To Lose and To Gain
Me: I'm back with a new chapter. Early update! Sorry, I couldn't stop.
I'm going to be mean to Peter in this chapter because I remembered my classmate who used to bully me in grade school. A.K.A, the person who ruined my life and dignity. And coincidentally...
...His name is Peter.
Peter: Hey! It's not my fault that guy and I have the same names!
Me: I know that, but I don't care.
Happy reading!
~Chapter 2~
Peter's POV
Eric walks in circles in front of us. "Tomorrow will be the last day of stage one." He says. "You will resume fighting then. Today you will learn how to aim. Everyone pick up three knives, and pay attention while Four demonstrates."
None of us move. I don't know why everyone's so tense but I know that this isn't the time to move.
"Now!" Eric screams. We instantly get up and grab some knives. I pick up 3 sharp knives and watch them glisten in the room's light.
Four shows us a demonstration and we're expected to do the same. He hits bull's eye.
What a show-off.
I raise the knife and pretend to aim it at him. Oh how I would love to put this through his chest.
"Line up." Eric orders. I choose to stand next to Tris.
She's mimicking Four's throwing technique, clever. But she looks like an idiot since she's not holding a knife. I want to talk to her but I don't know what to say.
"Hey Stiff, remember what a knife is?" I snicker, in the inside though, I'm hitting myself in the head.
Teasing her has become a habit, and I'm ashamed of it.
Tris uses the knife this time, the knife the doesn't stick but she was able to hit a target. Fast learner.
To impress her, I throw the knife just like Four, it doesn't hit the target though. I groan and walk to pick it up. As I walk past Tris, she asks, "Hey Peter, remember what a target is?"
I pick up the knife and throw it again. After a few times, I got the hang of it. I even hit the center of the target. Tris seems to be doing well too. Unlike someone here...
Al has been threatening everyone's lives with his knife throwing. His knives have hit every part of the room, except the targets.
I roll my eyes as I ready myself to throw another time. I follow the sharp edge of the knife to the target. I move my hand to the left, then to the right... no... wait... yes. Right there.
Perfect.
I raise my arm and build up the energy in them. I pull my arms back then I...
"WATCH OUT!" Drew shouts. I turn my head. "What t—" I freeze at the sight of a knife.
Flying towards my face.
I feel someone push me down.
Molly.
I see the knife pass through her hair, cutting a few strands of them before we hit the floor. The force made my head throb.
Molly sat up, asking me if I was alright. I nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine." I reassure her, wiping the dust off my clothes. She helped me stand up and once I do, Al walks up to me.
So it was him...
"I'm so very sorry about that P—" He starts before I rudely cut him off.
"How blind are you exactly?!" I yell. "You could've killed someone, specifically me!"
He bows his head in embarrassment, just as he should. "I-I'm sorry..."
Before I could shout at him again, Eric stops me.
"How slow are you Candor?" He asks. "Do you need glasses? Should I move the target closer to you?" He looks at Al sternly, making Al throw the knife again. I duck as soon as the knife is out of his hand. It flies 3 feet away.
"What was that initiate?" Eric asks coldly. This can't be good.
"It-It slipped." He stutters, what a pathetic excuse.
"Well I think you should go get it." He says slowly but controlled, like he wants to make a point that he was in-charge.
It seems to be working.
Everyone stops throwing. I guess no one's mean enough to want to hit him with a knife.
Well, unlike me.
"Did I tell you to stop?" Eric asks, his eyes filled with authority. They pick up their knives and hesitantly start throwing, except for Tris. How much does she actually care for this person?
But I, I do it much more willingly. The envy flowing in my veins is my motivation. I even throw it near the place his knife landed.
Al starts to shake in fear and I like what I see. "G-Go get it?" He asks. "But everyone's still throwing."
"And?" Eric asks, his face scares even me. The face of a sadist.
"I don't want to get hit." Al whines like a child.
