I want to go back but I can't back down

There was a certain sense of calm that washed over Abby whenever Eric gave her a personal instruction, no matter how brief and general that it was. It wasn't as if he didn't offer the others advice so she really shouldn't have let herself see too much into the situation. Abby bit down on her bottom lip as Eric gave her a few pointers, nodding once he had finished. She was holding onto every word because she knew that if she wanted to be successful, that she would have to listen to anything and everything that Eric offered her. Four certainly wasn't going to.

Abby took a deep breath as she lifted yet another knife off of the table, running her finger over the edge of it. She couldn't help the ghost of a smile that flitted over her features but as quickly as it was there, it was gone. Being here, she felt a little more in charge. A little more like she didn't have to be afraid and if she got the hang of it, if she was good enough, she would remain in Dauntless. The leaders had envisioned her fitting into the faction so there must be a reason behind it.

Turning to face the targets fully, Abby focused on the one that was directly in front of her. She raised her hand up, putting her weight onto her right leg before holding her breathe long enough to throw the knife. It landed off centre but still landed in the target.

"Thank you," she murmured quietly, feeling like it was the right thing to do - Eric didn't have to take time out of his busy day to train her. Abby was just a small girl, she probably wouldn't amount to anything, right? Pushing away the doubt, Abby turned to try again. Practice made better.

---

Four had tried to keep his attention away from Grace, knowing full well that if he offered too much of it to any one initiate that it would raise questions and cause trouble that none of them needed. He couldn't help his eyes drifting over to watch her as she plucked the first knife from the table and he braced himself for what would undoubtedly come. Grace, although she had done well so far, would surely not land on her first throw. Rarely did any of the initiates and even if they did, it was never a kill shot. It would be nothing more than a knife to the arm or leg if they were lucky. To say he was surprised when Grace's knife landed in the target's neck was an understatement.

Crossing his arms, Four made his way over to her. He kept the emotion from his voice because this was already a step further than he should have gone. He cleared his throat as he stepped up behind her, "you sure that's your first time? An Amity doesn't throw like that," he muttered the last few words under his breath so that only she would hear. His eyes narrowed a bit when he noticed Abby glance over to them and he turned so that he was facing Grace a bit more.

"Keep it up and you'll make your way into our ranks in no time," Four commented finally with a firm nod of his head. He turned and walked to help the next initiate beside her since Eric had already seemingly taken care of helping Abby, thankfully.

Eric wasn’t sure if it was just him, but he was certain that Abigail’s confidence increased. The way she held herself was different and he hoped her confidence only continued to grow, to be in Dauntless meant that you had to have a high level of confidence in yourself. If you didn’t believe that you were great at what you did, then it would be a struggle to be welcomed in the faction. “No problem,” He muttered quietly so only she would hear him, he really needed to stop paying so much attention to Abigail. He honestly couldn’t help himself though, there was something about her that he really liked.

It wasn’t because she was Four’s sister or because he knew that her father had abused her, none of that mattered to him. Abigail was her own person and he wanted to know more about her, but he wasn’t sure if that was going to happen or not. It wouldn’t be happening unless they somehow managed to find time alone, just the two of them. “Much better, keep practicing.” He told her before he moved on, he past Grace as Four had already dealt with her and she didn’t seem like she needed his help. But her aim was confusing, he hadn’t seen one initiate that could hit the target in such a good shot on their first time.

He stayed silent as she probably just got lucky, he walked along the line of initiates as he watched them. He gave tips to whoever needed it the most, but his eyes constantly moved back to Abigail. He wasn’t even checking on her, he just wanted to see her. Watch the way her dark hair moved over her shoulders whenever she threw a knife at the target, the deep concentration that filled her eyes and slightly brought her brows closer together. She was beautiful, a natural beauty and she didn’t even know it.

---

A smile had formed on Grace’s lips when she saw the knife sticking into the neck of the target, she was proud of herself. She wasn’t sure how she did it, but she was proud of herself none the less. That was until she felt someone behind her, her smile vanished from her face as she glanced over her shoulder. Four was behind her, his arms crossed and he didn’t look all that pleased. Her heart rammed against her rib cage as she heard his voice, did he know? Was he going to spill her secret? She quickly turned to look away from him, in case she gave away that she was hiding something huge.

“Beginners luck, that’s all.” Her voice was small and weak, she now wasn’t feeling proud of herself. She was scared again, scared of being found out. She hadn’t even meant to throw such a good shot, but the knife felt comfortable in her hand and she did aim for the neck but she never imagined she would land it.

A heavy sign escaped past her lips at Four’s next comment before he moved on down the line, relief washed over her when he didn’t mention anything else about her aim. It did appear like she was giving him a good impression, hopefully she would be invited to join Dauntless at the end of all the training. Grace picked up another knife and continued to practice her throwing skills, this skill was easier for her to grasp and wasn’t causing her body any pain. She did lose track of time until Eric spoke up, telling them all to stop before collecting all the knives they threw and setting them back on the table. Grace followed the instruction and looked at Abigail, “That was actually really good. Much better than yesterday’s training,” She commented with a small smile on her face.

Abby continued to practice on the target that was in front of her, throwing as well as she could. She managed a few to the centre of the chest but didn't dare even attempt for a head shot. The area was far smaller to hit and she wasn't quite confident enough to try it just yet. She wasn't going to try and be overly confident, she didn't want to come off as cocky by any means. She didn't think it would go over too well and the little bit of confidence that she was gaining certainly wouldn't stand up to any of the other initiates that were doing better than she was.

It wasn't until Eric called out that she managed to relax and pull away from the task at hand. She rushed forward to pick up the knives that she had thrown, most ended up in the target and only a few hand actually missed entirely or ended up on the floor. She glanced over to Grace when the other girl spoke up and she couldn't help the small grin that spread over her cheeks. "I did better than I thought I would so I guess that was surprising."

