I want to see the rest.
These words kept repeating in my mind over and over again as I looked at her. She looked like she meant what she said, so why was it so hard for me to believe that she could want to get to know me? I guess I'm all kinds of fucked up.
It was evident that the tension and anger that had been palpable between us earlier was gone now. We admitted that we don't hate eachother and for some reason I felt like a weight had been lifted from my shoulders. Given that it's very likely she will pass the initiation process, it's nice to know that we can cooperate without causing any problems.
For now, we tolerate eachother.
I looked at her and felt guilt knock on my chest when I saw her wincing while slowly propping herself on her elbows.
"I'm sorry about the fight. If that hadn't happened, they wouldn't have attacked you afterwards." I said truthfully but she shook her head.
"Sorry seems to be all we can say these last few days" she says with a small smile and I couldn't agree more. Nevertheless, it was necessary to clear the air between us.
"They probably would have done it anyway. Maybe not last night, but it would have happened eventually" she said sadly. "What's going to happen to them?"
"They will be punished accordingly. What they did was cowardly; instead of earning their spot in Dauntless, they decided to take one of their fellow initiates down." I said, looking at her straight in the eyes so she can understand that we don't let such behavior pass in Dauntless. "They'll be factionless by tomorrow"
She nodded but I could see the slight guilt and sadness that flickered in her eyes.
"I brought you this" I said after a slight pause and reached for a plate of Dauntless cake that was on the nightstand next to her bed.
Her eyes were bright as her lips pulled up into a playful smile that was so contagious, it was difficult to suppress my own.
"Consider it a peace offering" I said and pushed the plate towards her.
"Accepted, thank you" she said, chuckling lightly. She then considered me for a moment.
"You don't happen to carry a second fork on you, right?" she asked. I looked at her in confusion. Did she have a concussion or does she always eat cake with two forks?
"A second fork?" I asked her slowly. "Are you feeling alright? Do you want me to call Nancy?"
"No it's okay, I got it" she smiled at me and slowly reached to the small table on her right, where an empty tray was placed. On it were clean, plastic utensils. Iris took the plastic fork and placed it on the plate of cake, along with the fork that I had taken from the kitchen. She winced slightly as she moved to the right on the bed and then patted the space next to her while extending the hand with the plastic fork towards me.
I was so shocked that for a moment, I couldn't move. My brain went into overdrive.
"What?" I finally managed to stutter.
"Consider it a peace offering" she said smiling.
This time I couldn't stop my laughter. It was such an innocent and simple suggestion, but at the same time, it was a clear sign that the rivalry between us, which I was mostly responsible for, was over.
"Are you sure?" I said cautiously and I didn't mean just about sharing some food. Second chances like this one don't present themselves often and my conscience wouldn't let me rest until I was sure we were on the same page.
"Yes, I'm sure" she said. Her voice was airy and light but her eyes told me she understood the hidden meaning behind my words. "Besides, I can't finish this whole plate on my own. In my current state, I think I might throw up" she said chuckling.
"Oh so this is why you asked me to sit next to you, huh? So you can throw up all over me?" I said smirking slightly.
"Precisely" she said with a wide smile.
I laughed at her words and took the fork from her. I moved closer to the bed and carefully sat down as close to the edge as possible. We might have agreed to tolerate eachother but I didn't know how she would feel about close physical proximity. Besides, I didn't want to accidentally hurt her while she was recovering.
The size of the bed, however, didn't agree with my plans. It was already small for one person, so when I gently sat down next to Iris, our shoulders were touching and her leg brushed mine when she moved.
We knocked our forks together in a kind of 'cheers' motion and started eating.
We sat in a comfortable silence, just enjoying the dessert and each other's company.