Beatrice brought him food the next night and every two nights after that. They agreed that it was too risky for her to visit every night, but she pushed back against the idea of her only visiting once or twice. Whenever she wasn't visiting him it felt like her guilt was eating away at her insides. It was so hard to know that Toby was in pain and hungry, hidden in that closet while she could live life like normal.

It felt terrible.

She was aware that he felt even worse and there was no use for her to wallow in this misery, but she couldn't help it. Beatrice knew keeping her distance was for the best and was what Tobias wanted, but that never made her guilt or worry disappear. It was already Wednesday, a week after he was left in that god-forsaken closet, and Toby still wasn't allowed out.

How could Marcus be such a monster?

The last time she visited him, Tuesday night, they had a scare where Marcus woke up and went to the bathroom in his room. After that, Toby made her promise not to come back until he was better and came back to the training room. It was driving her crazy, but she had to admit she was terrified alongside Tobias until they heard the squeak of the bed springs. Toby needed as little stress as possible, so she resolved to do this for him. He would make it through this, he always did.

It was Thursday and Beatrice was practicing in the training room going through her typical training routine. She hated doing it without Toby, the room was too quiet which felt eerie. She missed his soft kisses, hand brushes, and words of encouragement. Above all, she just missed him.

The door to the training room creaked open, causing her to whip around and identify whoever it was. Her heart pounded against her chest.

Tobias

He was there. He looked like shit, but he was there.

Without thinking, she ran up and pulled him into a soft hug. Tears began to well in her eyes. Whether they were from relief or anger for his mistreatment, she wasn't sure.

"You're okay," she said, more as a reassurance to herself than to him. Relief flowed through her, she hadn't realized how heavy the worry had felt.

"I told you I'd be okay." He returned the hug and wrapped his arms around her. "I'm in no position to train, he wasn't happy after I was let out of the closet, but I wanted to come and see you."

"That's ok, we don't have to worry about any of that right now. I'm just glad you're here."

"Me too." She walked over to the corner where she had begun to stockpile food for them. The idea was for it to have snacks they could eat after training sessions. It just happened to also be a convenient way for Tobias to eat a bit if Marcus hadn't let him. "Here, take some food."

"What's this?"

"I figured it was easier to consistently sneak food away in small portions, so then no one thinks to miss. I bring it here and that way we have it whenever we need it."

Tobias smiled at her fondly. "That's really smart, Bea."

"Take what you want, I mostly planned for this to be for you when you came back, I need to cool down, and then I can join you on the floor."

When she turned around, Tobias was gripping his left arm tightly. He angled his body to make it less obvious, so Beatrice figured she would wait to say something. After stretching, she grabbed some crackers and sat down next to him on the mat where there were blankets and pillows cushioning them.

"How are you feeling?" She asked gently.

"I'm feeling fine."

"I thought we got past the part where you pretend you're okay. I know better, Toby."

He sighed, shaking his head slightly. All she wanted to do was reach out and rub circles on his back or hold him, but she knew both would only cause him more pain.

"Everything hurts. It...I... It's hard to even know where to begin with trying to get better. Like no matter what I do something else will still hurt or be sore. It all feels so...so pointless. Like why try, you know? He's just going to hurt me again."

Beatrice shifted so she sat in front of him. Hopefully, he would feel more supported that way. She wasn't sure the right way to go about any of this, all she could hope for was to not make it worse for him. Which, if she took his word for it, was working so far.

"Well, it's a good thing you have me here then. We can figure it out together, alright? Why don't we start with what happened to your arm."

He glanced up at her in surprise.

"How did you-"

"You were gripping it earlier. And now you're hiding it in blankets. What happened, Toby?"

"He-he used a knife. Used it to write words to make my lesson 'permanent." He winced. "He went over them again tonight when he took me out of the closet."

"That's awful, Toby. I'm so sorry."

"It's-it's okay. I'm just glad it is over." He admitted.

"What do they say?" She asked.

He sighed. "My arm says 'a waste' and I think my back says 'unloveable.' There's one on my side too, but I think it's just 'selfish.'" Beatrice sighed. She gently cupped his face in her hands, guiding him to look her in the eyes.

"You know none of that is true, right?" His silence spoke for itself, angering her on his behalf even more. "None of that is true. You aren't a disappointment. You are incredibly compassionate and clever. I love you very much. That is what you are. Marcus is the one who is a waste and a disappointment. He's the selfish one."

"What if-what if I'm like him though. What if I'll turn into him?" Tobias's voice shook speaking the words as if saying them out loud would turn them from a fear into a prophecy.

"You aren't going to. You wanna know why?" Beatrice asked. Tobias nodded. "You're worried about it. And you care about people and about learning and about improving. You listen to others. You are everything Marcus isn't."

