A/N: Well, everyone, here it is! The chapter! Enjoy, and please tell me what you think! More coming soon!

Chapter of Divergent (the actual book): 26

Disclaimer: I don't own the Divergent trilogy (I would be re-writing the end of Allegiant with fluffy unicorns and rainbows right now if I did) or any of the characters

I take Tris's hand in my own and I lead her towards my special spot. I can feel a nervous tremor in her hand, and to comfort her, I run a fingertip down her palm. The hairs on my arm stand up straight.

"So…" she says, trying to make conversation. "Four fears."

"Four fears then; four fears now," I say, nodding. "They haven't changed, so I keep going in there, but…I still haven't made any progress."

"You can't be fearless, remember?" she says. "Because you still care about things. About your life."

"I know," I whisper. I still care about you.

We walk along the Pit on the narrow path that leads to my special place. I know this path well, it's the path I use to hide from Marcus on Visiting Day.

"You were going to tell me about your aptitude test results," she says, bursting me out of the comforting thought bubble.

Using my free hand, I scratch my neck uncomfortable. "Ah. Does it matter?"

"Yes," she demands. "I want to know."

"How demeaning you are," I say with a smile.

Then we reach the end of the path. I guide her down over the slippery rocks to my flat rock. Then I release her hand hesitantly.

"These are things I don't tell people, you know. Not even my friends," I say nervously. But she isn't exactly a friend anymore. I don't know quite what she is.

"My result was as expected," I say hesitantly. "Abnegation."

"Oh," she says, sounding disappointed. She thinks I'm Divergent.

"But you chose Dauntless anyway?" she presses.

"Out of necessity," I say quickly.

"Why did you have to leave?" she asks.

I look away from her, looking at the waterfall. I see her hand go subconsciously to her other wrist, where Marcus's belt hit hers. I feel a twinge of pain in my heart that I let him hurt her. I will never let that go.

"You had to get away from your dad," she whispers. "Is that why you don't want to be a Dauntless leader? Because if you were, you might have to see him again?"

I lift my shoulder. "That, and I've always felt that I don't quite belong among the Dauntless. Not the way they are now, anyway."

"But you're… incredible," she says with a pause. She clears her throat. "I mean, by Dauntless standards. Four fears is unheard of. How could you not belong here?"

I shrug. "I have a theory that selflessness and braver aren't all that different. All your life you've been training to forget yourself, so that when you're in danger, it becomes your first instinct. I could belong in Abnegation just as easily."

"Yeah, well, I left Abnegation because I wasn't selfless enough, no matter how hard I tried to be," she says pitilessly.

"That's not entirely true," I say with a smile. "That girl who let someone throw knives at her to spare a friend, who hit my dad with a belt to protect me—that selfless girl, that's not you?"

"You've been paying close attention, haven't you?" she asks me suspiciously.

I take a deep breath. "I like to observe people."

"Maybe you were cut out for Candor, Four," I wince when she uses my nickname, "because you're a terrible liar."

I set my hand on the rock, lining it up with hers. "Fine," I say, leaning closer to her face, my eyes locking onto her lips. "I watched you because I like you." Did I just say that? "And don't call me 'Four,' okay? It's nice to hear my name again."

Her cheeks go red. "But you're older than I am… Tobias."

I smile. "Yes, that whopping two-year gap really is insurmountable, isn't it?"

"I'm not trying to be self-depreciating," she says quietly. "I just don't get it. I'm younger. I'm not pretty. I—"

I laugh, and I softly press my lips into her temple.

"Don't pretend. You know I'm not. I'm not ugly, but I certainly am not pretty."

I softly remove my lips from her temple. "Fine. You're not pretty. So?" I kiss her cheek softly. "I like how you look. You're deadly smart. You're brave. And even though you found out about Marcus…" my voice goes weak. "You aren't giving me that look. Like I'm a kicked puppy or something."

"Well," she says softly. "You're not."

And now here it is. The perfect moment. I'm glad I didn't kiss her on the night Al died. Right here, right now, is so much better. I touch her face and lean in real close, and I brush my lips against hers. I feel the blood in my cheeks spread all through my body like an instantaneous, burning wave. I grin and press my mouth to hers.

I take her face in my hands, and she wraps her arms around me. The fire, the fire that I had believed to be quenched by the rains of complications, still burns bright, despite the storm. Not just my lips, but my whole body burns bright like a star in the night sky. Surely, back in the Dauntless compound, they can see the flames burning bright in the Pit, but I don't care. This is my fire. And, not thinking about yesterday or tomorrow, just right now, I make a decision.

I'm going to let the fire burn.

TBC