Tobias POV

I wake up this morning feeling different. I don't know what it is but for some unknown reason i feel as though i need to do something today. Need to be somewhere. After a quick shower i get dressed in my training gear and make my way to the training hall. As usual i see Christina. She is on the mats stretching and smiles widely when she sees me enter the room. She waves me over and i make my way to her.

"Let me guess...you need help with your technique?" I tease as i crouch next to her. Christina was the first person to make me smile after i lost Tris and to this day her easy going nature makes me think there is more to life. That thought usually passes quickly though.

"Oh shut up Mr 'Im too good to train'" she punches my arm and gets up. "Get up and spar with me" she says and rocks back and forth on her heels. I get up and start to stretch my neck. I don't realise how tense i have been. We go a few rounds, exchanging jabs and kicks. She has improved from when i first met Christina. She has lean muscles and can go more rounds than she previously could. She is a fighter now. Not just a smart mouth candor. We are both sweating and i feel my body start to rejoice in the pain. The pain is something real to hold onto.

"This is good" she says. She usually tries to distract me with small talk but i just return the favor with a swift kick which knocks her off her feet.

"Yeah, just like old times" i say with a smile. We both start laughing and it feels nice.

When we finish sparring we head to the grandstands and sit. I take water from the pitchers and pour it over my head. The cool water is a welcome relief. We sit sometimes and watch the rest of the training hall. Usually we watch and critique techniques or make bets on who wins. Sometimes we just sit in silence. I like that about Christina. Sometimes i can just be silent and she lets me. No awkward small talk. We have lost too much to care about formality. The training hall doors open up and people start coming in. I notice dark brown hair and my eyes take me to Alex. She is wearing a cropped sports bra, high waisted tights and runners. Her hair is half up and half down and she looks like she just woke up. She makes her way to the far left corner grandstand and places her towel and water bottle down. A girl follows closely behind and they talk quietly. Alex laughs at the girls joke but the smile doesn't catch her eyes. It looks forced. They make their way to the mats and begin stretching. Alex is tall and lean. Her hips sway side to side as she stretches her body out.

"Ahem" Christina laughs. "Could you be more obvious" she says while still laughing.

I turn to her and shake my head. "Shut up. I am looking at her technique".

"Yeah... i'm sure you were" we both laugh.

We both turn back to Alex and the girl. They have started sparring and i can already see that Alex is no ordinary fighter. She doesn't fight dirty but rather rehearsed. Trained. You can see that this girl has been trained. She anticipates the movements and blocks them all. She stands back and analyses her opponent rather than attack. This is strange for someone who has anger or someone who is head strong. The Alex that i have seen so far doesn't have any control. This is all too strange. Alex grabs the girl by the arm and twists it behind her back. The girl taps out shortly after. I don't know why but i start to get up and make my way to Alex.

"Where are you going" Christina says.

"I'll be right back" I reply and keep walking towards Alex. She takes a sip of her water and sees me coming towards her. When i get closer i can see the bruises. She ducks her head almost as if she is embarrassed. I am surprised after yesterday she would even be training. Her body needs to rest.

"I'll catch you later Alex" the girl says taking her towel with her. She smiles at me as i approach Alex. "Hey" She says with another smile and leaves quickly towards the exit.

"Bye Anna" Alex says with a quick wave. She turns to me and smiles. "Hey" she says and grabs her towel.

"Hey. How are you feeling?" i ask. Alex wipes the sweat off her face and i catch myself staring at her lips, her eyes... I shake the thought off quickly.

"I'm fine" she says, her voice cold.

"Where did you learn to fight like that" I ask. I don't know why but something about this girl seems off. She is hiding something.

"I trained the same as you did" she says cutting the conversation short. I don't know why but I keep pushing.

"You fought dirty with Lincoln. No control and all sudden movements, but today you fight completely different. Your pace is different, control is there. I used to train initiates and I can tell when someone usually has some sort of training. The first time I saw you I never would have guessed" I say. She looks at me straight in the eyes and for a second I think I see her flinch. Who is this girl?

"My fighting style changes depending on my mood. With Lincoln I was bored. Today I was focused." she says but doesn't meet my eyes.

"Tell the truth" I catch myself. Why did I just say that. She looks up at me again and bites her lip. She is hiding something. I know it.

"I am" she says and grabs her water to drink. Stalling. "Look, I don't know what you want me to say. I trained and my moods affect my fighting style. Haven't you ever lost control and threw out your training?" she asks.

"No. Training sticks. Usually if I want to pretend I don't know what I am doing then I change my fighting style. But training sticks. No matter what" I reply. She is lying and I can't seem to get it out of her. "Fight me" I say and I can't believe I just said it.

"Fight you? Are you serious" she looks shocked that I would ask. Im shocked I would ask.

"If I win, you tell me the truth. Whatever it is you are hiding. If you win, I drop it. Deal?" I ask and put my hand out to shake on it.

"Now. Fight you now" she asks and I nod my head, hand still outstretched. She looks at me and back to my hand. It almost looks like she is going to say no but she takes my hand and we shake on it.

"Fine. Your loss. Just remember you asked for this" she smirks.

"Oh don't worry. I'll remember" I say as I wink at her. What am I doing. Why am I winking. I turn around and see Christina waiving her hands up as if to say 'what are you doing'. I mouth back to her 'just trust me' and turn back to Alex. But instead I am caught with a fist. I stagger back. Dirty. She is fighting dirty on purpose.

"What's wrong Four? Did you want to hold hands and sing before we started" she says while shifting her weight back and forth on her heels. I shake my head. She can swing a mean right hook ill give her that.

"No. I think we are past that don't you think?" I say and charge towards her. Just as I expected she never saw that coming. She thought I would pace and make a move. I grab her by the waist, my head buried next to her ribcage and throw her to the ground. I get up and shift my weight, a smirk plastered to my mouth. I can't help it. She makes me want to beat the smart ass out of her. She quickly gets up and charges right back, just as I anticipated. She throws another right hook and I quickly block. I try grab her wrists but she is quick and kicks me in the stomach. I stagger back but regain my footing just in time to block her arm. She charges towards me now and knocks me off my feet. She connects again to my jaw and I feel the deep burn from where she connects. Power. I block the second attempt and grab both her arms. Somehow we ended up on the floor, my back against the ground and Alex straddling my waist. I pull her arms towards me and she shifts forward, our faces close. In that moment I am aware of how close we are. Intimate. In relax my grip on her wrists.

*** ALEX POV continuing from this chapter coming soon. Please comment and review and follow so I know whether to keep updating this story.