Four Veronica Roth Quotes & Sayings

Quit sulking, Four," she says. "Everyone's impressed with you. Embrace it. — Veronica Roth

I'm not abnegation, I'm not dauntless, I am Divergent — Veronica Roth

We believe that preparation eradicates cowardice, which we define as the failure to act in the midst of fear. — Veronica Roth

You think giving you a hug would give away too much?" he says.
"You know," I say. "I really don't care."
I stand on my tiptoes and press my lips to his.
It is the best moment of my life. — Veronica Roth

You can tell me anything, you know. I am kinder than I seemed in training. I promise. — Veronica Roth

Don't worry about me handling the pain," I say. "I've had a lot of practice. — Veronica Roth

He pushes his hair, soaked from the snow, out of his eyes. "So what are we going to do, break a window? Look for a back door?"
"I'm just going to walk in," I say. "I'm her son."
"You also betrayed her and left the city when she forbade anyone from doing that," he says, "and she sent people after you to stop you. People with guns."
"You can stay here if you want," I say.
"Where the serum goes, I go," he says. "But if you get shot at, I'm going to grab it and run."
"I don't expect anything more."
He is a strange sort of person. — Veronica Roth

Too bad you didn't just take Max up on his offer, Four. Well, too bad for you, anyway," says Eric quietly as he clicks the bullet into its chamber. My lungs burn; I haven't breathed in almost a minute. I see Tobias's hand twitch in the corner of my eye, but my hand is already on my gun. I press the barrel to Eric's forehead. His eyes widen, and his face goes slack, and for a second he looks like another sleeping Dauntless soldier. My index finger hovers over the trigger. "Get your gun away from his head," I say. "You won't shoot me," Eric replies. "Interesting theory. " I say. — Veronica Roth

He bends over to untie his shoes. "So, have you been ostracized from your little crowd of devotees?"
"No," I say automatically. Then I add, "Maybe. But they aren't my devotees."
"Please. They're like the Cult of Four."
I can't help but laugh. "Jealous? Wish you had a Cult of Psychopaths to call your very own? — Veronica Roth

I love you" I say.
"I love you, too" he says. "I'll see you soon. — Veronica Roth

With four? Doing a little ... Addition? Multiplication? — Veronica Roth

My head buzzes with
nervousness, but the rest of me seems to know exactly what it's doing, because it all pulses to the same rhythm, all wants the same
thing: to escape itself and become a part of him instead. — Veronica Roth

The night air slips into my lungs, and I feel like it is one of my first breaths. — Veronica Roth

People are supossed to aspire to become their fathers, not shudder at the thought. — Veronica Roth

I don't have the right word for how she looks, but even now, with parts of her face swollen and discolored, there's something striking about her, something I haven't seen before.
In that moment I'm able to accept the inevitability of how I feel, though not with joy. I need to talk to someone. I need to trust someone. And for whatever reason, I know, I know it's her.
I'll have to start by telling her my name. — Veronica Roth

You were afraid of shooting people?"
"No," I say. "I was afraid of my considerable capacity to kill."
How many young men fear that there is a monster inside of them? — Veronica Roth

Fear Wakes You Up" -Four — Veronica Roth

Then everyone can call you Six."
"Four and Six," I say. — Veronica Roth

I never used to understand why people bothered to hold hands as they walked, but then he runs one of his fingertips down my palm, and I shiver and understand it completely — Veronica Roth

Tobias Eaton was a shameful name, and now it is a powerful one. — Veronica Roth

I think I might be in love with you. — Veronica Roth

A chasm reminds us that there is a fine line between bravery and idiocy. — Veronica Roth

It's been so long since someone said my name that way, like it was a revelation and not a threat. — Veronica Roth

He smells safe, too, like sunlit walks in the orchard and silent breakfasts
in the dining hall. And in the moments before I drift off to sleep, I almost forget about our war-torn city and all the conflict that will
come to find us soon, if we don't find it first. — Veronica Roth

It is more important for you to be safe than right, for the time being. Understand? ( ... ) But please, when you see an opportunity ... ruin them — Veronica Roth

My parents ... They died today ... They died for me. -Tris
They loved you ... To them there was no better way to show you. -Four — Veronica Roth

