A/N: This chapter also has an M-rated version; you can find a separate story through my page that has all the M-rated scenes if you're interested.

Chapter Disclaimer: This chapter contains implied adult-intimate situations and references to sex. If you are uncomfortable with this, please do not continue to read.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

Uriah

"Uri?" Mar snaps her fingers in front of my face, and Tris stares at me from across the table with her lips pressed together in a straight line and a wrinkle between her eyebrows.

"Huh?" I say, like an idiot.

Tris frowns. "Marlene's been trying to get your attention and you were totally zoned out." She leans toward me and lowers her voice. "Just relax. Or, try, anyway."

I swallow hard and nod. All day, my mind keeps flashing to that day in Abnegation when Four and Peter barely saved Tris from Erudite. Tris always has just like… this fire in her eyes, it's like she has so much spirit and determination that you can actually see it. It's what draws people to her. But that day, I worried that Jeanine Matthews had done the impossible and really extinguished it for good. Tris was gaunt and weak, her usually shining golden hair dull and limp, and she hunched in this defeated sort of way… she didn't look like our Tris at all.

Oops… I zoned out again. Marlene's voice snaps me back out of it. "What the hell is going on with him?!"

Tris's eyes dart as she looks around the dining hall quickly, as though Marlene even asking made her nervous. "I can't tell you here," she hisses. Then she raises her voice to a normal volume. "He's nervous about something… you know…" She just sighs. "Uriah, why don't you do something fun? Get your mind off everything? Just keep a low profile."

I decided that I didn't want to be out in the open anywhere I could come across Eric, and that I needed to chill the hell out, so we stopped off at the control room for Zeke's key and went to his place to hang out. When we walked in I went straight to the fridge and got out one beer for Marlene and two for me.

"What is going on with you, Uriah?" Marlene says, concerned.

I sigh. I don't want to drag her into this any more than I already have. Jeanine… and Eric… are manipulative and conniving. Knowing what kind of danger I may be in and why might put Marlene in danger as well, and I don't want to take that chance. "I don't want to talk about it right now. I just need a distraction."

Marlene smirks. "A distraction, huh?" She sets her open beer on the coffee table and goes to the kitchen. I lay back on the couch, sipping my beer with one hand behind my head. I raise my eyebrows when she returns with a bottle of tequila, shot glass, bowl of limes and a salt shaker. You can always count on Zeke to have all the party supplies.

Three shots later, Marlene hops up and turns on the stereo to some upbeat dance music. She sways her hips seductively and beckons me curling one finger. I'm beginning to feel a bit of a buzz from the tequila and beer and damn she's sexy. I grin as I approach her, and once I'm close, she turns so her back is facing me, still dancing- and she's a damn good dancer, too.

Marlene's back presses against my chest and I run my hands down her sides, past her waist and along her hips. We continue dancing for three or four songs, I don't even know, all I can think about is the way her body feels under my fingertips and the way her ass grinds against me.

Suddenly she stops and turns to me. I crash my lips to hers, but she pulls away much sooner than I'd like. I open my mouth to speak and she presses a finger against my lips. "I have an idea," she says in a low voice.

I follow my girlfriend back to the couch but we don't sit down. She pours me a shot, hands me the salt shaker, then taps the hollow where her shoulder meets her neck as she holds the rind of a lime slice between her teeth, grinning. Oh, hell yes.

I grin as I lean in to suck on her neck. Pulling away with one last lick of my tongue, I shake salt over the wet flesh. I look Marlene slowly up and down, then I grin and carefully nestle the full shot glass between her boobs and she giggles as my hands linger on her exposed cleavage. "This was a great idea, gorgeous," I whisper to her before I suck again at that same spot on her neck, grab the shot glass with my teeth, knocking it back and dropping it on the couch when it's empty, then quickly bite the lime she holds between her teeth. We kiss deeply for a moment before I toss the lime aside, I don't care where it ended up, and I pull her down onto the couch with me, capturing her lips and kissing hungrily.

Giggling, Mar straddles me, rolling her hips against me. "You are so damn sexy," I mumble against her lips, and she moans as I run my hands up the inside of her thighs.

"When will Zeke be back?" she whispers against my lips as she tugs at the hem of my shirt.

I pull her shirt quickly over her head and answer, "He's working for a few more hours, and I have his key," as I stare at her gorgeous body, my hands running up her stomach to her chest. She pulls my shirt swiftly over my head and tosses it aside, then her lips are on mine again, her tongue running across my lower lip. I immediately open my mouth for her and our tongues battle for dominance- she quickly allows me to win.

I expertly unhook her bra and toss it aside. She whimpers and moans as I caress her body with my hands and lips, then I stand her up and we kiss hungrily as we finish undressing each other.

We move against each other, and though neither of us are inexperienced, this is different. It's a first for me, because this isn't just sex. I finally understand what people really mean when they talk about 'making love'. My heart belongs to her and I know hers belongs to me. We were together only a couple times before she died, before came back, and we did love each other then… but I love her now in a way that is more powerful than I could ever have imagined, and I never expected it could change everything so completely.

She takes me to new heights and by her reaction I'm guessing I do for her, too. I collapse against her and pull out after a moment then move to the couch, pulling her with me and spreading out the blanket from the back of the couch over us.

Marlene curls into my chest, and I press kisses to the top of her head and wrap my arms around her, listening to her breaths slowly become even and steady as she falls asleep.

We wake about an hour later and quickly get dressed. "Want any help cleaning this up?" Marlene asks.

"No," I say, "you go ahead to the dorms. I need to get this key back to Zeke and talk to him about something real quick, then I'll see you there, okay?"

Marlene smiles at me and nods, and I grab her hand and pull her to me for a long, tender kiss before I let go and say goodbye to her with a grin.

It doesn't take too long to clean up the limes and bottles, and find the shot glass I threw on the couch, which ended up stuck between the cushions. Zeke isn't really a neat freak, so I don't worry too much about any mess I might have missed. If I did, it's because it got mixed in with his own clutter.

When I got Zeke's key earlier, I told him I would be coming back to talk to him. I just want him to keep an eye out for me on the monitors because I'm worried about Eric. I'm nervous to tell Zeke the reason- my divergence- but he's my brother, I can trust him.

As I'm walking past the hallway that goes up the stairs to the tracks, a hand clasps over my mouth and I am pulled into the dimly lit stairwell. I try to struggle against whoever grabbed me, but he's got me in a tight hold. I recognize the maze tattoo on his arm and I know I'm screwed. I may be a good fighter, but this is Eric, and I'm a little slow from the tequila. I just know that winning this fight is not happening this time. Still, I kick my leg back and hear a grunt, but it's not enough.

"You come with me without a fight," Eric growls in my ear, "or I'm going after your girl. So who do you want to save, Divergent scum? Yourself… or Marlene?"

I gulp. This is exactly what I was afraid of- that I would put Marlene in danger. But if I go with him right now, if I cooperate, well, my life is over. I know I'm sealing my fate. But saving Marlene was the thing I cared most about when I came back and I'll do whatever it takes.

I nod my head and he removes his hand from my mouth. "I go with you, and you leave her the hell alone." I pause, realizing there is something else I want from him. "And one more thing. You tell me how you found out. Do we have a deal?"

The holes in Eric's face from his multitude of piercings stretch as his lips twist into a sadistic grin. "We've got a deal."