Hey everyone, I hope you are all staying safe and healthy!
I have decided that from here on out I plan to update this story once a week, probably on Thursdays. That will hopefully give me time to keep writing enough that we won't have long waits between chapters down the road. It might still happen... life is hard to predict. But for now that's my plan. I am going to try to get Count On Me onto an update schedule as well, probably every other week though since I don't have any chapters completed and in reserve for that one.
Stay safe, and stay home to protect yourself and everyone else, and wash your hands! LOL. Thanks so much for your favorites, follows and reviews! I LOVE hearing what you think!
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Tris POV
Today is the first day of initiation… and I am running late. I was tired from my late night with Tobias (though it was definitely worth it) and overslept. Even with Uriah helping me get the babies ready to go to the daycare, I didn't make it out of the dormitory with them early enough. I didn't even get a chance to eat any breakfast.
I rush into the training room the next morning to find everyone standing in a line facing a row of targets. Tobias pauses in the middle of whatever he has been saying and the whole group turns to stare at me. I silently curse as I feel my cheeks flush; I hate how easily it shows on my face when I am embarrassed.
"Tris," Tobias says in a stern voice that doesn't sound like my Tobias at all. "Nice of you to join us. If you want to stay in Dauntless, I suggest that you arrive to training on time in the future." In the training room, or anywhere around the other initiates, he is Four; I guess I had better get used to it. Even though dropping off his children at daycare is what made me late. They kept me there a lot longer than I had expected so they could go over everything related to the babies and daycare policies.
"I apologize," I say as I take my place next to Uriah — he saved a spot for me. "I'll be sure to leave earlier for the daycare in the future." Tobias nods and continues pacing in front of the line of initiates. He presses a gun into my hands as he passes me.
"As I was saying," Tobias continues, "the first stage is physical, intended to train your body to respond to threats. This is training you will need in order to survive life as a Dauntless." He goes on to explain the stages of initiation — first physical, second stage emotional and third stage, mental — and goes over the cuts in a little more detail than Eric did yesterday. Tobias told Uriah and me all about the different stages and how the rankings work when he visited last week, so I kind of zone out until, out of the corner of my eye, I see Tobias quickly turn and press a gun to an initiate's forehead. I hear the bullet click into place.
My jaw drops and I lean forward to peer down the line of initiates. Peter. He stands frozen mid-yawn, looking positively terrified. I wonder what that pansycake did to piss Tobias off; I'm sure it wouldn't take much. Tobias hates his guts already.
"Wake. Up," Tobias snaps at Peter. "You're holding a loaded gun, you idiot. Act like it." Tobias lowers the gun; Peter's green eyes harden and his cheeks turn red. To his credit, Peter doesn't say anything; he isn't as stupid as I thought. After speaking his mind all his life in Candor, I am not sure anything short of the gun Tobias held to Peter's head could scare him into holding his tongue.
"And to answer your question," Tobias says as he resumes his walk down the line of initiates, "you are far less likely to soil your pants and cry for your mother if you are prepared to defend yourself." He stops at the end of the line of initiates. "This is also information you may need later in stage one, so watch carefully."
And I do watch carefully… though I spend a lot more time admiring the way Tobias's rock hard muscles flex under his tight black t-shirt than actually paying any attention to what he is teaching us. Then again, I have practiced this for years now. We used guns that shoot plastic pellets, not actual bullets, but I know what I am doing.
Uriah elbows me a second before the other initiates begin to shoot. "Stop staring," he mouths to me. I blush. I know he is right, we definitely don't need anyone noticing anything between Tobias and me. I take a deep breath and roll the tension from my shoulders before I take my stance and aim the gun.
As I aim, Uriah fires his first shot. It hits inches to the right of his target. He grins at me and winks. Right. We have to hold back. We should not have been training in Abnegation, and we need to hide our skills here. I do the same, aiming for the outer ring of the target.
The kickback of the gun is more than I expected and I stumble back into the wall behind me. The bullet missed the target entirely. Maybe I won't have to pretend as much as I thought I would need to. I aim for the outer ring of the target, and after a couple more shots, I've got the hang of it.
Uriah and I both gradually aim closer to the bullseye, but I soon get tired of pretending to be bad at this and start hitting within the inner circle.
