Well, it's been longer than I wanted it to be since I last updated so I made this chapter just a little bit longer for you guys!
I'm close to graduating from high school and once that's over I'll have more time to work on finishing up this story.
Thank you guys once again for your voting and commenting. It makes me so happy every time I get a notification about one of those. Love you all!
~Caruscus
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It doesn't take very long for me to drop my things off in my apartment. I don't have very much on me anyways, so unpacking only took me about half an hour. My room isn't very dusty--Tris stays in here with her parents when they come to visit sometimes, and when she's not here we have a cleaning lady come and look after it once a week.
I walk over to the fridge, not surprised when I open it and see that it's empty. There are a few bottles of water, but no perishable food. They didn't know I was coming back so they didn't prepare for it. My fault, not theirs.
I grab a bottle and uncap it, gulping half of it down and then screwing the lid back on. I was really thirsty for some reason. Probably from carrying Serenity everywhere, I chuckle to myself. I really do love that little girl.
I put the water back in the fridge and make a mental note to buy some groceries before I come back. I shove my points card in my back pocket and walk out the door to the direction of Tobias's apartment. It's a short walk, and before I know it I'm standing in front of his door.
I knock my fist on the wood, smiling to myself when I hear thumping around inside. They better not be banging, otherwise they're in for a rude awakening.
The door flies open and Tris stands there, hair a mess. Her clothes are otherwise fine, which leads me to believe that they were probably just making out. "Too busy kissing to greet me?" I joke, raising an eyebrow at her.
Her eyes widen and her face flushes red, but she leaps towards me and wraps her arms around me, holding me close. I laugh and hug her just as tightly.
Tris didn't grow anymore since initiation. She's still the same height, just with a little more muscle. Her and I have both gained more muscle, actually. I just stand a little taller than her now with my 5'10" height. I keep joking with Tobias that I'm going to be taller than him one day, but he just laughs and rubs the top of my head like one would do to a dog. How rude.
"Tris?" I hear Tobias call from inside. He steps in the doorway, shirtless and confused. Maybe the two of them were doing more than kissing?
"Hey bro," I call, a toothy grin splitting across my face.
He also smiles back at me, walking forwards and wrapping his arms around the both of us before swiftly lifting and carrying us inside his apartment. We squeal and laugh the entire time. Leave it to Tobi to try and impress Tris with his strength.
"Hey sis," he says after shutting the door. I let go of Tris and hug him. He puts his head in my shoulder, and I just laugh and wrap my arms around his neck. His back tattoo stares at me. I slap the bare skin and step back, looking at two of the most important people in my life.
"What are you doing here? Why didn't you give us a call?" Tris questions, leading us over to their couch. I see Tobias's shirt discarded nearby on the floor. I merely raise an eyebrow at it but choose not to say anything.
"It was a last minute decision. A certain 3-year old convinced me to come back."
"That Serenity sure is a smart one," Tobias says, leaning back and resting an arm behind Tris.
"I'm here for good. I'm not leaving again."
"Really?" Tris asks, a touch of hopefulness in her voice.
"Really." I nod, giving a smile and receiving one in return.
"It's about damn time." Tobias mumbles under his breath. I smack his knee in retaliation.
"I've been doing a lot of work, young man."
"Young man? Do I need to remind you who's older here--"
"--Do I need to remind you who kicked your ass--"
"--well I wasn't prepared--"
"--that's an excuse and you know it--"
Tris lets out a huff with a roll of her eyes. "Yup, the siblings are at it again."
I stop and stare at the two of them. I've missed this. This is my life. This is what my normalcy is. A smile spreads across my face.
This is home.
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"How do you think she'll react? You haven't seen her since the wedding."
Tris and I walk side-by-side down the hallway to the second floor. After Christina and Will got married six months ago, I left once again for Candor. I haven't seen her since and along with everybody else, she didn't know I was coming back today.
"She'll probably scream."
Tris smiles at me. "Of course she'll scream. She's Christina."
A scream causes us to turn our heads forward, eyebrows lifted in surprise. Christina stands in front of her door, grocery bags in one hand and keys in another. She drops her keys and bags in one swift motion and starts running towards us, where she quickly jumps on top of me. I fall to the floor at the sudden onslaught, laughing as I wrap my arms around her.
"Told you she would scream." Tris laughs from above us.
"You didn't tell me you were coming back!"
"It was a last minute decision. I'm here, permanently."
