Tobias Eaton and Beatrice Prior met by accident, really. Even if their fathers were Abnegation leaders, he was two years older than her. They were in different years in school, they participated in different things. They lived separate, Stiff, lives. One interaction changed everything.
This is their story.
Chapter 1
Beatrice didn't expect to hear the crying. She was waiting patiently for her brother, Caleb, after school when the eight year old heard him. It made her uncomfortable. Unlike many other Abnegation, she didn't have automatic selflessness programmed into her hard drive. She shifted back and forth on her heels, hoping the sound would stop, but it didn't. With a sigh, and eyes up to the sky, Beatrice made her way over to the sound.
She saw a boy, sitting curled up by the building crying. He was dressed in the same Abnegation grey Beatrice wore. Something about this boy made her tiny eigth year old heart cry out for him. She moved closer to him and plopped down next to him unceremoniously.
"You shouldn't cry." She said softly, leaving distance between them. Her mother always told her that touching people is a very important and special thing. You don't just touch anyone.
The boy sniffled and spat at her. "Shut up."
"That's not nice. At least I came over here. No one else did. Not even the Abnegation ones." Beatrice snapped back, her eyes watering slightly from his harsh words.
"I didn't ask you to come over here. Just leave me alone."
Beatrice sighed and bit her lip nervously. "Well I did. Now tell me what's wrong so I can fix it."
The boy laughed. He actually laughed at her, a loud, full body laugh. "What makes you think you can fix it?"
Beatrice sat and thought. "Well…I don't know. I just can. I know I can. And even if I can't, I know I can make it better."
"That's awfully presumptuous for a girl whose name I don't even know."
She grinned and stuck her small hand out. "I'm Beatrice Prior, I'm eight, and I don't know what presump…prusumtu…whatever that word was."
He smiled and laughed a little, sticking his hand out and shaking hers. "Careful, your Erudite is showing." He smiled bigger when Beatrice blushed. "It's okay, I don't mind. Presumptuous means you're being kind of….well, the Candors are really presumptuous. I'm Tobias Eaton, and I'm ten."
Beatrice smiled. "Are we friends now?"
Tobias smiled and nodded. "Yeah, I think we are."
Beatrice stood, her Abnegation dress blowing a little with a gust of wind, causing them both to laugh a little. "That's fun! I have a friend! So now that we're friends you're going to tell me why you're crying."
Tobias' face made a noticeable shift from being happy to being sad again. He stood and shifted on his feet. "I…I found out my mom died today. I'm sure it'll be a big deal soon. But I miss her already…I, I know that crying is selfish but—"
"It's not selfish. Your mommy died. I think that you're still here is pretty brave…almost…" Beatrice smirked and whispered, "Dauntless if you ask me."
Tobias grinned at her, he stood a little taller. "Thanks."
"Beatrice!" Beatrice turned around and saw her brother, Caleb running for her. "Beatrice, I've been looking all over for you. Mom and dad want us home!"
"Sorry, Caleb, I was just with my new…friend, Tobias."
Caleb looked from Beatrice to Tobias and smiled a little. "Hey. Anyway, we have to go. So say goodbye, Beatrice."
Tobias caught Beatrice's small eye roll as she turned back to face Tobias. "Bye Tobias!"
And with that Beatrice was gone with her brother, both of them walking away and blending in like the wallflowers Abnegation children tended to be. But there was something different, special about Beatrice. Tobias didn't have a lot of friends, and he was happy to have finally found one.
Over the next three years, Tobias and Beatrice became inseparable. It was like the two odd ones out in Abnegation had found each other. They would sneak into a field in the night to talk to each other when they knew their parents were asleep multiple times a week. It had started as Tobias needing somebody to cry with, and had turned into a way for the two of them to talk about how they just didn't fit in with their faction. They would talk about how Tobias hated his father—though he would never say why. Beatrice would talk about the disappointed looks she would get from her brother and her parents whenever she failed to be selfless. Sometimes they would talk about other factions, what it would be like to switch over, though neither were ever brave enough to actually say they were going to do it.
"Toby, my parents held hands tonight." Beatrice said one night while they laid in the field and spoke. "My mom held his hand, and then told us how important touching was."
Tobias sat up and faced Beatrice. "It is important. Touching people is the difference between being friends and being more than friends. At least, that's what my mom and dad used to tell me. He doesn't tell me much anymore."
A comfortable silence settled over the two friends when suddenly Beatrice whispered. "Toby?"
"Yeah?"
"Toby…do you…I mean, would you like to…hold my hand?" She was biting her lip, a nervous habit that never seemed to go away.
His eyes widened slightly. "Bee…"
"No…" She shook her head. "No, it's okay, it was stupid…"
"Bee…I've wanted to hold your hand for a long time."
She looked up at Tobias timidly as his hand reached for hers slowly. When his fingers met hers, she intertwined them gently, and together, they laid back down in the field. Tobias' thumb drew slow circles in her palm. Beatrice sighed quietly, and her eyes shut.
"What does this mean, Toby?"
"I think this mean that I'm yours. And you're mine. I, I mean if you want."
There was a slight pause. A million thoughts rushed through Beatrice's eleven year old brain. Excitement, her best friend liked her, and he was thirteen! Happiness. Fear, what if he hurt her? Nervousness, uncertainty, but finally she spoke.
"Yes, Toby. You're mine."
*Please review and share this if you like it! I hope to update on a fairly regular basis! Also, if there's something that you think you might want to have happen once Beatrice gets to Dauntless, let me know and it might show up! Love you all, Rosaline!*
