Ordinary Acts of Bravery [A Divergent Fanfic]

Chapter 29 - A game of dare

The group consisted of three women, all colorful in their own way and five men. I swallowed when Ezekiel reached me and threw an arm around the boxing bag right in front of me. He wriggled his eyebrows and the smell of alcohol hit my nostrils. They not only had been, but they were also still drinking. I had never found the idea of alcohol and daredevil dauntless ideas a good mix.

I scrunched my nose and moved away from Ezekiel, who for a moment looked hurt by it. But he only grinned wider and I rolled my eyes. "So—Octavia, we're playing this game called dare and I got this dare—" Ezekiel began and I raised an eyebrow, instantly mistrustful of his motives. He then leaned in close. "I was dared to kiss an initiate—and you're the only one I know, so—." Ezekiel whispered the last part.

I was torn between feeling flattered and insulted at the same time, but soon settled with flattered. But the way Ezekiel kept looking hopefully at me, it was hard not to smile at him. Dauntless bluntness was sometimes very sweet. With one look at Eric, who definitely wasn't happy about the situation, I tapped my cheek with my finger, indicating that Ezekiel had permission to kiss me there.

The dauntless grinned even wider and grabbed my head with both hands before kissing my cheek rather roughly. I felt a little flustered when he pulled away again to the roar of laugher and cheers, even a low whistle, by everyone else besides Tadeo and Eric. I knew Tadeo liked me, it had become clear over the last few times I had been around him. But there was someone else that had caught my attention and held it. Eric had turned his head sideways when Ezekiel kissed me, refusing to look at the sight as Ezekiel grabbed the flask from him.

"Now to my dare—" Ezekiel said after he had lowered the flask again. "—Octavia, I dare you to join us." He tossed the flask to me. I caught it midair with a raised eyebrow. This was unexpected but I feared Ezekiel had an ulterior motive. He definitely seemed like the type and he was still the only one, besides Abby, Valentine and Four, who knew what was going on between Eric and I. So, actually not the only one.

"No!" Eric deadpanned. "She's still an intimate." He objected though Tadeo did as well, but not as loudly. I raised my eyebrow in question and wrapped my arms around my chest. I clearly remembered what had happened a few days ago, and the rules he had sat down for our relationship. But this was not what I had wanted. Frowning, I opened the flask and took a sip. The alcohol burned as it entered my mouth. I had to suppress my grimace while closing the container again.

"Lighten up—you're not her instructor, nor a leader tonight, that was the agreement for you to join us!" Ezekiel suddenly caught Eric in a headlock, forcing him to take a bow just like Abby had done. "Now—Octavia. It's your turn to give out a dare." He instructed and turned to the people. "That's Ellie, Maria, Lilly. Then Tadeo, you know. Zephyr and Calix." Ezekiel turned to them when saying their names. "And then you know this moron here and me."

My eyes lingered on Tadeo, and he groaned then I threw the flask to him. "Tadeo, I dare you to take a leap of faith." I dared, pointing to the initiation jump. He had once told me about his fear of heights and I thought it was the best way to challenge him. Tadeo took a sip of the flask before he jumped into a jog, running towards the side of the building. He scaled the building quickly, getting out of our sight.

"Good one!" Zephyr laughed. "My brother has always been bothered by heights." He swung an arm around my shoulders as we all moved towards the net. I wasn't ready at all for the gesture and my body tensed beneath him before I as inconspicuously as possible got out of his hold. I had never been much for the casual dauntless touching. I didn't mind it with my friends, but with people I didn't know, I was a bit more reserved.

Eric even looked angrier than ever. I had caught a glimpse of him when moving out of Zephyr's hold. The older dauntless resembled Tadeo quite a bit. The golden skin, dark hair, but his eyes were green. Dark, and rich in color, eyes you could get lost in, if you starred too long. Zephyr ruffled my hair before he pushed away from me when I shifted away from him as someone dropped into the net in front of us. He had been screaming the entire way down.