trying not to nervously jump around. Amar was still one of the trainers of the initiates, but this time, Zeke and I were joining him. Amar was head trainer, he was checking whether Zeke and I were doing it right. Tobias would also be making his appearances, if Sera and Nick came back, he wanted to see how they were doing.
'THERE'S A JUMPER!' Amar called, and pointed to the net. Tobias pinched my hand tightly. We saw black clothes! 'FIRST JUMPER, JULIAN!' Amar called. We all exulted as Julian ran up to his parents and hugged them, then hugged Tobias and me. We were so happy to see Julian, that we almost missed the second jumper. 'SECOND JUMPER, SERA!' My mouth fell open, and Tobias yelled 'YES!' Sera sped up to us and threw herself into our arms. 'MOM! DAD!' We hugged her so tightly that she could hardly breathe, but we were so happy to see our daughter. 'Honey, we love you so much!' Tobias said, and kissed her forehead.
Sera smiled, her eyes teary. 'I'm happy to be back,' she said softly. I looked at her... She wasn't the same since she left this morning. 'Nick isn't here... Is he?' I asked, my voice small and raspy. Sera's eyes teared up and became doused within two seconds. 'No,' she cried, and wrapped her arms around us.
My eyed teared up as well as I looked at Tobias. He tried to hold strong, but I knew that he was heartbroken. His eyes turned dark at the loss of our son, and we welcomed our daughter with a heavy feeling. She was a part of a duet... And seeing her without her brother just broke us. Don't get me wrong, we were SO happy to see her... But... I would just never stop missing Nick.
We stayed to see all the jumpers, and when the final one had arrived, I sighed. A tiny bit of hope had been vested into my heart that Nick would suddenly appear, but that was crazy. 'I'm so happy that you're here, Sera,' I said, and I kissed her forehead. Sera smiled halfheartedly. 'Me too mom, yet it feels slightly less like home,' she admitted. I nodded, I felt the same way.
All memories of Nick crossed my mind. Him running around the cafeteria when he was 5, him baking his first brownie when he was 13... But most of all, his laugh. 'Did he pick Amity, Sera?' Tobias asked. His voice was raspy, and I knew he asked the question to try and be in peace with Nick's choice. Sera nodded. 'He was torn between Dauntless and Amity, he was really sad.' My heart broke for th second time... Poor Nick. I just hoped that he knew we supported him. Amar started a speech, and all the initiates had to listen. Almost near the end of Amar's speech, Damon walked up out of nowhere.
It kind of reminded me of how he'd walked up with me during my initiation. Amar's speech fell silent, then he told the initiates that Damon was their new leader and then asked Damon what was going on. 'Well,' Damon said with a smile. ' First of all, it's great to see all new initiates. Welcome to all the transfers, and welcome back to all the Dauntless Borns,' he began. 'Usually I wouldn't join in until later, but I found someone who really wanted to be here too.'
I raised my eyebrows and looked at Tobias. This had never happened before? We all stared at the hallway that Damon was pointing at. He was smiling as he did, and then I realised why.
All of a sudden, Nick walked into the Pit, ruffling his dark blond hair with a smile on his face. 'Room for one more?' He asked.
'NICK!' Sera and I yelled in unison, and we ran up to him, Tobias following me. We embraced our son, and Sera cried out how scared she'd been. I cried, and Tobias siled big with teary eyes. 'I'm so glad,' I whispered into my son's ear, and he smiled big. 'I chose Amity, but as soon as we walked away, and I saw Sera and Julian walk away... I knew I was wrong. I walked over to Meera, explained and she didn't want to at first, but then I stood up to her. She wasn't happy, but finally she agreed because she'd seen me grow up and said that there was no way I shouldn't be in Dauntless. She arranged a car for me, called Jack to change my result, and sent me off.'
He was quiet for a few seconds, then smiled. 'Missed me?' I wrapped my arms around him again and smiled. 'To be honest, I though my heart was slowly doing to die. I'm happy you're back.' He chuckled and kissed my forehead. 'I love you, mom.' 'I love you, Nicholas.'
Amar took the initiates with him, and they left. Tobias smiled at me. 'I'm so proud of Nick, he finally figured out who he is and where he belongs.' I smiled back and looked at the hallway the initiates had disappeared into. 'I'm proud of both of them.' He grabbed my hand, kissed the back of it and we walked back home, together with Zeke and Jenna.
