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IMPORTANT: Tris and Al become friends

VERY IMPORTANT AN BELOW, MUST READ

Chapter XVII. Two Kinds of Knives III

TRIS

After visiting day hours have ended, its lunch. I sit with Christina, Uriah, and Will at our regular table in the dining hall, with Al still nowhere to be found.

It's not like I care, but...

I feel like Peter is blackmailing him.

It seems so obvious, that he is being forced to seem to want me and do things to me.

"Hey guys, have you seen Al?" I ask with a mouth full of hamburger; my favorite after Dauntless cake.

They shrug at look at me with a raised eyebrow.

"I haven't seen him since this morning. Why? I thought we were hating anyone who is a friend of Peter's," Christina asks.

"Yeah, after what-" Uriah stops talking when he sees that I look down at my food, which is slightly becoming blurred and my fists clench, because he brought up that topic.

"Tris, I'm sorry...I forgot!" he immediately apologizes, running around the table to hug me. I feel a burning intensity of eyes on me and ignore it. I pull back from the hug and say with a smile, "It's okay."

He smiles and stands by me. "I'm going to...um...go, over there," he says, gesturing to his crush who is glaring at me and sitting with Lynn and the other Dauntless-borns a few tables away.

I wink at him, and he winks back with a smirk. The glares are even more intense, but decrease once Uriah walks to Marlene.

"What was that about?" Christina asks with a smirk. I just shake my head.

"Secret."

"Are you d-"

"NO! Uriah and I are NOT DATING," I say loud enough to calm down the glares of boys who like me and Marlene.

"Oh."

I finish my burger and decide to go back to the dormitory to rest before rankings; we still have an hour. "I'm heading back to the dorms to rest, if you wander around, try to find Al." I say, not without being questioned by my friends.

"Still, why?" asks Will.

I sigh. "He doesn't seem that cruel, like Peter. I feel like he's being blackmailed too," I answer, and leave with that last word.

I walk inside the dormitory, expecting it to be empty, but I find Al on his bed. His eyes are red and puffy; he looks like he's been crying. "There you are!" I exclaim.

He looks up at me, shocked. "T-Tris! Why would you look for me? You probably hate me for all I've done."

I shake my head and sigh. "I know how blackmail works," He looks beyond alarmed, like he has a hidden secret and I just figured it out. "Your parents were looking for you. Did they find you?" He shakes his head and I sit down next to him on the bed.

This isn't the happy, cheery Al I know. Something's wrong. "You didn't want to see them?" I ask.

"Didn't want them to ask how I was doing," He starts nervously. "I'd have to tell them, and they would know if I was lying."

Candors.

"What's wrong with how you're doing?"

He sighs. "I've lost every fight since the one with Will. I'm not doing well."

"By choice, though. Couldn't you tell them that too?" My voice is shrouded in worry.

"Dad always wanted me to come here. I mean, they say they wanted me to stay in Candor, but that's only because that's what they're supposed to say. They've always admired the Dauntless; both of them. They wouldn't understand if I tried to explain it to them." His voice is tensed when he speaks of his parents, I wonder why.

I tap my fingers against my knee. "Oh. Is that why you chose Dauntless? Because of your parents?" I understand Al, I'd do anything for my family, but I still can't believe Caleb would do that, becoming Erudite.

But to Al, it seems like he resents his parents.

Al shakes his head. "No. I guess it was because…I think it's important to protect people. To stand up for people. Like you did for me. That's what the Dauntless are supposed to do, right? That's what courage is. Not…hurting people for no reason." My lips slightly part in surprise.

Al sounds so wise; he'd be an Erudite!

"Maybe it will be better once initiation is over." I suggest.

"Too bad I might come in last," He says. "I guess we'll see tonight.

We sit in silence for a bit. I look at my feet. "I feel braver when I'm around you, you know." My stomach lurches. "Like I could actually fit in here, the same way you do." I resist the urge to laugh or smile. The same way I do? I am bound to be in the top ranked, but I still feel for him as a friend, if we even are friends, which I'm sure of. I feel an arm pressing on my shoulder; Al's. I tense and lean forward so that his arm falls off my shoulder.

