AN: Well, this story took me about one hour to write. And that means that this is not betaed and probably not of the best quality, but really, what would you expect from a 'crack'? It's just a silly thing to bring smiles to your faces :)
Disclaimer: Sandra is mine. Eric, Caleb, Tris and everything you recognise sadly not (good for them, huh?).
I was inspired by "Divergent music CRACK #3 (with special Divergent shooting scenes)" by the scene from 1 minute to 1 minute 7 seconds (it's on the yt).
"-rior. Caleb Prior. Caleb!"
Sandra frowned before snapping her fingers right before Caleb's face, but the only reaction she got was a slow swat at her hand. The boy's blue eyes were still fixated on the same point and she 'humphed' in annoyance. The chemical reaction she had wanted to show ended just a second ago.
Following his gaze, she saw their leader, Jeanine Matthews, talking with two Dauntless men, one with black skin and a trimmed black beard and the other with blonde hair. She looked back to Caleb and noticed that his mouth had fallen open a bit. Glancing back to the leadership trio, she was met by the blonde and Jeanine's stares. She blushed and quickly pretended to work on the little experiment before her, nudging Caleb once more. Instead of following Sandra's example and feigning work though, he did the most unexpected and illogical move she could imagine right then. He waved at the trio.
Scrunching his brows, Max whispered something to Jeanine and she nodded.
"Caleb Prior." She beckoned for him to walk over to them and that seemed to finally snap the ex-Abnegation boy out of his reverie. Taking off his white gloves, he hurried over to them. Sandra started to clean up their table, figuring he wouldn't come back to work with her anytime soon. At first, she had wanted to try to ' accidentaly overhear' what was the leaders' business and what for would they need Prior, but the four moved out of the room.
"Gentlemen, this is Caleb Prior, one of the most ambitious and talented initiates this year," itroduced Jeanine, leading the men out of the laborathory number six. "Caleb this is Eric and Max, Dauntless leaders, but I'm sure you've figured it out already."
"It's pleasure to meet you." Caleb bowed his head in admiration, glancing at Max briefly only to move his gaze to the blonde. Raising his pierced brow at the shorter boy, Eric stared back as they walked the corridor to Jeanine's office. Caleb's disinterest of his surroundings turned out to have conseqences as the boy smashed face first into a glass door. The three leaders stopped just a few steps inside the gabinet, for a moment speechless at the boy's clumsiness.
"Most talented?" asked Max drily as Caleb massaged his nose, embarrassed.
"Bad year in the term of initiates, it seems," Eric added, crossing his arms over his chest and narrowing his eyes mockingly. Jeanine ignored them both and forced herself to show concern instead of disgust.
"Is something wrong, Caleb? Did the test of the new simulation disappoint you?"
"O-oh, no, Miss Matthews. Everything has gone very smoothly since I took the initiative in the group. The serum is almost done and ready to be used," Caleb assured with his cheeks flaming. "It's just- It's just that I-I-" Laughing nervously, he moved his eyes again to Eric, causing the blonde to curl his lips in suspicion. "It's not everyday that I-I meet someone as handsome as-as I just did." Eric's jaw went slack for a moment as Jeanine and Max looked between him and Caleb in utter surprise. Even Jeanine needed a moment to compose herself and clear her throat. Before she could say a word, though, Eric also recovered and snapped.
"Make a move towards me and I'll kill you," he snarled, taking a disgusted step away. Caleb's reaction seemed a little bit too quick - as though he had planned it all.
"But then the tests of the new simulation would have to start from the beginning. Every observation is written in a code only I can understand."
Jeanine tensed, her cold eyes narrowing.
"Is this a blackmail, Prior?"
"No! Of course not, Miss Matthews. I'm only stating a fact and please believe me when I say I haven't created this inconvenience on purpose. It's just that writing in my own code takes a lot less time and is much more discreet than using the standard ones," explained Caleb hurriedly, making an act of humbly bowing his head. "And since it is my own code and no one else knows it, decoding the observations and results of the simulation's tests would take me weeks if not months. It simply doesn't calculate, Miss Matthews."
"Well, then you should keep your distance," Max advised, observing Eric's somehow insulted expression and the flexing muscles of the blonde's arms.