Abby stepped over to link her arm through Grace's, leading the way out of the training room. "I figure we should grab food before we do anything else. Maybe we could even go as far as to head to the tattoo shop! I mean, Eric has a tone and they look nice on him and-" Abby cut herself short when she realized what she had just said. Her eyes widened as her lips parted. "Uh, forget I just said that. Please."

---

Once the initiates left the room, Four smirked as he sauntered over to Eric. He stood in front of the man who was working diligently to put the knives away into their holders and he began to help, silent for a long while. He tossed a sleeve of the knives toward the pile of sleeves and smirked as he glanced up to Eric without raising his head, just through his eyelashes.

"Going to ask yet or are you going to keep pretending I don't know you as well as I do?" Four asked before returning his attention back to the knife in hand. He slipped it into the sleeve he held and cleared his throat as he straightened up to fix Eric with an intense gaze. "The only thing I'm going to say is that you don't put a hand on her unless she's willing. I don't care what you do outside of that because it doesn't affect me. I don't care what she does - I don't care what you do."

With that statement, Four finished the sleeve that he had just started and headed off toward the exit of the room, intent on grabbing food somewhere. He didn't really want to head to the cafeteria so he opted for a lesser frequented bar near the outside of the compound. Noone would bother him there, he was sure of it.

Eric played dumb, he knew exactly what Four was talking about but did they need to have that conversation now? He never said anything in case it made things awkward between them, but Four didn’t seem to care all that much if anything happened with himself and Abigail. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” He commented after Four told him not to touch Abigail without her permission, which he wouldn’t dream about ever doing. He wasn’t that kind of man and never would be, but it seemed like Four was giving his blessing so maybe Eric could get closer to Abigail. After she was accepted into Dauntless, which he was certain would happen because she was beginning to prove herself.

He finished packing the knives into their protective sleeve before he exited the training room, he was starving but knew all the initiates and transfers would be in the dining hall getting their own food. He really didn’t feel like being surrounded by them again, he had just gotten rid of them and although he wouldn’t have minded finding the brunette and sitting with her. He knew it would draw attention to them, plus Grace would most likely be there as well and that would just make things awkward.

So he decided to head to a bar which he often had a meal and a few drinks at, walking through the compound until he reached the bar he noticed a figure sitting at a table. “If you gave me the right, why aren’t you giving yourself to right?” The right for them both to be happy, Four gave him permission to get closer to his sister. And yet he wasn’t allowing himself to get closer to Daniel’s sister, “I’ve seen how you act around her and react when she’s doing something that worries you. You never care enough to act like you have been,” He sat on the chair across from his friend, he then caught the eye of the bartender and made signal in the air with his finger. Ordering his usual which never changed when he went to the bar.

---

Walking out into the hallway, Grace turned to look at Abigail with a wide smile on her face. “There’s no way that I’m ever going to forget what you just said,” Abigail had just mentioned how good Eric looked with his tattoos, firstly she hadn’t expected Abby to suggest they go get tattoos but then she mentioned Eric. Grace couldn’t keep the cheeky smile from her face, “And you were always the one rejecting the idea of him whenever I brought him up.” She knew there was more to her friend’s feelings about Eric, she just hadn’t said anything until now. “You can tell me how you feel about him, I won’t tell anyone else. But I knew you liked him,” She couldn’t tell anyone because she wasn’t friends with anyone but Abigail.

Reaching the dining hall they joined the line to get some food, Grace grabbed a tray and moved along until she found something she wanted to eat. She picked out roasted vegetables and baked chicken in a creamy herb sauce, it looked and smelt delicious. Finding a table was a bit of a struggle as the tables were already fairly full, but they found two spots at a table near the back and sat down. “But yes, I wouldn’t mind going to get a tattoo. I know exactly what I want to get,” Grace told her friend before she started eating as she was hungry.

As they ate their food, Grace didn’t see Four anywhere in the dining hall. Not that it surprised her, he didn’t seem like the friendliest guy in Dauntless. And yet he continued to help her and give her tips whenever she was struggling, so he couldn’t be that bad.

(I am such trash, I am sorry bby )

Four only raised a hand so that he could wave off the question that fell from his friend's lips. He had already expected it to come so he barely raised his gaze high enough to catch sight of Eric without making eye contact. "Because. I am not in any position to do that to the Matthews. While their children aren't in the same faction as they are any longer, I am no one to take two children from them. How barbaric," he muttered the last few words with a huff. He leaned forward a bit more so that he could haunch over his food, holding the plate close. He had come here for piece and the relative quiet that being alone in the establishment would bring but that didn't seem about to happen. After all, Eric and he were more similar than either cared to admit and the saying did go that great minds thought alike.

Shovelling potatoes into his mouth, he took a long moment to consider his next words. What was there to say? Eric had caught him and there was no real to talk his way out of the situation, he knew it, but he was left feeling like he needed to at least try. And what better way than to completely change the subject?

With a smirk, Four levelled Eric with an intense look. "Besides. You're no one to talk. You keep looking at Abby like that and she's going to pick up on it. If Grace hasn't already so you tell me. Are you planning on manning up and doing something about it or are you going to just continue to grill me about doing the same exact thing that you're doing?" He smirked, feeling rather triumphant as he relaxed back in his chair.

---

Abby opted to grab the same thing that Grace had decided to get because she had to agree it looked delicious. She wasn't entirely sure what eating well meant for the Dauntless members but she was beginning to figure out that it meant protein and vegetables. And lots of water so she grabbed a large mug of it before sitting down with Grace. She offered a small smile before digging into her meal. She was quiet for awhile until Grace mentioned knowing what she wanted. "Yeah? And what is that?"

