"Dauntless!" Cheers erupted from the rowdiest faction as Marcus Eaton announced Bianca's decision.
With a glance towards the Abnegation leader, Bianca turned and made her way back to her home faction. She received a warm welcome, with hugs and pats on the back, from her friends and a thumbs-up from her dad. She forced a smile on her face and sat down to watch the rest of the teenagers make their choice, not really paying any attention. Her mind was reeling with whether or not she had made the right decision to stay in Dauntless. She already knew the answer to that, though.
No. She had stayed in Dauntless because she was afraid of leaving her dad. She was afraid of being on her own. She was afraid of being discovered as Divergent. Her aptitude results had been inconclusive, of course, but Tori, who happened to be her administrator for the aptitude test, had strongly urged her to transfer to either Amity or Abnegation, where she'd be the safest. It wasn't that easy, however. At least, not for Bianca.
Bianca Davies was her father's only joy in this world. Her mother, having become sick and unable to keep up with the Dauntless lifestyle, had taken her own life not three years earlier. Since then Bianca had become the rock that her father, Axel, leaned on. Nothing was going to separate them, that she would be sure of.
She was pulled out of her thoughts as one of her best friends, Lynn, silently sat down beside her. Her decision wasn't shocking at all. With her shaved head, pierced ears and tattoos, as well as her biting attitude, Lynn wouldn't fit well in any faction other than Dauntless.
Bianca was the exact opposite. Her hair was long, wavy and chestnut brown, and she spent way too much time styling it each morning. Her tanned skin was free of tattoos and her only piercings were her earlobes and her bellybutton. She preferred dresses and heels to leather jackets and combat boots. She'd be much happier spending all day in her tiny garden or reading a book than training in the gym or jumping off buildings. To sum things up, she was the worst Dauntless ever.
"Here we go," Lynn muttered to her, the last initiate having made their choice and the ceremony coming to an end.
Their friends and family immediately jumped up and ran out of the hall, into the stairwell. It was business as usual for the Dauntless-born initiates, but the transfers were caught off guard as they burst outside and sprinted to the train tracks. Bianca grunted as she pulled herself up just behind Lynn, her other best friend, Marlene, to her right. Out of the three, Bianca was the least physically fit. She knew she was going to need to step her game up during the next few weeks to ensure she ranked well. The last thing she wanted was to get stuck guarding the fence or cleaning the compound. Those were the kind of jobs the lower ranked initiates always ended up with. She wanted to work in the hair salon or designing clothes, if the former wasn't available to her. Out of all the jobs at Dauntless, those were the two that appealed to her the most.
"Come on, B!" Lynn stuck her hand out, having already hauled herself onto the train platform. Bianca groaned as she let Lynn yank her up the rest of the way, coming to kneel on the tracks as they waited for the train. "You're gonna have to do better than that. A few of these transfers look tough." Lynn's voice was low enough for only Bianca to hear, and for that she was grateful. If the other initiates knew she wasn't up to par with the other Dauntless-borns, it'd make her a target to be pushed around.
Bianca nodded and the trio of young women launched themselves on the train as it sped past. They leaned against the wall and were greeted with the grinning face of Uriah as he sauntered over to them. Bianca hid her smirk as his eyes momentarily swept over Marlene; those two were definitely going to end up dating sooner or later.
"You guys hear that Four is going to be training one of the groups of initiates this year?" he asked, grin still plastered on his face.
"Why is that so exciting?" Lynn questioned in a bored tone.
"Man, that guy's a beast! With his training, and the skills I already have, I'll dominate the rankings!"
To their credit, the young women waited about five seconds before erupting into laughter. Uriah's grin faltered and he crossed his arms in irritation. The train slowed, alerting them to the upcoming jump they'd have to make to re-enter the Dauntless compound. Uriah gave them one last look, and a rather rude hand gesture, before jumping off the train.
Bianca, Lynn and Marlene jumped from the train together and only stumbled slightly as they landed. That was more than they could say for the transfers falling on their faces all around them, not to mention the one who didn't make the gap. Bianca felt bile rise in the back of her throat at the sound that echoed when the kid's body hit the cement far below. She quickly walked towards the Dauntless members standing on the opposite side of the roof to put distance between herself and the gaping initiates.
