Chapter 7: Tris

I watched Tobias buy the bottle and wander to the rocks, but I also knew he needed to be alone for a little bit so I stayed with Zeke and Shauna drinking with them instead.

After a few minutes passed Zeke said he needed to talk to Tobias so he made his way down to the rocks leaving me and Shauna to laugh and carry on.

"So basically it's a metal cage that'll lock around my waist and legs and help me walk again. They're starting to draw the plans next week and they'll try to work on it from there." The pink in her cheeks shows her drunkenness and I giggle.

"That's awesome Shauna, I can't wait to see it."

Her eyes scan the room and she leans towards me. "Don't look now but there are a couple of recruits with their eyes on you." I wait a little before pretending to stretch my back and see who she's talking about. "And double don't look now but here come our drunk boyfriends."

I feel Tobias slide his strong hand around my waist and pull me to his side before he places a sloppy kiss on my cheek. There isn't much he can't do that makes me giggle anymore and I notice that without planning to (because drunk Tobias can't plan very well, he just does what he wants) the recruits that were staring suddenly found something more interesting to focus on.

A few of the recruits walk into the tattoo parlor and I smile remembering when I got my crows.

"How is it teaching your first class Tris?" Shauna calls from her chair.

"It's good so far, we'll see how everything goes tomorrow. They aren't very good at fighting." I drain what's in the rest of my cup and set it down. "I'm trying to think of a way to show them a good evenly matched fight so they can actually see what they need to do."

"Why don't you have me and Four fight?" Zeke slurred his words, pointing between himself and my boyfriend who nods along with it his eyes glassy. "We're more matched than anyone else here."

Laughing I know they're serious but I can't think of a way to get Tobias away from his group to not mess up the training schedules. I can't think about it for long because a group of recruits bounces over to us.

"We want to try the fear landscape." It seems almost like they're playing dare and want to prove they're brave.

I shake my head. "Tomorrow, you're not supposed to see us like this." Four tries to hide his face but he looked even drunker than before and Zeke laughs. "Enjoy the night." They walk off and I turn back to my friends.

"I think you need to take him home." Zeke mumbles in my ear watching Tobias sway a bit. "He drank a lot tonight." Nodding I grab his arm and wave good night to our friends.

As much as he tries to lurch into the walls I keep Tobias from hurting himself and place him on the bed.

"I love you, do you know that?"

Laughing I pull his shoes and socks off and place them by the door. "I did know that in fact." He lets me pull his jacket off and place it on a chair, then his shirt.

"Yeah but I really love you." Laying him back against the pillow I tug his pants down past his hips and let them fall to the floor before making sure the blankets cover him.

I take my time getting ready for bed, Tobias is already snoring when I go for a glass of water and I decide to get one for him and place it by the bed. One of his shirts is long enough to cover my body so I made sure to steal two when we got back.

There are enough clothes still in the store that I know I can replenish my wardrobe but for now the clothes I have work just fine and Tobias' shirts are perfect to sleep in. Finally I brush my teeth and curl up into bed wrapping my arm around his middle and feeling each breath letting it guide me to my own sleep.

It's George who agrees to fight with Zeke when I ask, and agrees that after lunch when my group is fighting again he will be there. I don't even have to ask twice before Zeke is whooping around the cafeteria yelling near a group of recruits.

Tobias is silent during breakfast holding his head and keeping his eyes nearly closed, the shower he took didn't help with the hangover at all and he's miserable.

"Drink more water," Amar pushes his own towards Tobias who drinks greedily before going to fill the two cups again. "Zeke maybe you shouldn't encourage our instructors to get so drunk."

"Hey!" Throwing up his hands Zeke tries to look as innocent as possible. "He was the one with the bottle, I just joined him."

The food and water seem to help and by the time we leave to start training Tobias can walk without wincing.

My group is terrible with guns, they can't stand or aim correctly and even though I show each of them individually none of them even try to copy what I'm doing. By lunch I'm happy to let them run off and sit with my head in my hands.

The rubber bullets were swept up and the guns were placed back on the table before we left so there wouldn't be any work when Tobias and his group got there, so I just sit and try to think of ways to help my group learn how to shoot better.

"Ready for the fight?" George shakes Zeke's shoulders, when he arrives and leaves to get food before he can get an answer.

"Aren't you eating?" Shauna's worried voice asks from beside me. "Or are you just gonna sit here?"

"I should eat something I guess." Stealing a bit or something off of Tobias' plate I run off to get myself a sandwich join them again trying to feel better about the situation.