She cleared her throat an when Grace hesitated, she decided to describe what she wanted. "I'm not really sure about the designs available but I think I want a bird tattoo. They're always so wild and free... they can move about whenever they want," she explained, envy leaking into her voice as she pushed around the food on her plate. "I used to wish that I was a bird, when I was little. And it just.." she trailed off, realizing that she had been about to comment about her brother. She hadn't quite explained her situation to Grace and she wasn't sure how to explain it, whatsoever. How did she explain the guy that Grace seemed to like was the same who had protected her for almost all of her life? And they hadn't spoken a word in years, even now that they were so close to each other.

"Imagine being able to just up and leave if you wanted to, how wonderful it would be!" Abby exclaimed, a bright smile breaking onto her lips at the thought. She had never really had a friend that she felt able to talk to whatsoever and here she was, spilling a shy little secret that she had protected from everyone. Even her brother.

(You aren’t trash! )

Eric could only do one thing and that was to roll his eyes at what his friend said, “And who says that anything is going to happen to her? You need to stop feeling this guilt, Danny’s death wasn’t your fault.” He looked to his friend and saw his body was bent over his plate of food, a sign that meant Four had wanted to be on his own but Eric didn’t really care. He had nothing else to do so why not annoy his friend while getting himself something to eat, he didn’t understand why Four always refused to be happy. Be happy in all aspects of his life, including his love life which to Eric’s knowledge is non-existent.

Luckily it wasn’t all that long until his food and beer was set down on the table in front of him, he thanked the bartender before he dug into the plate of food so he could fill his stomach. It was obvious Four was avoiding the subject when he changed it, Eric snorted at the comment his friend made. “We both know how much of a man that I am, and I will make my move soon. I just need to get Abby on her own, which seems to be the only problem. A problem you could always help me with,” He returned the smirk because that would be the hardest thing for him, he wasn’t going to make his move when the girls were together.

If Abby did reject him which he hoped she didn’t, he didn’t want the embarrassment of someone else witnessing the rejection. But surely there had to be a time when the girls weren’t together, he just had to find that time and when he did he would make his move. It would be easier if Four helped him out by taking Grace away from Abigail, although he wasn’t planning on Four doing anything that involved the blonde.

---

Grace listened to the tattoo idea that Abby had for herself, she couldn’t help but nod her head. “I understand that completely, there has been so many times when I’ve wanted to get away from everything.” She agreed as it would have been so good and easy to be a bird, fly away to escape life but sadly that couldn’t happen. “I want to get a cherry blossom tree with some flowers blowing away, and I want a D initial in the tree trunk.” She explained which she hasn’t ever done before, because she never had the chance to get a tattoo. But it was a way for her to honor her brother and have him close to her, “For my brother.” Her voice softened like it always did when she talked about her brother, his sudden death was still raw to her.

“Everyone seems to have so many tattoos though, I only have one idea for what I want. But I guess we’ll have plenty of time to get more,” She smiled at her friend because she was certain that they would both make it into Dauntless, they both needed to make it in. And if they continued like they were, they’d have to make it into the faction. The time passed quickly as they had their dinner which they deserved after attempting to climb the wall again for a second time.

“I wonder how long it’ll take for us to reach the second stage of initiation. I heard that’s when we start going into the simulator,” It wasn’t something that Grace was looking forward to, she didn’t want to face her fears but she also wasn’t sure how well she’d be able to keep her secret covered. What if she did something wrong? Whoever was in the room with her might be able to tell that she was a Divergent and that’s the last thing she wanted, the Dauntless members and leaders would certainly kick her out. She’d be a Divergent and faction-less, how would she even survive if that happened to her? She probably wouldn’t survive for long if other people found out.

Four shoved his plate away the moment that he finished with it. He let out a groan before he lifted his beer to his lips, taking a long swig of it before he dared even chance a look in Eric's direction. The man certainly knew how to get under his skin but then, that wasn't necessarily the worst thing ever either. At least he had someone here that cared about him and that was the ultimate end goal for him because after he had left Abby behind, he had had no one for the longest time. It had partly played into him bottling everything inside when Danny had been murdered. Because he had thought he found a lifelong friend in Danny and then because of his own screw up, Danny had died. To this day, he blamed himself. Some days were just easier than others. Today wasn't one of those days.

"How do you think the conversation would go once she found out? I was there when her brother died," Four commented with a shrug of his shoulders. He sighed as he shook his head, reaching a hand to run through his hair. "How would I explain to her that I failed? If I hadn't gotten scared, if I hadn't hesitated, that her brother might still be alive? Because that is the cornerstone to any great relationship. I must have forgotten about the memo."

Four glanced in Eric's direction finally and narrowed his eyes as he leaned over, "you go up to her. Tell her you need to discuss her training with her. And then you take her to the side. You can't be that scared of a girl, could you be?"

---

Abby smiled brightly and reached across the table to give Grace's arm a gentle squeeze. "That sounds wonderful. I think your brother would really appreciate the gesture," she spoke quietly, unsure of whether she was overstepping boundaries or not. That was the last thing she wanted to do. Grace seemed to be her only friend as of now, despite being friendly with a few of the other initiates.

"And I'm sure they all had to start somewhere, right? It's not like Eric or whoever sat down and got all of their tattoos at once... I hope!" Abby added the last little bit to the end, her eyes widening a bit. She shuddered as she pulled her jacket closer to her body, "that would be horrible, can you imagine? I've heard they hurt but the technology has come a long way so that it's not as bad? I dunno... I don't think I'd want to get that many."

Abby was quiet even as Grace mentioned the second stage. She was honestly unsure of what her fears would be and who would be in the room with her? Would she make a fool out of herself and they would throw her from the faction immediately? She certainly didn't want to find out but she didn't think she had a choice, it was all part of training. "We've done really well so far," she started out, tugging on her bottom lip. "So don't get ahead of yourself. Just remember to focus on one task at a time, okay?"

