A/N: SPOILER ALERT OKAY. DO NOT READ IF YOU HAVE NOT READ ALLEGIANT YET. FAIR WARNING. Also, may contain strong language depending on the chapter. ALSO. Parts of the story line may be changed to accommodate the story. Sorry bout that.
Disclaimer: I do not own some of the characters in this story. I do however own some additional characters. All new character names will not be the same as any characters in the original trilogy as to avoid confusion. Nor do I own any of the previous plot lines. All rights go to Veronica Roth.
Tobias POV
It's been a while after Tris died. A month. It's still a lot to take in. A couple weeks ago, Christina and I had a real heart-to-heart talk, revolving mainly around what we would do now that Tris is gone.
"You have to move on," she said, "you know she'd want you to."
I sigh, knowing that she's right. Why the hell did Caleb let her go? Those arrogant assholes outside the fence can't do shit right.
"I know, Christina. She'd want you to move on too." I said, looking at her.
"Stop." she said. "I know she would. And I don't need you to tell me. See, what's different between you and I is that I don't want a new best friend. And if I did, I know that you'd be more than happy to take that spot. But you!" She laughed then, surprising me. "You need to move on from her. Start a new life. Get a new girlfriend. A family. Whatever. It doesn't even matter. You can't just sit here, mourning her every day. She'd kill you if she knew."
I ponder this, knowing she's right. Maybe I do need a new family.
"Hey," she said, her voice getting gentle again, "you know that adoption center? Where all those lonely kids are? There's a bunch of cuties there. Why don't you go see if you find one you like? You can adopt one and pretend like he or she was always part of your life."
That's a good suggestion. Maybe, if I adopt a kid, I can start a new life. Hell, I'd have someone to look after so I really need to step up my game.
"Jesus Christina." I said. "When'd you get all wise and shit?" She laughed and punched my arm.
"Think about it. Seriously. You know she'd want you to." She got up and left then, leaving me to my thoughts. I decided then, that yes, I will adopt a kid. But I better find a stable job first.
The week after Christina and I had our talk, I had been looking for a suitable job, one with enough pay to sustain both my future kid and I. I finally found one today, when I went to the former Dauntless compound. Since I had been living outside of all the factions, in a little safe-house, I hadn't really seen the change in the factions. Marveling at all the new changes in the Dauntless compound, I stumbled upon a flyer.
Help Needed!
TT Fighthouse is looking for a trainer, skilled in different ways of combat to teach.
If interested, please call 925-324-1245.
Address: Unit 2035 in the PIT.
Well I'll be damned. I whipped out my phone and I called the number.
"Hello?" A guy picked up. He couldn't have been more than 20.
"Hi, I saw a flyer for TT Fighthouse, looking for trainers? I'm interested and was wondering if maybe I could come in for an interview?"
"Uh, sure. Hang on, just gimme a minute." There was a pause on the other end of the line as the guy did whatever he was doing. "Hey, can you come in right now or would that be inconvenient?"
"Right now works just fine. I'll be there in about 5 minutes." Perfect. This is just the job I needed.
"Great. Could I have your name please?"
"Oh yeah. Tobias Eaton. Formerly known as Four if that helps?"
There was a pause. Then laughter. "Bullshit," he said, "I don't believe you. All you assholes saying you're the one and only Tobias Eaton."
"Well, you'll see when I come in." I said, bristling. Who are all these people saying they're me? What the fuck?
"Alright big guy. Five minutes. Got it?" he said, unbelieving.
"Yeah got it. Bye." Jesus. These people.
Five minutes later I'm entering TT Fighthouse. There's this guy at the reception, no doubt the one that I talked to on the phone. I walked up to him and he didn't even look up.
"Hi, I'm Tobias Eaton. I'm here for my interview for the job on the flyer?" I put the flyer on the top part of the desk. The guy finally looks up.
"Holy shit." He says with wide eyes.
