PSA: Don't forget to enable 'Email Opt-in' in your account settings to make sure you are receiving your Email Alerts. It took me far to many months to realize we now need to do this if we want updates.

Tris makes her way back over to her friends fully expecting to be grilled about her time with Eric, luckily, they seem to be too busy staring at Uriah to notice her return.

"Just let him go, if he wants to embarrass himself that's his choice," Marlene says, arms crossed as she rolls her eyes.

"What's going on?" Tris asks.

"Khloe just got here, and Uriah has decided that he's going to do it," Christina responds while staring at Uriah incredulously.

Tris lets out a chuckle and sneaks a peek at where Eric and his friends are gathered. Sure enough, Khloe has joined them.

"Marlene's right. It's his funeral. We've talked him out of it too many times already. Just let him do it so he can move on."

"Give him a bit of credit," Will says. "Who knows, maybe she'll be into him."

Christina laughs loudly.

"First of all, look at her, she's way out of his league. Secondly, she a leader –"

"So, Eric's a leader and –" Uriah protests cutting Christina off.

"That's irrelevant and you know it. Eric isn't twenty-three freaking years old like Khloe is and unlike Eric who met Tris the first day she got here, Khloe doesn't know who the fuck you are. But you know what, I give up. If you want to go over there and make an ass out of yourself in front of not one, not two but three people in leadership be-my-freaking-guest."

"I'm doing it," Uriah replies with unfounded confidence before stepping passed Tris and towards Eric's group of friends.

They all turn to watch as Uriah makes his approach.

Tris can't help but notice the smirk that forms on Eric's face as Uriah marches by him on his way to Khloe. Tris continues watching as Eric turns towards Sam who appears to be unsuccessfully trying to stifle a laugh.

Chuckling in response to boys' reactions, Tris turns her attention to Uriah and Khloe at the bar. Uriah hasn't gotten slapped yet, so that's a good sign.

Khloe looks their way and Tris and her friends all turn towards each other in a sad attempt to pretend they hadn't been staring.

"So…" Will says.

"Did you and Eric hook up?" Christina interrupts looking at Tris.

"Jesus Christina," Marlene chastises.

"What?" Christina replies, shrugging her shoulders. "They were gone for like half an hour and they sure as shit weren't on the dance floor. What else am I supposed to think?"

Tris rolls her eyes.

"No, Eric and I didn't hook up. Not that it's any of your business," Tris replies.

"Well, if you didn't hook up then what the hell did the two of you do for the last half hour?"

Tris sighs.

"If you must know, we were in one of the back booths talking."

Christina looks apprehensive.

"Bullshit."

"It's the truth."

Christina scrunches up her face and looks over at Eric and then back at Tris.

"Ew. What could you two possibly have to talk about for thirty freaking minutes?"

Tris looks at her friend in disbelief.

"Ew? Me hooking up with Eric is all well and good, but you find out that we talked, and you say ew? You do remember that you're the one who sent me over there in the first place, right?"

"I sent you over there to ask him to dance figuring the two of you grinding up against each other on the dance floor would lead to a hook up. I didn't send you over there to talk to that sociopath."

Tris looks over at Will and Marlene.

"Am I the only one who is finding her insane right now?"

Marlene furrows her brow and addresses Christina. "Why are you so invested in her sex life? That's the part of this that's 'ew' in my opinion."

"You know what they say, the best way to get over someone is to get under someone else," Christina replies simply.

Tris glares at her.

"Wait…since when is Tris trying to get over someone?" Marlene asks, confused.

Christina's eyes grow wide at the realization of what she's just implied.

"The better question," Will says, changing the subject, "is, how in the world is Uriah still talking to Khloe and why is she smiling?"

Tris mouths a silent 'thank you' to Will before turning towards Marlene just in time to watch her expression morph into a mixture of anger and sadness as she observes Khloe swat Uriah's arm playfully.

While Tris appreciates Will's abrupt change of subject, she feels bad for Marlene. It's well known to everyone aside from Uriah that Marlene has harboured feeling for him for a long time.

