Hi all! Hope you are enjoying this story! Thanks for reading and the reviews: shoutout to BK2U and IceFire15! Thanks so much! Hope you enjoy next chapter, some action this time ;)
If you still think I'm Veronica Roth after this and Insomnia (please go check it out!) you're mad. And a very suspicious person. ;) haha
(F/T) Tobias Eaton trudged down the grubby disused backstreets of the city, walking the longest route he could but dreading the moment he got home and had to face Marcus again. He sighed, fingering the invitation to the community dinner tomorrow. God, he really didn't want to go.
A movement at the door of one of the abandoned houses suddenly caught his eye, and out stepped a girl, wearing the typical grey rags of the factionless and hoisting a painfully empty-looking backpack she must've salvaged. He winced at the state of her; she was quite pretty, but filthy, and the expression on her face - hopeless. Tobias felt his breath hitch in his throat, and the values instilled into him kicked in. He couldn't just walk past.
He walked towards her, calling out. "Hey," he said in a half-shout. "Do you- you need some food," he told her, changing the trajectory of the sentence as he saw the flicker of selfless reluctance in her eyes. She'd been Abnegation, he'd bet.
"Um, I guess so, if you have some," she said quietly. He saw the shame she felt at being seen like this, but watched in almost fascination, as she pushed down the feeling and a guard came up.
Averting his eyes, he dug in his bag, grabbing the spare tin of chicken and rice and pack of dried apples he kept there in case of a circumstance like this. He passed them to her, when a thought struck him. "Hey," he said, "there's a- a community dinner coming up tomorrow, I don't really want to go. Do you want my ticket? I mean, it won't be very exciting, but there'll be food and stuff. You could probably do with that- no offence," he added, internally groaning at himself. This was a rubbish plan; not only had he probably offended her, but Marcus would drag him along anyway. Though perhaps he wanted to see this girl again? She had an odd sort of gravity to her.
She looked down sat the ticket and nodded. "Well, that sounds like a good turn- you won't have to go as you don't want to, and it'll be good for me, so.. thank you." She smiled, looking tired. "What's your name?"
Tobias felt himself freeze up for a second. What would she think if she knew who he was? He couldn't tell her. So he had to come up with something that didn't sound suspicious. A nickname of sorts.
"They call me Four," he replied.
"Beatrice," she told him.
He nodded, recognising her suddenly, from the Choosing Ceremony. Poor thing. The way she'd hovered over two bowls? Probably Divergent. Oh, hadn't Marcus told him about the Divergent.
Ugh, he should be going otherwise his father would just find another excuse to yell. He especially hated lateness. "I should be going now. See you around maybe,' he smiled again and continued his walk, happy for a reason he couldn't quite discern.
Hope you liked it, and as always, please leave any comments or constructive criticisms in a review!