Hello, guys!
I had been working on this one for quite some time, and, after changing the major plot a couple of times, it's finished!
Hope you enjoy it!
SONG: "LONG LIVE THE RECKLESS AND THE BRAVE" BY ALL TIME LOW ( youtubedotcomslash + watch?v=ZVKEm-r1UYg)
Long live the reckless and the brave
My song has not been sung
"C'mon, guys! I still want to pass by the cafeteria before the train comes!" Uriah pounds on Christina's apartment. Currently, she shares the apartment with Will. They were supposed to be ready ten minutes ago, at the cafeteria.
We have 14 minutes until the train comes. We're playing Dare and the best way to do it is on the train, with alcohol and cake. We have the alcohol, but not the cake. Uriah is clearly desperate about the cake.
I don't think I wanna be saved
"Christina and Will, I'm gonna take the door down! We need to go," Zeke yells with his brother. I guess the Pedrad brothers are desperate, and not just Uriah.
Uriah and Zeke are hurrying Christina and Will up. Christina is probably still getting ready while Will sits on the couch reading a book. I would not be surprised if that was the scene rolling inside my best friend's apartment.
My song has not been sung
Lynn stands by the wall with her arms crossed on her chest and she sighs instead of exhaling air like a normal person, looking annoyed. Her girlfriend Rose is sitting on the ground by Lynn's side, her knees bent so she can rest her head on them. Marlene and Shauna talk enthusiastically about a new store at the Pit. Tobias and I are standing in the middle of the corridor, our hands intertwined. He has his muscles tensed and his hand squeezes mine frequently. I look at my watch: 10 minutes.
So, long live us!
"Honey, are you okay?" I ask. I can't say his real name in front of people, but I didn't want the coldness that comes with his nickname.
"I'm worried about the cake," his eyes go from his watch to the door to my eyes and back, "There's almost no time for the cake."
"We won't leave without the cake. I guarantee you that. In the worst case scenario, we wait for the next train. And while it doesn't come, we eat more chocolate cake. Sound good?" I ask, placing my other hand on his cheek. His eyes lock with mine as he leans down.
"You're the best," his lips brush mine as he pronounces the words. I laugh and kiss him softly. His hands to my waist and mine encircle his neck, the kiss always gentle, delicate.
Looking out at town called Suburbia
Everybody's just fighting to fit in
"You guys are so cute," Christina says from her door. I didn't even notice when she opened the door. Damn, Tobias, what the hell do you do to me? Shauna, Marlene, Rose, Christina and Uriah are looking at us with a dreamy look. I blush hardly and bury my head on Tobias' chest. Protecting me from the audience, he swings his arms through my waist and my shoulders. "Let's get the cake, now, yes?" he begins walking, tucking at my hand gently.
We all follow, walking quite rapidly. When we get to the Pit, Zeke screams: "The last one to get to the cafeteria is a pansycake!"
Little rats running mazes, having babies
It's a vicious little world that we live in
Tobias and I take off running immediately. I was always fast, because of how small I am, but with Tobias' long strides pulling me forward by our linked hands, this is the fastest I have ever ran.
And then the whole Pit races to the cafeteria. That's what I love about Dauntless. We are like a family, we accept all and each one of us with their own flaws. And that includes a race between two hundred people to get to the cafeteria.
Looking out, got a life on the other side
I realize that I didn't fit in
I never had any of that when I was in Abnegation. I didn't have the feeling of belonging there, because I just didn't. I wasn't – am not – selfless enough for them. I wanted to stay, because of my family. But couldn't. I wanted to stay for them, but as I said before, I'm not selfless enough to belong there.
Didn't hate it, but I didn't quite relate it
To my precious little world
I had to change, I had to be who I was – who I am – and that is Dauntless.
Here I feel like I belong.
When we get to the cafeteria, it's mostly empty, due to the hour. Everyone is either working or at the Pit usually at this time. Today, or they're working or they are coming – running - from the Pit to eat Dauntless chocolate cake. We get two whole chocolate cakes, ask the lady at the kitchen to wrap them and we climb the stairs that lead us to the train tracks. By the time we walk out the Cafeteria, the space is filled with people eating their cakes. They don't bother about how loud they talk and laugh or if they are polite. And I love that.
