Disclaimer: I do not own Divergent, any of the characters or any of the dialogue that comes directly from the text.
Chapter 14
I take my time walking to the training room. A few of the initiates pass by me on the way. What could have happened? Why was she in a dress at 7:30 in the morning? Why was she near tears? Why did my touch make her flinch away? There are too many unanswered questions. I push them from my mind as I enter the training room, preparing myself to judge the fights.
Tris shows up not long after my arrival. Her dress has been replaced by a tight, wide V-neck long sleeve shirt and black paneled leather leggings. The frightened, insecure girl from the shops is gone and in her place stands a confident, angry looking Tris with her head held high.
Our eyes meet briefly and I give her a look that says "what the fuck"? Her expression softens as she looks at me, but as soon as we break contact her guard goes back up.
I turn my attention towards the blackboard as Four finishes writing out the roster.
Will and Myra
Christina and Al
Edward and Peter
Tris and Molly
The first pair – Will and Myra – stand across from each other in the arena. For a second they both shuffle back and forth, one jerking an arm forward and then retracting it, the other kicking and missing. I notice Four, across the room, yawn and for once we seem to share the same sentiment. You'd think with it being their last fight before cuts they'd try harder to impress.
Eventually, Will takes down Myra and its Christina and Al's turn to make their way to the ring. The fight doesn't last long. Christina gets in a few hard hits to Al's face before he falls to the ground and stays down. I shake my head in frustration. What the hell made this idiot choose Dauntless? And why is he practically begging to be cut?
Edward and Peter take longer. They may be the two best fighters but the disparity between them is still noticeable. Edward is faster and smarter than Peter and in the end Peter falls.
The last fight is between Tris and Molly. Tris walks to the arena, her eyes fixed on the centre of the room. Molly moves to stand across from Tris.
"Was that a birthmark I saw on your left butt cheek?" Molly says, smirking. "God, you're pale, Stiff."
Birthmark? Butt cheek? What the fuck is she talking about?
My eyes snap towards Tris in search of an explanation I know she can't give right now. Her hard eyes remain fixed on Molly.
Molly starts towards her and throws her weight into a punch. As Molly's body shifts forward, Tris ducks and drives her fist into Molly's stomach, right over her bellybutton. Before Molly can retaliate, Tris slips past her, hands up, ready for the next attempt.
Molly's smirk is now gone as she runs at Tris who darts out of the way. Tris blocks Molly's next punch with her forearm, drawing a frustrated groan from Molly's throat. Molly goes in once more, attempting to kick Tris in the side but loses her balance as Tris dodges it.
Taking advantage of Molly's moment of weakness, Tris rushes at her, forcing her elbow up into Molly's face. But Molly is already moving and Tris' elbow only grazes her chin before Molly punches her in the ribs. The two girls take a moment to catch their breath and I can tell by the look on Tris' face that she is considering her next move.
Part of me is proud of the progress Tris has made, but the other part is worried about whatever prompted this new show of aggression.
Their eyes meet as Tris aims an uppercut below Molly's bellybutton. Molly gasps and Tris sweeps her legs out from under her. The larger girls body falls, hard, to the ground and I expect Tris to step away, but she doesn't. Instead, she pulls her foot back and kicks Molly hard, in the ribs.
Molly curls into a ball to try to protect her side as Tris continues kicking her. Once in the stomach and then in the face. Blood springs from Molly's nose and spreads over her face. I know I should stop this, but I'm frozen in place, my eyes glued to the ring. What the hell is going on? Where did this come from?
Four makes his way to the ring as Tris kicks Molly once more, this time in the chest. Tris pulls back her foot again but this time Four is there, stopping her. I watch as Tris stares at Molly's bloody body, her breath ragged.
"You won," Four mutters. "Stop."
Tris wipes the sweat from her forehead. Four just stares at her, looking as alarmed as I feel.
"I think you should leave," he says. "Take a walk."
"I'm fine," she says.
"Take a walk initiate," this time, it's an order.
I look around, to find a sea of confused and slightly terrified faces.
Tris glares at Four in irritation before making her way to the door. I follow her.
By the time I make it through the training room door, Tris is already halfway down the hallway. Her pace is fast, her hands balled into fists by her sides.
"Tris!" I call after her. I half expect her to ignore me and continue charging down the hallway, but she surprises me by stopping.
She doesn't say anything, nor does she turn around, but she stays in place as I catch up to her.
"What the hell was that?" I ask, now facing her.
"What!" she says, angrily. "I thought you'd like that. No conceding right? Fight until one of you is unable to continue. That's what you told us, isn't it?"
She's not wrong and if this fight hadn't be fueled by raw, animal emotion I would agree with her, but this was different. This wasn't fighting for position, this was fighting for dominance. If Four hadn't stopped her who knows how far she would have gone.
"Don't throw my words back at me. You know what I mean. That girl in there…that girl without mercy, with murder in her eyes…that's not you Tris. Something happened. That fight was personal. Tell me what Molly did to you," I plead.
Instead of responding, she clenches her jaw and tries to barge passed me. I grab her arm and swing her around only to be hit in the cheek by a surprisingly strong right hook. I shake it off, still gripping her arm.
"Let go of me!" she bellows, but I refuse.
"Tell me what happened," I yell back, staring her down.
