A/N: Hey, guys! Hope you enjoy.
Multiple turns later I have laughed so hard I think I am going to throw up, everyone (including me) has had a couple of shots of alcohol, almost everyone has removed atleast their jumper, and I am sitting on Tobias' lap with my arms around him after playing seven minutes of heaven with him as the last dare. It's my turn to ask again.
I scrutinise the room and my eyes fall upon Uriah.
"Uriah, I dare you to -"
"I don't even get a choice?!"
"But you never pick Candor!"
"I might this time!" Uriah says mischievously.
"Fine," I say, "Candor or Dauntless?"
"Canddd - Dauntless!"
I sigh and pretend to pinch the bridge of my nose in exasperation.
"Okay, I dare you to call an Amity ask them if they would be interested in buying a baguette made with the original recipe. In a French accent."
Uriah grins and snatches up his phone.
Twenty seconds later a pleasant voice comes through the phone.
"Hello? Johanna Reyes speaking."
Uriah looks unperturbed, unlike me with Caleb, even though he is speaking to the representative of Amity.
"Bonjour, Johanna," says Uriah in a magnificent French accent, "This is Pierre from Le Baguette Magnifique. I was wondering if you would be interested in purchasing our baguette classique, made with the original recipe from France! It is tres magnifique!"
The whole room tries to stifle their laughter, Uriah's voice is so deadpan and serious. I grip Tobias' arm, trying to keep myself from bursting into laughter. Tobias, usually so calm among others, is biting his lip to suppress a smile, but I can see the glint of amusement in his eyes.
On the other end of the line, Johanna's voice crackles through, confused but polite. She us Amity after all, "Hello? Who is this?"
Uriah doesn't skip a beat. "Ah, bonjour, madame! As I say before, my name is Pierre, and I represent Le Baguette Magnifique, the finest French bakery in all the lands."
I'm doing everything I can not to laugh out loud, my shoulders shaking as I try to keep it together. Tobias is leaning back now, clearly entertained.
Johanna pauses for a moment, her voice now a little more cautious. "I'm sorry, I think you've got the wrong number…"
"No, no!" Uriah insists, doubling down on the accent. "I am sure this is The Johanna Reyes of Amity, yes? We have the best baguettes, you must try! Made with love, passion, and a touch of je ne sais quoi."
I glance around the room, and I can see everyone else trying to hide their laughter. Tobias is clearly fighting a losing battle, and I can't help but chuckle quietly to myself.
Johanna hesitates, then responds, still clearly puzzled. "Okay, wait—who is this really? I don't think I've ever heard of your bakery. Le Baguette Magnifique? Is this some kind of joke?"
Uriah, however, stays in character, leaning into the bit even more. "No joke, madame! Only baguettes du amour for you. You must try them! A baguette made with love, and it's—how do you say?—fantastique!"
The whole room is trying to keep it together. I look at Tobias and see his lips twitching as he tries not to laugh too loudly. I have no idea how Uriah is managing to stay so composed.
Johanna, though, is starting to sound more intrigued than confused. "Right, right… And what makes your baguettes so special, 'Pierre'?"
Uriah straightens up in his seat, looking around with mock solemnity. "Our secret recipe, madame! We use only the finest ingredients—flour from the finest mills, yeast from the most exclusive bakeries… and the secret ingredient… l'amour! Only with l'amour can you create a baguette that speaks to the soul!"
Johanna's voice comes back, now with a slight chuckle in it. "Are you for real right now? What kind of bakery are you running?"
Uriah, as smooth as ever, doesn't miss a beat. "Ah, the finest kind, of course. We are very serious about our baguettes, madame. We have been perfecting them for centuries! I am sure you would enjoy a baguette du amour—you must try!"
There's a pause, and then Johanna, probably realizing she's been roped into something ridiculous, sighs. "Alright, alright. How much for one of these… baguettes du amour?"
Uriah grins, his eyes twinkling with mischief as he gives a dramatic shrug. "For you, madame, a special discount. If you agree to purchase, I will even deliver it personally to your door, in a golden basket, just for you."
Johanna, probably both confused and entertained at this point, laughs lightly. "You'll deliver it yourself, huh? Alright, Pierre, how much?"
Uriah leans in closer to the phone, enjoying every second of this. "A kiss, perhaps? No?" he says, practically purring it out.
At this, the whole room bursts into laughter, and even Tobias, who had been holding back, snorts in disbelief. I'm laughing so hard that I nearly fall off his lap, clutching him to stay upright.
"Wait, what? A kiss?" Johanna sounds genuinely thrown off now. "Uriah, is that you?"
Uriah, unable to resist any longer, grins broadly. "You caught me, madame! It is indeed I—Uriah, master of the baguettes du amour!"
Johanna lets out a mock groan. "I should've known! Honestly, what is wrong with you?"
The room is still laughing as Uriah raises his hands in victory. "I did warn you! But I'll take my payment in the form of a kiss, if you're offering."
"Not happening, Uriah," Johanna retorts, though she's clearly trying not to laugh. "But fine, fine—Pierre, you've convinced me. I'll take the damn baguette, but you better not pull this stunt again."
