A/N Don't own Divergent...

Chapter 11

The light flickers on at twelve o-clock in the morning. Four is banging on the doorframe. What the hell?

"Initiates! Be up by the train tracks in five minutes!" Eric yells. "If you don't make it, you're out."

I sit up quickly. Too quickly. I am so dizzy. I stumble out of bed and throw some clothes on. Then I walk out of the dormitory.

I walk down the hall, not quite sure where I'm headed. At the end of the hall I see two figures walking. One shoves the other almost playfully and says something, earning a snide comment from the other. I realize it's Eric and Four. Being civil with each other, for once. I jog to catch up. I don't want to get lost.

I walk behind them for a few minutes, untill I hear Christina.

"Tris!" She shouts. "Wait up!"

I pause, and she sprints up to me.

"I almost got lost!" She exclaims.

"Yeah?" I reply. "That's why you follow the instructor and leader." I nod towards Eric and Four. "They actually know where they're going." She snickers.

"Don't think I don't know you have a thing for Four." She says. Eric, who is in earshot, snorts and shoves Four again. Four shoves him back hard enough to send him into the wall.

"I don't!" I exclaim, my face reddening. "Why would you think that?"

"You just watch him a lot." She insists.

"Oh, okay." I say sarcastically. "I didn't know that watching the instructor demonstrate how to shoot a gun was a show of- I don't even know what." I finish lamely, not knowing proper terms for Christina's accusations.

"Sure, sure. Just keep telling yourself that." She scoffs.

"I'm serious. I don't have a thing for him, or whatever you cal it." I literally growl.

Christina relents. "Okay, sorry."

We walk in silence. I swear Four keeps looking back at me, but it's dark, so I can't be sure.

Christina is conversing with Will, now. I walk in front of them, wrapped in thoughts. What's she right? Do I like Four? No. I don't. I can't. It's against the rules.

We're at the train tracks now, and we line up. The train is fast approaching.

I jog for a few feet. A hand reaches towards me by the open train car. I grab the hand without hesitation, and Four pulls me inside. His hand is warm, and his fingers are slender for a man. He let's go of my hand, and steps backwards.

I go sit by Christina.

"The game is simple." Four says, his voice cutting through other conversation in the train car. "It's like capture the flag."

He is handing out red guns.

"This is a simulation stim dart." Eric says, holding up a mini vial-needle thing. "It simulates the pain of a real gunshot wound."

Alright. This sounds Dauntless. Shooting each other with guns, essentially. Fun.

"We'll divide into two teams." Eric says. "Four and I are captains."

"You pick first." Four offers.

"Okay." Eric replies, pleased. "Edward."

Four scans the crowd until his eyes land on me.

"I'll take the Stiff." Four says. What? Why?

"Ah. Picking the weak ones so you have someone to blame when you lose." Eric snickers.

"Something like that." Four replies.

What does that mean? I am perfectly capable! I'll show him that I can do this. I have to find a way for us to win the game. But how?

"Drew." Eric says.

"Christina." Four counters. But Christina is not weak. What is Four's strategy?

"Al." I give Al a sympathetic look.

"Will."

"Molly."

When Eric and Four finish dividing all the the teamsters, they divide up the Dauntless-borns. I notice an obvious difference between Eric's team and Four's team. Eric's team is meant for brute strength, while Four's is built for speed. I can't help but smile. Capture the flag is a game meant for speed. Eric may be stronger, but Four is smarter.

When they finish, I see our destination coming into view. The Navy Pier.

"You can get off first." Eric says dismissively to Four.

"Don't do me any favors." Four replies. "You know I don't need them to win."

"Oh, take your scrawny team and get out of here." Eric snaps.

"Four shrugs and turns to us.

"Okay. My team, let's go!"

We jump out. I land on my feet. Yes! I knew I was improving. One more way to show that I was capable.

People start arguing at once, about where to put the flag. I look around and see a pretty girl talking to Four. I move closer so I can hear what she says.

"Where did your team hide the flag last year?" She asks.

"Telling you wouldn't really be in the spirit of the game, Marlene." He replies cooly. She runs her hand up and down his bicep. Jealousy twists in my gut.

"C'mon. Please?" She whines. Four steps away from her touch, and I can't help but grin.

"No." He says. The girl, Marlene sulks and walks off to her friend. Four walks in another direction, and sits down on the carousel.

"That was funny!" A girl says beside me. I jump. The girl who stands beside me has caramel skin and long, dark brown, wavy hair.

