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      DAVINA WASN'T SURE when her new normal had become firing guns, throwing knives and waking up early to beat the shit out of other teenagers. The routine had merged with her system now, enough that she no longer felt like a corpse waking up every morning. That or her body had gone numb to the fact she was hardly sleeping, was constantly covered in bruises and she was almost always in fight or flight.

It had been ten days since they had thrown knives for the first time. Davina had still not managed to get herself to a respectable level– but Apollo had ceased his comments and advice. The pair had never spoken on it again, and Davina had not missed a night of training with him since (also never talked about). That she could at least appreciate.

Some things, however, had not changed for the better. As she headed down for breakfast that morning, Apollo at her side as was now the usual, Tris and her entire table watched her. She knew they thought they were being subtle, but Tris' eyes followed her like a bird watching a cat, and Christina gave her a hard look. But it was not them that Davina could feel under her skin– Will didn't even look her way.

She had hated his stupid green eyes and the way he had looked at her since they had both chosen Dauntless, but she noticed the absence far more than she thought she would. She could still feel the way his nose had cracked under her knuckles. She'd had blood in the creases of her fingers for what had felt like days afterwards. By the time he had stopped wearing a patch over his nose, and the swelling had started to go down, Davina may as well have been a stranger to him.

"You need to eat," Peter told her as they sat opposite each other. Apollo glanced from her left at the barely-touched plate in front of her. She shot him an annoyed sort of look, but she appreciated the concern to an extent– it just wasn't her priority right now.

"I will," she said sharply. Peter didn't waver, looking at her expectantly. "What are you, my mother?" Davina jeered.

"If you want me to be," Peter responded. Davina only rolled her eyes, but stuffed a mouthful of cereal before they could continue the argument. He sat with the pair often, occasionally ditching them for Molly and Drew, who didn't seem to like Davina or Apollo. The blonde girl didn't really care.

"She's cranky this morning," Apollo said dismissively. "Ignore her."

"Crankier?" Peter said in mock shock.

Davina swallowed abruptly, ignoring how it scratched at her throat. She shot them both lethal glares. "Do none of you keep track?" she hissed.

"Keep track of what?" Peter chuckled.

"This is our second last match for stage one," Davina told them.

Apollo couldn't hide the way his eyes widened slightly, the pale skin of his scar stretching. Meanwhile, Peter's face had gone hard, the amusement fading in a second. Davina shrugged at the silence she had caused, taking another spoonful of cereal, knowing Peter was watching her carefully.

"Better make it count then," the brunette boy finally said in an unreadable tone.

Davina only blinked at him, before they lapsed back into silence. Apollo's grip on his cutlery had tightened, but he also stayed quiet. Though their training had continued, there was still an unreachable gap between Davina and her experience, and Apollo. She was doing the best she could in the limited hours they had at night, but now time was running out to pass stage one.

The blonde girl knew she had passed, it was only logical with her consistency in the matches, and her issues of being the best were pushed aside for Apollo's dire situation. He could barely hold his own in a fight where he didn't come from behind, and the only thing he was better at then she was was knife throwing. The odds were not shaping up to be in his favour, but Davina would be damned if she failed to get him up to speed and lost the one person who didn't hate her completely.

"Hurry up, blue," Peter called as they left breakfast. She jeered at the nickname, but accepted it as a better option than 'nose', pushing to her feet and passing the table Edward and Myra sat at together.

Apollo lagged behind as if still half-asleep as they headed up towards the training room, Davina bridging the gap between Peter and the former-Abnegation. Despite the affectionate nickname, and the fact that sharing a smoke after dinner had almost become a daily ritual, the knowledge that Peter was a threat was never far from her mind. Sometimes it was harder to remember, but she never forgot.

Skin and bones Apollo with a dodgy punch and foundations built during initiation were not a threat to Davina. But Peter, lean and ambitious, the third most worthy opponent in their transfer group aside from Davina herself and Edward, was a threat.

And not just because he had a chance of pushing to the top ranks, but because Davina knew he thought the same way she did. If he saw her as a threat, they weren't friends. If he saw her as a threat, then he would do whatever it took to get into the ranks. He had told her– and Davina wasn't naive enough not to take it at face value.

It was hard to see it, his wide green eyes and white smile blinking at her as they entered the training room, but then Davina would remember the look in his eyes when he had beat Tris, the way he twisted himself to justify his actions, offhanded comments that forced Davina to acknowledge that he wasn't the angel he looked like. But then again, with Will giving her no notice from across the room, was Davina equally as terrible?

"This could be bad," Apollo muttered from beside her, his dark eyes fixated on the match board for the day.

Davina didn't answer, eyes only narrowing at the pairings that Eric had finished writing for them. She was up against Molly– dead last. She already knew the taunting and attempts to psych her out that Molly would try up until the first punch was delivered. Apollo would be getting in the ring with Christina after Tris went up with Drew. But somehow neither of those were more interesting than Peter's opponent for the day, Edward.

"Tris and Drew!" Eric, their only instructor for the day, shouted.