God, Four!" I snap. "You don't want to have to tell me everything right away, but I have to tell you everything right away? Can't you see how stupid that is?"
"First of all, don't use that name like a weapon against me," he says, pointing at me. — Veronica Roth

My name is Four," I say. "Call me 'Stiff' again and you and I will have a problem. — Veronica Roth

I push open the door just as Tobias, who is sitting on the floor with one leg stretched out, hurls a butter knife at the opposite wall. It sticks, handle out, from a large hunk of cheese they positioned on top of the dresser. Caleb, standing beside him, stares in disbelief, first at the cheese and then at me.
"Tell me he's some kind of Dauntless prodigy," says Caleb. "Can you do this too?"
"With my right hand, maybe," I say. "But yes, Four is some kind of Dauntless prodigy.
Tobias's eyes catch mine on the word "Four." Caleb doesn't know that Tobias wears his excellence all the time in his own nickname. — Veronica Roth

I don't need to relive my fears anymore. All I need to do now is try to overcome them. — Veronica Roth

Four: Be brave Tris. The first time is always the hardest. — Veronica Roth

There is a wavering expression in hereyes, like she is a heap of leaves aboutto be scattered by the wind — Veronica Roth

Why is your heart racing Tris? — Veronica Roth

You've never had a hamburger before?" asks Christine, her eyes wide.
"No," I say. "Is that what it's called?"
"Stiffs eat plain food," Four says, nodding at Christina.
"Why?" she asks.
I shrug. "Extravagance is considered self-indulgent and unnecessary."
She smirks. "No wonder you left."
"Yeah," I say,rolling my eyes. "It was just because of the food."
The corner of Four's mouth twitches. — Veronica Roth

The hurts from my last day with my father are healed now, but I want to remember where they were; I want to remember what I escaped for as long as I live. — Veronica Roth

Four: I don't want to be just one thing. I can't be. I want to be brave, and I want to be selfless, intelligent, and honest and kind. Well, I'm still working on kind. — Veronica Roth

Sometimes, all it takes to save people from a terrible fate is one person willing to do something about it. Even if that "something" is a fake bathroom break. — Veronica Roth

If we stay together, I'll have to forgive you over and over again, and if you're still in this, you'll have to forgive me over and over again too. So forgiveness isn't the point. What I really should have been trying to figure out is whether we were still good for each other or not — Veronica Roth

You don't have to tell me everything right away, but I have to tell you everything right away? Can't you see how stupid that is? — Veronica Roth

Please. They're like the Cult of Four. — Veronica Roth

Four! I call out. Why am I calling a number? Oh yes. Because that's his name. - Tris. — Veronica Roth

Yeah, well," I say, "I left Abnegation because I wasn't selfless enough, no matter how hard I tried to be."
"That's not entirely true." He smiles at me. "That girl who let someone throw knives at her to spare a friend, who hit my dad with a belt to protect me-that selfless girl, that's not you?" ...
"You've been paying close attention, haven't you?"
"I like to observe people/"
"Maybe you were cut out for Candor, Four, because you're a terrible liar. — Veronica Roth

Really? I thought the transfers will go through Four's landscape," says Uriah.
"Like he would let anyone do that," she says, snorting.
Something inside me gets warm and soft. He let me go through it. — Veronica Roth

So now we all know," says Four, quietly, "that you are afraid of a short, skinny girl from Abnegation." His mouth curls into a smile. — Veronica Roth

Five more seconds of weakness and then I get up. One, two. Three, four. Five. — Veronica Roth

I am not Tobias Eaton, not anymore, never again. I am Dauntless. — Veronica Roth

When her body first hit the net, all I registered was a gray blur. I pulled her across it and her hand was small, but warm, and then she stood before me, short and thin and plain and in all ways unremarkable- except that she had jumped first. The stiff had jumped first.
Even I didn't jump first.
Her eyes were so stern, so insistent.
Beautiful. — Veronica Roth

I'll only go if there's cake.