"What was funny?" I ask.

"I saw you watching too," the girl explains. "The whole thing with Marlene and Four."

"Oh." I say. "Yeah."

"I saw that look on your face." She says. "Oh, yeah. I'm Denise, by the way."

"Tris." I reply, offering a hand. Hand shaking is common in Dauntless. Not so much in Abnegation. Denise laughs as she shakes my hand.

"You don't shake hands much, do you?" She says. "Why?"

I smile a little. "In Abnegation, it is considered rude to touch each other, so we nod hello instead. I am still getting used to all this touching." I shiver a little when I think of all those hugs and touches Tobias and I shared in abnegation. Even friendly touch was frowned upon.

"That's different." Denise laughed, in a friendly way. Then she turned and walked off toward her Dauntless-born friends.

I wander around looking for an advantage point to win. My sights land on the Farris wheel. It's definitely high enough to serve my purpose.

I sling my gun strap over my shoulder, and walk swiftly towards the Ferris wheel. I start to scale the ladder.

"Tris?" A familiar voice says. I pause in my climbing. It's Four.

"Yes?" I ask.

"I came to see what you are doing." Four replies.

"Oh. I'm getting a better advantage point."

"Good thinking," he says. "I'm coming with you."

He looks a little nervous, but he slides his gun over his head and starts to climb.

"You don't need to come with me. I can do this myself." I say cooly.

"Undoubtedly." Four agrees. "Nonetheless, I'm coming."

"Okay." I smile a little as I continue to climb.

We are pretty high now, and the wind is stronger.

"So, what do you think the point of this is?" Four asks, breaking the silence. "The game, I mean. Not the climbing." He sounds out of breath.

"Uh, strategy. Teamwork maybe?" I reply.

Four laughs. It's an airy choke of a laugh. He almost sounds hysterical.

"Maybe not." I say. "Teamwork doesn't seem to be a high priority among the Dauntless."

"It's supposed to be. It used to be." Four says.

"What changed?"

"The leadership." He says. "A few years ago, Dauntless got a new leader. The initiation got more brutal. Bet you can't guess who Max's new protégée is."

The answer is obvious.

"Eric." I say. "So Eric was their second choice for leadership, and you were their first." I say.

"What makes you say that?" Four asks.

"The way Eric was acting that first night." I reply. "Jealous, even though he has what he wants."

"Perceptive aren't you. He doesn't realize that it's all relative, though."

I ponder what he could possibly mean by that as we climb towards my destination, the flat platform in the middle of the wheel.

"I don't understand what you mean." I say

"He thinks that life is about how high you are , how much authority you have." His voice softens. "What he doesn't realize is life only has meaning when you are with the people you care about and the people you can't live without."

Oh. That is so sweet. There is a lot more to Four than I thought. This part of him deserves to be trusted. Ever since last year, I have struggled with trusting men and being at ease with them but Four was different. I wasn't as up tight around him like I was with everyone else. I felt like I could actually let my guard down like I used to do with Toby. Maybe this once, I'll actually listen to my instincts.

"It's hard to have meaning when you don't even know where the only person who you ever cared about is." I say bitterly. "I haven't seen him in a whole year."

"Who?" Four whispers. "What do you mean you don't know where he is?"

"I have been looking for him since I came here." I murmur. "It's hard though, because I'm almost always busy. I also don't know if he made it here. He could be factionless. I just don't know."

"What's he like?" Four asks.

"He's quiet. Keeps to himself a lot. He's the most observant person I've ever met. He's my best friend." My voice trembles. I'm coming apart. I didn't think it would be this hard to talk about Tobias.

"You want to find him?" Four asks.

"Yes, but I need some time, I think." Time to do what, exactly? I don't know.

"I left my entire life behind when I came here." Four whispers. "And I didn't look back. I had been planning my escape, and working towards my goal to come here."

"What were you escaping?" I ask.

"My life." Four murmurs. "I wanted a new one. But there was a cost."

"A cost?"

"Yes." We reach the platform now. I climb on, and sit on the edge. Four remains on the ladder while he finishes telling me his story.

"It was a high cost." He continues. "I had a best friend too, Tris. And although she demanded I leave, and told me she would follow, I know that she will want nothing to do with me when- if- she comes here."

"Why?" I ask. "If you're best friends..."

"Were, Tris. We were best friends." Four corrects me.

