Divergent: No War

Chapter 14

"Morning, Tris." Tori calls over to me, working on someone's arm.

"Hey." I reply.

I sketch for a while, before a woman comes in. I tattoo a name onto her wrist, and the Dauntless seal on her neck.

Afterwards, I show a pair of curious Erudites the parlor. Only three more days of the festival in our compound. I was getting really tired of pesky Erudites and stuck up Candors asking questions, giving smart remarks, etc. it was annoying.

I'm sketching a sun, when Peter walks in.

"What do you want?" I ask, without looking up.

"A tattoo, Stiff, isn't it obvious?" He remarks.

I don't like him calling me Stiff, but I really don't care anymore.

He describes the type of tattoo, a coiled up snake, and I get to work.

"I'm not sure I should still be calling you Stiff anymore." He says, after a while.

"Why not? Perhaps because I'm Dauntless now?" I say, matter of factly.

"Maybe, but I'm not sure that's it." He tells me.

"Then why?" I ask him.

"I don't think I should tell you, because you might strangle me." He says.

I wonder why he won't tell me, but I'm not in any mood to pry for more.

I finish, and he gets up to leave. He hesitates at the door, and looks back at me.

"Thank you. Tris." He smiles slightly, and walks out.

He doesn't have feelings for me, does he? Trying to throw me off the chasm said he didn't, but the last minute said differently.

I shake my head, clearing my thoughts.

~~~

At the end of the day, I've inked 3 other people, and feel pretty accomplished. Tori sits across from me, each of us holding a cup of a fizzy drink some Erudites gave us in return for a your of the Pit.

"This stuff is disgusting." I say, with the foul taste still in my mouth.

"It reminds me of my childhood." Tori says, staring into space.

I snap my fingers and she shakes her head out of the daze. I smile.

"So," She says. "How are you and Four?"

I grin. "You seem too interested in my love life." My smile fades. "Honestly, I'm afraid it won't last." I say, looking down at my shoes.

She gives me a questioning look. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, I feel like I'm not good enough for him. I'm short, younger, not very pretty. He told me I was crazy, but..." I shake my head, trailing off.

It was true, I did have doubts on his feelings for me. I knew he said he loved me, but would it last very long?

"I think you're crazy as well." Tori says, sipping her cup.

"Wouldn't you be doubting, if it was you?" I ask.

She thinks for a minute. "I guess; him being older than you, I would. But just don't go overboard. Live in the moment. Seems like the Dauntless motto."

I nod, taking another drink of the fizziness. We talk a little more about nothing in particular, but mainly about the 5 Weeks of Factions. She let me rant about going and not going to the Abnegation week, and I let her rant about the Erudite. It was good to know I had someone to talk to, someone who was like a second mom to me.

I eventually said good bye and left, heading towards the dining hall for something to eat for dinner. They had sandwiches, and I picked a turkey with mayonnaise. I sit down at the normal table, which was where us new members now sat with Zeke, Shauna, Lauren and Four.

Uriah, Lynn, and Will were already there, and before I could ask where Christina and Marlene were, they all said shopping in unison. I sit in between Uriah and Will, and take a bite of my sandwich. Marlene and Christina come in and give me a look.

"What?" I ask them, smiling. "Afraid I'll steal your boyfriends?"

Will and Uriah laugh, and I steal a chip off of Uri's plate. He looks at me and narrows his eyes, and I laugh. Christina pesters me to move, so I eventually sit on the other side of the table, which is empty. I eat the rest of my sandwich, and listen to the conversations around me, not really paying attention to any of them.

Suddenly, Zeke sits next to me- practically on top of me- and puts his arm around me. I immediately tense up.

"Hey, Tris." He says.

His breath doesn't smell like alcohol, so it has to be a dare. Was Tobias behind me? He had to be.

"Hey." I say, nervously.

"Something wrong? You seem uncomfortable." He asks me.

I look up at his face, and amusement is written all over it. Before I can reply, I thrust my elbow into his stomach and get up from the table.

"Ow! God, you have more strength than I thought." Zeke says, his hands holding his stomach. "I was just messing with you."

"Oops." I say, with no emotion.

I sit back down, and Zeke doesn't try anything again. He just sits, silently eating his ham sandwich.

I go up to get a piece of cake, and when I come back, Tobias is there, with a scowl on his face as the others are laughing, telling about what happened only a few minutes ago. Zeke though, is still silent, but looking at his plate of food with embarassment.

I sit next to Tobias, and he puts his arm around my shoulder, just as Zeke did. I take his other hand, and move closer to him.

"Oh, so it's okay for him to do it?" Zeke remarks.

I feel my face get warm, but Tobias' grip doesn't falter.

"I'm her boyfriend, aren't I?" Tobias replies.

I look up at him, and kiss his cheek.

He turns his head and whispers in my ear, "I need to talk to you, alone."

"What is it?" I ask.

"I'll tell you later." He says.

I grab my fork, but Tobias snatches it from me, and takes my cake.

"Hey!" I say, elbowing him like I did Zeke, taking my plate and scooting away from him. "What's it take for me to eat in peace?"

The others are laughing, but Will speaks up, "You should have joined Amity."

I roll my eyes and scoot back to Tobias and hand him the fork. He takes a huge bite, and I smack his arm.

"I'm trying to be nice, and this is what I get?" I ask.

He laughs and nods.

We finish dinner, and leave the dining hall.