Uriah throws his hands up, triumphant. "Deal, madame! I'll even throw in a baguette du jour for your trouble."
After a few more moments of laughter, Uriah hangs up the phone with a flourish, clearly proud of himself.
"Man, I should start a bakery with that pitch," he says smugly, sitting back down. "If this Dauntless thing doesn't work out, I've got options."
I can't help but laugh again. "You know, Uriah, I think you just convinced Johanna to actually buy one of those baguettes."
"Maybe," he shrugs, looking around the room. "But who wouldn't want a baguette du amour?"
The room dissolves into more laughter as I glance around at everyone—feeling that warm, easy camaraderie of friends just having fun.
"Alright, alright," I say, trying to calm down, "Uri, it's your turn."
"Lynn," says Uriah, "You know the question."
"You know the answer."
Uriah leans forward, his grin growing as he eyes Lynn. "Alright, Lynn," he says, "I dare you to march into Max's office—without knocking—and say something that'll make him seriously question whether he's even fit to run Dauntless."
Lynn smirks, leaning back in her chair, clearly not intimidated. "I can do that."
She stands up and walks toward the door with that confident, effortless swagger. Twenty minutes later, she returns, completely unshaken. The room falls silent, everyone waiting to hear what happened.
Uriah leans in, eager. "Well? What did you say?"
Lynn leans back in her chair, looking almost too relaxed. "I walked in, shut the door firmly behind me, and said with an angry, serious look on my face, 'Max, if you don't stop pretending to be in charge around here, we might as well hire a group of penguins to run this faction.'"
There's a beat of stunned silence before the room erupts into laughter. Marlene is clutching her stomach, trying to breathe through the fits of laughter, while Uriah looks like he's about to fall off his chair.
"Did he—did he actually respond?" Uriah asks between laughs.
Lynn shrugs casually. "He just stared at me, then told me I was out of line and to get out before I made him lose his patience. But, honestly, I think he was a little shaken."
The laughter continues, everyone trying to recover from the sheer boldness of it.
"Damn," Uriah says, wiping his eyes. "You really got under his skin, huh?"
Lynn smirks. "Someone needed to. Max needs a reminder now and then that Dauntless doesn't follow weak leadership. Four, C or D?"
"D" says Tobias.
Lynn says, "I dare you to tell us all what your real name is."
Tobias nudges me gently of his lap and whips his jumper off without a second thought, he has been asked this practically every single time we have played Candor or Dauntless. He has worked so hard to conceal his identity, he would never reveal it for the sake of Candor or Dauntless. He then pulls me back onto his lap plant a gentle kiss into my head.
"Will, C or D?"
"C"
"Rate everyone in this room in order of how much you like them with explanations,"
"Okay, Christina first obviously, because she's my girlfriend. Then Tris, because she's my best friend," I grin, "Then Uriah, Marlene, Zeke because they're all pretty nice and if I rank Zeke last he would kill me as it is his party," Zeke raises his arms in mock celebration, "Then Lynn in second last, because you're almost always in a bad mood, sorry Lynn," Will continues and Lynn looks even surlier than ever, "And lastly Four because, even though we finished initation a few years ago, to me you'll always be our scary instructer. No offense."
I can tell Tobias is slightly offended but he covers it up with a grin and says, "None taken."
"Thanks," Will says, "It's my turn now, isn't it?" A few people nod, "Zeke, Candor or-"
"Do you even need to ask?" Zeke drawls, faking a yawn.
"Right then, I dare you to - wait a minute, Uriah, get out the room," Will says.
"Why?" Uriah pouts like a little toddler.
"Just do it says Will.
Uriah stomps out in a pretend huff.
Once he is completely sure Uriah can't hear us, Will turns back to Zeke with a wide grin and says, "I dare you to sneak into the Dauntless kitchens and make Uriah's 'worst fear' come true."
Zeke grins back, claps his hands together and stands up, "When are you going to bring Uriah to the Cafeteria?"
"We'll tell Uriah we're going to the Cafeteria for a cake break in, let's say, five minites?" suggests Will, "That will give you 10-15 minutes to steal all the cake."
"Sounds like a plan," says Zeke enthusiastically, "Where should I put all the cake?"
"Bring it back here," says Tobias, "Let Uriah know who was responsible for making his worst nightmare come true!"
Zeke looks less keen about receiving the wrath of his brother but does not protest.
"I suppose I had better get going," he says, and leaves.
After approximately five minutes we call Uriah back from the other room who was sitting quietly on the floor with his legs in a basket, playing 'Pat a Cake' with his so called 'invisible friend'. He seriously needs to grow up, I think to myself, internally shaking my head in exasperation.
"Uriah," Will says, "Do you want to go to the cafeteria for a cake break?"
"Do you even need to ask?" replies Uriah, "Let's go!"
We arrive in the cafeteria shortly after and join the rapidly growing cue. When we reach the front we take it in turns to order, making sure Uriah orders last. The rest of us order vanilla sponge but when it comes to Uriah's turn to order he, of course, orders, "DAUNTLESS CAKE!!!"
