I don't own Divergent!

Chapter Three

TRIS'S POV:
A scream. I've heard that scream a million times. Christina. A mental picture flashes in my mind and don't even notice that I'm swimming straight to the area that Christina told me she was going to hide.

The lofty grasses drape around my arms and legs but I don't even wince. Christina. She might be in trouble. Something might have-

"Tris!" Uriah and Zeke say behind me. They break my train of thought and for a half-millisecond, I freeze forgetting my obvious task at hand.

"Christina," I say turning around.

"Christina!" I yell a little louder and she doesn't respond. I search the whole area with major scrutiny but I don't find anything- or in my case anyone.

"Oh God, oh Christ Jesus please help me find her," I mutter.

"Tris I'm over here!" Christina shouts out.

I deem worthy my directional skills and find Christina lying on the celery green grasses looking perturbed.

"Christina, thank God!" I breath out the breath I was unintentionally holding. "Are you ok? What happened?

"This man he just came out of nowhere, you know this place is kind of eerie, and grabbed me. He said something like, "This camp will come down," and then he ran off," Christina says her brown eyes wide.

I can see out of my peripheral that Zeke, Uriah, and Will are behind me breathing heavily as if they swam all the way, to where I am standing-, which they probably did.

"Christina? Did he have blue eyes? Like mine?" Four says appearing beside me suddenly.

He looks apprehensive. The muscles in his arms are taut and defined.

"Yes he did? Why?" Christina says looking at Four.

Four's face turns a light ashen shade as he cocks it to the side.

"Not here, not now," he says his voice low. I cock my head. This is like another side of him. I met him as a quiet kind of reserved person but still sort of fun. Now he's reserved and cold. Sort of like an instructor.

"No tell me now," Christina complains. "He is the one who scared me to death."

"No, I said later," Four snaps his voice detached.

"No need to snap Four. Its only logical that she would want to know," Will says, standing up for Christina. Will had hung out with the Erudite before met us and transferred to Dauntless. Sometimes, he still spoke with "logic".

"Well, I said later. Does she understand that, Erudite?" Four retorts.

"Hey guys break it up. And Four what's wrong with you? Just tell the girl the goddy truth," Zeke says trying to break up the fight.

I don't want to argue but this isn't how I met him.

"Four? What's wrong," I ask not harshly. Underneath all that, reserve I think is a history, and I want to comprehend it.

"Nothing," he looks at me breathing harshly. "Nothing it's just that he's my father."

"Who," Uriah chimes in question in his voice.

"The man that grabbed Christina," Four says his face blanched.

FOUR'S POV
God, I knew- knew - Marcus was up to something. Although, really what's the point of going around and telling the owners daughter that her father's camp will come down? Daughter of the owner. It hits me like a blow. Stupid, stupid, stupid.

I haven't really noticed but I've loosened up with these people. I wasn't quiet and reserved as I usually am. How I am with Marcus, because of Marcus.

"He's your dad?" Tris asks me.

Ah, and Tris. My own little mystery for now. Her blue eyes look alive with confusion.

"Yes," I choke out. I never want to make any claims to Marcus. I'm not ready to either.

Coward, a voice echoes in my head.

"Can I please explain later," I beg Tris, although she's not the one I'm supposed to beg. It's easier to talk to her.

"Whatever you say," she mumbles. Everyone around gives a chorus of mumbles and nods.

Christina purses her lips but gives me a terse nod. I exhale the breath that was hiding in my lungs.

"Let's go eat!" Uriah exclaims suddenly breaking the tense mood and releasing a smile from almost everybody.

I still feel a certain blue-eyed girl giving me a questioning stare but I try to ignore it.

We all swim back to the beach and start drying off. I quickly slip on my grey tee shirt and sling the red towel I'm holding over my shoulders.

Marcus, Marcus, Marcus. I shiver. The voice in my head repeats what I've been thinking: coward. Shut up voice, I think harshly.

"Four?" A feminine voice asks me. Not a girly high pitched one. Deep for a girl. Tris.

"Don't worry I'm not mad or anything but seriously what's wrong," she asks.

I try not to loosen up as I have been doing with her lately. My resolve fractures, it splits into multiple pieces that were just a second ago whole.

"No. I mean- I'm fine," I say trying to smile.

Her expression still seems suspicious but I see her facial muscles relax.

Score one, Tobias.

"So you ready for a surprise Madame Tris?" I say. God, it's as if I'm unraveling.

"Yeah," she says nervously as if she's embarrassed by me.

I suddenly feel self-conscious for some particular reason I can't identify. I scratch at the nape of my neck where the flames curl up my neck. I had gotten flames to represent that Marcus wasn't capable of extinguishing the flame that was still in me. I promised myself the pain of getting a tattoo was nothing compared to Marcus's torture. Comically, I was accurate. The pain of a tattoo was nothing like being whipped and choked. My flame is brighter than most. My flame is brighter than that God forsaken father I am entitled to. I feel my inhalation stutter and drop down to a gasp for a moment.

Not Marcus, it's not Marcus, Tobias.

"Four?" Tris inquires innocently.

"Yes, Tris?" I articulate carefully making sure she didn't see my brief instability.

"Sit down I think you're not feeling good. I'll get you something to eat ok?" she voices gently.

I nod but don't reply.

God, I scold myself. If she doesn't think I'm odd now then, she definitely will now, I ruminate irritated.

"Seriously Four you can't just act like everything is fine, because it's not," Tris says sitting down handing me a burger and drink.

"I can try my best," I grumble.

"I'm sure you can. Now tell me," she states.

"Let's just say I don't particularly enjoy the presence of my father," I say my voice low and dangerous.

"Like not at the immediate moment? Like this is a teenage thing?" she asks.

"No not at all."

I start unwrapping the burger and watch as Zeke fails in his attempt to flirt with Shauna.

Tris presses her lips tightly together as if she wants to ask something but doesn't want to be rude.

"I'm sorry if it feels like I'm prying, I'm just overly curious sometimes," Tris says as if she's spitting out something bad.

"Don't worry this isn't something I like talking about anyway. I'm just curious but what faction are you from originally?"

She adverts her gaze quickly and I feel in my gut that I said the wrong thing. She looks up and gives me a conflicted look.

"Abnegation."

TRIS'S POV

"Abnegation," I say.

"Really?" Four asks his dark eyebrows lifted in surprise

I nod. Most people when they join the camp they pick a faction to initiate into and they stay there. I had to go through double initiation to join Dauntless. It was exhausting. At this camp, it isn't just supervised fun and games. In Dauntless initiation, I actually learned how to shoot a gun and throw knives. Physical training as they put it.

"You seem thoroughly Dauntless to me," Four says lightly smiling.

I blush. I trained hard to be Dauntless. We both eat in silence for a while before he breaks it.

"Meet me at Pier at 8:00," he says giving me a perplexed look.

Then he grabs his drink that I got for him, grabs Zeke's arm, and walks off to God knows where. I look down at the table as if it will give me answers. I notice that he left a small stack of green money. I swipe the little pile up and count it out. $4.59. It's exact money for a burger and a drink.

I ended the last chapter a bit cliché-y but I hoped it was good. Hope you like this chapter. Always open for ideas! Read & Review

~imdauntless04