Tris' POV

Last night was fun "warring" with my cousins and their friend. Our gang continued our great night having our sleepover at Yellow House, playing games, eating junk food, and talking about our awesome victory over our older cousins/siblings. It was great! We totally kicked their asses and they never saw it coming. Maybe that will teach them not to underestimate us.

I will say, it was quite a shock to see Tobias Eaton there. He may have been wearing a mask, but I'd know those blue eyes anywhere. I've had a crush on him since I was ten. I can't believe he's friends with my cousins! The very first time I got to talk to him and it's because he's angry because he was getting "punished" along with Zeke, Charlie, and Shauna. He really was mad. I could feel his anger rolling off him in waves.

Even more, well, shocking, was the tingle I felt when he touched me, while trying to take my gun away. He must have felt it too because he looked at his hand. What was that? Maybe it was just some sort of static cling. It just didn't feel like anything I've ever felt before. I recognized him, but did he recognize me? Probably not. I doubt he'd ever notice me. I'll see him at church today, maybe that will answer my question.

I suddenly remember multiple times when Zeke talked about meeting a friend, at the Clubhouse, for late night training. It had to be Tobias he was meeting. Interesting. I wonder if he's transferring to Dauntless. I would if Marcus Eaton were my dad. He gives me the creeps. Where Tobias touch makes me tingle, his dad's makes me want to barf. Whenever he comes to dinner at our house, he's always touching my shoulder, patting me on the head, or putting a stray lock of hair behind my ear. For the leader of the faction that doesn't believe in touching, he sure is touchy feely. Yuck!

I'm stretching out, enjoying a moment of peace and quiet, when Caleb comes barging through the front door.

"Beatrice, get up! We must get to church. Mom sent your clothes, so you could get changed here." Caleb says hurriedly.

I respond, "Alright, alright, I'm up."

I grab the bag he tosses to me and go to one of the bedrooms to change. When I'm done, we bid farewell to our friends and run for the tracks to catch the train to Abnegation. We go to the meeting house just in time to help our parents set up chairs and get everything ready for the Sunday church service. I'm putting hymnbooks on every other seat, when Marcus and Tobias arrive. We've already finished everything except the hymnbooks, so they just take their seats.

I walk over and hand Marcus a hymnbook and he looks down at my hand with a disgusted look on his face. He noticed blue paint on my hand and fingernails. He probably thinks I tried to paint my nails, but it's really from paintballing. It's impossible to not get paint on you when you're using paintball guns. I didn't even notice the paint until then. Tobias notices as well and looks up at me. I just winked at him super-fast.

I'm at the front helping my dad get his papers for his lesson today, organized. I notice Tobias is looking at me with his brows furrowed. I think he's trying to figure out why I have paint on my hand. I guess he really doesn't know it was me last night. Hehehe... if I ever do get up the nerve to talk to him, maybe I can tease him about that. Although he does have a bit of a temper, I wasn't afraid of him, so I think it would still be fun to tease him just a little bit.

Everyone has started to arrive, so my dad tells me to take my seat. My family is sitting behind the Eatons, so I can gaze at Tobias all I want if he doesn't turn around. This makes me feel happy and warm inside. He really is handsome. My mom works with him at the Distribution Center. She always talks to me about what a nice boy he is and how hard he works. She talks to me about him all the time. Hmm... it makes me wonder if she knows about my crush. I guess that's okay. I can trust her not to say anything to him. Now if my cousins found out, then I'd be in big trouble. They'd never miss a chance to embarrass me.

Everyone is seated and my dad started talking about ways we can help our fellow man. It's an important lesson, but not one I'm good at. Sure, if someone is being picked on by a bully, I'm happy to help, but I have trouble recognizing when I should help someone. I see the factionless and know they're hungry. I'm always happy to do my volunteer work, when it involves helping to feed them, or passing out blankets and clothes, but if someone needed help carrying their groceries, I probably wouldn't notice. I guess that's why I'm not really cut out to be Abnegation. I'll miss my family when I leave, but at least I know I'll see them on Visiting Day, or for special occasions at Yellow House.

Before I know it, the hour is over and we're all cleaning up the chairs and heading home to Sunday lunch. My mom has a look on her face like she's up to something. She walked up to Marcus and asked him and Tobias over for lunch and invited them to walk home with us. Marcus agreed so now the six of us are walking down the street to our house. I end up at the back of the group, next to Tobias. I have so many butterflies in my stomach, and I can't help the slight skip in my step. I try to hold it back, but sometimes I just have so much energy, I can't help but let it out somehow. Hopefully no one notices.