"Wow, Tris," Christina says from my other side, "you and Uriah are catching on quickly." My twin and I glance at each other and shrug. Other than Uri and me, only Edward and Peter have hit the inner circle so far.
By the time we break for lunch, most of the initiates have decent aim and Uriah and I are among the best in the group.
We walk to the dining hall with Christina, Will and Al. The boys walk ahead of us explaining some game called basketball to Uriah, and Christina and I trail behind them. She hooks her arm through mine as we walk. It makes me smile. I have never had a girlfriend like her before; my only friends have always been my brothers and Tobias. And obviously my "friendship" with Tobias is entirely different.
"God, Four is intense, huh?" Christina hisses, leaning closer to me, like she's afraid Tobias is lurking around a corner trying to listen in. "He's so hot, but he's scary! And kind of a jerk."
I bite my cheek to stop myself from snapping at her. I hate hearing anyone speak about Tobias that way, but I have a feeling I will have to get used to it. Christina doesn't know him, she has never met Tobias, only Four.
"Peter deserved that," I argue. "This isn't Candor. Like Uriah told you yesterday, we are training to be soldiers and can't be mouthing off to our superiors like that." I stop myself from pointing out that Peter already pissed Four off yesterday when he tried to push me over the railing at the chasm. That instance alone won't draw attention to our relationship, but who knows what is to come. I have worked too hard already, I don't want anyone noticing that Tobias cares for me and thinking I slept my way through Dauntless initiation. They already think I'm a slut, so I have no doubt that they would jump to conclusions.
Christina looks at me strangely then shrugs. "Hey, Uri," I call out. Uriah turns around. "I was thinking about checking on the twins. Do you want to come?"
Uriah checks his watch. "We only have half an hour, sis. I think we had better wait until training is over. You might get caught up with them and you were already late this morning. Don't forget what Four said this morning about making you factionless." He gives me a pointed look and I know what he is saying: don't put him in a bad position, Beatrice. I sigh and nod.
I miss my babies during lunch, and worse, I spend the whole time watching Christina flirt with Will and Uriah flirt with Marlene. Lynn spends the whole time glaring at her plate; she isn't very friendly. Al tries to talk to me, and I try to hold a conversation, I do try.
But I am distracted, watching Tobias out of the corner of my eye. He is sitting at another table with Zeke and Shauna… and the Dauntless-born instructor, Lauren. I remember how she put her hand on Tobias's shoulder yesterday, but I also remember how he brushed her off. Today she sits next to him at their table, laughing just about every time he opens his mouth — which has to be fake, because while he certainly has his moments, Tobias is not someone who constantly jokes around — and occasionally playfully smacking his arm.
She is definitely flirting, and he seems entirely oblivious to it. Once, he even makes eye contact with me and smiles a little — not in a taunting way, but completely genuine.
By the time we get back to the training room, I am pissed off. Uriah finally notices and grabs my arm, holding me back to trail behind the others. "What's the matter?" he asks.
"Some girl was trying to flirt with Tobias all through lunch," I hiss. "I just wanted to rip the piercings right out of her eyebrow."
Uriah rolls his eyes. "Did he flirt back?"
"No," I admit.
"Then get over it, Tris. No one knows he's taken, so you can't really blame girls for trying. Now, if she does it again once you guys go public, then you can rip out her piercings," he grins.
I laugh. "I'll look forward to that."
We walk in silence the rest of the way back to training. When we are almost there Uriah stops me. "Tris, remember. Don't let those pansycakes see how good you are. You want to surprise them tomorrow, yeah?"
I nod. "Right. Thanks, Uri." Damn. I was really looking forward to picturing Lauren's face on that punching bag. I guess that will have to wait for another time.
-oOo-
Four POV
I take a beer out of Zeke's fridge and pry off the cap with a bottle opener. "So how are they doing so far, man?" Zeke asks me. I roll my eyes, but when I look up he looks genuinely nervous and I laugh.
"They're my star initiates, Zeke," I reply. "They try not to make it too obvious, but anyone who is really paying attention can see it. They've trained hard for this. I just hope Eric doesn't notice." He has not showed up to training so far, but he is sure to be there for the fights tomorrow. Training ahead of initiation is not illegal, but for the transfers, it means that they actively refused to conform to their previous faction's customs. Basically, should the wrong people find out, it is a sure way to end up with the leaders keeping an eye on you… and not in a good way.
