Discoveries ✔ (Divergent Fourtris Fanfiction)

Chapter 51

Tobias

We hear Tris knock at a door. She's there.

"Ah, Tris. Lauren found you," Eric's voice crackles through the speakers of Zeke's computer.

"Hi Eric."

"Come in."

There's shuffling as Eric offers her a seat. I can see them sit down in front of my inner eye.

"So why did you want to see me?"

She's trying to stay on top of the conversation. Very Tris-like.

"Getting straight to the point, are you? I thought you learned about exchanging pleasantries in Abnegation instead of diving right in."

I can hear the smirk in Eric's voice all the way from there to here.

"In case you haven't noticed, I'm not Abnegation anymore," she snaps at him. Careful, Tris.

But Eric just laughs. "Your position in the rankings suggests that. — You don't know it yet, but you'll end up first."

I expected it from the data Lauren and I passed over to leadership, but we never got any information about this year's results.

"Wow, first? I didn't know that. I mean, thank you."

I snort. There's nothing to thank Eric for. I know Tris is just trying to react as expected, but I don't like to hear that.

"Why do you think you made it to the top?" Eric asks, and I hear the screeching of a chair drawn back and muffled footsteps.

"Hard work. Lots of extra training early in the morning."

"Lots of initiates work hard, but they don't make it into Dauntless at all."

We listen to liquid being poured into glasses. I sigh in frustration. Tris won't like that, and neither do I.

"I came here knowing I'd have to work hard to make it, so I did additional training right from the start."

"Explain how you managed the simulations so quickly," Eric demands, and before Tris can answer, glasses clink.

My heart is pounding heavily. I know why. Tris knows why. Does Eric know, too? Or suspect it?

"I don't know, I just happen to have little fears. I struggled with them during training as much as everyone else, I think. And then I decided that I had to be stronger than my fears to beat the rest of the transfers, so I spent a lot of time going through the simulations in my mind to develop good strategies. It was the same as it was in stage one, I knew I had to work extra hard."

I exhale my breath.

"She's good, Four, so determined. Is that how it was?" Zeke says admiringly.

"Yeah, she's always done extra training."

Zeke doesn't know she's lying about the sims, and I want to keep it that way.

"Too bad she doesn't mention how your extraordinary talents as her instructor helped her through it," Zeke jokes.

I signal him to be silent again, so we can hear what is spoken next.

"I see. Looks like you approached your problems strategically. Most initiates are too blinded by their fears to think like that."

Eric pours more liquor into the glasses. I clench my hands into fists. He wants to loosen Tris' tongue, get her to talk.

"Allowing your fears to blind you is a sign of weakness," Tris replies, stressing the Dauntless perspective on the simulations.