"I'm sure you can trust your fellow initiates to aim better than you." The Dauntless leader was right, I could aim better than him. And I'd be more than happy to aim it at chubby's head.
Eric smiles, he seems to be having fun. "Go get your knife." He commands.
"No." I can't believe he had enough guts to say that. Everyone knows that contradicting Eric is like getting a one way ticket to death.
"Why not? Are you scared?"
"Of getting stabbed by an airborne knife? Yes I am!" Al says.
Am I excited to watch Al risk his life while fiddling for his knife? Yes I am!
"Everyone stop!" Eric shouts. Everyone stops moving. I wonder what having that kind of power feels like.
"Clear out the ring." He points at Al. "All except you."
Everyone moves but they only stay by the door, none of them going out.
Eric gestures to one of the targets. "Stand in front of the target. Hey, Four. Give me a hand here, huh?"
Four's body stiffens and his expression becomes alert.
"You're going to stand here while he throws those knives until you learn not to flinch." Eric orders, his voice icy.
"Is this really necessary?" Four asks, he sounds bored.
"I have the authority here, remember? Here, and everywhere else." Eric snaps back.
Four gives up and stands in front of the target. It's obvious he doesn't like Al, but that isn't a reason for him to throw knives at him. He takes aim and pulls his arms back. I could see Al quiver in fear, beads of sweat dripping down his face.
Eric looks satisfied.
He was about to throw when someone spoke up.
"Stop it."
Tris. No...
She turns towards Eric and I'm screaming at her in my mind not to do anything stupid.
Expectedly, she does.
"Any idiot can stand in front of a target; it doesn't prove anything except that you're bullying us. Which, as I recall, is a sign of cowardice." She says, with the upmost confidence in all her features. She seems more beautiful that way.
Eric grins evilly. "Then it should be easy for you," He says slowly. "if you're willing to take his place."
No. Tris, don't do it. Be selfish for a change!
Tris walks up to the target. I want to take her place but I can't. It'll seem that I think she's weak, which was definitely not the case.
My feet are glued to the floor and I can't move. I don't want to.
Four has a good aim and even though it hurts to admit it, he likes Tris too. So I'm pretty sure he won't hurt her.
Four hesitantly stretched his arms. "If you flinch, Al takes your place. Understand?"
Tris nods.
Four throws the knife. It takes a lot of willpower and self-control to not throw my knife at him.
The knife appears like a slash in the wind and it hits the wall a foot away from Tris's face. She closes her eyes at the impact.
"You about done Stiff?" Four asks. I hope she says yes.
"No." Tris shakes her head.
Of course.
"Eyes open then." Four says, tapping the space between her eyebrows.
He throws it one more time and I almost gasp. It see the knife pass Tris's hair, about an inch or two above her head.
"Come on Stiff, let someone else stand there and take it."
"Shut up, Four!" Tris shouts.
What are you trying to prove Stiff?! Just let that Al be a man and get what he deserves!
Four throws the last knife and he does something that made me want to punch him in the face.
That monster nicked her ear.
Eric speaks before I attempt to put my fist in his mouth. (I wish he hadn't.)
"I would love to stay and see if the rest of you are as daring as she is but I think that's enough for today." He says before he walks over to Tris. He touches her shoulder and whispers something I can't hear.
I hear Tris and Four arguing once everyone leaves and I stay by the door. I don't bother listening to their fight and I just have my mind lost in thought the whole time.
I wonder why Tris went through all that trouble for Al?
That's an easy question.
Because he's her friend.
Someone I can never be.
Why?
Because of everything I have done to her. I always taunt her and mess with her and I don't even know why I had to fall in love with her. Maybe because she was nice to someone like me. Even after threatening to kill her and her friends she would still go and show me acts of kindness. Or maybe this is just an act.
Yes.
An act.
An act to soften me and so when I think everything's going perfectly fine that's when she'll attack me and I won't be able to fight back.
