Beatrice got home before both of her parents. Caleb seemed to be studying in his room, as was typical. She fell into her typical routine, which was to make dinner for the family so Caleb could keep studying. As she was cooking, her mom came home and visited her in the kitchen. After their short greetings, her father entered and joined them. They worked on dinner together in silence, until everything was done.

They ate together and then spent the evening in the living room holding small conversation. Her mother hemmed while Caleb studied flashcards and Beatrice worked on editing an essay. Finally, she was sent to her room once everyone had said their goodnights.

She set her alarm clock to 12:40 and moved it as close to her bed as possible, hoping that she would actually wake up to it in time to turn it off. What if someone heard it before she could turn it off in time? It was definitely a risk. But Beatrice found it worth taking.

What would she wear while training? A dress seemed inconvenient, but females weren't given proper pants to wear in Abnegation. Their pajamas were nightgowns and their daily dresses varied in shades of grey. She would have to train in a dress or her underclothes. She always wore gray capris under her skirts, for modesty sake according to the Abnegation. And she had a variety of shirts that were baggy but functional.

At last, she laid in bed. She hoped this wasn't a trap. Tobias wouldn't do that to her, right? He seemed as committed to this as she was. Beatrice just didn't want to believe he was anything but trustworthy. She was willing to suffer the consequences if that weren't the truth because the feeling of trust and excitement for their training was too invigorating to crush with cynicism. She twisted and turned, a heavy feeling weighing down in her stomach. What she was doing was different. And different was bad in Abnegation.

It felt right to her though.

She felt the most like an Abnegation when she was with Tobias. She wanted to do whatever she could for him to make his life better or easier. She'd help him without a second thought as if it were her second nature. At the same time, she felt the bravest and most alive she had ever felt around him. How was it possible to feel both with the same person? All her life selflessness had felt impossible and yet when she was being 'selfish' according to Abnegation standards, she was the most willing to offer everything she had to give.

RING RING RI-

Beatrice bolted awake to the sound of her alarm, waving her left arm around trying to find the button. After a few attempts, silence settled in the room once more. She paused, listening for any hints that she had woken up her family. The house around her continued to be silent, which was as promising as Beatrice could hope for. She quietly got out of bed, grateful when bed springs didn't squeak, and then changed into her training outfit. It would've been much quieter for her to change before bed, but she couldn't focus on that now. She would just have to remember to do that next time.

How was she going to get out of her room?

The question hit her like a brick. Leaving the normal way would cause way too much noise, and would be much too suspicious. She glanced at her window, calculating if it was possible. It was too high to jump, but there were a good number of handholds, and it wasn't too far from a low enough jumping point. It could work, and there weren't any better options at the moment.

The clock read 12:50. Satisfied with her timing, Beatrice opened the window. She jumped as it creaked and squeaked open. She never was in her room for long enough to justify opening the window, plus it didn't help that all the buildings in Abnegation were old and went without renovations. Praying that she woke no one up, Beatrice glanced out the window to find her first step. She carefully settled her foot into a crevice, straddling the windowsill.

Was she really going to do this?

She didn't have time for these doubts. Tobias would be waiting for her.

The cement wall of her house wasn't strong, but it held her weight decently enough. Beatrice's stomach dropped as she swung her other leg out of the window and found another crevice. The night air felt cool and dry. It felt like freedom.

After clumsily climbing down the wall, she jumped off once she reached a safe enough point. Her room wasn't all that high up, but it still made her nervous to try and jump. For now. Maybe she could learn to jump and roll just like the Dauntless did out of the train windows.

Don't get ahead of yourself. You haven't even trained yet.

Taking a deep breath, Beatrice jogged around her house to find Tobias leaning against the side of it. She was right, all the lights were off in the town. The only light that shone on them came from the stars and the moon, but even that was marred from the passing clouds.

"Got out of your house OK?" She asked. She was annoyed that her chest burned from running but she brushed it off. Tobias nodded.

"Yeah. I'm glad I set my alarm earlier otherwise I would have been late. I had to climb out of the window."

"Same here." They paused as what they had just done sank in. Beatrice felt her hands start to shake, realizing she had just broken multiple rules and was about to break multiple more. Sure, she wasn't the best daughter or Abnegation citizen, but she never before went out of her way to disobey the law. Not like she was doing now. "Do you want to get going? I don't really know how, but at least get out of the city for a bit."

What were they doing? What was happening?

Even though she was pretty sure Tobias was just as clueless, she couldn't help but look to him for instructions. He was the one who had suggested they train, after all.

Tobias nodded, gesturing to the meadow. "Let's head over to the meadow then. We can jog a little bit and then walk the rest of the way?"

"I like that idea a lot." He smiled and began to jog. Beatrice took his appearance in as she jogged alongside him. He was wearing his normal Abnegation clothes but left out the numerous layers men tended to wear which left him in a tight grey shirt and simple pants. She was jealous that they seemed to fit him well while hers sagged off her in weird ways, but tried to quell her insecurities. They were in Abnegation after all where no one ever looked 'good' in their clothing since that was the entire point. She still hoped Tobias didn't notice or care.

"I don't like the silence," Tobias said.

"Me neither." It was starting to worry her. She wasn't sure if she was capable of keeping conversation while running, though. Her legs already ached and her lungs burned from the cold air and exertion. "What's your, uh, favorite color?"

"Light blue." His answer was quick and surprisingly sure.

"Why blue? That's really...simple." For someone so anti-Abnegation, she had expected him to pick a brighter color to contrast the grey that dictated their lives for so long.

"Can we-" he inhaled sharply, "walk now?"

"Oh, yeah of course." She was all too eager to walk, but she hadn't wanted to appear weak to him. Especially not on their first day. What if he decided he didn't want her there, holding him back? No, that wasn't an option. She would just suck it up and deal with the extra soreness later.

