Hi :) Next chapter :) Thanks for all the lovely reviews. Keep them up. I swear I will answer them from this chapter on, I just hadn't had the time. Big thanks to my beta Elisabeth for making a crappy conversation into a decent one. Tough love helps. On the Divergent side of things: the final trailer is out and it looks amazing! March 21st can't come fast enough.

Tumblr: eatingsushieveryday for questions and all the rest

I hope you enjoy :)

I stared at my reflection in the mirror trying to figure out what the hell just happened a few moments ago. It felt like my mind was working ten times slower than usual and I didn't know why. Except that I did know why. It was because of Brittany Pierce. Damn Brittany. My eyes shifted towards the door out of which she had just walked and I let out a deep sigh.

I looked at my watch and realized that I already needed to be in my math class. It started in ten minutes and it was all the way on the other side of the school. I actually took two math classes. One was easy and the other an AP class. You couldn't take the AP class without sitting through the mandatory easy one. It was really simple and borderline boring but that didn't mean I could just skip it.

I walked out of the bathroom and started making my way towards the math classroom. On the way there, I came across a big group of Candor. I despised Candor. Just because they didn't lie, didn't mean they should get away with saying whatever the fuck they wanted. That was something the Candor had trouble understanding and it usually got on my nerves pretty fast.

I heard an obnoxious voice louder than the rest of the annoying Candor group. Rachel Berry. If I had to pick anyone that I could personally expel from school, it would be Rachel Berry.

Her voice was probably the most annoying thing I had ever heard in my entire life and she spoke at an earsplitting volume too. Even if you tried, you could never hide from her or her annoying voice.

Her personality wasn't that much better either. She thought just because she had an opinion she should always express it, every single moment of the day. She also happened to sing a lot. I did have to admit, she wasn't half bad, but that didn't give her an excuse to sing incessantly. She did it everywhere, even in the library and I was sick of it.

We shared a lot of classes and she had trouble keeping up. I liked that.

Don't even get me started on her best friend, Kurt Hummel. He was more feminine than me and he was a guy; that should tell you enough. He cared a lot about fashion and he never missed a day during which he made a sly comment about my clothes. Not that anyone in the factions really cared about clothes at all. I saw him going up to an Abnegation kid and telling him that he should choose a better outfit because he looked ridiculous. The poor guy didn't even know what to answer. He was rude and he never apologized for it. He had clearly never heard about the concept of sugarcoating. Everything that came out of his mouth was the absolutely truth, nothing wrapped around to soften the blow, and that wasn't a compliment at all.

I pushed my way through the big crowd so that I could still reach the math classroom in time for the lesson. With five minute to spare, I arrived and quickly sat down. As an Erudite, you couldn't afford to be late to class, not even if it was an easy class. After I sat down, I saw Brittany and Puck walk in and did everything to avoid her blue eyes. But I could feel her staring at me and I gave my desk a death glare despite it being completely empty.

Adriana sat next to me and leaned over. "Where were you?"

"I had to go to the bathroom." I answered while shrugging my shoulders.

"Yeah, I know that. But it took you a really long time. What did you do in the bathroom?" Adriana asked confused.

"I just talked to someone." I shrugged again and hoped that Adriana would drop the subject.

Adriana stared at me. "Whom were you talking to?"

"Why do you need to know?" I asked annoyed. This interrogation was getting on my nerves.

"Why can't you just tell me? I just thought it was weird that it took you so long, considering you went alone to your secret bathroom whose location you refuse to share with me. All of our friends were with me, and I just can't imagine you talking to someone from another faction." Adriana reasoned.

"Would it be so weird for me to talk to anyone from another faction?" I looked back at her.

"Yes, it actually would, Santana. Nobody hates every other faction like you do. I don't really see why you would all of a sudden become friends with the other factions, especially with the Choosing Ceremony in a couple of months. Chances are you won't see them anymore after when you choose Erudite."

I didn't know why, but it actually kind of stung when Adriana so easily stated that I would choose Erudite. What if I wanted to choose another faction? Wasn't that the whole point of the Choosing Ceremony? Choosing your own path? But it wasn't as simple as that. Choosing another faction than the one in which you were born in was one of the hardest things you could do. You betrayed everything and everyone you once knew. Chances were that from that day on, you would never see your parents, family or friends ever again. Transfers were never mentioned again in the faction they had left behind, they brought shame on their family. I couldn't be one of those but then why had that comment stung?

