Dare // Divergent {1} DISCONTINUED

seventeen

tw: sexual assault 
implied 

WHAT DID YOU DO?

Her damp hair fell in red clumps down her back as she ambled back to the transfers quarters, her chest filled with a strong desire to find her hairbrush and get rid of the small knots that were invading her red mane. It was the morning after her show of bravery at training and the day before Visiting Day, and Camilla found herself waking up with high spirits; getting ready with extra pep that she couldn't remember having since Amity.

It felt nice not feeling bad; not simmering in anger or annoyance, jealousy or guilt. It was refreshing — as if she had been parched of water for months, slowly shrivelling up under the beating hot sun, until suddenly the sky grew grey and small beads of water fell from the heavens in a wondrous show of rain. Camilla smiled, relishing in the feeling.

Though, like all good things, it was over in a mere second when a body barreled past her as she opened the double doors to the transfers living area. In an instant, Camilla's smile dropped into a concerned frown, her eyebrows pulling together as she watched the small girl disappear down the hall. Camilla had half a mind to follow after, to make sure she was okay, but after hearing laughter echo in the room behind her, confrontation seemed like the better option.

"What did you do?" Growled Camilla as her gaze fell upon the Terrible Trio. Of course, it was them, she should've guessed. Her hands settled on her hips, giving her the resemblance of a pissed off mother who was about to tell her children off.

Molly snorted at the redhead, her eyes rolling as a condescending look crossed her features. "What are you talking about, Pansy? We didn't do anything."

"Bullshit." Camilla snapped, stepping towards them. She knew Molly was lying; despite being a Candor, it was probably her best talent. "If you didn't do anything then why the hell did I just see Tris run out of here, naked and in tears? Huh?"

She was close to them now, barely a meter separating the two sides, "because seeing her like that and then coming in here to find you three laughing your asses off isn't a good look for any of you."

"Where the hell are you going with this, Pansy?" Molly snarled, her eyes narrowing.

Camilla sucked in a sharp breath, ready to reveal the dark thought that had popped into her mind. It was clear they didn't do anything of the sorts to her, but still, there was a chance that she could end the situation and put them in their place with her following words. "Oh, I don't know, maybe it's just every other time a naked woman is running away from someone, that person had just done something very, very bad."

Face paling slightly, it was Peter who caught on first, his mouth falling open as if he was shocked Camilla would even suggest such a thing, though he quickly shut it again when he realised what it might have looked like from the outside. He may have been a complete asshole but he would never do something like that.

If the topic wasn't so serious, and the situation so messed up, then Camilla probably would've smiled in victory as she gazed at the three now-silenced initiates in front of her, her eyes lingering on Peter for a moment longer than the other two. Though her sense of triumph was soon washed away as Drew stepped towards her, closing the gap between them alarmingly fast.

Fear flashed in Camilla's eyes as his hand wrapped around her upper arm, squeezing uncomfortably tight. Despite her brain willing her body to stay still, to act unfazed by his sudden approach, her feet moved on their own accord, shuffling back in the hopes of putting a small bit of distance between them.

His face was impassive but his voice was low and his eyes burned holes in hers as he spoke, "We didn't do anything, Pansy, her towel fell and she got embarrassed and ran."

And before Camilla could get a single word out, she felt herself falling, having been shoved by Drew. Her elbow hit the ground first, a shock travelling up her arm, and a strangled gasp escaped her throat. Drew chuckled darkly as he watched her fall, before stalking off, Molly hot on his heels, an equally horrid cackled escaping her thin lips.

Peter watched as his friends left. He was well aware that he was the so-called 'leader' of their little group, so it was a surprise to watch the two of them — Drew in particular — take charge for once, though it seemed Camilla was able to bring out the very worst in them. His eyes fell down to said girl, only to find her gaze was already on him, staring with a look he couldn't decipher. A quiet voice suddenly told him to help her up, but the temptation was suppressed almost as soon as it had risen. His lips twitched into a quick sneer at the intruding thought.

After a minute, Peter found his voice. "What you were implying... we... we didn't—"

"I know you didn't." Camilla interrupted, picking herself up from the dusty ground with a sigh. Her elbow throbbed from landing on it, though it was more inconvenient than painful, having dealt with worse during her time at Dauntless and in her life in general. "But what Drew said? I don't believe it for a second. I know you three did something to her, something that was terrible enough to make her run away, crying."

Surprisingly, Peter remained quiet, a calculating look crossing his features as he tried to unravel any hidden meaning from Camilla's tightly wrapped words. It almost seemed as if she had more to say, that she was building up to something important, or even implying something else. So when all she did was shake her head and turn to leave, muttering about them all being assholes (which, let's be honest, didn't surprise anyone) Peter almost wanted to call out to her — to stop her from walking away. Who knows, maybe if he did, she might've actually stayed, even for a few moments, that could've given him enough time to understand even the slightest bit of her mind.

But his lips remained sealed, forest eyes following her figure as she walked off, completely unaware that Camilla too had half the mind to remain. The urge seemed to come out of nowhere, but now all she wanted was the chance to pick apart Peter's mind in the hopes of figuring something out, anything at all, as to why he did the things he did. However, a small but convincing voice of doubt began to whisper in her ear, reminding her that it was Peter, after all, and perhaps it would be better for the both of them if she kept her distance from him and his warped mind.

Perhaps things would've been easier if she listened.

...

words: 1177

sorry? i had a chapter but then i had to scrap it cause it didnt fit with the story i wanted to tell, then (midway through rewriting the chapter) i hit a rough patch. I was in a slump, basically. I didn't go to school for a month in total and it was just hard for me to do literally anything. so, now that im feeling better, i wrote this chapter as an apology for not updating.

sorry for the darkish topic in it but its truly what i thought when i first read the scene in the book. it always angered me and creeped me out too.

19/10/18