Divergent (M) Four's Cold

[marina<3]

Hey guys! So I have been gone for forever! I’m in my senior year of high school and it has completely stolen all of my time! I’m on Spring Break right now though so my schedule is more freed up. I have wanted to write a Divergent fic since I read the first book. Watching the Insurgent movie the other day resparked my interest. There shouldn’t be any major spoliers, but if you still want to read/watch it then maybe steer clear for now I was a major fan of the book so for those of you who read it, this story will follow more closely to the book plot. My fic picks up after Four brings Tris into his fear landscape and then he brings her down to the chasm and they talk (the chasm scene wasn’t in the movie, sadly). I hope you guys like it and constructive criticism/suggestions are always welcome!

Disclaimer: None of these characters or situations are mine, obviously. They are all property of the Divergent series.

I slipped back into the dark room undetected. As much as I hate my childish frame, it does have its advantages. I slip out of my slightly damp clothes. The mist from the chasm sprayed on me more than I thought it did. I slide into my bed without waking anyone. I should be tired. I should be exhausted. But my heart is still beating hard after kissing Four. After my first kiss ever. His lips were soft, but strong. His hands were strong and rough against my face. I see why the Abnegation warn against physical contact. It is powerful. Four likes me. He likes me. Four, with his handsome face, strong body, and intimidating demeanor. He likes me. Me. Tris. The plain girl with the thin body. Tris. The stiff from Abnegation. But he’s a stiff, too, I remember. A stiff with an abusive father. He let me in his fear landscape. Mr. Guarded and Mysterious let me in. So many thoughts swarm my mind. I fall asleep hours later and dream about Tobias kissing me.

The next morning Christina and I sit in the cafeteria.

“What’s up with you today??” She demands. I can’t hide the glow on my face or the smile on my lips. I shake my head and tell her I slept well. She gives me a look, the Candor inside her must know I’m lying, but she lets it slide. She turns and talks to Will, and I return to my thoughts. My heart pounds and I can almost feel the blood rushing through my veins as I realize I will see Tobias. Soon.

I’m honestly surprised he hasn’t walked in already. He isn’t one to be late. What will I do when I see him? I wonder if I should smile openly or just give him a coy smirk. Ugh. I groan inwardly. I am Dauntless, not some silly, Amity school girl in love. I shake my head, trying to clear my thoughts.

Just then, Tobias walks into the cafeteria. I look at him expectantly and my hands flies up in a wave. I don’t even remember trying to move it, but it doesn’t matter. He doesn’t even look in my direction. Not even so much as a glance. I let my hand fall, embarrassed. I turn back to my plate and stab a piece of potato with my fork.

“Your moods change fast.” Will jokes with a mischievous smile. I realize he is handsome, in a nerdy way. I flash him a dangerous glance and return to my food. Christina clears her throat awkwardly and continues the conversation, leaving me to my sulking.

What could have happened? Last night was great…At least I thought it was. Maybe he changed his mind. Maybe I wasn’t a good kisser. My heart deflates as a million thoughts rush through my head. I glance over to his seat and notice his eyes on me. When our eyes meet he jerks them away, quickly. But not quickly enough.

I notice they are watery and a little red. Was he crying? I almost laugh to myself. That definitely wasn’t it. I look back over at him. Determined to find out what is wrong. He sits slumped against his chair. His strong and confident posture is absent today. He hasn’t touched the food on his plate and I notice him jerking his head toward his shoulder every few minutes.

“HELLOOO. Earth to Tris.” Christina says, annoyed. She snaps her fingers in front of my face. “What are you even looking at?”

I turn away, quickly. I hope I’m not caught. “Sorry. I was just thinking about the fear landscape today.” I hope this lie is good enough. I’ve told a lot of them lately and hope I have gotten better.

