I fling open my bathroom door and realized that Tobias had been waiting for me all along. "We're going to be late!" I exclaimed throwing on my shoes. He grabs my arm as I make for the door and instead pulls me to his chest. "You look good today." He whispers in my ear and his breath makes my spine tingle. Lifting my chin up, he gives me a deep kiss, his mouth tastes like toothpaste. I kiss back and savour the touch of his warm hand on the small of my back before I return to my senses.
"Tobias we have to go." I pull away and lick my lips. Grabbing his wrist, I pull him out of my apartment.
Being a dauntless leader in training, I was given a pretty nice apartment, it has a kitchen and everything. Not that it makes a difference, all I do in here is sleep.
"Well if you had not overslept in the first place, we wouldn't be in this situation." Tobias snickers.
"Shut up." I moan.
As we make our way down to the pit, I notice how the dauntless compounds seems quieter than usual. Normally there are more people, shouting, running around and doing death defying stunts. Today it seems… almost peaceful.
My thoughts are interrupted by a piercing scream followed by robust laughter. I sigh, I stand corrected.
As today is choosing day for the new batch of 16 year olds, a lot of dauntless members have gone to see the choosing ceremony, conducted this year by the Amity. As crazy as they might be, the dauntless stick together like family, I guess it's one of the things I like about being here.
Today brings back a lot of memories, I remember standing in the hub, feeling so nervous I could barely even stand straight. Watching my brother, Caleb make the switch to Erudite and feeling torn between choosing my family or my freedom. Thinking back, I do not regret my decision, although there are things about abnegation and my family that I miss dearly. But as they say, faction before blood, it will do not good to reminisce about my previous life. I bite my lip as though it can stop my thoughts from flowing out.
"Are you alright?" Tobias asks me, noticing the introspective look on my face.
"Yeah…" Tobias does not look satisfied by my simple explanation, so I elaborate. "I remember being in their position, just last year. Though it feels like forever ago."
I look at Tobias and he is smiling. "I remember my choosing ceremony too." He says
I doubt it is something Tobias will ever forget, the day he escapes his abusive father Marcus forever. The day he is free to live out his own life, although the scars from his childhood, both physical and psychological, will never leave him.
"Today is the day where some of them will make a choice that might change their life, forever." I give Tobias' palm a small squeeze, he doesn't reply, but he leans in and kisses me on the forehead.
I'm glad I made this choice.
Tobias and I are the last ones to arrive at the meeting, which mostly consists of dauntless leaders and several members who have volunteered to train the new batch of initiates. I give his hand one last squeeze before leaving to join the dauntless leaders standing in the front.
"You lovebirds are late." Eric says softly, standing beside me. I point my eyes straight ahead, ignoring him. Even the most innocuous remark from Eric can get my blood boiling. I know I am not forgiving, because I cannot forget how he nearly made Christina fall to her death by hanging over the chasm, or how he made Tobias throw knives at my head. These feelings seem even more pronounced now that initiation has come around again.
I scan the small crowd of volunteers with my eyes, already knowing most of the faces I see. I spot two of my friends, Christina and Uriah standing among them, and give them a small smile.
One of the dauntless leaders steps forward and clears his throat "As you all know the new initiates will be here very soon, and all of you are here because you've volunteered to train them."
Just leave it to the dauntless to wait until the absolute last minute to organize themselves. I lower my head with my hands clasped behind my back, listening intently.
"Christina and Uriah will take charge of the dauntless-born, Four and Tris will be responsible for the transfers."
I nodded and felt the corners of my lips turn upwards, of course I wanted to work with Tobias; this was no coincidence. Just because I am the lowest ranked dauntless leader doesn't mean I couldn't pull a few strings here and there.
Beside me I feel Eric stiffen, no doubt he must be fuming right now at not having been picked to lead the initiates. I let out a breath I didn't knew I had been holding in and thanked my lucky stars. Of course, nothing was stopping him from coming in and interfering with the training anyway, but well, you can't have everything.
The dauntless leader continues talking, he details the 3 stages of initiation and what should be learned at each stage, as well as how to measure the rankings. It is all boring stuff and I found myself stifling another yawn. The dauntless aren't exactly known for being the most innovative faction around, so the initiation process is the same as it's ever been.
By the time he finishes, 15 minutes have passed. The dauntless leader dismisses us and the meeting ends as abruptly as it had begun.
Eric shoots me a death glare as he storms off, I supress the smug smile that has started to creep upon my face. I despise him so much that any little victory fills me with glee, although I should know better than to make enemies among the dauntless leaders. I suppose this is why I've never gotten an affinity for amity.