Chapter 2
For all of the cities Tris will be visiting, I will be doing research on them for actual facts. Except for the World Body-Painting Festival. It's real, but I don't know that it is in France.
And updates should be Tuesdays and Thursdays now :)
-Paris, France-
Tris was walking around the city of Paris while Four's motorcycle was parked. She was going wherever she felt was right, and Four didn't say anything about it. They crossed the La Seine River, and Tris stood there watching the gleaming light bounce off of the river from the buildings.
"Beautiful," an english voice said, "isn't it?" It was Four.
She nodded. "Very. Never seen anything like it."
For just one more moment she watched, and then turned away. And then she gasped.
"Four! Four, I can see the Eiffel Tower!" She started running toward it as fast as she could.
She thought she heard him mumble something like, "I hate my job."
She didn't bother acknowledging it too much because she was absolutely infatuated with this black tower she'd only seen in pictures and paintings up until now. When she reached the prettiest point, it was in front of the pond that was in front of the Eiffel Tower.
She was breathless. Not only from the beauty, but from her running also.
"Oh my god," she breathed.
Four stood next to her. He said, "Okay, can we go—"
"I have to get up there," she said, cutting him off. There was no way she was leaving without getting up there.
"Tris."
"What?"
He sighed. "We should probably get go—"
"You can get going. I'm getting up there," she said with a grin. She started running toward the tower, and climbed into the elevator since there was no line.
Four rushed to her side, and hesitantly got into the elevator with her.
Tris grinned at him. She looked out the window of the elevator as they went up.
"Four. Four, you've got to see this," she said, unable to take her eyes off of the beauteous sight.
She turned around to see Four looking like he was going to puke. He closed his eyes and sat down right in the middle of the elevator.
"Hey," she said as she crouched down in front of him. "Are you okay? Are you afraid of heights?"
He gulped. "Claustrophobic and Acrophobic. Which, the second, is fear of heights, if you didn't know."
"My god, why did you follow me up here then, you dumbass?" she asked incredulously.
"Thanks for the support," he chuckled.
"Sorry. Sorry. Okay. I'm going to tell you a joke." She paused. "Knock knock."
"A knock knock joke? Really?" someone said with a french accent. The elevator tenant. "Sorry."
Tris smiled. "You're fine." She turned to Four. "Knock knock."
Four smiled. "It's open."
"Do you not know how knock knock jokes work, or something? You guys don't have those in England?" she chuckled.
"Turn around," Four said, chuckling, and stood up.
So she did. The elevator door was open.
"Ah," she said. "I see. Thank you," she said to the elevator tenant, then the doors shut between them.
"Holy shit," Tris mumbled. "It's beautiful up here." Almost all she could see were lights. Just lights. And she'd seen lights before, yes, but never to this extent. She saw big lights, small lights, tall buildings' lights, short buildings' lights, and even lights in the sky. She saw the Le Seine River that ran through the city, and even more lights reflecting off of its gleaming top. She saw the cars' lights from their brakes, but they all blended together because they were up so high. She saw all of the unlit pathways that made the lit pathways pop out so much more.
Four sat back down, closing his eyes.
Tris sighed. "Four, come on. Just look. Please? For me?"
"I don't even know you."
"So?"
"Why would I look when I'm afraid of heights?"
Tris grinned. "Why not?"
Four sighed and opened his eyes. He stood up and gently gripped the railing. He peered through the fence that blocked anyone from jumping.
"Yeah," he said with a raspy voice. "Beautiful."
Tris took out her phone from her pocket and took multiple pictures.
"Hey," she said, "take a picture with me."
He gave her a weird look. "Fine."
Tris held the camera up and managed to fit her face, Four's face, and the outlook of the city all in one picture.
"Can we leave now?" he asked impatiently.
Tris took one last look at the city and its lights, then nodded.
"We need to get to a train station if you want to get to Milan by morning, okay? It's a twelve hour ride."
Tris smiled. "Alright. Let's do this."
Four and Tris arrived at the train station at 11:45. Since we would be ending in France anyway, he parked his motorcycle at his buddy's house. Four said he didn't ask his friend because he supposedly did it all the time.
They walked from there to the station, and they saw the next train to Milan was at 12:05, and they considered themselves lucky. Also, something lucky, Tris had happened to remember her wallet, which contained over $450 in cash, and her credit card. She knew her parents could track her card when she used it, so she decided to use her cash wisely.
She bought her train ticket and offered to buy Four's, but he refused.
"Hey," she said to Four. "I'm going to call my mom so she knows I'm okay. I'll be right back."
Four nodded.
She walked over to the payphone so she couldn't track her cell phone. Luckily it took American quarters, so she put two in. She entered her mother's cell phone number.
"Hello?"
"Mom. Hey."
"Beatrice Prior, what have you done? I know you've escaped from the concert. The bodyguards notified me."
"I wouldn't have if you kept your promise," she shot back.
"Tris. Please come back to the hotel. That's where we all are now."
"No, Mom. I'm fine."
"No you aren't! I know you're hanging around with some stranger who gave you a ride—"
"Mom. He's perfectly fine. Nice, even."
"How would you know? You are so naïve, do you know that?"
"Oh my god. Whatever. Love you, Mom."
Tris began to hang up the phone, but heard her say, "Don't you dare board that train!"
She pulled the phone back to her ear and said, "How'd you know I'm at a train station?"
"Your phone. The guards are on their way, you know."