Zeke laughs. "Speaking of Eric, I listened in on an argument between him and Max last night. Eric was so pissed at Max for letting you off the hook so easy about Beatrice."
There is a knock at the door and Zeke goes to open it. I lean against the counter that separates his kitchen and living room and sip my beer. "What was I supposed to do?" I ask, annoyed, as Zeke lets Tris and Uriah in, each of them carrying a baby. "When I asked to train initiates I had no idea it would be this complicated. And they have no proof that I knew before yesterday that she would come to Dauntless."
"And that's what Max told him," Zeke replies as he takes Landon out of Uriah's arms.
I set down my beer and take Adeline after giving Tris a quick kiss on the cheek. Adeline immediately begins crying and my heart sinks. "Tris," I say, "our daughter hates me."
"Adeline hates everyone," Uriah pipes up. "Don't take it personal."
Shauna comes out of the bedroom towel drying her hair. I didn't even know she was home. "Yeah, she hates me, too. Hey, Tris, have you tried a pacifier?"
"A what?" Tris asks, confused. In my mind, I vaguely conjure up an image of a little plastic contraption I have seen babies here in Dauntless sucking on. I think that's what she is talking about. We didn't have those in Abnegation.
"I think it's a little plastic thing that babies suck on to soothe them," I explain. Shauna nods, giving us an odd look.
"The Abnegation don't use those," Zeke explains, speaking extra-loud to be heard over Adeline's cries. "Probably teaches babies to be too self-indulgent or something."
"They're babies!" Shauna screams, exasperated. "Ugh, come on, Four, let's go buy your poor cranky child a damn pacifier and give these guys some Prior-sibling-time. You know they've been craving it." I laugh and hand the child who hates me back to her mother, and Shauna grabs me by the elbow and drags me out the door.
Shauna and I walk together without speaking for a minute before she breaks the silence. "So, Zeke said he saw you meet up with you-know-who last night." I grin and feel my cheeks heat up, I am sure they are bright red. "That good, huh?" she laughs, elbowing me.
"Shut up," I mutter. "A year is a long time. I really missed her."
"Yeah, I bet you did," Shauna says, wiggling her eyebrows. I push her. "Don't worry about the baby. She's just cranky. Some babies are like that."
"I have visited several times before yesterday, Shauna," I say, shaking my head. "She has cried every single time. She doesn't like me."
"She will," Shauna insists. I nod, even though I am not sure I believe her.
At the pharmacy, it turns out that there are nine kinds of pacifiers to choose from, each shaped a little differently than the others. "We didn't even have these in Abnegation," I mutter. "How am I supposed to know which one to get?"
"Um, let's just… choose a couple different ones, and hope for the best," Shauna suggests. We end up putting five different pacifiers in the basket. I pause almost as an afterthought and throw some baby wipes and a couple packages of diapers into the basket. I have to guess how much each of the twins weigh and use the guide on the side of the package, but Shauna agrees that my choice is probably the right one. I'll be sure to keep the receipt in case Tris needs to exchange them.
As we approach the checkout, I internally groan. I recognize the cashier: Nicole. Shortly after my initiation, when Zeke still didn't know about my relationship with his sister, I reluctantly agreed to come along on a double-date with Zeke, his date Maria, and her friend, Nicole. Zeke quickly ended up off in some corner making out with Maria. Meanwhile, I offended Nicole within the first five minutes and she stormed off. If I am being honest, I was relieved; I had no intention of kissing anyone but Beatrice, so I was very nervous about the whole situation.
I have seen Nicole a few times around the compound since then. The first couple of times, she just glared at me, but the last time was out of the norm. She was oddly friendly.
Shauna puts the basket of baby items on the counter. Nicole's eyebrows knit together as she scans them. "Why are you guys buying pacifiers and diapers? I didn't think either of you had any kids?"
I roll my eyes. How is this her business?
"They're for Zeke's niece," Shauna says with a scowl. She has not forgotten about that double date either. She already liked Zeke then, and she was there when he talked me into going. I remember how angry Shauna was when we stumbled upon him in a dark hallway, still making out with Maria.
