Ordinary Acts of Bravery [A Divergent Fanfic]

Chapter 17 - The lost star

"There's been this feud between some of the initiates, and when we began throwing food at each other Eric saw it fit to give us a punishment." I explained as short as I could, not really wanting to linger. "It wasn't bad. We only had to run back to the compound, until Samuel opened his mouth." I chuckled and Gabriel pushed himself away from the counter.

"Eric wanted us to clean the entire dining hall, but Samuel saw it fit to challenge Eric, and therefore Eric gave him a secondary challenge. He didn't succeed so he had to clean the dining hall by himself." I chuckled. Gabriel joined in, then he ran a hand through his hair, pushing some of the golden curls away from his face. His hair was a bit darker than mine, and had tighter curls, if not much shorter as well. It only reached below his ears.

Then Gabriel's eyes landed on the necklace still around my neck. I had forgotten to take it off and despite it being a gift from Eric, I still found it pretty. "Where did you get that?" Gabriel rasped, his demeanor changing completely as he reached a hand out towards it but stopping himself to look me directly into the eyes. There was clear pain in his and a certain dread settled in my gut. This necklace had not been Eric's to give. I feared it had something to do with Georgiana—and I was unfortunately right.

"I bought it in one of the shops." I blurted out, lying to the best of my abilities so not to arouse to much suspicion while catching the pendant between my fingers. "It's pretty right?" I asked turning it, however, it was something I shouldn't have done. Gabriel's hand dashed forward, grabbing the pendant from my fingers before he had it turned around and raised to reflect the light. It reflected it and showed what was engraved on the back.

"Two triangles." Gabriel whispered, his eyes wide before releasing it again. "Where did you get that? I thought it was lost when Georgiana died." The amount of pain in Gabriel's voice made goosebumps appear over my entire body. He had known her as well, Eric hadn't told me that. "Eric must've had it! He had no right giving that to you—he had no right!" Gabriel then repeated while
suddenly reaching for the pendant again. His entire demeanor shifted and he grew hostile.

When he changed and reached for the pendant for the second time, I instantly recoiled, moving out of his reach. "It's not yours either." I snapped when Gabriel tried again. Those words switched something in him, and he grabbed onto my clothes instead, more specifically the hem of my shirt before pulling me back to him.

A small yelp of surprise left me when he lowered his head to mine. "It's not yours either—it belonged to my Georgiana. I had those triangles engraved there. Eric had no right, no right to pass it on to you. No matter how much you look like her." Gabriel sneered and tightened his hold on my clothes as every fiber in my body screamed to get away.

Acting accordingly, I stomped my heel directly down onto the top of his foot. Gabriel released me with a painful yelp but only to grab both my arms above the elbows and force me against the wall, pinning me in place. The tight grip he held onto my arms were sure to bruise, I could feel the stinging pain emerge as he allowed his anger to control him. "Get—your—hands—off—me." I warned, slowly emphasizing each word.

"Where you really that much of a temptation to him? You might look like her, but you will never become her." Gabriel inched closer, pressing his body against mine. "No, you will never be her." He inhaled, his nose inches from my hair.

I felt nothing but disgust in that moment while resisting the urge to gag as he pressed himself harder against me. Then a hand moved to my jaw, pinning it between a thumb and another finger before forcing me to look up at him. "Go tell Eric—I will be waiting." Gabriel smirked before lips were pressed against mine. Totally stunned, I could do little to fight back. I had never been kissed before. If you could even call that a proper kiss.