CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

TRIS POV

"Ok initiates we have been giving you the chance to get a little fitness up before we would give you your assessments. These assessments will be given to you again in week eight of training. So just because we won't be working solely on your fitness in training doesn't mean you shouldn't be working on it in your own time," Eric says.

I hear a collective grown from a few initiates, but I am not one of them. Yes, I am completely exhausted but I am loving this. While I could only train a few days a week with Lynn when I was in Abnegation I love that now I have the freedom to do it all the time.

"So you will all be called up individually and we will be testing your abilities in a number of areas. After that you will have a timed five kilometre run. Here is a sheet with what you will be assessed on," Eric says as he passes sheets around to each initiate.

I look at the sheet and see that they will be assessing our height and weight. Well that's easy, short and skinny. Resting heart rate, well that should be fine as long as Tobias isn't in the room. My heart rate goes up every time I see him. Blood pressure, whatever that is I don't know. Body composition, I wonder what that will involve. Then we have sit up, push up, step and sit and reach tests to complete.

They are being really thorough about our fitness. I was talking to Myra at breakfast and she was telling me that she was dreading the fights but hoped that because the assessment for our fitness was to look at our improvement not compare us to others that she may have the chance to improve her ranking this way. I hope so, I really like Myra she is quiet like me and doesn't seem to like the attention to be focused on her. Plus, I know her main reason for coming here was because Edward wanted to be Dauntless.

It takes them almost the whole day to finish with our assessments. I have no idea how I went but Eric was asking me some strange questions while he did my assessment. I'd really hoped I would get Shauna or maybe Zeke. But Eric said that the only way that it can look impartial was if he did my assessment. I don't know about that.

Tobias told me to be careful around Eric, that he can't be trusted. I just hope that he will be fair when it comes to my assessment.

Once we were finished with our run we were dismissed for the day. As I always am starving after training I went directly to the dining hall. I get some dinner because Tobias isn't here yet to steal food of his plate and as I reach our usual table I see Marlene, Lynn and Uriah sitting with another girl. She seems familiar but I just can't seem to think why.

"Hey Tris, this is Rita," Uriah says. Rita, mmm where have I heard that name before. Then I remember Rita was the girl whose sister didn't make it.

She must realise that I remember where I know her from and she says, "Yeah I'm the one who lost her sister."

"Sorry, I didn't mean to . . ." I don't even know how to finish my sentence.

"It's okay. Well it sort of isn't but I know what you mean," she says.

"So Rita is going to be hanging with us. Her 'friends' haven't exactly been nice about how Rita is feeling," Lynn says. "So screw them. If she can stand our crazy group, then I say the more the merrier."

"Do you mean that?" I look up to see Al standing in front of our table. "Because I really don't have anyone to sit with and you all seem to be having fun all the time."

All I think is that he seems kind of pathetic standing there admitting he has no friends. I can see Lynn has the same sort of expression as I do. But I do feel sorry for the guy.

"Why not?" says Uriah. "As Lynn says 'the more the merrier', although we may need a bigger table."

"So how are you finding training Rita?" I ask.

"It's good. Hard work but really glad we got Lauren as our trainer and not Eric. I would have hated to have Eric," she says.

"Is he really that bad?" I ask. "He has been okay in training so far."

"It's only the first week. Just wait until it gets further along. He was really pissed when Four extended training. See initiation used to only be two weeks but Four felt that the initiates needed longer and had the programme changed. Eric had already agreed to train the initiates and so he couldn't back out without looking bad," says Uriah.

"And he doesn't want to look bad in front of Max because he is desperate to become a leader. He and Four competed for months to become leader and Eric was more than pissed when Four was given the position. Although I think everyone else in the faction was happier that Four got it,"

I guess I am going to really have to watch myself in front of Eric. If he hates Tobias, then he is probably going to hate me too. Although he has been nice to me so far.

TOBIAS POV

"Can you please explain to me why your Stiff girlfriend is one of the fittest in our group of initiates Four?" Eric says as he walks into my office.

"I don't think you need to use such terms when you are speaking about Tris," Max says from the corner of the room.

I see Eric's eyes nearly bulge out of his head. He couldn't see Max when he came in because he had his head stuck in my filing cabinet, looking for some file he has lost. Which isn't unusual for Max. I swear he needs his own personal assistant; he is always filing things in the wrong place so that it isn't on his desk. Not that you can see his desk for all that he has on it.

"I mean to say," Eric says but Max cuts him off.