"You should just tell him already," Christina says earning herself a glare from Marlene. "Well, if you aren't going to tell him then maybe you need to just try to move on. You know, get over him by getting under someone else?" she adds with a nervous laugh.

Tris can't believe Christina would repeat the same thing she just said about Tris this soon after Will purposely changed the subject.

"Screw it," Marlene says to Tris' surprise. "I'm going to do it."

"You're finally going to tell him?" Tris asks hopefully.

"Fuck that," Marlene replies. "I'm going to get over him, by getting under…" Marlene pauses and scans the crowd, "Sam. If Uriah and Tris can hit on leaders so can I."

Before anyone can react, Marlene marches towards Sam who happens to be standing only a couple of feet away from Uriah and Khloe. The three friends left standing watch Marlene approach just as a small brunette appears at Sam's side.

"Who the fuck is that?" Christina asks no one in particular.

"That's Arya," Will replies. "Sam's girlfriend."

"Girlfriend!" Tris and Christian exclaim in unison.

"Sam has a girlfriend?"

Will nods.

"It's pretty new, but I've seen them together a few times."

Christina smacks her boyfriend on the arm. "And you didn't think to stop Marlene?"

"I thought everyone knew," he defends.

"If any of us had known, she wouldn't be over there right now."

The group goes silent as they turn their attention back to Marlene. They watch as Marlene's steps falter, obviously having noticed Arya's presence. Tris expects her to turn around or walk past them to the bar, but instead, Marlene stops and turns towards Eric.

Tris' blinks rapidly as Marlene flips her blond hair over her shoulder with a smile.

"What is she doing?" Tris asks quietly.

Christina snorts.

"What you failed to do apparently. Getting under Eric."

Tris scowls at Christina.

"Bite me," she spits before turning and walking towards the exit.

"What's your problem? Where are you going?" Tris hears Christina yell after her.

"Home," she yells back without turning around.

Tris' stomach flutters and her face turns hot, she is irrationally angry at Marlene. The fluttering in her stomach is easily identified as jealousy, and Tris curses the fact that she feels some kind of claim over Eric despite having only spent a limited amount of time with him. She is nearly at the exit when she crashes into someone.

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry," she says quickly, looking up at her victim apologetically. Her face falls when she realizes that, for the second time that night, Four is in her way.

"For crashing into me? Or for trying to rub our breakup in my face by flirting with Eric in front of everyone?"

Tris is at her limit dealing with her own feelings right now, she really doesn't have the capacity to deal with her ex-boyfriend's jealousy.

"Please just let me go home," she practically begs.

"Not until you explain to me what the hell is going on."

Tris sighs and tries to step around him, but he moves, continuing to block her path.

"I already told you. It was just a drink, and it has nothing to do with you."

"Fine, lets pretend that's true. If it has nothing to do with me, then why were you with him?"

"Not that I owe you an explanation, but he asked me if I wanted to have a drink with him and I did, so we had a drink."

Four scoffs.

"It's the truth."

"Since when do you enjoy hanging out with psychotic assholes?"

"He's not that bad," Tris defends, immediately regretting it as Four's face turns cold.

"Yes, he is, and you know it. Even if he wasn't a complete and utter jackass, which he is, it still wouldn't change the fact that he's dangerous Tris," Four says, leaning in far too close for Tris' liking. "Its all fun and games until he finds out you're Divergent. You're going to get yourself killed."

Tris takes a step back.

"You're wrong."

Four chuckles darkly and steps forward, closing the gap Tris just created.

"And you're naïve if you believe that. Go ahead and talk to Eric but as soon as he finds out about you –"

"He doesn't care," she says without thinking.

Four freezes and stares at her. Tris holds her breath, waiting for him to react.

"What did you just say?" His words are slow and disturbingly calm.

"Nothing," she replies quietly, silently wishing she could take it back.

Four grabs her upper arms and leans in so close that their noses are nearly touching.

"You told him?" he says quietly.

His breath is hot on her skin, and he smells too strongly of alcohol. She studies his face. Flushed skin, and dilated pupils…he's wasted. How had she not noticed before now?

