The next morning Jade woke up confused as to why she was in an unfamiliar room, of course until she remembered last night. She sat up, yawned, and stretched as the sun shined through the large multi-colored glass pane wall-window. Jade tossed the blanket off of her and put her legs over the side of the bed. Jade hears footsteps coming from behind her, Four. He smiles at her, "How're you feeling?" He asks, setting a few things on a table a good few feet in front of the bed.
"Sore but better." Jade replies attempting to fix her curly bed-head while Four had his back turned. "That's good." He says, he turns to look at her. She ceases the hair fixing, "Where'd you go with your brother yesterday? I saw you guys leaving Dauntless." He asks, "We went to Amity." Jade answered carefully, Four laugh-scoffs again. "What is it getting a little boring for you two here?" He asks, "Not at all. We just . . . missed our parents that's all." Jade lied, they did miss them but they went for more then just that. "So you broke the faction systems rules just to see them?" Four questions, Jade could see the suspicion on his face.
"Yes we did, and if you ask me I think the whole faction before blood thing is ridiculous. And if me and my brother get in trouble for seeing the two people that brought us into this world then so be it." Jade tells him, but he didn't look completely convinced. "If I were you, I wouldn't be so worried about getting into that kind of trouble. I think you and your brother got more important things to worry about, right?" Four asks, and in that moment Jade realized her instructor knew. He knew about Miles's Divergence and now he definitely seemed certain of her own. She quickly excuses herself from his room and heads to the cafeteria for breakfast. On her way there, and even in the cafeteria, she couldn't help but feel a pair of eyes watching her. Eventually she spots Christina and takes a seat right beside her, "Oh hey," Christina says and examines Jade. "Is that your sweater?" Chris questions looking down at the sweater Jade had on, she looked down and realized she still had on Four's sweater. "No." Jades answers nervously as a few moments of silence go by, "Soo?," Chris starts, "What happened to you last night?" She asks.
"Oh nothing I just-," Jade is cut off by the feeling of someone touching her shoulder. She jumps and looks behind her, it was Al. "Jade c-can I talk to you for a second?" He asks, "I just wanted to say that I'm sorry, I-I don't know what's wrong with me. Is there any chance that you'd ever forgive me?" He says as Jade rose carefully from her seat. He stares at her with hope in his eyes. "You're more crazy then I thought you were if you think I'd ever forgive you for what you did." Jade says, Al's beat up face contorts into sadness. And that hopeful look fades. "Tris is in the infirmary because of you. We both considered you a friend and you wanna turn around and pull some shit like that? and then expect to be forgiven?! Really?!?" She rhetorically asks, she could now see the tears falling from Al's eyes.
"I want you to stay away from my brother, I want you stay away from Tris, I want you to stay away from Christina, I want you to stay away from Will and most certainly make sure you stay the hell away from me because Al, the next time you even come close I'll actually get the job done unlike you and your new little friends could." Jade threatens even though tears fell from her own eyes. She looked around to realize the whole cafeteria quieted, and were now listening in. Al turned to take his leave but was stopped but a figure standing in his way, Miles. The two males looked at eachother, "You're the one who put her in the Infirmary..?" Miles questions with anger and sadness beginning to lace his words, his eyes remained glued on Al for that moment on. And, seeming from the way he spoke he must've just came from seeing Tris in the infirmary. "Miles, p-please I didn't, I-I never meant to hurt Tris or your sister!" Al tried to explain, but he ended up making it worse for himself. "you went after my sister too?! It's like you're asking to get your fuckin' jaw broken!! And actually.. Speaking of broken, you broke Tris's arm to the point her own bone pierced through her skin from the inside! Like, what the hell man!" Miles raises his voice.
"You injure Tris AND try to kill my own flesh and blood? What on earth did I do to you for you take matters into your own hands and go after the people I care about?!"" Miles steps closer to Al and in that moment, Jade saw the look in her brothers eyes and knew exactly what he was about to do. "Miles don't!" Miles pulled his fist back and launched it at Al's face before Jade could even physically react. Al somehow shakes off the blow and manages to dodge the various amounts of punches Miles continues to throw. Al slams onto the cafeteria floor as Miles tackles him down with rage flowing through this veins. By then everybody in the cafeteria had begun watching and some even cheering, leaving Jade and Christina to be the only ones attempting to break the fight up.