~Tobias "Four — Veronica Roth

In that moment I'm able to accept the inevitability of how I feel, though not with joy. I need to talk to someone. I need to trust someone. And for whatever reason, I know, I know it's her. — Veronica Roth

Tris," he says. "What did they do to you? You're acting like a lunatic."
"That's not very nice of you to say," I say. "They put me in a good mood, that's all. And now I really want to kiss you, so if you could just relax- — Veronica Roth

I would like to experience this 'date' phenomenon. — Veronica Roth

I am a child. I am two feet tall, and asking if she loves me. — Veronica Roth

It's not about Al," I snap. "It's about everyone watching! Everyone who now sees
hurling themselves into the chasm as a viable option. I mean, why not do it if everyone
calls you a hero afterward? Why not do it if everyone will remember your name? It's ... I
can't ... — Veronica Roth

Do you know him well?" I ask.I am too curious; I always have been.
"Everyone knows Four," she says. "We were initiates together.I was bad at fighting,so he taught me every night after everyone was asleep." She scratches the back of her neck, her expression suddenly serious. "Nice of him."
She gets up and stands behind the members sitting in the doorway. In a second, her serious expression is gone,but I still feel rattled by what she said, half confused by the idea of Four being "nice" and half wanting to punch her for no apparent reason. — Veronica Roth

You think I know anything about tears? — Veronica Roth

Who is he when he isn't Dauntless, isn't an instructor, isn't Four, isn't anything in particular?
Whoever he is, I like him. It's easier to admit that to myself now, in the dark, after all that just happened. He is not sweet or gentle or particularly kind. But he is smart and brave, and even though he saved me, he treated me like I was strong. That is all I need to know. — Veronica Roth

I close my eyes. I don't expect Four to reassure me, and he makes no effort to, but I feel better standing here than I did out there among the people who are my friends, my faction. — Veronica Roth

Suddenly he presses a hand to my stomach. His fingers are so long that, though the heel of his hand touches one side of my rib cage, his fingertips still touch the other side. My heart pounds so hard my chest hurts, and I stare at him, wide-eyed. "Never forget to keep tension here," he says in a quiet voice. Four lifts his hand and keeps walking. — Veronica Roth

Panic and terror aren't the only kinds of fear. There are deeper kinds, more terrible kinds. Apprehension and heavy, heavy dread. — Veronica Roth

Stiff. That's why you're strong, get it? - Tobias Eaton — Veronica Roth

You nearly died today,' he says. 'I almost shot you. Why didn't you shoot me, Tris?'
'I couldn't do that,' I say. 'It would have been like shooting myself.'
He looks pained and leans closer to me, so his lips brush mine when he speaks. — Veronica Roth

Ignore them. They don't know what it is to make a difficult decision."
"You wouldn't have done it, I bet."
"That is only because I have been taught to be cautious when I don't know all the information, and you have been taught that risks can produce great rewards. — Veronica Roth

I have a scar-a faint gouge in my knee from when I fell down on the sidewalk as a child. It's always seemed stupid to me that none of the pain I've experienced has left a visible mark; sometimes, without a way to prove it to myself. I began to doubt that I had lied through it at all, with the memories becoming hazy over time. I want to have some kind of reminder that while wounds heal, they don't disappear forever- I carry them everywhere, always, and that is the way of things, the way of scars.
That is what this tattoo will be, for me: a scar. And it seems fitting that it should document the worst memory of pain I have. — Veronica Roth

How have I never realized before that for all the strong, kind parts of him, there are also hurting, broken parts? — Veronica Roth

Your daughter is doing well here. I've been overseeing her training."
Since when does "overseeing" include throwing knives at me and scolding me at every opportunity? — Veronica Roth

Do I look like I've been crying?' I say.
'Hmm.' He leans in close, narrowing his eyes like he's inspecting my face. A smile tugs at the corner of his mouth. Even closer, so we would be breathng the same air- if I could remember to breathe.
'No, Tris,' he says. A more serious look replaces his smile as he adds, 'You look tough as nails. — Veronica Roth

Four flips the gun in this hand, presses the barrel to Peter's forehead, and clicks a bullet into place. Peter freezes with his lips parted, the yawn dead in his mouth. "Wake. Up," Four snaps. "You are holding a loaded gun, you idiot. Act like it. — Veronica Roth