His grip on her arms tightens as she remains quiet. He's never hurt her, but he's also never been more than tipsy around her, and he's definitely never been this angry. Something about the madness in his eyes scares her and she decides to proceed cautiously.

"Earlier, he guessed what I got on my aptitude test, and I didn't correct him," she states simply. "He was fine with it."

"You're not that stupid."

"Excuse me?"

"You are not stupid enough to tell someone you barely know that dangerous of information in the short amount of time you've allegedly spent with him."

Tris takes a slow breath.

"I didn't say it was smart, but it is what happened."

He narrows his eyes at her.

"How long have you been sleeping with him?"

Tris tries to step back, but Four's strong grasp holds her in place.

"You can't be serious?" she asks in disbelief.

"Did it start before we broke up?" he asks angrily. "Is he the reason you broke up with me?"

"Have you completely lost your mind? You know full well why we broke up," she says, her fear subsiding as anger takes over. "Get your fucking hands off of me. Now!"

She stomps on his foot, and he finally releases her as he groans in pain. A few people look over at them but quickly go back to their business.

She peers at the exit but worries he will follow her, and in his drunken state she's afraid of what he might do with no witnesses to keep him in line.

Making a split decision, Tris does an about face and practically jogs back to where Christina and Will stood only moments ago. Unfortunately, they're nowhere to be seen.

She looks towards the bar and finds Uriah, surprisingly, still with Khloe, now sitting on two stools, drinks in hand. She could go over there, but Uriah has been trying to work up the courage to talk to Khloe for weeks now and Tris doesn't want to mess it up for him.

Her attention turns to Marlene who seems to be deep in conversation with Eric. Tris wouldn't mind breaking up that connection but if Four sees her seeking refuge with Eric it might just make things worse.

Before she has a chance to decide what to do, a hand grabs her wrist and spins her around.

"Looks like your boyfriend is too busy flirting with Marlene to come and rescue you," he says menacingly.

"Let go of me," she hisses, trying to stomp on his foot again. This time he's expecting it and manages to move out of the way just in time.

She tries to yank her hand from his grasp but he's too strong and all she manages to do is hurt herself more.

She debates kneeing him in the groin but decides to try reasoning with him one last time.

"You are jumping to conclusions," she says in the steadiest voice she can muster. "Everything I told you is the truth. I would never cheat on you, and you know Eric has nothing to do with why we broke up. Please just go home and sober up. This isn't you. You would never hurt me like this."

Four's eyebrows furrow as he takes in what she's just said. He looks down at his hand around her wrist and his eyes flit to his own knuckles that have gone white with the force of his hold. He lets go of her immediately and takes a step back. His eyes scan the room as though he's just remembered where they are.

"Tris," he says softly.

"Are you okay?" a voice booms from behind Tris.

The pair look towards the sound and Tris is both relieved and nervous to find Eric looking down at her.

She nods tentatively before looking back at Four.

"Four was just leaving."

"I'm so sorry," Four says quietly.

"I believe she said you were leaving," Eric addresses him icily.

Four looks like he wants to say more, but one glance at the furious man beside Tris convinces him to retreat.

Tris breathes a sigh of relief and turns towards Eric.

"Thanks," she says. "I'm not sure he would have left if you didn't come over here."

When he doesn't reply, she realizes he's staring at her wrist, a bruise in the shape of a handprint already starting to form.

She shifts uncomfortably and tries to hide it behind her back.

"I'm going to kill him."

His voice is steady, calm even, but his jaw is clenched and his nostrils slightly flared. There's a crazed look in his eyes and Tris isn't sure if she's ever seen him look this angry.

He moves to follow Four but she blocks his path, placing her hands on his chest.

"Please Eric, just let him go."

Her voice shakes and tears threaten to fall as she starts to come down from her encounter with Four.

She can tell that Eric is torn between chasing after Four and staying with her.

"Please," she begs.

He looks down at her and takes a few deep breaths in through his nose.

"Tell me what happened."

She opens her mouth to explain just as Marlene arrives by Eric's side.

"What was all that about?" Marlene asks looking between Tris and the door closing behind Four.

Tris takes a step back, removing her hands from Eric's chest.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt," Tris says quietly.

