Four watches Tris wake up from her simulation having the same fear today as yesterday. She looks very tired and he remembers how exhausting this stage could be. "I know the simulation isn't real but it's the only time I get to see my family." Four gives a small smile, "You don't have to explain to me, you miss your family and don't want to shoot them. It's not the most unreasonable thing in the world." She studies him with her eyes and he feels he can't look away, she has him in her grasp. "Do you ever miss your family?" Four recoils slightly at the question but pushes back up the barrier, "No, I don't. But that's unusual." Tris' eyes really bore into him now and Four finds himself lost in the grey depths.
They stare at each other for what feels like too long, Four trying to communicate to her that he is Divergent and knows what she is going through, but unable to say it out loud and he doubts she gets the message. Four feels her eyes swallowing him whole before she breaks the contact and hurries out the door. Four exhales and is glad her test was the last of the day. He cleans up the room and heads out for a run. Eric said he would take over announcing the rankings and Four is sad he won't be able to see Tris' face when she sees she is in the number one spot.
During Four's run, he realizes how stupid he was. Why was Eric so eager to announce the rankings when Four could have easily done it? As his thoughts progressed, he realized he just left Tris alone with not only Eric but Peter. A man, who shoved a butter knife through his competitor's eye after coming in second to him was now finding out he no longer was number one. Four turned abruptly and sprinted back to the compound, hoping it wasn't too late.
Four entered the compound to find Eric grinning from ear to ear. "What's got you all excited?" "Just an interesting afternoon announcing the rankings." Four's stomach dropped, was Tris still alive? "Why do you say that?" Four asks and Eric turns to face him smirking. "Well some people weren't very thrilled to be beaten by a Stiff. I don't blame them, Stiffs think they are so much better than everyone else, don't they Four?" With that Eric walked away and Four rushed to the dorm to check and make sure nothing serious happened in their absence. He hears voices inside and realizes it is Tris and Al. Four sighs in relief at the sound, letting him know she is still alive. He listens in on the conversation.
"Are you all right?" Tris asks. Four hears Al mutter, "sure" and knows Al realizes he is going to be factionless. Tris, being the selfless person she is, tries to console him, "It's not over, you can improve your rank if you…" Four doesn't hear her finish and assumes they are both remembering his words about how difficult it is to improve your rank. Al responds, "See it's not that simple. For you, this is all so easy, it's not the same for me." "That's not true." "Yes it is and it doesn't help me when you pretend it's not true. I don't think you can help me at all." He hears Al start to sob and tell Tris to leave him alone. Four backs away from the door and around the corner as Tris leaves the room, shoulders slumped looking very defeated.
Four heads to the dining hall to meet up with Zeke and Shauna. They had plans to hang out tonight since Four had another break between stages. He had barely seen Zeke, except for the day in the Pit and wanted to catch up with his best friend. After they finished eating, Zeke and Shauna wanted to go shoot some rounds and since Four had access to the gun cabinets, he was able to make that happen. They were laughing and goofing around as they walked through the halls, Zeke teasing Shauna a little too much. Four was going to have to make sure to give Zeke a hard time about that one later. As they neared the practice room, they heard gun shots. Zeke and Four both look at each other, dropping into a defensive stance but then hear laughter and realize other people probably had the same idea as them.
They open the door and Four sees Uriah, Lynn, Marlene, and Tris. "I thought I heard someone in here." He watches them freeze and look at them, eyes wide with surprise. Tris looks even more exhausted and Four understands the strain on her face. It's hard when you are better than your friends during initiation, it leaves a strain on the relationship. Luckily Zeke and he were able to move past that.
After all is said and done, and the initiates choose their jobs, Four goes to find Zeke. He finds the entire group lounging in the Pit and walks over to join them. "Look who it is, Mr. Big Shot. Coming to grace us with your presence? I'm surprised number 1 can spend his time with lowlifes like us." Four has no idea what has come over Zeke and it seems everyone else is surprised as well. "What's your problem man? Did I do something to you?" "Yeah, you chose my faction, convinced everyone you were this quiet Stiff, and then embarrassed us all as you wiped the floor with us. Sorry if I don't particularly like to associate with liars and cheats." Four took a step back, never before had he seen Zeke act this way. He was usually so happy and free, never once had he seen malice on his face, especially directed at Four. He always felt Zeke was his only ally, trusting him with secrets about his past that he told no one else. "Well at least now I know how you feel. Thanks for letting me know respectfully." With that Four turned away and began walking toward his spot under the waterfall. He heard footsteps behind him and thought Zeke was coming for more. He turned around sharply, ready for a fight, when she saw Shauna. "Hey, ignore Zeke. It's hard when you grow up Dauntless and practice for initiation all your life, to watch someone from another faction excel past you. We all dream of being number 1, he's just a little more open about it." "Yeah well I didn't cheat and I certainly didn't lie about anything. I worked really hard to get where I am." "I know that and Zeke knows that. Just give him some time." Four nodded and walked away.
