Hey, it's me again :)
Okay so I'll make this short but I need someone to proofread my chapters before I actually update them sooo, any offers?
Disclaimer; Veronica Roth owns the characters I only own the plot and I do not own some of the phrases I use as they have come out of the book, but I'm sure you can pick them out. :)
Pleasant summer over
And all the summer flowers,
The red fire blazes,
The grey smoke towers.
-Robert Louis Stevenson
xxx
Four.
"Watch it!" I exclaim as someone thuds into my back. This Monday is already going terrible. I turn around to glare at whoever was idiotic enough to run smack bang into me, and am faced with a short blonde girl. The top of her head only comes up to my chest, must be a freshmen. My breath hitches when our eyes meet. The girl's eyes are grey, like dark clouds before a storm. They are framed with jet black lashes which only enhance the strange color of her irises. I observe her as she observes me. Her skin is pale, as is her hair, and although she is petite she stands with confidence. The girl's eyebrows are dark and slender and furrowed and her lips turn down naturally, like mine. But once again I am drawn up to her eyes. They are so stern, so insistent. Beautiful.
I am snapped to attention when she mutters, "Sorry."
Her voice is low, so unlike many of the girls nowadays.
"Forget it. What's a freshmen doing here?" I ask, referring to the Junior and Senior's section of the school. I straightaway regret saying anything because her eyes narrow and her tone immediately becomes defensive.
"I'm a junior!" The girl's exclamation takes me by surprise.
"Oh. Well, sorry. What's your name?" She opens her mouth to speak, and then hesitates and bites her lip. I find myself watching her chew gently on her bottom lip before I realize I'm staring.
"Is it a hard one or something?" I smirk at her.
A pinkish tint creeps up onto her cheeks and she blurts out, "Tris!"
"Well Tris," I say, trying her name out on my tongue. I like it. "Welcome to Chicago high."
As I turn away from her, I catch the slightest smile turning up the corners of her mouth.
"Well, well, well. What do we have here?" My best friend's voice startles me and I drag my eyes away from her face. Zeke stands in front of me, wearing his infamous smirk. I glare at him and continue walking. He trots after me.
"Who is that? Is she new? She's hot!" I whirl around, stopping short in front of him. He runs into my crossed arms and I raise my eyebrows.
"Shut it Zeke." I tell him.
"Four I have never seen you look at a girl like that. What grade's she in?" Zeke continues questioning me, but all I hear ringing in my head is his first sentence. I have never seen you look at a girl like that. Was it too obvious that I instantly took a liking to her? I need to be more careful.
"Dude. I can tell you like her, what grade's she in?" At that I snap out of my thoughts and answer him.
"It was nothing. Just forget it."
But Zeke persists, "That was not nothing. What bloody grade is she in?"
I furrow my eyebrows and mumble, "She's a junior."
He laughs and claps his hands. I roll my eyes and walk off, navigating my way through the sea of warm bodies with that grey-eyed girl still on my mind.
pagebreak
My first class comes and goes. An hour of sitting next to Zeke's chatty girlfriend Shauna, and listening to Mrs Matthews drone on about science has worn me out and I am grumpy buy second period. I walk into chemistry and take my normal seat on the right side of the bench in the back corner of the class. My normal partner, Nita, is away today. Thank God.
It is straight after I have that thought when I see her, standing eagerly at the front of the class chatting to Mr Phillips, our teacher. He nods and gestures towards the back of the room. Towards me? Tris follows Mr Phillips' directions and ends up seated next to me, her eyes bright.
"Hi. Uh, I ran into you this morning I don't know if you remember me?" She laughs nervously and blushes. She doesn't know if I remember her? How could I ever forget!
"Yeah, I remember." A thought strikes me, "If you're a Junior, why are you in Senior Chemistry?"
Tris raises a slender eyebrow and the corners of her lips curl up. "I'm good at chemistry."
A moment of silence passes between us, but it is not awkward, it's just lost in each other's eyes.
"So Mr Phillips said your name was Four?" She questions.
"Yeah, and if I remember correctly yours is Tris?" I grin at her and she nods her head.
"Yup that's me," Tris grins sheepishly, "I'm guessing Four is a nickname?"
"Uh yeah it is." I say shortly, trying to steer the conversation away from my personal life. However to my dismay, Tris persists.
"Where'd you get it from?"