"Yeah, I guess that's true in a way. I do hate every faction, except our own." I admitted, not really knowing what else there was for me to say.

"That's because all factions kind of suck, except Erudite." Adriana mumbled.

Adriana was one hundred percent certain that she was going to pick Erudite. She wanted to become a doctor and you kind of needed to stay in Erudite in order to do so. She would never leave our parents.

"That's also true." I nodded.

Rachel Berry and Kurt Hummel walked in, arms intertwined. Who did they think they were, a married couple? They were whispering to each other and I was pretty sure they were gossiping about us. It was kind of ironic because Rachel and Kurt thought they ruled the school, but nobody could stand them. I was pretty sure even Candor wouldn't mind it if they transferred.

"Oh, it's those two again. Don't they realize nobody likes them?" Adriana sighed.

That was something my sister and I had in common. We were viciously mean towards other people. I guess we had that from our mom, who judged everyone around her. She inherited it from Abuela, our grandmother. You didn't want to come across Abuela Lopez. She was crazy and that was coming from me, her granddaughter, so you could only imagine how a total stranger perceived her. Everyone in Erudite knew that you didn't fuck around with the Lopez's. She could easily fit into Candor with her calculating comments but back in the day she was a renowned scientist. Nowadays her fame had diminished.

"I'm pretty sure they think we love and adore them, that we would do anything in order to become their friends. But nobody does." I said.

"It would help if Berry could keep her mouth shut for more than two seconds. Maybe I could tolerate her instead of imagining the different ways in which to kill her." Adriana replied.

I snickered. I have imagined attacking Berry, more than once, to finally put an end to her obnoxious chatter. I could totally win a fight against Berry. She didn't stand a chance against me.

I suddenly felt eyes on me, boring into my back. You could actually feel when someone stared at you. I once read a book about it. Back when humans were still hunters, knowing when someone was staring at you could mean the difference between life and death. If there was a lion eyeing you from behind, I could imagine it being quite convenient that you knew it was there. Humans still possessed the same power until this day. That was how I knew someone was watching me.

I tried to ignore it, but I could still feel it. I turned around and blue eyes found mine. I swallowed hard. Brittany was gazing right back at me. She had taken the desk behind me, I hadn't even noticed with my sister and all her intrusive questions. Brittany wore the same smirk she always seemed to be carrying around wherever she went. Why was she staring at me? I felt flushed and I turned back around. I looked at the blackboard, trying to ignore the eyes on my back. Luckily the teacher arrived and the lesson begun.

Halfway through class, I felt a small tap on my shoulder.

"Excuse me?" I heard Brittany's voice.

I turned around slowly, meeting her blue eyes once again. I had forgotten how gorgeous they actually were.

"Yes?" I whispered. It came out a little more aggressive than I had intended. I guess I was still pissed at her for that kiss on my cheek and how she had behaved towards me in the bathroom.

She acted like she had this power over me, and I didn't like that feeling. Brittany had all of this power over me and we only shared two conversations and I hated that.

"Could I borrow a pencil?" Brittany had a sweet smile gracing her face and I totally forgot why the hell I had been mad and aggressive towards her in the first place.

"Uhm, yeah, I guess." I turned around and picked up a pencil from my desk.

"Here you go." I mumbled quietly.

I handed over the pencil and for a short moment, our fingertips grazed over one another. A current ran through our fingers and our eyes locked. I swallowed hard, unable to break the eye contact. Our fingers were only slightly touching but I could feel it. Brittany's smile faltered and her eyes were boring into mine, trying to find answers I couldn't possibly give. I broke the eye contact and turned around again. I could feel Adriana staring at me, trying to figure out what the hell had just happened. I hoped she hadn't seen the interaction, but I was sure she had felt the tension as well. Our math teacher, however, was still teaching despite the moment I had just shared with Brittany and I put in all my effort to concentrate on the linear function written on the board.

I could do this. Linear functions were easy, ax + b equals y. I tried writing something down in my notebook, but then I realized something. I had given Brittany my only pencil. That was really dumb. Damn. I couldn't possibly ask for it back right away, that would be rude. And that would mean that I would have to physically take the pencil back, which could only result in our fingers touching once again. My heart was still pounding from the last time.

"Are you okay?" Adriana leaned over.

I guess I was still blushing or at least flushed.

I quickly nodded. "I'm fine. I'm just slightly confused about this function actually."

