Tris POV

The feeling of the soft fabric in my hand made my heart pound as I lifted the flag in the air. My teammates cheered from all around me as I stood on top of the old clock tower where Max had his team flag. My cheeks were flushed from the cold and adrenaline, as I descended the staircase, gripping the old fabric tightly.

At the bottom, I was awaited by my entire team. They chanted my name as I joined them on the field. I launched myself into Eric's arms, laughing from the excitement. Eric squeezed me tightly, congratulating me on our win.

Our entire team paraded to the train tracks, where we talked excitedly amongst ourselves. All of us had matching smiles, our aura of glory hovering around us.

Soon, the train came rushing towards as we jumped on, grabbing onto each other's arms for help. I screamed and laughed for the entire night. It's been a long time since I've ever been that happy.

And for the first time in what seemed like ages, the thought of Four never even crossed my mind once.

---

My leg bounced excitedly as I set my dinner down on the table. Everyone around was chatting, anticipating the event of the year.

The new initiates.

Every year, the large group of nervous initiates would walk into the Dauntless Cafeteria. Some of them for the first time. Though it sounded mean, it was entertaining to watch as they glanced around nervously, to scared to talk to anyone.

The ones originally from Dauntless were always smug. They would smirk as they watched their fellow initiates gape at the obnoxiously loud cafeteria. While the ones from the other factions always acted differently. The Erudite snobs always had an air of confidence around them, analyzing the current situation. The Candor loudmouths were all very obviously pissing off their instructors. And as for Abnegation or Amity transfers, well, we didn't really get a lot of those.

We all watched excitedly as the new initiates shuffled into the noisy room, nervously eating their food with their heads hung low.

"Hey, look at that one," Uriah pointed towards a scrawny boy with large glasses. He seemed to be lecturing to a short girl with hair that covered most of her face. The boy was making large gestures with his hands and had an arrogant smirk.

I rolled my eyes, "Classic Erudite."

Uriah nodded his head before turning to Zeke to whisper something. As I watched the initiates, my eyes fell on Four. He was busy eating a burger and ignoring everyone around him. Right, he was an instructor. I'd completely forgotten that he had also taken up the job of becoming an instructor for the transfer initiates.

I hadn't talked to him since our fight, and things have been pretty awkward between us. I've been trying my best to avoid him at all costs. He was probably doing the same thing. Whenever I sat down, he would mumble an excuse and leave. Whenever he was walking down one of the halls, I would turn around and walk the other direction. And vice versa.

"What are you staring at?" Uriah gently slapped my shoulder to get my attention.

I shook my head, shaking out any thoughts about Four, "Nothing. Just the initiates."

Uriah smiled, "Next year, that's going to be us."

"Yeah, and it's going to be awesome," I smiled back.

He laughed, "Duh." He returned back to his conversation with Zeke. Well, more like his argument with Zeke. Those two couldn't go a day without yelling at each other about something. Funny how two almost identical clones were polar opposites of each other.

But that's just what made them so awesome.

I slowly looked up, glancing at Four. But I quickly ducked my head back down, a slight blush growing on my cheeks. When I got up to throw my trash away, I could still feel his burning gaze on me.

---

I slammed my hand down on the cards, just a millisecond late as I watched Uriah smugly drag away the giant stack of cards in the middle.

"NOOO!" I cried in agony.

He laughed evilly, "Ha! I beat you!"

Uriah waved his cards in the air as I glanced down at my empty hand. I cursed myself for being so stupid. I can't believe that I just lost a game of Slapjack to Uriah, Uriah of all people.

After mentally kicking myself, Uriah was still dancing and cheering obnoxiously in my face. "I win, you lose! I win, I win, I win!"

I clenched my teeth, "I'm going to punch you."

When he continued on, I stood up and tackled him to the floor. He yelped in surprise, screaming like a little girl. I punched him in the arm, causing him to scream even louder.

Just then, Zeke burst into the room, only to see me sitting on top of a screaming Uriah. He watched us for a few seconds before turning around and walking into his room, completely calm.

"HELP ME!" Uriah screamed. But it was hard to take him seriously considering how he was laughing too hard to even pretend to look like he was in any sort of danger. Plus, Zeke honestly did not care at all.

After a few minutes, I let Uriah go, laughing too hard to have any more control over my muscles. He backed away from, his arrogant grin back on his face, "You still need to honor our deal."

I rolled my eyes, "Fine." I was no Candor, but I still honored my promises. Uriah bet on who would win the card game, and we had decided that the loser would have to go to the cafeteria and get cake for the winner.

Dragging myself to the door, I stepped outside into the hall and began a brisk walk towards the cafeteria. I passed by a few people, exchanging the standard nod or wave "hello".

But as I walked into the cafeteria, my eyes immediately caught on the ruggedly handsome person walking towards me.

Not again.

My eyes widened when I realized that it was Four as I quickly ducked into line, trying to blend in with the rest of the crowd. Unfortunately, I wasn't quick enough. He locked eyes with me, and his calm demeanor quickly changed. I had no doubt in my mind that he would've walked right past me if he could. But by the time he was staring at me, I was already staring right back.

We watched each other for a few awkward moments. Neither of us moved to talk to the other, or try to escape. This is ridiculous, I thought to myself. I tried to smile, but I think it came out as more of a grimace. "Hi Four," I said, trying not to stutter from nervousness.

He gave me a sheepish smile, "Hey Tris."

I tried my best to give him a smile, but it was pretty obvious how forced it was. On the inside, my heart was pounding so hard I thought that it might just burst out of my chest. At least then, I would have an excuse to leave this conversation.

After a few more seconds of unbearingly awkward silence, he spoke up again, "So, how have you been?"

I shrugged my shoulders, stalling for time, "Uh, good, I guess. I won the Capture the Flag game."

"Oh yeah, I heard about that." We fell silent again. That Capture the Flag game was one of the main reasons for our breakup. It caused our big misunderstanding, which eventually led to us fighting.

And that was the end of our relationship.

I racked my brain for something to say to him, "So, how's training the new initiates?"

He stuffed his hands in his pockets, looking deep in thought. "It's okay, I guess. Now, it's a lot easier to understand why Amar yelled at us so much."

I laughed politely, trying to ease the tension hanging in the air.

When I didn't respond, he continued, "It's hard, though. After Eric got the leadership role, he's been making a lot of changes. He's being really hard on the initiates, the whole fighting thing...That's not what Dauntless is about, you know? Bravery isn't just brute strength."

I nodded my head, agreeing with what he was saying. But inside, I could feel my anger bubbling up again. "Well if you disagree with it so much, then why didn't you just take the position? Didn't Max personally ask you to do it?"

This caught him off guard. He just stood there, taken aback. When he finally replied, my frustration had doubled. "It just wasn't right for me."

I narrowed my eyes, "You're right. You're too cowardly to even try."

Four clenched his fists at his side, his knuckles beginning to turn white. "It's none of your business," he muttered through clenched teeth.

By then, I was at the front of the line, and the girl behind the register was starting to look annoyed. I shook my head, "Whatever, Four. Do what you want, I don't care anymore."

With that, he turned around and walked with fast, quick strides out the door.

Leaving me behind.