Amar sits with us and leans forward. "Before I forget, I need each of you to see me after dinner and check in on your groups." Nodding we agree and then continue with the friendly chatter and when we get up to leave for more training the recruits follow us.

After my group starts warming up and practicing Zeke and George walk in quietly making their way to the mat.

"Today I wanted to show you how two people who have been training for years look in an actual fight. I asked these two to come here and show you, but remember that they have been in real fighting situation and have used these skills."

Their shoes are off, pant legs are rolled up, and hands taped. "Pay attention kids," Zeke joked. "Maybe you'll learn something."

I've seen Zeke fight before but I've never seen George, and it's interesting to see how different their techniques are. George waits for his opponent to make the first move taking deliberate steps in a circle around Zeke who bounces on the balls of his feet before punching at George's throat.

The blows that land make smacking noises and the recruits cringe and cry out with everyone but to me it only looks like the two are enjoying themselves. In the end Zeke concedes and wipes the blood from his mouth.

"What the hell kind of place was this?" Someone calls from the group watching as the two laugh and wipe blood from themselves.

"Like we said when you got here, Dauntless was a different place. Even between my initiation and Zeke's initiation there was more padding used during fights, and when George was initiated they used full padded suits. I'm sure none of you would like to think about what it's like to be beaten bloody, so keep that in mind when dealing with people out in the streets." Everyone nods and I can see that the lesson stuck. "Break up into pairs and practice sparing.

George claps me on the shoulder before rushing out but Zeke stays next to me. "That was a good lesson Stiff."

The nickname sticks even though I've proven that I'm as much Abnegation as he is. Zeke hangs around watching and helping the recruits where he can. "They have no idea how to handle a fight do they?" He murmurs to me as he returns to my side and I shake my head with a smile.

"I can't tell if that's a good thing or a bad thing."

Shrugging I cross my arms over my chest, "I'm glad they won't be beating innocent people down, but they need to protect themselves."

"I gotta go, see you at dinner." When the fighting was over Zeke went back to the control room working for Amar and George on keeping an eye on the city and letting the force know where they need to go.

When Amar said that we would be training two classes a year I thought it was a good idea, but now that I'm seeing how much work each person is going to need I want to take it back. Maybe I'll tell him they need more intense training when I see him tonight.

Watching the groups spar hesitantly with each other I walk around and give help where I can, they picked up a few things so far but there was still a long way to go.

"See how Mary brings her foot forward before she punches? That's one of the things you need to remember to look for in an opponent so you can figure out the best way to counter." The guy I help nods and focuses again, most of the recruits are older than me but take my advice well enough.

"Alright," I call after a bit. "You guys did well today so I'll let you out a little bit early. Any questions?" No one speaks up so they all leave for the cafeteria, but one girl stays behind.

She's shy, probably a former Abnegation or from the Fringe, but it's hard to tell now that she's in all black. "Can I ask you something?" I nod and step towards her. "What do your tattoos mean?"

I forgot that my tank top showed off the ink on my shoulders and collarbone, smiling I turn around. "Are you from the Fringe?" She nods. "This one is for the faction I was born in, it was called Abnegation. This one is for the faction I chose, Dauntless." I turn to face her again. "These are the first ones I got when I was an initiate, swarming animals was a fear of mine and my fear landscape always showed crows there's one for each member of my family."

"And what about your wrist?"

It's so new I almost forget about it. "My six original fears when I got here," Roman numerals are not something that we ever used but it looks nice and reminds me of Tobias. "No matter how strong you are there are always fears."

"What's the least number of fears anyone had in Dauntless?"

It look me weeks to find that out but the memory is one of my favorites. "Four." Her eyes widen with realization.

"Can I go through the fear landscape?"

I can feel my mouth tighten, I didn't like going through it and didn't want to help anyone else do it, but we did promise to if they asked. Nodding I tell her to hold on and jog over to Tobias.

"I'll be in the fear landscape room. Meet me there when you're done?" Agreeing I run off and have the girl, Amy, follow me.

The room hasn't been touched since the last time Tobias was in there, when he said his fears had changed. I instruct her to sit in the chair and attach the electrodes while the computer turns on. "I can go in there with you if you want."

"You can?" Her eyes are big and I can't tell if she's more scared of what she's about to face or of me seeing them with her.

"Yeah, I've done it before and trust me what I saw is much worse than anything that could happen to you. I promise." She takes me hand and nods, I put the electrodes to my own skin and inject both of us with the serum watching as her fears appear before me.