Divergent UNIVERSITY ✅

chapter 6

Chapter 6.

Four gets up in the morning to the sound of his alarm. He gets ready the way he does every morning. As he sets out he remembers that he is meeting Tris for training. He runs past Kappa house not sure if she will actually be there or not. When he turns the bend he sees her in the yard stretching. He is mesmerized by her. She is wearing short black running shorts, a tight black T-shirt, and her hair is pulled into a ponytail. She isn't wearing anything provocative or revealing but she is still sensual and beautiful none the less.He runs up to her, "Ready?"She smiles when she sees him. He is wearing gym shorts and a T-shirt that shows off all of his muscles in his arms and chest. After a moment she realizes she's staring at him for too long. She quickly averts her eyes and jogs over to him."Ready," she says.They start running and Tris notices that she has to run twice as fast to keep up with him. But Four notices this also so he slows a bit so that she doesn't have to push as hard to keep up. Neither of them complains they just continue to run without a word.Four has never met a girl that didn't constantly try to talk to him or get him to divulge his life story. Tris doesn't do any of that. She doesn't talk or do anything to get him to look at her or draw his attention. She just runs and just her running is what draws his attention. She runs like she is in a zone and like nothing around her matters. She isn't paying attention to him or anything around her.As Tris runs she realizes that Four is watching her. She doesn't understand why, it's not like she is doing anything to draw his attention. She tries to ignore his gazes but she can't help but wonder why he is watching her. It is actually starting to make her a little self-conscious but she continues to run, focusing on what is in front of her. But what is next to her is completely occupying her mind.She has never met a guy that she wanted to be with before. She's had a boyfriend once or twice, but it never lasted and always ended badly. None of them could handle that sports came first. They didn't like that she could show them up on the ball field, she could outrun them, or that they weren't the center of her attention. Even the guys on her baseball teams got to be a problem when they got older. They would get mad at her when she did well and wouldn't talk to her when their girlfriends were around. But this guy was different. He didn't seem intimidated by her, he just seemed like he understood the need to work hard and that is all she ever wanted from anyone is understanding.They run for about forty-five minutes before they arrive at the training facility. Once outside they stop and Tris starts to stretch again. Four can't help but to watch her. Everything that she does captivates him. She doesn't do anything to even try, he just can't help himself. He wants to pull her to him and wrap her in his arms. He wants her to feel this attraction, but he isn't sure if she does or not. He loves that she is so focused on her goals but he wants her to be attracted to him too."What do you want to do first?" he asks her once he snaps himself out of his stupor."You tell me, I don't want to mess up your normal routine.""Well I usually lift weights first," he says."Okay, that's fine by me.""You lift weights?""Well, not as much as you, but yeah."They go into the weight room and start on the machines. It is obvious that she knows what she is doing. He didn't know if he should believe her at first but now he's sure that he needs to get to know more about her. She really is a hard core athlete and she really is here to workout. Without realizing it, there was a small part of him that worried that all this might be a ruse to try to get closer to him. That small part of him is now gone.She walks to a machine and starts setting it up for what she lifts. He goes to another machine and they both start lifting. There is no conversation, but the silence isn't uncomfortable either. She has never felt so comfortable around a guy before."Hey," he says from across the room, "do you mind some music?""Depends on the music," she says sarcastically. She usually isn't like that with people that she hardly knows but she just couldn't help herself.He smiles and turns on the music, "Hope you don't mind," he yells over the music, "I like to listen to metal when I lift."She smiles back, "Perfect!" She turns back to the weight machine and starts doing her reps.He stares at her for a moment. 'Perfect is right,' he thinks to himself. How could this girl be this perfect? She is like the ideal girl.They both make their way around the machines in the weight room for the next half hour. She finishes at the last machine that she wants to work on and she just sits and watches him for a while. She is amazed at how strong and focused he is. Even when he is sweaty and his face is contorted with concentration she can't help but look at him. He is strong, self-assured, and confident, all the things that she isn't. She puts on a good show, but she always second guesses herself.He can feel her watching him and her eyes on him makes him want to push himself harder.He continues to do a few more reps then he sits up and looks at Tris. She immediately averts her eyes away from him. He doesn't understand this girl and why she can never seem to meet his gaze.She slowly looks up at him again when she can feel that he is still staring at her. She catches him staring at her a lot. She can't figure out why he looks at her all of the time. She isn't really pretty and right now she is just sweaty and disgusting, nothing that should attract anyone's attention."What do you do next?" she asks."Well, I was thinking some fielding," Four says.He stands and leads the way into the indoor field. He grabs a bat from the equipment room and gestures towards the gloves, but she already has hers out and is ready. He grabs a few softballs and readies himself to start hitting fielding practice to her."How do you want me to do this," he asks unsure. He doesn't want to hurt her or do anything wrong that might injure her."Have you ever done this for baseball before?""Well yeah, of course.""Just hit the ball like you hit it to them then," she says.He goes and stands about thirty yards away from her and hits the ball. It ends up being a line drive directly at her. He looks concerned for a moment until the ball is in her glove and she is already throwing it back.He picks up the next ball and hits a hard ground ball that is about ten feet to her right. She makes a diving catch and immediately throws it back again.He is amazed at her ability and the fact that even though this is practice she is still going all out to catch the ball. He decides to challenge her. He starts hitting the ball as hard as he can and everywhere but right to her. After about