What did you do?" I scream.
"You die, I die too. — Veronica Roth

I think that you are the liar!" I say, my voice quaking. "You tell me you love me, you trust me, you think I'm more perceptive than the avarge person. And the first second that belief in my perceptiveness, that trust, that love is put to the test, it all falls apart." I am crying now, nut I am not ashamed of the tears shining on my cheeks or the thickness of my voice. "So you must have lied when you told me all those things ... you must have, because I can't believe your love really is that feeble."
I step closer to him, so that there are only inches between us, and none of the others can hear me.
"I am still the person who would have died rather than kill you," I say, remembering the attack simulation and the feel of his heartbeat under my hand. "I am exactly who you think I am. — Veronica Roth

Sometimes I feel like we are the same, but sometimes, like right now, I feel the separation between our personalities like I've just run into a wall. — Veronica Roth

pack from me, his fingers brushing mine, and holds it against my head himself. I put my hand down, too eager to relax my arm to object. Four stands up. I stare at the hem of his T-shirt. Sometimes I see him as just — Veronica Roth

He wanted you to be the small, quiet girl from Abnegation," Four says softly. "He hurt you because your strength made him feel weak. No other reason."
I nod and try to believe him.
"The others won't be as jealous if you show some vulnerability. Even if it isn't real."
"You think I have to pretend to be vulnerable?" I ask, raising an eyebrow.
"Yes,I do." He takes the ice pack from me, his fingers brushing mine, and holds it against my head himself. I put my hand down, too eager to relax my arm to object. Four stands up. I stare at the hem of his T-shirt.
Sometimes I see him as just another person, and sometimes I feel the sight of him in my gut, like a deep ache.
"You're going to want to march into breakfast tomorrow and show your attackers they had no effect on you," he adds, "but you should let that bruise on your cheek show, and keep your head down."
The idea nauseates me. — Veronica Roth

Two years ago," she says, "I was afraid of spiders, suffocation, walls that inch slowly inward and trap you between them,getting thrown out of Dauntless, uncontrollable bleeding, getting run over by a train, my father's death,public humiliation, and kidnapping by men without faces."
Everyone stares blankly at her.
"Most of you will have anywhere from ten to fifteen years in your fear landscapes. That is the average number," she says.
"What's the lowest number someone has gotten?" asks Lynn.
"In recent years," says Lauren, "four."
I have not looked at Tobias since we were in the cafeteria,but I can't help but look at him now. He keeps his eyes trained on the floor. I knew that four was a low number, low enough to merit a nickname,but I didn't know it was less than half the average.
I glare at my feet.He's exceptional. And now he won't even look at me. — Veronica Roth

First of all, don't use that name like a weapon against me — Veronica Roth

For a few minutes we kiss, deep in the chasm, with the roar of water all around us. And we rise, hand in hand, I realize that if we had both chosen differently, we might have ended up doing the same thing, in a safer place, in gray clothes instead of black ones. — Veronica Roth

One Choice, Breaks free of his past
One Choice, Embraces his future
One Choice, Exposes the dangers
One Choice, Changes him- forever
One Choice will free him — Veronica Roth

I'll have to keep looking for more of them, more brief moments of freedom in a world that refuses to allow it. — Veronica Roth

The tiles in the Merciless Mart are always black and white, and here they are in a checkered pattern. If I unfocus my eyes, I see exactly what the Candor don't believe in - gray. — Veronica Roth

Here, I've learned to defend myself,
I've learned to be stronger,
but one thing I haven't learned, won't let myself learn, is how to enjoy causing someone else pain. If I'm going to become Dauntless, I'm going to do it on my terms, even if that means that a part of me will always be a Stiff. — Veronica Roth

Did you just make a joke, Tris? We should have you on painkillers more often if your going to start cracking jokes. — Veronica Roth

I don't want to be just one thing. I want to be brave and selfless and intelligent and honest and kind. — Veronica Roth

Okay. Then ... I can talk. Ask me something."
"Okay." He laughs shakily in my ear. "Why is your heart racing Tris?"
I cringe and say, "Well, I ... I barely know you. I barely know you and I'm crammed up against you in a box, Four, what do you think?" ...
"Maybe you were cut out for Candor," he says, "because you're a terrible liar. — Veronica Roth

