Chapter 9

Iz P.O.V

"You know, you're quite good at pretending nothing out of the ordinary is happening." He looked down at me with a smirk before settling his hands on my hips and pushing me gently against the wall.

"Well, it would be a lot easier if you didn't insist on stealing me away from my friends while I'm trying to eat." I scold him with a playful smile, trying to be serious but failing, as per usual around him.

"Is it really so bad? I mean all this secrecy is very hot." His eyes are dark and full of want, and I assume mine are of a similar state. This isn't the first time we've been in this predicament, and it definitely won't be the last. I, personally, love these little altercations.

"I'm not complaining." I grin as he finally loses his patience and leans down to give me a toe-curling kiss. My mind is suddenly blank as he kisses the living daylights out of me. It's odd that the only person I feel I can be myself around is also the only person I can't be seen with.

He deepens the kiss and caresses my hips, moving his hands slowly up to clutch at my waist, then my back, then up to my hair, where he tangles his fingers. I let out a soft moan as he slowly works me up, and I know we won't be able to resist much longer.

I break the kiss, much to his displeasure, and ask him, "How much time do we have?" I whisper in his ear, and feel a shiver run through him.

"About 15 minutes." He replied huskily, and I grin as I drag him into an empty closet nearby.

I didn't mean for it to progress that much, not that I minded in the end really. Our little system has been working fine for the past few days, and it wasn't the first time it went to that level, but I still feel as nervous and excited as I did the first time, and it's terrifying. I'm not sure what this is yet, but I'm sure as hell not telling anyone until after initiation.

I make my way to the training room, with the distinct feeling that something is off. Maybe it's just the impending training session that is to come, or maybe something more. All I know is that I'm too tired to try and decipher the strange feeling. The walk back to the training room is short, and I run into no one on the way. Not that it matters. Members seem to try and stay away from initiates during the day.

The training room is still relatively empty when I arrive, and I don't really feeling being social with the people in the room. I find a bench on the outer edge of the room and sit down, picking at my fingernails as I wait for everyone else to arrive back from lunch. It takes about 3 minutes for the other initiates to start rushing in, slightly panicking that they could be late. He waltzes in with the rest of them, glancing at me quickly then turning away. Not that it matters, seeing as we do this on a regular basis. Ignoring each other in front of everyone else just makes it easier to avoid suspicion.

Six and Four enter the room shortly after the large group of initiates, and I perk up at the large blackboard Six is carrying. It seems to have writing on it, and I can see my name from here. Curious, I don't notice when my friends come in and sit next to me. I barely acknowledge Renee when she asks me a question I don't here, and they give up quickly. I end up not having to wait long before Six and Four explain the purpose of the blackboard.

Well, at least it will be an interesting session. Fights have been known to one of the hardest parts of Dauntless initiation. Everyone knows it, even the people born outside the warrior faction, including me. I'm a bit worried, as from what I've noticed, we have some pretty good and strong fighters in our class. First there's Sam, who throws fast and hard punches and is quick on his feet. Then there's Tyler, who has the brute strength of a titan. And lastly there's Amanda, who is quicker than light and moves with enviable agility. I would like to think I would be classified in the top bracket of fighters in my class, but I'm not holding to much hope for that one.

When Six calls Amanda and Sam for their fight, I feel worry course through my veins. The two are close in skill level, and it should make for an interesting match up. However, I'm a bit biased as to whom I wish to win. It isn't long, and I can tell that Amanda was scared, and was pulling her punches a bit. Though, I'm not sure what would possess her to do that, as she is more competitive than even me. I can tell Sam feels immensely guilty about knocking Amanda out, and he carries her to a nearby bench for the time being, until she can be brought to the infirmary. He heads over to his friends after, and shares a big smile and revieves many congratulatory pats on the back and high fives.

Renee and Jason is a pretty boring fight, with Renee being outwitted quickly and falling fast. She isn't the best fighter, but she certainly isn't the worst. Jason is only slightly better, and analyzed the fight better than she did. Renee is also knocked out, and Four decided to call someone to take both her and Amanda to the infirmary. Zeke comes in a few minutes later, while Four and Six are preparing for the next fight and takes the two unconscious girls away.

