Disclaimer: I am not named Veronica, am not a professional writer, and am 13 years old. Last time I checked, I didn't own Divergent, Insurgent, or Allegiant. Wait...darn, it's still true.

Chapter I

I stand by my Father, watching as my faction goes about their daily business, waiting for an opportunity to swoop in and help in any way we can, to farther prove the fact that we were truly selfless beings. Abnegation has a certain appeal, a certain grace, and a defined beauty. We all work harmoniously, balancing each other out, all keeping to the beat of the same drum. Everyone is well cared for, because it would be selfish to let anyone suffer if you yourself were not suffering from the same pain. We look as if we are all cells of the same body, all draped in gray, moving the same way, speaking the same language, with similar hairstyles, for if we were to stray from the norm and stand out, we would be displaying selfish qualities. For as beautiful and graceful as we are, as they are, I feel as if I'll never belong.

It's easy for my brother, Caleb. He's as selfless as they get. A pure Abnegation. He sees one thing, his brain processes the situation, and he acts just like a traditional selfless boy would. I see the same situation, and for some reason, I can't complete the same actions that my Mother or Caleb would. It's harder for me than the rest of the faction to be selfless, well, at least that's what I believe. I may only be, well, I assume I'm about 14, but I already know that I don't belong. I don't conform, and it feels as if no one else understands me. I'm a fully functioning human being, but I have a few loose screws and wires that no one else can even begin to understand. Except for Tobias Eaton.

Tobias and I have been friends since before I can remember. His father, Marcus works with my father on the council, which gives Tobias and I tons of time to hang out. He's two years older than I am, but we just ignore that gap. It's really not that noticeable when we're together, but I know it will be after Choosing Day, which comes in about ten and a half months. By the looks Tobias keeps giving me every time I bring the subject up, I'd guess that we are being separated. He'll probably leave for another faction, not because of his own aptitude, I mean, Tobias is as Abnegation as they come, but he'll probably want to get away from his father. I don't know if I can possibly last two years without being able to see the warm smile that plays on his lips whenever I make him laugh, which I try to do as often as possible, to take him away from his home life. My brother doesn't trust him, but yet again, Caleb doesn't know him like I do. Caleb wasn't there the day I had found Tobias's belt markings and cuts for the first time. He didn't see the blood pouring from his cuts when I used my gray cloth to clean them. He didn't listen to Tobias' screams as he felt the cold water on his open flesh.

I'm one of the only people who know about Tobias' wounds, other than Tobias and Marcus. This may be selfish of me, but I hope that Marcus rots. He gets beaten about once a week, and I think it's a miracle that he's still alive. He typically visits me after a whipping, he knows that I'll clean his wounds for him, and because I know about his situation, he trusts me to help him. Otherwise, he would have died from infection by now. I really do love him. Not in a courting kind of way, but as the brother that I've always wanted. I'll miss him. I already miss him, and he won't be leaving for another almost eleven months.

The page needs to get an x-ray. I think something just broke. ***************

"Beatrice. Beatrice…? Beatrice, darling, where are you? Please come back." Whoops. That would be my Father, telling me that I had drifted off again, which I do so often on these morning walks through the town.

"Beatrice, do you see Miss Trudy over there? I believe she has more grocery bags than she can handle. I must say, I am surprised no one else has gone over to assist her yet. Why don't you go over and help her? Remember, Beatrice, it is not wise or fair to focus on one object for too long when there are so many others in need. We must treat everyone with the upmost importance if we are to truly immerse ourselves in the act of selflessness." He's right. I should have been over there five minutes ago. I have proven my point once again. I don't belong here. Yet everyone else seems to belong just fine.

The page has inevitably broken again :( While it was being fixed it informed me that this next section happens three hours after the previous events.

"Tobias, I'm not kidding, I am physically unable to be half as selfless as the rest of the faction. I need Choosing Day to come quicker than this." Tobias looks over at me with the same saddened expression that he always does when I mention Choosing Day.

"You know what I mean. And stop being so downcast, we still have a one in five chance to be with each other. Wait, no…if we're both transferring, which I would guess that we are, that would be a one in four chance. Those odds are pretty good. Besides, we still have nearly eleven months to be together."

"Sure. Eleven months, and then at least two years apart. Maybe even forever." Forever is a long time. Tobias had a good point. But not good enough to get me to worry.

"Come here." I may be a head and 3 inches shorter than Tobias, and look like a walking stick, but I can still comfort him as if I was his Mother, who died when he was about nine. I engulf him in my arms, and he does the same. I bury my head in his chest and whisper, "You know, not even different factions could keep us apart. There's no rule saying that I couldn't visit you." I can hear his heart beat quickening, and his chest heaving as he laughs quietly.

"I know, and may God pity the poor soul who attempts to stop you from getting what you want." At that moment I begin to laugh to, pulling my face out of his shirt, and leaning back on the rock that I'm balancing on. It's times like these that I almost forget where we come from, how we don't seem to fit in anywhere but exactly where we are. Together.

