This is the chapter in which Julia starts to date. Whom? I can't tell you that.
Oh and guest commenting on Eve and Sin: Eve told me to tell you Mayyyyyyybeeee... :P
So, Read and Review people. My updating schedule is crazy fast because I have been typing them out a lot lately. :) Tell me in what faction you'd be. I'm curious!
Chapter 10: Ooookay then…
I slap my hands to my forehead over and over. Stupid, stupid, stupid! I beat up my best. FRIEND! Oh, God. I slam a repeated rhythm against my skull. Suddenly, a hand grabs my wrist, stopping the wild flurry of blows.
"Hey, stop it. She'll forgive you." The voice is unfamiliar at first, but then I recognize it. The same voice that told me to calm down while I was beating Eve. I look up.
It is Samuel, the Erudite, the one who crushed his glasses when he jumped off the net. The handsome one with blue-green eyes.
"No, she won't," I reply.
"Yes, she will," he pushes his index finger up the bridge of his nose. Despite the melancholy I feel at my betrayal of Eve, I laugh. He looks somewhat embarrassed.
"Did you do that a lot in Erudite?" I ask.
"Only when I was about to answer a problem. I always pushed up my glasses… old habits die hard, I guess…" he trails off, embarrassed.
"Well then, explain," I motion for him to go on. He smiles, gently.
"She wanted you to win because she doesn't care about becoming factionless. But you do, so she was being her Abnegation self. As I said, 'old habits die hard'"
"Wow," I say.
"Thanks." It is tinged in sarcasm.
I laugh, "Well, it was impressive."
"Nah, not really," Samuel smirks. His smile is really sarcastic. "You just need to know how to read people." He pauses. "If you don't mind my asking, why did the comment about your father bother you so much? I mean, it caused you to beat your best friend."
I think about telling him. He'll just pity you, said one side of my mind.
You owe it to him, the other side said. He had to pull you away from her, replies the other.
So I do. "My father died when I was nine. Her 'comment' implied that it was better that he was… dead… than see me not fight her." Even the memory of it sends my hands curling into fists. Tears spring to my eyes, but I try to fight them back. I haven't cried since I got here. I can't- Samuel looks sympathetic, but there is no pity, just calm, sweet understanding to my plight. I can't cry, I can't, and I can't-
But then I am unable to fight them any longer, and I'm crying; he's embracing me. My sobs quit and quiet, and there is only empty silence. When he speaks again, it's with caution.
"I can't say anything to make it better, but I can do this." And again, time disjoints, nothing running into nothing, and without knowing how it happened, I feel his lips on mine. My first kiss. My heart beats louder than normal in my ears. There's a drumming noise inside my head that starts when you're around. I swear that you could hear it, it makes such an almighty sound. I am kissing him back, then, unsure if I'm doing it right, but not caring. Then we stop.
"Hey," he says, gasping a little. "Wanna go out with me?"
I laugh and he does, too. "Absolutely."
"Tomorrow during breakfast. Meet me at the net just before?"
"Sure, see you then, Samuel," I say as he stands to leave, kissing my cheek.
"Call me Sam, please," he smiles. "Everyone calls me Samuel." He says in a pompous tone, then sticks his tongue out. "Just Sam."
I giggle. "See you, Sam."
I tell Eve that night, after hugging her gratefully because she was alive and not in a coma. She winces a bit, but smiles warmly at me anyway.
"Sorry," I say. "God, you do not know how sorry I am."
"I wanted you to win. If you hung, you'd die. I know you would. You just don't have the upper arm strength." She shoves me.
Then I say, "Would you kill me if I started dating someone?"
"You? Of course not, as long as it's not Evan or Daniel, you are safe. As for your boyfriend…" she shrugged suggestively.
"Well, how about Samuel?" I cringe, in wait of the verdict.
"The kid that crushed his glasses?"
"Yup," I say, deceptively casually.
She hums in thought. "Well, as long as he's not evil or manipulative, he's fine."
"Whew; I thought you'd stake him or something."
"Just wait."
"Oh, God," I say. Just then, Sam walks in, glancing over at us, and smiling widely at me. I smile back. Eve glares at him. He raises one eyebrow, questioningly. "Ignore her," I say.
"I would if I were you. I'll be making a personal appearance in your nightmares tonight."
"Shut up!" I hiss.
"It's true!" she sings, prancing to her bunk. "Night!"
"Goodnight," I say, a bit irritably, and crawl under the covers.