I shrug. She's very stubborn, I note.
"Is there any meaning behind it?" Her soft voice makes me snap.
"Look I don't want to talk about it okay? What makes a Junior like you think you can ask me those things?" As soon as I finish my sentence I instantly regret it. Tris flinches away from me and bites her lip, a crease forming between her brows. Her stormy, gentle eyes turn hard.
"I don't know. Maybe it's because you're so approachable, you know, like a bed of nails." She hisses at me.
I scowl and speak in a low voice, "Careful Tris."
Our eyes clash, gray against blue. Neither of us break our stare until Mr Phillips calls the class to attention. Tris turns to the front of the room and spends the whole period glaring at the board, scribbling down notes. I try to do the same, but I can't help sneaking glances at the beautiful, quick-tempered girl next to me. When the bell's obnoxious chime rings through the classroom, I turn to Tris, determined to apologize, but she is already furiously stuffing books into her bag. She gives me one quick glance and disappears, leaving me shell-shocked. I wearily rub my face and slowly pack up, heading to lunch.
The halls are packed as always, but because I am taller than most students my claustrophobia doesn't take effect in the mess of flailing arms and legs. The fear comes from my childhood punishments, from the small closet I was continuously locked in whenever my father got angry. He got angry a lot.
I banish the thought from my head and squeeze through the crowded cafeteria door, instantly spotting my group of friends. My eyes flit around the group, seeing who's there. Zeke and Shauna, yep. Will, Uriah and Marlene, yes. Christina... and Tris!? As soon as I see her blonde head my steps falter and her dark eyes snap up to meet mine. My breath immediately hitches. The effect she has on me...
"Four!" Zeke spots me and waves me over. I trudge to the table and sit down. Unfortunately my seat is right next to Tris, but I swallow my pride and meet her fiery gaze.
"I believe you two know each other?" Zeke continues. Tris nods once and breaks my stare, turning to a tall, mocha-skinned girl named Christina who sits across from us. One of Chris' eyebrows is raised as she gives Tris a questioning look, to which she ignores.
"Anyway, we were just introducing ourselves to her." Shauna blurts out, sensing the tension. "We got up to Uriah."
She motions to a Junior sitting next to Christina. He is practically a miniature version of Zeke, same olive skin, brown curls, gold-brown eyes. The brothers also share a certain determination to cause chaos. I've known them both since Zeke and I were 12 and Uriah was 10. Longest 6 years of my life.
"This is Marlene, Uriah's girlfriend." Shauna says, gesturing to a girl with bright blonde hair and a broad smile. I only met Marlene at the start of this year as she moved here from California. She tends to make everyone like her instantly, and this is only proven when Tris gives her a warm, brilliant smile.
"And last but not least this is Will." Tris' eyes flick to a tall boy with light brown hair. She grins and he smiles back. I instantly feel an unpleasant surge of jealousy run through my veins. It is all I can do to not put my arm around Tris and pull her to me.
"You already know Christina and Four, so welcome to our group." Shauna finishes, smiling at Tris, and at once conversations ripple out through the table. I turn to Tris who is animatedly chatting to Uriah about New York. She gives me an irritated glance after I tap her on the shoulder, but I persist and whisper something in her ear.
"Can I talk to you?" I say.
Tris smiles warmly at Uriah, "I'll be right back." She says.
Rising from my seat with the petite girl that has sparked my interest right behind me, I walk out of the cafeteria. The halls aren't as packed full of people, but I still lead Tris to a quiet spot next to a janitor's closet.
"Tris," I start, but she cuts me off.
"Four, if you're going to apologize, forget it. I don't care that you snapped and it's partly my fault anyway. I shouldn't have pushed it." She says in a rush. I observe her face, pure and innocent, and decide she's being honest. I remember when I dated a girl named Lauren, and she would make my smallest mistake into something drastic. So much money was spent on giant teddies and roses to get her to forgive me. But Tris... she is like a breath of fresh air.
"Four?" Her velvety voice snaps me out of my reverie and I realize I've been staring.
"What? Oh, no Tris it wasn't your fault, I'm sorry." I say. Tris smiles and something stirs inside of me.
"I'm gonna, you know, go and eat." She stutters, motioning back in the direction of the cafeteria. I nod and follow her.
God, I am so screwed.
Please follow and leave reviews, I love you all!.