Starting Over

Chapter 31

I wake up the next morning to Tobias shaking me.

"You need to wake up. You're expected to be in the Pit to choose your job in half an hour."

I groan and roll over. I so don't want to wake up, but I get up anyway. I quickly put on an outfit very similar to what I was wearing last night, but I don't do my hair or makeup. I quickly eat a muffin before I leave. I would eat it on the way but I need both hands for my crutches. I think I made my leg worse last night but it was worth it. When I get to the Pit I only have one minute to spare. I'm the last one there.

"We're going to begin with Tris Prior," Tori is finishing.

I hop up to the rail by the chasm where Tori is standing and announce that I will be a leader as well as an initiate trainer. I crutch away and see Thomas' face burning with rage. He probably thought he would be a leader. Just to make him even angrier I smile at him as I pass.

I go see another leader I haven't met yet to get my apartment. After I've got my key I go see Tobias. I show him my key. It's the first time I've ever had my own place that was truly mine. He looks nervous and it kind of worries me.

"What?" I ask.

"Do you want to live with me?"

I'm shocked for a second. He really wants me to live with him?

"If you don't want to it's totally fine, Tris. I completely understand if this is too fast for you and-" I cut him off with I kiss.

"Yes," I mutter against his lips.

He puts his hands on my waist and I run mine up into his hair. I hear a crash as my crutches hit the ground and people turn to stare at us.

"Get a room!" Uriah yells at us and we pull apart.

"I guess I should probably go gather up my stuff," I whisper, still trying to catch my breath.

"Yeah, do you want me to come with you?"

"No, it's fine. I don't have a lot of stuff and I have a backpack I can carry it in. I'll be fine."

I bend down and pick up my crutches. As I crutch past Uriah he starts to walk next to me.

"I'm having a party tonight of you two want to stop by," he tells me. I tell him that it sounds like fun and that we'll be there.

When I get to the dorm I quickly shove my three shirts, two pairs of pants, and one hoodie into my backpack. All my other clothes have somehow ended up at Tobias' apartment which makes things easier. I throw the backpack over my back and head back out into the hallway. I stop when I realize that I forgot the hat that Malachi gave me that first day on the train. I consider going back to get it but it reminds me of him and that brings up painful memories. In the end I decide to leave it. Maybe another initiate will find it some day.

On my way to Tobias' I'm cornered by Risa. "Congratulations," she tells me.

"Thanks."

"Listen, I'm really sorry about what my brother did. I didn't know and I would have stopped him if I did. I never thought he could do something so awful."

"Risa, it's fine. You had no part in it."

"He always thought he would be first, you know? He was always a bit of a braggart, except when he was around you. I think he knew from that first day that you were good. When he was around you his eyes would light up like I'd never seen before and I remember thinking she could change him. He felt very protective of you. He really liked you. I think he was going to ask you to be his girlfriend. But then the day of the final simulation before we went through our fear landscapes you got out in two minutes. When Four came out to call the next initiate I saw him tense. He was counting on that stage to push him into first place. I don't think he really saw you as a threat until then. He knew you were going to beat him and I think it killed something inside of him. He had always been the best out of our group of Dauntless born initiates." She shakes her head and I see a tear running down her cheek.

"He never thought a small girl from Abnegation would be a threat to him, but from the second I saw you I knew you were a threat. No other transfer had that easy a time getting on the train. You fooled me for a second when you tripped getting off the train, but then you jumped first and had such as easy time with everything else. It all makes sense now." She laughs a little. "Should I call you B or Tris?"

"Tris," I tell her. "And I'm sorry for your loss."

She laughs a little. "After what he did to you I'm surprised you can say that."

I laugh a little too. "He wasn't all bad. Until he kidnapped me he was a great friend. I wouldn't go out with him because that's what he was to me, a friend. Besides, I have a boyfriend."

"Yes, Four. How long have you two been going out?"

"Well, before I went and faked my death like an idiot, it had been a few months. We never officially broke up, but he thought I was dead. Since I've been back we've been together a few weeks."

"Was he the first one you told?"

"Yes, but I hadn't planned on telling him yet. I had planned on waiting to see how he was doing after I left. That's why I asked for Malachi's hat that first day. I didn't want him to recognize me." She nods like it all makes perfect sense.

"Risa!" Tamra shouts. Tamra is on Austin's back and they're headed toward their dorm. When they see me they stop and the smiles fall from their faces.

"Why are you talking to her?" Austin demands.

"Because I can talk to whoever I want," Risa snaps back.

"She's a freaking legend here and she didn't even tell us! She went around by a different name, lying to us for a month!" Tamra shouts.

Risa shrugs in response. "I needed to apologize for my brother. And I don't care that she lied about her name. She never said she wasn't Tris."

"But she should have told us!" Austin yells. "We trusted her!"

"And I trusted Malachi," I retort. "People aren't always who you think. If you don't like them after you see them for who they really are then that's on you."

I crutch away from them. I really don't care what they think of me. After a second I realize Risa is walking beside me.

"I've never liked them. They're too much like my brother, and I didn't really like my brother. If it were up to me I would have ditched them years ago. Thanks."

I laugh. "I used to think I could be friends with them, but now I see they'll never like me. They only liked me because they saw me as an unthreatening Abnegation girl."

"Well, I should leave you now. I'm sure you want to go to your apartment. I've wasted enough of your time."

She turns to go and I watch her disappear into the crowd in the Pit. One day when things aren't so awkward anymore maybe we'll be better friends.

A/N

Thank you all for 1k views on this story! Seriously, you all are awesome! I'm so thankful for everyone who reads this story!