"Um…I…" He says. "Um…sorry. I wasn't trying to…um. Sorry." I feel Al stiffen beside me.

"God, I probably just messed up. You still hate me anyway," He says.

I shake my head. "No, I don't hate you. Just, why are you hanging out with Peter and becoming his minion by doing everything he says?"

He lets a single tear flow down his cheek. "Um...Please don't tell, but...you're right. He's blackmailing me."

"For?"

He sighs. "Um...I was hit by my parents."

I stare at him, jaw-dropped and wide-eyed. "A-Abuse?" I stutter out, not believing that someone so innocent as Al could be hurt by his parents.

"N-No! Nothing like that! Just, my father lost his temper and hit me, it only happened once, but Peter video-taped it and said that he would tell everyone that I am abused, and my parents would be locked in jail. That can't happen, so I only had one other option."

I sigh, relieved that he wasn't abused. "Becoming his minion," I state.

He nods. "Yeah. You should know that I never wanted to forcefully kiss you during Candor or Dauntless, never wanted to laugh at your misery, never wanted to do anything to you or your friends. I was forced to."

I nod. "I noticed. So...are we friends, or something?"

Al stiffens. "But what about Peter?"

I scoff. "He can't possibly have the video, it's probably back in Candor. He's a shitty douchebag. You'll be safe with us; Christina, Uriah, Will, and I."

"Friends?"

I smile. "Friends."

"I should go,"

"Oh. Yeah. I'll see you later." I nod and walk out the door and join Christina and Will back at the dining hall.

(AN: THIS IS NOT THE IMPORTANT ONE YET BUT IT KINDA IS, SO AL AND TRIS ARE FRIENDS BUT WILL NOT BE LATER ON, AL STILL KINDA LIKES HER THOUGH)

"You all right?" Will asks.

"Yeah. I found Al. Apparently he likes me."

"Um...Are we still hating him?" asks Christina.

I shake my head. "The only reason he's hanging with Peter is because he's being blackmailed. He's gonna hang with us now,"

"We should go…rankings." They nod.

"It was really awkward, 'cause Al sounded like some old wise, Erudite!" I say, trying to brighten the mood.

"Hey!" Will says.

"What? It's true!" I defend. We all laugh together, and walk to the dorms. I look at my watch. "SHIT! Guys! We have three minutes!" They look shocked, and we all start running.

-o0o-

We all run in with a minute to spare. I sigh. Four sits on my bed with a chalkboard faced away from us on his lap.

Why is he on my bed? He probably just sat on a random one.

"For those of you just coming in, I'm explaining how the ranks are determined. After the first round of fights, we ranked you according to skill level."

"The number of points you earned depends on your skill level and the skill level of the person you beat." I smile. I haven't lost a single fight, but I wasn't fighting one day. Still; I beat Peter and Molly easily.

"You earn more points for improving and more points for beating someone with a higher skill rank, I don't reward on praying the weak; that's cowardice." His eyes drift in Molly's direction.

I resist the urge to laugh. "Stage two is weighed more heavily than stage one, because it's more closely tied to overcoming cowardice. That said, it's extremely hard to rank high in initiation if you ranked low in stage one. We will announce cuts tomorrow," Four continues. "The fact that you are a transfer or a Dauntless born will not be taken into consideration. Any combination of initiates could be possible for the four cuts tomorrow. That said, here are the first ranks." He flips over the board and I search my for my name on the list, which doesn't take a while.

Tris

Edward

Peter

Will

Christina

Molly

Drew

Al

Myra

I got first! I look at Christina and Will, and they smile back. At least Al didn't get dead last. The look Peter and his trio are throwing me says, 'You're dead'. I shiver.

Four leaves. "Congrats! You got first!" Will claps me on the back. I smile. "Congrats too!" I'm just glad that my friends don't have a chance of being cut, but Al.

I look back to the chalkboard.

First.

I belong here.

I take a shower with Christina covering me, and we switch places. I change into my black usual training outfit and I head to sleep. "Night!" I say.

