Tris POV:

On Tuesday, I am reminded by my dad to see Mr. Max after school.

"Yeah, dad. I know. I put a reminder on my phone." I say, rolling my eyes.

Fortunately, my dad doesn't notice my irritated tone. So I hug him goodbye and walk out the door, faking a smile.

"Beatrice, come on," Caleb whines.

'Fine," I tut, "But we're early as it is."

We get in the car and Caleb lectures me, "You are. Erudite club meets half an hour before school starts. And I've told you that many-"

I nod and Caleb is cut off by Flyleaf, as I slip my headphones into my ears, wishing that Four had picked me up so I wouldn't be at school alone.

"Tris! Just the person I wanted to see!"

I slam my locker shut, with backpack in hand and come face to face with Al, "Now what?"

He smiles at me and I roll my eyes and stuff my math book in my backpack.

"Listen, I wanted to talk to you about something."

I huff, zip up my backpack, sling it on my shoulder, and turn around, preparing to walk away from Al. But he grabs my shoulder.

"Tris, will you forgive everything I've ever done to you and go out with me?" he asks stately.

I look back at him like he's crazy, "Al! No! Are you crazy? Have you looked into a mirror lately? Or have you forgotten all that you've done to me?!"

I turn around, spotting Four in the distance. He parts with Zeke and walks towards me, from the end of the hall.

But Al doesn't see Four, and he pulls me back again, lunging straight for my lips. I scream and shout, "No!" and hear a running sound in the distance. Then Four punches Al and asks, "Didn't you hear her say no?!"

Then Al lets go of me to fight Four and I slam onto the linoleum. My backpack saves me from hurting my back. Four gets off of Al and rushes over to me, but Al gets there first.

"Tris! Are you okay?" Al says.

"Al, I don't need your help," I say, "And stay away from me, coward, or I will kill you."

He gets up and shakes his head as he walks away. I wipe a tear off my face, and Four sticks out an arm to help me get up, but I push it away.

"I don't need your help either," I say, more angrily than intended.

Then I get up and limp off to Mr. Max's room, with Four's jaw dropping in the distance.

"Sorry I'm late Mr. Max, it's just that I-" I start, but stop as soon as I hear two voices.

"Thank you for doing this. Mrs. Matthews really appreciates it," Mr. Max says to Peter. Luckily, they are unaware of my presence.

I back out of the room blushing awkwardly, and go to the water fountain.

Peter comes out smiling. Then he sees me, "Stiff," he murmurs as we pass by each other.

I roll my eyes and push the door open, "Mr. Max?"

"Ah, Tris, come on in!" he says warmly.

I smile. Whatever he was talking about with Peter must have made him happy. Now he won't go as hard on me.

Mr. Max motions for me to sit down across from him. And I do.

"Okay, Tris, let's start where we stopped last week. To determine the number and type of solutions for an equation, you must find the discriminant of a-" he pauses to look at me, "Tris, pay attention."

I nod and get out my notebook.

"Like I was saying, to find the number and type of solutions for an equation, you must find the discriminant of the equation."

He glances back to see me daydreaming. I blink and look at him.

"Is there something you're not telling me?"

I look at him, "No," I say uneasily.

"I'm not an English Vocabulary teacher, but only one word comes to mind: Candor. I don't stress the truth, but I can tell that you're lying. Tell me what's up."

"Why were you here with Peter?"

His eyes get big, "He's doing a favor for Mrs. Matthews. What did you hear us say?"

I shrug, "You just thanked him and he walked out. Why? Was there more?"

Mr. Max pretends he doesn't hear me and blinks a few times.

But something else is up. Mr. Max isn't telling me something. He keeps looking at his watch and computer easily.

I blink off the thought, and Mr. Max gets us back onto math.

1 Unheard Message

Sent today at 2:56 PM

*Bleep*

"Hi Tris, this is Four. Listen, did I do something to you? 'Cause you seemed kinda upset after school. So, umm...I guess, call me back? I have football practice until 4:30, so, after then I'm free. Hope all's well, bye."

I sigh. Emotions getting ahead of me again...

I wipe my eyes and take a deep breath. Why did Al have to ruin my life?

One thought comes to mind: Four can help.

So I call him.

*One Ring*

No answer.

*Another ring*

Still no answer.

*A third ring*

Come on Four, pick up.

And right before the fourth ring, as if on cue, he picks up.

Four POV:

I'm driving Zeke and Uriah home in the rain in my dad's car.

Thunder booms and Uriah looks out the window. "Crazy weather," he says.

"Must be a passing cloud," Zeke says.

"This? Sounds like a big storm," I say.

Then my phone rings.

I toss my phone to Zeke, "Answer it," I order.

Zeke nods and puts it on speaker phone, "Yo Tris."

"Four? Who is this? How did you know this is me?"

"Calm down, geez. Caller ID. Believe it. And this is Zeke."

