“Before I leave the bathroom, I pinch my cheeks hard to bring blood to the surface of my skin. It’s stupid, but I don’t want to look weak and exhausted in front of everyone.When I walk back into Tobias’s room, Uriah is sprawled across the bed facedown; Christina is holding the blue sculpture above Tobias’s desk, examining it; and Lynn is poised above Uriah with a pillow, a wicked grin creeping across her face.Lynn smacks Uriah hard in the back of the head, Christina says, “Hey Tris!” and Uriah cries, “Ow! How on earth do you make a pillow hurt, Lynn?”“My exceptional strength,” she says. “Did you get smacked, Tris? One of your cheeks is bright red.”I must not have pinched the other one hard enough. “No, it’s just … my morning glow.”

“Lynn smacks Uriah hard in the back of the head, Christina says, “Hey Tris!” and Uriah cries, “Ow! How on earth do you make a pillow hurt, Lynn?”“My exceptional strength,” she says.”

“Ready,Stiff?" Zeke smirks down at me. "I have to say,I'm impressed that you aren't screaming and crying right now.""I told you," Uriah says. "She's Dauntless through and through. Now get on with it.""Careful,brother,or I might not tighten your straps enough," Zeke says. He smacks his knee. "And then,splat!""Yeah,yeah," Uriah says. "And then our mother would boil you alive.”

“Do the elevators work?" I ask Uriah, as quietly as I can. "Sure they do." says Zeke, rolling his eyes, "You think I'm stupid enough not to come here early and turn on the emergency generator?""Yeah," says Uriah. "I kinda do.”

“Then his eyes focus on something over my shoulder, and he starts walking. I turn to see Uriah jogging from the elevator bank. He is grinning.“Heard a rumor you were a dirty traitor,” Uriah says.“Yeah, whatever,” says Zeke.They collide in an embrace that looks almost painful to me, slapping each other’s backs and laughing with their fists clasped between them.”

“Question," says Christina, leaning forward. "The leaders who were watching your fear landscape...they were laughing at something.""Oh?" I bite my lip hard. "I'm glad my terror amuses them.""Any idea which obstacle it was?" she asks."No.""You're lying," she says. "You always bite the inside of your cheek when you lie. It's your tell."I stop biting the inside of my cheek."Will's is pinching his lips together, if it makes you feel better," she adds.Will covers his mouth immediately."Okay,fine.I was afraid of...intimacy," I say."Intimacy," repeats Chrstina. "Like...sex?"I tense up.And force myself to nod.Even if it was just Christina, and no one else was around,I would still want to strangle her right now. I go over a few ways to inflict maximum injury with minimum force in my head. I try to throw flames from my eyes.Will laughs."What was that like?" she says. "I mean,did someone just...try to do it with you? Who was it?""Oh,you know. Faceless...unidentifiable male," I say. "How were your moths?""You promised you would never tell!" cries Christina,smacking my arm."Moths," repeats Will. "You're afraid of moths?""Not just a cloud of moths," she says, "like...a swarm of them. Everywhere. All those wings and legs and..." She shudders and shakes her head."Terrifying," Will says with mock seriousness. "That's my girl. Tough as cotton balls.""Oh,shut up.”

“So, the thing we’re all not talking about,” he says. He gestures to me. “You almost died, a sadistic pansycake saved you, and now we’re all waging some serious war with the factionless as allies.”“Pansycake?” says Christina.“Dauntless slang.” Lynn smirks. “Supposed to be a huge insult, only no one uses it anymore.”“Because it’s so offensive,” says Uriah, nodding.“No. Because it’s so stupid no Dauntless with any sense would speak it, let alone think it. Pansycake. What are you, twelve?”“And a half,” he says.”