"Well, if you think like that, then... I mean, you were best friends. I'm sure this girl is far more forgiving than you give her credit for." I insist. "Besides, she told you to leave. For your own good, right? She knew leaving was for your own good."

Four is quiet now. He pulls himself onto the platform, pressing his back against the stabilizer. Something Tobias would have done, because Tobias is afraid of heights. And it looks like Four is as well.

"You're afraid of heights." I whisper.

"Everyone's afraid of something." He replies simply.

"How do you survive in the Dauntless compound?"

"I ignore my fear. When I make decisions, I pretend it doesn't exist." He speaks freely. He is letting his guard down, too.

"To- um, my friend is terrified of heights." I say, sliding back a little on the platform. I pray Four won't notice my slip up.

"One time, over the summer, we signed up to work in the Amity orchards." I stand and look around. I can't see what I'm looking for.

"We're not high enough." I announce.

"God, Tris." Four practically moans.

"You don't have to come with me." My voice is soft.

"Yes, I do." Four replies.

"Okay." I say. "How about I tell you my story about the Amity orchards? Also, don't look down. I don't know why people who are afraid of heights look down. It's what freezes them." I roll my eyes a little.

"Okay." Four agrees. I can tell by his ragged breathing that he really hates heights.

"Okay. So as I said, one time, over the summer, we signed up to work in the Amity orchards." I project my voice because the wind is harsher now. "We were picking apples. My friend and I love to make a game out of our volunteering. So on this particular day, we had a contest to see who could pick more apples by the time his father came to check on us." My voice betrays me on the word 'father'. My teeth clench, and I practically spit the word out.

"Anyway, we were picking our apples, and I see his dad walking towards us. I said 'Time to count our apples! You dad's coming.' 'Okay.' He said. I climbed down, but he was stuck." I smile a little remembering what came next.

"'I- I can't- I'm stuck.' He said. I learned he was afraid if heights that day, and from then on, I picked apples, and he sorted them.

"I tried to coax him down. If his dad saw this, my friend was dead. Eventually, I got tired and said, 'Okay. You have two options. One, stay there and see what your dad has to say, and two, drop. It doesn't hurt that bad. You won't die, I promise.'" I realize how heartless that probably sounded to Tobias at the time, and Four, now.

"So my friend, the wise boy he was, decided to get out of the tree. The thing was, you're supposed to drop, and bend your knees. He literally fell out of the tree. Landed flat on his back." I grimace, remembering. Now, I know how much that must have hurt him, because his back was shredded by Marcus's belt all the time.

My foot misses the next rung, and I slip.

Four catches me before I can fall, and gently tugs me back in place. His fingers find a strip of bare skin just above the waistband of my jeans. My face reddens as I acknowledge this fact, and I can barely mutter thank you.

"Are you alright?" Four sounds worried.

"Yeah. I'm fine, thank you." I reply, shakily. I realize that the presence of him makes me feel like my bones are soft. It is completely ridiculous that I should feel dizzy.

I continue climbing. A few more feet and I'll be able to see the whole city.

"Are you even human, Tris?" It's Four's turn to be nervous. He gulps. "Being up this high? It doesn't scare you at all?" He chokes a little.

I look down at Four, then past him, toward the ground. I will surely die if I fall from here. I'd better not fall then.

"We're almost there." I Tell Four. My voice is soft, reassuring.

A few feet more, and I'm overlooking the city.

"Wow." I say. "Four, you have to see this. It's so cool." I scan and see their flag in an open field.

Four chuckles. "Figures. The trees provide some camouflage, but obviously, not enough."

I can hardly hear what he's saying. Not because of the wind, but because his chest is pressed against my back. I feel as if I'm on fire. Can he feel it too? Or is it just me? I really am dizzy now.

"Um, start climbing down, and I'll follow you." My voice shakes. Embarrassing.

"Oh. Um okay." Four stammers.

We descend the ladder quickly towards the ground. Four has a confusing look on his face. It's a mix of surprise and doubt. I am confused. What could I have said? Maybe he saw something.

We reach the ground and he takes my hand, and pulls me off to where the rest of the team waits.

The girl who talked to me earlier, Denise, comes up to us. She is grinning ear to ear. That smile faded when she looked at Four.

"Yo, Four. You okay?" She sounded concerned. I turn and study him. He's not really there. I wave my hand in front of his face, and he blinks.

"Four? You okay?" Denise asks again.