Christina screams again, right in my ear, causing me to wince at the closeness of it. She stands and I follow suit, but once we're on our feet she's hugging me again.
"I've missed you so much!"
I squeeze her tightly. "I've missed you too. I've missed all of you guys."
"I have something to tell you." She says suddenly, stepping back and taking my hands in hers. Her eyes get a mischievous glint in them, causing me to raise an eyebrow in response. She darts her eyes back and forth before dragging Tris and I over to her apartment door. Swiftly picking up her keys, she effortlessly puts them into the lock and grants us entrance. We walk in, her throwing the bags of food on the table beside the door. She leads us over to the living room. Her and I take up the couch while Tris situates herself in the recliner.
"What is it?" I question once we're all settled.
"I'm pregnant."
My eyes widen. I can't contain my own squeal. She starts squealing with me and Tris is laughing in the background.
"I wanted to wait to tell you in person, but I wasn't sure when you were going to be back."
"When did you find out?"
"About two weeks ago. I'm twelve weeks pregnant."
My face has such a big smile on it right now that I feel like it's going to split in two.
"And I want you to be the godmother."
I stare at her for a few seconds, stunned. I feel tears well up in the corners of my eyes, and I don't try to stop them when they fall. These aren't sad, angry, or hurt tears. These are happy tears.
I lean forward and hug her tightly, crying on her shoulder. I'm going to be a godmother. I'm going to have a purpose in a child's life. It takes me a few seconds to realize that she is also crying, and Tris is sniffling on the recliner.
I pull back, grabbing a tissue from the coffee table and dabbing at my eyes. "I love you guys."
"We love you, too." Christina says through a giggle.
The doorknob turns, and in walks Will. His boyish haircut he had before is now shaved to about a half an inch long, with facial hair growing along the lining of his jaw. His eyes light up when he sees me sitting on the couch.
"Damn, didn't know Queen of Sheba would be here." His deep voice chuckles, and I roll my eyes with a laugh.
"Shut it, King of Sarcasm." I say as I stand and walk over to him, hugging him tightly. He's about the same height as Tobias now, which only further shows me how all of us have grown up in the past three years.
"Congrats on the baby," I say once I step back. He smiles and his eyes flit over to Christina behind me. They're so in love and cute and I can't handle it.
"Did she say yes?" He asks Christina.
"Of course I said yes, you doofus." I say with a slight smack on his arm.
"Well, technically you didn't answer me. You just started crying, which made the rest of us cry." Christina adds. Her past Candor is sticking out.
I step back so I can see all of them in the room. Raising my right hand and placing it lightly over my heart, I clear my throat. "I, Crystal Jo Eaton, leader of Dauntless, hereby accept your gracious offer to be the godmother of your child."
Will starts laughing heartily, pulling me in once more for a hug. "It's nice to have the gang back together."
Even though there are some things that are a little tense here at Dauntless, Will is right about this. The gang is back together and my life is going well for once.
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"We have to go out tonight. Everybody will want to see you. It's been six months!" Christina yells as she puts away the nearly forgotten groceries in the kitchen.
"That's what Hendricks said. He wants me to go out and socialize."
A cupboard closes. "Exactly! Listen to the old man. He knows what he's talking about."
I let out a sigh. "I want to catch up with everyone, I just don't want to party."
"So we won't party," Tris offers, swinging her leg back and forth, "let's go walk around. It's not a party if we don't stay in one place."
I give her a look. What she just said is a bunch of bullshit and she knows it.
"Fine," I throw my hands up in the air, "I'll go out. But I'm not doing too much. I just got back and I'd like to enjoy my arrival here before I get back to work."
"Understandable," Christina offers, her body hidden by the refrigerator door.
Will walks out of their bedroom, work jacket on and keys in hand. He walks over to Christina and they kiss each other for a moment, seemingly forgetting that Tris and I are in the room with them. Tris and I smile at each other.
"Be careful," I hear Christina say lowly.
"Always. I have more than just you to come home to now, remember?"
"Get a room!" I call jokingly.
"We did, and look what happened!" Christina calls back, placing a hand over her stomach. We all laugh.
"Hey, I'll see you guys in a few days. Don't get too crazy tonight, girls. Oh, and don't let her drink any alcohol, okay?" Will looks at Tris and I. We both nod our heads seriously. He smiles at us. "That's why I know I can count on you guys. Later!"
"Bye!" We call, and then the door shuts. "Will still works on the wall?" I question.
"Sadly," Christina mumbles, shutting the fridge.