"I swear, sometimes I would think you were a Dauntless, the way you act. But the fact that you're the farthest thing from cruel that this world has ever known, reminds me that you're still here, you belong here in some way, even if you fail to see that." I would guess that he was right, well, if I weren't the person that I am. I know that I'm not the typical Abnegation, but I try to be. He's the typical Abnegation, but he's trying hard to get out of the faction. That's where we differ.

"Well, that was random, but maybe I will be. Who knows? I could be Dauntless if I wanted, or Amity, or Candor, or Abnegation, or curse it, Erudite. Well, that's what they tell us at least. Mr. Eaton, I can't help to notice that you seem to act a bit...daring sometimes, too? Any comment on that? Anything I should know? I-"

"Want to stop talking about this. There, finished the sentence for you," he says, with a new, snappy attitude. That's not how I was going to finish that sentence, and I begin to get annoyed, but then look over to the distressed look on his face, and change my mind. Instead of yelling at him, I wrap my arms around his waist.

"Okay." I say. And yes, technically that counts as conceding, but I don't dwell on that. Apparently Tobias has other plans.

"Wait…did you just say…O K A Y? As in, alright, as in, you are conceding? Agreeing? Choosing not to argue? Complying? I do not think my ears are functioning correctly today. Or are they?"

"Shut up. Take that back. Take it back now." Idiot.

"Hmm, I don't think so. By the way, that wasn't very Abnegation of you. Telling me to shut up like that…tsk, tsk, Beatrice Prior. What in the world are we going to do with you?"

"I honestly don't know. Ship me away in a box or something. I'm your problem, you figure it out!" He pretends to think for a while and then looks down at his practically placed watch on his right wrist. It's the only jewelry Abnegation are allowed to wear. His eyes grow wide, and I know exactly why, and I'm not about to let that happen again. If only he had taken my offer of staying with my family. My parents would understand. They would take him in, I know they would.

"D-sorry Tris, I have to go, like, now. I'll see you tomorrow, okay." He kisses my forehead and runs toward his house. I'm not about to let him do this again. Walk in late, because I kept him out of the house, and get beaten with that infernal belt again.

"Tobias! Tobias, stop! Slow down! Tobias!" He finally stops and turns around, and I start talking again, out of breath from trying to keep up with him. You'd think he was some kind of runner. Well, that or Dauntless. Which really isn't that far off-

"You can't- you can't go home like that. You can go home tomorrow. I'll have my Dad call your Dad and tell him you need to stay late because he needs help on a very important project, one that your father can't know about. Something about the faction, some kind of work thing. You can stay over tonight. My parents will be fine with it, and your Dad is just going to have to deal. I'm not letting you get beaten, knowing it's my fault." Right away I can see the doubt in his eyes. He's not sold yet.

"Tris…I don't know. I just… I need to deal with this as it is. If I wait, It'll just be worse in the morning. Better to face him now than have to go back and face him later. Just so you know, my presence here is all my fault, not yours. I had just forgotten to check the time. "

"Tobias, if you come home with me, you may not have to go back and face him. Maybe he'll give you a…break?" Even I can now see the flaws in this plan.

"I know, I know, but trust me, It'll be worse if I wait until tomorrow morning."

"Alright, but seriously, if you need me, come over. I'll be angry if you don't, and then you come back to me with your pretty face all cut up." I say as if I am talking to a child, I pinch his cheeks for good measure.

"Okay, Mom. Love you, see you tomorrow," he says in the same mock accent.

"Alright, oh son of mine. Stay safe."

"Haha. Very funny, see you later. Seriously, this time I'm leaving though." He waves and then walks off, leaving me to wonder what will await him when he gets home. What side of Marcus he will meet. I don't typically let it slip how worried I get when speaking to him about his "punishments". I've seen his scars, and they've kept me up at night. I don't let him know that, but they do. He's like my big brother, and when one of your siblings is in trouble, your Abnegation side takes over, and you know that you have to do something about it. That's my problem. Mind over matter. One of these days, I'm going to bust down the door and order Marcus to stop what he's doing. Just because I can. But it's not bravery or selflessness that I'm lacking. It's the ability to time the confrontation right. Go too early, and Tobias' situation could get worse. Go too late, and my attempt would be of no help at all. I need to keep him safe, and I feel as if it's my job, because the man who is supposed to be keeping him safe is the one putting him in danger, and I have suspicions of my own about what really happened to his mother. If his father beats him, it's possible that he could have beaten others as well. Beaten them to death. That's what I'm afraid of. I love Tobias, and I want him by my side for as long as I live, but that's the selfish side of me. The selfless side of me, the one who loves Tobias just as much as the selfish side, wants him to get out of here, as fast as he possibly can. And God, I hope that he does.