The fight between Pam and Tyler is much more interesting than the last two. It started off as a beat down, with Tyler's strength a crushing advantage against the strong but relatively slow Pam. It wasn't until the fight to seem to be almost over that Pam took and opening. Tyler left if side open after a sloppy left hook, and Pam pounced, a series of quick jabs and a well placed right cross put her right back into the match. Tyler was surprised to say the least, and took his time after that, calculating his punches and measuring Pam's responses carefully and calmly. Pam looked as though she was about to fight dirty, until Tyler took advantage of a moment of distraction to finish her with a deft right hook and left uppercut combination.

Tyler looks exhausted as Four announces him the winner, and tries to help move Pam off the fighting ring. It ends up taking Tyler, Four, and Sam, but she is eventually deposited on the same bench Amanda and Renee had occupied a few minutes ago. Six circles Tyler's name on the blackboard before quickly moving onto the next fight. "Dakota and Kailyn!"

They're boring, no question. They circle each other and seen too afraid to make the first move. Not only that, but when dakota finally does lose his patience, he throws such a sloppy punch Kailyn is able to dodge and they resume the boring dance. Eventually Four goads them on and Dakota charges again, this time catching Kailyn with a bad right hook, and a couple jabs later Kailyn falls. "Winner, Dakota." Six says in a very bored tone and lazily circles Dakota's name on the blackboard.

"Next up, Iz and Alley." I move quickly, having formulated a solid plan whist everyone else was engrossed in the ongoing fights. Alley is fast, but clumsy and weak. Any hits she lands won't have lasting effects, and she won't be able to dodge every single one of my attacks if I time them right. Alley, to her credit, walks into the arena with her head held high, and stares me in the eye as we prepare and wait for Four's signal.

"Begin." I don't wait and immediately go on the offense, giving two quick jabs and backing off for a beat, before delivering a quick jab and right cross. She deflects all of these, as I expected, and waits for a moment before starting for me. I dodge quickly and circle behind her, ducking under her outstretched arm meant to deliver a left hook. I give her one of my own, aimed directly into her kidney, and I see the pain seize up in her. I don't wait before circling back around and giving her two quick uppercuts to the jaw before backing off once more. She seems to be holding up alright, so I decide to redouble my efforts, and I go at her once again.

Quick jab cross, back off for a beat, right hook, right cross, back off for two beats, duck, dodge, jab. It's a seemingly endless cycle of wearing her down and forcing her to make simple mistakes, giving me premium opportunities to give her painful and jarring blows. Finally, after a fast and well performed combination of hooks and crosses she makes her losing error. Trying to catch me with a hook as I back away, she drops her right hand and leaves her face completely open. I take my chance and hit her with a powerful right cross, effectively knocking her unconscious. "Winner, Iz!"

I allow myself a small smile and I hear shouts of congratulations from people around the room. I help Four transport Alley to the bench for fallen initiates and return to my spot beside Myki. She gives me a high five and grins widely. I have to physically stop myself from looking over at Him, reminding myself that I'm sure I'll see him sometime later after dinner. I can feel his gaze on me, even if it's only for a brief second, and I can almost tell what he's thinking. You toyed with her too much. You should have just ended it, put her out of her misery. Well, I had a plan, and it worked, so suck it.

I tune out most of Nick and April's fight, as it was even more boring than Dakota and Kailyn's, if that's even possible. Myki and Marina is much more interesting, and Marina apparently has no issues fighting dirty. She pulled hair, used plenty of nails, and went straight for the boobs multiple times. Myki managed to pull out a win, but has several long, angry, red scratches adorning her face, and heads to the infirmary to get them looked at.

"Alright, that's it for today, great job to everyone still here. Get some dinner and be here bright and early tomorrow. We step it up from here, and focus on getting you initiates in tip top shape, so get plenty of rest." Six smirks at our almost identical looks of distaste at the mention of increased physical training, though we really should have seen it coming. I decide to head to dinner before going to the infirmary to check on Renee, Amanda, and Myki. My stomach winning the battle over my conscious and forcing my down the hallway to the dining hall.

Dinner was uneventful, with loud people doing what loud people do and much debate over the day's fights. I stayed out of most of the conversation, only jumping in when a sarcastic quip was needed and no one else provided one. I catch him looking at me every once and awhile, and I feel butterflies erupt in my stomach, and I have to force down a blush that seems to come much more now than ever before.

I leave dinner as soon as I finish eating to head to the infirmary. When I walk in, I'm shocked to see Renee is the only one in the main sickbay, and she looks paler than a ghost. "Renee? Are you ok?" I ask worriedly. The fight shouldn't have affected her like this, she should only have a few bruises and be good to go. She looks up at me slowly, and I feel my heart sink.

"We may have a problem."