A/N: We have a few things to celebrate! First, my one year anniversary of being on was December 31! And second, thanks to all of you, this story is on the second page of all the Divergent fics ranked by favorites. Thank You! I cannot believe how much support this gets, I'm just glad you guys enjoy reading it.

*So I am officially losing my mind... I wrote this all yesterday and I swore that I posted it but when I woke up to no notifications I realized that I actually hadn't.

Chapter 25

Monday, July 21

Tobias

I watch Tris out in the water with the campers from the shore. We ate lunch a little while ago, after all fifteen of the kids got here, and now they're running the swim tests. I was lifeguarding for the first half, and Tris insisted upon doing the rest. I let her, partly because I was getting tired of it but mostly because of how I enjoy watching her out in the water having fun – and in a bathing suit, to top it off.

I flip through our schedule and discover that we're going to hit the ground running, and start doing the high ropes stuff today after the swimming. My stomach flips and I set the papers down, trying to distract my mind. I want to think of anything but how high up I'll be, and how far away the ground will look and how all it will take is one slip up and I could fall and possibly die.

It was embarrassing enough to have Tris find out about my fear, but it will be worse when she sees how bad it is. I tried everything to get over it, but I guess some fears aren't meant to be gotten over.

I rub my eyes before focusing on the lake again. Tris is sitting on the dock, swishing her feet in the murky lake water. They're on the last group of campers swim testing, so it should be done soon. Three of the four girls currently testing finish easily, but another one straggles behind. Tris quickly stands up and starts talking to the girl, and ends up bending over to hand her a float and help her out.

I'm so busy focusing on the curve of her exposed spine and the way her shoulder blades move under her creamy skin that I don't hear Zeke come sit beside me. Since our group is so large, we're not paired up with another like we sometimes are, but Zeke's group is going next.

"Hey, eyes off the ass," Zeke teases and I jump out of my reverie.

I look at him, stunned, for a moment before shaking my head and lightly punching his shoulder. "I was not staring at her butt," I say, truthfully. Apparently I don't make much of a convincing argument since Zeke just laughs.

"Whatever you say, bud," He turns his eyes towards the lake, "Hey, here she comes now! You know, Four over here was just-"

I elbow him in the ribs forcefully, so he won't continue his sentence. He rubs his side and gives me a fake hurt look, with amusement layered underneath. Tris looks confused about the whole situation but bends down to get her towel from her bag. My eyes quickly trace her body before looking back at Zeke, and he just smirks again.

"He was totally checking out your ass," Zeke says quickly before I can stop him.

I try to give him my most indimitating glare, "There are campers nearby."

He just shrugs, "They probably heard it all. Anyways, I have to get in the water now. Have fun, you two!" He leaves with a wink and a wider smirk.

Tris quickly puts on her flip flops, and I notice that she won't quite meet my eyes. I try to explain, "Look, I wasn't really checking out-"

"It's fine," she waves it off, meeting my glance. Her eyes are bright and her cheeks are deep red, but she doesn't look upset. I decide to leave it alone since it's an awkward subject for her, I guess. It makes me sad that she really thinks she isn't pretty, because to me she is gorgeous, and I tell her so.

We round up the campers and head up to the changing tents. The boys and girls go into their specific tents, and Tris and I head to the counselor's tent. It's only one, so we have to change in the same room, but normally I just wait outside while she changes and then I change when she's done.

I fully expect to do that now, but she hesitates in front of the tent flap and turns around to face me, blushing slightly. "Why don't you just change, um, with me? I'm not trying to suggest anything but it would go faster."

I try to keep my surprise and excitement off my face, so I don't scare her. I didn't expect for her to do anything like this at all, and even though nothing will happen it's a big step in the right direction in terms of her confidence and trust.

"Sure," I agree with a small smile and follow her in. She walks to the opposite side and sets her bag down, getting out her shorts and tee. I do the same, and face the wall so I don't see her. I hear some rustling and assume that she's started changing, and I swallow tensely. I change quickly after drying off a bit, and I'm about to leave the tent when I hear her speak.

"Tobias? Could you just untie this for me? It's stuck," I turn slowly and see her wearing shorts but her bikini top is still on, and she's holding her hair in one hand and the bikini strap in the other.

I clear my throat as I walk over, trying to make my voice sound normal, "Of course."

I keep a safe amount of distance between us as I reach for the knot and undo it with shaking hands. I brush her soft skin with my fingers a few times, and I feel bursts of warmth shoot through me. The whole thing probably only takes a few seconds, but it feels like eternity.

When I finish the ties hang at her sides and she grips the front of the suit with a hand, letting her hair fall down her back. I gulp. "Thank you," she says quietly, her back still to me. I take it as my cue to leave.

"No problem." I grab my bag and step outside, and Tris emerges a minute later. I look around and see that all of the campers are still changing, so I lightly grab her shoulders and kiss her briefly.

Just as we pull apart the campers start to stream out, and I step away from her, laughing lightly. "Alright, who's ready for some high ropes?" Tris says enthusiastically, making all the campers gather around her.

They all let out noises of excitement, and after a quick roll call we head into the trails to get up to high ropes. After about ten minutes of walking, listening to the excited chatter of ten year olds, we get to the ropes area. It's a little clearing in the woods near the play fields, with an equipment building and some low ropes activities. The real high stuff is further back, in a larger clearing.