Eric knew the conversation that Four needed to have with Grace wouldn’t go well at all, but she still deserved to know what happened to her brother. “We’ve all hesitated before, you weren’t the only one who has. That’s why we don’t go out alone until we can handle ourselves, you were both taken by surprise.” Eric spoke in between mouthfuls of food, looking at his friend he did partly understand where he was coming from. That conversation was going to be hard, but in Eric’s opinion it needed to be done. “Doesn’t she deserve to know that her brother didn’t die alone?” He took a sip of his beer before he continued on stuffing his face with food, before Four gave him tips on how to approach his sister.

“Seriously, man? Of course I’m scared, girls are terrifying dude. I never know what their thinking or what to expect from them, and they confuse the hell out of me.” He admitted willingly as he really was scared of women, he wasn’t scared of much. Of course he had his fears, but females topped it off for him. He could deal with his fears, but when it came to women and how they thought about every little thing and how their emotions worked differently to his.

He would get headaches by how confused he always was when it came to girls. But that wouldn’t stop him from hopefully getting closer to Abigail, “I’ll go talk to her soon.” He mumbled as he finished off his meal and his beer, leaning back in the chair he stretched out his legs in front of him. He would have gone now to find Abby but she was probably busy, and he was nervous.

---

Grace knew Danny would have loved if she got a tattoo in memory of him, “I heard the pain isn’t as bad as it used to be. So hopefully it isn’t all that bad, but Eric has some big tattoos so that probably took a while.” She would hate to go through that constantly soreness of getting a large or detailed tattoo, but maybe you got used to it or the feeling of the needles just melted into one and it wasn’t all that bad? Grace had no idea but she would soon. “It looks like Four has something done on his back,” She spoke before biting down onto her bottom lip, she could never see that much of Four’s tattoo as it was always covered by the fabric of his t-shirt. But she could imagine that it was a large one, not that she was thinking about him or his back tattoo.

“I won’t get ahead of myself,” She promised her friend as she knew if she did get ahead of herself, that wouldn’t end well for her and her chance at being a Dauntless member. “We have done really well already, I’m honestly surprised that I’ve made it this far. I’ve always enjoyed watching Dauntless from afar, never once thought I’d actually be here.” She chuckled softly to herself, she knew she wasn’t the strongest person in the compound in her strength. But she knew she had more to offer than that, it wasn’t just physical strength that counted to the Dauntless leaders. So even if she wasn’t the best when it came to hand to hand combat, she still deserved to be there because she hasn’t once given up.

Four lifted his glass to his lips and took a long swing, watching as the amber liquid swirled around in the cup once he had lowered it back down. He reached a hand up and rubbed his cheek, his eyes slipping shut as he took a deep breath. There wasn't anything to say that he hadn't already. He was beginning to realize why he didn't want to tell Grace he had been there, mostly because he was sure she would never want to talk to him again. And frankly, Four wouldn't have blamed her in the least bit. "If I tell her, she'll never look at me the same way. She will never think of me as anything but that day. You and I both know that pretty damn well."

Finishing off the last bit of his beer, Four settled back into his chair. He tilted his head back and let his eyes slip shut as he contemplated whether he wanted another drink. It was rather appealing and after just another moment, he raised his hand and gave a wave to their server who gave him a nod to signal she had seen the gesture.

Resigning himself to any single fate was never something that Four cared to do but he thought there was only one option that seemed like it was even remotely a feasible option. "Once training is complete, I'll tell her. Regardless of whether she completes it or not because she doesn't need to know and have that messing with her ability to focus. After that, I guess we'll just have to see what happens."

---

Abby perked up a bit at the mention of her brother, her eyes narrowing a bit as she looked over to where Grace sat. She hadn't really paid any attention to Four, had tried to do the exact opposite in fact because it was a pain that she wasn't willing to open. Not if Four was so against acknowledging her existence. Instead, she only gave a nod of her head and finished off the last bit of her food before settling into her seat.

"Once you're done, we should head to the shop. After we grab some water bottles, I think. I don't know much about the process but it's probably best to stay hydrated. Especially since I'm sure tomorrow's training will be worse than today. I don't think that my-" Abby cut herself off, covering it up with a cough when she thought of the words that had been just on the tip of her tongue. "That either of our trainers would let us off as easy as today has been."

(maybe we can have Eric at the shop? Whether Four accompanies Eric or not, just so that they have a moment to talk before the Wall incident that's coming up.)

Four did have a good point, Grace would probably see him differently once she knew what happened to Danny. But she still deserved to know, but that wasn’t his call nor was it any of his business. “Fair enough,” He decided to leave the subject alone for a little while, he finished off his meal and his beer. Not ordering himself another one as he had been thinking about getting another tattoo, and it was best not to drink too much alcohol beforehand. “I might head over to the tattoo shop, you want to come? You haven’t added to the collection for a long time,” He commented as he relaxed against the chair he was sitting on, Eric didn’t have a tattoo in mind and usually never did.

He normally get went to the shop and decided on something then and there, Four was the complete opposite and would only get a tattoo that meant something to him. Besides he liked the people who worked at the tattoo shop, so if he didn’t feel like getting more ink then he’d just hang out with the guys there until they closed for the night. Something he has done many times before when he hasn’t felt like doing anything else, he knew tomorrow wasn’t going to be hard on him. He couldn’t say the same for the initiates, tomorrow was going to be the time when they would have to fight each other in hand to hand combat.

---

Grace nodded her head and finished eating her dinner, “Let’s go over now.” She stood up and carried the tray over to the dirty pile, she grabbed herself a bottle of water on her way out. “I’m a little nervous,” She admitted to Abigail as they walked through the compound towards the tattoo shop, she didn’t know what to expect and that always made her feel nervous. It took them a few minutes to reach the tattoo shop and Grace was relieved to find it wasn’t busy or full of other people, when a man asked if he could help her she swallowed the nerves and explained the tattoo that she wanted to get on the back of her right shoulder.

