A/N: Hi there. I will try to update this story every other day, since I have several stories going on right now. In case you are interested I published another multi-chapter story called Divergent Guardian and that one will be updated also every other day, unless something comes up.

Tobias' POV

I now understand why Scott and Tris are so close. They went through so much, so many dangers. I think if it was meant for them to fall in love it would have happened already, regardless of the age gap between them. But it becomes clearer to me that a very powerful friendship is binding them and I shouldn't be such a pathetic shit and question her loyalty, when she never once gave me a reason to. In fact, she more than once showed me the real relationship between her and Scott. It's not conventional, but I guess with the lives they both live conventional isn't exactly the norm.

"I wanted you to know me, the real me" she says wiping away the last of her tears. I look at her unable to put in words what I feel. There are so many emotions: pride that she is so good at what she does, fear that she might get hurt or even die, envy that she has the courage to do this, I still feel a bit jealous of her relationship with Scott. It seems unshakeable, strong. I wonder if the two of us will ever have something like it. I realize that she just exposed herself to me the way no one ever has before. It must have been difficult for her. She told me that no one knows about all her expeditions except her. And now me. I feel my heart swell at the thought that she trusts me that much. She opened up to me, even though it's hard for her. She showed me the real Tris, the one only a few know. Maybe it's time I show her the real Tobias.

"Thank you for sharing this with me" I tell her honestly.

"I wanted you to know me. To see why I don't want you there with me. Not because I don't care for you. It's quite the opposite. But because I want and need you to be safe. I am sure that if you would give up I would too, Tobias. I couldn't leave you there. I love you" she says and new tears threaten to spill. I gather her in my arms again and rock us both and kiss her head, whispering to her that I love her too. I knew that what she did is tough, but I only read the basics about the climbing itself. I had no idea how it felt like to actually be there. I still don't know to be honest, but her story, it made me realize that this is serious and the way she talked made me understand that even though she's young, she is a pro and knows what she is doing. But that doesn't stop me from worrying that one day that might not be enough and she won't make it back. I don't know if I could make it without her. I know we are young and this relationship is new, but I feel closer to her than to anyone in my entire life. When she calms down I kiss her lips softly, pouring every last bit of love I feel into it.

"I want to tell you something too" I say and she nods. "You know that my parents divorced, but I never told you why. My real father, Marcus Eaton, he was abusive with both me and my mom. At first he just insulted her, made her feel like she did everything wrong. Then he started slapping her over the face only to continue to actually hitting her violently, leaving her barely conscious. For years she took it, because she didn't want to hurt me, by making us leave him. She thought I needed my father, but I didn't. At least not one like him. He slapped me a few times and kicked me even around mom, but it wasn't that bad. But then, after I turned nine and he lost his job, mom had to work two jobs to pay the bills. She was barely home. Marcus got drunk and beat me up. Mom barely noticed because she was tired from work or tried to patch herself up after Marcus beat her as well. When I was ten mom got home early because the diner she worked at had to close early because the owners had a funeral to attend and gave the employees the day off. Marcus just finished beating me up and left me in a pool of my own blood and vomit. When mom saw that she called 911. An ambulance took us to the hospital, while the cops arrested Marcus. Social services almost took me away from her, but in the end our lawyer, who happens to be Clark's sister, helped us. She was also the one who introduced my parents to each other" I say ending my story on a happy note. I look at Tris and see her cry. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you cry" I say.

"Tobias, I'm so sorry. How could he do that to you? His own son. Please tell me he is in jail or dead" she says with a fierce expression on her face.

"He is in jail. Fifteen years."

"Good. But this isn't nearly enough for what he did." I hold Tris and tell her about every time he beat me or locked me in the closet and forgot me there. About the time he gave me dog food to eat, because he spent the money he had from my mom for food on booze. I tell her every last detail of my horrific childhood. Tris cups my face between her palms and presses her lips to mine. When she lets go of my face she wraps her arms around my neck and pulls me close to her. We whisper to each other how much we love the other and promise to support each other no matter what. She was right. It takes time to create a bond. And while I'm still a bit jealous of what she has with Scott, the bond that exists and is still developing between us feels real and strong.

We spend the better part of our day here talking about school for a change. The confessions left us both vulnerable and tired and we decided to just let them be for now.

"So, movie tonight?" I ask after a while.

"You mean, make-out session" she says with an adorable grin.

"Something like that. But we could go to the movie theater. You can pick any movie you like."

"Really?"

"Of course."

"Well, there's one I wanted to see."

"Then we'll go to see it. What's it called?"

"Meerkats" she says.

"Is it animated or something?" I ask amused.

"No, it's a fascinating documentary about meerkats" she says with a smile.

"Uhm, okay. If you wanna see it we'll see it" I say, although that's the last thing I would want to see.

"You don't want to" she says pouting.

"No, I do" I say and drink some soda.

"Well, we could either see the meerkat movie or some soft porn later tonight" she says and I spit my soda.

"Come again?" I ask.

"That's not a very good pun" she says laughing. I think for a moment and realize what I asked her. I blush and she laughs even harder.

"Not funny."

"Oh, yeah, it is."

"Yeah?" I ask and pin her down. I hover over her and start tickling her. She laughs harder and louder and begs me to stop. I stop tickling her but don't move.

"Hey" she says smiling.

"Hey."

"I love you, Tobias."

"I love you, too, Tris. It feels so good to be able to tell you this."

"I know. I feel the same way. I never said these words to anyone before. Not like this" she says smiling softly.

"Me neither."

I lean down and capture her lips and we kiss slowly, but deeply. She moans into my mouth and I feel myself getting uncomfortable in my pants. I lift myself slightly and the shift doesn't go unnoticed.

"What's wrong?" Tris asks alerted.

