Disclaimer: I don't own anything from Divergent. The world and characters belong to Veronica Roth. All the OC's I introduce in this story are of my own creation.

A/N: This follows the movies closer than the books as I have yet to read them. Therefore for the purposes of my fanfiction Dependents take their Aptitude Test and choose their factions at 18 instead of 16. I'm setting my story starting at 2 years since Eric and Four went through their initiation, making them both 20 and Eric a leader for about a year now. No Tris or Erudite conspiracy here, only lots of Dauntless fun!

Please R&R because your support can fuel this story further! Enjoy, everyone!

I could barely eat breakfast that morning before the Choosing Ceremony. I wasn't surprised when I got my test results. I knew for a long time that I wanted to be Dauntless. No. I belonged in Dauntless. I had felt it since I was maybe twelve. Since then I used my spare time as wisely as possible, doing as much physical exercise as I could without raising suspicion from my parents or others from my faction. But in just a few hours I wouldn't have to hide anymore. I would choose Dauntless and go to the faction I truly belonged in.

I picked through my wardrobe carefully. I chose a tighter fitting pair of black pants that still allowed plenty of movement and a black top. Of course because it was required for me to wear at least one blue item of clothing, I chose my favorite blue jacket. It would be the last time I would wear blue so I figured why not wear the ones I loved. I took one long look in the mirror before I headed to breakfast.

After we had eaten, and my parents started to exchange their usual morning small talk while my brother buried his nose in a book, I decided I should tell them. I couldn't go into the Choosing Ceremony with them knowing I wouldn't leave as Erudite. A gathered the courage I could muster and downed the rest of my glass of orange juice.

"Mom? Dad? I have something to say."

My brother looked up from his book even though he already knew what I was about to tell our parents. He had always known that I wouldn't choose Erudite. He was bright and meant to be Erudite, he would stay in our birth-faction with our parents and aspire to great things.

My mother set her newspaper down and my father peered at me over his glasses. "What is it, Ellen?"

Oh, how I hated my birth name. It never fit me and I couldn't wait to change it. I had already chosen a new name for myself, a name to give me strength. I took a deep breath. "I wanted to let you guys know that I'm not choosing Erudite today."

"WHAT?!" My mother screeched.

"What faction do you pan to choose," my father kept his head while my mother was close to boiling.

"Dauntless."

"NO!" My mother shouted. "I forbid it! You don't belong with those miscreants!"

"You can't forbid me to choose another faction, mother. This is my life. My test said I was Dauntless and I've always known that to be the truth. After today that is what I'll be."

"No you will not! Arthur, tell her-"

My father raised his hand, stopping my mother in her tracks. "We cannot make her choice for her, my love. She made it long ago. We must respect that she is making the right choice for herself."

My mother stood there in shock for a long moment. Slowly she stood up straight. We watched her smooth out the wrinkles of her dress as she regained her composure. Then she looked at me, her once warm chestnut brown eyes cold and heartless.

"Faction before blood." That was her way of saying goodbye. They were also the last words I would ever hear her say.

My brother pulled me aside before he headed off to school. "I'm going to miss you," he pouted.

"I know. I'm sorry, Dylan."

He looked up at me and a soft smile crossed his face. "You'll always be my sister though. Right?"

I couldn't help but smile back at him. "Of course I will."

He threw his arms around me. "Good luck at Dauntless. Kick some butt, sis."

I hugged him, fighting back the tears burning my eyes. "I will."

I didn't speak to my parents after we left home or while waiting for my turn during the ceremony. When my name was called I stood up from my seat, my parents standing as well to let me by. I let none of my tumultuous emotions show. As I started to pass my father, he caught me gently by my elbow.

"I know you are certain about your decision, Ellen, but you must remember one thing. Faction before blood. There will be no turning back from this. We will not be family anymore." He stated coldly.

I angrily jerked my arm away from him. "We stopped being family the moment I decided on Dauntless and you know that."

I didn't allow him to say anything else, not that he would have. His expression had turned as hard as my mother's. He wasn't pleading me to stay or saying goodbye. He was disowning me. But I was disowning them in return, anger filling my heart.

I didn't hesitate when I picked up the silver blade and cut into the meat of my palm. I hardly waited for the blood to rise as I held my hand over the burning coals in the Dauntless bowl. I squeezed hard to draw the blood forth faster and relished in the sizzle of my burning blood upon the red coals. The Dauntless members erupted into cheers when they called out my new faction and a smile broke across my face.

When the ceremony was over we rushed out the doors. I joined in the whoops and cheers of excitement as we ran toward the train. I pasted up a few of the Dauntless-born to get to the rail supports and they either laughed or cheered me on. At the top, I had to stand there for a moment to catch my breath a little, but I wasn't able to stand for long because the train was already coming.

I followed the others to my right as they started to run alongside the train. Those who got on first opened the doors for the rest of us, some even reaching out to help others climb on. When I made the jump, an Amity boy with ash brown hair caught me by the wrist as I started to lose my balance. We chuckled in relief when I was safely aboard the train. The boy turned to check on another Amity transfer, a girl with black hair and wide olive eyes. She looked like she was ready to throw up.

