Transparent: A Divergent FanFiction (Book One) ©

Chapter 38

                “You’re doing it again,” Dan teased as he nudged me.

                “Doing what?” I asked, somewhat startled at the sound of his voice.

                “You have that stupid smile on your face again,” he responded.

                I flushed a little in embarrassment, but even so, I couldn’t seem to make myself stop. I’d gone to sleep in a state of bliss and woken up with a permanent grin on my face.

                “I think it’s absolutely adorable,” Grace piped in. “Don’t worry Sage, Randi will be here along with the others in no time.”

                I nodded and tried to suppress the impulse to start tapping my foot. As silly and juvenile as it sounded, it felt like it’d been ages since I’d last seen Randi. Sitting on one of the benches that were stationed in the dark hallway, I found myself glancing time and time again at my watch.

                Then as if on cue, following closely behind Red, the dauntless initiates started to appear from around the corner. Grace immediately scooted over when Randi emerged from the crowd, and I made a mental note to thank her.

                A slow smile spread over her lips, and her eyes beamed when she spotted me. Taking a seat to my right, I was about to reach for her hand but stopped at the last minute as I remembered what else had happened yesterday.

                Though most would be hard-pressed to believe it; other than the innocent kisses we’d shared on the roof, nothing else had happened. When we’d finally stopped to come up for air, we had stayed locked in place, looking into each other’s eyes as we rested our foreheads against each other. My hands securely on her waist and her arms around my neck; I’d been only aware of her and nothing else.

                It wasn’t the first time I’d kissed a girl, but it had definitely been the first time it really mattered. It was only when the wind had picked up and Randi had shivered that the spell around us seemed to break. After offering her my jacket, we’d walked hand-in-hand to the edge of the roof and sat with our legs dangling over the edge.

                Staring out across the city, we’d entwined our fingers and basked in the silence for a while longer. Then, as if a dam had burst, words began to pour out of each of us in a gust. We talked for a long time, and not just idle chit-chat, but a real heart-to-heart conversation.

                It was during this time that I really got to know more about Randi; learned what she loved, hated, things that made her tick, things that made her laugh, and how her past experiences were what had shaped her into the person she was now.

                I learned curious little facts that I never could’ve guessed. Like that she didn’t have any piercings because she didn’t like needles, that she had once ditched school and been gone for two days just so she could explore the vast amity fields, and that her real name was actually Miranda. She’d shortened it to Randi because she thought Miranda was much too girlish and wouldn’t command as much respect.

               I also got to know serious details. Since she’d been an only child with two dauntless adrenaline-junkie parents, she’d quickly learned to adapt and fend for herself at a young age. After a mission gone wrong, her mother had passed away and left her alone in the care of her father when she was thirteen. It was about a year later that her dad suffered the same fate; dying instantly from a fatal fall off of one of the bridges that surrounded the dried up marsh. She’d been completely on her own since then.