She glanced back at Abigail as the man guided her over to a chair, she gave her friend an unsure look as she sat down and pulled her shirt over her head. She received a smile from Abigail and Grace knew she would be fine, she took sips of her water as the man drew up a design and once Grace loved it, it was transferred onto her skin. She held onto her water bottle as the man begun the tattoo, and it honestly wasn’t as bad as what she was expecting. It was more uncomfortable than painful, like her skin was being constantly scratched. Now she knew why the Dauntless members had so many tattoos.

[Yes, good idea!]

It had been such a long time since Four had added to his collection of tattoos that he almost forgot what it felt like. He had been tossing around the possibility of adding a piece dedicated to Danny. While Danny was never his best friend, he'd been a close enough friend that he still lived with the pain of Danny being gone years later. Clearing his throat, Four nodded finally as he moved to his feet. "Let's go then. What're you getting?" He asked, raising an eyebrow as they left the bar. "You have to have some sort of idea, right?"

Arriving to the tattoo shop took no time at all in Four's mind because he was already thinking so far ahead. What surprised him though was the pair of girls that were in the corner of the shop, each simultaneously getting worked on. He wouldn't have been surprised if this was after their training was completed at least. But then, Grace and Abby had both surprised him several times in the past few days alone.

With an inward groan, Four flashed Eric a smirk before turning around and confidently striding over to where Grace was. Abby was in the next booth over so he felt somewhat relaxed. He could turn his back to Abby and pay her no mind at all.

"You know, of all the things you do that shock me, this has honestly got to be the most shocking," Four spoke. He tugged his pants up just a bit before lowering into a chair beside the tattoo chair that Grace was laying in. "What're you getting?"

---

Abby had decided to go full colour with her piece that she decided to get on her thigh. She had hesitated for longer than really was necessary before tugging her pants down her legs. Out of habit, Abby folded her pants and set them on the chair beside the one that she had been pointed toward. She was wearing boy shorts so that nothing was being shown and besides, most of her marks were on her back and her sides. There was a faint scar on her right thigh but the tattoo was being done on her left.

Settling into the chair, Abby did her best to relax into the chair because her artist had stressed how important that it was that she relaxed. It made tattooing easier and it ultimately made the experience a whole lot less painful. Abby had very nearly fallen asleep until she heard the sound of her brother's voice and she lifted her head from the spot where it rested because she was sure that had to mean that Eric was nearby. Catching sight of the man, Abby flashed a nervous smile when he glanced in her direction and offered a small wave.

"Hey," she called as he drew closer. "What're you doing here?" Abby bit down on her bottom lip, feeling her cheeks heating up when she realized how stupid she must have sounded. "Right. Don't answer that."

Eric had been expecting to find people in the tattoo studio, but he had never expected to find Abigail and Grace. Watching as Four walked over to where Grace was, he saw that Abigail had given him a small wave so he moved closer to her. “Do you have any more surprises waiting for me?” He chuckled softly as he didn’t answer her question about why he was there, he found it adorable that she had asked him that. His eyes travelled down to where her tattoo was going to be, he swallowed the lump that formed in his throat because she had amazing legs. “What are you getting done?” He asked pulling a chair closer to her and sitting down, he didn’t want to look too closely at the tattoo and make her uncomfortable.

But as he was glancing at the tattoo, he did briefly notice a faint scar on her right thigh. He looked away as he didn’t want to draw any attention to it, but he knew straight away who had given her that scar. Anger boiled inside of him as he thought about what she must have gone through after Four left, but he took a deep breath to calm himself as he would hate for his anger to cause him to say something about it to Abigail. He was certain that he wasn’t supposed to know about what Marcus did to both his children, “Usually most people wait until they’ve actually joined Dauntless before getting ink.” He grinned as he liked how Abigail thought differently, she knew training was going to be hard and yet she still wanted to get a tattoo. Which would be sore tomorrow and make training tougher on her.

---

Grace was going better than she had expected so she noticed when Four and Eric walked into the shop, her heart begun to beat faster in her chest when Four walked over to her. “You shouldn’t underestimate me then,” She told him even though she knew tomorrow was going to be hell for her, not only would her tattoo be healing and still sore but training was going to be tough on her. But she wouldn’t have done this if she thought she couldn’t handle it, “A cherry blossom tree.” She told him as she left out the tribute for her brother, she wasn’t sure if Four had never known her brother or not. She had no idea what Danny had been like in Dauntless, she highly doubted that he would have been hated but she wasn’t positive so she didn’t want people knowing who her brother had been.

“Are you going to get another one?” She asked as he was there for a reason, unless he came because Eric did. Then Grace winced when the needle moved over the bone of her shoulder blade, it wasn’t a nice feeling and gave her a little shot of pain which thankfully only lasted a few seconds. “Shouldn’t you be ignoring me?” She asked as she never once saw him willingly talk to any of the other transfers, not even when they spoke to him first. Grace didn’t understand why he seemed to be fine talking to her when he was cold towards everyone else, not that she was complaining because it was nice having attention from an attractive man.

Abigail's smile grew a bit but she shook her head anyway. She knew that she had other secrets but she didn't think those secrets were the types that Eric was hinting at and she certainly wasn't going to trouble the tattoo artist with them. That wouldn't be fair to either of them. "I'm getting a bird that's taking off from a branch with a few leaves. It's basically to signal my transfer here. I've always sort of wondered what it would be like if I could just take off and be free whenever I wanted, to go wherever I wanted..." Abby trailed off, chewing on her bottom lip. She couldn't exactly answer why she was getting this, why she had so often dreamed about running away. More so in the past two years so she settled with what explanation she had already given him.

At the mention of how out of place her tattoo was, Abby simply shrugged her shoulders. She looked down to her hands and began to fidget with the edge of her sleeve without actually looking to him now. "I know it's only been a few days but I honestly feel like I belong here... I want to make it, this just gives me another reason why I need to give training my all."