twenty minutes he stops to look at her. Her eyes are bright and alert. She looks ready to catch anything and do anything.The next ball is comes right at her. It is a hard line drive and if she misjudges it she could be in trouble. He seems to be trying to get her to miss the ball, but she absolutely won't let that happen if she can avoid it. She knows that he is purposely challenging her and she loves the fact that she is up to his challenge. If nothing else, she has managed to earn his respect today and that is a good thing as far as she is concerned. She makes the stop and throws the ball back.He stops and looks at her, "Well, are you ready to move on?""Yeah sure," she says. "I'll do batting practice now."He wants to take a little break and talk to her a little, but she is right. They should finish their work out. She grabs a bat and goes over to the cage that is set up for fast pitch. She watches as he goes across the gym to where there are dummies set up as targets for football practice. She tries to focus on hitting but she is much more interested in watching him. She forces herself to focus and takes about twenty swings before she gives up and watches him.She stays off to the side of the gym, out of sight so she won't distract him. Every ball he throws hits its target perfectly. He runs out with the ball and throws the ball at a different dummy almost every time. His throws are deadly accurate and he is so focused that he doesn't notice the man that has entered the gym."Tobias, you're sloppy," the man yells at him.Four looks up and scowls at the man. He doesn't say a word, he just continues to throw the football. His face contorted with anger and annoyance.The man walks out onto the field and Four stops throwing the ball, "What are you doing here?""I received word that you were here with a girl. I was coming to make sure that you weren't doing anything that you shouldn't be doing.""I doubt that is why you are here. Yeah, I'm here with a friend helping her work out but that is really none of your business. Did you think I was joking when I told you to stay away from me?"Tris knows she should walk away and give Four his privacy with this man, but for some reason she can't. There is something about the way Four stands there, like he is intimidated and the way this man approaches him, like he is going to attack that makes Tris uneasy. She wants to be there in case there is something that she needs to stop."You can't make me stay away from you, I'm your father. I'll always be around."Four begins to walk away but the man grabs his arm. He stops and looks at the man with fury in his eyes. "You better not be wasting your time on some little tramp, bringing her here to show off."Four doesn't acknowledge this, then he sees her out of the corner of his eye standing there looking concerned. He gets a sudden surge of adrenaline and rips his arm from his father's grasp. He whispers in a deadly voice, "You have no power over me anymore. If you come around me again, I'll make sure you regret it. What I do with my life is not your concern.""Oh, make no mistake Tobias, everything you do is my concern. With the right phone call I can ruin your life and the life of whatever girl you have hanging around you today. Just remember that."He turns and walks away and Four stands there, shocked. He knows his father has connections, but he doesn't know what kind. He is not really a powerful man, but he does know people and that is what makes Four nervous.He walks off of the field and toward Tris who has made herself seen since his father left the building."I'm sorry, I wasn't trying to intrude. I was done batting and I just thought..."She stops when he pulls her into a hug. Something he has been dying to do for two days now. He knows he can't let his father ruin anything for her, but he also knows that he needs a little comfort after being in his father's presence.He is surprised when she hugs him back. She doesn't say a word, doesn't try to comfort him with idle words and she doesn't try to pull away. She just stands there and hugs him and that is exactly what he needs.She can feel the desperation and fear in this embrace. That man has a control over him that she didn't think anyone could have. It doesn't take much for her to realize that he must be Four's father. Only a parent can have that kind of control over their child.He pulls away from the embrace and already she misses his big strong arms wrapped around her. She has never felt safer in her life than in those few moments of being in his arms. She doesn't want it to stop, but she also realizes that it is over now.They stand there for a moment, awkwardly. Neither of them saying anything or even acknowledging what just happened."So," he says after a moment. "Done with your workout or was there more you wanted to do today?""No, I'm done," she says.They gather their things and begin to walk back to the Dauntless part of campus. At first neither of them talks, but then Four's curiosity about her takes over."So tell me about yourself. Where did you learn to play like that, there are guys on our baseball team that don't have your ability.""Well, my mom says that most of it comes naturally. I can just anticipate where the ball is going from the moment that it leaps off of the bat. The rest of it comes from playing baseball until I was fifteen. That is when the high school softball coach convinced me that I needed to play softball.""So you played baseball with all guys until you were fifteen? How was that?""Fine, I guess. Most of them didn't mind that I was a better ball player than they were, until they got girlfriends and wanted to show off.""Yeah, I can see how having a girl show you up in front of your girlfriend could intimidate some guys.""Uriah and Zeke were actually the first guys that I have ever met that weren't intimidated by me. It's actually kind of nice meeting guys that are self-assured enough not to be bothered by my ability.""What about me?" he asks. He is definitely not intimidated, he is intrigued. He wants to train with her. He wants push her to her limits to see how far he can push. He has never seen anyone light up on a ball field the way she does."You don't seem intimidated either," she says without making eye contact."Believe me. I'm not intimidated by your ability, I'm impressed."She looks over at him, shocked. She has never had a guy tell her he was impressed by her before."Tonight we are having a pickup softball game at the field. I'm sure Marlene and some of the other girls are going to be there. You should come.""Sure, what time?""Meet us at our house at six this evening. We will pick teams and head out from there."They make it back to the Kappa house and she runs into the house. She has never been happier. Even if it is just to play a game, she is excited to have an excuse to be around him again.