"I'm working on that."
"On what?"
"The wall. We shouldn't need people to patrol it. There's nothing out there."
"I sometimes wonder if we aren't protecting people from things out there, but rather us in here."
"I'm also working on that," I say with a tired sigh.
"Like what?" Christina asks, munching on a pretzel and walking back out to the living room, bag of food in hand.
I purse my lips. "I can't go too far into detail--it's not finalized yet--but I'm trying to make this a safer place. One where we don't need our people to be gone for things that shouldn't be a problem in the first place."
"Will would love that."
"I'm sure a lot of families who have people on the wall would love that."
"What you've been doing is incredible, Crys. Who could have ever imagined all the things you've accomplished in these past three years."
"If you had asked me during initiation where I would see myself after it was over, I never would have said this."
Christina giggles. "Yeah, you'd have probably said married to Eric or something."
I freeze, my breathing catching in my throat for a millisecond, but she still notices. Her laughter dies right away and she places a delicate hand on my arm.
"I'm so sorry. I didn't think. I must still have some of that damn Candor in me," she laughs, but it's forced. Tris just watches us, her eyes wide.
I smile weakly back at her. "It's okay. It happens." I take a deep breath. "So what do you want to do tonight?"
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A little over an hour later, and the three of us are on our way to the Pit. Tris and I didn't bother changing clothes, seeing as how we felt comfortable in tank tops and some jeans, but Christina said she felt 'huge' in her shirt. She's barely showing and is already complaining about looking like a whale.
As we descend the steps, I see the Pit is in high spirits as usual. People are in groups, laughing and talking. Most have bottles of beer in their hands.
I turn to the side and notice what looks like a DJ stand set up against the wall, with large speakers pointing towards the crowds.
"What the f--"
"There she is, everybody! Crystal!"
Hendricks shouts my name and everyone turns to face me, cheers erupting from their mouths. Some raise their bottles in a mock toast.
I turn to Christina and Tris in confusion. They have sheepish smiles on their faces.
"I said no parties."
"This was all Hendricks," Christina defends, raising her hands in mock surrender. "He wanted you to have a welcome home party. Everybody has missed you."
"H-how did he coordinate this so fast?"
Tris sends me a smug smile. "We have connections in AV, remember? It's really easy to make an announcement that there's a party, especially when the main person of the party will be in an apartment where speakers can't reach for two hours."
"That's why we stayed at your place for so long?"
Christina smiles at me, nodding her head. I sigh, pinching the bridge of my nose with my thumb and forefinger. I eventually just shrug my shoulders and give in.
"Fine--fine. We'll party."
They both let out cheers of their own and we descend into the group of bodies below us. The DJ starts up the music, the volume so loud I can feel the bass in my chest.
After conversing with some Dauntless people I haven't seen in a while, I spot Jack and his group of friends in the corner of the Pit. I worm my way through the crowd over to them, saying 'hello' to the person who acknowledges me.
When I finally make it over to them, Gavin is the first to notice my presence. He finishes the drink he was gulping and throws the plastic cup to the side, rushing over to me and picking me up in his arms in a hug. I laugh and hold onto his biceps as he swings me around.
Anna and Felicity hug me next, while Walter waits patiently for his turn to greet me. Once he's done I turn and face Jack, who stands to the side patiently.
I plant my hands on my hips and tilt my head at him, like I was looking at a puppy who was sitting on the ground. The corner of his mouth lifts up into a smirk, and we walk towards each other simultaneously to embrace. He's exceptionally tall, so my face goes directly into his collar bone. He bends down slightly and rests his chin on top of my head as we hug.
After a few seconds we both pull away.
"How the hell are you?" He asks excitedly, and I see I have the attention of the entire group.
"I'm doing pretty damn well, actually." I say with a smile. "I just finished up in Amity and am pleased to say that I'm here for good now. How have you guys been?"
"Wait, you're here for good now? You're not leaving again?" Anna pipes up, stepping close to Gavin as he seems to naturally wrap an arm around her waist.
"Yup," I say with a smile, "I am. I'm not leaving you guys again."
"I was wondering what the reasoning behind this party was." Jack says with a sly smile on his face. I punch him on the arm, causing him to laugh.
"A toast, then," Gavin says, raising his red solo cup high in the air.
"Hold on," Jack says, and runs over to the DJ stand and whispering something in the man's ear. He nods and hands Jack a microphone, who taps the end to test the volume of it.
