She sat there reading for what felt like hours, but it was actually only about 30 minutes. When she heard the door open she put the book down and ran into Tobias' arms. She breathed his scent in deep, "I'm so happy you're finally home! I've wanted to hold you all night!" She leaned in to kiss him but he turned away, pulling her off of him. She watched in shock as he walked into the kitchen for water, not saying a single word to her; not even looking her way. He slowly paced in front of his bed like he was deciding what to say before leaning against a wall staring at her. She could tell by the furrow in his brow and how tight he was holding his cup that he was mad. She arched her eyebrow and shook her head, "What?" He took his time finishing his water before replying in a very low, chastising voice "What the hell were you thinking tonight Sky?"

She was so taken aback by this response, that she took a physical step back and crossed her arms. "Oh Sky thanks so much for saving mine and Eric's life tonight," she said in a high pitch voice before returning to her normal octave. "Oh Tobias, you are so very welcome! I'm just glad I got there in time!" She mimicked a gesture of distress before looking at him. He was obviously not entertained by her little act as he was now glaring at her. Not to be outdone, Sky glared right back and uncrossed her arms.

He threw his cup on the ground and in three long strides he was nose to nose with her, yelling. "You could have been fucking killed Sky!" He grabbed her shoulders and shook her once, sending flashbacks of when Marcus would do the same thing before throwing her into walls, chairs, anything. He didn't notice the terror in her eyes as he kept yelling, "What if you had counted wrong and they killed you? Huh?! What then Sky?"

Still reeling from her memories of Marcus, she twisted and slammed her elbow over his arms causing him to release her. Sky fell on the ground and quickly crawled to the wall, hiding her face from Tobias as she whispered her answer. Tobias was stunned at what just happened, she was clinging to the wall as if she thought he was going to hit her. He kneeled in front of her and asked again, softer this time. "What if you had been killed Sky?" She took his outstretched hand and allowed him to pull her into a standing position, taking a few moments to rid her mind of those memories. She said more clearly this time, "I said, I couldn't think of a better reason to die than protecting you." And with that, she turned on her heel and walked out of his Tobias' apartment. Before closing the door, she turned and said "You're the only one that matters to me Tobias. But don't talk to me again until you learn what it means to be fucking grateful."

She practically sprinted down the hallway as soon as she closed his door. I can't believe the nerve he has! Being mad at me after I saved his fucking life! Ugh! She was screaming in her head and her nails were cutting into her palms from her clenched fists. She stomped into the pit where everyone was still drunkenly celebrating the night's success. She found Will and Rae standing with the other initiates and joined them until everyone was about ready to pass out. She half carrier Rae back to the dormitory with Will and they all passed out.

The next day, the initiates were woken by Four at their usual time. They went for their usual run, but without any racing as Sky was jogging side by side with Rae, who was so hung over she could barely speak. When they got into the training room, Eric was standing in front of a big board. Clasping his hands behind his back, he began: "This is our ranking board. And today is judgment day number one. So anyone below the red line, you are done in Dauntless." The initiates looked back and forth at each other as the rankings began to load.

Sky

Peter

Edward

Will

Rae

Meg

Drew

Kate

Charlie

Al

Sky, Rae, and Will all breathed a sigh of relief. Al looked like he was about to pass out from happiness. Nobody seemed to notice the dismay at the now factionless initiates. Tobias smiled briefly at Sky's name in the number one spot. Eric winked at her before continuing, "So since you all have done so good so far, and because of Sky's heroic efforts last night, you guys get the rest of today off. Do whatever you want. But tomorrow, you get to test out someone's fear landscape so you know what to expect when you go through yours." The group of initiates cheered and began whispering excitedly about the fear landscapes as Eric and Four left the room. Sky watched as they left, still irritated about last night.

"Sky!" Rae yelled loudly, "What do you want to do with this rare day off?" Her and Will were skipping around her waiting for her reply. Sky rolled her eyes, laughing before replying "Let's go swimming in the lake by the Capitol building!" Rae squealed excitedly, "Yes! Spend all day in the sun, then tonight I heard there's an underground bar scene. We can dance and drink and just relax after dinner!" Sky nodded as Will and Rae ran to the pit to invite more people.

By the time they started walking towards the lake, there were about 15 of them whooping and hollering. A dauntless born initiate, Uriah threw Sky over his shoulder and ran them both into the lake fully clothed. "Uriah!" yelled Sky, "There's this thing called a bathing suit!" Everyone was laughing as they got out of the lake to finish stripping down to their bathing suits. Sky and Rae received numerous cat calls before the boys threw them into the water. They played Marco Polo for a while, then Chicken, then some weird colors game. "This was a great idea Sky," Uriah said has he splashed water into her face, thus beginning a splash war that would last for hours. While everyone started playing Marco Polo again, Sky got out of the water and sat on the rocks. She was marveling out how beautiful it was out here, you'd almost forget we were in a walled off city. There was a soft wind that blew, bringing a scent of lavender with it. Sky breathed in as much as she could, lavender was her favorite smell. It reminded her of the day she saved Tobias. She was walking home from preschool and saw three older boys pushing around the scrawny neighbor kid who was crying. She recognized him from under the willow tree that one time. She threw rocks at them until they started chasing her. As she ran, she yelled at the boy to run home. She wasn't sure where she was going, but suddenly she was in a field of lavender. She ran to the middle and hid out until the boys got tired of looking for her and went home. That night she crawled up to his window and made sure he was ok. They've been best friends ever since. I protected him then, just like I do now, she thought, still seething from their argument. Looking out at the water, she was mesmerized by the teal color it had when mixing with the sky's reflection; it was her favorite color. Watching her friends she began to realize this was one of her favorite places too as she laid back and stared at the clouds. She loved the feeling of the sun kissing her skin, It's so clear out here, I could stay here forever. But the growling in her stomach begged to differ. Apparently she wasn't the only one who was hungry, everyone was ready to head back for some grub.

"We forgot towels!" yelled Rae. Sky began laughing, "We could dry ourselves off with our clothes?" she offered. Uriah snapped Sky's butt with his rolled up shirt before saying, "I vote we just walk back and let the sun dry us off on the way." Everyone nodded, so they began their walk back to the compound ignoring the stares they received from everyone.