Howdy ya'll. I got this up way sooner than expected. You should consider yourselves lucky because I've been using my school time to write this. Now I've decided that I really like to write in third person, so I will most likely be continuing this story in that POV. Now enjoy!
Chapter 3
Carter walked out of the testing room, desperately trying to hide her emotions. She was a very tough girl and it takes a lot to rattle her, but this was the icing on the cake. Who would've thought that she, she out of every sixteen year-old in the city, would have an aptitude for all five factions?
How was Carter going to keep this a secret? She could lie when she needed to, but it pained her to do so. That was now explained due to the fact that she realized that she was part Candor. Grayson never had a problem lying to his mother, especially when he wanted to go to a party. Carter, on the other hand, hated lying to her mother and seldom did so. After her dad went missing, Carter felt this urge to just be her mom's rock, even though Tris had other people for that. Carter was loyal, especially when it came to family.
Those loyalties made Carter want to run home right now and tell her mom about her predicament. Carter felt that her mother would know exactly what to do and say. It was impossible though. Nobody was allowed to talk about their results. Sure, some people did anyways, but this was too big to talk about.
Carter stared absently around the cafeteria as she waited for Grayson to finish his own test. No one approached her, which was somewhat odd. Carter was surprisingly well liked among her peers, even though she was one of those crazy, reckless, Dauntless psychos. Perhaps she looked angry or hostile at the moment. Whatever it was, Carter was acting unapproachable. Except to Grayson.
The happy-go-lucky teen basically skipped over to Carter after he left his testing room. There was no trace of worry or distraught. The site made Carter smile and a small portion of the weight that was currently crushing her chest was lifted.
"Howdy partner." Grayson greeted in a ridiculous accent.
Playfully, Carter punched him in the arm. Grayson feigned a fatal injury and collapsed in a spectacular heap on the table. Kids around them chuckled. Grayson always was able to lighten the mood even in the most tense or awkward situations.
Grayson composed himself, looped his arm through hers and dragged her away from the table.
Carter's best friend spoke, once again using his horrible accent. "How are you today m'lady?"
Carter put on a fake smile before she responded. "Everything is quite swell sir. And yourself?"
"Everything is A-Okay!" Grayson chanted. Together, the pair laughed. They only stopped when an Erudite, Sharon Hefley, walked up to them.
The petite girl with glasses looked up at the two with a mixture of fear and admiration.
"Hi Carter. Hi Grayson." She squeaked. "I just want to say how cute you guys are. You're perfect for each other." Sharon walked away before the two could say anything.
Both Grayson and Carter stared after the girl. Carter turned to Grayson and laughed like they always did. Grayson on the other hand cleared his throat and gave a weak, unconvincing chuckle, as if what Sharon just said had made him uncomfortable.
Fortunately for Grayson, Carter didn't notice his lack of laughter. Little did Carter know, Grayson was didn't think that the old joke was very funny anymore. If anything, it seemed like he resented it.
"When do we get out of here?" Carter asked.
Grayson looked at a pretend watch before answering. "I'd say in about twenty minutes."
"Good." Carter said. "I can't wait to get out of here." Actually she could. She still wasn't sure what she was going to say when she went home.
"Same," Grayson answered. "Listen Carter, I've been meaning to tell you something-" Grayson was cut off by a high pitched yell.
Back in the cafeteria a bigger Dauntless boy was picking on a much smaller Candor boy. Grayson and Carter knew the Dauntless boy. His name was Quin, a.k.a the meanest guy in the entire faction. He was known for beating up the younger kids and, for some reason, everyone just let him. Well, everyone except for Carter and Grayson. Whenever those two happened upon one the Quin's daily beatings, they put an end to it. They were the only ones brave enough to do so.
"C'mon," Carter muttered to Grayson, starting to jog towards Quin and the Candor.
"Quin!" Carter yelled. "Knock it off!"
Quin released his grip on the kid, who used the opportunity to get away. "Why should I listen to you?" Quin retorted.
"Because you're being an ass." Grayson said plainly. "And asses like you need someone to set them straight."
"Last time I recalled, I can kick your ass anytime I like." Quin snarled. "Even when your girlfriend is backing you up."
"We don't need, or want, to beat you up Quin," Carter stated, ignoring the fact that she really isn't Graysons girlfriend. "We just want you to stop picking on smaller, younger kids. It's not fair to them."
"You don't tell me what to do." Quin said. He shoved past Carter and Grayson and joined his group of friends.