"Here we go!" One of the Dauntless-born shouted, enticing whoops of excitement from the others.

I went to the open doors to look further up the train. Those ahead of us were leaping out onto a rooftop. Seeing them soar through the air, risking death, made me want to throw up. I backed up toward the other side to get a running start.

"I can't do this," the Amity girl said next to me. When I looked over at her I could see her shaking, arms wrapped round herself.

"Hey," I took her hand in mine. "Yes you can. We'll do it together. Okay?"

She gave me a weak nod. With one last reassuring smile to her, I turned back to the door and braced myself. We took off when the others did, pushing off at the last possible moment to fly through the air. The girl screamed as we jumped, scared out of her mind.

Our landing was far from graceful. We did a sloppy tuck and roll as we hit the gravel and slid across the sharp rocks. We fell into someone else, knocking them down. It was a Candor boy. He shook his blonde head, his hair catching the bright sunlight that revealed the subtle orange in his locks. He got easily to his feet with a chuckle and helped me to my feet first. We turned together and helped up the Amity girl. She seemed to have gotten a bit of her confidence back after succeeding in making the daring leap.

"INITIATES! GATHER AROUND!"

A booming voice drew our attention to the ledge, cutting off the laughing and cheering. I moved forward, leaning to peer around those taller than me.

"I'm, Eric, one of your leaders here at Dauntless."

Finally reaching the front of the group, I was able to find the owner of the voice. The guy was crazy intimidating. He was tall, broad shouldered, had gaged ears, and tattoos trailing down either side of his throat. He also had two stones above his right eyebrow. His eyes were like blue ice boring into us and he had his short blonde hair slicked back.

"If you think you're Dauntless material," he stepped up onto the ledge behind him. "This is the only way in. And if you're not willing to jump," he smirked devilishly, "then you don't belong with us."

Murmurs of shock filtered through the group. It seemed even the Dauntless-born thought this guy was crazy. I knew I'd take the leap though. This was our first test to see if we were really Dauntless and I already knew I was.

"So…Who's first?" He smirked at us, waiting for someone to volunteer.

I didn't wait a beat. "I am," I spoke above the whispers around me.

The rest of the group fell silent when I stepped forward. I stood with my back straight, chin high, and shoulders squared. I was ready to prove that I belonged. Eric quirked an eyebrow, undoubtable surprised to have one of us step forward so quickly.

He hopped down from the ledge. As he stepped aside he motioned towards it to prompt me to make my jump. I walked straight over, shredding my dirt-covered blue jacket. I could see the hole in the roof below as I stepped up and the darkness waiting beyond. I took a deep breath and let a smile take over my features.

I turned around to face the others, still smiling. "See ya down there," I said before leaping backwards and letting my arms spread wide as I fell through the air.

"You're crazy. You know that, right, Adira?" The candor boy, Adam, said across the table at dinner.

"No, I'm not," I responded before taking a drink of water.

"I beg to differ."

"I think she's amazing," the Amity girl who had taken a seat next to me spoke up. She had given up her old name just like me. She decided she wanted to be called Sunny.

I laughed and my cheeks burned. "I'm not amazing either."

"Yes you are," she grabbed my hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. "I never would have made the jump if it wasn't for you. Isn't that right, Garret?"

The other Amity boy shrugged. "I don't know but I'm glad you did make the jump. It wouldn't have been as bright in here without you."

She tossed a piece of her burger at him. "Shut up. You know I decided on Sunny because that's what people always called me at Amity."

"I thought Amity were nice to each other all the time. I didn't realize they were capable of sarcasm," Adam said behind his cup.

She chucked a piece of burger at him too. "You two belong together." I just laughed at their banter.

"Seriously though," Garret looked over at me. "What made you want to jump first, Adira?"

I looked down at my plate. "I've know I was going to be Dauntless since I was a kid. My parents pretty much disowned me this morning when I told them what I'd be choosing. There's no going back for me, just forward."

"There's no going back for any of us," Adam stated in agreement. "Might as well embrace it."

"I hope you continue to surprise, initiate."

Eric's voice came from right behind me sending a chill up my spine. I turned to look up at him. He had his arms folded across his chest which made him look bigger and more intimidating. His lips were turned up into that cocky smirk again and his icy eyes bore into me. He untwined his arms a leaned forward to place a hand on the table next to me, putting his face close to mine. I backed up only a fraction, just enough to keep our noses from touching.

"You should be careful with those outbursts. Some of the others won't like it too much and it's not a good idea to make enemies right off the bat." He stood up and gave a little shrug. "Just a suggestion."

The four of us watched him walk off without a word. The others were in awe that he'd come to speak to me. I was too, but somehow I found my eyes gravitating to look at his ass. He was pretty hot when you got past his intimidation tactics. I shook my head to try and rid myself of the distraction.

"Whoa," Sunny managed to say."

"Wow. I knew you grabbed everyone's attention by jumping first today, but I didn't expect that," Garret said.

"Me either," Adam agreed.

"So is it good or bad that I got Eric's attention?"

"Who knows?" Adam responded, going back to his burger.

"I guess we'll find out." Sunny seemed nervous again.

I sighed. "Shit."