"Attention all ass-hats!" He says into it, his voice projecting over the crowd. Everyone turns to look at him. "In case you were wondering, the reasoning behind this celebration is because our dear friend and leader, Crystal, is here to stay with us!"
Shouting erupts, people screaming what seems like directly in my ear. Jack waves his hand around, asking for silence. What he receives is close to enough to silence so he continues.
"I would like to propose a toast: here's to the girl who wasn't afraid. The girl who stood up for what she believed in, and in turn, made our world today a better place!" He raises his cup in the air. "To Crystal!"
What sounds like my name is shouted across the room, people raising their glasses to the sky and then quickly downing whatever it is in their hands. Someone hands me a cup, and after sniffing it and determining that it's root beer, I too take a drink.
"Hey, Crystal," someone calls my name to the side, and I look through the people up at the stage to see who it is. Hendricks is standing there, an evil glint in his eye as he hold the microphone Jack had just been holding. "Why don't you sing us a song? It could be your welcome back gift?"
"Aren't people supposed to give me things, not the other way around?" I laugh nervously.
"Just get up here." He calls.
"No thanks!" I call back, turning around and ready to make a mad dash for it.
"Crystal! Crystal! Crystal!" He starts chanting, causing others to join in. Soon nearly everyone is chanting my name. Jack and Gavin block my exit, and I let out a sigh, my shoulders slumping in resignation.
I put my hands up, cup still held tightly between two fingers. I drink the rest of it quickly and throw the empty plastic at Jack, who catches it with a laugh. "Fine! Jesus Christ, I feel like I've said that word more times today than I have in my entire life." I mumble the last part to myself as I walk towards Hendricks. People part ways to allow me through, cheering for me as I go.
"What would you like, old man?" I ask, grabbing the microphone from him in mock anger.
He rubs his chin thoughtfully. "Surprise me."
I smile. "Alright."
I lean over to the DJ man, vaguely recognizing him as one of the people who work in the cafeteria, and watch as he smiles at my song choice.
The lights dim down, and as the first drum beat kicks in, people scream as they recognize it. I smile as my voice starts out low, getting into the feel of singing once again.
Over the years, I started being vocal once again. I was scared at first; basically petrified. It wasn't until I was at Amity and Candor that I started becoming more confident. It helps a lot when people who can't lie tell you that you have a good voice.
I would sing at Amity when they would have their little harvest fests, and when I was at banquets in Candor they would have me sing a selection for them. Each time I performed would boost my self-esteem even more. I don't have a perfect voice--far from it. I just know how to act like I do.
As my voice soars into the first high note of the chorus, people lose it. They start jumping around, dancing with each other and smiling at me. These are my people.
I look over and make eye contact with Hendricks, who is currently watching me with nothing but pride in his eyes. I send a wink in his direction.
I stand tall as I descend into the second verse, my entire being buzzing from the adrenaline that's coursing through my veins at this moment. My eyes flicker over the faces in the crowd, some familiar and some not familiar. I haven't been here to oversee the new initiate training, so there are some people whom I haven't met yet.
Wonder what their opinion of me now is.
My eyes stop on a particular person as I go into the chorus once again, almost causing me to lose whatever focus I had on the song at that point.
Eric stands near the back of the crowd, drink in hand and heavy gaze watching my every move. His one leg is propped on the wall behind him, giving him both a casual and lethal look at the same time. His black pants and long-sleeved shirt help him to almost blend in with the shadows, had it not been for his bright eyes.
I seem to put more effort and feeling into my singing as I go into the chorus once more, not breaking eye contact with Eric. I'm not sure if the reason I don't look away is because I'm not afraid or because I am afraid.
Afraid of my feelings, afraid of the distance that lies between us.
Afraid of what might happen now that I'm back.
But I can't let that stop me tonight.
"I'm gonna fly like a bird through the night, feel my tears as they dry. I'm gonna swing from the chandelier, from the chandelier."
I repeat the bridge one more time, my breaths leaving me in short bursts as I work to gain back whatever air it is that I just expelled. I break away from Eric's gaze to see that of my brother's watching me proudly from the crowd.
The applause is deafening. I give a shaky smile and turn around, handing the microphone back to the DJ. He gives me a short bow, and I let out a laugh at it. I walk away from the platform and over to where Tris is standing with Tobias. He pulls me into his embrace quickly, telling me how happy he is with whom I've become.
I hug him back. Things might not be perfect right now, but I'm happy too.