Hunter understands why the transfers and Dauntless-born are kept separate in training—what Ward did to the tall Erudite transfer is nothing compared to what any of the Dauntless-born could do to any of the transfers—but he doesn't understand why none of the transfers are willing to go up to the Dauntless-born table at meals and sit. He has neither seen nor heard of a rule against it, so on the third day of training, he takes a seat at the table amongst the Dauntless-born initiates.
Most of the Dauntless-born give him funny looks, but stay quiet. Part of him wishes that they would come out and say what they're thinking, but the bigger part of him knows that he's not in Candor anymore, and that's not acceptable behavior here. So he accepts their stares and whispers without comment.
"What do you think you're doing?" a girl's voice comes from behind him. He turns to see a blonde Dauntless-born—the same blonde Dauntless-born who goaded him into jumping first.
"I think I'm having lunch," he answers nonchalantly.
"At this table?"
"I'm Dauntless now, same as you," he counters.
She saunters up to him, using her impressive height to her advantage. "You do realize," she coos down at him, "that I could put you on your ass without breaking a sweat?"
"What does that have to do with anything?"
"It means you're not as Dauntless as I am."
He's starting to understand the social structure here. These challenges are frequent and winners are judged quickly. If you falter even once, you lose. He is determined not to lose, especially not to this girl. "Yeah? Wanna bet?"
"Yeah," she retorts. "Do something brave. If I don't have the guts to do the same thing, except bigger and better, you win."
He considers her proposal, then grins. "All right, then," he says, standing up. "Here goes." He approaches another Dauntless-born girl further down the table. Leaning in close, he whispers a question in her ear. She giggles, then nods.
Hunter gives the blonde a smug smirk, then plants a kiss on the lips of a girl whose name he will never learn. He holds the kiss out longer than he normally would, just to spite his challenger, whispers "Thanks" to the girl, and returns to his seat, amid hooting and whistles. Grinning up at the blonde, he says "Your move," then turns back to his sandwich.
Before he can take a bite, he feels a hand grab the back of his shirt and haul him upwards. He's preparing himself for a sucker punch to the gut, and in a way, he gets one. It's not from the blonde's fist, however; it's from his own stomach as she turns him around and kisses him hard.
As soon as her lips touch his, he knows that she's won the bet. This is, far and away, bigger and better than his kiss with the random girl. Her hands are on his face, fingers digging into his jaw to draw him deeper and deeper into the kiss. Her mouth is aggressive, trying to assert dominance over every inch of his mouth, as if it no longer belongs to him but to her. Her teeth scrape his lips as she repositions her mouth and body so that everyone watching—and by this point, there are a lot of people watching—knows without a doubt that she has kept up her end of the bargain.
By the time she finally comes up for air, Hunter is more exhausted from the kiss than from the days of training he's been struggling through. The blonde cocks her hip and remarked, almost casually, "Told you I'm more Dauntless."
"That you are," Hunter manages to breathe out as he scrambles away from the table, back towards the other transfers. "That you are."