Give you something good to celebrate. [Gathering; Pre-dated to 6/5/15]

[oddthatway]

Tris ought to know well enough by now that I never go back on my word, once given. Especially when it comes to something as important as celebrating her 19th birthday. (And I have no doubt her and Four will find their own ways to celebrate later, but I try not to think about that. For my own sake.) She also still doesn't know that this celebration is about far more than her almost not being a teenager anymore. I'm putting my all into this because, back home, Tris doesn't get the chance to live this long. Back in Chicago, the Tris I've left behind is resting in a morgue.

I have the living room all decked out because of the rabbit. While Tris still isn't here, I'll admit: the damn thing's cute. And at least Tris had the sense to get a pet with Dauntless colors. It makes the whole pet thing seem far less Amity.

I've worked hard, tying ribbons of various colors - vibrant, spring colors like sky blue and lavender - and balloons around every available edge and corner. Behind the couch, I've put a banner that I've painted myself, which is why the writing looks so sloppy. Again, I've used the colors of the ribbons and the balloons, to write a simple message of 'Happy birthday, old lady!'

Not that Tris is old at all. Far from it. But I can't resist a bit of teasing, even for my best friend's birthday.

On the table rests a cake I bought at one of the local bakeries, in the shape of a bird, with some berries on top. It's the kind of quaint that I think Tris will appreciate. Next to it, my gifts: a slinky, shimmery light blue dress, because one can never have too many sexy dresses, and the other, a beautifully designed knife with crows etched onto the handle of the blade. Both were hardly cheap, but for Tris, I would be willing to spend far more.

So now I'm waiting, pacing through the living room, adjusting the various decorations while keeping an eye out for Tris.

I've invited others, of course. It wouldn't do to just be the two of us. Slowly, I'm beginning to understand how much Tris' friends here mean to her. So I've invited as many people as I've been able to get a hold of. Now all I can do is wait.

Comments

[oddthatway]

"Of course they can't. They don't have death wishes," I tease right back, though there's an edge of pain to my smile as I speak the words. Death wish, indeed.

But then Tris mentions how happy she is, and my moment of vulnerability, or whatever people call it here, fades. How can I not be happy for her when she says how happy she is here?

"I'm glad," I tell her. "I hope I can be happy here, too."

God knows that, besides my family, there's nothing left for me to be happy for back in Chicago.

[priordivergence]

I shake my head and smile at her. I don't wish for death anymore, don't crave is absolution the way I had. Now I want to fight past the things I've been forced to do and live brightly, free from the faction system and my own guilt. I've learned to be happy here.

"I'll do everything I can to help you be happy here. It's what friends do."

[oddthatway]

I don't know what it is I really crave to be happy; I have Tris here, alive, well, and happy, truly happy, for as long as I can remember. I guess I can only hope that, in time, I can learn to reconcile my past and this new future enough to settle. Well. As much as I can really settle.

"And you're the best friend a girl could ask for," I tell her, swinging an arm around her shoulder and pulling her in for a hug. "You're still going to have to show me all the dangerously dumb stunts there are to pull around here."

[priordivergence]

"Oh I know I am. Wait until Oliver and I figure out how to go skydiving," I tease. It's a work in progress, given that no one in Darrow will cop to having so much as a crop duster. When we do figure it out though, it's going to be a race to see who's first in line. The only person I can guarantee won't fight for a spot is Tobias.

"It's the least I can do for a friend."

[oddthatway]

"When you figure that out, you are absolutely taking me with you," I tell her, lighting up instantly at the prospect. The thought of falling out the sky thrills me and my grin turns eager, like the one after we'd both jumped off the train in Dauntless. "The very least," I tease, nudging her shoulder with mine.

"I hope you're enjoying your party," I tell her, smiling.

[priordivergence]

I smile and nod, grabbing her hand for a second in lieu of turning around again to hug her. "This is the best birthday I've ever had and an amazing party and I am so glad you're here, okay?"

I don't know if I can really say it enough.

[oddthatway]

"Good," I say, delighted by her words. I'm glad she's here, and I'm glad I'm here, too. "Yeah, I can't imagine Abnegation threw too many parties. What would you even do at one, anyway? Guilt each other over the indulgence of parties?"

I fall back into teasing, though I am very glad for having Tris here and knowing how happy she is with her party.