Tight ropes bound him to a chair, digging into his already raw skin and making it sting. A quick glance around told him that he was back in his house in Abnegation. Marcus stood in front of him, and through his blurry vision, he was able to make out the figure of another person on the ground. Squinting his eyes, Tobias glimpsed blond hair.

It was Tris. Her shirt was torn and bloody and she was hunched over while kneeling on the ground. Tobias struggled against the ropes harder, letting them dig deeper into his skin. His throat was raw from screaming.

"This is for your own good Tobias," Marcus said, his teeth clenched.

"No! Don't hurt her! Hurt me instead, Tris did nothing wrong!" He shouted, straining his voice even more. Dread sunk in his stomach as Marcus grinned, his eyes sparkling with an all too familiar hatred.

"Of course you found some stupid name for her." He snarled, beginning to unwrap his belt from where it was held around his waist. "I don't care if she's done anything wrong. You see, if I hurt her, I hurt you. So I'll leave it up to Beatrice. He kicked her side. "What will it be, bitch."

"Don't call her that!" Marcus kicked her side again.

"Don't...don't hurt him." She mumbled, losing balance and falling to her side. Panic filled Tobias and he struggled against his binds harder, hoping to somehow break them. His brain was filled with one thought: Bea was in pain because of him.

The sharp crack of the whip against her skin caused him to scream even louder. Tris made a muffled sob, making Tobias feel even worse. He hated this. This was terrible.

"Stop! Please stop!" Marcus ignored his pleas and continued to whip Tris until her cries quieted and her body went limp. Satisfied, Marcus walked off without bothering to untie him. Desperate, Tobias set to work at untying his ropes. Eventually, he was able to wiggle his hands out of them and set on untying his feet. All of the while, Tris bled out in front of him.

After a few moments, Tobias escaped from the chair and made his way over to Tris. Blood pooled around her and her body was cut and bruised beyond belief. Tears wet Tobias's face as he crouched down next to her.

"Bea," he whispered, holding her head in his hands, "don't leave me, please don't leave me. I'll heal you, just hold on." His voice cracked as more tears fell off his cheeks and onto her face. Bea's eyes blinked open blearily.

"I can't make promises I can't keep." She mumbled hoarsely. "I love you, Tobias." And then he watched as the life drained from her eyes as he held her in his hands, unable to do anything.

Tobias jolted awake. Sweat trickled down his forehead. Reality began to sink in and he realized how his sheets were twisted all around him and were damp with sweat. He sighed, running his hand through his soaked hair. He hadn't had a nightmare that realistic or bad in months. Ever since he couldn't find Bea in Abnegation when he went to visit. The alarm clock that stood on his bedside table read 4 a.m. Way too early for even the most dedicated health junkies to be in the training room.

There was no hope of falling back asleep, so Tobias decided to head to the training room and do what he always did. Beat away the fear from his nightmares through a punching bag. He threw on a short-sleeved shirt and tight-fitting joggers before lacing up his sneakers. Typically, he preferred loose-fitting clothing but his tight clothes showed off his muscles more, which hopefully would intimidate the initiates. It was good for them to fear him a little bit, he figured.

Plus Bea might like it.

He was starting to see why Zeke would ask his opinion on two nearly identical shirts before going out to see Shauna. He could hear the taunts now if Zeke ever found out he wore an outfit to impress her.

It didn't take long for him to reach the training room. When he walked in he found a familiar figure standing by the punching bags. Images from his nightmare flashed through his mind. Bea on the ground, bleeding. Bea dying in his arms. Bea screaming. He pushed them away, promising that they would never happen. He would make sure of it.

Tobias quietly walked up to her, watching as her blonde hair swung back and forth in its ponytail. Sweat glistened on her skin. He noticed that her shoulder muscles had grown, made apparent under her sheer, black sleeves. Though she had the strength, she still forgot to keep tension in her stomach. Tobias grinned to himself, they all had their weaknesses. He placed his hands on her core and leaned in to whisper in her ear.

"Remember to keep tension here," he whispered. He felt her jump underneath his hands and she let out a tiny shriek. Pulling back her hand she slapped his shoulder.

