Disclaimer: I don't own Divergent.
Hey! Hey! You, Eric, don't walk away when I'm talking to you!" I heard a female voice scream from behind me.
"What?" I spun around to face her, irritated. I knew she wasn't going to go away without a confrontation.
"Why did you leave us in the sleeping quarters?! Without an explanation!" Mai screamed at me. Why did she have to be in Dauntless? My life would be so much easier if she had stayed in Amity, I would have never have met her, therefore meaning my emotions would be less conflicted. She hadn't stopped screaming at me yet though... "Did anyone ever tell you that you are a right little arrogant b-"
"Woah, woah!" Tobias walked up behind her, putting his hand on her shoulder to calm her down. A little hiss escaped out of the corner of my mouth. She shrugged him off, much to my delight.
"No Tobias! I want an explanation!" She growled, glaring at me.
"I thought I saw someone I knew." I lied. "I'm sorry, I should have waited." I felt a little bad about lying but...
Her glare softened a little bit. "Well," she huffed. "Don't do it again. With your lack of manner, you'd swear that you were born in a barn."
"What, like you Amity?" Marie, the bitch from the train jumping exercise said, walking up behind her. Mai stiffened automatically and I saw her ball up her fists, indicating that she was angry.
"The Amity people don't use barns anymore, but I wouldn't expect you to know. Everyone knows that Candors are just plain stupid. That's why they always tell the truth - stupidity." I interjected before Mai could get herself into an unfair fight. Marie glowered at me angrily.
"Walk away," I continued. "If you care about your pretty face as much as you do making enemies, then you'll walk away." She stormed off in a huff, with her cronies trailing along after her.
I couldn't believe that I just stood up for the Amity, I groaned inwardly. I really had it bad.
"And I forgiven now?" I asked.
"...yes..." Mai sniffed. "But I so could have handled her myself, you know, if I wanted to."
"I'm sure you could," I answered, smiling down at her.
"Err..." Tobias spoke up. "I'm going to head back, I want to catch some sleep, I'm exhausted."
"Night Tobias." I answered politely. I had some manners despite Mai's accusation.
"Sweet dreams." Mai said softly. She wasn't going to go with him? As soon as Tobias was out of sight she turned to me. "Okay, where are you going?" She questioned.
"What makes you think I'm going anywhere?" I fidgeted nervously.
"Because you were heading down here before I stopped you and I don't know about you, but I don't think that they is anything casual for us initiates down there. So, I'll ask again, where are you going?" Mai lectured.
"The Dauntless-born initiates invited me to go to an unofficial "initiation ceremony" with them." I informed her.
"Cool, can I come?" She asked, her eyes shining in excitement.
"Fine..." I answered, my emotions conflicting against each other again.
"Great, where to?" She said cheerfully, slipping her hand into mine. My eyes popped slightly and my breath got caught in my throat. Mai was holding my hand... did I want her to? According to my racing heart, I did. Or in the very least my body did.
I enclosed my hand around hers as Zeke and Shauna walked past. "Follow those two."
. . .
We had gotten off the train and it was cold outside. Why were they getting out here?
Mai seemed immune to the cold, probably an Amity thing considering the amount of time they spent outside. I was surprised to find that she was still holding my hand. I think I was still holding hers. My fingers are so numb that I really can't tell.
We walked down Michigan Avenue, it was strangely empty. Usually it is very busy - it makes a nice change. I scanned our surroundings and suddenly, just like that, I know where we are going. The empty Hancock building, a black pillar with crisscrossed girders, the tallest building north of the bridge.
We were going to do the legendary Dauntless zip line.
"I hope you like heights and speed." I leant down to whisper in her ear.
"Why?" She inquired.
"Two words, zip lining." I bit my lip to suppress a laugh at her expression.
"My absolutely most favourite thing in the world..." She grumbled sarcastically. "Next time remind me not to go anywhere that you go, unless I know you are going somewhere that won't kill us, thus not including the Dauntless-born people who are somehow excellent at avoiding the grim reaper himself." She muttered.