"Yeah." He blinks rapidly, rubbing the back of his neck. It has to be the heights. Tobias was always a little shaky after we did anything involving heights. But I have to find out who Four is, and I have to do it soon. We walked to where the rest of the group was waiting.

"We know where the other team is." Four says. "While the rest of you were twiddling your thumbs, Tris climbed the Ferris wheel."

"What should we do to get them?" Zeke asks.

"We should split into two two groups. Christina, Denise, Four, Zeke, and I will go get the flag, and the rest of you will distract Eric's team." I command. "Let's go!"

"Who put you in charge?" A girl with a shaved head sneers.

"I didn't see you climb the Ferris wheel, did I?" I snap. I immediately feel ashamed. I don't even know this girl, and I decided that that I can yell at her?

"Ooh! A Stiff with a backbone!" She mocks.

"Shut up Lynn!" Denise says. "Sorry, Tris."

"No problem." I reply.

The others take off toward where I point them. Zeke, Christina, Four, and I are to wait three minutes, then follow.

"Hey, Christina. This is Denise. She's a Dauntless-born." I say, a little awkwardly.

"Denise." Christina says. "Nice to meet you."

"The pleasure is mine." Denise replies with a smirk in my direction.

"Really, guys?" I complain. "Are you seriously mocking my Stiffness?"

"Uh, maybe?" Denise laughed. "Hey I'll make it up to you, okay Tris?"

"How?" I'm suspicious.

"You, Christina, and your transfer friends can sit with me tomorrow. I'll introduce you to my friends."

"Okay." I reply. I check my watch. "Oh gosh! Time to go, guys!" Four and Zeke didn't hear me. "Zeke! Four! C'mon!"

They break from their conversation and run after Denise, Christina, and I.

Zeke jogs up to Denise. "Hey, Denise." He says. He looks a little nervous.

"What's up, Zeke?" Denise replies.

"Oh not much, just excited for a little action," Zeke says with a smile.

"Someone likes Denise." Four whisper-sings to me. I snicker.

We run through the field, towards the flag. I see people on Eric's team hiding behind structures, waiting to ambush us. I silently point towards the structures.

"Watch out." I warn my group, quietly.

We sneak towards the flag. Christina is behind me, and I hear a squeal.

I turn to see Peter standing, with a gun pointed and ready.

"Tell me if this hurts." He sneers. God, he's such an ass.

"You tell me!" I snarl, pointing my gun at his back.

He jumps and turns to me.

"You won't shoot me." He scoffs.

"I think you might be underestimating my character." I say. Then I shot his back. It will be hard to take that out.

Christina laughs. "Asshole!" She says. We meet up with Four and Denise.

"Okay. Christina, come with me, Denise, go with Four." I instruct.

We ran off towards the flag, which hung in a tree. I'm not going to be able to reach it. It's too high. I am about to scale the tree, but Christina stops me.

"C'mon, Tris. You're already the hero. You thought of the plan." Her look is patronizing. "You can't even reach it." That was a low blow, brining my height in it. But a fight isn't worth it, so I take a step back.

"You're right." I say calmly. "I can't. Go ahead." I gesture towards the tree, while stepping back.

She reached up and grabbed the flag. She smiled as she waved that stupid thing. I shouldn't let that get to me. I'm standing off to the side with a small smile on my features. I do feel happy we won.

"Good job, Tris." Four whispers behind me. My smile widens and I turn to face him. "Thank you." I say.

"God! Look at her!" Denise says beside me. "She stole your glory."

"It's not worth it." I say. "There are people who deserve reprimanding, and I don't want to waste it on her."

"Oh, and who would you rather yell at?" Denise asked with her eyebrows raised.

Heat rushes to my face. I was talking about Marcus, but obviously, I'm not going to tell them that.

"Um, just someone." I mutter.

"What?" Denise says. "Obviously, I missed something."

"Um, just a little," replies Four.

"Oh and you know, instructor?" Denise says.

Four glares at Denise. I hide a laugh, Denise is walking on thin ice.

"Watch yourself initiate. I may not be your instructor but I can still make your life a living hell." Four threatens. Well, I'm disappointed. I expected more of what he did to Christina.

I'm smiling a little as I turn to head back to the compound. Four walks a few feet ahead, still in earshot of anything I might say. Denise walks with me, and Christina walks with Will. Denise tells me where to find her for lunch.

When we get back to the dorms, I fall asleep.

A/N Chapter was nice and long, right? I wan't to keep my initiates happy...

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