"To answer your question-it's because of the sky."

"The sky?"

"I like to look at the sky when I'm feeling sad or restless. It reminds me there's more out there than just Abnegation. Plus, it is pretty and reminds me of good weather."

His voice made the explanation sound unreasonably poetic. She was coming to really enjoy listening to that voice. Was it because she hardly ever got the chance to listen while others talked about themselves, or was it because there was something special about this voice in particular? She wasn't sure.

"Feeling philosophical tonight, are we?" She asked it mostly as a joke, hoping it would lighten the mood. They both seemed tense even as they reached the meadow. The weight of explicitly breaking the rules on them both.

The meadow looked beautiful at night, but a different sort of beautiful than during the daytime. The trees sketched shadows on the grass, which was lit by the moonlight. Stars twinkled above them, occasionally hidden by clouds before peaking out as if playing a game.

"Nah, just a bit sentimental." He replied, which made her lift her eyebrows in question. He looked up at the moon, not bothering to elaborate. She wasn't sure if he didn't see her look, or if he was choosing to ignore the unspoken question. "So what do you want to do?"

"Well, we can't do much. It's a meadow, not a gym. What do you suggest?" She didn't know anything about exercise outside of a couple of weeks of gym class that she had. Those were mostly focused on sports, but they still touched on some exercises. Whether she could do them or not was a whole other question.

"Have you ever heard of push-ups?"

"Yeah." She paused before hesitantly adding, "But I don't remember how to? I'm sorry."

"Hey no, don't worry." He rested his hand on her shoulder reassuringly, causing her to blush again. She wasn't used to much attention from anyone. Let alone this much. "That's what this is for, okay?"

"Alright."

"Okay. Now, get down onto the ground like I am." He got down on his hands and knees and soon she was holding herself up the same way. "Now, move your feet out and keep your body straight, like a board." She copied him and soon found that her arms wobbled underneath her body weight. She crashed onto the ground, feeling dampness begin to soak into her clothes.

"I don't think I can do it. I'm sorry, I'm not strong enough." She sat up, but couldn't look at him. "I'm sorry to disappoint you."

"Hey, it's ok!" Tobias scooted over closer to her. "You ran earlier, didn't you? That counts for something. Do you think Dauntless are born with all that strength? No, they had to work for it. Just like we are right now. We're going to make ourselves strong. But you can't give up like that, otherwise you are going to get nowhere. I don't want to be friends with a quitter. But you don't seem like a quitter, Bea."

"Bea?" Heat flooded through her chest. The nickname was so endearing, as was his pep talk.

"Uh, yeah. I just thought of it. It suits you. Beatrice is so long and Abnegation-like." He said, scratching the back of his neck. "I'm sorry-I shouldn't have said it. I won't call you it again unless you want me to." Beatrice shook her head, smiling. She poked his nose, giggling.

"I like it, Toby." She stuck her tongue out jokingly.

"Hey! That's not fair." He whined, making her laugh even harder.

"Yes it is. You gave me a nickname, so I gave you one."

"Yes, but the one I made actually works for you."

"And Toby doesn't?"

"Hush now, we need to get back to working out."

"But can I call you Toby?"

"Sure, call me whatever you want as long as we can continue." She laughed but nodded along

They spent the rest of the night practicing form. She found a way for her to do the pushups on her knees instead of her toes, making it more manageable. Planks were easier for her, and made her feel accomplished. They also practiced sit ups and toe touches, which hurt, but she also felt proud that she could actually do them. He showed her a few stretches, before they jogged around the meadow for a little bit. Once they were done, they settled onto a spot on the grass, catching their breath for a moment.

"We don't want to overwork ourselves. We should take small steps so that we can reach our big goal. If we just dive in, we'll strain our bodies and it won't end up good and one of us will be injured or something." Beatrice nodded, impressed with how much he knew.

"When did you learn all this? It's not like Marcus would teach you about it or anything." He shrugged, hunching his shoulders.

"I saw a few Dauntless working out after school when I was younger. I didn't think much of it at the time, but just watched them out of curiosity and learned a lot. I guess it came in handy."

"Thats really cool of you, honestly. Thank you."

"Thank you, Bea." He raises his eyebrows, pausing. I nod my head, and he smiles. "It's nice to trust someone."

"I agree."

"We should probably head back. You need rest." She rolled her eyes. "Seriously."

"I'll be fine. Don't you need sleep too?"

"Nah. I'll be fine."

"Uh huh."

They walked back to Abnegation as a 'cool down', but honestly, they just wanted to talk more. When they reached her house, he walked her to the side where they first met. She turned around to him, pausing for a moment.

"Can I hug you?" He looked at her surprised, and she was about to apologize before he nodded and smiled a bit.

She wrapped her arms around his torso, noticing how he smelt of warm and sweat. He tightened underneath her arms, before relaxing and hugging her back. It felt different, but in a good way that Beatrice wanted to remember forever. She felt special, noticed, cared about. Her head reached about his shoulders where she let herself listen to his fast heart beat before breaking away.

"Tomorrow, same time?"

He nodded. "Sounds perfect."

"Good night, Toby."

"Good night, Bea." He said, waving as he began the walk back to his house. She took a breath and walked back to the back wall, staring at the crumbling concrete to figure out how she was going to climb back up. After a bit of stumbling, she found her way up and climbed her way back into her room. She sank into her bed, cold sweat clinging to her skin as she let the events of the night sink in until she fell asleep with a gentle smile resting on her lips.

Hey guys. Thank you so much for all of your positive feedback, it means a lot to me. I'm glad you are liking the story so much, it's good to know people are enjoying a story that has lived in my head for god knows how long.

DFTBA,

thebooktrooper