Christina seems to buy it and launches into a question about whose landscape she thinks we will go into. I take the opportunity to take one last look at Four-Tobias- one more time. He is getting up and walking towards the door. Suddenly, his step falters and he does the most unFour like thing I have ever seen. He bends forward and sneezes toward the ground in front of him. I can’t hear it over the sound of chatter in the cafeteria, but I see it. He straightens and rubs his nose with the back of his wrist. He looks annoyed and I notice his nose is red.

[stars123]

wow I love this so much!! I've been wanting a Divergent fic for forever!! yay thanks can't wait for more

[SpookyScarySkeleton]

I LOVE this,oh my gosh. I cant wait for more !

[beatlelover22]

This was great, can't wait to read more Ahhh Four...

[spirkestielgirl87]

I am really liking this. Please continue!

[marina<3]

Part 2:

I hope you guys like this part! I'm not sure I captured their characters well or if it's that good! Butttttt more sick, sneezy Four to come!

We stand in the room where we will experience Lauren’s fear landscape. I should be listening. I should be paying attention to the advice and the tips. I mean this is only the most important part of Dauntless initiation, what will decide if I have a good rank, what will decide if I become factionless. But I can’t focus. All I can do is watch Tobias. He is pale, except for his nose which is tinged pink. He hasn’t spoken, but he’s coughed towards his shoulder a few times. He also has not made any effort to look at me. Could he be sick?

Last winter, Caleb came down with the flu. As you can only imagine everyone in Abnegation was offering help. A couple days later I got sick, too. Having the flu was the one time I got excused from being selfless. I was allowed to lay in my room and sleep and focus on getting better. But Caleb was still selfless. He came into my room with soup he made himself and played games with me to cheer me up. Caleb, my selfless brother. A feel a small pain of sadness in my heart for him. A part of me still misses the quiet of Abnegation. The part of Abnegation that is safe, with everyone trying to help each other. With my loving parents.

“HAAACHOO.” A loud sneeze pulls me out of my nostalgia. My gaze flicks to Tobias. I almost see a hint of pink in his cheeks. It is ask if sneezing is a sign of weakness that he never meant to show. There are no “bless yous” for him either. I guess that’s not a very Dauntless thing to do.

I can’t think about Tobias anymore though. It is time to enter Lauren’s fear landscape. I’m so distracted I barely feel the needle being inserted into my neck. Then everything goes black.

I’m walking outside, somewhere that I don’t know. There are trees and the air is cool against face. The sky is black and only the soft glow from the moon and the stars light my path. Suddenly a hand slaps over my face and two more grab my waist. Someone picks me up and begins dragging me. But suddenly my feet aren’t being dragged over soft ground, they are being dragged over the rough rock that is the floor of the pit. The kidnappers’ hands transform to Peters’ hands and the rush of the water in the chasm roars in my ears. I scream. I cry. I thrash. The lemongrass scent of Al fills my nose. But there is no Tobias to save me this time. I bite down hard on the hand clamped over my mouth. I taste blood and suddenly everything disappears.

I am back in Dauntless headquarters, sitting in the chair. I am sobbing. I have never cried in front of the initiates and now I’m doing it hysterically. Lauren’s fear of being kidnapped transformed into my experience with Peter and Drew and Al. How did that even happen? I blink away the tears and press my palms to my eyes, slowing my shaky breaths.

“What was that?” Tobias demands. “Nevermind. I know what is was. It was pathetic.” His voice is rough and almost congested. But I don’t care. I glare at him. I glare at him for kissing me and then treating me like I don’t exist. I glare at him for humiliating me in front of everyone when I already accomplished that myself. Before I know it my hand flies up and I smack him hard across the cheek. He looks at me, startled. And I run.

I walk around the Dauntless compound until I am completely lost. I don’t know how long I have been walking and I don’t care. My anger has subsided, though, replaced by hurt. I realize I need answers. Tobias can’t take me to the chasm and kiss me and tell me he likes me and then treat me that way. He took me to his apartment after Peter tried to kill me, and I remember how to get there. Is that crazy? To show up at his apartment demanding answers? No. I decide. It’s not crazy, it is brave. And I am Dauntless. I am brave, and maybe a little crazy too. But what Dauntless isn’t?

