It took a long time for Tris to get over Tobias Eaton. For the first six months, she was almost convinced that he would reach out in some way. She continued volunteering at the soup kitchen long after her requirement was met. She always hoped there would be a note somewhere in their usual places. She checked that alleyway almost everyday after school on her way home. But nothing ever came, no contact; he was gone. She finally stopped waiting. If Tobias were going to get in touch with her, he would have done that by now.

It took another six months for her not to feel sad every time she thought of him. In the beginning she tried to rationalize his decision. There had to be something behind it, some huge mysterious conspiracy that kept them apart. But she knew it probably wasn't the case. And that betrayal hurt the most.

Now, when she looked back on her time with Tobias, she concentrated on the fond memories, his smile, and her nickname that stuck with her after all this time, their last kiss. That sting that she felt every time she thought of how he left her finally started to lessen. She couldn't change what had happened, she couldn't affect his choices and she learned to accept that. He had left an imprint in her life. Her experiences with him made her stronger and a little braver.

But maybe she was giving him too much credit. Maybe the time had morphed him into something wonderful that he never was. There was no reason to keep thinking and dreaming about Tobias. It was over. He had left her a long time ago to start another life and now it was her turn.

Over the last few months, Tris's thoughts had turned to her own aptitude test and her own choosing. At least she won't have to go through this totally alone. Her brother Caleb was born the same year even though he was almost a year older. He was a natural Abnegation so there was no doubt in her mind that this choice would be relatively easy for him. However, Tris was actually dreading the whole experience. She felt that she had an obligation to choose Abnegation for her family, to keep her life the same. How could she face her mother after she chooses something else?

But what other faction would she choose? That answer was as obvious to her as anything but she didn't want to think about that. There was a part of her that was scared to go into Dauntless to face Tobias. And if she was scared of that, she wasn't brave enough for Dauntless. Then there was that letter that she agonized over for more than a year, "Don't follow me there…"

As time passed Tris was able to finally get over what they had. It had taken her a while but she had done it. And what's more, she was able to think about her faction choices without factoring him in. She was becoming her own person and she savored it.

One day after school, Tris was walking home as always. She hardly ever went by the soup kitchen anymore, her quota for the year had already been reached. She was thinking about her aptitude test; she couldn't believe it was just a couple days away. Caleb didn't seem nervous but she was still undecided about her choice. She figured the test might help her with that, push her in the right direction. All of a sudden, Tris heard a scream. At first she couldn't tell where the sound was coming from but then she saw them.

Some kids were hanging around the train tracks, which were about 20 feet above the ground. It looked like one kid had lost his footing and fell over the edge. He was dangling by his hands. Tris expected the other kids to start helping him up but they starting laughing at him and one kid even tried to kick his hands.

"Hey!" Tris's voice echoed. The dauntless boys looked up to see Tris running toward them. When she got to the train tracks, she climbed up.

"You can't stop us. We're not leaving," one of the boy's yelled, it seemed like he was the leader of the other two. They were younger then Tris by a couple of years.

Tris got to the top; the poor boys hands were slipping. "Really? I can't? Watch me." She ignored the boys and tried to grab the boy's hand. As she got closer, she realized she knew the boy, "Jimmy?"

The dauntless boy stepped in front of Tris, "What do you think you're doing?"

Tris stood up. "And what is it that you're doing? Preying on a defenseless boy is somehow making you tougher? You know that he can be seriously hurt and you'll be to blame, let me help him. What is it with you guys? You're supposed to protect people, not pick on them."

Jimmy started to slip and called out. Tris crouched down and grabbed his hand. "Either help me or get out of here." They actually seemed to be contemplating what she said. One of the dauntless boys came over and grabbed Jimmy's other hand. Together, they pulled him up.

The leader of the dauntless boys snickered and sauntered off, another boy followed him. The one that helped Tris stayed seeming not to care about the others.

"I'm sorry. Don't worry. They won't bother you again." He looked at Tris. "Please don't tell anyone. We're going to leave him alone."

"You better." Tris said tightly. Then she put her arm around Jimmy and led him away leaving the boy to watch them go.

Once they were a far enough distance away Tris chuckled and said, "You know, Jimmy, maybe you should steer clear of Dauntless from now on, ok?"

"Absolutely," Jimmy said, "And thanks, this is the second time you saved me."

"I didn't save you that first time." Tris said quietly. "Don't worry about it. I'm glad I was there."

Jimmy went off toward his house and left Tris alone with her thoughts. What did she just do? Whatever it was, it felt right; it felt good. She thought back to her first encounter with Jimmy. She had promised her father not to get involved again, to go for help instead of diving into a situation. Well, she hadn't done that. She stepped up and made a difference. She was brave.

As Tris fell asleep that night, she felt certain that she knew where she belonged. What happened today had shown her that she didn't need Tobias to be brave. She could do it all on her own and she would. She was sure that come aptitude test day, her result would be dauntless.