"God, I hate that guy." Carter said. She turned back to Grayson. "Now what were you going to tell me?"
"It's not important," muttered Grayson. The fact that Quin called Carter his girlfriend upset him and made him lose his confidence, and it's rare for Grayson to lose his confidence.
Carter narrowed her eyes at Grayson. She knew that it was obviously something important, but she decided to let it go. If Grayson wanted to tell her, he would tell her when he was ready. Carter knew that bugging him about it would just be a step in the wrong direction.
"We have five minutes left." Grayson said after a few moments of silence. "We should get going so we can get a headstart."
Carter nodded and followed her best friend. The two made sure that there weren't any teachers around, then exited the school. The train wouldn't arrive for another couple minutes, but that meant that they could take there time getting on the platform instead of running the risk of missing the train.
After a while, more and more Dauntless arrived on the platform. When they all heard the train coming, they set off at a light jog, slowly increasing their speed as the train got closer and closer. Carter and Grayson got on first. They sat down next to each other and leaned against the walls of the train car.
"How did your test go?" Grayson asked, trying to make small talk.
Carter wasn't sure how to answer. She didn't want to lie and say it went great, but she also didn't want to tell her friend the truth. Carter couldn't put Grayson at risk by telling him that she was Divergent. He could get into a lot of trouble for concealing her.
"It was fine." She said quietly. "And yours?"
"Same." Grayson told her. That was the end of the conversation. For the first time in their entire lives, neither could think of something to say to the other. They were acting like they haven't been friends for the past sixteen years.
When Carter looked at Grayson, she didn't know what to feel. On one hand, she saw her best friend. On the other hand, she saw someone who could end up being more, despite the fact that they've already tried. Part of her wanted to try again, but she didn't want to lose Grayson if it didn't work out.
When Grayson looked at Carter, he saw the girl that he loves wholeheartedly. He didn't know how much longer he could go on if he was just her friend. Though they came to a mutual agreement that they didn't work when they first tried dating, Graysons feelings stuck. He mostly agreed because he knew that being just friends with Carter was better than living without her in his life.
Both saw the other as someone who only wanted to be friends. They had no idea what the other was actually seeing.
The two jumped off the train and entered the compound without saying a word. Both muttered a goodbye before entering their separate apartments.
Carter dreaded opening that door. She still hadn't figured out what she was going to say. Regardless, she walked in and was immediately greeted by TJ.
"Hey TJ!" Carter exclaimed. "How was your day?"
TJ, who was rather on the quiet side, didn't say anything. Instead, he wrapped his little arms around his big sister and held on tight.
"He's been asking for you since he got home." Carter's mom said.
"Really? Why?"
"Not sure," Tris answered. "He must have sensed that today was a big day."
"Yeah." Carter murmured. "A really big day."
"I know that I'm not supposed to ask about your test Carter, but if you want to talk to me about anything, you can come to me. I'll listen and advise you as best as I can."
"Thanks mom." Carter said, walking over to her mom and hugging her. "I'm so scared." she whispered.
Tris stroked her daughters hair and softly said, "It's alright Carter. You'll be okay."
-Page Break-
Carter woke up in the middle of the night. She had a nightmare in which she was at the choosing ceremony. She cut her hand with the knife given to her, and proceeded to pick which faction she wanted to go to. As she moved her hand to pick, everyone in the building started shouting at once.
"Choose!" They all screamed. "Choose!"
Carter couldn't concentrate with everyone yelling at her. She whipped around to face the crowd, drops of her blood flying everywhere.
"She has chosen!" A man announced.
When Carter turned around, she saw that every bowl had a drop of her blood in it.
That's when she woke up in a cold sweat. She was sitting up, looking for the mass of people that had been chanting for her to choose. Instead, she saw the sleeping figures of her two brothers. Needing some air, Carter got up and tried to quietly exit the room. Before she could leave, a voice called out to her.
"Carter?" It whispered.
Carter turned to see TJ kneeling in the middle of his bed. She walked towards him and tucked her little brother back under the covers.
"It's alright TJ. I'll be back. I'm just going for a walk." She assured him.
Carter's feet brought her to a spot that she frequently visited at this time of night. The train tracks.
Carter liked to come out here when she couldn't sleep. The sound of the trains calmed her. She closed her eyes, soaking up the wind as a train plowed past. The gravel then shifted beside her. Carter looked up to see an unmistakable face illuminated from the dim compound lights.
"Dad?"
WOAH! What just happened?
Love you guys!
~A