I stand outside Tobias’s door and hesitate. Then I knock three times, hard. I don’t even know if he is here, but I have a feeling. I hear shuffling inside and nerves course through my blood as the door opens. Four stands there in sweatpants and a sweatshirt with the hood pulled up on his head. He looks cute.

“Tris?” He asks confused. “Uhh come in…” He mumbles, looking past me and around the hallway.

I walk past him and wait for him to close the door and turn around. When he does I stand there and cross my arms. I hope it looks intimidating. I doubt it does. “What are you doing here?” he inquires.

“What are you doing, Four?” I spit the name at him, using it to make a point since he asked me to call him Tobias. “You let me go through your fear landscape with you, you take me to the chasm and kiss me and tell me you like me, then you completely ignore me and humiliate me in front of everyone.” My voice has risen by the time I finish. He sighs and runs his hand down his face.

“Tris. I do like you. But I can’t show everyone else that. What do you think everyone would say if they found out about our relationship? They would attribute your success and ranking to my fondness of you and not the obvious skill that you possess.”

Oh. I didn’t think about that.

“I didn’t mean to humiliate you.” He continues. “I’m sorry. I’m just tired so I was a little too harsh. And you’re so strong that I just forget things can actually hurt you.”

He thinks I’m strong. And he still likes me. His explanation makes perfect sense, but why couldn’t he have given me one smile or one coy look. I look his appearance over again. I have never seen him in sweats and he looks so pale. “Is that it?” I ask.

“Well…yea…” He answers, confused. Then his face goes slack and he takes a shaky breath in. He turns away from me and sneezes loudly towards the ground.

“You’re sick.” I state. It’s partially a question and partially an accusation. He looks back to me and opens his mouth to argue but I continue. “And what you say is true, but you also wanted to upset me a little so that I wouldn’t talk to you for a few days, so that I wouldn’t know.” This is the first time I have seen him look caught. He doesn’t say anything, because I am right.

“I’m not sick. I’m Dauntless. Dauntless don’t get sick.” He spits out at me before coughing.

“Tobias. Everyone gets sick.” I try to reassure him. I don’t want to show him any pity, because I know how much he despises feeling weak. I don’t really know how to handle him. Should I try to comfort him? Or should I just ignore it? I look up to his face to gauge his emotions, but his face is slack.

“Huh..huh… HACHOO HuhCHOO.” He sneezes into his elbow and sniffles a couple times.

“Bless you.” I offer. He gives me a tight smile in return. I realize that’s probably an Abnegation thing to do, but I don’t really care. He groans a little and surprises me by pulling me into a hug. His skin is hot and when he presses his forehead to mine I can tell he has a fever. “Well if you’re not sick I guess I’ll go…” I whisper.

“No,” he says in a raspy voice. How is he still so enticing sick? “I like it when you’re here.” He says in an even quieter voice. A smile subconsciously spreads across my face and I lean up to place my lips on his. He jerks away and sneezes harshly to the side. I feel his abs contract and his body shake with every sneeze. When he’s done he groans and deflates into me. He sniffles next to my ear and I hear his congested breaths.

“How about we lay down?” I suggest tentatively. Lying down with Tobias in his bed makes me nervous. Really nervous. But he’s tired and sick and nothing is going to happen I assure myself. He nods and I grab his hand, leading him to the bed. I didn’t expect him to give in so easily, but then again he still hasn’t admitted he’s sick. My poor, sneezy Tobias. Is he mine? I don’t know what to do with this new side of him, but I decide to start with a box of tissues (if they even have those in Dauntless?).

