Even When You're Crying You're Beautiful Too || Peter Hayes

Titanium

I wake up with a start that morning. Four is banging something on the metal the railing.

"I want everyone in the Pit, two minutes." He says, then walks out. I sigh and flip over, my eyes meeting Peter's.

"Morning Love." He says, smiling.

"Morning Peter." I say, smiling back. I sit up and stretch. I grab a black crop top out of the chest at the foot of my bed, throwing it on over top of a black tank top. I put my hair up in a ponytail to keep it from getting in my face during training. I slip on my shoes.

"Ready for the first day of training?" Peter asks, standing up.

"I think so." I say.

The other initiates began to make there way out of the dormitory. When I stand up I begin to feel dizzy right away. I grab onto Peter's arm to steady myself.

"Are you okay, Charlie?" Peter asks.

"Just dizzy, that's all." I say.

"Do you want me to carry you to training?" Peter asks. I nod. He then stands in front of me and crouches down a bit. "Hop on." I smile gratefully and jump on his back. He wraps his arms around my legs and I hold onto his shoulders.

"Thank you." I say, then kiss his cheek. He smiles and begins walking to the pit. As we walk, some of the initiates glare at me. They are just jealous I'm guessing.

We walk into the training center and Eric immediately starts glaring at us.

"Last time I checked, this was Dauntless, not Amity. You walk to training." Eric says. I mumble a sorry and slide off of Peter's back.

"There are two stages of training, the first is physical. We push your bodies to the breaking point and master the methods of combat." Four says, "The second, is mental. Again, breaking point. You will face your worst fears and conquer them, unless they get you first. You will be trained separately from the Dauntless born but you'll be ranked together. At the end of initiation your rankings will determined what jobs you move into. Leadership, guarding the fence, or keeping the factionless from killing each other."

"The rankings will also determined who gets cut." Eric says from behind Four.

"Cut?" Christina says, shocked.

"At the end of the each stage of training the lowest ranking Initiates will be leaving us." Eric says, now standing beside Four.

"To do what?" Al asks.

"Well there is no going home to your families so you live factionless." Eric says. "It's a new rule."

"A new rule? Somebody should have told us that." Christina says, angrily

"Why?" I pipe up, turning to Christina. "Would you have chosen differently, out of fear? News Flash, this is Dauntless, and if you truly are Dauntless, it shouldn't matter that you might fail."

"Exactly, you chose us, now we get to choose you." Eric says. Eric walks away.

"I want 5 laps around the pit." Four says. No one moves. "This is not a leisurely activity. Start running!" Immediately, everyone listens and starts running. After we are done pur laps, Four has as gather around the fighting mat and he shows us different defensive tactics. After that, he tells us to go to the punchung nags while he walks around and watches us.

As I hit the punching bag, I look around and see that no one else's is moving as much as mine is. Tris, the Abnegation transfers bag isn't moving at all. I continue hitting the bag, moving it further and further as I hit it.

I hook-kick the bag, but I must've hit it in the wrong place, because it splits, and blue sand starts pouring out. Peter looks at me with a surprised look on his face. I look around and everyone, including the Dauntless born, have stopped and are staring at me. Four, Eric and Lauren all look surprised aswell.

"Peter, do they look angry to you?" I ask. Gesturing to the leader and the two instructors.

"They look more proud than anything." Peter says. Eric and Four make their way over to me.

"How did you do that?" Eric asks.

"Do what?" I ask, playing dumb.

"Split the bag. No one has done that in years." Eric says.

"I hook-kicked it." I say. Eric points at the bag beside me.

"Do it again." He demands. I set my position in front of the bag, and hook-kick it, and yet again, the bag splits. Eric's mouth drops.

"Maybe these bags are just thin." I say.

Eric walks over to the broken bag and pulls the fabric so I can see it. It's about half an inch thick.

"These bags aren't thin, intiate." Eric says. "Alright, we're done for the day, get out."

The initiates begin to walk out. Smiling greatfully at me.

"Not you bag-breaker." Eric says. "I want to talk to you." I gesture to Peter to go on ahead. Once the initiates clear out, Eric starts talking.

"It's the first day of training and you are already ahead of the other initiates. What did you do in Candor that makes you so far ahead of everyone, even the dauntless-born?" Eric asks.

" I used to study hand-to-hand combat when I was younger, but I didn't think doing that would help in dauntless. Especially not break two punching bags in a row." I say.

"Well what exactly did you do?" Eric asks.

"I just read up on it and practiced in my basement. but this was when I was like 10, I didn't even think I would remember it" I say.

"Well it's clear that you do. Don't show it off in training or people will realize that and be able to get the upper hand during a fight, just keep it a secret." Eric says. I nod in understanding and Eric dismisses me. I make my way back to the initiate dormitory and when I walk in, everyone begins clapping and cheering.

"Dude, it's like your foot is made of titanium or something" an erudite transfer says. I smile in thanks and make my way to my bed, where Peter is waiting.

"Hey, you okay?" Peter asks as I sit down. "Eric wasn't too hard on you?"

"No. He just asked me how I learned to do it. " I say. I kick my shoes off and put lay my head on Peter's lap.

"Stressed?" He asks. I nod and he starts running his hand through my hair. "You're going to be okay. Everything will work out in the end." I nod and slowly fall asleep to Peter's hand in my hair.