Later that night there was a knock at his door. He opened it to find Zeke. "Sorry man. I was just really upset that you were number one but I shouldn't have taken it out on you. It's just hard to watch someone who has only been here for a year do so well. No hard feelings? I know why you chose us and what you had to escape from. I don't think I would have been as brave as you to do that. Friends again?" Four could have taken the selfish road and slammed the door in his face, part of him really wanted to, but that would have betrayed everything ingrained in him since he was born. He grabbed Zeke and pulled him into a hug. "No hard feelings but next time I'm just going to punch you in the face to knock some sense into you." They both laughed and headed down to the Pit to celebrate.
"Turns out it's just my idiot brother Four. They aren't supposed to be in here after hours, should we report them to Eric?" Zeke asked with a grin. Four grinned too and watched the initiates nervously glance at one another. "You won't tell Eric," Lynn said eyeing him suspiciously. She was right, but only because Tris was here and he hated Eric with a passion. "No I wouldn't. But you better go anyway." As they walk out, Four reaches out and places his hand on Tris' shoulder and ushers her out. He gives it one light squeeze, trying to convey his sympathy for her jealous fellow initiates. "Wait a second." He stops her, needing to reassure her that she is in the right place, no matter how the others are making her feel. "You belong here you know that right? You belong with us, it will be over soon so just hold on." 'And then I can tell you how I really feel and maybe move forward with this,' he thinks but doesn't say. Four realizes he just put a lot of emotion out there for everyone to see and scratches his head embarrassed by his lack of control. Just as he is about to walk back into the room, he feels her hand grab his. His breath hitches as her fingers slide between his. He looks at her as she stares back into his eyes, just standing there. Just as quickly as it happened, her hand is gone and she is hurrying down the hallway to join up with her friends. Four can't stop the smile that spreads across his face as he rejoins the group.
"What was that?" Shauna asks. Four doesn't say a word as he walks to the gun cabinet and pulls out a weapon. He can hear Zeke trying to hold back a laugh and turns to see both of them staring at him wide eyed. "What?" "That whole thing, 'You belong here!' and the hand holding, " Shauna asks while mocking his voice. "You like her." "No I don't." "Oh c'mon Four I'm not blind and from the look on Zeke's face this has been going on for a while. You know, that day in the Pit makes sense now. I thought you were awful close with her. What are you going to do about it? Eric will kill her and you if he finds out." "I'm not doing anything about it because there is nothing to do. Are we going to shoot or what?" Four turns to the target and unloads a round of bullets straight into the target. As he examines it, he realizes his shots aren't tightly grouped in the center like normal but spread sporadically around. He tries to remove the paper before the others see but Shauna will not let this go.
"If there is nothing going on then why did the best shooter Dauntless has ever seen just shoot as if it was his first day here. Just admit it, I won't tell anyone, but admit you like her." Four turns and stares her in the eyes, "Even if I did, I couldn't do anything about it. Eric won't allow it and it would endanger her life. It doesn't matter so drop it." "Always the perfect instructor. Give it up Four, relax and live a little. Eric doesn't own you or her so just give in. You never allow yourself to be happy, the few glimpses I have seen of it show me that you need to relax. This would be good for you. Just think about it, I hate seeing you so stoic all the time." With that Shauna walks over by Zeke leaving Four to his thoughts. She was right, he always followed the rules and maybe just this one time he could break them. He turns to see the both watching him. "So what do I do? Just walk up to her and say 'Hey I like you, want to make out?'" Four asks them.
Both of them burst out laughing. "Well maybe you want to be a little smoother but that's the general idea of it. Just find a setting you two can hang out in without all this training bullshit in the way. Don't make it too public though, maybe have her meet you here or on the trains," Shauna suggested. Four felt lost, he had never done anything like this before. He knew he liked her and knew he wanted something with her but had no idea how to get that. "I'm going to head out. I'm not feeling up for hanging out tonight." With that Four exited the room and headed back to his apartment, taking the long way around to get his thoughts in order.
As he rounded the corner near the chasm, Four heard a struggle and a scream and decided he better step in before someone falls over the edge. He walks around the corner expecting to see two drunks settling some score, when his stomach drops and he sees red from the anger that unleashes inside of him. He sees three boys dressed in all black attempting to throw Tris over the chasm. He doesn't even think as he rushes into the group right as they are forcing her over the ledge. He watches her body fly over the railing and time stops. Four hears nothing as he watches her arms shoot out and loop over the railing. He can't process anything until he sees Peter nearest to him and kicks him in the face, something he's been dreaming about for a while. He notices someone to his right, grabs his head and slams it into the railing near the chasm. This is when he realzies it is Drew. The third boy tries to run but Four trips him up and grabs his hair lifting him from the ground, always checking to make sure Tris is still holding on. "Coward," he mutters when he sees it's Al. He punches him in the face and knocks him out. He kicks Drew again in the ribs and punches him one more time in the face knocking him out. He grabs Peter and jabs him in the ribs and then tosses him aside, not caring if he falls in the chasm or not.
He steps over them, seeing her still clinging to the railing, hanging over the chasm, bleeding and bruised. She looks up at him and croaks, "Four." His heart breaks as he wraps his arms around her and gently lifts her from the railing, so thankful she was able to grab on. He feels her press her face into his shoulder and all he can think about was what would have happened if he hadn't left the practice room when he did. Silence fills his entire body as he walks with her in his arms, thanking everything he can that she is alive in his arms.