'It's okay,' I say, 'it doesn't hurt.'

The boy looks up at me, none of his obvious nervousness fading away. Okay… So if he isn't worried about the pain, then what is there to be worried about?

I can imagine exactly what Georgie would say. No, what could there possibly be to worry about? You know, only the fear that they'll have to leave their families forever in order to belong, or that they'll go to a place where they may not fit in. Otherwise nothing, nothing at all… I can hear his ironic laugh and almost smile, before trying to focus myself on the current task.

'Drink it,' I say, handing him a cup of simulation serum. We don't inject this one, for reasons that the Erudite are unwilling to divulge. If I had lived a few years ago, then, being a former Erudite, I may have still had clearance to find out why. But now, they will surely have deleted me from their records. I will never be classed as an Erudite again.

The boy stares at the drink somewhat suspiciously, hesitating noticeably. 'Can't tell you what happens,' I say, stopping him from having to say anything. We cannot divulge what happens, because their fear could prevent them from being fully immersed in the simulation, and because their knowledge of what will happen may carry over to the simulation and make them aware of what is happening in the real world. I am one of the only people who knows every possible scenario in the simulation.

I attach the electrodes to my head, and the simulation begins.

As we both emerge from the simulation, I give the boy - Tobias, I think his name was - as strange a look as I can muster up. He looks back at me confusedly, sensing something wrong, and I try to arrange my features into an indifferent mask. Abnegation children can practically smell fear.

I don't need to analyse the printed sheet of paper telling me his actions and the result that he got from them; I was watching too closely for that. He jumped in front of the dog without hesitating; that alone is a strong indicator for Abnegation. His result was Abnegation, but it is not what I expected. There was some sort of fire and determination that told me… what, exactly? That he could be a Divergent?

He knew what was coming. I'm sure of it.

Divergent. A word that must be spoken in a hushed voice, behind locked doors, with caution and care; or they will find you, and they will kill you.

I have to tell him.

I cannot tell him.

I tie my hair back - it came loose during the test - I prefer my hair loose, but I'm just stalling for time. What do I say? What do I do? There are no instructions on what to do when this happens.

Some children are told what happens in the simulation by their parents, who have already been through it; perhaps because these parents delude themselves into thinking that they are helping, some because they are insecure about the fact that their child has their own future in their hands.

Other children are told not just what to expect, but what to do, down to the letter. It's not as uncommon as the leaders believe.

Some children follow the advice; some don't. Either way, I can tell what they have been told; I always can.

I look at him, and he stares unflinchingly back at me.

I have to know.

'When you were in the simulation… were you aware that it wasn't real?' I turn off the machine, doing my best casual no-big-deal voice, but by the look he gives me, he obviously doesn't believe me, and for a good reason.

'No,' he says, but he's lying, and I can tell. My brother was Divergent and he is now dead; if it has taught me nothing else, it has taught me how to spot lies. 'If I was,' he adds, 'do you think I would've chewed through my lip?'

It is a relatively good argument, and there is quite a lot of blood, but I don't believe him for one second. I watch him, waiting for him to crack, but he looks back at me, and I am the first one to look away as I bite the ring in my lip; it hurts, but the sharp pain clears my thoughts, sharpens my mind.

I will not tell him.

'Congratulations,' I say, trying to remain calm and under control. 'Your result was textbook Abnegation.'

I am speaking the truth, so why do I feel so guilty?

He nods, but he looks far from happy. Watching these people react to their results is something I find interesting; some look happy, some relieved, pleased, nervous, upset; I have seen it all. 'Aren't you pleased?' I ask.

'My faction members will be,' he replies evasively. Clever, this one is; I have to give him credit.

'I didn't ask about them, I asked about you.' Faction members can get over choices, even the ones that they believe to be the wrong ones; all it takes is time. Time heals all wounds; a saying from Erudite that was drummed into all of us from a very young age. But that's not what I'm trying to say. The real meaning of my words is, Look pleased, look happy, relieved, something, anything.

'This is a safe room, you can say whatever you want here.' I regret the words almost as soon as they are out of my mouth. There are no safe places, no safe rooms, not in this world full of cameras monitoring everything said by everyone in every place.

'I'm pleased,' he says firmly, and I nod. He turns to leave, but I'm overwhelmed with a thought; don't let him go. I finally get out the words that have been sticking in my throat since we were pulled out of the simulation, holding onto his arm so he doesn't leave.

'You're the one who has to live with your choice. Everyone else will get over it, move on, no matter what you decide. But you never will.'

He holds my gaze for a moment, then nods and walks out. You may be Divergent, I want to say, but I don't. It's too dangerous, I tell myself, but is that the real reason? The words stay stuck in my throat like those strange, soft, brightly coloured balls the Amity children always play with. I think of my brother, who was Divergent and is now dead.

I only wish I was not so powerless to ensure that other innocents do not follow the same fate.

A/N: Wooop, a revision of the first chapter! I hated my first version of the first three chapters, but never really found the time to do it - I meant to write a proper chapter that you guys haven't seen before, but this just kind of happened :P

I know that I've already requested suggestions, but if you give me a suggestion, updates will significantly speed up, I promise! I just have no idea what to do right now… I'm thinking a Caleb POV or an Amar POV, what do you guys think?

Thanks for reading! A review would mean everything to me!