As we're walking along, suddenly, Tobias puts his hand out on my shoulder and pushes down as if to stop me from skipping. I look up at him, and he very slightly shakes his head "no". I think he's trying to keep me from getting in trouble, because he gives me a little half smile. Okay, so now the butterflies have quadrupled because Tobias Eaton noticed me! I didn't feel that tingle I felt last night though. Maybe it needs to be skin to skin contact. Nothin's getting through my Abnegation dress that covers everything but my shoes and my face. If it's because of skin-to-skin contact, maybe my parents are right and touch between two people is powerful, so it's not to be taken lightly. Ugh, I can't tell them that. I'm sure it's against some kind of kid code to tell your parents they're right about something. They'd probably think I was crazy if I told them about the tingle anyway.

We get to our house and my dad ushers everyone in. Lunch is already ready. We can smell the roast chicken and vegetables when we walk through the door. Mom must have put it in the oven right before leaving for church. The table is already set too, so I go and get a fresh loaf of bread and begin to slice it while dad carries the chicken and vegetables out. Caleb fills a pitcher with water and sets it on the table. Everyone is seated around the table, when I walk in and place the bread in the center. My parents are sitting at each end of the table, Caleb and Marcus are sitting on one side, and Tobias is on the other side. I take the only seat available, next to him. We all hold hands, and my father prays over the meal.

Sure enough, the tingle is there! What does it mean? I peeked at Tobias while my dad was praying and he was peeking at me too, with a confused look on his face. We both looked away quickly. I close my eyes until my dad is done and then we let go of each other's hands.

The rest of the meal is pretty quiet. Only my parents and Marcus are talking. Kids aren't supposed to talk during meals, by Abnegation standards. This is a rule my family breaks when we're alone, but I know we must be on our best behavior when we have company, especially Marcus, our great leader. Odd though, my mom went out of her way to invite them to dinner, but I notice she's not very friendly or warm with Marcus. She frequently dished more food onto Tobias' plate. She didn't even give him a choice. He ate everything she gave him, though I'm not sure if it was because he was hungry or just being polite.

After dinner, Marcus makes a big show of how they need to leave so they don't put us out any longer. Tobias looked over at me and winked the same way I did at him, when we were at church. Marcus was watching me, so I had to hide the smirk that was trying to escape. Of course, Mr. Creepy had to reach out and rub my shoulder. Ick! He told my parents I was growing up so fast. Weird how he only comments on my growth and not Caleb's. Caleb's practically growing through the roof, where I'm still a shrimp. Tobias frowned at his dad's hand on my shoulder and mom worked her way between us. I get the feeling she doesn't want Marcus near me, and I'm grateful because there's just something so off about him.

After they left, I went up to my room to do homework. In Abnegation, you're busy every day except Sunday. On Sunday, at least at our house, we're allowed to have quiet time to ourselves or nap. Sometimes I'll go meet up with the gang, but my parents prefer me to be home on Sundays so we can have "family time". I finished my homework and had just settled on my bed for a nap, when there was a gentle knock on my door. It was my mom.

"Sweetheart, I need to have a talk with you, it's very important." she said quietly but firmly.

I can tell this is important by her serious expression. I sat up on my bed and she sat next to me. She took my hand in hers.

She takes a deep breath and lets it out slowly before beginning. She's making me nervous.

"I don't like the way Marcus looks at you and singles you out every time he's here." she says while frowning.

I get a whole different kind of butterflies in my stomach, the kind that make me feel like I'm going to throw up. I look up at her and say, "I don't either. He makes my stomach hurt."

She looks at me worriedly and continues, "That feeling you're getting, in your gut, you need to listen to it. I can't say much because it's not my story to tell, but Marcus is not safe to be around."

I furrow my brows, wondering what she knows.

"If he ever approaches you, when your dad and I aren't around, I want you to tell me right away. Do you understand me?" she asks me seriously.

I nod my head and wrap my arms around her. I know she's keeping something from me, but I also know how important this is.

"I'll tell you right away, momma." I promise. Then ask, "Is Tobias okay to be around?"

She smiles and says, "Of course, sweetheart. Tobias is nothing like his father."

The way she said father made it obvious she doesn't think much of his parenting skills. She hugged me and kissed the top of my head before leaving.

I stay sitting, thinking about how great it is to have such a wonderful mom. I know she loves me and looks out for me. She's the best momma a girl could have!