Chapter 1

Tris's POV

I made it through initiation, being the top in my class. Seeing my name next to the 1. sent a shiver down my spine, and a sense of relief through me, but also anxiety. I am officially Dauntless, I did it, but what am I in for? I hadn't experienced the Dauntless lifestyle quite yet, and I still had to move into an apartment and choose a career. That was the easy part.

I'll be an initiate instructor, not because of Tobias, but because it sounds the most fun out of all the jobs, like seriously, nobody wants to watch the factionless all day with a heavy gun resting on their shoulder. For the rest of the year, when instructing is over, I'll be working in the tattoo parlor with Tori. I've never done something like this before, tattooing. Well, of course not, in Abnegation, it's considered self-indulgent. Almost everything is.

Most people choose to share an apartment with their friends, but I wanted to be on my own. Sometimes I need to be alone, and so I need a place where I can do that.

My apartment is almost identical to all the others. Large windows, brick walls, out-dated kitchens, and a bed in the middle of the room. A master bed. I grin at the thought of having all this space to myself, finally having the chance to become the person I want to be, start a new life.

10 Months Later

There's a month left until initiation begins. I'm excited, but nervous at the same time. I need to be tough, but not mean, like Tobias. They need to fear me.

I've been working in the tattoo parlor for the last 9 months, and it's surprisingly entertaining, even though we usually just sit around all day until someone comes in. I get to chat with Tori a lot, we've become close. And Christina, she's like the sister I never had, but better. My life is almost perfect. I don't get to see my parents that much, but they do make a point to stay in touch with me, even though I betrayed them by switching to Dauntless. Caleb, on the other hand, I'd rather not speak to him, he's too Erudite, arrogant and selfish, and clearly would rather stay out of my life. Sometimes the thought of him sends an ache in my chest, like I feel guilty for thinking that about him. Faction before blood though, that's the saying, and I live up to that, at least most of the time.

I'm sitting on the black leather couch in my apartment, fiddling with the pen I've been using to make some sketches for Tori. The door flies open, revealing a dark skinned girl with jet-black hair. Christina. She's changed since initiation, her hair had grown out a little, it's now down to her shoulders, a little passed, and she's grown half an inch, not that she needs to. A mad grin is on her face as she bursts through the door.

"I hope you have no plans today." She says, flipping her now flippable hair over her bare shoulder. She wears a strapless black shirt that hugs her abdomen and a pair of black jeans.

I shake my head, knowing that even if I did, I'd have to postpone them for whatever Christina wants to do. She's a bit pushy sometimes, but I love her. "Nope." I set the pen and pad of paper down on the coffee table and stand up from my seat on the couch. I hadn't realized how hot it was in here.

"Perfect!" If she could smile even more, I swear she just did. "We're going shoppingggg!" She announces. Out of everyone, I wouldn't have expected Christina to be so into shopping, and makeup, and all things girly. What can I say, she's Christina.

I moan, brushing the hair from my face with my fingers. "We went last week." I say, crossing my muscled arms.

Chris rolls her eyes, "I swear I have a perfectly viable reason this time." Sometimes I feel like she should be limited to how often she can shop, and I wonder how she always has so many points to spend. "Zeke is throwing a party tonight, with just a couple of people. We're obviously invited, as always. But anyways, we need to look fab."

I sigh, rolling my eyes. Another party. "Who'll be there?"

"Oh ya know, the usual." She starts to list of the names. "Will, Zeke, Shauna, Lynn, Marlene, Uriah, Peter, Four…" Christina raises an eyebrow at me when she mentions his name. I feel as if my heart is about to jump out of my chest. It's been close to two weeks since I was last with him for more than 5 minutes. Yeah, we're still together, but considering our busy work schedules, we never have time to sit down and actually be alone together. And that's what I'm most excited for during initiation, getting to be with him for the majority of the day, not alone, but good enough for me. "So." She says, "You coming?" I nod and pull my black combat boots on. It's too warm for a jacket today so I go as is.