She pities me.
Should I fall for this trap? What if it's not and she just did that because of her Abnegation roots? She might be as nice as I think she could be. Maybe she could forgive me.
Well, that's why I chose Dauntless. I'll take the risk and learn to be brave. To not be scared of getting hurt because getting hurt is a part of the Dauntless lifestyle, and of course and love too.
My new mission: Be Tris's friend.
(What a lame mission...)
o-o-o
"If I wanted to hurt you, don't you think I would have already?"
That's all I hear Four say before he comes out of the room. I hide behind the door and hear Tris scream in frustration.
I come in and see a knife flying towards me. Again.
I duck and hear the knife stick into the wall.
Tris's eyes widened then squint back in anger.
"What are you doing here, Peter?" She asks, folding her arms.
I raise my shoulders. "No reason." I say innocently. Silence consumes us for a few minutes before I speak again. "So..." I start. "Is your ear okay?"
She raises and eyebrow and scoffs. "Oh no. My ear bleeding an ocean beneath my feet and the fact it stings a lot mean that it's fine. Perfectly fine."
I roll my eyes. "I properly asked you a question. Can't you give me a proper answer as well?" I ask, folding my arms.
"It's completely obvious that my ear is not fine! Let's see someone nick your ear with a knife and see if it's okay!" She yells in frustration.
I put my hand in my pocket and pull out a white handkerchief. I walk towards her and reach out my hand to wipe the blood off her ear.
She punches me in the gut.
I scream in pain and I wrap my arms around my sore stomach. "W-What..." I pant. Her punch pushed the air right out of me. "What was... t-that... for?!"
She glares angrily at me. "Don't play dumb with me Peter! You were going to hurt me by touching my ear!"
I feel a sharp pain in my chest that overpowers the pain in my gut. "What? I wasn't! Why would you think that?!"
She lets out a small laugh, a laugh of disbelief.
I hate it.
"Really, Peter? Really?" She asks to me. "After messing with me countless of times and beating me up unconscious with no mercy whatsoever, do you really think I can trust you to do anything but try to hurt me? I know you well enough—"
I grab her wrist and cut her off. She tries to break free but I grip her tighter. "No you don't." I say. "You don't know anything about me."
I dab the handkerchief on her ear and watch the white fabric turn dark red. She doesn't move but her eyes are staring at me like she wants to take back everything she just said.
Well, she should.
"Let's get something straight, Stiff." I start. "I never asked you to save my life but I'm grateful you did. I will never feel like I'm free from any debt until I save your life in return."
I pause, taking in a few deep breaths.
"So until I repay that debt," I say, removing the handkerchief from her already dry ear. "I will protect you, no matter what."
I let her wrist go and dump the handkerchief on her hands and turn my heel.
"You don't h—" She starts to protest but I quiet her down by pushing my finger between my lips.
"This is what you call a man's pride. You wouldn't understand." I walk forward and stop by the doorframe. "And don't worry, I won't tell anyone about what you did."
And with that I left her in the room, running once I'm out of her line of vision screaming at myself in my head.
What the heck did I get myself into?
o-o-o
Peter: You really hate me, don't you?
Me: You or the one who bullied me?
Peter: Both.
Me: Aw come on, don't be like that.
Peter: You almost hit me with an air-borne knife! More than once!
Me: Almost. Remember that almost is an important word.
I loved this chapter. And I got the idea for the debt thingy when I was studying for my Noli test where a guy promised to protect the other guy after he saved him from getting eaten by a crocodile. This is one of my favorite scenes in the book and I want to read the one in Four's perspective. What was the title of that again? If any of you guys have a pdf or an epub file please send it to me!
Anyway, I'll make this more than a two-shot since so much more can happen!
Note: The universe of this story MAY be different from the ones in my other stories. Since they have the same timeline. I'll just see if I can make things overlap.
Review please!