"But it's impossible!" protested Caleb. "I-I was planning to ask you, Miss Matthews, if I could visit the Dauntless compound. I need to get to know the people who will be injected with the simulation. Especially their styles of living: their sleeping hours and eating habits. It's all important to the results of the simulation!"
"That doesn't mean we have to spend any time together, initiate," spat Eric, unnerved by Jeanine's sudden thoughtful expression.
"Having an experienced guide would certainly help me to find the useful informations.. and since Eric is already in this project, it would save us from the risk of trusting another man. And then there is the factor of me being attracted to him and willing to push myself harder to gain his respect."
By this point the youngest leader was almost spluttering in shocked rage. Max sent Jeanine a questioning look.
"Respect?! Respect?! I will show you how to gain respect!" At Jeanine's firm nod, Max caught Eric just as the blonde tried to charge at Caleb.
"If you cause damage to my brain I won't be able to work as quickly as I had before," the boy sqeaked, gulping as he saw Eric struggling in Max's grasp.
"Like I give a fu-"
"You will follow your orders, Eric," cut in Jeanine sharply and both boys looked at her surprised. "You will accomodate Caleb in Dauntless compound and act as his guide. It's my final decision."
"You sure we should test Eric like that?" murmured Max to Jeanine later that day as they watched Erudite computers loaded in to the back of a Dauntless car. The stuff would be moved to Caleb's new room so he would be able to work in the Dauntless compound.
"Caleb had one point," started Jeanine. "You and the other four leaders are the only ones in Dauntless who know the full extent of our work on the simulation. Using one of you indeed saces us from giving away a considerate amount of trust to someone new. Feel free to ask the other leaders if they have time to babysit Caleb, though." Her voice was loaded with sarcasm. "We both know Eric with his job as an overseer to the initiates is the only one who can do that."
Max only grunted in agreement.
"And I suppose there is also a reason why no one can replace Caleb," he prompted after a moment of silence between them. Jeanine nodded.
"He's Tris' brother, she will trust him. I've already told him to keep an eye on her and investigate if she is a Divergent," she answered.
"Can we trust him?"
"He's loyal only to his faction, his family means nothing to him. I've taken care of it."
"Okay, listen up! This is Caleb Prior, he will observe your behaviors for his psychology essay or whatever. Don't bring us shame, initiates." Eric stood with his feet shoulder width apart, staring hard at the group before him and doing his best to ignore the insufferable boy at his left. Caleb would have none of that though. With a grin, he looped his arm around Eric's neck in a much too friendly gesture for the blonde's liking. Fortunately, he had mastered the ability to keep his face expresionless and managed to give the Erudite initiate only a warning smile. Prying Caleb's arm from around his shoulders, he was just about to say something when the younger boy pecked him on the cheek. Eric's mouth closed in order to refrain from saying something he would later regret. He was going to kill that damned Prior. He just needed to wait a little while longer. Little, little while.
Breath in, breath out.
"Hey, guys!" Caleb waved to the Dauntless initiates, his arm still stubbornly looped around Eric. Tris' blinked in astonishment at the scene and since others were no less shocked, her brother didn't get any response.
"What the fuck are you doing?!" Tris whisper-shouted when she finally caught Caleb alone near the Chasm.
"Protecting you, of course, what else?!" he answered her in the same tone, narrowing his eyes. "And watch your language, young lady!"
"Protecting? By flirting with my worst enemy?! And when exactly did you change your sexual orientation?"
"Well, do you know another good way to distract him? No? Thought so! And I'm not gay," he defended himself, crossing his arms over his chest. Tris ran her hand through her hair.
"Wait. What? Slow down a bit, I don't understand. Why would you want to distract him exactly?"
"Oh, maybe to prevent him from reporting my sister as a damned Divergent? It has worked so far too. He's too annoyed with me to see that you have three times better time at simulation than the rest of initiates. You have to be careful, Beatrice. I came here to update you about the progress of creation of the new simulation."
"New-?"
"I'll explain everything, Beatrice. Don't worry, I will take care of you. " And suddenly he transformed from the greedy, selfish Erudite into her beloved, Abnegation brother.
Please review and tell me if I succeed in making you smile. Also please tell me if you see errors in grammar/spelling :)
Thanks to guests Bluemoon12 and Aurorabird666 for reviewing!
Aurora: I changed that sentence, I hope it's okay now :) Thanks again!