Alex' gaze wandered over the Geider district. She was standing on a rooftop at the edge of the district surveilling the area. Eric had woken her up at two in the morning for another round of war games. This time, it was each on their own though.
She looked down and made sure the little flag with the number one on it was still securely fastened to her vest. There weren't really any rules to the game. If someone snatched your flag, you were out. The person with the most flags in their possession in the end won.
Alex paced up and down the rooftop. Occasionally, she could hear muffled screams or gunshots in the distance. Maybe she should get down there as well, but Alex was already committed to a different plan, so she continued to walk up and down the rooftop, observing the area.
That was until something caught her attention. Instinctively she ducked as a red dot appeared on her chest. She robbed away from her position and then slowly peered over the parapet. It took her a few moments until she could identify where the laser beam originated from. It was a building in the inhabited area next to the Geider district. Alex watched with a furrowed brow as the laser beam seemed to wave around wildly. Then she rolled her eyes as the beam followed the wall of the house down to a cardboard box in the street and finally to a manhole cover. Jack.
The box contained a new pair of shoes with instructions to leave her old ones in the box in the adjacent house. So, he had got her letter. She exchanged her old shoes that still had Eric's bug on them for new ones and several frustrated sighs later Alex was on her way to said manhole cover.
She tried to ignore the pounding heart in her chest, but even the stench of the sewer couldn't drown out the uneasy feeling in her stomach. Alex frowned as she touched the damp steps of the ladder and wished fervently that Jack had chosen a different place for their meeting. At the bottom, she waited, trying to ignore the sound of the rat's paws tapping on the wet concrete.
"Someone missed me, hm?"
Alex rolled her eyes even though she had to smile as she heard Jack's voice. The fact that her heart sank into her stomach upon seeing him, was blissfully ignored. She had spent the past few weeks trying hard to distract herself from thinking about Jack.
"What? Where did you get that from?" Alex asked.
"A little birdie told me," Jack replied with a smirk, his eyes twinkling mischievously.
"Oh, is that so?" Alex quipped back, a playful edge to her tone.
"Well, Alex. You should know by now that you can never know for sure."
"At least when it comes to you."
They looked in each other's eyes and she was painfully reminded of their last interaction. She could feel the heat rushing to her cheeks, so she quickly averted her gaze and looked around. She hadn't seen Jack since she accidentally called him Eric, who then found them in bed, leading to Jack fleeing out the window. It all seemed so long ago.
"Lovely place you picked here, Jack. It has this atmosphere to it, that is quite hard to capture in words."
"Thank you, thank you. I do what I can. Dessert is served in a different place though." He winked before turning around and walking in the direction he came from.
Alex followed him through the tunnels underneath the city. She made sure to remember every turn they took and every intersection they crossed. Jack's plan finally led them through the basement to an empty building. It looked like it used to be an office building and Jack led her to a likewise empty room with big windows. There he sat down leaning against the wall and gestured Alex to follow his example.
As she sat down next to him, she made sure they weren't close enough to touch.
"How's Tito?" Alex tried to keep the conversation light for the beginning.
"Good, he and his boyfriend are moving in together soon." Jack smiled as he talked about his friend.
"Oh, I'm so happy for him. I got a tattoo in Dauntless and I have to say … he is still the best."
"Really? What did you get?" Jack watched her curiously.
"Don't make fun of me."
"I can make no such promises."
She rolled her eyes and rolled up her sleeve to reveal the Dauntless flame on her arm.
Jack raised his eyebrows and an awkward silence spread between them.
"I swear I had no idea." Alex finally spoke up again, targeting the elephant in the room; the day of their last encounter. She didn't want Jack to think she lured him into Eric's arms that day.
Jack patted her on her leg. "It's okay. I know you would never do something like this."
Her heart sank into her stomach again. Eric's voice echoed in her head - instructions for her betrayal.
Jack's voice interrupted her thoughts. "So … Trouble in paradise?" He asked, his gaze focused on the blinking lights of the city. Alex tried to remember the letter Eric made her send. She had written about being unhappy in Dauntless and how she wanted someone to talk to.
"No, it's alright. I guess. I was just a bit emotional when I wrote that letter, I'm sorry."
"Come on." Jack raised an eyebrow.
Alex sighed and focused her gaze on the city lights again. "It's just – it's so different to how I envisioned it."
"In what way?"
