"I can't believe Cole! The coward! How is he even Dauntless?" I complained.
"Well, he did almost whoop your ass in the hallway." Tris responded.
"Shut it!" I said, throwing a pillow at Tris while she laughed. I wasn't in the mood for games. OK, maybe it was true. I could've gotten pretty hurt if it weren't for Four.
"I'm just sayin'. You can't blame a guy for not doing what you asked him to do. What was up with that, anyways? You could've at least asked Will or something. And the first one was a bit messed up, too."
"Who's side are you on?"
"I'm gonna be honest, I think Cole is right."
"What! I thought you were my friend!"
"You came from Candor, so you understand that I have to be fair about this. I can't side with my best friend just because you're my best friend. I think you're being unreasonable."
"They saw your fear landscape!"
"No, they didn't. They admitted it. Chill out, it was a prank. Asking someone to do what you asked Cole to do is not a prank."
"Why are you defending him!"
"I'm not, I'm just telling you what I think."
"Rrrrghh!" I got up and stormed off, and I happen to meet Lynn in the hallway.
"Hello, Christina."
"Hello, slut."
"What's that supposed to mean? I'm not the one asking people to literally kiss my ass."
"I have my reasons."
"Well?"
"Well, what?"
"What are your reasons?"
"Well, I had to get back at him. For what he did. You know what he did, right? To me and Tris."
"It was just a prank. Daring him that was way overboard."
"Maybe what he did was overboard too." She just rolled her eyes, like she knew something I didn't. And she could've. She spent more time with Cole than I did. Thank god for that.
"It definitely wasn't. It was normal Dauntless. Like Eric said, there's a difference between courage and stupidity. I think you have more of the second part." You know what? I've had enough of this. I walk towards her and push her. She returns the favor with another push. The pushes turn into punches and kicks, and we end up wrestling in the hallway. Just then, Cole and Will come out of Will's room, talking, until they see their girlfriends sparring. Will hooks his arms under my shoulders and drags me away, as Cole does the same to Lynn. We're both flailing around, trying to get at each other, but we never do. As we're being dragged away to our rooms, we give each other one last death glare. I'm pulled into my room, and Tris is fiddling with her laptop, not really paying attention to Will. He sets me on my bed and holds me down until I calm down.
"Christina, it's not worth it." Will reassuringly states.
"Who says?"
"I do. You don't want to have enemies in Dauntless. There's gonna be a day that we all have to work together. You can't hold grudges against Cole or Lynn or anyone else that argues with you. I think you went overboard, and so does everyone else. You can't just start hating us all." I have to admit, he was right. I couldn't hold grudges in Dauntless. I couldn't. I had to just put it all behind me. Even when Lynn said hello to me in the hallway, it wasn't with an attitude or anything. It was just a greeting, and I turned it into a fight. I start to feel an anchor inside my stomach. How could I be so rude? I start to feel bad, and apparently Will notices and kisses me, a gentle kiss. Will and I always kissed a bit sloppily, but we were getting better with practice. Will stayed with me until I was as cheered up as possible, when he gave me a good night kiss and left to return back to his room. Tris was already sleeping, so I went on the computer and wrote an email to everyone who was in Truth or Dare today.
"Hey guys. Sorry I kind of ruined the game for everyone today. Let's play again tomorrow at 6:00 if that's OK with everyone. I was a bit overboard. And also, let's start with all our clothes on. I don't think anyone was ready for the pressure of sudden death. Again, sorry, and I'll see you guys tomorrow. – Christina"
Hey, it wasn't fancy, but it was the best I could think up. Tomorrow morning when I check my email, I get a response from everyone saying it's alright and they would play today. But I read Cole's carefully.
"Alright, I'll go. I especially wasn't ready for sudden death. Sorry for all the drama we had yesterday. I was a coward. Kind of."
Cole always has to have some humor. I catch myself smiling. Why? I'm glad we're alright, but why am I smiling? And I'm not just grinning. I'm actually widely smiling. Oh well.
"So what's that?" I jump at the voice. It was Tris. She woke up?
"Cole's email response." She reads and then gives me a look that I read as an "Are you doing what I think you're doing?". She saw me smiling like a maniac. Blood starts to rush to my face, and she just laughs.
"I'm messing with you. You just seem to be smiling pretty crazy-like. Glad you're cool with Cole again."
"Oh. Alright." I close the laptop and head out to the mess hall for breakfast before I can avoid being embarrassed again. I meet Cole in the hallway. What is it with people in hallway's the same time I am? "Hey, Cole."
"Hey. You're forgiven. Did you read my email?"
"Um, yeah." There was an awkward silence.
"So, uh, what was that sound I heard in your room?"
"What sound?"
"Sounded like an excited person. Like an 'Eek!'" Did I make that sound? Ok… weird.
"Erm, not sure. Well, see you later."
"Bye." We both go our separate ways and my hearts starts to beat wildly as I swoop down the stairs and go to the mess hall. Nobody was there. Oh well. I refollow my path and return to my hallway, but continue into Uriah's room.
"Hey, Uriah, can I borrow a couple of pop tarts?" I ask as I enter the room. But Uriah is still sleeping. Cole is in his room, putting a new shirt on. I start to blush, but quickly force the blood to continue its cycle. I've seen him shirtless before. What was different this time? Uriah is snoring like an ape, but Cole grabs a wrapper with 2 pop tarts in it and tosses it to me.
"I'll tell him I ate it."
"Ok, thanks." I leave and return to my room, where Tris is snacking on some Oreos.
"There's nobody in the mess ha-"
"Yeah, I know. I got some pop tarts from Cole." Tris then responds with an "Oooohhh".
"What?" I interrogate.
"Nothing." She says with a smirk. It's obviously something, but I decide to put it aside. I tear open the wrapper and place the pop tarts in the toaster, starting it up. After a little while, the pop tarts pop back up and I place them on a plate. I sit next to Tris while munching on my breakfast. I finish with no conversation from Tris. She just stares at me with a crooked smile and accusing eyes. I raise an eyebrow at her as I go get some orange juice. I can't keep it in any longer.
"What!?"
"You know what."
"I really don't." I state as I slurp my orange juice.
"First, you ask Cole to kiss your ass…"
"I already admitted that was dumb."
"Next, you get all excited when he forgives you."
"So what?"
"Then, you start blushing when you see him without a shirt on. Even though you've seen him topless before."
"Well, that was different. I, uh… Um. Well, I –"
"It's OK, Christina. I won't mention it to anyone." She promises with the same accusing look on her face.
"Mention what!" I feel my face turn as red as a tomato.
"You have something going on for Cole."
"I do not! I'm dating Will!"
"So? I never said you controlled it. It's just one of those things."
"No, it's not!" I'm in full denial mode right about now. "It's not one of those things!"
"Christina, I –"
"Just… no, OK! Forget this conversation ever happened!" It was a bit weird when I blushed at seeing Cole changing. For God's sake, I'd even seen him in his underwear without blushing! Or had I? Maybe I'd blushed and not realized it. Hopefully nobody would notice if I had done that. Especially Will. What will I do about Will? You know what? You have to calm down, Christina. Just let it all happen. If it continues, I'm able to decide what I'll do. Hopefully.