Adriana's eyebrows rose. "Seriously, San? This is really easy. We saw this two years ago in AP math, remember?"

I shrugged. "Yeah, I kind of forgot how to solve it. It's confusing."

"Are you sure that it's the functions you are confused about?" My sister remarked.

I swallowed hard. She had noticed whatever had happened between Brittany and I. How could she not? She was my sister. She knew me better than anyone else, right? Plus there was the fact that she was sitting right next to me, so she probably overheard the conversation as well.

"Whatever Adriana." I said. I always needed to have the final say when it came to arguments.

"Don't get yourself in trouble." My sister finally replied.

Trouble meant the Dauntless. She was warning me about Brittany and she was absolutely right in doing so. The Dauntless meant trouble and so did Brittany.

The rest of math class went by relatively fast. I really didn't have a problem understanding the linear functions. They were simple. The bell rang and I quickly picked up my books and stuffed them into my bag. School was over. Now was the time the afternoon clubs started but since it was Monday I didn't have any activities to attend. Adriana had to tutor some Candor girl who was having trouble with literature.

"I'll see you at dinner tonight. Tell mom I'll be home at six in case she forgets I'm tutoring that girl." Adriana told me.

"Why do you even tutor? I don't understand why you would waste your time on some girl from Candor." I asked confused.

"I don't know. I like to help people and it's literature so that's nice. I get to spend time doing something I love and I like that. Is there really something wrong with that?"

I shrugged. "Fine."

Quinn walked up to us. "Adriana, do you want to come back with me to my house and hang out? Oh, Santana, you can come too." She added when she saw me. Despite her invitation I still felt like hadn't meant to invite me along in the first place.

"I have to tutor that girl." Adriana said.

Quinn pouted. "That's right, I forgot. I guess it's just you and me, Santana." Quinn said. Now that Adriana couldn't come, I was suddenly good enough? I knew I should have more respect for myself and said something about it, but I didn't. I really did like Quinn and wanted to become better friends with her.

"Sounds fun." I admitted.

"Let's go then." Quinn said.

Adriana started walking off in the other direction but not before saying, "Be home by dinner, Santana."

"I will." I replied.

Suddenly I heard a voice behind me. "Erudite."

I immediately recognized Brittany's voice.

I turned to Quinn. "I'll meet you outside, okay?"

Quinn looked confused but then eventually made her way outside.

I turned around facing Brittany. The rest of the class had already left and the corridor was basically empty. I could still hear Quinn's shoes somewhere in the distance but that was it.

"I already told you. That's not my name." I said annoyed. She had called me Erudite again and it was pissing me off.

"I'm really sorry, Santana." She said while emphasizing the Santana bit of the sentence.

I tried really hard not to roll my eyes, but failed.

"You do know that it's quite rude to roll your eyes at someone, right?" Brittany stated, her smirk present once again.

"I didn't roll my eyes." I quickly countered.

Brittany snickered. "You know it's also rude to lie to someone's face. I thought you were an Erudite? Aren't you guys supposed to be the smart people, or did I miss something?"

"I thought you were from Dauntless and not Candor, so why do you care if I'm lying?"

Brittany shrugged. "Now you've got it backwards, Erudite. I already told you that I don't quite believe in the whole faction business. It's not because I'm not in Candor that I enjoy being lied to. Nobody likes liars. If you tell me you do, you're not being honest."

"How can you not believe in the whole faction business?" I asked.

Brittany shrugged again. "It's not because I'm a part of Dauntless that I don't like the truth, or that I think I shouldn't have any knowledge what so ever. The same goes for Amity and Abnegation's values. I don't believe people can be put into boxes that easily."

"Alright. I understand that. And to answer your previous question, yes." I said.

Brittany looked confused. "What do you mean?"

"Erudite are the smart people from this city, if that's what you were wondering."

Brittany laughed. "I'm not so sure of that, but that's a story for another time."

"What do you mean?" I probed.

Brittany didn't answer my question, instead she held out the pencil and said, "Anyway, here's your pencil back."

This time I made sure not to touch her in anyway so I carefully grabbed the other end of pencil she was offering.

"Oh, yeah. I almost forgot about that. Thanks."

Brittany smiled brightly. "No, thank you. I should really bring my own supplies for once."

"It wasn't a problem." It kind of was actually. I couldn't write anything down because of her, but that was okay.