Marlene and Eric both look at her with puzzled expressions.

"Interrupt what?" Marlene asks, confused.

Tris points between Eric and Marlene and Marlene laughs hysterically in response.

"As if," she says, resulting in a look from Eric. "No offence but you're not even close to my type."

Eric rolls his eyes.

"Right, because 'oblivious doofus who thinks he's a lot funnier and more charming than he actually is' is a type now."

"Hey!" Marlene shouts indignantly.

Tris lets out a small laugh.

"You told him about Uriah?'

"Tris!" Marlene replies. "No, I didn't, but you just did."

"Don't blame Tris. I'm pretty sure everyone who was near you two during initiation is aware. You aren't exactly subtle."

Marlene blushes.

"Whatever. It doesn't matter anyways, he's clearly found someone and it's not me," she says, gesturing towards Uriah and Khloe.

This time, it's Eric who laughs.

"You mean Khloe?"

"Obviously."

"Trust me, Khloe isn't interested in him."

The girls both look at him skeptically.

"How can you be so sure?" Tris asks.

"He's not her type," Eric replies.

"And what is her type?" Marlene questions.

"Of everyone here," Eric starts, inspecting the area. "I'd say, you're the closest to her type," he finishes looking at Marlene.

Marlene's eyes grow wide in understanding.

"Oh!" she says, with a grin. "Well then."

"Feel better?" Tris asks, chuckling.

"I think I'll head home. We'll talk tomorrow, Tris, but for now, I hear my bed calling me."

Tris waves as her friend practically dances towards the door.

"That was nice of you," she says to Eric.

"What can I say, I'm a really nice guy," Eric deadpans.

Tris snorts.

"Liar!"

"Rude!" Eric responds opening his mouth and placing a hand over his chest in mock offence. "Fine, but Marlene's not so bad, she was nice enough to humor me when I wanted to know something earlier."

"Oh yeah, what were you guys talking about anyways?"

"Wouldn't you like to know," he jokes, wiggling his eyebrows. But his humor doesn't last, and his features suddenly turn weary. "In all seriousness though, what happened with Four?"

Tris sighs. She was hoping that the conversation with Marlene would make him forget about her drama with Four, but she knows it was naïve to expect him not to bring it up.

"Do we have to talk about it?"

He swallows hard and his jaw tenses.

"Has he hurt you before? Physically?" he asks.

"No," she answers quietly. "He's never put his hands on me before today. He was so drunk Eric…I've never seen him like that."

"Do you know what set him off?" Eric asks sincerely.

"Can we get a drink?"

"Tris."

"One drink, please? And then I'll try to explain it to you."

"Okay, lead the way."

Tris walks over to the bar and Uriah nods at her in greeting before turning his attention back to Khloe.

Tris raises her hand to get the bartenders attention.

"What can I get you?" he asks.

"What did you order me earlier?" Tris asks, turning towards Eric.

"Amaretto sour and a rum and coke," he says, addressing the bartender directly.

"Thanks."

When the drinks come, Eric passes her the amaretto sour and takes the rum and coke for himself. Tris takes a sip of her drink as they step away from the bar.

"Would you really have drank this is I had picked the other one earlier?"

"No way in hell. But I had a hunch that you would like it, so I took a gamble."

Tris smiles.

"Now, stop changing the subject and tell me what turned ole' Toby into dear old dad."

Tris' eyes grow wide.

"You know?"

"We went through initiation together, Tris. I was there when they called his name at the choosing ceremony."

"But…about his dad?"

"Right, well with the way the initiate dorms and bathroom are set up, he couldn't hide the fresh belt marks or the old bruises from all of us. He tried, and not everyone noticed, but yeah, a few of us did and it wasn't hard to deduce where they had come from. I have to admit, when he started beating me during initiation, I had a particularly bad moment of insecurity, and I used the information against him. It wasn't my finest moment. I'm pretty sure that's a big reason why he hates me so much."

Tris doesn't know what to say. Why had Tobias never told her? And why did Eric have to be such a bastard to him?