Davina tried to ignore the sick feeling in her stomach as they concentrated on the starting fight. Peter had split from them to join Molly and Drew in their usual dark corner, the former doing just as predicted and shooting glances Davina's way. She didn't meet them, but she could feel them, hair on the back of her neck standing on end.

Tris, like many of the transfers, had started to improve in the ring. Her moves were more calculated, and had more power behind them, especially her kicks. She had begun to use her elbows and knees more, which was her main advantage as someone so small compared to the majority. Davina, who hardly talked to her or Drew, felt rather neutral when she lost to the bulky boy.

"Any thoughts?" Apollo asked as the first pair began to drag themselves out of the ring.

Davina had already beaten Christina herself. She knew her fighting style, just not if Apollo was built to withstand it. "Trip her," Davina said simply.

Apollo blinked at her. "That's it?"

"You guys started off on the same level," Davina said quickly. "But she's picked up faster– slightly," she added at Apollo's glare. "She's a more ranged fighter, get in close and knock her down. But be quick, I feel like she could get the advantage if you take too long."

Davina could see the gears turning in Apollo's head as she talked. "Do you actually think I could beat her?" he asked directly.

"Yes," she responded. "Trip her, kick in her head."

Apollo looked surprised by the answer, as if he thought Davina figured he would lose. Appearing slightly more sure of himself, he nodded. "Thanks, coach," he sighed.

She literally patted him on the back as he went up when called for the second match. Christina returned to the ring from helping Tris out of it– Drew had given her a good beating. Davina crossed her arms over her chest as the second match began, Apollo falling into a stance that she had corrected many times.

Christina was quick, but she was lankier than even Apollo, and as per her instructions, he kept himself close quarters, ducking and dodging. His movements were precise, he didn't have the strength to be anything else, and Christina was struggling to keep up from the immediate onslaught. Davina knew that Will would have been watching just as intently as she was, but she didn't spare him a glance.

Christina landed a punch, throwing Apollo off centre as he tried to recover. Davina chewed on her bottom lip as her friend's opponent charged, but Apollo scurried low and struck her knee with the back of his hand as they passed each other by. Christina stumbled, and Apollo spun around and kicked her square in the jaw.

She went flying, the overhead lights illuminating the thin spray of blood and spit at the harsh hit, as she collapsed against the mat, unmoving. Eric looked surprised by the outcome, as Apollo fell back into a fighting stance, as if expecting Christina to get back up.

"Apollo wins," Eric said, circling his name on the board.

Will shoved past Davina to get into the ring and help his friend up, the blonde girl narrowing her eyes at the back of his head as he passed. She rearranged her expression once Apollo returned, still looking stunned by the words 'Apollo wins.'

"Told you," Davina said simply, but her smile betrayed that he had actually done a good job.

Still panting slightly, Apollo grinned at his feet.

Peter and Edward were the closest match aside from Davina and Edward at the very start. It seemed everyone knew this, as Eric called them up and the energy shifted. Myra was chewing on her nails, Apollo turned away from Davina, and the blonde girl glanced between the pair.

She wanted to say that Edward would win, simply because he had won every round so far, but she also knew that Peter was watching every round so far, and had an idea of everyone's fighting styles. Davina knew she wanted Edward to win. She had lost to him, she couldn't see Peter succeed. A rather selfish viewpoint, but Davina was getting used to that.

"I hope Peter wins," Apollo said from beside her.

"Why?" she asked.

"Because we'll never hear the end of it if he loses," Apollo responded.

Davina rolled her eyes. "Sounds like his problem."

Watching two experienced fighters versus kids that had started on punching bags a month ago was incredibly jarring. Edward and Peter exchanged blows longer than some matches had lasted, twisting around each other and blocking at each turn. Davina could tell that Peter was struggling to keep up, however, by the way Edward was consistently forcing him back.

Davina wondered if she could beat Peter. She had gone over every transfer initiate she might face across the four weeks of stage one, and Peter was still the most dangerous. Molly, ironically, was under him. But watching Peter go one-on-one with the one person who had beaten Davina gave her a good point of measurement.

But as it stretched on, Davina could see the disparity between the pair, and Edward had the advantage soon, fist connecting squarely with Peter's cheek.

"Edward wins!" Eric announced as Peter was slammed to the floor, and didn't move quickly to get up, slumping back down. Edward, ever the good sportsman, offered a hand, but Peter slapped it away and spat something Davina couldn't hear from where she was.

"Charming, isn't he?" Davina drawled as Edward came back from the ring.

Edward looked at her, but he didn't look amused. "Yeah. You could do better," he responded, coolly.

Davina narrowed her eyes as he moved to hug Myra, Apollo watching the interaction cautiously. Edward had not seemed to forgive her for the way she had acted– granted, Davina had ignored him for days afterwards, but she was used to him coming back. She had extended an olive branch, small comments at breakfast, greeting in passing, but he did not meet her in the middle as he usually did.