"You scared me!" She hissed. "What are you even doing up? You surely don't start setting up for 7 a.m. practice at 4 in the morning."

Tobias shrugged, "couldn't sleep," he mumbled. Her eyebrows contracted. "Why are you up? You should still be sleeping, you must be exhausted."

"I'm fine. I figured since I won't be able to get much exercise in during training while pretending to be weak I might as well warm up and get my workout in now."

Tobias raised his eyebrows. "Tris, you went to bed at 1 am, there is no way you willingly woke up at 4 to train early. Or were able to."

She shrugged. "I wasn't tired and couldn't sleep."

It occurred to Tobias that they were probably there for the same reason and were making the same excuse to each other. He held back a smile at the thought of how similar they were. He wasn't all that interested in sharing why he was up either, so he decided not to question her any further and nodded.

"Do you mind if I join you?" He asked, hoping she would say yes. The side of Bea's lip turned up in a sort of half-smile as she nodded.

"Sure." She turned back towards the punching back, hinting that she wasn't willing to talk. Tobias headed over to a punching bag near her but not all too far. Before he got the chance to finish wrapping his hands Bea looked up with a smirk. "Nope, not yet. You need to warm up first."

Tobias rolled his eyes. Is this what he got for always making her warm up? "I ran here."

Bea shook her head. "Doesn't count. Go do warm-up."

Tobias fake groaned but stopped wrapping his hands and started their traditional warm-up that they had created over their time of practicing in the training rooms. He fell into the familiar routine of pushups, sit-ups, and stretching while Bea went back to hitting the punching bag. She was making significantly more progress than the last time he saw her, which made a bit of pride well up in Tobias's chest.

"Nice hit," he commented after she made the bag swing a foot or so. She shrugged in response. "Is everything okay, Bea? You can talk to me, y'know."

She nodded. "I'm good. Sorry, just getting used to having you around again while I work out."

"I can go-"

"No, no." She shook her head and stopped to look at him. "Sorry, that came out harsher than I meant it. It's a nice difference. Just have to get used to it."

"If you're sure."

She looked at him thoughtfully. "Yeah, I'm sure. Promise."

Tobias finished his warm-up and headed towards the knife-throwing targets. They were shooting guns in training and he wanted to practice his aim, even though he knew it was fine. It was relaxing to just do something he was good at. Especially with all of the questions surrounding Bea floating around in his mind.

Why wasn't Bea talking to him? Was she mad? Or upset with him for some reason? Had he pushed her too far last night? What was the reason she couldn't come to their meetings?

She hadn't gotten the chance to answer why she wasn't at school for the last year. He didn't want to overwhelm her with more questions, she already was having to adjust to a new faction and friends. It wasn't fair to make her more uncomfortable just to satiate his own curiosities.

Tobias began to throw knives at the plastic boards, satisfied as they all hit their target. His tense shoulder muscles began to relax at the sound of the knives sinking into the plastic alongside the sound of Bea's punching bag. After a few rounds of throwing, he transitioned to a punching bag within eyesight of Bea. With each punch, he became more relaxed and at ease.

Tobias hardly noticed as time passed. He glanced at the clock on the wall after a set at the punching bags and realized it was 6 a.m.

"Hey, I'm going to stay and set up. You should go get breakfast, it's already 6. If you want something good I'd suggest you go get it now before the early risers take it all."

Bea turned towards him, dropping her hands from the fighting position. Her body was drenched in sweat, just like his, and her face was framed by hair that had fallen out of her ponytail. She looked fucking hot.

"I wouldn't know what to get if I went up there." She said.

Tobias gave her a small smile. "That's ok, I forgot it would all be new to you. Do you want me to go with you? Or do you want to shower and then go with your friends?"

He noticed a flush on her cheeks before she ducked her head.

"Can I go with you?"

Tobias chuckled. "Sure, come on. Hardly anyone is ever up this early unless they have to. We'll be fine."

Tris let Tobias lead her to the cafeteria which looked completely deserted. She couldn't help but notice how he looked more relaxed than he did when he first walked into the training room, or how his shirt clung tightly to his torso, showing off his well-defined muscles. He looked good.