Our friends are already by the train tracks, waiting for us. They all have a piece of cake in hand. None of them got any whole cake; they knew Tobias and I would pass the trouble of getting it.
"How did you guys know we would get the cake?" I ask.
The undeniable horn of the train is heard and the light shines in the distance, but we still have a minute before running to catch it.
"We actually went to the cafeteria, but we got a piece of this chocolatey magnificence," Uriah sighs," and left. We knew the former Stiff would get the trouble to get the cake by herself," he explains while taking bites of his piece of cake. Zeke nods, agreeing, while eating his own piece.
"Actually, we got two cakes." Tobias smiles, a triumphant look on his face as I gesture to the package he's carrying.
So, long live the reckless and the brave
I don't think I wanna be saved
My song has not been sung
The train is closer now so everyone starts running. One by one we pull ourselves in and help the other get on the train. Tobias and I are the last. I run a little faster and hop on the train. I crouch by the door and reach my hands out for the cake.
Tobias would need at least one hand to climb on the train and we can't risk the cake falling to the ground. That set, he hands me the package and hops on the train.
And long live the fast times so come what may
I don't think I'll ever be saved
"Is the cake okay?!" Zeke demands. He flaps his arms up and down and his eyes are wide open.
"Yes, Zeke, we're all fine. Thanks for asking," Shauna says, cleaning her knees.
"You know I love and care about you, baby, but the cake was in danger. And it can't defend itself, unlike you, my love" Zeke snakes his hands through her waist. She leans closer and lightly kisses him.
"Yes, Zeke. The cake is fine," Tobias answers.
Our song has not been sung.
Long live us!
His hand meets mine and I intertwine our fingers, walking to the end of the train and sitting down. His back on the wooden wall and me on top of him, facing our friends. They all sit in a messed up circle around us. Uriah, Marlene and I place the cake and the alcohol in the center, passing a bottle of beer to each one of us. I deny mine and Tobias grabs a water bottle instead.
Breaking out of a town called Suburbia
I remember everybody always saying
Zeke sitting on our right, with Shauna by his side, resting her hand on his leg. Uriah and Marlene sit on their right, with their hands on the ground, intertwining their finger only. Lynn sits with her back propped in the wall. Rose lies flat on her back, her head resting on Lynn's leg. Christina and Will are on our left, her head resting on his shoulder, his arm resting on her shoulders.
"Little brat must be crazy
Never make it in our vicious little world"
Being here with them now, makes me compare memories from when I lived in Abnegation. I wasn't a perfect daughter and I would never be happy there, I would never be completely satisfied with their way of living. Here, on the other hand, I am absolutely happy with my life.
"So," Zeke claps his hands and runs them in each other, half-closes his eyes and has a devious grin on his lips, "Are you guys ready to play…" he looks around, "Dare?"
We all cheer and stomp our feet, the Dauntless way to demonstrate happiness.
Well, that and getting drunk.
Still I'm leaving
"Let's begin," Uriah claps his own hands together, making a loud noise.
"Uriah, my dear brother," Zeke begins, "I dare you to drink all your bottle in less than 60 seconds."
"Don't need 60 seconds to do that. Count down… now!" Uriah screams as he begins drinking.
"Sixty, fifty-nine, fifty-eight…
Got a van, got a chance, got my dignity,
Got a dream, got a spark, got somewhere to be,
"Twenty, nin-"
"Done!" Marlene screams as Uriah takes the bottle off his lips, smiling.
We all cheer as he kisses Marlene, his movements slightly slumped from the beer.
"Pansycake!" Uriah screams.
"Uriah!"
"Fine, fine…" he mumbles, shrinking back.
"I dare you to tell me: from one to ten, how am I in bed?" Zeke asks. I feel my cheeks getting hot and Tobias embraces me tighter. I still have problems with some Dauntless costumes, due to my Abnegation childhood.
"Depends on the day," she says and the group bursts out laughing at Zeke's face. He looks like a close friend died. "Last night, for example, it was an eight. But last week you were definitely a ten." She raises her eyebrows and smirks.
"Jesus, I could live without that sort of information about my brother," Uriah takes a sip from his bottle.
"Uriah, Candor o-" Shauna gets cut by Uriah
"Dauntless! I ain't no pansycake!"