"We heard what you said Eric, no use back pedalling now," Max says. If only I could laugh right now I would.

"Now what's the problem with Tris?" Max asks Eric.

"How does someone from Abnegation become so fit?" he asks.

"Well Eric if I remember correctly you were beaten out of first place by an Abnegation transfer. So I don't understand how this can come as a shock to you," Max says.

I see Eric grimace at the reminder that I beat him in initiation.

"I would just hope that Four here hasn't been training her, that is all," Eric says. He is really digging himself a hole here in front of Max. You think that him coming from Erudite he would be a little smarter than he is being right now. I suppose there was more than one reason that he left Erudite.

"Eric are you accusing Four of training Tris? Be very careful how you answer this question Eric. Accusing a leader of an act of treason could cause you a lot of problems," Max says.

"No of course not Max. I was just curious to know how she could be so fit," Eric says.

"Eric," I say. "Abnegation members do a lot for our community and what most people don't realise is that most of the time it involves a lot of manual labour. So I would have to assume that Tris took her volunteering very seriously and from that she must have gotten fit." There is no way that I am going to tell Eric about Lynn, he is sure to find out when the fights start but for now I want to keep him wondering.

"Anything else you need Eric because we are extremely busy," says Max. If only he knew we had just been talking about leaving to go to dinner. Max can be so rude to Eric sometimes, not that I'm complaining. Most of the time he deserves it.

"No that's all," Eric says and he walks out the room.

"Well that was a good excuse you came up with Four," Max says. "But what are you going to tell him when the fights start?"

"The truth," I say. "There aren't any rules that state a dependant can't help a dependant from another faction, so he will just have to deal with it."

"Can't wait to see his face when the fights start," Max says. "I love whenever we can piss that bastard off. I can't stand him and he has been sucking up to me for the last year hoping that there will be another chance for him to become leader. It won't be happening while I'm a leader that is for sure. I am sure he is working with Jeanine Matthews but I haven't been able to catch him communicating with her. I'm sure he will slip up one of these days."

"Well Max I would love to stay and chat but I think I'm going to go and get some dinner," I say.

"Good idea, I will walk down with you," he says.

I put my tray of food on the table and sit down next to Tris. I see that Rita has joined our table, I think that's a good thing. She will have little time to think about her sister with this group keeping her busy. Although I don't know if she will ever get a word in with this lot.

"I hear you did well on your fitness assessment," I say to Tris.

"I did?"

"How come she gets to know how she went?" Christina shrieks from across the table. I swear she is getting bitchier by the day.

"Christina the fitness assessment is a personal test; you are fighting against yourself. The better you go now the harder it will be to improve when you are re-tested," I say.

"Oh," she says. She is always trying to get in the middle of my conversations with Tris. It happens every meal time. I would think she was jealous of Tris if she didn't have her own boyfriend. I don't know how Will puts up with her.

"Do you have any plans tonight?" I ask Tris.

"No we hadn't planned anything," she says.

"Good. Do you want to meet at our spot," I say. I know she knows where I'm talking about.

"That would be nice," she says blushing.

"I love when I can make you blush," I whisper in her ear and she blushes even more and I can't help but laugh.

"I just need to talk to Lynn after dinner and then I will meet you there," I say.

She just nods. I think she has also noticed how much attention Christina pays us whenever we are in the dining hall.

"I was thinking of getting a piercing Tris," Christina says. "Do you want to come with me Tris?"

"No thanks Christina," Tris says. "I have plans."

"Oh okay," Christina sounds disappointed as she says this. "I think you would look really good with pierced ears."

"Better to keep piercings to after stage one Christina," I say. "You don't want your opponent to rip them out."

"People do that?" she sounds shocked.

"Of course they do," says Lynn. "You do whatever it takes to win a fight."

"That sounds a bit brutal," Christina says.

"Do you think if you are trying to arrest someone that they will care. The factionless are a lot more brutal than anyone you will find in Dauntless and they will do anything to get away," I say. "I don't think you realise just what is involved with being Dauntless Christina."

"Just wait for the fights to start," Lynn says. "You will be black and blue the whole time. Just wait until you have to go against someone who doesn't like you. Then you will know what we are talking about."

"I'll go with you Christina," Al says. I think his names Al. When did he join our table?

"Okay that would be great Al. You're coming to aren't you Will?"

"Of course I am," says Will.

"Well let's go then," Christina says as she drags Will out of his seat. Poor bastard and Zeke thinks I'm whipped.

