Chapter 18

"Raven can I talk to you for a second?" Caleb asks me quietly.

I look to Tris and she frowns at me and shrugs. I look back to him and nod and he gets up and walks away a bit and I follow.

"I wanted to thank you for all the help back in Erudite. I know this is kind of late to say this but I guess I had secretly hoped you would stay. It was a small hope but still. I had a bit of a crush on you."

I blush a little frowning then rub the back of neck.

He laughs and shrugs. "I'm not trying to ask you out or make a pass at you. I just needed to say the unsaid thing. I started to date someone recently and I think it could lead somewhere. I don't know I just felt like I had to be honest with myself, you and her. You were the only person on that list left." He gave me a lopsided grin and I smiled at him.

"I am really happy for then Caleb. I am glad things worked out so well for you in general. I am glad you could reconnect with Tris." I side hugged him and he smiled.

"So Eleanor and I were talking. I said I wanted to find a way to repay you and she suggested I talk your Aunt about getting your books to you when you get housing. Well at least some of them."He chuckles and I blush "Anyways she said yes of course. But Eleanor is working on something special for you. You won't have enough room for a real baby grand piano so she is making a version with the vid glass. So you will have your very own piano here. But it will be the first and maybe only of its kind."

I grin and reach up to hug him tight. "Caleb that is amazing!" I pull back and he shrugs and smiles. We walk back over to the table still talking.

"That is an amazing project to be under you know. I am sure she will get her next levels soon if that happens." He nods and beams as we take our seats again and I grab the cake.

"She is pretty brilliant. She seems to think you are something of her idol when I told her about how you would sneak me books and pass them to me either at school or waking to find them in my room. What it is about you and helping abnegation boys? I have no clue." He rolls his eyes but smiles. "Anyways she wanted to see if you wanted that on clear glass or on black glass with maybe dauntless flames or something etched into it. I have no clue about design but I told her I would find out."

I smile widely "Black and Dauntless flames of course. Or I could draw up something she wants to have etched into it. Sort of making her own personal stamp and not just Erudite stamp on it. It really will be amazing tech and honestly Caleb if she gets it to the patented phase that is almost leadership in training quality. I have seen leadership in training get through on so much less. Now with your help in creating the serum with me for your initiation project and hers; if it turns serious like you think you could have your marriage application approved pretty quickly."

He blushed and smiled. "Yeah that is what I am hoping. But I was just more excited that she wanted to do that for you. Besides trying to move the library of congress that you called a bedroom to you."

I glared at him jokingly. "Hey that library supplied you with your literary crack Prior so watch the tone about my bedfellows. They know how to treat a lady."

He winks at me cheekily. "Madam Bovary Raven? For shame." I see Eric pause eating his cake and sigh closing his eyes.

I choke on my cake and have to cover up my mouth. "I really should have purged some shit." I say as my ears turn red. "And why were you going through my room Caleb? I know where I had those books."

Tris turns and slaps his arm with a shocked look and Caleb and I frown looking at her. "Why are you hitting him?"

"I assumed it was somewhere super private." She frowned at me.

I shrugged, frown still in place. "If you call a girls closet slash weapons locker then yeah I guess that is private. It was on the top shelf with my Samurai sword. So I guess I can't really fault him for wanting to look at the nice and shiny toys."

I ate some more cake and Eric looked to Caleb. "What is this person making by the way?"

Caleb smirks with pride for his girl. "She knows how much Raven likes to play the piano but getting a baby grand isn't exactly going to be easy or even possible. So she is in the middle of making a vid glass piano for Raven."

I smile and Eric grins over at me. "Nice. She will move up fast if that goes through. I will be interested to see it when it is done. Is she going to do the synthesized piano options?"

Caleb shakes his head. "Not for Raven's as least. She likes the more classical music compositions for her own playing."

I nod still smiling at the thought of being able to play again. "Most of the music I play that isn't classical composer still uses the same sounds."

Tris looks at me "I didn't know you knew Caleb from before Erudite."

I shrugged and blushed at bit. "I didn't know him as Caleb or him really at all. I saw he wanted to read but you know how the Erudite kids at school could be. I had been in the area to help Four out and I saw Caleb sitting in the meadow down the way from your parent's. I was leaving after making dinner for Four and his dad and saw Caleb go in. It was just kind of spur of the moment thing but when I had gone back later that night to tend to Four again. I just grabbed books climbed up and into his room and left them on his desk. I slipped them in his school bags or had someone drop them off saying it was from teachers. I was the book fairy, come to spread knowledge and joy all across Abnegation." I wink and say cheekily.

Tris and Eric laugh.

Caleb nudges me and laughs then sighs. "Everyone is leaving so I have to go. I will tell Eleanor you are looking forward to meeting her. I am sure she will be worried about our conversation. I may have not let her know that…" he frowns.

My eyes go wide and I hit his arm. "You seriously let her think you were coming here to profess feelings for me without telling her that those feelings were a minor crush but you actually do love her?"

He frowned and I shook my head with a smirk, knowing he was in for a rough night. "Better hope she doesn't have a temper like me and that you didn't take any knives or other weapons from my closet."

He stands up really quickly. "I think I should really be going and hope she doesn't know to how to use a samurai sword."

He walks away quickly and doesn't even look back. Tris and I look at each other and laugh. She smiles "So you could have been my sister in law?"

I laugh shaking my head emphatically. "No! I think that would never have been in cards. Your brother is a good guy and sweet but too many fundamental differences. I don't want to be able to easily beat the ass of the guy I am with. He has at the very least go to hold his own. Then there was the whole DC vs Marvel argument and that just would never have worked out." I say cheekily.

Eric smirks and laughs at the same time. Tris frowns "I don't know what that last part is."

I nod and take on a mock serious and concerned face. "It's fine. Raven is here now and will help lead you to the light. You poor dear child." I grin and cover her hand with my own and mock soothe her. "Just like I have to lead you to the light on Jackie Chan vs Jet Li, Steven Seagal vs Bruce Lee." I sigh and shake my head. "So much knowledge to impart so little time."

"Please tell me you are Bruce Lee?" Eric mutters around cake.

"As if I would pick Segal? Bruce Lee is everything and everything flows from Master Lee." He nods with a smirk.

"Good girl." He mutters.

Sensing a challenge I turn to face him and narrowing my eyes. "Seven Samurai or Magnificent Seven?"

He scoffs and shakes his head."Both, the original Japanese shogun movie has love because it is the original. But the western with Brenner and Bronson adapted it well without losing any of the drama for that version."

I smile cheekily. "Good answer. Jet Li vs Jackie Chan?"

He pauses in thought and shrugs. "Eh, I am more Chow Yun Fat but if I had to go with either it would be Chan. He has some good humor but was also a student of Lee's."

"Really, Chow Yun? I would have said more of Donnie Yen as Ip Man but between Li or Chan; I would go with Chan. I mean don't get me wrong Crouching Tiger was really good and there are a few more that I liked. But I like Ip Man better." I shrugged ate my last bite of cake.

"You guys lost me when you said I will lead you to the light. I am going to go find Four since he basically went on watchdog status to make sure Peter or Silas didn't come around." Tris got up and waggled her fingers and me and left.

I grinned and Eric nudged my knee with his "Want to go watch some of that now that you have me wanting to see it again?"

I shrug "Will there be beer and food other than cake involved?"

He smiled "Yeah I think I can handle that."