"Let me speak to Four," she says.

Zeke passes the phone to me.

I turn it off of speakerphone and talk, "Hi, Tris. It's Four. Look, I'm in a car with a bunch of nutters, so can I call you back, say, in five minutes?"

And as if to prove my point, Uriah shouts, "Hey! I'm not a nutter, Zeke is!"

"You're much more of a nutter than me!" Zeke shouts back.

Uriah slaps him, and Zeke slaps him back.

"Ow! Zeke, you know I have a low pain threshold!"

"Ha! That's just a posh way of saying your soft! Plus, you hit me first!"

I cover my phone with my sleeve and scream, "You two shut up! You're acting like babies! Do you want me to drop you here in the rain?!"

They calm down, at least to whisper-bickering.

"Sorry Tris. Is it okay to call you back?"

"Yeah, I guess," she says after a while. I blow her a kiss and hit the 'end call' button feeling guilty and still unsure about what happened after school.

Tris POV:

Christina gives me a ride home after her swim team lessons. She has Will and Marlene already stuffed in her Chrysler and I hop in the backseat.

"Hi, everyone," I say.

"Hi Tris! We were just discussing the best fro-yo flavors," Marlene says.

I nod and look to Will, who's playing on his phone in shotgun.

"So...how 'bout that green tea flavor," I say awkwardly.

"I love that flavor. It's so tasty and tastes just like a Moshi ball. I hear that it also helps with your skin too. Like it'll help take away zits and stuff," Christina rambles while turning the car on.

Will yawns and looks weakened by being in a car filled with girls. Then he starts talking. "Chocolate's better," he simply states.

Christina looks at him for a while.

"Christina! Green light! Go!" Marlene shouts.

And even though the windows are up, people turn and stare at us.

Christina smiles innocently and speeds us up the hill.

A few minutes and whole conversation about the best nail polish brands later, Christina pulls up to my driveway. I pull my hood up, sling my backpack over one shoulder, thank her, and tell everyone goodbye.

Odd. There's a dark-grey car in the driveway.

When I get to the door, I see Four talking with my mom. I sneak past them, but Four still spots me.

"Hi Tris," he says, "Why don't we go on a walk?"

I look to my mom, who nods eagerly.

So I drop my backpack down and walk out the door with Four.

"Be back by five and be careful!" my mom calls out from behind us.

I laugh to myself and Four smiles nervously.

"I'm just trying to figure out what I did wrong!" Four shouts stately, through the rain.

Neighbors stare from out their windows and I blush.

"Who says you did anything wrong?"

"Well, I figured that I did, after what happen-"

I wipe away a tear, "Al has ruined me, okay? I overreacted, and I'm sorry, but Al was pissing me off so bad!" By this pint, tears are running down my face in flows and Four holds his arms out. I am hesitant at first, then he hugs me and strokes my now-wet hair.

"No, it was my fault. I should have not overreacted. I'm sorry Tris. And don't worry about Al; if he ever comes near you again, he might as well be dead."

I look up to him, "But I don't get it. I rejected him, like, three times, and he still doesn't realize what he did wrong."

Four shrugs, "Some people just don't get it. They are oblivious to situations, and end up in a bad place in this world. Al is one of them."

"But Al has always been a good friend, until now."

"High school changes everyone, in one way or another."

I nod, and Four walks me home. We kiss at the door and he hugs me.

Then he runs to his car and leaves me smiling.

"Have fun?" my mom says, taking me out of my daze.

I smile and nod eagerly, for the last time this night.

"Beatrice! Beatrice, get up. Your friends Christina and Will are here," my mom whispers.

"Wha? What time is it?" I say half asleep, pulling my blanket up.

"Three in the morning. But if you don't want to go to school tomorrow, you don't have to. Now get up. They said it's an emergency."

I slowly get up and stumble down the stairs, seeing Christina and Will at our dining room table. They have a box of tissues and two glasses of water in front of them. Will is rubbing Christina's back.

"What's wrong?" I asks awkwardly.

"It's...it's Al, Tris. Al's gone," Christina says.

"What do you mean?"

"They found his body in Lake Michigan," Will states.

"You don't seem sad," I say to him.

"I was taught as a child that life and death are parts of life and that we need to accept them."

I nod, and a tear runs down my face. Even after what Al did, he was still my friend for a few years. A great one too.

I wipe the tear away, but another one replaces it.

"Did you see the body?" I ask.

Christina nods, "It was too big. For the body bag, I mean." She laughs awkwardly, but it turns into a cough.

I half smile, but it sneaks across my face. "Your last memory of him is certainly reminding of other ones," I say, but hold back my tongue, which is wanting to say, 'At least you last memory of him is funny.'

Will and Christina smile.

"I know he got on your nerves Tris, but Al wasn't a half bad friend. I went to pre-school with him. Always knocking over the foam towers we built," Christina says.

Will smiles and rubs her back.