"I dare you to get a bottle of that fizzy drink from the kitchen in the Erudite compound."
"Okay," he shrugs. We are still a few minutes away from the Erudite compound, so I get up from Tobias' lap and cut a piece of cake. A big one.
"You're sharing that with me, right?" Tobias asks, his eyes focused on the cake. "Only if you share that with me," I nod my face to his bottle.
"Deal."
I place a piece of the cake on his mouth and he leads the bottle to my lips, turning it so the fresh liquid can make its way down my throat.
Got a dream, got a spark, got somewhere to be
Take a breath, say goodbye to the precious little world
We get to Erudite and Uriah readies himself to jump. Him and Marlene are going to the kitchen and getting the fizz drink. They must do it before the train goes far from the noses.
Got a dream, got a spark, got somewhere to be
Take a breath, say goodbye to the precious little world
"Mar," Uriah calls, "Now, I dare you to tell me: from one to ten, how am I in bed?" Uriah smirks.
"As Shauna said, depends on the day," the group laughs again, this time louder to the alcohol. "Last week, you were a seven. But the day of our date was a ten."
"The Pedrad's rock!" Zeke says and claps his hands loudly with Uriah's.
"I distinctly remember Shauna and Marlene saying that some days you guys rock," Lynn smirks. Zeke shows her his middle finger.
"You're jealous, Lynn," Uriah moves his hand from right to left, snapping his fingers each time.
"Uriah, remember I don't like that."
Uriah blushes.
So, long live the reckless and the brave
I don't think I wanna be saved
My song has not been sung
"Okay, now… Tris. I dare you to take three shots of this amazing tequila I brought," Uriah gestures to a bottle in the middle of the circle.
"Can't do it," I say, smiling. Tobias' arms embrace my stomach tighter.
"Pansycake!" Uriah screams, pointing a finger to my face.
"Uriah!" We all hiss.
"Why, Tris?" Uriah pouts, placing his hand over his heart in a melodramatic acting.
"I thought I lost first place at initiation rankings for someone braver than that," Christina mumbles, crossing her arms and pouting like a child. Tobias places his mouth on my hair and I feel him smiling.
And long live the fast times so come what may
I don't think I'll ever be saved
Our song has not been sung
"Actually, I have a good reason, Uriah," I tell him. "Guys, I'm pregnant."
"Oh my God, Tris!" Christina gets up smiling, almost falling due to the high alcohol level in her system, stumbling towards me. I get up as well. "Congratulations, you two! Four," she points a finger to him, "you better treat her well. I might be drunk, but my promise is beyond that."
I laugh and slip my arms around her again.
"Yeah! My buddy Four is having a child!" Zeke beams.
Everyone gets up, hugging Tobias as and I. Warm hugs for me from them and slaps on the back for Tobias, from the boys. They all say how happy they are for us and congratulate us.
Long live us!
Long live us!
"Lynn, you're pretty shy today," I narrow my eyes at her. "I dare you to grab an apple from an Amity tree," I say as I look out and notice the orchards coming into view.
"Easy!" She takes a sip of her beer and jumps off the train. Lynn runs to a tree and starts climbing. She better make it quicker if she wants to get on the train again.
She disappears between the leaves.
Long live the reckless and the brave
I don't think I wanna be saved
My song has not been sung
Lynn comes back to the ground with a bunch of apples in her arms, running like crazy towards the moving train.
"C'mon, Lynn! Run! Faster!" We scream excited. Rose grabs her arms and helps Lynn. She gives one apple for each one of us.
Long live the reckless and the brave
I don't think I wanna be saved
My song has not been sung
I look around. Sitting with Tobias and all my slightly drunk friends eating Dauntless chocolate cake here in this moving train, illuminated by the setting sun. I realize I belong here with them. I belong here in Dauntless.
And long live the fast times so come what may
I don't think I'll ever be saved
I know our song has not been sung
The other factions see us as hellions, as reckless. And I am one of them. And I don't wanna be saved. And long live the Dauntless hellions, long live the reckless, long live the brave.
"Long live the reckless and the brave!" I yell, raising my plate of chocolate cake.
"Long live us!" my friends and boyfriend yell in response, raising their plates or bottles to the sky.
Long live us!
Long live us!
Yeah, long live us.
Yes? No?