"Yeah, okay, so where do I go for my interview?" I say, uncomfortable.
"Sir," he says, "do you know anything about TT Fighthouse?" I shake my head.
"Not much, only that you're looking for a trainer."
"You must know sir," he says looking at me with an odd respect, "that the "TT" in TT Fighthouse stand for Tobias and Tris? You, and your girlfriend? We heard everything and truly, I am very sorry. I don't even think you'll need the interview. By the way, my name is Jack. Sorry I didn't introduce myself earlier."
"Hi Jack." I shook his hand.
"Um, Boss is around back. I'll take you to him." He takes me "around back" which is all the way in the back of the unit. There's a door there that says "Owner" and I am immediately curious as to who it is.
"Come in Jack." Says a voice from inside. Jack opens the door.
"Hi sir, someone is here for his interview."
"Well bring him in. Damn Jack." the voice says. Jack ushers me inside and then turns and leaves, closing the door behind him. I turn to look at the voice.
"Zeke?" Holy shit, is that Zeke?
The voice looks up. IT IS ZEKE!
"TOBIAS FUCKING EATON! I was wondering when'd you'd get out of your damn funk!" He gets up to embrace me. I hug him back. Man, I missed Zeke.
"Shut up asshole, I just want a job. Christina convinced me to get a kid from the adoption center. But I need a job first. Steady income man." I say. Zeke stares at me, dumbfounded.
"A kid? Really?"
"Yeah, I figured it's about time."
"Damn right it's about time. Don't worry about the job. I got you covered. You're going to be the new trainer. Now go find a kid you can call your own." Zeke says, rushing me out the door.
Jess POV
You know what sucks about being an orphan? Everyday goes by, and you see all the other kids getting picked by adults to have a family. But me? Nope. I'm never cute enough, I'm too fiery tempered, I'm rude, I'm not girly enough. I get it. Okay? Geez. I'm getting too old to be in an orphanage. I'm 15 now, 16 by the end of September. The age limit for orphanages is 16 and then they send you out to fend for yourself. Well hell, I've been stuck in this hell hole for 11 years and they expect me to know all the basics of living? Isn't that torture? But I can't say I haven't learned anything. That isn't fair. I've learned from all the older kids the swearing, cuss words, things like that. I'm not stupid either. We had classes in the orphanage.
There's a commotion outside and I hear an unfamiliar male voice. I sigh, another one of these kids are going to get picked to have a family.
"TOBIAS EATON OHMYGOD!" I hear a girl scream. Oh. Well, if it isn't the damn hero. Everyone's heard of Tobias Eaton and Tris. I respect them. Really. I do. But well, I hate that they have fans. I mean, Tris is dead and she has fans? I can't even form words. I know Tobias won't pick me to adopt so I just move away from everyone and sit quietly on my bed.
Tobias POV
I get to the adoption center just in time. They're about to close for the day. When I get there, all these people start screaming at me like I'm famous. Okay, so maybe I am but still. I don't see the need for all this fuss. As I near the rooms where all the children are, I hear even more fussing. I look around and it's all these kids just grabbing at me. In the corner of my eye, I see the one girl who isn't grovelling at my feet or asking for me to take them home. I turn around to get a good look at her and I'm blown away. She's this little Chinese girl, maybe 15 years old. She's short and she doesn't seem like much.
"Her name's Jessica although everyone calls her Jess. She's 15 and she's been here since she was 4. When her parents dropped her off, she was kicking and screaming at them. She clung to her mom but her parents didn't even shed a tear. It was heartbreaking. She's a huge rebel. None of the people who come to adopt children even give her a second glance." The girl accompanying me to find a child says this to me and I just know, that this girl Jessica is broken. I can help her heal if she helps me heal.
I walked up to her and she looked up confused. "Hi. My name is Tobias Eaton."
She cocks her head to one side, amused. "I'm Jessica. You can call me Jess. Can I help you?"