Abby cleared her throat as she looked back up to Eric, deciding it was probably best to change the subject right now. "What were you wanting to get today?"

---

Four offered an uneasy smile when Grace asked him whether he was going to get another tattoo. That meant that she had been paying enough attention to notice that he had tattoos and that meant... he gave a shake of his head before his thoughts could stray too far away from where they should be. "Um, yeah. It's a tribute piece to a good friend of mine who passed away last year," he explained quietly. He figured that it was better to explain who it was dedicated to later, when there was privacy depending on how Grace reacted. Really, regardless of how she did because it was a rocky subject for him and he wasn't sure how he was going to manage to keep his cool as he explained Danny's last moment to Grace. And he wouldn't blame her if she lashed out physically to him but he knew it would be stepping out of line to other Dauntless members and he didn't want her joining to be hindered at all because of it.

Settling down in a chair, Four began to talk to the artist working on her. He fully trusted every tattoo artist in the shop so he didn't really have a particular person in mind when he decided to get work done. When Grace was nearly finished, Four flashed a tiny grin in her direction. "Are you going to stay behind and keep me company? I guess I couldn't really blame you if you have plans, you don't really get all that much free time."

Eric kept his eyes focused on the brunette as she explained the tattoo she was getting to him, “I like that. But if that ever happened then the leaders of the factions wouldn’t be able to control you, and that’s what most of them always want.” He spoke to her as he glanced down to watch the dark ink coat her milky skin, he knew it would be a beautiful tattoo and one Abigail would be proud to show off. “If you feel like that then you will be able to join us, it will give you a purpose and it will drive you until you reach that goal. So I’m looking forward to that day,” Eric told her honestly, over the last few years since he became a Dauntless member he had noticed that the people who had no drive and didn’t bother trying their hardest. They were the people who become factionless, at least that appeared to happen in Dauntless. He couldn’t be certain if it was the same in all the factions, but he figured it would be true in all four factions.

Leaning back in the chair he shrugged his shoulders, “I’m not really sure yet. I haven’t made up my mind, but I might not even get anything done tonight. We could always take a walk after you’re done here,” He suggested to her and prayed that she wouldn’t reject him, “Only if you don’t have any other plans.” He hoped that she didn’t have other plans, but he wouldn’t know unless he asked and now that he had asked her he was suddenly feeling nervous. Which Eric never felt anymore, Dauntless couldn’t feel nervous. It wasn’t part of their training, but Abigail did make him nervous and he wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or not.

---

“Oh… I’m sorry,” Grace softened her voice as she felt bad for asking now, hopefully she hadn’t hit a nerve for him but he seemed to be fine with it. After a few more minutes the tattoo artist told her that he was nearly finished and relief washed over her, her skin was beginning to ache. Once the left over ink was washed from her skin she was handed a mirror to take a look at her new tattoo, she gasped softly when she saw it. “It’s perfect, thank you.” She couldn’t stop smiling as the guy covered her shoulder with plastic which would protect her tattoo until it could heal, which he told her would only be a few days. Looking at Four she was left speechless when he asked if she was going to stick around and keep her company, she hadn’t been expecting him to want her there when he got a tattoo himself.

“Yeah sure, I don’t have anything planned.” Grace told him as she pulled her t-shirt back over her body, she wasn’t sure how much of her new tattoo he had seen or if he even wanted to see it. But she was beginning to feel self-conscience being in her bra in front of people, even though he couldn’t have seen anything as she had been lying down on the chair on her front.

Abby's gaze dropped to the floor beside Eric as she gave a nod of her head. She didn't really feel like it was right for her to explain exactly what she dreamed about escaping for so long because that wasn't fair to put on his shoulders. Eric didn't deserve to have to live life knowing the leader of Abnegation was one of the biggest assholes that walked in their city. That he was likely worse than a lot of the Factionless because no one would ever suspect that Marcus Eaten was abusive, that he controlled his children down to every last action. "Yeah," Abby answered finally, giving an uneasy smile.

Her eyes widened at the offer, looking up quickly only for hers to lock onto Eric's. Abby cleared her throat, a slight smile tugging at the edge of her lips. "Me? I... uh, yeah. Sure, I guess," she paused, turning as carefully as she could to catch sight of Grace. She seemed to be finished but was sitting and leaning forward to watch as Four tugged his shirt free, settling into the chair to get his own tattoo.

As she turned back around, her artist told her she was finished and began to wash off the last bits of ink that he could. After, he wrapped it up and sent Abby on her way. She walked with a worse limp this time around because her thigh had taken a decent amount of pain over the past little while. "You won't, er, get in trouble or anything, will you? I don't want something to happen to you just because you were walking with me..."

---

The tattoo that Four had chosen was a simple design that he was sure others would be able to piece together if they knew that he'd been there when Danny passed away. A lowercase 'd' with a wing attached to the top of the letter. He sank into the chair and twisted so that the artist could reach the spot he'd chosen on the inside of his left bicep. He refused to look in Grace's direction now, his stomach twisting into a firm knot in the pit of his stomach.

Four had decided a long time ago that he was going to get a memorial tattoo for any friend that he lost, simply because the people that he genuinely considered a friend were few and they were far between. With a sigh, Four reached his free arm up to run it through his hair before he finally found the courage to look in Grace's direction.

"What do you think about being here? What you thought it would be?" Four asked suddenly, deciding it was best to break the silence. He grinned a bit as he tilted his head to the side, raising an eyebrow. "I know when I transferred, it went by so fast that I honestly didn't really have that much time to take in anything that was happening. Not for the first few weeks, at least."

Eric shook his head as he chuckled softly, “I won’t get into trouble. Besides I can handle myself, you don’t need to worry about me.” He told her with a grin on his face, he could do whatever he wanted without the risk of getting into trouble. Well he could mostly do whatever he pleased, but hanging around a transfer kid wasn’t going to get him into trouble. “Besides all of the other initiates annoy the hell out of me, you’re the only one that doesn’t and that isn’t common for me.” He told her once her tattoo was finished and she had carefully pulled her pants back on, her tattoo looked amazing but he wasn’t sure if he told her that if it would seem like he was stepping over a boundary with her.