Once Jade pried her brother off of Al and she pushes him in the direction of the sleeping chambers, as far away from the attempted murderer as possible. Miles kept eye contact with Al while walking backwards, before shaking his head at him and turning forward. "Come on Chris." Jade called, Christina looked at Al and purposely knocked into him on the way by. Later that day Jade explained everything that happened to her and Tris last night to her brother and friends. Miles also fills Will in on their little fight that broke out in the cafeteria.
They all sat on their beds in the sleeping chambers, along with Jade, who was leaned up in the corner against the wall her bed was next to. Miles was sat next to her, awhile Chris and Will sat together on the bed beside Jades. "I can't believe he would do that." Will says in pure disbelief, "Yeah, it's not like him at all." Christina agrees. Jade just sits there with the incidents of her near deaths replaying in her head. "We should all go see Tris. She'd appreciate the company." Miles suggests, everyone agrees and heads in the direction of the infirmary as a group.
Jade walks alongside her brother as she spots that same forsaken face from the night before. Al was sat at a different edge of the chasm, looking down into his lap. Jade scoffed as she couldn't help but notice a bright yellow #two pencil poking out from his back pocket. Miles got her attention off of him by rubbing her shoulder, and making a silly face once she looked in his direction. The two laughed and joined in a conversation Christina and Will were having.
Once they arrived they could see someone with a clipboard standing next to the infirmary bed Tris was in. They all approached as the lady looked up, "You all must be the friends. Tris here lost a lot of blood and fell unconscious but, the doctor was able to fix her back up and place the cast on." The nice lady said, "Its unclear as to when she'll wake up but when she does she'll be stable and her arm will be healing." The lady finishes, and takes her leave to allow the group to be there for their friend. After about 2 hours of spending time next to Tris the group of friends say get read to say goodbye to Tris for the night. After Christina said bye it was Miles's turn, he grabbed her hand and caressed it with his thumb. He then placed a sweet and gentle kiss on her forehead, right before backing away to leave with Jade and their friends.
Just before they reach the exit they hear Tris cough, "Miles?" She weakly calls. Everyone runs to her side, but Miles was the first to reach the bed. "I'm right here, I'm so glad you're okay Tris." Miles says, he looks into her eyes and she smiles. But that smile soon fades as she doesn't immediately spot Jade, "Where's Jade?" She questions. Jade steps out from behind the fairly tall Will and walks to the other side of the bed.
Tris sighs in relief, "Don't worry I'm fine, anyways the last thing you need to be doing is worrying." Jade says, Tris smiles at her. "How did you fight them off?" Tris asks groggily. "I didn't actually, Four somehow knew I was in trouble and got them off me just before they could get me over." Jade explains, Tris nods and furrows her eyebrows in obvious confusion. "Who were those guys?" She questions looking over at her and Miles, Jade looks at her brother not wanting to tell her one of their own friends took part in this. "Jade managed to rip one of their masks off when they were roughing her up and," Miles trails off.
"And?" Tris questions desperately, "Who was it?" She adds looking directly as Jade. "It was Al, Tris." Jade tells her, "He was one of them. And I could recognize another ones voice as Peter's." She explains. Tris looks shocked and confused, "Peter I expect but Al? You have to be joking." Tris says, Jade shakes her head. "I ripped that mask off and all I could see was his guilty face as he still tried to push me off along with the other two. And now, every time I close my eyes, he's all I see." Jade tells her. "So trust me, it was definitely him." Tris sat there in silence as she took the information in, "It's odd though," she says, "What is it Tris?" Miles asks.
"I.. had a dream that Al was in here with me, standing next to me in this bed." She explains, "He was repeating over and over how sorry he was, and how bad he felt that he lost all of you guys with tears in his eyes." Tris pauses. "I was confused then, but its starting to make sense now." Tris looked dumbfounded, "I don't think I was dreaming anymore..." Tris thought for a second and reached for her cast. "H-he slipped a note into my cast before he left." She shakily pulls a folded up piece of paper out of her bulky white cast and hands it to Jade. Jade was feeling mixed emotions, she didn't know whether or not she wanted to strangle or comfort Al. She carefully unfolded the note and read quicker then light itself.
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To all the people I have hurt,
I am sorry for the decisions I've made, and I am sorry for things I've attempted.
There's one thing I'll never understand about myself and that would be my way of reasoning.
There's no excuse for my wrong doing and I'm not gonna act like there is one.
I was so determined to get pass that final stretch that I forgot who supported me through it all.