Tris starts to explain safety and go over the rules to the campers, while I go into the little shack to get equipment for the safety demonstration. I grab a helmet, a harness, and a rope and head back out. Tris has them all seated in a semi circle on the ground around her.

"So you're always going to have a partner. Since there is an odd number of us, Four or I can be someone's partner if they need one, but keep in mind that only a few of you will actually be up in the air at the same time, so partners could change," I stand behind Tris as she continues to talk, "Today we'll only be doing low ropes so no harnesses, but tomorrow there will be another counselor here to help us belay you." The kids moan and groan, obviously wanting to do the high obstacles, but we have to start low – and I'm thankful for that.

"But for tomorrow when we start to go higher, you will use the safety gear Four is showing," Tris says and gestures to where I stand slightly behind her.

I move forward and start to explain the gear to the kids, using Tris as my model. "This helmet will protect you, if used correctly. It must always be buckled if you are anywhere near the obstacles," I put it on Tris's head and she buckles it with a snap.

I hold up the harness, "You'll get one of these on at the beginning of the session, and it does not come off until you are sure you're done. You step into it like this," I say, handing it to Tris who steps in, "And one of the adults will come help you in." I move behind Tris and start to fasten the buckles and tighten it around her legs. I let my hands linger on her for a little while longer than I should, but I make it seem like I'm still working at the harness.

I walk back to the front of her, and hold up a clip. "This is the clip that will secure you to the rope. One of the adults will lock it for you – just by twisting and pushing – and you are not to undo it, ever. Always ask for help if you need it," I emphasise.

"If you just remember that you'll be completely safe, okay?" I look to Tris and find that she's taken off the gear, and is setting it on the ground beside her.

"Okay, lets head over here for our first event of the day!" Tris gestures for everybody to follow her as she leads us further into the clearing. Built right on the edge, inbetween two trees are a set of low wires, up to my hip, that start close together and get further apart gradually.

"You'll need a partner for these, so Four, would you like to help me demonstrate?" Tris asks, and I agree since these ones aren't that high.

A few campers stand near us and have their hands up in case we fall, in the beginning. Tris steps up with a bit of difficulty, due to her height, and I grab on to a nearby tree and get on easily.

The point of this is to put your hands up and press them flat with the other persons outstretched hands, so you can support eachother as you walk down the rope. It's very shaky since it's purposely a bit loose, so it's a challenge.

I reach my hands out to Tris, and she gives me a smile before shakily letting go of the tree. I don't think she's done this in a while, and neither have I, but I know she's done it before since she loves high ropes here and she's great at balancing.

We put our hands together firmly, and start to shuffle sideways. The campers back away once they see that we're stable, and we continue to step at a slow, steady pace. Tris wobbles a few times as do I, but we don't fall. It starts to get hard when the lines start to separate, because she's so small her hands start losing the pressure and I have to lean out further.

We get about three quarters of the way down when Tris starts to wobble again and her side starts shaking violently, and with a giggle she hops down and I follow. The campers all clap, and I give Tris a quick high five. It was a good run, because as far as I know nobody's ever been to the end and the farthest I've ever seen is about where we stopped.

The campers start going two at a time and everyone seems to be enjoying themselves. Tris goes with a kid because they don't have a partner, and they're the same height so it works well. We finish up there and do a few more low wire activities before heading in for dinner and back up to our campsite.

All the campers are quietly in their lean-tos when Tris and I get in to ours. This time, our beds are next to each other and there isn't an empty bed in the middle. Tris figured that Max already knows and trusts us, so we're allowed to sleep nearer to each other.

We both change quickly, and I sit down on my bed when I'm done, angling myself to the wall so I don't look at Tris while she changes.

"Tobias? Can I sit with you for a little bit?" Tris asks timidly from behind me. I turn around with a smile and pat the bed beside me. She sits next to me, adjusting her hoodie slightly before leaning in.

We cuddle there for a few minutes, and I try to relax but I'm worried the campers will come in and see us like this. I mean, they hardly ever wake us up at night unless they feel ill or there's a big bug in the bed, but still it's a worry.

I kiss the top of her head gently, and she twists in my arms, bringing her face closer to mine. She leans up a bit to reach my lips and captures them in a sweet kiss. "You are so beautiful, do you know that?" I tell her, my words laced with truth.

She blushes and averts her eyes, but I take her chin in my hand. "I need you to believe me when I tell you, okay? And I say it often because it's true."

She just smiles at me, before kissing me again with more passion. I shift a little bit so I'm laying down and she's on top of me, and she doesn't seem to mind as her hands tangle in my hair and she lets out a little sigh. My hands find her hips, and I daringly push her sweatshirt up a bit to expose her skin. I move my fingers across it gently, drawing little circles at her hips. She shivers slightly but doesn't pull away, so I continue.

Suddenly we hear footsteps right behind us, and Tris shoots up and quickly gets into her own bed. Seconds later a camper, Mary, appears with a worried look. We're both breathing heavily, but thankfully not in the middle of a make out session.

"I'm not feeling too well," Mary says shyly. Tris quickly stands up, slipping on her shoes.

"I'll take you to the nurse, what's the matter?" Tris hops out of the lean-to and guides Mary toward main camp, and I don't hear the rest of their discussion.

That was a close one.

A/N: Sorry it's a bit short and kinda boring, but next chapter we get to the real high ropes! Leave a review telling me what you think about the story and if you've ever done anything like high ropes! I have – that's where I'm getting the material from – and it was amazing and so much fun! Anyways, thank you for reading : )