How was he still with her? Maybe it was just because he didn't know the truth about her. Once he found out, there was little hope of him staying around. Not when there were so many better options. He could pick anyone. Anyone would be better.

She felt guilt gnaw at her stomach. She felt bad for being weird around him. Knowing him, he was probably blaming himself for it, even though it wasn't his fault. She just didn't know what to say. He had obviously changed since he transferred, and so had she. She couldn't even begin to consider telling him about anything that happened. They were stuck.

Tobias led her to the ordering counter which had rows of baskets filled with various pastries. She recognized some of them from her times sorting food for the Factionless with her mom. Her mouth began to water.

"Do you trust me?" Tobias asked gently, breaking Tris from her train of thought.

What kind of question was that?

Of course she trusted him. She wouldn't have followed him to Dauntless if she didn't.

"Of course." She said. Tobias smiled. She loved to see him smiling. It used to be a rare sight, which made it even more special when it happened. It seemed to happen more frequently now that they weren't in Abnegation.

"Good. Then do you trust me to order breakfast for you?"

Tris shrugged. "Anything is better than oatmeal and eggs." Tobias laughed at that and proceeded to order them two plates of bacon and french toast while Tris found them a seat

"You wait here, I'll go get our drinks."

Before she could protest he walked over to the drink machine, leaving her to stare at the sweet-smelling plates in front of her. Maybe the reason he asked if she trusted him was to get her breakfast, but maybe it was his way of seeking a sort of reassurance from her. What she had said was true. She still trusted him, as much as it terrified her.

Think about breakfast. Not that. It's too early to think about that.

The french toast looked like normal bread but with white powdered stuff on top. Was it sugar? The bacon looked good but unfamiliar.

Tobias walked back with two mugs filled with steaming liquid in his hands. He placed one down in front of her, and the other by his plate before sitting down. Tris looked down at the dark brown liquid curiously.

"It's coffee," Tobias explained, "I prefer it with cream and sugar, but some people drink it plain. It really depends on your preference. I'd just let it cool down a little bit, but I brought cream and sugar for you to try."

"Thank you."

Tobias smiled. "Of course." He pointed towards the french toast. "That's basically just toast covered with eggs and then cooked. The white stuff is powdered sugar, and you can eat it with syrup if you want." He pushed a container filled with a dark syrup towards her. She poured some out onto her plate and dipped her toast in it. Sweetness filled her mouth and Tris felt her eyes widen.

"This is so good." She said after chewing. Tobias smiled.

"Yeah, especially after Abnegation food." He pointed towards the bacon. "That's meat, they slice it and basically fry it. You can eat it on your own or with syrup. It's my favorite."

Tris nodded and took a sip of her cooled coffee. She enjoyed its rich taste without cream or sugar so decided to let it be.

"I really appreciate all of this, Toby." She said, putting down her coffee cup.

"I've looked forward to this since my first week of initiation, Bea." Toby reached to grab her hand. "You didn't have to follow me here, but you did. And I want you to know just how thankful I am."

Tris blushed. "I wouldn't just abandon you like that. Plus I wanted to. It isn't like I could have stayed in Abnegation, I would've been miserable."

"You still left your family," Tris flinched at the mention of them, "which couldn't have been easy. So thank you."

"I love you, Toby," Tris said, looking straight into his eyes. The corners of his mouth turned upwards.

"I love you too, Bea. You should eat up before people start to get here, though."

She started to dig into her meal which made her wonder how she had lived with such bland food all of her life. Tobias looked at her, amusement playing in his eyes. She shot a playful glare back.

"Don't judge me! I bet you were the same way when you transferred."

"I was, that's why I find it so funny."

Tris chuckled then went back to her food. The two of them finished up their breakfast with light conversation easily flowing between them. Soon enough, their plates were empty and the dining hall was beginning to fill with people.

"I hate that we have to go back to instructor-initiate mode," Tris said.

"I know." Tobias sighed, rubbing his face with his hands. "I love you, Bea. And as mean as I'll be in training, none of it is true."

Tobias wrapped her in a hug, leaving her body tingling and warm. Tris nodded into his chest.

"Okay, let's do this.