"Okay, I guess you should be going now, shouldn't you? Isn't that Fabray girl waiting on you?" Brittany asked.

"Oh, yeah, right. Thanks." I stammered.

"You're welcome. And I'll see you around Erudite." Brittany smirked.

"Sounds good, Dauntless." I said as we parted ways.

I caught up with Quinn just outside of school where she was waiting for me.

"What took you so long?" She immediately questioned.

I shrugged nonchalantly in an attempt to seem casual about the situation. "That girl from Dauntless borrowed a pencil from me during math, so she gave it back."

"Yeah, if that was the case, why did it take you ten minutes to get here? I would imagine a conversation in which she has to give you back your pencil would take about five seconds." Quinn said.

Why was she so annoying at times? Fuck. "She had a question about math." I stuttered.

That seemed to be a good enough answer for Quinn and she simply nodded in response. On the way to Quinn's house, we made small talk about school, math and how annoying Tina could be. When we arrived at Quinn's massive house, we immediately headed out for the library. Quinn got some cookies and we made ourselves comfortable in the chairs in front of the first bookshelf.

"Do you know what faction you are going to choose at the Choosing Ceremony?" Quinn suddenly asked while we were reading a book.

That question had literally come from nowhere. I always imagined Quinn to stay in Erudite. She really fitted in here, plus her dad was one of the most important people of the faction. It would honestly be a shock if she decided to change factions. And why would she? She belonged here in Erudite, just like I did.

"Uhm, I guess I haven't thought about it. I guess I'll just stay in Erudite. That's the easiest option, right?" I said.

"So the only reason you want to stay in Erudite is because it is easier?" Quinn asked.

"I didn't say that. I fit in here, don't you?" I responded.

She was biting on a pencil. "Yeah I guess. But just because I was born here, doesn't mean I agree with everything that this faction does."

"Yeah, that's true. I just don't see myself in another faction." I said, not really sure if it was actually true.

"That's because all we've ever known is our own faction. That's what's so messed up about this whole thing. We learn about other factions but we will never know what they really are like without actually being a part of them. And what's up with the fact that we have to decide on our whole life when we are sixteen? I don't understand why." Quinn sighed and sounded annoyed.

"I think it's actually nice. You can choose your own destiny. Nobody can decide for you." I said.

Quinn rolled her eyes. "That's really naïve, Santana."

"How is that naïve?" I asked annoyed.

"Don't pretend like it's your choice. Everyone is forcing you to stay in your own damn faction. Nobody allows it. And certainly not the people around you."

"They do allow people to change factions." I tried to dispute but I felt like I had lost this match.

"Damn it, Santana, you don't understand. They allow it but they don't want you to change. We know so little about other factions. We barely know what their initiation is. Heck, I don't even know where the Dauntless live." Quinn ranted.

"And the moment you change factions, Erudite will hate you. You will be shut out by your family. Your pictures will be deleted and everyone will pretend that you never existed. If that's support you get when changing factions then I don't understand the meaning of support anymore." Quinn went on.

"Yeah." I simply said. I didn't really know what to answer. Quinn's voice resonated in my head and I felt more confused than ever. An uncomfortable silence crept up on us. I didn't know what to say and neither did Quinn. And I knew why, Quinn had opened up to me. A girl like Quinn didn't open up to people, and certainly not to me. Quinn held her power by holding her secrets and for a slight moment, she revealed her thoughts.

"Just forget everything I said, please." Quinn quickly said when I caught her eye.

And there it was. Quinn's walls were coming down once again.

"What?" I asked.

"Just please forget it and don't you even dare mention to anyone what I said here. It was stupid. The factions are great and I can't wait to start my life in Erudite." Quinn quickly said while nodding, but her eyes told a totally different story. "Okay, I won't tell anyone."

"Good. My life is here. In Erudite." Quinn repeated once more but every time she said it, it sounded less truthful to me, but I did not dare to say that out loud.

"Are you sure?" I asked once again.

"Yes. Just stop it, Santana." She suddenly screamed angrily. "I think you should leave."

Quinn pointed at the door.

"God, calm down. I'll leave. Geesh."

I opened the door from the library and went home. The conversation between Quinn and I resonated in my head. Quinn wanted to change factions. But which faction and why? It all felt messed up in my head. I felt more confused than ever.

Hope you liked it :) Leave a review if you'd like. I promise I will answer them from now on :) Okay bye :)