Three hours later we exit the shopping mall in Dauntless and head to Christina's apartment. She shares it with Will, but he's working in the control room until 8pm, when the party starts.

Christina had bought a tight black dress with cutouts in the sides and back, along with other things not for tonight. As for me, with the help of my best friend, I settled on a pair of tight black leather pants and a tight top that zipped up to the center of my chest, suffocating my boobs. She claimed it to be easy access, not that I would need it. Honestly, I was surprised she didn't make me get something girly like a dress or a skirt, but she said she wanted me to look sexy. I guess the super tight articles of clothing helped with that. For shoes, she convinced me to get a pair of high heeled black leather boots, again with the leather.

She hands me a bottle of what looks to be wax and I cringe. "No way, I am not waxing myself." I say, a bit disgusted.

"If you're gonna be stripping for truth or dare, you need to look good everywhere." She then tosses the bag of lingerie she forced me to get, over in my direction. I roll my eyes and enter the bathroom.

Approximately 30 minutes later i'm done and Christina motions for me to sit at the vanity, and she does my hair. I'm left with a somewhat high ponytail, the front pieces of my hair clipped back so that there's a slight bump at the top of my head. (admin doesn't know what those are called, poofs?) Then she does my makeup, the whole time staying silent. I almost worry about her well being until she finally speaks. "I'm done!" Chris shouts, grinning yet again. I look in the mirror and see that my eyes have been darkened with eyeliner and dark eyeshadow, my lips are a burgundy red color. I must say, I look good.

"Thanks Chrissy." I say, sounding too much like a girl right there.

She frowns. "Don't call me Chrissy, Trissy."

"I won't call you Chrissy, if you don't call me Trissy. Got it?" It takes a lot of willpower to hold in a laugh, but I end up smiling.

"It's a done deal." She exclaims, turning back to the mirror to start herself.

An hour later Christina finishes herself, by now it's 8:15. We're late, again. But at least we look good. Christina had curled her hair to make it look layered, and she's wearing bright red lipstick and eyeliner. Pretty.

She notices the anxious look on my face and says, "We'll be fashionably late Tris, there's nothing to worry about." But there is, I feel like i'm going on my first date, although that experience was far more nerveracking than this. I nod anyways as Chris slips on her stilettos and grabs her bag. She grins, looking at us in the mirror. "I would marry us." I laugh.

It takes us about 5 minutes to walk from Christina's place to Zeke's apartment. He opens a door with a "WE CAN FINALLY START YOU GUYS," and drags us through the door.

My eyes immediately find Tobias and I smile a shy smile. His eyes light up when he see's me and he looks to be a bit taken aback, his jaw slightly dropping. I blush.

At first we just stare at eachother, and I'm resisting the urge to run to him, but then he smiles that one mischievous smile and I lunge.

The impact almost knocks him backwards, but he's strong and he saw it coming. I grab his shirt, not wanting to let go, and he kisses my neck, my jaw, and then finally, his lips connect to mine. I immediately feel relaxed.

I can hear Christina giggle quietly and we break apart, a stupid grin on my face. He mouths the words 'I love you.' and we both sit down with the rest of the group, never taking our eyes off of eachother.

"So," Zeke says. "We're going to play truth or dare, and for those of you who don't know how to play, *caugh* Tris *caugh* you better listen up, I won't be repeating myself."

At this, I turn away from Tobias and nod at Zeke, smirking.

"I'll start by asking someone if they want a truth, or a dare. If they don't follow through with either, they have to take an article of clothing off, excluding socks and shoes, got it?" I nod, although I wasn't aware of that. All i'm wearing underneath is a bra and underwear. This'll be interesting.

I look around the room, watching everyone's expressions. Uriah look's like he'll blow if we don't start now, Peter looks as if he's about to piss himself. I grin.

"Alright then, I'm starting," Zeke grins an evil grin and looks at me, "Tris, truth or dare?"