"Listen up, I'm Eric," Bianca's head snapped up when she heard that familiar voice. Their newest leader, Eric, was standing on the edge of the roof and looking over the initiates like he was the predator and they were the prey. She attempted to shrink back behind Lynn and Marlene but his eyes were already on hers, his lips twitching up into a smirk.
"I'm one of your leaders. If you want to enter Dauntless, this is the way in. If you don't have the guts to jump, then you don't belong in Dauntless." He was so matter-of-fact, so aloof, that it gave the impression that he genuinely didn't care if you jumped or not. Some might think that it was an act to scare them, but Bianca knew that he really didn't give a crap about any of them. None of the weak ones, anyway. The strong ones could prove to be useful.
"Is there water at the bottom or something?" one of the transfers from Erudite asked. Bianca shut her eyes in amazement that he actually expected an answer from the leader. She knew Eric's response before he even opened his mouth.
"Guess you'll find out," Eric coolly replied. "Who's first?"
Bianca remained firmly rooted to her spot and refused to make eye contact with him, even though she could feel his grey eyes staring at her expectantly. She knew it would be wise to go first; it would help her rankings at least a little. It would also show the others that she was just as much Dauntless as the rest of her peers, even if she didn't quite look the part. But she wanted to stall walking up next to him for as long as possible.
After a few moments silence, everyone was shocked when a skinny girl from Abnegation stepped forward. She was shaking as she took off her sweater and looked down at the gaping hole in the ground. Bianca knew it was terrifying to look down at nothingness and be told you need to blindly leap into it. Young Dauntless members would sneak up to the rooftop to get a look at the entrance, even though they weren't supposed to. Some would even leap into the net suspended below the surface. It almost always resulted in work detail that included scrubbing toilets.
"Alright Stiff, take it off," a Candor transfer called out lewdly. He quickly added "Put it back on," in a quieter voice.
"You're pretty rude, aren't you?" Bianca snapped at him, unable to hold her tongue. It wasn't like her to lash out, but she was tense to begin with and his better-than-thou attitude rubbed her the wrong way.
He let his eyes sweep over her body before smirking at her. "And you're just pretty. How about we hang out later?"
Bianca scoffed and turned away from him just in time to catch Eric's steely gaze. "Today, initiate," he said impatiently, and just like that the girl from Abnegation lept over the edge. "Next?"
Uriah was at the front of the group before Bianca could blink, barely hesitating before leaping off the roof. Bianca rolled her eyes at the cocky grin on his face but laughed nonetheless. All of the initiates formed a line and she wound up towards the end with Marlene and Lynn. It went surprisingly fast, mainly because Eric would bark at anyone who took longer than a couple seconds to jump. With each step forward she became just a little more anxious, to the point where Lynn shot her a questioning look. She just shook her head and said they'd talk about it later; there were too many prying eyes on the roof.
"Next," Eric called out again, this time looking directly at Bianca who could no longer hide behind anyone.
Squaring her shoulders, Bianca stepped up to the edge of the roof. Neither the height nor the fall is what made her nervous. It was the proximity to their youngest leader. As she carefully climbed onto the ledge, she could feel him move closer to her. She started to lean forward when a tug on the back of her dress made her halt in mid-fall. Her head shot around to look at him and that damned smirk was back on his face. If she was a true Dauntless she'd smack it off, but that courage didn't live within her.
"Come to my office when Lauren is done with you," he said, quietly enough so she was the only one that could hear him. Then the bastard shoved her and she was plummeting towards the net far below.
"Bianca, could you watch the shop for a few minutes? I need to run home and change," her aunt called out from the back of the shop. Bianca nodded with a grin, trying her best not to laugh at her aunt's disheveled state. She had just finished dying a girl's impossibly long hair bright pink, and the dye was everywhere.
"Take your time, Aunt Hadley," she replied as the older woman walked out. Not thirty seconds later a large figure entered the salon.
"Bianca, my favorite hairdresser," Eric's voice boomed, his signature smirk tugging on his lips.
She spun around to see the Dauntless leader sinking into the chair closest to her. Her cheeks tinged pink with the way he eyed her bare legs, the black shorts cut off at her upper thigh. To say that she found him attractive was an understatement, but she wasn't an idiot. He was dangerous, too. You didn't get to be the youngest leader in Dauntless history by being Mr. Nice Guy.