The server behind the counter gives a polite smile, but there's something in his eyes that immediately makes the air tense. "Sorry, sir," he says. "We've run out of Dauntless cake."
Uriah freezes, blinking a few times as if he hadn't heard right. The room goes absolutely still. His face shifts from confusion to disbelief, and then, slowly, panic starts to set in.
"What do you mean, you're out of Dauntless cake?" His voice is almost strangled, like the words are too painful to say. "That's… That's impossible."
The server, looking completely unfazed, just shrugs. "We're out. You can have vanilla sponge if you'd like."
Uriah stares at the counter, then at the rest of us, his mouth hanging open. "Vanilla sponge? VANILLA sponge?!" he says, his voice rising with each word. "I came here for Dauntless cake! You can't just run out of Dauntless cake!" He banges his fist loudly on the counter, causing the server to jump and his square glasses to fall off.
"I… I can't…" Uriah stammers, turning toward us for support. But no one is offering him any sympathy except Marlene who puts her arm around his shoulders and says, "There, there," even though she is clearly enjoying this performance and struggling to keep her laughter in.
Uriah glares at Will, clearly realising what the dare was, then glances at the group, clearly expecting someone to step in and save him from his humiliation. But everyone is either holding back giggles or flat-out laughing at him. Even Lynn cracks a smile. "I guess no Dauntless cake for you," she says, her voice dripping with mock sympathy.
Uriah's face is a mix of frustration and disbelief as he turns back to the counter. "Are you telling me that there is literally no Dauntless cake left? Not even a crumb? Not one piece?"
The server shakes his head. "Nope, all gone. Sorry, sir. Maybe next time."
Uriah's hand runs through his hair in desperation, his eyes darting from the counter to the rest of us, who are on the verge of tears from laughing. "There won't be a next time," he cries to the server, "I won't be able to survive without my Dauntless cake! Even if I could come back, I wouldn't! The Dauntless cafeteria has betrayed me!"
With that, poor Uriah ran out as fast as he could and back to Zeke's apartment.
Everyone else followed him clutching each other for support as we are all laughing to the point of it being painful. I hold Tobias' arm who seems to be the most calm, but even he is laughing like a maniac.
We arrive moments after Uriah who is staring at a perfect, round Dauntless cake on the wooden table in the middle of the room. Then his eyes fall upon Zeke who is lounging on the sofa.
Uriah's eyes flicker between the Dauntless cake and Zeke, a dark look of betrayal forming on his face. His shoulders are visibly tensed, and I can practically see the steam coming out of his ears.
"Seriously?" he practically growls, pointing at the cake with a mix of disbelief and annoyance. "You had it this whole time?! You mean to tell me I ran across the entire Dauntless compound, threw a fit in front of the cafeteria staff—for nothing?"
Zeke looks completely unfazed, a smug grin on his face as he casually sprawls out on the couch, one leg draped over the armrest. "Well," he says, clearly enjoying this, "I couldn't just let you get off that easily. You needed to feel the pain. But, honestly, there was only one Dauntless cake left. The rest are in the oven, but I had to turn the temperature way up to make sure they'd burn—"
Uriah's eyes widen as he processes the details, and he interrupts Zeke, practically shaking in frustration. "You burned them?! What a waste of perfectly good Dauntless cake!!! How could you do this to me!?"
Zeke shrugs nonchalantly, still grinning. "Yeah, yeah. Had to do it. You can't just let cakes sit around. And I figured if I stole all the boxes of Dauntless cake mix, that would make it an even sweeter revenge. You really need to stop making your worst fear so easy to manipulate, Uriah."
"That's it," Uriah throws his hands up in exasperation, not even trying to hide the annoyance on his face anymore, "You're all terrible. I can't believe you all made me think I was going to die without my Dauntless cake!"
I can't help it—I burst into laughter, clutching Tobias' arm for support as he grins beside me, clearly finding this just as funny as I do. The whole situation is like a beautifully chaotic comedy of errors. Tobias doesn't say a word, but his hand squeezes mine, both of us basking in the warmth of the group, the laughter, and this ridiculous, ridiculous moment.
Uriah, now standing in front of the cake, glares at Zeke for a few moments, but then he lets out a dramatic sigh, as if resigning himself to the fact that this will be an ongoing joke for the rest of his life. "Fine, you win, Zeke. But mark my words—I'm getting you back for this. This will never be forgotten."
"Oh, I'm counting on it," Zeke replies, unbothered. "But for now, enjoy the cake, buddy. You've earned it."
I watch as Uriah grabs the biggest slice of cake and plops down on the couch with the rest of us, but there's a certain twinkle in his eye that tells me he's not done with his revenge plot yet.
Will leans forward to grab a slice of cake, a mischievous grin playing on his lips, "Well, that was fun," he says, and squashes the Dauntless cake into the vanilla sponge.
A/N: As always I am open to suggestions as I love to get feedback so I know how to improve. Please let me know any ideas you might have for truths/dares. I think Four and Six are going to train initiates in a few chapters. What do you guys think?
Disclaimer: I do not own Divergent. The Divergent triology belongs to Veronica Roth.
