Fourtris Meets Clace

Chapter 10 - Clary

CLARY

After we finish eating and clear up the mess from breakfast (and I manage to keep my food down), Tris says we should all sit on the couches and discuss Evelyn's 'experiment thingy'. So we do just that - me and Jace on one couch and Tobias and Tris on the other. And we talk.

"So, the point of Evelyn's test is to try and make us figure out who you are," Tobias explains. I find it weird that he doesn't call her Mom. Then again, when Jace thought my mom was his mom, he never even saw her. I can't judge things like that because I don't know what happened between him and Evelyn before. "She suggested that we try some bonding activities - I know, sounds babyish - to try and get to know each other, and then we can take our guesses. I say we should split into pairs and go and do something for the day. Is that okay?"

I nod. "I'll go with Tris," I announce. Tris looks relieved that she is with me rather than Jace.

"That leaves me with you, then, Tobias," Jace says. He doesn't sound too pleased; I just hope they don't argue.

"Done," Tris says. "What about if Clary and I go grocery shopping? We're low on food at the moment, and we could have a nice chat." She grins at me.

"Okay," Tobias says. "We can stay here, if you want."

"Cool," Jace says.

In that moment, I see on their faces that they are out of their comfort zones. That this isn't what they do in everyday life. I get it now. They're the type of people, Tris and Tobias, that are quite anti-social. They don't go grocery shopping - when they're low on food, they get takeout, and when they're really low on food, they pop to the convenience store. They don't go out for lunch at restaurants or go ten pin bowling - they rarely go to Evelyn's. I feel quite guilty that they're changing their way of life for us. A bunch of New Yorkers.

"I'll go get dressed," I say, and I do.

|Fourtris~Meets~Clace|

"So, you and Tobias are getting hitched?"

I ask Tris whilst we are sat in a cafe next door to the supermarket. She has a Coke and I have a filter coffee.

"Hitched?" she says, confused. I forgot she speaks quite formally.

"It means getting married," I inform her.

"Oh," she blushes. "Yeah. Soon, I think, and we intended to keep it private, but... Anyway, Evelyn doesn't know though. I want to keep it that way. She'll just make a big song and dance about it, and hire white horses to ride me to the aisle. Tobias said we can just go to a church and tie the knot without any dress or tux or crap like that."

"If I were to get married, I'd have the same way," I tell her. "If I could. In my... world, we wear black clothes a lot. Like, all the time. But we get married in gold, which is different, I guess."

"Wow," Tris says. "You're not some sort of Goth, are you?"

"Nope," I laugh.

"Phew." She smiles. "How did you and Jace meet, then?"

"Well," I say, thinking of how to put it. "If I tell you fully, it'll ruin the guessing part of the test, but let's just say I was in danger. And he came and rescued me. And he took me to this massive house where we used to live until Jace bought our apartment, and I nearly died from an injury, so say, but luckily I got better. Then, a couple of nights later, he kissed me, in front of my best friend Simon who was actually in love with me at the time - although not anymore. So he didn't kiss me again, but I was totally in love with him by then. And, yeah."

"That's sweet," Tris says. "In a weird way."

"What about you with Tobias?" I ask. I don't want her to go into anymore detail, else I'll probably spill about the Shadow World.

"Um," she says. "Well, you know the factions in my old city? I was from Abnegation originally - the selfless one. However I'd always wanted to be in Dauntless, since when I was a kid. There was only one transfer from Abnegation to Dauntless ever at the Choosing Ceremonies - when we switch factions if we want to. I became the second. So I went into initiation and this guy called Four was my instructor."

"Four? As in the number?" I ask.

"Yep," she says. "It was because he only had four fears. That's a big thing in Dauntless - they're obsessed with fear and bravery and courage. Anyway, he was kind of aggressive and very mysterious. He didn't tell anyone his real name, and he rarely showed emotion. But once after we played Capture the Flag he came up to me and said well done. And I thought that was weird because he never said well done to anyone; I think I fell in love with him at that point. So we got talking and he invited me to his fear landscape. And I went in the simulation with him and in there I found out who he really was. An Abnegation-born boy called Tobias Eaton."

"So he was the transfer," I say.

"Yeah," Tris says. "In his landscape, his fears were heights, small enclosed spaces, shooting innocent people and his dad."

"His dad?" I say, confused.

"His dad," Tris clarifies. "Marcus Eaton. He was the representative for Abnegation in my day. Erudite released reports that he abused his wife and son. Everyone in Abnegation called it fake, and the reports were classed as wrong, because they thought Marcus was not like that. But they turned out to be right. Tobias moved factions because of his dad and because he wasn't made for Abnegation anyway. Marcus beat him up and locked him in cupboards when he was younger. That's why he hates enclosed spaces. He's never forgiven his dad."

"That's terrible," I say. "So is Marcus still alive?"

"He died in the war, thankfully," Tris says. I'm surprised she added the 'thankfully'. "I know it sounds terrible, but he's a complete... Anyway, he caught some terrible illness and died suddenly. Tobias has been a different person since."

"Wow," I say. I'm quite shocked, actually.

"It's kinda funny," Tris says. I look at her in disbelief. She blushes. "No, no! Not that way! It's just the fact that I'm supposed to be asking you the questions."

"Oh yeah," I say. I never realised! I start laughing, and Tris joins in. "So, when was your first kiss? Cheesy, I know, but your story is really sweet!"

"Well, it was after I went into his simulation," she says, "and he went out onto the balcony where the initiates lived to get some air. And I asked him about his tattoo. He'd never showed anyone, but I knew it wasn't just the visible part. So he took off his shirt and showed me, and I swear, it's massive. It takes up all of his back, and it's to do with the factions - you know, all the symbols and everything. And then I touched one of the tattoos, and he turned around, and he kissed me."

"That is really cute," I say.

"Thanks!" Tris says sarcastically, and we laugh again.