Familiar

0.9

A/N: sorry if this chapter is crappy, but I've been having writers block :( sorry...

Tris' POV

Tobias and I settle into a peaceful silence by the stream. It's warm, and I never want to leave, but all good things must come to an end.

"We should get going." I sigh. "People don't usually stay this long at the library."

"Is that what you told Caleb you were doing?" Tobias laughs, helping me up.

We grab our books and walk the trail back to the school, thorns occasionally brushing our skin and leaving scratches.

"I'll walk you back home." Tobias says, brushing the dirt off his jacket.

"I'll be fine. You don't need to, really."

"I insist. Besides, not like I have anything better to do." He grins, nudging my shoulder. I sigh in defeat and nudge him back.

"Thanks, but just this once." I say. I think he mumbles something along the lines of "whatever you say." under his breath, but I can't tell.

I start to head to the front of the school but Tobias tugs on my shoulder.

"Hey, I know a shortcut. You don't want to be late, do you?" He asks.

"Where does it go?" I question, slightly hesitant.

"Well, there's a little path that takes us behind these buildings and right into the Abnegation sector, instead of walking all through the city." He says with confidence.

My eyes widen. "That goes through the Factionless, Tobias. Isn't it dangerous?" He reaches over and grabs my hand, rubbing soothing circles with his thumb, as if he did it all the time with me.

"I won't let anything hurt you. Trust me." He smiles a little.

"Okay, I guess."

He leads me behind the neighboring glass building, my hand still in his.

We walk past a few more stores and structures before he suddenly turns a corner, walking into a cold alley.

"How do you even know where all this is?" I ask, looking around the leaky walls.

"Uh," he scratches the back of his ear nervously. "Sometimes I don't want to take the bus home, or walk with all those other kids." He laughs shortly. "I don't have too many friends."

"You have Nate." I respond.

"Nate is the friendliest kid I've ever met, he could blend in with the Amity, he's friends with everybody." We turn another corner, and I swear something twitches in the shadows. "But yeah, he's a good friend."

When we reach the end of the alley, Tobias takes my hand and tugs me to the left, leading out into the dank street. The sun is not as bright as it was an hour or two ago, and some clouds have rolled in.

"Wow, you're right. That was fast." I say, slightly impressed and intrigued.

"Well, we're still in the Factionless sector, so stay close. Just in case."

The run down buildings we carefully walk next to reek of garbage and smoke. I can't help but gag in my mouth when the strong odor stings my nose.

"I know, it kind of smells." Tobias whispers in my ear, his eyes still staring ahead. I blush, embarrassed he noticed my scrunched up face.

"Hey, any spare food?" I turn around to see an old withering woman. She wears Candor pants, an Amity sweatshirt, and a gray robe.

"Uh." Tobias starts digging in his bag. He pulls out a small bag with blueberries in them.