"In every way. I didn't envision immediately getting on Eric's blacklist, I didn't envision being treated so … condescending just for being friends with someone and although I feared the competition, I also didn't envision being alienated from the other initiates."
"Alienated?"
"I barely get to see them! First, I got detention, so while the others were getting to know each other I sat around dusting old folders, but no, that wasn't even bad enough! After Eric saw me with you, I was escorted everywhere I went. For weeks."
"Everywhere?"
"Everywhere."
Alex sighed.
"And I think I already made some serious enemies. There's this guy from Candor. He –" The memory of her fight with Jason made her distort. "I kicked him from first place and now he seriously might try to murder me."
She rubbed her face for a moment. "You know, I can handle all of that. The thought of continuing this for another seven months might not fill me with excitement, but I know I can get through that. It's – It's just that," Alex took a deep breath before continuing to speak. "By now, I can't envision my life in Dauntless being much different after the initiation."
Jack held her as the tears started dropping down her cheeks. She hadn't expected that unravelling all these thoughts she had during some of the harder times in Dauntless would still shake her up so much.
"You know, during my initiation I thought 'this is the best time of my life'. I got into training, I learned so much, I spent my nights out with friends and look what happened. Initiation is a very intense phase and I don't think it says much about how life in Dauntless really is", Jack said in a soft voice while patting her back.
"Says a lot though that you left."
"You know I had my reasons but that doesn't mean you can't have a completely different experience there."
Alex eyed him with a furrowed brow.
"Are you alright?"
Jack laughed. "Don't tell me showing compassion is so rare for me you have to make sure if something is up."
"Not necessarily compassion, but compassion about my dream of Dauntless? Yes, very much so actually." She reached out to touch his forehead with the back of her hand. "Are you sure you don't have a fever?"
Jack playfully pushed her hand away. "Seriously, I'm fine. I just … I remember the hard times of initiation as well. The pressure, the crippling fear of failure, the exhaustion, the competition …"
"If it was only that. If I was only a normal Initiate going through initiation but …"
"Are we going to talk about him now?" Alex noticed Jack tensing up.
"I'm sorry."
"No need to apologize. I knew once he found out about us, you'd be a target."
"And did you suspect the way he would treat me?"
"I mean he definitely wasn't going to make it easy for you. I'm actually surprised they didn't throw you out yet."
Alex forced a smile. "You trained me well enough to have quite a lot speaking for me."
"I'm glad all that hard work is paying off."
"Hard work? I was a natural."
"A natural at breaking your bones? Absolutely. At getting yourself into trouble? No doubt. At-"
"I get it, okay." Alex laughed.
"You've come a long way though."
It got silent for a moment.
"So, you haven't pursued anyone yet?" Jack finally asked.
"Why? Would you be jealous if I did?"
"You can do whatever you want to do. I'd be concerned about your lack of judgment with some people but that's all."
"So, we are going to talk about it?"
Jack shrugged his shoulders. "Just curious how your … crush came to be. Didn't hear much positive about him yet."
"First of all, I don't have a crush on anyone because I'm not 12 years old. Second of all, especially not on him. We just get into a lot of arguments and tensions were a little high back then. Do you really think I would ever do something with him?"
Oh, how she hated this.
Jack eyed her for a moment before resting his head back against the wall.
"I only helped you a little bit, you know? You really came this way on your own." He looked at her and smiled. "And if you find for yourself that life in Dauntless isn't what you imagined, you always have a place with us."
Alex smiled thankfully.
"You know, you say that all the time but … what is it I would actually be doing with the Factionless then?"
"Whatever you want. If you want to work, we have plenty of positions that could fit you. If you don't, you could still become my trophy wife."
"The day I become a trophy wife is the day I walk off the next rooftop."
"Work it is then", Jack chuckled.
"What positions would you think would fit me?" Alex got curious.
"We're a faction like any other. Believe me, you will find something." He checked his watch. "I should bring you back though. Don't want you to lose because of me."
"Oh, don't worry about that."
"I insist." Jack got up and offered her a hand. Alex didn't feel like arguing so she let Jack accompany her until they reached the ladder leading out of the sewers.
"Thank you. For everything." She reached out to hug Jack.
Their hug was like a familiar refuge. As they held each other, the past and the present melded into a single, cherished moment of reunion.
"I'll always be there if you need me," he said softly.
Alex let go until she could look him in the eye. "How can I contact you?"
"I'm working on it." Jack winked and gave her another quick hug before leaving her to the game.