Instead he led her out of the tattoo shop and just walked along beside her, “How are you finding things?” He asked remembering that it took him a good week before he felt like he had somewhat settled in at the Dauntless compound, although no one ever fully settled in until they past all the tests and were allowed to join the faction. “The first week is always the hardest, your body will shortly begin to get used to the training and it won’t hard as much or be as much of a struggle.” He explained to her as the human body tended to change to new situations pretty quickly, he wasn’t worried that Abigail would be any different. She had already proved herself that she had what it takes to be Dauntless, she just had to prove that to the leaders.

---

Grace bit down onto her bottom lip when Four pulled his shirt off, she tried so hard not to look at his broad chest or the abs that he had hiding under his shirt. She had been watching the artist start on Four’s new tattoo before her eyes moved onto his face when his voice hit her ears, “It’s a challenge but its good. I never thought I’d ever be here, I never saw myself to be brave or strong so it was a big shock. But it’s so much better than what I had imagined,” She told him honestly as she always thought she’d stay in Amity, but now she didn’t know if she belonged in any faction. If she had traits from all of the factions, she didn’t belong in just one but maybe factionless and she never wanted to be there.

“I always loved watching Dauntless jump from building to building, or riding the train. The members always looked happy and at ease with everything, I always felt like Dauntless was the strongest faction out of them all. But others just underestimate them, no one really sees them as being smart which is sad.” Grace spoke before she realised how much talking she was actually doing, she doubted that Four cared about what she thought or how she felt about the faction she had been placed into. But he made her nervous, he was different to other men that she had known in Amity. He was strong both physically and mentally, he never gave much away of how he was feeling or what he was thinking. She never saw him give much attention to anyone that he wasn’t already close to, so Grace didn’t understand why she was allowed to sit there while he got a tattoo.

Oh. Oh. Ohmygod. Eric's words made her heart flutter in a way that she wasn't really prepared for. It made her stomach twist and flip and she had to turn her head away from him so that he hopefully didn't see the way her cheeks turned red. Abby shook her head, trying to rid her head of the thoughts. No. He was just being friendly to her because like he said, she wasn't as annoying as the other initiates. She shoved her hands into her pockets as she walked beside Eric, chewing on the inside of her lip. She didn't want Eric to start thinking she was nervous and think she wasn't capable or anything silly like that. He was one of her instructors, she had to impress him if she wanted to make her way in this faction. Right? It would be silly if there was any other reason because she knew that it couldn't be. Even if Four didn't want to acknowledge her existence, she doubted that he would take too kindly to some sort of relationship forming between them.

"It is hard but I guess I... expected it to be," Abby answered quietly, giving a shrug of her shoulders. "I've gotten sort of used to..." Abby trailed off, unsure of how to word herself without making it seem strange in any way. "Pushing through hard things because at the end of the day, the end of the day will come. Whatever you're going through will end and you're either left with being proud you made it through the day or disappointed that you gave up." Abby knew she was rambling and she was embarrassed to a point but the words, once they started, just kept tumbling out of her lips and she decided trying to fight them wasn't worth it.

"How was initiation for you?" Abby asked after a moment, figuring it was best to change the subject if she could.

---

"Look at it this way. It's likely one of the hardest challenges that you will ever meet in your life, if you can overcome this, you can overcome anything," Four commented quietly. He knew in the back of his mind that the Dauntless initiation would be nothing compared to losing her brother and so he was sure she would make it through. Grace was already showing all of the determination that Daniel showed in every day life, if not more. There was no doubt in Four's mind whatsoever that she would be able to make it through this.

Four tilted his head to the side, stretching his arm a bit further so that his skin was a bit more stretched so the tattoo would be easier to apply. "Sometimes, the leaders when a sibling did very well in another faction, they think that the younger siblings will do just as well, if not better. That likely has something to do with why you were placed here," Four continued on, a smile playing at the edges of his lips. He gave a small shake of his head before he continued on. "But please, you also have to understand that wouldn't be the only reason you're here either. You must have made a good impression on the Dauntless leaders during your Aptitude test."

Eric noticed how Abigail turned her head away from him, had he said something wrong or inappropriate? He had no idea but he didn’t like the feeling he got when she looked away from him, the feeling was hard to explain or for him to even understand. He just knew that he didn’t want her looking away from him, he wanted to see her beautiful rich brown eyes that seemed to shine with joy most of the time. He had seen flashes of something deeper in her eyes, he could only guess that she remembered her father and it brought a bad taste to her mouth.

“That’s really good to hear. It’s hard on everyone, we’ve all been through it and we understand how hard it can be.” He assured her before taking another chance, “You’ve impressed me. When I watched you struggle to catch the train with your limp, but I saw how determined you were and I knew you’d be one that I’d have to watch.” He admitted to her quietly as they walked, a fond smile found its way onto his lips at her next question. “It was honestly hell for me, I thought I could do everything the trainer asked and I really couldn’t. I had to get knocked onto my ass before I realised I wasn’t as good as I thought I was,” He chuckled as he had been one of those annoying kids that he himself couldn’t stand now, he had been close to becoming factionless because of the attitude he had.

“I want to take you somewhere, but it has to be our secret. No one knows about this,” He placed his hand on her back gently, as to not startle her as he guided her in a different direction. They walked for five more minutes before he helped her climb a ladder that took them onto a small ledge on the side of the compound, the view was of the vast wasted area that was between them and whatever else was out there.