"Oh," Nicole breathes, her face relaxing back to a friendly smile.
I pay, which has Nicole looking a little confused again, so I distract her by being unusually nice. Well, nice for me, anyway. "Thank you, Nicole. Good to see you," I say, smiling at her as Shauna picks up the plastic bag full of our purchases and we walk back out into the Pit.
"A word of advice, Four," Shauna says as we walk through the Pit. "Be careful how nice you are to girls. Nicole likes you and if you give girls like her the wrong idea, you're going to have one pissed off girlfriend."
"Nicole hates me!" I protest. "I didn't last five minutes on that date, remember? Which was perfectly fine with me, but―"
Shauna just laughs. "You are so clueless, Four." What the hell is she talking about?
-oOo-
Tris and Uriah both look exhausted at training the next morning. Adeline was not interested in any of the five pacifiers we offered her last night, and by looking at the Original Prior Twins, the baby must have remained pissed off all night long. I feel bad imagining them taking turns pacing the hall with a crying baby.
While the initiates are warming up, I begin writing the fight pairings on the chalkboard. Peter vs. Al, I begin. On the next line, Christina vs. Tris. Uriah vs. Will…
I am interrupted when the door opens so hard that it slams against the wall behind it. All the initiates jump and look in the direction of the noise, as do I.
Eric. Of course it is Eric. I knew he would be here today.
He approaches me and looks over the pairings. "Who's who, again?" he asks. I sigh and point to the initiates one by one, telling him their names.
"Ah, right," he says. "Erase the board and I will pair them up properly," he smirks. This can't be good.
I move away from him and watch the initiates warm up while he makes up the "proper" pairings. He punches me in the arm when he's done, as if he's being friendly, but actually it will probably leave a bruise. I look at the board.
Tris vs. Molly
Will vs. Al
Peter vs. Uriah
Myra vs. Edward
Drew vs. Christina
I was trying to go a little easier on Tris and Uriah today since I could see how exhausted they were, but of course Eric has to try and pick on them. He will be in for a surprise when he sees how good they are, I think, forcing myself to keep the smirk off my face.
"First jumper and last jumper, in the ring," Eric yells.
Tris straightens and takes off her shoes, then makes her way to the mat and from across the room, Molly does the same. Tris looks nervous; I hope it's for show. I am confident that she will be fine, but if she doesn't share that confidence, it might affect her performance in the fight
Then again, the dark circles under Tris's eyes are less than reassuring.
"Remember, you can't jump in and save her," Eric taunts me quietly as Tris and Molly take their fighting stances. I glare at Eric. His smile widens, stretching the holes of his piercings. He looks grotesque and I look away in disgust.
Molly is tall and stocky, Tris's complete opposite. In fact, she's probably got at least sixty or seventy pounds on Tris. She smiles arrogantly, she thinks she has already won.
Molly makes the first move. She goes for a right hook — sloppily, I might add. Tris easily dodges it. It goes on like this for a minute: Molly swinging punches and kicking, and Tris easily dodging Molly's advances. "Stop playing around," Eric snarls, becoming impatient.
"How do they win? Is it scored?" Al calls out from the sidelines.
Eric rolls his eyes. "It's over when one of them can no longer continue. In other words, when one of them is knocked out."
"Or until one of them concedes," I cut in.
Eric glares. "No, Four, in the new rules no one concedes."
"Good thing those weren't the rules when we fought," I mutter just loud enough for only Eric to hear. But I know I am on thin ice right now with my whole situation with Tris. It would be unwise to push this issue any further.
Eric and I are so busy with our stare-down that we almost miss it. We look away from each other when we hear a loud thud and I glance again at Eric to see him looking shocked at the sight of Molly laid out flat on the mat, with Tris's foot pressed firmly to Molly's chest. Blood streams from Molly's nose.
Tris looks to me and I nod. And with that, Tris delivers a clean blow to Molly's temple, and the light leaves the girl's eyes.
"Dammit," Eric mutters. "I didn't see how she managed that." I smirk as I circle Tris's name on the board and Eric orders someone to drag Molly off the mat.
I make eye contact with Tris and smile at her with my eyes, trying to congratulate her. But in the back of my mind, while I am still proud of her, I am worried… worried about what Eric might try next.