Tris hung up the phone with no remorse. She angrily walked back over to their table, set her cell phone on the ground, then stomped on it. She couldn't believe her mother had been lying to her for so long about so many things.
That only made her even more angry, causing her to stomp harder. Once she knew it was destroyed, she picked up the pieces and threw them in the trash can.
She sat back down to see Four looking at her with raised eyebrows. She sat down at the table and put her face in her hands, closing her eyes.
"…I bought you a hot chocolate," Four said after a few moments.
She chuckled tiredly and lifted her head so she could see him. "It's July."
He smiled. "You seem like the kind of person who likes hot chocolate."
She wearily and tiredly smiled and said, "Thank you." She sipped the hot chocolate to taste the whipped cream with it. "Wow. This is great. Thank you."
"Of course."
Tris looked at the clock, which read 11:58. "We should probably get going. The train leaves at 12:05, and they're probably already boarding."
Four nodded. "You're right. Let's go."
"That's got to be the first time anyone has told me I'm right." She laughed.
He listed his head sideways. "Really?"
She nodded. "I'm used to it."
Four frowned though. He gave his ticket to the man standing by the door, and so did Tris. They walked around a little and found a "cabin" with a padded bench on both sides.
Tris took the left while Four took the right. She took one last sip of hot chocolate and laid down on the bench. She drifted off when the train began to move, and she said, "Thank you for everything, Four."
About a half-hour later, she felt someone sit beside her, lift her head, and try to put a pillow of some sort under her head. She scooted closer, though, and laid her head on their lap. She was too tired to even care who it was.
"That works too," the person mumbled. The person draped something over her. A jacket, she guessed. He—she figured out it was Four—laid a hand on her arm.
And the thing she thought was, Maybe it's a good thing my mom is a liar.
The next time she woke up, it was 8 A.M. She decided to wake up for the day, even though they still had three and a half hours to go.
When she opened her eyes and moved, she realized her head was lying on Four's lap. She quickly shot up, causing him to wake.
"Sorry," she mumbled.
"No," he said with a yawn. "You're fine."
Tris stood up, and since there was a coat on her, it fell to the floor. She picked it up and handed it to him. "Thanks. You know. For the coat."
"Keep it." He motioned to her tube top. "You need it more than I do," he chuckled.
She blushed. "Don't take me for a slut. I had to switch clothes with a girl at the concert with the same hair as mine. Not exactly easy to fine the same hair," she laughed a little and flicked a strand of her colored hair. "But thanks." She put on the black leather jacket that went just below her waist. Luckily, her shorts were still showing, so it didn't look like she wasn't wearing anything under.
"I'm going to go see if there's shop or anything around so I can find a toothbrush, toothpaste, a bag, and a shirt. Do you need anything?"
"I'll come with you."
"I'll be fi—"
"I need to get a coffee anyway," he insisted.
"Okay." She shrugged.
Tris walked around for a bit without Four until she found a little shop. Fortunately, there was toothpaste, a drawstring bag, and shirts. There was even little shampoos.
"Are there showers on the train?" Tris asked the clerk behind the counter.
"Yes," the woman said.
Tris smiled. "Thank you." She set the items down on the counter. They only had small red shirts, but it was better than the tube top. Tris knew it'd be a little snug, but she didn't care.
She found Four in the dining car sipping a coffee.
She didn't bother sitting down. "Hey. I'm going to take a shower and get this color out of my hair. You can use the shampoo after me if you don't mind smelling like a"—Tris checked the label—"'refreshing Japanese waterfall,'" she chuckled.
Four smiled. "Okay. I'll be in our room. Thing. Whatever it's called."
She smiled. "All right, I'll come get you when I'm done." Tris walked over to where the signs pointed to the showers.
Tris went in, grabbed a towel, and then found herself a little shower stall. She stepped in, took her clothes off, and turned on the water. Tris always loved taking showers because she felt as if it were washing away her problems. She only took a five minute shower though, because that's all time it gave. She barely made it because it took so long to wash away the coloring from her hair. As she dried off, she put on her clothes. Once she did, she dried her hair with the towel. When Tris was done, there was no color left, which, strangely, made her somewhat happy. The red shirt she had was long-sleeved and only revealed an inch of her stomach. It didn't look too small on her; just a little short. The sleeves were perfect, reaching her wrist.
Tris saw blowdryers, and she was kind of surprised. This was a classy train.
So she blowdried her hair, and fifteen minutes later, she was done.
When she was walking out, she heard a woman talk beside her. "Say," she said, "aren't you the First Daughter? Beatrice Prior?"
Tris's heartbeat picked up. "No," she said. "But I get that a lot." She gave a polite smile.
"Oh. I'm sorry to bother you."
She politely smiled again. "You're fine."
Tris stepped out. She hoped no one else would recognize her. She definitely hoped Four wouldn't recognize her now. He probably wouldn't. He was from England.
Tris stepped into the little cabin and smiled. "Hey. Here's the shampoo."
Four's eyebrows were risen, and he was staring at her. "You look… nice. I mean, without your hair colored. You look natural."
Tris blushed and tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. "Thank you." She held the shampoo out to him.
He took it, then got up. "Thanks. I'll meet you back here."
Tris smiled, then nodded. "Okay.
And an hour and a half later, they heard a speaker saying something in Italian, then French, then English. Tris knew all those languages though due to travel with her mother.
"We have arrive at Piazza Duco d'Aosta, Milan, Italy. If you aren't continuing to Rome, please take all luggage and exit. Thank you for riding Euro Rails."