She swallowed thickly and looked away, eyes falling on Peter as he dragged himself out of the arena, scowling as she talked amongst his friends. Molly said something, before glancing back where Apollo and Davina were standing. The blonde girl did not back down from the glare sent her way, she only met it and raised her eyebrows.

There was one more match to sit through, which was between Al and Myra, which was almost over before it had even begun. Compared to the match beforehand, almost no one seemed engaged in the result. As Myra stumbled out of the arena and back to Edward, who reached out an arm for her, Apollo scoffed.

"How's that gonna work?" he asked snidely. Davina shot him a look. "I mean– he's obviously ranking first. And she's, well," Apollo didn't finish his sentence, shrugging dramatically.

"Yeah," Davina got out, because she hadn't heard anything past he's obviously ranking first.

"Davina and Molly!" Eric announced.

The blonde girl's face hardened, as she stepped up into the arena, looking across as Molly did the same. She looked smug about the arrangement, low set eyes narrow and lips twisted. Davina did not fall into a stance, as Molly did, holding out a hand as if to invite the smaller girl in.

"I've been waiting for this, Nose," Molly jeered.

"Don't call me that," Davina snapped back.

Molly charged, Davina unmoving until the last moment where she stepped to the side, the larger girl flying past her. Davina skipped backwards as Molly swung back, going for her head. Blocking the move with her forearm, Davina ducked down and struck Molly's stomach. She winced, trying to regain some of the air that had been knocked from her, as Davina backhanded her over the face, sending her stumbling.

Molly blocked two punches from Davina, before lunging forward. The blonde girl ducked, knowing she was at a size disadvantage for this match, moving around one of Molly's fists as it scraped past her. Her hands were held high, protecting her face, but leaving her stomach and lower body exposed. Davina narrowed her eyes, waiting for Molly to make the first move again, before springing into action.

Dodging a fist and ducking under, Davina drove her own fist into Molly's stomach, listening to the breath leave her lungs. Before she could retaliate, Davina swung around and drove her knee into the other girl's ribs, further winding her and causing her feet to shift along the ground. A fist swung around and caught Davina's chin, and she darted back, hand going up to rub along the bone.

"You'll have to do better than that, Nose," Molly spat.

Davina was unaffected by the jeer, and if anything, it only sharpened her resolve to win the match. This time, she made the first move, blocking a punch and a kick from Molly before managing to uppercut her chin. In the brief moment her guard was down, arms separated, and with as much strength as she could muster, Davina sent her heel into Molly's stomach, and she doubled over.

Spurred on, Davina delivered the final hit, punching her across the face, from the cheek to the jaw, and she collapsed. Molly let out a groan, rolling onto her back, bracing her hand against the ground as if to get back up. Davina kicked her in the head, sending blood spraying to the side as her nose cracked underneath the blonde's boot.

Molly grunted, reaching a hand up to her nose. The blonde girl was briefly reminded of how Christina had looked the day Molly herself had beaten her, blood weeping out from between her fingers, eyes squeezed shut in pain. Davina kicked her in the ribs to finish her off, Molly barely able to curl in on herself.

Davina only looked down at her.

"Davina wins," Eric said, sounding unsurprised, as Davina stalked out of the arena.

"I enjoyed that," Apollo sneered as she rejoined him.

"Good," Davina responded.

"Initiates!" Eric announced, as some had already started to move towards the door for lunch. They all snapped to attention at the coldest instructor's voice. "The next match in three days will be your last. It will also be your last day of stage one and your last chance to improve your rank before they're announced."

It wasn't new information to Davina, but hearing it said aloud made it stick in her throat. The announcement killed the energy as the transfers left the training room, Davina's chin still throbbing.

"You left a mean bruise on Christina," Peter mused as they headed down for lunch, appearing at Apollo's flank.

"I try," Apollo said dryly.

"And you," Peter continued, looking at Davina. "Molly might actually kill you."

"I think I just proved that she can't," the blonde girl replied.

Peter grinned at the response, but said nothing else as the group of three arrived for lunch, sitting at the end of one of the long tables. It was sandwiches for the day– an assortment of ingredients sat in the middle of the table, Dauntless passing it around at request. Davina found the whole self-assembly thing rather annoying, but bit her tongue about it.

"You seem awfully happy for a guy who just lost to Edward," Davina pointed out as they ate.

Peter shrugged, as if he really was nonchalant about it. Davina only looked across the table at him. She was getting better at reading him– the way he gripped the bread in his hand, the way his shoulders were squared a bit too much to be fully relaxed.

"Means if you and I fight next, I have to beat you," Peter told her. "It's exciting, actually."

Davina frowned. "If you can't beat Edward, you can't beat me."

"We'll see, blue," he mused.

Davina narrowed her eyes, but stayed quiet. She didn't find it as exciting as he did.

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hope people are still reading this fic lol hi surprise

this is a filler chapter but i think it's important for davina's friendships and development. if anything feels off it's because i am rusty with these characters but i soldiered through, the next few are very juicy

as always, thank you for reading and please engage if you enjoyed! it really does keep me motivated