She throws another punch, but this time I'm ready and I block it easily. She goes for another, this one is aimed at my stomach, I step back minimizing the impact. I let go of her left arm and she immediately swings it, hitting me just above the bellybutton. The impact is marginal and I stand unyielding. Another hit, this one even weaker than the last. She continues to hit me as I stand still, letting her energy fade and her breathing become ragged.
When she finally stops, I hear her breath hitch and she looks up with tears in her eyes. I can tell she is about to fall apart. For the first time since our interaction began, I let my eyes lift from her and realize we have attracted a crowd.
"Don't you people have places to be?" I roar. Most of them scatter at my outburst, but a few stragglers remain. I let out a frustrated grunt as I grab Tris' hand and drag her back towards the training room to the equipment storage room across the hall.
I open the door and guide her inside, closing it behind me. When I turn to face her, tears are streaming down her face and I don't know what to do. While running away as fast as I can seems like a good option, I can't do it. Do I hug her? Would she accept a hug from me? I don't even know the last time I hugged anyone...
Before I can make a decision, she speaks.
"I'm sorry," she says simply, staring at the ground.
"For what?"
She looks up at me, tears still falling, eyes rimmed red and you would never know that just moments ago this girl was completely consumed by anger.
"For being weak. For breaking down. I hate this," she stops for a second, hiccupping. "I hate that I'm crying and I HATE that I'm crying in front of you."
"Tris, what happened? Please, just talk to me," I practically beg.
"It's embarrassing," she replies, turning to face away from me.
"Well, whatever happened, it's obviously affecting you…a lot. If you won't talk to me fine, but you need to tell someone. You can't just keep it bottled up."
Not knowing what happened would drive me crazy, but she needs to move passed this, even if I can't be the one to help her.
"Do you want me to get one of your friends?" I ask.
She snorts.
"Or…I could get Four?" I try, through gritted teeth, the words causing me physical pain.
The laugh that follows echoes through the small room.
"Why are you so stuck on me and Four?" she says, turning to face me once more.
"We already talked about this," I reply.
She rolls her eyes. "No, I don't want you to go get Four. I'll tell you what happened. But don't you dare laugh at me."
She sits down on an inverted bucket, looking at her hands as I lean back on the door behind me.
"This morning, after I showered, I realized the outfit I brought with me to the bathroom didn't fit anymore. So I made my way back to the dorms in my towel and everyone was gone except for Peter, Drew and Molly," she starts. "I tried to ignore them and just get to my bunk…but they were snickering and all I had time to do was grab that dress I was wearing this morning before they were on me."
She stops for a second, rubbing her hands down her thighs. Her eyes flutter closed as she takes a deep breath.
"Peter blocked my way and they just stood there making fun of me. When I tried to duck under Peter's arm to get out of there…."she trails off, looking up at me with wet eyes.
I nod, encouraging her to continue. "Peter…he…he ripped my towel off of me…and they…they just stood there while I was naked, laughing at me."
The tears that were threatening to fall roll down her face and my blood pressure rises. My anger comes on fast and strong.
"I'm going to fucking kill them," I say, fighting to keep my breath steady as my hands clench into fists.
Tris' eyes meet mine and I don't know how she was expecting me to react, but I can tell this wasn't it.
"Eric…" she says softly, brows knitted, shaking her head slightly. "It's over. Okay. I'm fine."
"No Tris, it's not over until they all pay for what they did," my voice is calm and steady and I think it scares her more than if I had yelled it.
I turn to grip the door handle, ready to hunt them down, but stop when I feel her hand on mine.
"No," she says. "It's over. I'm fine. Didn't you see me in there? Molly paid for what she did and I showed the rest of them what I'm capable of."
I let go of the handle and turn to face her, her hand still holding mine. "It's not enough…Peter and Drew."
She cuts me off, bringing her other hand to rest on my cheek. "Let it go. I feel better…fighting Molly…talking to you…it made me feel better. Okay?"
She strokes my jaw and I start to relax under her touch.
"But Tris…" I begin.
"Let it go, Eric."
Her eyes are soft and kind, her touch distracts me. I take five deep breaths in an out to steady myself before nodding in agreement. "Okay."
She sighs softly and leans her forehead against my chest, dropping her hand from my face and resting it on my side. Tension runs through my body and it takes a moment for me react. Her scent calms me and I wrap my free arm around her waist, leaning into her.
We stay this way for a few minutes before she raises her head and looks up at me. I release my hold on her.
"Thank you," she says with a small smile, taking a step back.
"We should probably get going," I reply.
Shifting a bit into the room, I turn and open the door. She leaves first and I wait a few seconds before exiting as well.
I close the door behind me and glance down the hall just in time to see Tris disappear around the corner. I hear a cough to my left and look over to find Four standing next to the training room door, arms crossed, glaring. This is all I need. I raise my eyebrows, waiting for him to move or speak but he does neither.
"Got something to say?" I question.
He steps towards me, positioning himself entirely too close for my liking.
"I don't know what the hell you think you are doing with her, but I'm watching you," he threatens before turning and walking away.
I hope you liked it! I'm pretty happy with this chapter and I know we are FINALLY getting somewhere with these two! I know I went a smidge cliche but I think it worked. Let me know what you think and thank you for your continued support!
-MWB