[stars123]

this is so amazing

[SexualOddity]

I like this a lot. I think you've really captured Tris' uncertainty and the way that she pours through things trying to figure them out. And on top of that... sneezy Four. Brilliant.

[Mandeesue<3]

Wow I almost felt I was reading the actual book, great job writing that : )

[Sneezelover211]

Omg this is amazing!! I defini hope for a bunch of care taking and sneeze attacks!!! Maybe try spelling out the sneezes too:)

[marina<3]

Tobias lays next next to me and actually rests his head against my shoulder. I'm not really sure how to do this, especially with him. I reach my arm across my body and rub soothing circles on his arm.

After a few minutes, I open my mouth to ask him about the fear landscape, but I notice his eyes are shut and he is sleeping. His lips are slightly parted and he breathes heavily through his mouth. I have never seen his face look so young and so calm. For once he actually looks his age, only two years older than me. I can't help but reach my hand up to his face and gently run it across his jaw line and tentatively across his cheek. He is so handsome. How does he like me? Why does he like me? I wonder if it was the wrong decision to lie in bed with him. Am I giving him the wrong message?

I sigh. I realize just how tired I am and I let my face fall rest on the top of his head. Is this too much? I don't care. He smells like soap and sweat and the salve used to soothe sore muscles. He smells like Tobias. He smells like safety. Before I know it I'm dozing off to the sound of his congested breaths.

"Hmmppchh... Hih.. Hih hii Eckshhh... ECKSHHH."

I wake to a strange sound. For a second I don't remember where I am and I feel my heart beat hard in my chest. Then I remember I am in Tobias's apartment, taking care of him- or trying to. I glance over and his back is facing me and his legs are hanging over the side of the bed. I watch his back expand and contract as he takes heaving breaths. He sniffles and drops his head into his hands, his elbows resting on his knees.

"Bless you." I offer, crawling over and hesitantly wrapping my arms around him from behind. He tenses for a second and I wonder if it was the wrong choice. Then he relaxes into me.

"I didd't bean to wake you." He says. His voice is horribly congested and rough. I think I see him wince as he says it. He gets up and heads towArds his dresser, pulling out a pair of jeans and a black shirt.

"What are you doing?" I ask him.

"Getting dressed... Last time I checked that wasn't a crime." He says sarcastically.

"You're sick.. You should be resting." I say, hearing the abnegation in me come out.

"Tris. I'm fine. It's a little cold and I have work to do." There is a tone of finality in his voice and I decide not to fight him. "HACHOO.. HUH HACHOO." He sneezes toward the floor. I give him an I-told-you-so look and he rolled his eyes at me. "I'm fine, Tris."

"Okay." I say. "I'm going then. I have a lot to think about for tomorrow." As I'm walking towards the door he grabs my hand and pulls me towards him.

"Thank you for.." His voice fades away and he just locks his eyes with mine. I nod and he brushes a stray lock of hair behind my ear. His eyes are a piercing blue and I see the curl of his lip. I want to kiss him and for a moment I think we might. Then he places his hand on my cheek and his lips brush my forehead.

"Meet me here later tonight?" He asks so quietly I almost don't hear him.

"Okay." I whisper, before turning around and walking quickly out his door. As I walk away I hear him sneezing and my heart twinges with sympathy.

Thanks for all the nice comments! sorry it's moving kind of slow... Definitely a very sick, sneezy Four in the next post and some care taking!

[stars123]

yay can't wait for more! I am loving this!

[Marie00]

This is great! Please continue!

[Kushami Suki Da!]

Aah, Four!! This is wonderful and I don't know what to say it's just perfect.

[2SHY222]

Sneezy Four is sooo perfect. I can't wait for more!

[starsoup]

I love Four, please write more!

[Juto]

I just read this... Please make more. Four with a cold is just delicious!!!

[Artemis]

More please. That was just amazing characterization spot on I almost thought I was rereading the book. Very talented

[Dancessandra]

Was this story abandoned??? Noooooo!?