10

Chapter 1

POV:Tris

My eyes scan over the rankings. Molly and Drew eleventh and twelfth. Yes, I think to myself. They're out of Dauntless and my life. Drew who almost threw me into the chasm and Molly who fed the Erudite lies about my father are out of Dauntless. I feel a grin spread across my face in satisfaction. Christina seventh, Will sixth, Peter third, and Uriah second. Peter is still in Dauntless. I expected that. My eyes scan the list until I find my picture and name next to number one. What? Number one! That's crazy! Butterflies fill my stomach and I feel like I could fly. I gasp when I realize I'm a full dauntless member. I get a job, an apartment, and get to live my life with my friends and Tobias!

Suddenly I'm swarmed with people. People hugging me, patting my back, and yelling congratulations. Dauntless members I've never even met are embracing me in tight hugs. Typical Dauntless fashion. Then out of the corner of my eye I see Christina running towards me.

"Congratulations Tris" she yells. Then I'm pulled into a super tight hug. Just when I think I can't breath anymore, she lets go.

"Tris, I'm so proud of you! We made it!" she exclaims before pulling me into another one of those bone crushing hugs. I can feel her fingers digging into my spine.

When she lets me go I get another hug from Will this time. It's not as tight though. I can feel his breath in my ear when he whispers, "You did it!" I pull away and smile in response. I feel like I'm going to burst with happiness. All that hard work really did pay off. This is more than I could have asked for.

Just then I see Uriah running towards me and before I know it I'm hugging him too.

He quickly pulls away and jokingly says, "I can't believe the stiff beat me!" I laugh at his joke. Typical Uriah I think.

Then I realize I haven't seen Tobias yet. I really want to see him because without him I don't know if I would have made it. I probably would've been factionless or at the bottom of the chasm now. The thought make me shiver.

So I skim the crowd of cheering dauntless for him, and my eyes make contact with his sparkling dark blue ones. My stomach instantly fills with happiness. Then I see him heading over to where I'm standing.

He slowly makes his way over. I can see his brown hair bobbing above the crowd. Just hurry up, I think.

As I see him come into view I spot his smile beaming with happiness . When he gets close enough to me he speeds up to a sprint. Then before I know it he picks me up in his arms and spins me around in circles. My mind is buzzing with thoughts of happiness and surprise. Then I realize that we were keeping our relationship a secret. My smile disappears.

I think Tobias notices because he puts me down quickly.

"Sorry, I couldn't help myself" Tobias whispers in my ear.

"It's okay, initiation is over so there's no more secret right?" I answer looking up into his eyes. I really hope we can tell everyone. It's been bugging me to hide such a big secret from my bestfriends.

"Not anymore" he states, smiling. I feel a rush of relief. Just then he leans down and kisses my cheek. But before he pulls away, I pull him into a kiss. I feel like I'm flying.

Until he abruptly pulls away and I see my friends staring. My cheeks turn crimson. I don't react well to attention. I never have.

"I...Uh...Well...Um" I stutter. I try to string a sentence together, but I can feel their questioning eyes burning a hole in me. I bite the inside of my cheek. Tobias wraps his arm around my waist and begins to explain.

"We've been dating since the middle of the second stage. We didn't tell everyone because we didn't want anyone thinking Tris's rank was a result of my favoritism." he finishes in his strong, instructor voice. He tightens his grip around me.