Standing alone at the railing is Four. Though he's not an initiate anymore, most of the Dauntless use this day to come together with their families. Either his family doesn't like to come together, or he wasn't originally a Dauntless. Which faction could he have come from? "There's one of my instructors." I lean closer to say. "He's kind of intimidating." "He's handsome," she says. I find myself nodding without thinking. She laughs and lifts her arm from my shoulders. I want to steer her away from him, but just as I'm about to suggest that we go somewhere else, he looks over his shoulder. His eyes widen at the sight of my mother. She offers him her hand. "Hello. My name is Natalie," she says. "I'm Beatrice's mother." I have never seen my mother shake hands with someone. Four eases his hand into hers, looking stiff, and shakes it twice. The gesture looks unnatural for both of them. No, Four was not originally Dauntless if he doesn't shake hands easily. — Veronica Roth

That's the first time I've ever said those words out loud, and now I hear how strange they are. How many young men fear that there is a monster instead them? People are supposed to fear others, not themselves. — Veronica Roth

I've made my peace with Caleb, but I still can't be around him for long. His gestures, his inflection, his manner, they are hers. They make him into just a whisper of her, and that is not enough of her, but it is also far too much. — Veronica Roth

Four grabs a bar with each hand and pulls himself up, easy, like he's sitting up in bed. But he is not comfortable or natural here
every muscle in his arm stands out. it is a stupid thing for me to think when I am one hundred feet off the ground. — Veronica Roth

Abnegation who switch to Dauntless become... I don't know, soldiers, I guess. Revolutionaries. That's what he could be, if he trusted himself more" he adds."If Four wasn't so plagued with self-doubt, he would be one hell of a leader, I think. — Veronica Roth

I laugh shakily. 'You're a little scary, Four.'
'Do me a favor,' he says, 'and don't call me that.'
'What should I call you, then?'
'Nothing.' He takes his hand from my face. 'Yet. — Veronica Roth

Four wanders through the crowd of initiates, watching us as we go through the movements again. When he stops in front of me, my insides twist like someone is stirring them with a fork. He stares at me, his eyes following my body from my head to my feet, not lingering anywhere - a practical, scientific gaze.
"You don't have much muscle", he says, "which means you're better off using your knees and elbows. You can put more power behind them."
Suddenly he presses a hand to my stomach. His fingers are so long that, though the heel of his hand touches one side of my rib cage, his fingertips still touch the other side. My heart pounds so hard my chest hurts, and I stare at him, wide-eyed.
"Never forget to keep tension here", he says in a quiet voice.
Four lifts his hand and keeps walking. I feel the pressure of his palm even after he's gone. It's strange, but I have to stop and breathe for a few seconds before I can keep practicing again. — Veronica Roth

At first Eric stares at Four in silence. Four stares back. — Veronica Roth

All I can do is stand still- I feel like if I just stand still, I can stop it from being true, I can pretend that everything is all right. — Veronica Roth

And now that you are out? How does the world seem to you?" he says.
"Mostly the same," I say. "People are just divided by different things, fighting different wars. — Veronica Roth

There's a reason why she left them, Lauren," he says. His voice is deep, and it rumbles. "What's your name?"
"Um ... " I don't know why I hesitate. But "Beatrice" just doesn't sound right anymore.
"Think about it," he says, a faint smile curling his lips. " You don't get to pick again."
A new place, a new name. I can be remade here.
"Tris," I say firmly. — Veronica Roth

Maybe time would not feel as heavy if I didn't have this guilt - the guilt of knowing the truth and stuffing it down where no one can see it. — Veronica Roth

Dead people can be our heroes because they cant disappoint us later; they only improve over time, as we forget more and more about them. — Veronica Roth

Are you asking me to undress, Tris?'
A nervous laugh gurgles from my throat. 'Only ... partially — Veronica Roth

I deposited Drew at the infirmary a half hour ago. — Veronica Roth

Aren't you going to ask me if I'm all right?" I say.
"No, I'm pretty sure you're not all right."
He shakes his head. "I'm going to ask you not to make any decisions until we've talked
about it. — Veronica Roth

One thing I know: For helping me forget how awful the world is, I prefer her to alcohol. — Veronica Roth

Promise me that you won't go. For me. Do this one thing for me. — Veronica Roth