Synopsis: dauntless wasn't exactly what you expected it to be. When a person gets attacked, it seems like you and one other person might be the only ones who really are brave.
Tw:assault, violence
Today was the last day.
The last day before our scores would be announced and the winner would recieve a price: To play capture the flag with real Dauntless members.
It sounded like a dream to every trainee. To finally be able to relax and have fun for a bit was just what they needed after this tough week of training.
But the price wasn't even the biggest motivation factor to us.
It was the elimination.
The three people who came in last, would be thrown out of the faction and become factionless.
Needless to say, I was determined to not be one of those three people.
The scores so far were like this:
10. Hanna
9. Zeke
8. Jimmy
7. Casandra
6. Me, y/n
5. Jake
4. Andy
3. Tori
2. Lisa
1. Jeno
I somehow ended up somewhere in the middle of the list. We spend the past week practicing man to man fights and as my strength wasn't too spectacular, I had quite a lot of difficulties winning the fight. One time I got totally beaten up by this dude called Andy who clearly had anger issues. Not like the other ones went easy on me-
I just hoped next week we would compete in something I was better at. Otherwise I would surely be one of the people that would be eliminated.
I supressed a shiver. Being factionless. That sounded like a true nightmare.
Todays training was tough as hell, it completely exhausted me both phyiscally and mentally. I just had dinner at the cafetaria and was making my way back to the dorm when I heard someone crying.
Immediately I stopped.
The noise came from the other side of the hallway. Carefully I walked closer, making sure not to make any sound and peeked around the corner. My eyes went wide.
Three people, wearing masks were holding one of the trainees, Lisa, against the railing of the bridge. One of the masked guys seemed to be holding a knife which he held against Lisa's neck. The fear was evident in her eyes.
''Please, don't do this.'' She cried out.
''It's your fault I'm going to be factionless, BITCH.'' One of the guys yelled out harshly while shoving her against the metal fence. ''I have nothing to fear anymore.''
Three against one, how dare they.
''you- you can't kill me. They'll know it was you.'' Lisa stuttered out.
''Who will, sweetheart? There's no one around. No one will hear you scream. You're all alone.'' I could almost hear him smiling.
My brain went into overdrive. I tried thinking of any possible way I could help her. But I was weak and they were with three of them. One of them carried a weapon. I needed to find some sort of way to snatch the weapon out of his hands but how? And even if I had the weapon, there was no guarantee I could take them down. Besides, maybe I would get the blame. I kept thinking and thinking but nothing came to mind. Meanwhile, the time was ticking.
''no, no, NO STOP!'' Lisa screamed out. I whipped my head up, alarmed by the noise and saw that the guy with the knife had ripped off her blouse, leaving her shivering in her bra.
Without thinking, I ran towards them and pulled him of her. Without the guy holding onto her, Lisa almost fell of the bridge but thankfully she could grab the railing just in time.
Meanwhile, the guy with the knife dived onto me and pressed the knife against my throat.
''Oh y/n, I see you've come to join the fun as well?''
I scoffed, which was pretty hard, considering the fact that there was a knife pressing against my throat.
''I came to beat your ass.'' I managed to blurt out, causing the three men in front of me to errupt in laughter,
''And how is that working for ya?'' He asked with a chuckle.
Anger build up inside me and I stared furiously into his eyes in the hopes to melt his brain out when the heavy weight that rested upon me was suddenly removed. I blinked in confusion and looked to my left where I saw a different guy pressing the guy who just threatened me down onto the ground, throwing punch after punch until he stopped resisting. Without taking a second look I got up and ran towards Lisa. She hanged onto the railing, her feet dangling above the abyss.
''y/n, help me, quick! I can't hold on for much longer.'' She said, her voice filled with panic. The dried tears on her reddend face made her look so fragile. Y/n's heart broke at this sight. Lisa had been second place since the beginning of the training and she was the strongest girl of all of them. It felt unreal to see her in this state.
I grabbed both her wrist and put my feet against the fence for more grip. I gathered all the strength inside me and pull her up until she could put her feet onto the bridge and I lifted her over the fence. As soon as her feet landed on the floor, she sank to her knees. I turned around and saw the three guys all laying on the floor, knocked out. My gaze went to the guy who kneeled next to one of them and my eyes widened in shock.
