Divergence: Choices

Chapter 16

With no time to come up with a plan, we jump. I land on my feet while Tris stumbles forward. With my face stern and my tone cold I grab her up by the elbow, I drag her behind me. "C'mon Stiff."

My eyes are locked on Eric as we approach him; his eyes are focused on Tris. "What." He says quietly. "Exactly." He adds louder. "We're  you thinking?"

"I-I don't know." Tris says quietly. I want to intervene but I have to appear to be just as frustrated as Eric right now.

"I am tempted to call you a traitor, Tris." He says calmly, walking closer to her. "Were you unsatisfied with the life you have found here? Do you perhaps regret your choice?" Both of Eric's metal-ridden eyebrow's lift, forcing creases into his forehead. "I would like to hear an explanation of why you betrayed Dauntless, yourself, and me..." He hisses as he taps his chest.

Tris remains quite, as do I for now. I must be strategic on how to handle this but I stand ready to intervene if he gets too close.

"If you cannot explain, I may be forced to reconsider your rank. Or, because you seem to be so attached to your previous faction... perhaps I will be forced to reconsider your friends' ranks. Perhaps the little Abnegation girl inside of you would take that more seriously."

"Enough." I say annoyed at his banter. "She's just a foolish girl. There's no need to interrogate her."

"Just a foolish girl." Eric snorts. "If she were just a foolish girl, she wouldn't be ranked first, now would she?"

I pinch the bridge of my nose and look at Tris through my fingers, appearing to be annoyed at the same time trying to will her to play along.

"I... I was just embarrassed and didn't know what to do." She puts her hands in pockets and looks at the ground. She somehow musters up tears when she meets Eric's eyes again. "I tried to... and..." She says sniffing while shaking her head.

"You tried to what?" ask Eric.

"Kiss me." I interrupt with an amused tone. "And I rejected her, and she went running off like a five-year-old. There's really nothing to blame her for but stupidity."

Eric looks from me to Tris and laughs, too loudly and for too long-the sound is menacing and grates against me like sandpaper. "Isn't he a little too old for you, Tris?" He is smiling again.

Tris wipes her cheeks as if she is wiping tears away. "Can I go now?"

"Fine, but you are not allowed to leave the compound without supervision again, you hear me?" He turns towards me his tone now like venom. "And you..... had better make sure none of the transfers leave the compound...... and no others try to kiss you."

I roll my eyes at him. "Fine."

I lead Tris through the corridor, Eric trailing slightly behind us. I become aware when he finally veers off towards his office, leaving just Tris and I.

"You're brilliant, you know that?" She whispers slyly.

"Only because I've been thinking about this, about you, how to handle it if we ever got together, for a very long time." I confess. Tris gets a devilish grin.

"And just exactly how long is that, Four?" She says raising her eyebrows as she settles against the wall in front of her dorm.

I turn my head in all directions checking for any onlookers before closing the gap between us. "Hmm." I look up as if I'm in deep thought. "That would be somewhere between you hitting the net, and me pulling you out of it." I whisper as I bring my hand up to her check.

My words are rewarded with a smile that captivates me, warming my insides to the core. I can't help myself when I capture her lips in a quick and stolen kiss that leaves me wanting more. I run my thumb across her jaw and let my finger trips trace down her neck, shoulder, and arm before they reach her hand, giving it a light squeeze. "Goodnight Tris." I whisper to her before tearing myself away.