I lost all of the people I cared about because I couldn't live with knowing my fate was already set in stone. And since I've become nothing but a burden to those around me I've re-written my fate. I've decided to rid of the one nuisance that has always managed to ruin my own, or another's well being.
Myself.
Tell my family I loved them.
-Al
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She nearly falls back as she finishes the letter, and immediately drops it and sprints off out the infirmary towards the pit. Chris grabs the letter while Miles and Will chase after her confused, and desperate for answers. Jade continues to run until she see's Dauntless members gathered at the edge of the chasm pulling a rope up from the deep dark hole. Other members were gathered around as the rope appeared to be attached to a hanging lifeless body. Jade fell to her knees as she could confirm that Al happened to be that lifeless body.
They lifted him all the way out the hole and laid him onto the ground carefully. Jade had her hand covering her mouth as her tears clouded her view of Al's body bleeding out onto the hard cement. Christina was reading the letter with tears down her cheeks while Miles and Will stood there absolutely speechless, and distraught. Even though tears clouded her vision she noticed something rolling towards her from the direction of were Al laid. The yellow #two pencil had stayed in Al's pocket the whole time, and had fell out and rolled towards the group of friends.
Jade slowly grabbed the pencil and examined it, it was just barely dull, indicating it had to be the same pencil he used to write the letter with. She rose to her feet feeling saliva fill her mouth, and something rise in her throat. She raced for the Dauntless sleeping chambers, attempting to hold her vomit back as best as possible. She made it to the bathrooms and released her stomachs contents into the nearest toilet. She spat the remaining and flushed the toilet as she turned to wash her hands and mouth while quietly sobbing.
Once she was finished she left the sleeping chambers and decided to take a walk through Dauntless, as if she were walking on Amity grounds. Her head spun as the image of Al's dead body stayed lingering in her mind. She took the time to focus and decided to memorize the halls and whereabouts of everything important, only to keep her mind off earlier's incident. Soon she sees Four walking and looking around, she quickly slips around the corner hoping he didn't see her. But of course his footsteps were soon heard heading her way.
She confirmed he followed her, "Jade." He calls as she continues to walk. She feels him behind her and now feels his hand on her arm, pulling her back. "Look I'm sorry about Al." He says, she looks down and fiddles with the same pencil from earlier. "He's dead because of me. I told him if he ever came near me again I'd kill him. Those were my last words to him and look what happened." Jade says sorrowfully with tears forming in her eyes, Four shakes his head. "No, Al choose his own fate, and made that decision." Four tells her, the word 'fate' rings in Jades ears, "He would have been Factionless. He would have never made it past that final test." He explains. Jade looks away, "Neither am I." She says.
Four looks at her as if he were attempting to read her mind, "What makes you say that?" He questions. "You of all people should know exactly what makes me say that." Jade says, "And as soon as all the others find out I'm gonna be killed." She adds. "Yeah, well, the thing with that is, you of all people should know I'd never let that happen." Four confesses, Jades cheeks heat up and she is heart warmed by his comment. "Come with me. There's something I want to show you." He says, and turns out from the corner in the direction of the testing area. She follows him into the same small testing room as before, and he walks over to a small table and picks up a few things.
Jade closes the door as he makes his way over to the computer next to the center chair. "We're gonna practice," Four explains as he types a few things into the computer. "In my fear landscape?" Jade questions, Four shakes his head. "No, in mine. We're going together." He explains and takes off his black leather jacket, exposing a little bit his hidden tattoo. Jade furrows her eyebrows at him confused. "Have you done this before?" She asks him, he focuses on putting together the syringe before answering.
"No, I haven't." He answers, Jade smiles at how determined and okay he was with letting her into his mind. But she had to be sure, "Are you sure you want to?" She gently asks him. He stops what he's doing and looks at her with a smile, "Why wouldn't I?" He replies. "I don't know, I barely know a thing about you and now you wanna let me inside of your head?" - "Are you afraid of that?"- "No, not really, but why with me? I'm curious." She surprisingly asked, he smiles and looks down at the objects in his hands. "I trust you, that's why." he replies just before pulling -the now blushing- Jade towards the chair.
He takes a seat right before he injects himself, and then places his hand on one side of Jades face before injecting her as well. The contact sent pleasant chills down her spine as he sat back in the chair and pulled her to sit on his lap. He grabbed and placed a device onto her temple and on his as well. He laid back onto the chair just as she laid back onto his chest, her heart fluttered at how physically close she was to Four in the moment. She listened to the sound of his heart beat as she fell out of consciousness due to the injected serum.