Disclaimer: The Divergent trilogy and all unoriginal characters belong to Veronica Roth

Chapter 1

In and out, breath in and out I tell myself as I watch the city pass by. The wind whips through my hair from where I sit in the train car. I should be excited. I should be ecstatic that in a day I will be told where I truly belong. The thing is I have a pretty good idea of where I will be letting my blood spill at the choosing ceremony. I'll stay where I've grown up, where I am happy. I will remain at Dauntless. I haven't taken the aptitude test yet but still I know that no matter the results I will not leave. It isn't because I'm afraid to leave. I have nothing holding me back and everything to leave for but deep down I know I belong where I am. I know he won't feel the same. He'll want me to leave for him. There in lies my problem. The reason I have to breathe deeply to steady my racing heart. I close my eyes and try not to think of the impending doom of my relationship.

I hear him sit down beside me before I see him. The light rustling of his clothes giving him away. I open my eyes and glance over at my friend Nic whose looking at me with a small bit of concern in his eyes.

"You alright there Evee?" he asked, as he leans forward, resting his arms on the top of his knees.

"I'm fine." I say, looking away from his light hazel gaze and chewing nervously on my lower lip.

"Damn, lets hope you don't get Candor tomorrow because you can't lie for shit, Miss Eveline Lively" he says laughing. I punch him lightly in the arm, both for using my full name and for insulting me, then smile at him, his banter lightening my mood. Sadly though he isn't ready to drop it as he continues to stare at me with an expectant look on his face.

With a sigh I finally give in, "Its about Steve."

Nic looks a bit confused at first but then seems to understand, "Hey, you're working yourself up for nothing. You haven't even taken the aptitude test yet. Maybe you'll get Erudite and you two will live happily ever after." I give him an incredulous look and he rubs his hand on the back of his neck nervously. "Yeah I know, wistful thinking," he says with a sad smile.

I could see myself doing well in Erudite. I was smarter than many of my fellow Dauntless classmates, earning me quite a bit of teasing when I was younger. It stopped quickly though with quite a few broken noses where my tormentors where concerned. Needless to say I proved myself. I'm not exactly the picture of a dauntless teen though. I never got into dying my hair, perfectly happy with my brownish-blonde locks; I only had my ears pierced and one cartilage piercing. I was short, standing just over 5'3 but puberty had done me the kindness of giving me curves and a "nice ass" as many of the boys in my class liked to point out. My chest was a modest but respectable size. I wasn't model beautiful but my features worked for me, a small nose and full lips but my eyes where by far the most stunning, a cool grey blue with a small almost unnoticeable ring of green starburst around the pupil. I was beautiful in the cute girl next door way.

"Yeah wistful thinking," I say sadly. "I mean think about it Nic, you've known me your whole life. Do you honestly think I belong anywhere but dauntless?" I say returning my gaze back out of the train and laying my chin on the top of my knees. Nic pats my shoulder comfortingly and we ride in silence till the train begins to slow down. We stand up as the train approaches the Hub. Nic locks elbows with me, gives me a goofy grin then on a silent count of three we jump together rolling through grass laughing as we land. I stand up and brush off my dark jeans. I glance to my right to see the familiar Erudite blue of Steve's blazer as he begins heading towards me. I feel a small prick of anxiety before I shove it down and give him a smile. As he reaches me I stand on my tiptoes and give him a small peck on the lips.

"Hey you," He says giving me a dazzling smile. I smile back but feel a small sadness in my gut. I'm going to miss him. His light brown hair is styled to look as if he'd just woken up. His green eyes look at me warmly and shine with love. He's boyishly handsome with a slight chub in his cheeks that disappears day by day as he grows. He's a bit of goof ball and a nerd. Completely suited for the faction he was born in.

"Hey," I say returning his smile. We begin to walk towards the school building our arms brushing lightly against each other.

"So you excited for tomorrow," he asks as he holds the door open for me.

"Oh absolutely," I lie easily. Nic was right, I wouldn't do well in Candor at all.

"Which faction do you think you'll get," He asks with a laugh as we stop by the door of my first class.

"Hmmm," I say pretending to think. "Who can say? I guess we'll just have to wait till tomorrow and see." I give him a wink before heading into my class. As soon as I turn my back I let my face fall a bit. Although I honestly don't know which aptitude I will get tomorrow, I can make a pretty accurate guess. I can already imagine the look on Steve's face when I tell him I won't be following him to Erudite. He'll be devastated. It's not to say I won't be sad as well but I've known for a bit that I would be staying in Dauntless. I've pretty much come to grips with the fact that we won't be together after the choosing ceremony.

The rest of the day went by in a flash. A quick lunch in the middle of the day in which everyone babbles about the aptitude test and makes guesses as to what everyone will get. I try to be quiet through out the whole conversation though a few of the friends Steve and I sit with at lunch kept arguing back and forth between whether I'd be Erudite or Dauntless. I made no comment and immediately steered the conversation towards another one of our classmates. The last half of the day went by uneventfully.

Steve stands by me as I wait for the train. After class he and I had made our way to a small abandoned apartment complex two blocks from the Erudite compound to spend sometime alone before he needed to be home for dinner. Our conversations had been light, a silent agreement to not bring up the test. I stand facing the tracks with him behind me, arms wrapped around my waist. As I stand there I think of how I will miss the small moments like this but some part of me is in a way relieved. He's my first and only boyfriend yet I am ashamed to admit that I am excited to have the opportunity to find a new love. Steve feels like my old life, a life before initiation. When initiation starts I want a clean slate. I feel guilty standing there allowing him to hold me but I too am enjoying these last moments we have.

As I hear the rattle of the train approaching I turn and give him a quick kiss goodbye.

