Tobias and Tris

"Hey, Beatrice!"

I look over at Tobias, who had disappeared into the bushes, his voice the only clue to his whereabouts.

"Tobias" I move closer to him, inching towards where I think he is.

"Come here"

He sounds excited, but only whispers at me as I try to find him.

"Where are you?" I whisper back, a contagious smile spreading across my face as I grope around the bushes, his excitement turning my anxiety into a better mood.

"Boo"

I flinch, giggling as Tobias jumps out from behind a tree, coming so close to my face that our noses nearly touch.

My heart throbs and my immediate reaction is to pull away.

If an adult had seen us like this we would have been punished for sure. Heck, if an adult saw us out here at all, we would be in for it.

"I found something" He says, motioning for me to follow him.

"What is it?"

I laugh for no reason at all, giddy from the excitement of breaking the rules.

He walks quickly, almost making me run to catch up to him.

Abnegation aren't supposed to run, it's too selfish to make others feel slow around you. It brings too much attention toward yourself.

Tobias shrugs as we edge on what looks like a huge metal box.

What the heck?

"Woah"

Tobias uses both arms to push at the door, trying to put his entire body weight behind the shove.

"Let me help you"

I move, placing my hands on the inside of his and leaning forward so the door slides open.

"What is this place?"

A few lights turn on when we walk in, and I notice the floors are tile, the walls stacked with long guns and what looked like advanced style kitchen knives.

"Looks Dauntless" Tobias answers, shrugging. "But it's cool"

I look again, at the end of the room where four targets lay beside one another.

An orange bag of sand hangs from the center of the room, giving it a messy, barely put together feel.

"Neat"

I smile, holding my breath as I pick up one of the knives, balancing it out in my hands.

"Yeah"

Tobias looks around, his blue eyes lighting up as he touches the walls.

I look around moving close to him.

"Do you think we can try it?" I ask, quietly although no one is around.

"Why not?"

Tobias smiles, grabbing a knife from the ground and holding it in his hands.

"Bet I can hit the target" He mutters, gripping the knife in his fist.

"I bet you that I can" I answer, sticking my tongue out at him.

He isn't much taller than me, although he's already fifteen. He's skinny too, but then again, so is everyone in Abnegation.

He takes the knife in his closed fist and chucks it at the board, throwing his whole body behind the throw.

I watch in awe as the blade turns head over head, sticking directly in the side of the bulls eye.

"Woah"

He looks over at me and raises both of his eyebrows.

I turn, mocking my throw a few times, not letting go of the handle before sending the knife head over head toward the top of the bullseye.

"Nice Beatrice" Tobias says, shaking his head.

I smile, shrugging my shoulders.

He looks at me, his small smile happy, but his eyes sad. He's always had something off about him, something he could never quite tell me about.

I assume it's also the reason why he has no other friends, and that we have to sneak around.

"I love Beatrice- you know that right?"

I nod, glancing over at the targets and back at him.

"Yeah" I murmur, smiling at him. "I know"

Seven years earlier

I kept my eyes to the floor as I was supposed to as we shuffled into the community funeral home. The walls were grey and the casket was nailed shut. A big man my father worked withs wife was in there, at least that's what he told her this morning. I bit my bottom lip and moved with the crowd of mindless people surrounding me. When I was sure no eyes could catch me I risked a look to my surroundings. The wooden floors were grey, the walls were grey. It was suffocating. Before I could look down a flash of movement caught my eye. Eager to breathe I departed as unnoticeably as possible.

The figure disappeared behind the corridor. I saw it was a boy only a few years older than me and a few inches taller.

"Hello?" I said aloud following the corner to see the figure motionless. It was dark here the grey of the walls melted into the blackness. He turns and in the dim light I see he has the bluest eyes I've ever seen. They were a deep navy blue, like the color underneath your eyelids when you press on them too hard. And he looked depressed.

He's interesting to look at, and despite the selfishness of it, Beatrice can't take her gaze off of him. But she can see he is tense, nervous as if he has never been looked at before.

"What are you doing?" He asks, I study his face intently, he was handsome, for being Abnegation. And his voice was hoarse, as if he felt the need to swallow.

"I saw you" I stated plainly leaning against the wall.

"You shouldn't have to be alone" I did not feel any need to coddle him, he didn't look like he wanted coddling. He glares into my eyes for a moment, as if assessing my trustworthiness for a moment before swallowing.

"That's my mom down there" He clenched his jaw.

"I will always be alone" His comment makes my mind flutter, imagining how tough his position could be. He's strong, I can tell from just looking at him. He wasn't even crying, and that makes something in me spark, and I want so badly for a moment to make him my friend. Out eyes haven't moved and I blink, my breath catching in the top of my throats as I nod to myself, to him.

I don't want to leave, I don't want to go downstairs, even if my parents noticed I'm gone. And from the look in the older boys eyes, I could tell he doesn't want me to leave.

"I can be your friend" I stuck out my arms and gave him an awkward embrace.

It's odd, I had never hugged anyone before, but it felt innocent, and real, just two bodies pushed together. Our heavy clothing only adds layers to the weird affection.

I feel as if I'm doing something wrong for a moment, and if we were caught we would be punished.

But the small fear only bounces around my mind, and it feels to good to let go. He grips my small frame tightly, and I know he feels the same.

You'd be my friend?'' He asks quietly, as if he's not used to being heard.

"I won't let you be alone"