"Maybe, yeah." They had both finished eating, so Beatrice took a blanket and wrapped it around his shoulders. When tucking it around his neck, she noticed his hair was wet, probably from showering. It dampened the blanket by his ears, which she rested her head on once she sat down again.

"Does this hurt?"

"No, no you're good."

"Ok."

"Thank you," Tobias said, "I know I've acted really ungrateful lately. Or just, not grateful. My worry for you has might be coming off harsh, but it's because I don't want you risking yourself and getting hurt because of me. But thank you. Really, thank you."

"I feel the same way, Tobias." Her hand reached up to gently touch his cheek, which was beginning to bruise. Marcus must have punched him earlier that night. Tobias flinched before she could touch the darkening skin. She pulled her fingers away quickly.

"Sorry."

"Please, don't be." She sighed, putting her head back down on his shoulder

"It's been terrible, knowing you were locked up in that closet with bruises and cuts, and knowing I couldn't do anything." The confession slipped from her tongue before she could try and filter it to sound less...whiny. Toby's shoulder muscles tensed under her head, and she realized how bad it sounded. She didn't need to dump her feelings on him. What was she thinking? That was the wrong thing to say. She should've just kept quiet. "Oh God, I'm sorry Toby. I didn't mean it that way. You haven't been selfish at all, you've been so selfless. I know you are only trying to protect me, and I am so grateful for that."

She looked up, surprised to see that his eyes were beginning to fill with tears.

"I think we both want the same thing for each other, and we're letting that stubbornness get in the way."

"Yeah." She said faintly.

"We both want to keep the other safe from harm, which in our predicament isn't easy." He admitted, looking at her sadly. A tear leaked from Beatrice's eye and Tobias used his thumb to wipe it away. "You can tell me anything, y'know? I know I'm the one in a shitty situation right now, but that doesn't mean only my problems matter. You can rant to me all you want, you know. I don't mind. That's what I am here for." Beatrice shook her head.

"I don't know, thank you. I just…It sounds stupid. What lets me have a good life while yours sucks? And I feel bad for complaining about my meaningless problems when you're scared to come home every day and have to face your father."

"Hey, your problems aren't stupid Bea." He tilted her chin up so that she met his eyes once again. They still glistened with unshed tears. "They're still your problems. You need to tell them to somebody before they build up inside of you and burst. And trust me, it won't be fun for anyone when that happens." She bowed her head, eyes focused on the blanket covering both of their laps.

"The bullying at school is worse…" She mumbled.

"What?"

"The bullying at school." She said, "It's getting worse. It was never that bad, just the occasional 'Stiff' remark and push in between classes. But it's getting worse. The other day this kid named Peter punched my stomach and pushed me into a supply closet." She grimaced. "It sounds stupid, I shouldn't be complaining about it. I know I should just suck it up and deal with it-"

"He punched you?" Tobias hissed, teeth clenched.

"Er, yeah. He was pretty weak so it didn't hurt all that much. Everyone crowded around the closet and joined him in calling me names. I couldn't escape." She grimaced. "It wasn't the greatest day."

"And you're saying this is unimportant? Bea, he hurt you. He punched you."

"I'm fine, I swear. It wasn't that bad."

"Do you know how many times I told myself the same thing about Marcus? And now look at me."

"Maybe it's different. I think I deserve it, for acting Abnegation and everything, y'know? He's just giving me what I earned, I can't be all that fun to deal with. It's nothing."

"Beatrice." The use of her first name was enough to stop her from rambling off more justifications. "This isn't nothing. You do not deserve this, you did nothing to earn it. This is entirely their fault. Not yours. Do you understand?"

"Yeah." She sighed, laying down so her head was in his lap. It was only partially true, but it would move the conversation on. Tobias must have understood, he didn't push her any further and began to play with her hair.

She had missed this.

They sat together in comfortable silence for a few more minutes, enjoying being together once again. "Caleb has been acting weird lately, too."

"How?"

"Yeah, he's hanging out with a bunch of Erudites now. He kinda just watches when they make fun of me. He'll get really mad sometimes if I bring it up to him after school."

"How is he able to just watch them hurt you?" Tobias asked. Beatrice shrugged.

"I'm not sure. He still acts all perfect around my family, so they suspect nothing. He's totally different at school, though."

"Do you think he is going to transfer?"

"Maybe." She sighed, "that's going to be rough on my parents. Both of their kids, transfers."

Tobias pulled her into a hug, squeezing her tight. The tightness of his arms around her eased the ache in her chest to a comfortable level.

"I'm so grateful you're going to follow me to Dauntless." He mumbled into her hair.

"There's nothing else I'd rather do, Toby. We're a team."

We. The word was so simple, yet it held so much meaning. So much influence. It meant neither of them was alone anymore. They shared struggles, successes, and feelings. In the midst of everything, they had each other's backs. The two 'Stiffs' from Abnegation were about to shock the society of factions, yet neither of them knew just how much of an impact they were capable of having.