The Way I Loved You | Tobias Eaton

fourteen

Fallon

"Fallon!" I spin around at the sound of my name to see the same boy who was waving at me yesterday as I left the dorms.

I've always been an early riser and decided to go for a little bit of a walk before anyone else woke up.

He's wearing a sparkling grin as he jogs to catch up with me, "I got the name right? It's Fallon, isn't it?"

"It is," I nod, returning a small smile.

"I'm Zeke," He introduces, "I'm a friend of Four's."

I pause for a moment before realising he was referring to Tobias. To say I was still not used to his new name was an understatement.

Pasting a polite smile on my face, I say, "It's nice to meet you."

Zeke nods, tucking his hands into his pockets and appraising me in a way that makes me shift under his gaze.

"So, you and Four go way back, right?" He asks and I hesitate for a moment before nodding, not sure of what Tobias would think of me divulging such information.

"You're close with...uh...Four?" I question, the name sounding foreign on my lips.

It was as if Zeke puffs up at my question, pointing to his chest proudly and stating, "I'm his best friend."

I find myself smiling at how the boy proclaims it as if it was a badge of honour. Well, I guess in a way it is. Being able to get to know Tobias Eaton was no easy task. But at the end of it all, you find it all worth it.

Aside from all that, I was glad to hear that he was making some friends. Judging by the surly personality I've witnessed during dinner last night, I would say he doesn't have much of those.

"Are you out looking for him?" He asks next and I shook my head.

"I was just heading out for a walk," I tell him, "I didn't get to wander around here as much as I would've liked last night."

Zeke gives me an odd look, "I'm sure Four wouldn't mind giving you a more in-depth tour around if you'd just ask." He peers down at his wrist as if he was looking at a watch though he wasn't wearing one. He sure is a little odd. "Besides," He continues, "It's almost time for training. I'm sure Four is on his way to give the other initiates their wake-up call right about now."

I stiffen a little, "Am I going to get into trouble for not being there?"

Zeke snorts, "With Four? I highly doubt so."

When he notices the frown that I was wearing, his brows knit together to mimic my expression.

"Sweetheart, you do realise that the guy is still stupidly in love with you, right?" He says as if it were the most obvious thing in the world and I realise for the first time how much Tobias had actually mentioned to his friend about us and flush. "He's not going to punish you." He pauses then raises a brow with a smirk, "Well...maybe not in the way that you think."

I feel my blush deepen at his insinuation and end up blurting, "We're just friends."

"Friends," Zeke repeated as if the mere concept of the word confuses him, "What do you mean?"

"I mean we're friends," I say, "That's all."

The wrinkles in his forehead become more pronounced by the minute, "Why?"

I clear my throat awkwardly, "We're taking it slow. So, we're friends."

Zeke continues to stare at me as if I've grown a second head before he bursts out laughing, "Oh, you're funny." He chuckles, "Four and I, we're friends. You and him? You are not friends, Fallon."

I open my mouth to argue when a hand grips around my palm and I turn to see Joey standing beside me, eyeing Zeke warily.

"Hey, you." He greeted with a smile, "You were gone before I was even up."

My eyes dart back to Zeke to see that he's glaring at where Joey was holding onto me with narrowed eyes as if just the sight of it offended him...or maybe it just was the fact that it wasn't Tobias's hand that was holding me that offended him.

"You're awfully touchy," He quips, "You've known her for a day and you're already doing all that?" He points to where our hands are connected, "Is this really necessary?"

I can't say I disagreed with him, but I also did feel like he was blowing it a little out of proportion.

Just as I think things couldn't get any more complicated, footsteps approach us, signalling the arrival of someone else.

Is it odd that I knew who the sound of those footsteps belonged to before I even saw him?

"Zeke," Tobias grits out as he comes into view, glaring at his best friend as he comes to a stop beside him. "Lay off."

Zeke whips around to look at him as if he highly suspects that his friend has gone mad.

I shifted uncomfortably on my feet. I'm not sure if poor Joey even knows what a complicated situation he'd stumbled into.

"Are you being serious right now?" Zeke sounded disgruntled before turning to face Tobias as the two continued to argue in low voices like they were an old married couple.

"What exactly is this about?" Joey asks me, sounding genuinely confused by the turn of events and I shrug in response.

Tobias seems to decide that he was done with the conversation mid-sentence and turns his attention back on Joey and I.

His gaze falls on Joey's hand where it was still clutching mine. At this point, Joey looked so freaked that I wasn't even sure if he was aware that he was still holding onto me.

If the display upsets Tobias, he doesn't show it...well, except for the small tick in his jaw as he clenches it in displeasure that I'd managed to catch.

Joey drops my hand like it's on fire under the scrutiny of Tobias's gaze and I release a breath that I didn't even realise I was holding in.

"Get to the Pit now or you're going to be late," He says, sounding every bit like the strict Dauntless trainer that he's supposed to be.

Wordlessly, we start to make our way down the hall towards the Pit with me trailing behind Joey.

Thankfully, Joey doesn't comment on what just happened, and just as I made it to the end of the hallway, the sound of Tobias's raised voice reaches my ears.

"Leave it, Zeke!" He yells in frustration, "I'm giving her space. Whatever she chooses to do with that, it's her choice."

My heart clenches at the array of mixed emotions that hit me.

While I was glad that I was getting the time and space I needed to sort through my thoughts, I'm also starting to realise that my feelings for Tobias were way more deep-rooted than either of us knew. I'm also starting to question if I would ever be able to move on from them even if I tried to.