"Well I am out of here," says Lynn. "I'm going to try and get some training in before all the members take all the best equipment in the gym."

"Lynn can I have a word," I say. I get up from my seat, I don't need the wrong person hearing our conversation.

"What's up Four," she says as she follows me out of the dining hall.

We reach the Pit and I turn and give her a key. "What's this for?" she asks.

"Training room five. It hasn't been used in a while. I thought you and Tris and some of your friends might want to use it," I say.

"Thanks Four. I think this will help all of us," she says.

"Just don't tell anyone that you got the key from me," I say.

"You know you seem a lot happier since Tris arrived," Lynn says.

"I am."

As Lynn walks off I say, "thanks for helping her Lynn."

"You did the same for Shauna. I think it is a good trade off."

"Yeah it is. Night Lynn."

"See ya Four."

I am walking down to the chasm when I realise that I left my cake on the table. I hadn't had a chance to eat it and then went and talked to Lynn. Damn.

"Hey,' I hear Tris before I see her.

"Hey to you too," I say.

"You forgot to come back and eat your cake," she says.

"Can you read my mind? I was thinking of that as I was walking down here," I say.

"Well you are lucky that you have an awesome girlfriend," she says.

"Really? And why would I think that?"

"Because I saved your cake from Uriah and I just happened to bring it with me," she says. She pulls the cake out from next to her.

"Okay, I agree I do have an awesome girlfriend," I say. "Just the fact you kept it from Uriah is a miracle in itself."

"Well if it had been mine I probably wouldn't have gotten away with it but when I said that it was yours and that I would send you after him he quickly gave up the cake," she says.

"Do you want some?" I ask.

"No you have it. I already had a piece."

"I don't mind sharing," I say.

"Maybe just a little bit then," she says.

"Have you noticed Christina?" I ask as she shares more than just a little bit of my cake.

"How do you mean?"

"I don't know, she seems to be getting bitchier," I say.

"Yeah, Lynn said something similar to me at lunch," she says. "It's probably just the stress of training. She hasn't been coping very well with the workouts Eric is giving us. And Eric seems to take pleasure in pushing us harder, if he thinks someone is about to collapse from exhaustion then he makes us do extra. Drew fell over during our run yesterday and he made everyone run an extra two kilometres."

"Maybe," I say. But I'm not sure that is the reason.

"Did you get a tattoo last night?"

"I did. Do you want to see?"

I nod my head. Tris pulls the neck of her t shirt across and there she has three birds on her collarbone.

"Nice. Why the birds?"

"Well they are ravens and I got one for each member of my family that I left behind," she says. "But I also got another one."

"You did?"

She pulls her top further down and I see another raven covering her heart. It is just a little bit bigger than the other three.

"Do you know what this one represents?" she asks.

"No," I say.

"You," she says.

"Me?"

"Yeah because you will always be my family and you stole my heart," she says.

I don't have a response for that. Wow I can't believe that she would do that for me. So the only way I know how to show her how much that means is to bend down and to kiss her. It's not like the sweet soft kisses we shared her first night in Dauntless. This one is full of so much more. This times there are tongues involved and I didn't even realise that I had pull her to me.

We break apart and I need a minute to catch my breath, I feel like I have just run the seven kilometres that Tris had run today in training.

"Does that mean you like it?" she asks.

"Yeah, I do. I really do. I can't believe you would do that for me."

"Why? Tobias you do know how much you mean to me don't you?"

"Tris I remember when I first came to live with you and I was talking to mum. I remember saying to her that I didn't think I would ever find someone to be with. And she told me that I would but I still can't believe that you want me," I say.

"Tobias why do you feel that way?"

"Because my own parents didn't even love me. How can I expect anyone else too? Especially someone like you. I'm just so broken."

Tris moves over and straddles my legs. "Tobias I feel like the luckiest girl in the world that you want me. I love you. I have always loved you, you are my best friend and you are not broken. Marcus and Evelyn didn't deserve you. Mum, dad and Caleb they all love you too. Plus, our friends love you. Tobias I'm sorry that you feel this way," Tris says.

"I know that I have a lot of people that care about me. But there are just times when I think of Marcus and what he did and the I think of how Evelyn just left me there and I just feel like nothing," I say.

"Well every time you feel that way I want you to think of me. Always remember I love you," she says.

"I love you too Tris. More than you could ever imagine," I say. Then I kiss her.