Hey y'all! Time for Chapter 3! Super excited!
The next morning, we go to the training room. It smells of sweat and dust. I look at Four. He looks comfortable in this room. He looks better in black than gray. His shirt and shorts don't hang on him as much. I look down at my own clothes. My black shorts are a little baggy. My tank-top is an okay length. It's odd, you spend your whole life in one color, then you change and you are put in a different color. I've noticed it the past few days we've been here. Learning to shoot the gun was kind of fun. I wonder what we'll be doing today.
When Amar walks in, I find myself staring at him. His light brown muscles show through the shirt he's wearing. He looks comfortable here, like Four. He begins talking. "Alright! The rest of the day, we'll be learning a few punches and kicks that you'll use when you're fighting. But first, we'll be learning how to throw a knife." He finds my eyes. I hold my gaze for a few minutes before looking away. "I'll demonstrate both things and you will practice them on the target then a punching bag. Seem simple enough?" We all nod. "Good. Now, pay attention."
We begin with how to throw a knife, like he said. We each pick up three. I do what he showed us. Grabbing the handle then releasing it. It hits the end of the target. I frown at the knife. I turn it in my hands and hold the blade. The sharp edges threaten to hurt my hand. I feel someone watching me. Looking up, I see Amar watching me. I look back at the target. Still holding the blade, I throw it at the target. It hits the center. I have my own way of doing things, I guess. The rest of the time that we thrown knives, I use the blade instead of the handle. Every time I throw the knives, I hit the center.
I smile. So far, so good. As long as I do my own thing, I can make myself a place here.
Amar calls us over. He shows us the correct stance and how to hit and kick. We begin learning how to fight. After he does that, we go to the punching bags. I close my hands into a fist. I open and close them. It feels unnatural, making a fist. I make a fist and lightly hit the bag.
Amar sees I'm having trouble with it so he comes over to me. "I've noticed that you throw by the blade." He says. "Don't cut your hands." I nod. He continues to watch me practice on the punching bag. "You're not tight and because of that, you have no power behind your hits."
I stare at the bag. "Yeah. I'm still trying to get used to making a fist. I mean," I turn to face him. "when I am fighting, I don't want to be tight or anything and have the threat of breaking my fingers. I want to be able to move. Be kinda fluid-like. Ya know?"
He considers that, for a moment. "Show me what you mean"
I hold my arms out infront of me. My elbows slightly bend, I relax my hands, slightly bending my fingers. "Like this. This feels more natural." I hit the bag with the side and the flat of my hand. The bag slightly sways. I put more power in the hits. With each hit, there is a slight sting. My hands turn a little red but I don't mind.
"See?" I ask. "That feels natural, to me." Amar's face in serious, like he's thinking hard about something.
"I'm not sure. In a fight you have to be tight so the impact is so much for you and you can put a lot of power behind your hits. Try it. See how it works. If you can put force in the punches, then go for it. Just remember-" he in inches away from me in one step. His hand goes across my stomach. Instantly, I tense up. "keep tension here for more power." I stare at him in surprise. Warmth comes from his hand. I smell his cologne. I remember the other day, when he comforted me after my fear landscape. His hand stays on my stomach for a minute. "Although, you're not having much of a problem with that, are you?" Then he steps away. A playful smile dancing across his face. Cold hits my stomach, where his hand was.
He turns on his heel and walks away. He stops, turning around, he says, "Oh and after I dismiss the class, stay behind for a second. Okay?"
I stop practicing and I think I stop breathing. I look at him. His dark brown eyes gleam in the light but they're hiding something. I nod. "Uh… Yeah. Why?"
He grins and butterflies flutter in my stomach. His bright white teeth sparkle.. "Just do it." With that, he walks away.
I shake my head. Not really sure what that was. I start hitting the bag again. I practice the kicks he showed us, as well. What seems like hours later, Amar calls us over to him. We all go over to wear he is standing. Somehow, I end up next to Eric and a wall.
"Alright. You guys are doing great. Just remember to keep tension in your stomach and to put as much power behind your punches at all times." He finds me hidden in front if the wall. A grin threatens to appear. "After lunch, we'll do some practice fights then some real fights. Now, go eat." With that, we dismiss. I walk along the wall to the door.
dismissal
I stay close to the wall. Amar watches everyone leave. As soon as everyone leaves, he turns his attention to me. His bright white smile makes the butterflies go crazy.
I lean on the wall. "Well?" I ask, trying to sound calm. "Why do I have to stay?"
He walks over and takes my hand. Instantly, I stiffen. He's not supposed to do this. He's not supposed to show any affection towards me. But, isn't he the guy who comforted me after the fear landscape? Isn't he the guy that said he was almost jealous of my past relationship with Eric? What does this mean?
"I was wondering if you would come here after practice, tonight. We can practice fighting or something.
I look at him. "Or something?"
His easy smile comes, "Yeah. So... you'll come?"
I nod. "Yeah. I'll come."