"I think he's probably still embarrassed by the whole thing," Eric says, as if reading her mind. "And there's no excuse for my behaviour, I can be a real asshole sometimes. I mean, I've grown, but even at sixteen I knew better. It was a really shitty thing to do."

Tris sighs. Eric might be an asshole, but at least he seems to be an honest one. With her, anyways.

"He convinced himself that you and I were sneaking around behind his back while him and I were still together."

"Wow, that's quite the leap."

"I know."

"I don't even know what to say to that."

"I know."

"He really saw us holding hands for two seconds and got there?"

Tris looks down at her drink for a second.

"Not exactly. He was going on about how dangerous you are and how you'd kill me if you found out about my Div…test results and I just got so annoyed that I let it slip that you already knew. Well, that's when he decided that the only way I would have told you was if we'd been together for a while and then he jumped to conclusions."

"I guess that makes a bit more sense. It isn't something you usually tell someone on a first date."

Tris' eyes widen at the use of the word date.

"Not that it was a date," Eric backtracks, stumbling on his words. "What I don't understand is why he thinks I would ever kill you, or anyone for that matter."

"I'm starting to think he's more traumatized by what his dad did to him than I ever realized. He's so paranoid, I just never recognized to what extent. I always took what he said as the truth, about Divergents, about you, about Dauntless leadership being corrupt and about people being out to get us. But is there any actual truth to it? Or has his brain just created all of these scenarios as some messed up coping mechanism?"

Tris' head is spinning. Could she really have been so oblivious to her ex-boyfriend's delusions? Had she been living in fear of the world around her this passed year for no reason?

"You're still here!"

A loud female voice breaks her from her thoughts as Tris looks over to see Christina and Will approaching them.

"I thought you went home," Christina continues.

Normally, Tris would still be irritated with Christina, but with everything that just happened and everything going on in her mind, her issues with Christina seem trivial.

"I…changed my mind," she responds lamely. "Where have you two been?"

"Will really wanted to dance so we've been dancing up a storm!"

Tris looks over at Will in disbelief as he gives Christina a pointed look. Christina laughs.

"Fine, I wanted to dance so I dragged him to the dancefloor where I danced up a storm and he swayed awkwardly."

"Now that I believe," Tris replies.

"So, what have you two been up to?" Christina asks, looking first at Tris and then at Eric. "Last I saw, you were flirting with Marlene."

Eric rolls his eyes.

"You might want to get your eyes checked."

Christina purses her lips at him but doesn't say anything as she looks over at the bar.

"Speaking of Marlene, where did she go?"

"Home," Tris replies. "And you know what, it's been a long night. I think I'm going to do the same."

"Oh, come on Tris, stay for a bit. It doesn't even look like you've touched that drink in your hand," Christina pleads with her.

Tris looks down at her drink and extends her arm towards Christina.

"Take it. It's really good. I promise."

Christina accepts the drink from Tris and takes a small sip.

"Damn, that is good," she exclaims happily. "But you should stay."

"I'm tired, Chris. I'm going to go, but I'll meet you for breakfast tomorrow."

"Fine, party pooper."

Tris disregards Christina and looks over at Eric, she knows their conversation hadn't really ended and she's not sure how to address that without raising her friends' suspicions. Eric glances towards Christina and Will before focusing back on Tris. Tris can tell he's also hesitant to speak in front of her friends.

She watches as Eric lifts his drink to his mouth, finishing it in one large swig before handing the glass over to Christina.

"I'll walk you home," he states, threading his fingers through hers.

Tris ignores the look she can feel Christina giving her and simply nods at Eric in acceptance of his offer.

"Tried, huh?" she overhears Christina say pointedly to Will as her and Eric walk towards the door.

A/N: This story has taken on a life of its own. I don't know how we got here, but here we are. Sorry to anyone who isn't a fan of a bit of a darker Four. I'm not trying to demonize him, more just show how his upbringing may have affected him as an adult. If you remove the war but keep Divergent mostly the same, including all of Four's fear around Divergence that kind of gives you an idea of what I'm working off of.

Thank you to everyone who took the time to follow and comment! There will be one more chapter after this one.

-MWB