''J-Jeno?'' I blurted out.
He ignored me.
Lee Jeno. First place. He never talked to anyone. He always ate alone. At first, before the training began, everyone thought he was an anti-social loser who accidently picked dauntless instead of abnegation but when he dominated the scoreboard from the first training, people starting to respect him or even fear him. Sometimes girls would try to get his attention but he always rejected them. Guys didn't even dare to approach him.
Jeno carefully pulled the mask of one of the guys and sighed. I walked closer to him, as I wanted to see who it was.
Andy.
Ofcourse. That bastard.
We walked towards the next guy and removed the mask.
Jake. Andy's friend. Ofcourse they would work together.
Then we walked towards the last guy, the one with the knife.
Jeno was about to remove it, when I stopped his hand.
''Wait. Can I do it?'' I looked at him, and suddenly felt myself getting surprised. His face was stone cold as always, but his eyes... They actually didn't look cold at all. They looked warm, innocent almost. How comer I've never noticed that before?
He hesitated a little but then nodded.
I turned my attention towards the guy in front of me again and took the mask between my fingers. Carefully I pulled it off him.
I gasped in surprise.
''Zeke?'' I whispered. Zeke. We had been friends since the beginning of our training. I never thought he would do something like this. He was always against fighting, he said he didn't like violence. I already thought from the beginning he probably wouldn't make it but I never thought he would sink this low.
I threw the mask back at his face and stood up, disappointed in him and in myself for ever trusting him.
''Let's take Lisa to the dorm.'' Jeno's low voice suddenly said. He had a pleasant voice. I thought his voice would be rough and hard like his persona but it wasn't. It was low and calming, it made me feel at ease.
I nodded and we both took one arm of her in ours and together we walked towards her dormroom in silence.
As soon as we entered, the room fell silent.
''Yoo, what happened?'' Jimmy asked as his eyes fell on Lisa's unconcious body.
I silently shook my head as I handed her over to Tori.
''I think she passed out from the shock.'' I whispered to Tori. ''Please check up on her every 15 minutes at least and if she shows any signs of irregular breathing or something else that's not normal, please bring her to the nurse.''
Tori nodded, not even looking in my direction, just staring at her dear friends unconcious face.
I turned around, my eyes fell on Jeno who was awkwardly standing in the door opening.
''We need to talk.'' I said curtly.
He nodded and turned around, gesturing me to follow him. We walked to the end of the hallway, towards a big window which looked out over the night city.
''Why did you help us?'' I asked, crossing my arms as I turned towards him.
He stared out of the window, not answering me immediatly.
''I don't know.'' he sighed.
''You don't know?'' Like I was gonna believe that.
''Everything here is so different than I expected it to be.'' He mumbled, confessing how he felt for the first time since he came here.
I nodded. Dauntless was a lot more...dangerous than I thought it would be. It seemed to have become less about being brave and being strong but more about winning and being merciless.
''But you gave me hope.'' He turned towards me, finally facing me. ''Hope that there are still people out there who are brave enough to stand up for others, to stand up for what they believe is right. ''
He softly chuckled.
''It was so funny to see you standing there, with your tiny fists, ready to take on three grown men. I thought, if she has the courage to take them on, why don't I?''
tinY FIsts??? Let's see if he still calls them tiny when I shove them up his a--
Suddenly he pulled me towards him, embracing me in a hug.
''Thank you for reminding me why I came here in the first place.''
Flustered, I awkwardly patted his shoulder. I wasn't used to this much affection.
''No problem.'' I blurted out.
He pulled back and gave me a smile, causing my heart to suddenly jump up. He was really cute when he smiled, no wonder he didn't do it often. He looked like an actual angel. His eyes slightly dissapeared and crinkels appeared at the sides of them. What a cutie.
''You still haven't thanked me for saving your life.'' He suddenly said.
I rolled my eyes ''Oh please, I totally had the situation under control.''
''Oh reALLY?'' He said with a slight smirk.
''Obviously.'' I shot back.
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Not much romance going on in this one for a change, go friendship!
Xoxo,
Lily