"Just needed to change positions" I say. She looks down and gets a glimpse of the bulge in my pants and blushes violently.

"Uhm, sorry" she says.

"It's okay. I always get excited when I'm with you" I say, trying to lighten things up.

"Maybe we should go home" she says. I would rather stay here, but I'm not sure I could handle this any longer. I nod. Maybe it's better this way. I seriously need a shower. And a cold one at that. I get up and help her up too. We gather our stuff and walk hand in hand to my truck. I drive back rather quickly and stop in her drive way. She gets out and kisses me on the cheek.

"Call me" she tilts her head and smiles. We joked a few times about how people act around each other and how silly some phrases sound. This being one of them. I chuckle and drive to my house. I park the car and hurry upstairs. I take a shower and just as I want to go into my room mom stops me.

"Tobias, can I talk to you?" she asks, her expression serious.

"Sure, just let me put some clothes on" I say. She nods and goes downstairs. I pick out some jeans and a black tee shirt. I put my briefs on and apply some deodorant. I get dressed and head downstairs where I find mom in the kitchen.

"Take a seat" she says still serious.

"What is it, mom?" I ask her worried.

"There are two things I want to discuss with you, both aren't pleasant. I'll start with the less upsetting" she says vaguely. I wonder what this is all about.

"Sure" I say awkwardly.

"I wanted to talk to you about Tris" she says.

"What about her?"

"Did you know all those things about her, about the lies she told her parents?" mom asks disapprovingly.

"Yes" I say and her eyes widen.

"And?"

"And what, mom? It's her decision" I say.

"Don't you think her behavior is odd and unpredictable?" she asks.

"No."

"No?"

"No. Mom, you were here last night when we talked. Didn't dad explain things to you?" I ask her.

"He told me that sometimes people die" she says vaguely.

"Exactly. At first I didn't get it either. But Tris shared her experiences with me" I say, but leave out details. "It's hard for her, but she loves climbing. The reason she isn't telling her parents is not because she is afraid they won't allow her to go, but she is scared her dad or anyone she loves will go with her."

"What's wrong about that?" mom asks confused.

"Normally, I would say nothing. But if something goes wrong Tris won't leave a loved one behind, even if it means she dies." Mom gasps.

"Is it that hard?"

"Yes."

"Why is she doing it then?"

"She loves it, mom. But you should ask her these questions, not me. Can I ask you something?" She nods. "Do you even like Tris?" Mom looks at me surprised. She remains quiet for a while, before a small smile grazes her features.

"Yes, I do. She is a nice girl, somewhat rough around the edges, but her heart is in the right place." I smile at my mother's assessment of my girlfriend.

"Mom?" She looks at me. "I love her" I confess. Mom gives me a knowing look and smiles wider.

"I know. I could tell. You've changed, Tobias. You are smiling more often and you have this carefree vibe around you. I'm glad. Don't get me wrong. I like Tris, but when she said she was lying to her parents I worried that she would lie to you."

"She doesn't. The reason why she lies is to keep them away from danger. From all in her family she is the youngest, yes, but she is also the one with the most experience. She only lies to keep them away from the dangerous expeditions. After she comes back she tells her folks. And obviously she is in a world of trouble for lying. But I guess in the end her parents know that she is careful and that she'll always do her best to come back."

"What if one day something goes wrong?" mom asks. I've been asking myself the same question. These what ifs are killing me.

"We'll deal with them then."

"Tobias, I only want what's best for you" she says getting up and walks to where I sit. She caresses my cheek and I lean into her touch.

"I know, mom. Can we please drop this?" I ask a little anxious to get this over with.

"Sure."

"What was the second thing you wanted to talk to me about?" I ask her. She sighs and closes her eyes.

"It's about Marcus" she says and immediately my heart rate picks up.

"What about him?" I ask, trying to keep my voice steady but my nerves are making me tremble.

"He tried to escape two days ago" she says and I feel a hole form in my stomach. Oh God. What if he got out? What if he will come looking for us? What if he will hurt us again? I must have started to show how nervous I am because mom hugs me tightly and I hold on to her for dear life. "They caught him." I look at her and her face is still serious.

"What aren't you telling me?" I ask.

"He tried to escape and he wouldn't listen to the police when they told him to stop running. He had a gun and started firing at them. They retaliated and your father was shot dead" she tells me. She is still holding me, not wanting to let go. And I'm grateful. My father is dead. My torturer is dead. The nightmare is finally over. I feared that when Marcus will be released from prison he will come looking for us. That's why I trained myself to be strong, to be able to fight him. But this won't be necessary anymore.

I stand up and pull my mom into my arms. We hold each other for a long while, letting her words sink in. I don't know for how long we are standing like this in the kitchen, but we are pulled out of our thoughts when the doorbell rings. I pull away from mom and look at the clock on the microwave oven. Damn. I told Tris I would pick her up at three. It's three thirty by now. It must be her. I kiss mom on the forehead and she smiles weakly. I go to our front door and open it. As expected I find Tris standing there. She looks concerned at me.

"Hey" she says.

"Hey" I reply.

"Is something wrong?" she asks concerned.

"Everything is fine now" I say smiling. I pull her into my arms and breathe in her scent. Passion fruit. My favorite fruit.

"You sure you are alright?" Tris asks again.

"I'll tell you later. Come on. Let's go to the movie theater."

Within twenty minutes we are at the movie theater and I buy tickets to some comedy. Tris insisted that we should watch something I would like, but right now a silly comedy is just what I need. I buy popcorn and some sodas, even though Tris insisted on buying her own. But she's my girl and I want to spoil her. We take our seats and wait for the movie to start. I can tell she is curious to find out what bothers me, but I'm in no mood to talk about it. I need to sort my thoughts before I talk about it.

A/N: Please review.