Flower Child

Chapter Thirty Two

I had changed into a sweater and some shorts after I got back to the dorm. Everyone had been at dinner and I didn't feel like going. I didn't want to explain why I'd slapped Tobias to any of them, it was to much for me to explain without revealing my relationship with him.
When it was finally time to go I had gotten out to the tracks without seeing anyone. Tobias is already there when I arrive. He doesn't say anything, just grabs my hand and leads me to the tacks. The train is just starting to pass as we get there. We run next to it and Tobias pulls himself in with no problem at all. He turns around once he's in and pulls me into the car even though we both know I don't need the help. He holds me to him as the train bumps along over the tracks.
"What'd you want to tell me," I ask, raising my voice so he can hear me over the wind.
He shakes his head, "not yet."
The train picks up speed and Tobias guides me to the side of the train. He slides down the wall and sits down with his legs stretched out in front of him. I sit down next to him, facing him with my legs to the side.
The wind makes a few strands of my hair come loose from my bun and they fly around my face. Tobias reaches up and tucks the hair behind my ear, resting his hand on my cheek. His eyes dance over my face, my lips most of all, before meeting my eyes. I lean forward and press my lips to his.
This kiss is slow and passionate, I feel warm despite the cold air that wraps around my body. His lips trail along my jaw to my neck. I tilt my head back, a sigh leaving my lips.
The train rocks and I put my hand down to steady myself, it takes me a second to realize that my hand is on his hip. My body moves without thought. I straddle his legs, sitting on his lap, his hands grabbing my waist, either to keep me steady or to pull me closer. My hands rest on either side of his neck and I kiss him again. His hands trail down to my hips and then to my thighs and back up. They slip beneath my sweater and it lifts up, his fingers grazing the skin on my waist.
Tobias slowly pulls away from the kiss, bringing his lips to my ear, "when are you going to show me your tattoo."
My skin is on fire wherever he touches me. It feels like I promised him that a lifetime ago.
I shift back and give him a shy smile. I sit up on my knees and take a deep breath. I lift up the side of my shirt, the water color sky peaks out over the edge of my shorts which I push down just enough for him to see the tattoo. His eyes trail over it, his hand coming up to trace the tree with his fingers. A shiver makes its way through me.
"It's beautiful," he says lowly, "you said you wanted your tattoo to mean something, what does it mean?"
I smile, "the tree is almost an exact replica of one in Amity, it's the largest apple tree in the entire orchard. My father would take me there every morning and we'd watch the sunrise. No matter how sad I was, whether it be because of bullies at school, or when he was diagnosed, watching that sunrise would always make me feel better. And then when he was gone, it was like that tree held his spirit, and he would pull me out of the flames, he would soothe my sorrows."
Tobias's eyes are trained on the base of the tree, where my fathers hand grips my own and pulls me from those very flames.
"Do you like it?"
He doesn't say anything, he just pulls me closer and leans down to press a kiss at the heart of the tree. I sigh, closing my eyes and focusing on the touch of his lips on my hip. He trails the kisses upward to the watercolor. His lips leave my skin and I open my eyes. He is looking up at me, his eyes full of adoration.
"I hate to say this," his low, husky voice says, "but we have to get up."
"Yeah I hate that you said it too," I say, my voice small and breathless.
He smiles and pulls my shorts back up over my tattoo. We get up and he guides me to the doors. The city is dark, all the street lights off. The buildings are just blurry shadows as the train passes. Tobias points at a cluster of buildings far on the other side of the city. The lights shine brightly there like a beacon. Erudite.
"Apparently the city ordinance means nothing to them," he says, "their lights will be on all night."
   "And no one has noticed?" I ask.
   "I'm sure they have, but nothing has been done to stop it," he answers, "they probably don't want to cause a problem over something so small. It makes me wonder what the Erudite are doing that requires night lights."
   He seems tense as he turns towards me and makes me worried. Tobias leans against the wall of the car and crosses his arms over his chest.
   "Two things you should know about me. One, I'm deeply suspicious of people in general," he lists, "it's in my nature to expect the worst out of them. And two, I'm exceptionally good with computers."
   I nod. He works with computers all day, when he's not an instructor. It's still so hard for me to imagine Tobias sitting behind a computer all day.
   "A few weeks ago, before training started, I was able to hack into the Dauntless secure files," he says, "I found what looked like war plans. Thinly veiled commands, supply lists, maps. Things like that. All sent by Erudite."
   "War?" I ask, my brows furrowed.
   My father would always talk about the Erudite at the dinner table when I was little. They way he talked about them, well, it was the only time I ever really saw my dad get mad. I've always been wary of Erudite, the idea of the faction, learning and creating, sounder appealing to me, but the people, not as much. Erudite always thought themselves higher than everyone else, they thought they should be in charge, instead of...
   "War on Abnegation?"
   Tobias nods, taking my hand in his.
   "All those reports they've released are supposed to stir up dissension against Abnegation," he explains, "the Erudite want to speed up the process evidently. I have no idea what to do about it, or what could even be done."
But why are Erudite teaming up with Dauntless? I don't ask the question aloud because the second I think it I know the answer. This is a war, Erudite doesn't have weapons, or fighting experience, Dauntless does.
"They're going to use us," I state.
He nods, "I wonder though, how they will get us to fight?"
Erudite is manipulative, it's one of the main reasons I would never transfer there. They know how to manipulate people in many ways, they could probably just talk a lot over to their side with logic and facts. But that wouldn't be enough. No, they have something planned to get us all to fight, I don't want to think about what I could be.
I remember that he had asked me a question, "I don't know."
I truly don't... That's the worst part.