"I'll see you tomorrow," I say with a smile.

"Tomorrow," he says returning my grin.

I turn just in time to see figure hop off of the train, landing effortlessly on his feet. My brow furrows slightly as I see Eric, one of the five dauntless leaders make his way towards the Erudite compound, his shaved head and Mohawk disappearing as he gets farther away. I wonder what sort of business he could possibly have this late there. I quickly decide that it's none of my business as I begin to run along side the train. I grab the handle and pull myself in. I lean out the side and wave goodbye to Steve before sitting down and watching the city pass by as the sunsets.

I awake with a start as the train hits a curve and throws me to the left. I quickly splay out my hands to catch myself before I fall over. I let out a sigh, that's one way to be woken up. Standing up and making my way to the cart door I look out to see how far I am from the Compound. I realize with a start that the train is past the Compound and headed back towards the city, hence the large curve. Great just great, now I'm going to be home even later. In a way I guess it's lucky that I basically live alone. My dad will be off at the bar drinking himself to death before he makes he way back to the apartment of whichever woman he's currently sleeping with. I guess I should feel bad for not knowing the name of this month's flavor but with my dad's track record she'll be gone by this time next week.

After a moment I resolve myself to sit back down and wait till the train rolls back around to the Dauntless Compound. Thirty minutes later the train slows down as it begins to pass the Erudite Compound. I watch it roll by and for a moment imagine myself in Erudite. I'm so lost in my thoughts that I almost miss the black blur that throws themselves into the train. As the figure straightens up I realize that it's Eric. Whatever business he had at Erudite must have concluded.

Its not five seconds after I came to the conclusion it was Eric who had boarded the train that I realize it's past curfew for all dependents and he happens to be a Dauntless leader. I wish I could say that I looked older than I actually was but sadly I was given a youthful face. There's no way he won't notice me either, the lighting may be dim in the trains but he'd have to be legally blind not to notice me.

As if on cue Eric turns around and immediately his eyes find mine. He raises an eyebrow, the two piercings above it moving as he does. His mohawk moves slightly with the wind as his steely blue eyes bore into mine.

"Hey," I say weakly, waving slightly with a sheepish smile.

"Hey?" he questions, he deep voice rumbling as he crosses his hands over his chest, the muscles in his arms bulging a bit with the movement. "You do realize what time it is, right?"

I almost nod and avert my gaze but decide against it. I am Dauntless after all but as we've been told many times with reference to the chasm, there's a fine line between bravery and stupidity. I was straddling that line at the moment. Looking up and meeting his eyes I boldly say, "I would guess its 10:30 as the train should be back at the Compound at 11:00 and the Erudite Compound is only thirty minutes away from home."

Eric is silent. His eyes not leaving mine. I can't read his expression but knowing Eric he's probably planning some sadistic punishment for me the moment we get back. After what seems like an eternity his shoulders loosen a bit and he chuckles lightly. I am completely shocked by his reaction. I expected anger, or some remark about how bad my punishment would be.

"Well I'll say this you got guts," he says with a laugh. "How old are you anyway, clearly you're still a dependent."

I can't help but bristle slightly at his comment. I know I look young but it doesn't mean I like people pointing it out. "I'm sixteen," I say stiffly.

"Easy now," he says putting his hands up in a mock surrender. "Didn't mean to poke a sore spot." The smirk on his face says he's not sorry about it though.

I just huff and cross my arms over my chest. We ride in silence for awhile until I finally say "Well get on with it."

"With what?" he asks seemingly confused.

"Oh please, get on with telling me about whatever punishment you've thought up." I say, glaring at him. I get the feeling I may be leaning a bit more to the stupidity side of the line with my tone but I can feel the stress of the test tomorrow getting to me.

"I'm sure your parents will have punishment enough planned out for you," he says leaning up against the back wall of the cart.

I can't help it, I laugh, albeit a bit bitterly but laugh nonetheless. If only he knew how untrue that statement was. I wasn't about to tell him though, seeing an opportunity to get out of punishment.

"Is there a reason that's funny?" he asks with a raised eyebrow.

At first I don't respond but then with a sigh I say, "Honestly not really, thing is papa Lively isn't really one for punishment."

"You're Joseph Lively's daughter?" Eric says with surprise.

"Yes, how do you know my dad?" I say my brow furrowing in confusion. It's odd enough that Eric isn't punishing me but somehow he knows who my father is? This train ride just got even weirder.

Eric opens his mouth to answer me but before he can the train begins to slow down. I jump up, not wanting to miss my stop the second time around. Eric jumps out before me landing pretty gracefully. I jump right after him and despite doing this my whole life I end up stumbling a bit, this time a bit more than usual. I feel myself falling over and immediately put my hands out to catch myself but end up falling smack into Eric's chest. My hands are splayed out on his shirt and his hands holding me steady on either side of my waist. I look up and catch his gaze, his steely eyes unreadable. I immediately feel heat surging up along the back of my neck and quickly pull myself away.

"Sorry!" I say rather embarrassedly, "Usually I land better than that." I mutter as I feel a blush on my cheeks. Thank god the sunset during the time I had fallen asleep so he couldn't see how red my cheeks had become.

"S'alright," He says with a shrug before turning and heading towards the entrance.

I let out a breath I didn't realize I'd been holding. God was that awkward! I mean he's handsome and only a year older than me but still. He's a dauntless leader. Doesn't get much more off limits than that. I look up to see him pause at the door. My brow furrows a bit at this.

"To answer your question," he calls out without turning around, "your dad isn't the only one who needs a drink sometimes." With that he enters the Compound and leaves me standing outside by the train tracks, mouth agape.

A/N

Hey Guys! Let me know what you think. This is my first Fanfiction. Love to hear from you guys!