"I'm not a hairdresser; just an apprentice," she corrected him as she picked up a pair of scissors and moved behind him. She had to lower the chair in order to see his head clearly, the difference in their height being quite impressive.
"In a few weeks that will change," he replied, his sharp eyes watching intently as she began trimming his hair. She shrugged and tried not to make eye contact, but his eyes were like a magnet that drew her gaze back to the mirror. "When you pass initiation, you'll become a hairdresser, or whatever the hell else you want to do," his tone was low this time, daring her to argue with him.
"And if I transfer?" she asked innocently, finishing with the longer parts of his hair and moving around the chair to retrieve a razor for the sides. His large hand caught her forearm and pulled her back to look at him.
"We both know you're not leaving Dauntless," he answered, and she knew he was right. She'd known for years that she could never will herself to leave. But she didn't enjoy being told what she would and wouldn't do, even if it was by a leader.
Again she shrugged, pulling her arm out of Eric's grasp. "I guess we'll find out," she relented. "Now can I finish your hair?"
The air left her lungs as she hit the net and the ropes scratched at her arms and legs. She rolled to the side and accepted Four's outstretched arms for help climbing down. He set her on the ground and asked what she knew he'd asked each initiate.
"Making any changes to your name?" She shook her head 'no'. "Tenth jumper, Bianca!" he called to the crowd welcoming the newest batch of Dauntless members. Everyone cheered and Four wished her luck as the next jumper hit the net.
When everyone had made the plunge from the roof, they separted into two groups and went with their respective trainers. Transfers with Four and Dauntless-born with Lauren. Bianca knew Lauren well from her aunt's salon and was happy to have her as a trainer. She was as tough as anyone in Dauntless, but she was kind, too. She'd try to help them grow, not break them.
The benefit to being Dauntless-born was that they didn't need a grand tour of the compound. Lauren brought them directly to their dorms and showed them a sign she had posted on the wall with their schedule for the coming weeks. There was an early morning run every day, followed by strength and endurance training. Bianca was tired just reading the words on the page. Lauren told them to be on time for dinner and to get plenty of sleep that night; it would be the last full night they'd have for a while.
"Well, what do you guys think of the competition?" Uriah asked as soon as Lauren left them to their own devices. That was all the prompting the rest of the initiates needed to start animatedly talking about the transfers. Bianca attempted to slip from the dorms unnoticed but Lynn was on her like a fox on a rabbit.
"Where you going?" she asked, though the look in her eyes told Bianca that she had a suspicion.
Bianca sighed and ran her hands through her long hair. "He told me to come to his office," she muttered with a roll of her eyes. Lynn was fully aware of how Eric had seemed to take an interest in her friend since the first time he'd met her.
"Lynn, this really isn't my scene," Bianca complained as they entered the dance club. It was her eighteenth birthday and her friends had vowed to show her 'the time of her life'. In Dauntless terms that meant drinking, partying and doing increasingly stupid things. All of the things that Bianca had managed to mostly avoid up until this point.
Lynn scoffed. "You don't have a scene, which is why we're here. You need to loosen up a little bit," she grinned at her friend, showing that she was only teasing. Bianca rolled her eyes but laughed quietly. One night couldn't hurt, right?
As soon as they reached the table that Marlene and Uriah had saved for them, a drink was pressed into her hand and the four of them toasted her birthday. She was the last of them to turn eighteen and they were all excited to finally be adults. Once the alcohol was working its way into their systems, they spilled from their table and onto the dance floor.
There were dozens of people all moving to the pulsing music and in the darkness it was easy to lose track of each other. Bianca spun around to grab Lynn by the hands and dance with her, only to find the shorter girl gone. Instead she came face-to-face, or face-to-chest, with a familiar face.
"Eric," she breathed, slightly out of breath from dancing. The youngest Dauntless leader was easily identifiable with his large frame, unique hair, tattoos and piercings. She'd never spoken with him before, but he was a familiar face around the compound.
He narrowed his eyes down at her. "Are you old enough to be in here?" he asked sternly.
