On our way down to the Pit, I see Al coming out of the cafeteria and I feel my blood run cold. I quickly avert my gaze so that we don't make eye contact because I can't deal with faking any niceties with him today. Not with everything coming back to me the way that it is. I shake my head. "I can't believe I hugged him," I say. "I can't believe that I forgot what he did to me."

"Hey," Tobias says. "You can't blame yourself for that either. That's not on you."

I sigh. "I know…but it still gets me."

"As it should," Tobias says, raising a brow at me. "You've been put through a lot. We all have."

"I know…and I'm trying to not let it get to me," I say.

"That's why you have me, you know?" Tobias smiles. He grabs my hand and pulls me down an empty corridor before pushing me up against the wall. He leans in close and stares me down. "You're not in this alone. You got that?"

My breath catches in my throat and I feel myself nod. All of my words have gone and they normally do when he is staring at me like this. The corner of his mouth lifts in the beginning of a smile when he sees the look on my face. He knows that I know that he's right.

"That's what I thought," he says before kissing me softly. I lose myself in the kiss and the softness of his lips. It's in moments like these that I forget everything that's plagued me in the past months. It's funny to me because just this morning I was the one who was comforting him and so quickly our roles have been reversed. That's why our relationship is so strong. I smile against his lips as I pull away.

"Thank you," I say.

"Don't worry about it," Tobias says kissing me again. He laces our fingers together he tugs on my arm. "Let's go whip the kids into shape."

"Kids?" I ask as we reach the doors. "They're only a year younger than I am."

"Tris, with everything we've been through, you're so much wiser than they are. I'd say you've aged at least five years."

I narrow my eyes at him. "So does that mean I'm older than you?"

"No, because I've aged too."

"Yes, I can see those wrinkles around your eyes."

Tobias narrows his eyes at me. "No you can't."

I laugh as we enter the pit and the group turns to look at us. I don't know if it's because they wonder why we're so happy when we're clearly not Amity, but from what they've seen of the other leaders at Dauntless, we probably seem the happiest out of all of them. Which is strange to say, given everything that we've been through we have a good reason to be unhappy. But then again, since we're together, and we're alive, that's the best reason to be cheerful. But we'll probably need to watch it. I don't want there to be another reason for any of the leaders to watch us any closer than they did when I disappeared.

"What?" Tobias asks the group. "Are we not allowed to laugh or something?"

He asks the question like a challenge and I can see the light leave their eyes. They're terrified of him. Granted, I don't blame them, they saw how fast he can move and how well he can fight when Zeke came down to demonstrate. I bring my lips together to keep the smile off of my face and try to look as stern as I can. Tobias and I look at each other but then we start laughing again.

"Sorry," I say. "Don't be so serious. Yes, this is Dauntless and you have to be on your guard and you have to make sure you know how to protect yourself but it's not always like that. Dauntless is the faction where you can be free. Completely free with yourself and have fun. No one is judging you here. That's not what this faction is about."

I see out of the corner of my eye that Al has come into the Pit and he's standing, watching us talk. I'm thinking that maybe I should be passive-aggressive about this instead of actually confronting him. Last time I confronted Al he threw himself into the chasm. I don't want him to die.

"Dauntless is about protection. Protecting yourself and protecting your friends. Dauntless is your home now and that's not going to change. You're here because you chose us. And that is something that can never been taken away from you. But in choosing Dauntless, you have to remember not to let fear get the best of you. Because fear can make you behave in irrational ways. And you turn against the people who trust you because of that fear. You can't do that here. Not in Dauntless."

I look up and meet Al's eyes when I finish and I see that he understands exactly what I was saying. Whatever happened last week when I hugged him and I wanted to talk to him and have a conversation and be friends again, that's gone. I know the truth now. I remember how that betrayal felt when I saw his face.

"Cowardice has no place here at Dauntless," Tobias says. Al stiffens at his words and he leaves the Pit. Maybe now he'll stay away. I take a deep breath before looking back at the initiates. "What do you think, Four? Time for a little more hand to hand, or shall we do some more target practice?"

"I think we'll keep the beating for another day and focus on comradery," Tobias says. "Everyone head to the tables and grab your knives. It's an easy day."