My family are the most selfless people I know. And I'm proud to be a part of that family. My mother is an Abnegation leader and my father handles all relations with the Factionless. My older sister, Lucy, works as a volunteer, repairing roads and fixing broken buildings. I am only 16. I am not yet a full member, though I soon will be. There has never been any doubt that I will choose Abnegation. People say that I am as selfless as the rest of my family and faction, and that's how I am determined things will stay.
"Robin, honey," I hear my mother's voice say. "It's time to go."
I nod, she means that we need to go to the monthly Abnegation meeting. They are often boring affairs. But I am selfless, so I do not complain. I never complain. My sister and father wait outside, ready to go to the meeting. Of course, we walk there. A car is has never been a necessity for our family.
Half of Abnegation is already at the meeting place when we arrive. My mother sends me off to sit with the other children, she is needed with the other leaders. I barely know anyone else my age, even though we all take the same bus to school every morning. They shuffle over to make room for me and I sit next to a boy with Abnegation short dark brown hair. We smile awkwardly at each other, then turn our heads to wait for the meeting to start.
But for some reason todays meeting is delayed. Murmurs begin to rise throughout the audience, which are quickly subdued, but then quickly rise again as people realise they will be in for a long wait. The other children are boisterous and loud, but the boy sitting next to me stares intently at the stage below. His stare falls on one of our leaders, Marcus Eaton, it is not an intrigued stare, but a rather angry stare.
"Are you okay?" I hesitantly ask.
The boy raises his head slightly and turns to look at me. "Yes." He says, though he seems unsure. "I'm fine, thankyou for asking." And I receive a small smile.
"I'm Robin." I say, holding my hand out for him to shake.
Slightly unsure, he takes my hand and shakes it. "And I'm Tobias Eaton." He tells me.
"Ah, that's your father then?" I ask, pointing at Marcus.
"The one and only." Tobias comments dryly. He doesn't exactly seem thrilled at the fact.
"Is there something wrong with that?" I ask, but I do not accuse. He is entitled to his own opinion, even if that may be a selfish opinion. No one can be completely selfless, everyone has a flaw and I suppose this may be his.
"I suppose you could phrase it like that." He says, and I know any talk about Marcus is over.
The meeting was the same as always - nothing interesting came up, just the same old talk about the Factionless and the Erudite. Afterwards, I stand to leave and join my family, but a hand taps me on the shoulder.
"Robin," Tobias hesitantly asks, "Would you like to walk back with me. We live on the same street."
Suddenly I realise that I actually recognise this boy. He lives on the opposite side of the street, three doors down from us. I may be a part of Abnegation, but that does not mean I can tell everyone apart. Tobias looks the same as many of the boys, and I mirror the appearance of many Abnegation girls.
Sometimes I allow my mind to wander and think what it would be like to be a part of a different faction. I see myself dressed in red and yellow, a smile permanently placed upon my face, it's a possibility, but not entirely right for me. Then the image changes to myself clad in black and white, but I would never be able to tell the truth, especially when it may hurt others. Blue isn't my best colour, Erudite me doesn't look right. And finally the image settles on a Robin who dressed exclusively in black, it seems...right. But I belong in grey, Abnegation grey.
"Sure," I smile back. "Let's go."
I stop to briefly tell my sister where I am going and she lets me go with a confused look on her face. My personality isn't exactly one that attracts friends, even ones from Abnegation.
"So," I say. "It's the Aptitude tests tomorrow."
"I know." He stops walking for a moment. "Are you nervous?"
"I-" I stop. I don't actually know the answer to that question, which is entirely stupid. I belong in Abnegation. "I don't know." I say honestly.
"I think I understand what you mean." Tobias says with a smile. "You know what your result will be before you enter, yet your heart skips a beat when you think of it."
"Exactly." I say and we begin to walk again.
Our conversation lulls for a bit. I suppose neither of us know what to say, so we end up sticking with the subject of the aptitude test.
"What faction do you think you'll get?" I ask, I shouldn't ask really, its a rather personal topic, but I can't hold back my curiosity.
"Don't you mean which faction will I choose?" He responds with a grin. "Abnegation, I suppose."
"Same," I say, kicking at a loose stone on the pavement.
"Don't you ever think about leaving this place?" Tobias asks, gesturing to the perfectly cloned houses surrounding us.
It's a wild thought, a crazy thought which I should not entertain. I entertained it enough when I thought of myself in another faction's clothes. But a small part of me does want to imagine it and yet again I see myself dressed in black.
"Yes." I say softly. "I suppose I have."
"I have, Robin. I've thought about it too many times to count." He admits, and sits on the edge of the pavement to tie up his shoelace.
"I just can't imagine myself away from here." I confide, sitting myself beside him. "This-" I gesture to the surrounding streets. "- is all I know of the world."
"Then that's all the more reason to leave." Tobias says.
I fall silent. I can't think of a response to that because, I slowly realise that he is in fact right. Why should Abnegation be all I see of the world? Why shouldn't I just - leave?
"Robin, you have to admit it, you don't fully fit in here, do you? Even your hair doesn't fit in."
I blush, my hair had always been a problem for me. It was a vibrant reddish orange colour, a colour that most definitely stuck out among the Abnegation. My mother had told me not to worry, that I could not control my hair colour. I had always loathed any attention I got because of my hair colour.
"Come on," He says, standing up to offer me his arm. "Let's get going."
A/N- Hey, this is my first Divergent fanfic, so any feedback would be greatly appreciated. And just so you know, its highly unlikely this will be a Tobias love story, I ship FourTris until the end! Hope you enjoyed it! Next chapter out soon:)