She nodded emphatically and fished her identification out of the pocket of her dress. "I turned eighteen today," she explained, her face hot from either all of the bodies still moving around them or embarresment for being questioned by a leader in public.
Eric nodded and handed her ID back to her, his eyes no less stern but also showing the slightest intrigue. "Well have a happy birthday, Bianca Davies," he said and nodded to show that she was dismissed.
She quickly found Lynn and gulped down the rest of her drink to shake off the nervous energy. "What was that about?" Lynn asked as they made their way to the bar for a second round.
"He was just asking if I was underage," Bianca explained, but she couldn't shake the way he'd said her name. He said it like one would say a promise or a threat, she couldn't decide which it was.
Two weeks later Bianca was putting the finishing touches on Lynn's newest hairstyle, Marlene watching from her perch on top of the vanity. She was quickly learning the ins and outs of cutting hair, thanks to practically growing up in the salon with her aunt and mom. Now that her mom was gone she felt like one way to be closer to her would be taking over her position as a hairdresser.
The girls were interrupted from their chatting by heavy footsteps entering the salon. They looked up to see Eric standing a few feet away, his eyes on Bianca. "Have time to give me a trim?" he asked, already placing himself in a chair.
"Well, yeah, but I'm only an apprentice. My aunt will be back in a few minutes..." she said hesitantly, approaching him the same way one would approach a wild animal.
"You'll be fine," he said with a smirk, his eyes making a quick sweep of her body.
She blushed deeply and retrieved the scissors from the vanity in front of which he was sitting. With slightly shaking hands she began trimming the longer sections of his hair, hoping that she wasn't making it too short. His eyes were on her the entire time. It was unnerving.
Cutting his hair didn't take long at all, considering he didn't have much. She was extra careful with the clippers to be sure the back of his neck and around his ears were trimmed neatly. When she was finished she brushed his shoulders free of loose hairs and stepped back, giving him space to inspect her work. He leaned in close to the mirror and scrutinized it for a minute before grinning at her. He seemed pleased enough, but she couldn't stop the fleeting image of a wolf baring his fangs from entering her mind.
"See? You're a natural," he patted her shoulder lightly before handing her his points card, the way they all paid for goods and services. She scanned it on the computer and promptly handed it back to him.
"Thank you," she said with a smile, attempting to regain her composure. He seemed very capable of throwing her off, she noticed. She also noticed that the more flustered she became, the happier he appeared.
"Same time next week?" he asked as he backed towards the door, smirk firmly in place. She could only nod and he disappeared out the door.
Her body relaxed immediately and she flopped into the chair he'd just vacated, unwillingly noting how good it smelled. Lynn and Marlene, who had silently observed the whole interaction, pounced on their friend at once.
"What was that?" Marlene asked.
"Was that the first time he's been here?" Lynn followed.
Bianca groaned and covered her face with her hands. "I don't know what that was! And yes, it's the first time."
Marlene leaned against the wall and smiled knowingly. "He likes you," she said smugly.
"I think that's obvious," Lynn added snidely. Marlene just chuckled, clearly excited with this prospect.
"Why me?" Bianca asked, genuinely confused and uncomfortable with the attention. Her friends looked at her like she'd suddenly sprouted a second head.
"Um, hello?" Marlene waved her arms at Bianca, who shook her head, confused. "You're gorgeous, girl!"
Bianca scoffed and rolled her eyes. "There are a lot of women who are much more attractive than me in Dauntless. Not to mention closer to his age."
"He's only twenty," Marlene reminded her. It was easy to forget how young he was when he was a leader.
"I don't want to talk about this anymore," Bianca declared, standing from the chair and shooing her friends from the salon.
"Be careful," Lynn said and hurried back to the group before they were missed. Bianca knew her friend would cover for her if anyone asked where she went.
The compound was buzzing with excitement, as it always is on Choosing Day, so picking her way through the halls and up staircases took a little longer than it normally would have. She smiled at everyone she knew and accepted hugs as quickly as she could, anxious to get to Eric's office before he grew impatient. She'd never had to deal with him in a foul mood before, but she'd witnessed him scolding other members of Dauntless and it was a formidable sight.