"Night!" Christina says.

-o0o-

I hear a thump and immediately tense in alert.

Knowing Peter, he'd try something on me.

I look up to see a dark familiar figure with a butter knife over my eye. "Don't move Stiff, make it easier for yourself." I scream and kick at him, and he flies back with a groan, but the knife flies out of his grip and I feel a burning, excruciating pain in my lower left shoulder.

I scream louder and land on the floor with a thud as a bloody mass.

There is a pair of screams-mine and a slightly manly one-and hear multiple footsteps running out of the dormitory.

"Turn on the lights!" Someone screams, probably Christina by the way the voice shrills. The light turns on, and I see Edward bleeding on the floor with a butter knife in his eye, and Myra sobbing next to him by me.

They really should stop giving out butter knives for free in the dining hall.

There are many gasps and I look up through my blurry vision to see Will and Christina gasping and crying.

I hear more footsteps, a herd of them, running into the dormitory, and there is a series of blood-curdling screams and gasps.

"TRIS!"

Uriah runs to me and kneels by me with Al, Marlene, Lynn, Will, and Christina, who all have tears in their eyes and are fuming.

Someone helps Edward, who is screaming at the butter knife lodged in his eye.

Thank God I kicked Peter, I might've been 'twinsies' with Edward.

"Pull it out! It burns!" Edward sobs.

"I know, just wait for the doctor." The Dauntless born who helps Edward says.

Everyone turns to the door to see an alarmed Four, Zeke, and Eric.

"TRIS!" Zeke shouts with tears in his eyes and runs to join our little huddle around me.

I feel weak and the blood seeps through my shoulder and onto the floor, mixing with Edward's blood and dirtying everyone who are kneeling on the floor's clothing.

The other Dauntless-borns look alarmed and some are even crying.

Surprisingly, the boys are crying just a tad more than the girls.

Eric and a few Dauntless-borns help carry Edward to the infirmary, with a sobbing Myra following.

I feel my vision lessening and the pain increasing. My friends all sob harder, and say, "TRIS! PLEASE! DON'T GO!"

Zeke, Four, and Uriah grab me gently, and I scream out in pain when the knife digs into my shoulder deeper.

My heartbeat feels like it's intensifying stronger, faster, but in reality, it's doing nothing but slowing down.

Everyone-minus the other Dauntless born-follow us, teary-eyed.

The sight of two bloody initiates with knives lodged in them being carried by Dauntless-borns, transfer initiates, a Dauntless leader, and two Dauntless members is attracting lots of attention, as people gasp in horror and clear the path once they lay eyes on Edward and I.

In the little vision I have as I feel all my blood dripping onto the Pit floor, I see most of the boys that have been hitting on me crying and gasping, and the female members shrieking in horror.

I feel as if all the life is being sucked out of my body.

"NO! NO! TRIS! COME ON, YOU CAN'T GIVE UP ON US!" screams a manly voice.

I open my bloody mouth. "Just to let you guys know...I love you..."

I close my heavy eyes and there is a chorus of screams. I reopen my eyes slightly as a pair of doors is bashed open and there are more gasps and screams.

I have one final thought on my head.

Out of the many people in the chaotic dormitory, I noticed two people are missing, and they could only be the suspects of Edward's and my little incident.

Drew.

And Peter.

And with that, I reclose my eyes and breathe deeply, ignoring the deep pain of a knife lodged millimeters from my heart, and just think about how great my Dauntless life is.

But maybe, that 'is', will turn into a 'was'.

CLIFFIE! I CRIED WHILE WRITING THIS! WAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

IMPORTANT AN: TOMORROW'S MY BDAY! :D

And also-please answer your opinion on this-I was thinking of NOT reposting Over the Years because I have better ideas than that. And I have this amazing new idea, which I want to start writing soon.

But P.S. The Beauty of One (This story) will be updated once a week, once again, my main priorities are Switched, and my brand new story.

Review what you think!

Please review, follow, favorite, and check out my other story(ies)!

~TrissyPoo