Tobias x Reader

Chapter 14: Distractions

I didn't sleep much that night. Four was all I could think about. His elusiveness, his reluctance to share his thoughts and feelings, his mood changes, his sudden desire to share something with me. I wondered if Four may have been intoxicated last night if I would head down to the training to see him return to his normal attitude. But I never smelled any alcohol and Four didn't really strike me as one to drink. But, what do I really know about Four? For all I know, he could be the exact opposite of the person I think he is. 

I was nervous when I went to head down to the training room, knowing he'd be there and knowing I would find out how he felt about last night. I took my time walking there. I even contemplated getting breakfast for once. But I didn't. I stood up straighter and forced myself to walk to the training room and face Four.

My worrying was all for nothing. 

When I walked inside, I was surprised to see that Four wasn't there for once. Frowning, I walked over to a punching bag, wondering where he might be. I decided that wondering about Four was not the thing to be doing right now. I began punching the bag but reserving my energy for today, not sure of what surprises the day might hold.

"You've improved a lot," a voice behind me stated, causing me to jump. I whipped around to see Four standing behind me, the slightly amused look from last night present on his face again. 

"Four," I said breathlessly. "I didn't hear you come in."

His grin stretched wider, making him look younger. "I would've been here earlier but I was getting breakfast and figured you could use something to eat too," he said, pulling his hands out from behind his back and revealing a chocolate muffin wrapped in a napkin.

Something about the gesture made me smile. "You noticed I don't eat breakfast?" I asked just to see what he would say.

"Yes," he admitted, rubbing the back of his neck. "I also brought it because I'm not good at starting conversation."

My eyebrows pulled together in confusion. He was quiet for a moment before he took my silence as his chance to elaborate.

"I just wanted to let you know that even though we talk outside of the training room, it's not going to change the way I treat you in front of the other initiates. If I treat you differently, they'll call it favoritism and then you'll become a target and that's not what I want for you." As he spoke, he subconsciously leaned closer to me.

"What do you want for me, Four?" I whispered. A part of me was afraid of how close he was to me but the other part wondered what would happen if I closed the distance between us.

"That's a good question," he said, his voice trailing off. He seemed to have noticed the small distance between us and the tension that filled it because his smile faded.

The doors to the training room opened and voices began filling the room, causing us to jump away from each other. I flushed with embarrassment as Four walked away from me. I chastised myself for letting him get to close to me. Whatever was going on between Four and I is only serving as a distraction. A distraction I couldn't afford if I want to become a Dauntless member. But a distraction I found myself accepting anyways.

"Get to a punching bag," Four called to the initiates. "Warm-up for a bit and then go over to the mat on the other side of the room."  

Curiously, I glanced over to the spot where Four referenced. On the other side of the room sat a large mat that looked strangely like a fighting ring. It made my heart race to think about fighting my fellow initiates but it's just the thing that the Dauntless training program would have us do.

I looked over to Four for some sort of confirmation but he purposely did not meet my gaze but the stiff way he held himself told me everything I needed to know. 

We would be pitted against each other to literally fight for a spot in Dauntless and it's not gonna be pretty.