---

Grace knew exactly what the hardest challenge was in her life and so far trying to become a Dauntless member didn’t come close to losing her older brother, but it was still the hardest challenge she willingly wanted to go through. She listened to what Four was saying, maybe that’s why the leaders decided to place her in Dauntless. Because Daniel had done so well, just knowing that could be the reason warmed her heart. It meant Daniel had been amazing while he was there, he had done well enough that the leaders wanted her in Dauntless as well. “Maybe that’s it because I don’t think I did anything special in my Aptitude test,” She lied as she couldn’t even get a result from her Aptitude test, well she did but she received five. Not that she was going to tell anyone about that, she wanted to tell Abigail but she also didn’t want her only friend getting into trouble if her secret was found out and the leaders found out that Abby knew.

She watched as the tattoo artist finished Four’s tattoo, he covered the fresh tattoo before allowing Four to put his shirt back on. That seemed like Grace’s cue to leave, she didn’t want to over welcome her stay there. “Well… I guess I’ll see you tomorrow,” She looked at him, she’d probably just hang out in the dorm now that Abby had gone off on a walk with Eric which she thought was amazing. She stood up from the chair and placed it back where it had come from, she thanked the tattoo artist again before she headed out of the shop as she had nothing else to do now.

Abby knew in the back of her mind that it was a horrible idea to giggle at Eric's admission of being full of himself during initiation in the beginning but she wasn't even the slightest bit surprised. A small grin settled onto her features as she glanced to him, nodding slowly. "I'm honestly not surprised..." she trailed off quietly, suddenly realizing how her words may have sounded to him. Her stomach flipped and she looked down to her feet, fidgeting with the edge of her jacket. "I'm sorry... I didn't... I didn't mean that in a bad way. You just seem really confident and that's admirable..." Abby swallowed the lump that had formed in her throat. She suddenly found herself wanting nothing more than to turn, tuck tail between her legs, and run as far as she could on the compound, away from Eric. She had surely just made a fool of herself and probably pissed him off all at once. How horrible! There was no way that tomorrow would be easy on her, Abby was sure of.

As Eric began to lead her off in another direction, Abby was almost positive he was going to show her something. Teach her a lesson about how she should listen to her superiors because all she was was a transfer. A transfer from Abnegation! Not even from Candor or Erudite... Someone from even Amity would be more preferable compared to her, the daughter of the faction's leader. Her mind was racing and she had no clue what was going on around her, she walked along and then climbed the ladder in a daze.

It wasn't until Abby pulled away from the ladder and turned toward the view that she began to relax. Her jaw dropped as she held a hand to her chest, eyes tracing over each and everything building in the distance. "It's... breathtaking," she whispered, her eyes widening as she turned toward Eric. "To be totally honest, I never even knew there was so much of the city out there."

Abby cleared her throat as she looked back down to her feet, biting down on the inside of her cheek. "Thank you for showing me this."

---

Four lingered for a moment, thanking the artist for the time that he spent before turning, only to notice that Grace had already left the room before he got a chance to speak to her anymore. He let out a sigh, starting to follow after her. Surely he could ask if she was hungry or if she just wanted to grab something to drink before they each retired to their respective rooms. Spotting Grace just about to round the corner as he stepped out of the tattoo shop, Four opened his mouth to call out to her but at the last moment, he opted not to. Four doubted she would want to spend time with a stranger and it was stepping over a few boundaries he wasn't so sure were a good idea to break. Not when Grace had already had such a rough little bit when she was getting tattooed. Four didn't need to know that her tattoo was dedicated to Daniel to have some sort of clue about it.

Twisting around, Four began to head in the opposite direction, deciding that it was best to just head back to his room to retire for the rest of the night. He let out a groan of relief when he finally reached the room, nudging the door shut with his heel. He locked the door behind him and kicked his shoes off before flopping down onto the bed, intent to just fall asleep. Tomorrow would be another long day, that was almost a certainty.

(Sorry I didn't have Four run after her, I just think he wouldn't jump right into it? idk I can change it if you'd like!)

Most people wouldn’t have been surprised to know how he used to be, so when Abigail said that to him he didn’t take offence to it because it was true. But if seems like Abigail panicked after she said it, she was quick to apologize which he brushed off for now. Once he took her up to his special place he allowed her to take the view in, “I know. Most people don’t realise what’s out there, and why would they? They haven’t been told or shown, even a lot of Dauntless don’t know that’s out there.” He explained to her, “I come here when I need to think or to get away from everything. It’s always peaceful up here,” He told her knowing she wouldn’t go around and tell people about this hidden away spot, he knew she wasn’t that type of person so he wasn’t worried about showing her.

“You know you don’t always need to apologize, what you said to me wasn’t done in a mean way. I could tell that, I didn’t take offence to it so you don’t need to worry as much.” He explained to her as he leaned back against the rough surface of the outside wall of the compound, he wanted to tell her that he knew about her brother and what their father did to them both. But he wasn’t sure how to bring that topic up without hurting Abigail, he didn’t want to bring up horrible memories that she’d have to live through again. But he still wanted her to know that he was there for her and that he’d keep her safe, “You’ll be protected here. If you make it into Dauntless, which I know you will.” He spoke as he watched her.

---

(No, that’s fine. Sorry if Grace’s part is crap and short, not much to do when Abigail isn’t around! )

Grace had wanted to spend more time with Four, talk to him more and maybe find out more about him. But she didn’t know how, he came across to her as such a closed book. Someone who hardly ever let people into his heart, who preferred to push people away then have the chance of getting hurt by someone. So Grace decided it was best to just leave, leave it for another day if that day ever happened. She thought Four talking to her tonight was just because Eric had been chatting to Abby, so Four didn’t have his friend there to hang out with. She was his last resort, it was either talk to her or talk to no one. At least that’s how Grace saw it, which did hurt a little. Four was gorgeous, she couldn’t be the only one who found him attractive.

Not that anything would come of it, she was a nobody compared to him. That’s how she continued to think as she changed into her pajamas and climbed under the covers of her bed, she laid there staring at the ceiling as thoughts ran through her mind.