Sera
Nick told me that he decided to join Dauntless because he may be nice and kind, but he could never be happy without us. And... That when his drop of blood feel down, he saw Catherine's eyes. He realised he wanted to stay in Dauntless to be with her one day. Who knew?!
There weren't that many initiates that year, so the Dauntless Borns and the transfers had to train together. Nick, Julian and I liked it because it meant seeing our parents. Mom trained the transfers, and Zeke trained the Dauntless borns. Sometimes dad joined Zeke, and Jenna joined mom, and we had amazing training sessions. Julian, Nick and I were doing great, better than the other Dauntless borns, but it didn't surprise our parents.
My mother and father had scored first in both teams, and Zeke and Jenna second in both teams during their initiation. Our initiation passed quite quickly, and we we're on schedule to passing with flying colours. We weren't afraid for the final test either, the fear landscape, because Divergents were no longer prosecuted. I was pretty sure of the fact that Nick and I were Divergent. Our parents both were, and Nick was one for sure. Oh and uncle Amar was one too! Yeah, a lot of divergents in our family, but that was fine. I liked it, we were different.
During initiation, we made new friends, but we also made enemies. There were a few people that had something to say about the trainers. Nice things, flirty things, bad things. A few guys were whispering how sexy "Iris" was, and if dad had heard them, he would've probably killed them. We did tell mom, and she warned the guys. If they continued, they would lower in rank, five spots! I hated them, so secretly I hoped they would do it again. A few girls talked about how "hot" Zeke was, and if Jenna had heard them, she would've probably laughed at them right into their faces.
Julian had once told them that Zeke was his father and that they had to shut up, but it got worse, and eventually the girls even started talking about how to get Zeke to kiss them. Julian was frenzy with rage, and told Zeke, who only laughed. 'Juke,' he said, slapping his son's shoulder. 'They just have good taste.' Because his father didn't really mind, Julian became okay with it, but kept an eye on them. Nick and I however stayed mad at the guys who were practically undressing our mother with their eyes. 'One day, I'm going to give it to her good,' Tom said, chuckling. He came from Candor, and I hated his guts.
He was a transfer who thought he could rule Dauntless. Well newsflash moron, you'll have to go through me first. Mom was just showing how to do a few kicks, and the guys just continued with their comments. 'Once I'm done with her, that's the only move she's able to do,' Jason smirked. 'OH MY GOD!' I yelled loudly, and hit him in the face, causing him to fall on the ground.
'YOU STOP TALKING ABOUT MY MOTHER LIKE THAT RIGHT NOW OR I WILL RIP YOUR HEAD OFF, I PROMISE!' Mom ran up to me, her face surprised. 'Sera, what's going on?!' I clenched my fists. 'They did it again, worse this time,' I said, and gritted my teeth. 'Snitching on us, Masters?' Tom said angrily. 'Fight me, then dare to speak again,' I spat, and was ready to throw another punch. Jason was still on the ground, moaning as he clutched his face. Tom raised his eyebrows.
'What's going on here?' Dad! We turned around and saw dad walking up to us. He looked more Dauntless than ever, black leather jacket and he was frowning. 'Those guys KEEP talking about mom. About what they would like to do to her. AND I AM JUST DISGUSTED,' I yelled at Tom. Dad's eyes widened, and his nostrils started trembling. Uh oh. 'What?' He asked, clenching his fists too. 'Four, please,' mom said, pulling him away from us, but he broke free and grabbed Tom's shirt. 'You said whát about my wife?' Tom looked scared, also because dad was more buff and way taller than him.
'I.. Ehh.. I think your wife is beautiful,' Tom stuttered. 'No shit you asshole. Is that the only thing you said about her?' Nick spat. 'Nick,' mom said, and frowned at him. Dad was mad, but our words made it worse. 'Four, please. Just take them with you,' mom pleaded, and grabbed Jason's arm. Dad looked like he was about to punch Tom, but I smiled. Served them right. Nobody talked about my mother like that.
'And who hit him?' Dad asked, pointing at Jason. 'That would be me,' I said, raising my hand. 'Well done, Six,' dad snorted, and pushed Tom near the exit. Mom rolled her eyes as she followed dad with Jason. 'Everyone listen to Zeke!' She called and disappeared. As soon as they were gone, Nick high fived me. 'Nice punch, Six.' I grinned, 'thanks Nine, I'm pretty proud of it.' Julian chuckled and wrapped his arm around me. All throughout the rest of our initiation, we didn't hear a word from Tom and Jason anymore.
