It doesn't take long into lunch for me to realise that managing heavy, metallic guns for hours does begin to take a toll on your physical strength. My fingers feel raw and stiff, and my arms can barely move at the wrists and elbows, accompanied by red, throbbing knuckles.
I don't hate the pain; it makes me feel stronger, braver, more Dauntless. Besides, my aching knuckles come from the fact that I shot a gun - the type of gun that both feeds us and protects us from whatever threats lay outside the fence - which makes me feel somewhat ecstatic.
Plus, I have a feeling it's going to get a lot worse from now on.
"What'd Jorge say we're doing next?" Minho asks from the space next to me at the lunch table, as he shovels a full piece of pie into his mouth in one go.
"Somethin' 'bout winning a bloody fight," Newt says, his voice coming from my other side.
"That shouldn't be a problem for me, then, eh?" Minho laughs.
Thomas scoffs, pointing his fork in Minho's direction. "Are you sure about that?"
"'Course I am, Greenie," Minho replies, shaking his head in response. "Doesn't take a genius to figure that out."
"Why the hell am I 'Greenie'?" Thomas interjects, scowling slightly.
"Because you're clueless. And you seem newer than everyone else, for some reason. Plus you're kind of an idiot," Minho raises one eyebrow at Thomas.
"I'm not an idiot," Thomas deadpans as he lowers his arm to the table. I can't help but notice that his elbow lands dangerously close to the food on his plate.
"Are ya sure about that, Greenie?" Newt mocks Thomas, his voice higher as he mimics the dark-haired boy's accent.
"Yep," Thomas answers, and I laugh, along with everyone except for the formerly Erudite boy.
Minho continues to tease Thomas, using whatever material he can - his irritability, his confusion, his curiosity, his Erudite background, even his hair at one point. I zone out as Fry is trying to convince Brenda, Teresa and Newt that he'd be a much better cook than any of the Dauntless chefs.
I turn to survey all the other tables surrounding us, examining all the other members of my new faction. On the seats of the table next to us, two Dauntless sit, their piercings flashing, and tattoos visible. They sit close together, their thighs and upper arms touching, fingers interlacing slowly.
The second pauses to kiss the first, her fingers lightly touching the back of the other's neck as the kiss deepens. I can see an abundance of rings and jewellery glittering on her fingers.
I turn away and unintentionally exhale louder than usual, my breath hissing between my teeth. I don't remember the last time I saw a kiss like that - it's probably been years.
"What're you looking at?" Minho breaks off his conversation with Thomas to swivel around and stare blatantly at the couple I was just glancing at. Almost telling him to stop staring, I hear him chuckle. "That's why you look so mad."
"I'm not mad," I say, which is true - I'm just surprised. "But a kiss is not something you do in public."
Minho laughs harder as he shares an incredulous look with Thomas. "They're just kissing," he says. "It's not like-"
I frown, not wanting him to finish his sentence. "I know that, but-"
"'A kiss is not something you do in public'," Thomas joins in this time.
I frown again, my eyebrows furrowing lightly.
"Your Abnegation is showin'," Newt puts in, and I bury my face in my hands. Somehow, the fact that it's Newt teasing me makes everything worse.
"Hey, it's not like she can stop it," Teresa interjects. "Not her fault she was raised in Abnegation." But even she's smiling, and it becomes evident that she finds my background amusing.
"Thanks, T'res," I mutter sarcastically, lifting my face from my palms.
"Ah, it's okay, (y/n)," Newt says. "But the rest of the factions are 'right with some affection in public."
For some reason, I pick at a seam on my pants, scratching the back of my neck with my other hand, embarrassed. It gets steadily more humiliating as Newt elbows me in the side and leans his shoulder into mine. My arms tense up and my face burns, but I don't make any effort to move away.
Neither does he.
•••
A/N: Hi guys! It's been a while since I've updated, and I'm extremely sorry - I've had a lot more to deal with lately, so I took some time off writing. This chapter is relatively short, because it's more of a filler chapter (800 words) based on part of Chapter Eight of Divergent. It will hopefully lead on to more interesting chapters soon!
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The Transfers of Dauntless | Newt x Reader
Fanfiction(y/n) (y/l/n). A girl from the selfless faction of Abnegation. She lives under the control of Abnegation with her father and younger brother Chuck. She has always imagined her future as one in her original faction, but finds she begins to doubt her...