Quickly, he pulls me into a hug. His warmth is like a blanket. I cling to him and bury my face in his neck. Wet stay like that for a few moments. Then, he releases me and I'm walking out the door.
Next thing I know, Eric grabs my elbow and leads me down another hallway, away from the group. His grip on me is tight. I yank my arm away. "I don't like being dragged," I growl at him.
"Yeah, so you've said before." Eric reminds me with a sneer. "Why are you here?" His voice is hard but quiet. It isn't a whisper yet, so for now, I'm safe. When he's calm and whispers: prepare yourself.
"Needed to get out of the house. Figured 'Hey! Why not go to Dauntless?'" I reply sarcastically. There is barely any light down this tunnel but I can see a smile crawling across his face. I lean against the wall. "Why are you here?" He leans closer to me. He puts a hand beside my head, leaning into me.
His smile disappears. "Not sure. I just wanted to come here." I roll my eyes at that statement. Eric always told me that the Dauntless were crazy maniacs. I disagreed slightly. They were out there, yes, but they're not maniacs. "And," he leans even closer, a hand slipping behind my head, cradling my face. "I may or may not have missed you."
I laugh. "You missed me? Yeah, right. How about we just happened to choose this at the same time?"
"That too. Or," he pauses. "I really missed you." He kisses me. The softness o his lips make me forget the fight we had. But, it makes me think back to the fear landscape. How after he kissed me, he got hurt. I gently push him away. He looks down, almost hurt. "Sorry. I should've-"
"You're fine. It's just- I can't." I stop myself. How can I tell him that he was in my fear landscape? "Nevermind." I slip away from him. The feeling of his gentle lips still linger. Nervously, I bite my lower lip. I turn around the corner. I know Eric is going to explode once I'm away. I'll be sure to watch him in the fights.
I walk away, running a hand through my hair. First Amar, now Eric. What's next?
When I go around the corner, I slam into someone. Strong hands grip my arms, keeping me from falling. Blonde hair falls in my face. " Watch it!" a voice barks. A few moments later, He clears his throat. "I mean, uh, you okay?" the man's deep, strong, voice says. I look up to see the man who I bumped into. His dark features almost mesmerizes me. With a small gasp, I realize it's Max. As if he's afraid he'll break me, he lightly pushes my hair behind my ear.
With a small voice, the only voice I can manage, I nod and say, "Yeah." I clear my throat. "Yeah. I'm goood. Sorry for bumping into you."
"No, it's my fault." he tells me. He's still holding my arms. The warmth of his hands seep through my arms, warming my bones. "I should have looked where I was going."
I stare up at him. I see his tight jaw. I see his muscles threatening to burst through his shirt. I swallow over the lump that is forming in my throat. He looks….. handsome. Not as handsome as Amar. I think. I mentally kick myself. Amar and Max are the leaders. I can't think they're handsome.
"No, it was my fault. I should get to lunch." I say. His deep brown eyes stare into my bright blue ones.
Max nods. "Yeah. Mind if I walk with you? Not like I have anything important to do."
I shrug. "I guess. I don't mind."
He releases my arms. Cold hits my arms. Why are Amar and Max so freaking warm? They've both made me shiver. We start down the hallway. I feel him behind me. The walk down the hallway is quiet. The silence is deafening.
"How's training going?" he asks. Finally breaking the silence.
"Uh, so far, so good." I tell him. "We start fighting after lunch."
He gives a deep laugh. "Be careful."
I turn to look up at him. He's a few inches taller than me. "I'll do my best." He nods. I turn back around when we reach the brightness of the cafeteria. "Well, I'll see you later."
"Yeah. See you later." He starts walking away. I push the door open as he calls out, "Oh! And be sure to eat a piece of cake! Chocolate is one of the best flavors."
I smile as I walk in. "I'll try to get a piece." I search for a seat. I find one with Four.
I weave through the crowd. Grabbing a plate of food in the process, I plop next to him. "Hey." I tell him. I start eating. I didn't realize how hungry I was.
He looks at me through the sides of his eyes. "Hey. We're you been?"
I shrug. "Around." He turns so his whole face is looking at me. I roll my eyes. "Fine. Just drama with Eric. Then I literally ran into Max." I notice he has cake. Using my fork and without asking, I steal a small corner.
He raises an eyebrow. He cocks his head to the side. I see a frown forming on his face. "Drama with Eric?"
I nudge him in the side. "The cake is good, by the way. And I'm not going into any of that. Too much confusion." I take another bite of his cake.
"I would guess so. And I wouldn't ask you to." He takes a bite of his cake. Soon, we're having a fork fight over the last bite.
I win. I laugh, taking the last bite. Looking around, I see that the initiates are leaving. Picking the rest of my sandwich up, we leave. We rush back to the training room. When we get there, Amar glares at us.
"Late," he says.
"By two seconds," I tell him.
He glares at me. I know I should've back talked but It's true.
He turns his icy gaze away from me. "Okay," he brings his hands together. "Now. we're going to do some practice fight. Just a few. Then tomorrow, we'll begin the actual fights." Great….
Let's get ready to rumble!
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