When initiation was over, and we'd indeed passed with flying colours (Nick actually finished first! Julian and I were tied on second place), it was time for us to choose what jobs we wanted. Nick decided he wanted to be a teacher in high school. He wanted to teach, his nature was caring enough. He would be an amazing teacher, I was sure of it. I decided to become a trainer, and when there was no initiation, I was a trainee in my dad's office. One day I wanted to be his co-leader, as dad was his father's co-leader right now.
Julian became one of the ICT guys, just like his uncle Rick. Juke had an amazing creative mind, and he used it to design new programs and software. We were happy, and we would always be happy. Savannah grew up as a gorgeous girl, and I was happy I was there to see it all. Nick and Catherine became a couple as soon as her initiation was over, and Julian and I knew we'd found the one in each other. Nick and I shared an apartment, and the years flew by as we were working, spending time with our friends and our family. We couldn't have made a better choice than to return to Dauntless.
Finally, there was a night when we were twenty years old, when everything went wrong.
We were all sitting together, parents and kids. We were having a great time until Jenna, Zeke, Tim and Layla found out that Lake and Melody were dating and hadn't told their parents. One moment we were laughing, the next moment, Jenna and Layla were yelling at their children. Uncle Tim was looking really sad that Lake had done something like that, he probably felt like their bond was better than that. Him and uncle Zeke shared a few looks as they let their wives rule the discussion, they were too disappointed.
I did get it though, I wouldn't appreciate it if my child wouldn't tell me something like that, but yet again, I told my mother everything.
Melody and Lake started yelling back, and finally, it resulted into unsolved family businesses. My parents were quiet, because our family hardly ever fought or experienced troubles, but after a little while of hearing the others fight with their parents, Nick and I had something to say as well. 'We hardly ever see you,' Nick said accusingly, looking at mom and dad. Mom looked shocked and dad raised his eyebrows.
Nick was right, we hardly ever saw them anymore because we left home when we turned 16 (and after initiation we got our own apartments) and they had real busy jobs. Every free time they had they were spending it with Savannah, and they tried to come over as much as they possibly could. Yet dad, being the new Dauntless Co-leader, and mom being a teacher AND baker, there was hardly any time left.
I knew I shouldn't be mad, but I couldn't help it... I stood by my twin brother.
'You only have time for Savannah,' I said, looking at Nick as he nodded. Mom and dad looked at each other and mom's eyes were worried, dad's eyes were somewhat more incredulous. 'It isn't like you come visit us at any time,' he said, shaking his head. 'We are quite busy indeed, we have busy jobs, but you can come look for us too.' Mom nodded silently. 'Nick, Sera, we miss you very much, we really do, but you can't expect us to run around following the two of you because we miss you.' I knew they were right, yet Nick and I took it further. We threw arguments at mom and dad, they tried to react reasonably but our arguments became stupid.
After a while we were just yelling at them. 'It's like ever since we left home you seem to have forgotten about us,' Nick said angrily, and I nodded. 'you have Sav, the little sweetheart. You don't need us anymore. Well guess what, WE DON'T NEED YOU ANYMORE EITHER!' I yelled. 'MAYBE WE SHOULD ALL HAVE NEVER BEEN BORN!' Melody screamed at her parents. Nick and I stared at mom and dad, who looked broken now. Dad's usual hard face looked like he'd been punched in the face by someone he loved, and mom's face looked like her heart was broken into a million pieces. Before I could regret my decision and apologize, Julian pulled my hand and we ran away.
I felt dad's eyes burn into the back of my head, and I started crying into Julian's shoulder once we'd reached the next hallway. 'Sera,' Nick said softly, stroking my hair. 'Let's go back to our apartment.' I nodded, and wrapped my arm around Melody who was also crying. We walked over to our apartment and sat there, everyone devastated of what we'd done. 'We should've told them,' Melody cried and looked at Lake. 'We were stupid!' Lake's eyes were blurry too.
We didn't speak anymore, and sat in different corners, thinking about how stupid we'd behaved. After a while we became so tired of the crying that we fell asleep. Savannah joined us and lied in my arms. 'It'll be okay,' she said softly. It were the last words I heard before I fell asleep, tired of all the crying I'd done.
The next morning, I woke up and groaned as I did. I stretched my arms and expected to feel my hands bump into the wall behind my bed, but I didn't. Instead I felt my hands tangle into something cold and wet. I opened my eyes quickly and shot up. My hands had been tangled in grass! I looked around and saw nothing but a field of grass. I saw Nick, Lake, Melody and Savannah... But nothing else.
Oh God.
Where the hell were we?!