Finally she was able to climb the stairs that led to the leaders' offices and hurried to the first door on the right, 'Eric Coulter' in bold letters on the glass. She could see him sitting behind his desk, eyes trained on the tablet in his hand. Before she could knock he looked up and motioned her inside. Once she was in his office that familiar tenseness returned and she stiffly walked to stand in the middle of the room, keeping a decent amount of distance between them.
"Do I make you nervous, Bianca?" he asked smugly as he stood from his chair and set his tablet aside.
"Of course not," she lied, shifting her eyes from him to the window overlooking the city. His chuckle brought her eyes back to him.
"You wouldn't have fit in well with Candor, would you?" he asked and she knew that was his way of calling her bluff. He continued walking until he was only a foot away from her, forcing her to tilt her head back to maintain eye contact.
"What do you want with me?" she finally asked after a few moments' silence. He raised his eyebrows at her bluntness and for a second she thought he was going to reprimand her for speaking to a leader in such a tone. She was almost ready to apologize when he grinned. That same grin from the salon that made her feel like a rabbit facing down a ravenous beast.
"You honestly don't know?" he asked, to which she shook her head. "You are the most beautiful woman in Dauntless, and I'd argue this entire city, and you don't know what I want with you?"
Bianca's face slowly turned beet-red, followed quickly by her ears and neck. "I-I'm not-," she started to weakly object, stunned by his words.
Eric seized her chin in his hand, shushing her, and brought his face down to her level. "I'm the strongest, smartest leader Dauntless has ever known, and I deserve to have a woman like you beside me."
He made sure the words registered with her before he straightened up and walked back to his desk. "We've made some changes to the initiation process this year. Myself, Lauren and Four will go over them with everyone else tomorrow, but I wanted to give you a heads up. Not everyone will be remaining here in Dauntless."
Bianca's brain suddenly cleared from the fog it had been in following his decree of how he deserves her. "What's that supposed to mean? Will they be...?"
"Factionless," Eric confirmed with a nod, as if they were discussing what teas they liked best. "And unless you're secretly a ninja, I don't think you'll be able beat out the rest of the initiates without some extra help."
She couldn't argue with him there, as much as she'd like to, because her worst fear was ending up at the bottom of the list and getting stuck with fence duty. But now it was a completely different ballgame. As soon as everyone else found out that the bottom initiates were getting cut, they were going to be ruthless in training and fighting. She wasn't stupid; she knew she wouldn't be able to hold her own as she was.
"What are you offering?" she asked carefully, walking to the window and looking out at the darkening city.
"Something the other initiates wouldn't hesitate to kill for: private training with me. Adjusting your record, if I have to." He was so calm about cheating that she had to wonder if he'd done this before. Maybe someone helped him when he was transferring from Erudite. Bianca stored those questions away for later, knowing any prying could spark his legendary temper.
She turned to face him and perched delicately on the windowsill, crossing her ankles in front of her. "And in return you get me? I don't particularly like the thought of just throwing myself at your mercy."
Eric chuckled and approached her, one of his large hands resting on the glass above her head. "How about this: I train you every day this coming week, and on Sunday, when the rest of the initiates have the day off, you'll have dinner with me?"
"Coffee," she immediately countered, quirking her eyebrow at him. Just because she was tentatively agreeing to his terms didn't mean she had to make it easy for him. She refused to be an object that could be won just by doing a few favors. When he didn't answer right away and that dangerous gleam was back in his eyes, she thought she might have pushed too much.
"You might find that you don't like me enough to sit through an entire meal. I've been told I'm rather boring," she amended, to which he smirked.
"I seriously doubt that, Bianca," he said, his free hand moving to settle on her waist. It was only there for a half of a second before a beep on his tablet broke the silence.
"I better get back," she said as she stood and ducked around him.
"Be in the leaders' training room at four tomorrow," he called after her.
She spun around and gaped at him. "A.M.?!"
This time he actually laughed out loud, which possibly startled her more than anything else he'd done up to that point. "You'll need to be done by six to make it to your morning run."
She frowned but nodded nonetheless, not in much of a position to argue. "I'm definitely going to be needing a lot of coffee over the next few weeks," she mumbled, opening the door without so much of a 'bye' to Eric.
"That can be arranged," she heard him call after her and sent a rude gesture over her head as she disappeared down the stairs.