"You didn't have to come." I pointed out.
"Well... I wanted to!" She snapped, turning her head away. It was hard not chuckle at her child-like antics.
"Which is it? Speed or heights? Both?" I wasn't supposed to care. I wasn't supposed to make casual conversation. I wasn't supposed to have brought her along like a friend. I wasn't supposed to stand up for her, care about her, hold her hand.
She looked down like she was ashamed. "Neither."
"Then what's the problem?" I asked surprised. "Why are you acting so... uneasy?" I chose my words carefully.
"I'm... I'm not acting uneasy!" Mai burst in frustration. Definitely uneasy.
"Yes," I said calmly. "Yes, you are." I tried a bit of reverse psychology. "You don't have to tell me."
"You're right." She answered. "I don't."
Wait for it.
"But I will."
Told you so.
"It's... it's..." she blushed. "It's because I'm still holding your hand."
That was it? Well I most certainly wasn't expecting that.
"Holding my hand makes you uneasy?" I choked. "I thought that Amity's loved holding hands?" I glared at her. "But I guess it's just me. I bet you'd love to hold Tobias' hand!" Now I was acting like an overly jealous boyfriend. I shouldn't be acting like this. I should be rejecting those feelings.
"Excuse me?" She snapped. "Number one, I am Dauntless now. And number two, don't be such a presumptuous idiot!" And with that she stalked off leaving me alone in the middle of a crowd of Dauntless.
. . .
As we get closer, everyone starts to run so I join it, not really into it from my fight with Mai. We push through the doors and thread on a path of broken glass. I'm glad that I have good shoes on my feet. We all pile into the elevator and make our way on to the one hundredth floor. Or at least I presume it's the one hundredth floor, seeing as we are doing zip lining in a one hundred storey building. And we are Dauntless.
We get out of the elevator and a strong wind confronts me. There is a massive hole in the ceiling and a Dauntless woman drags out a ladder, it looks like aluminium, and props it up against the hole. We are going to climb.
I climb up the ladder eventually and wonder where Mai has gone. I haven't seen her since she stormed off. Maybe she went back to the Dauntless compound? On her own? Worry and guilt clamps itself around my heart. What if something happens to her? It will be all my fault... I turn around to see her being helped up off the ladder. She's okay... provided she doesn't get blown off the side of the building.
"Mai!" I jog over to her and touch her arm gently.
"What?" She turns to look at me. Her eyes are slightly red. She hasn't been up here long enough for the wind to make her eyes water. That must mean that... I made her cry.
"I... I just want to say that I'm, well, sorry for earlier on. I was just nervous about doing this and I took it out on you."
"Woah, Eric, apologizing to me twice in a day? I could get used to this." She smiled. I gritted my teeth. "Your apology is accepted."
She walks close beside me, leaning on me gently from the strength of the wind but she doesn't take my hand in hers again...
And I want her to.
To distract myself from Mai, I looked around, taking in my surrounding. On one side there is only brown marsh, it is ugly and empty. On the other side there is the city, with its many buildings and lights. The contrast is amazing.
I look around for the thing that we are going to rely on to keep us alive. It is a steel cable attached to one of the many poles on top of the tower. On the ground are a pile of black slings, they must be made of tough fabric right? They look like it. One of the older Dauntless pick the top one up and attach it to a pulley.
I came to a standstill. The wind was pretty strong, but I found against it. I stood pretty much straight while Mai was leaning fully into my chest now. It wasn't that bad seeing that she was so small and slender that there was no way that she could possibly withstand the wind with some support. To her credit, she didn't turn her face away into my chest. Would I have liked it if she did?
We all got into the line and Mai pushed me before her. "You first," she whispered to me. "I won't be able to do it unless I know that you are waiting for me at the end." I think my heart just did a little flip at her words."
"Okay," I agreed. There were only three people between me and the zip line.
Two.
One.
My turn.