A/N: I want to give big shout out to JerkDestoyer for helping with the dialog between Jeanine and Jenivieve. And also because she is an awesome Beta.

Once again thank you for all the reviews. I hope you enjoy this chapter. Next chapter is Eric's first day of Initiation.

Also I have created a new Divergent Forum. Its for chatting, getting help on a fic, or just goofing off. Please check out my profile for the link.

Disclaimer: I do no own anything related to Divergent, including Eric. Which is slightly overly depressing. If I do happen to claim the rights to Eric, you will be the first to know. And I would probably share him with readwritereview20. If she asked nicely.


Chapter Seven

Jenivieve's POV

I collapsed on my bed. I had cried the whole way to my house. I was lucky, nearly everyone was still at the Hub.

I shoved my face in my pillows, wanting to silence the sobs that escape. The world became darkness. The ceremony played over and over in my head. Angelina going here last night. What did she say?

"If you had asked me that yesterday, I would have said yes in a heartbeat."

She had come right out and told me that she didn't belong here. She was looking at me for a sign that I agreed with her. I hadn't even been paying attention to her. My mind of was filled with Eric and Evelyn. Now my best friends was gone and I never got to say goodbye.

I didn't get to say goodbye to Tobias either. Until last night I didn't even know I had a brother and now I would never get to know him.

I held back a sob as Eric's face comes into my mind. Two days ago I didn't even think he knew my name. Now all I could remember were the feel of his lips on mine, soft but rough. The feel of his hands on me, warm but tough. I honestly never thought he would defect. The way he had been acting. I thought there was something between us.

Clearly I was wrong. I should have been good with people leaving without saying goodbye. But it still didn't stop the pain.

I had been sitting by my mother's side for almost their entire day when my father came and relieved me. "Go get some sleep sweetheart. I will stay with your mother tonight."

I looked up at my father standing in the doorway. I was too tired to fight with him tonight. Mom's condition had gotten worse but the doctor's assured us that she would make a full recovery. I just wanted to be there when she woke up.

"Okay Dad, but you'll come get me right away if anything changes?" I said as he made his way over to where I was seated. I got up to give my seat.

"Of course Honey. Now I want you to go get some sleep and you are going to school tomorrow. If anything changes I'll pull you out." I smiled down at my father before I bent down and kissed him on the forehead.

"I love you Dad." I turned and walked out of the room, his 'I love you too' muffled by the sound of the door closing.

I got one of the best nights of sleep that night. And I went to school the next day without complaining. The day was no different than any other. But when I got home, I knew that every day after would never be the same.

My mother had died in the middle of the night and no one had called me. She had been gone for over 12 hours and I had been acting like everything was alright. Everyone had been telling me it was going to be alright. I had believed them.

But she left me. They lied to me. I was alone.

I can't let myself think like that. I push the thoughts from my head. I have to be strong. If not for myself, then for Tobias, Eric, and Angelina. They don't know what is going on. Quite frankly neither did I. But I knew it had something to do with Jeanine and Evelyn. Both people I could get close to and find out.

Evelyn was worried about Jeanine using the Dauntless for her own purposes, whatever those might be. And Evelyn was worried about not being able to control the Dauntless. She would kill them if it meant protecting herself.

I got off my bed, my sobs had stopped. No more tears were streaming down my face. I looked in the mirror over my dresser and I barely recognized the girl staring back at me.

She had the same pale skin from too many days spent inside. She still had the same round face, high cheek bones, green eyes, and brown hair that was usually perfectly straight. All the crying had turned my cheeks red and my hair was frizzy from where I had been laying on it. My eyes were a brighter green than normal, from the tears. I walked into the bathroom and splashed water on my face. Satisfied when it no longer looked like I had been crying, I pulled the comb through my hair to get it to lay flat again.

My friends and family may not be here. I may appear alone. But I could help them. I had to help them. I would do everything in my power to save them from whatever was coming.

I straightened my shirt and I went downstairs to find my father sitting in the living room. He was not alone. Jeanine Matthews was with him.

"Father," I nodded to him. "Ms. Matthews." They were seated together on the couch. I had obviously interrupted their conversation but neither seemed upset. I took a seat in the chair opposite to them.

"Jenivieve," he only glanced at me briefly before turning back to Jeanine. "Jeanine and I were just discussing you." That didn't really surprise me. I was after all offered the position of Personal Assistant.

"Indeed we were." Jeanine stood up straightening her skirt before continuing. "We were discussing your new position. Would you like to accompany me for lunch so that we can discuss things further?" She indicated toward the door, where through the window I could see her car waiting. She was being polite by asking but she didn't plan on me saying no. And she was right.

"I would like that very much, thank you." I say as I turn and slide my jacket off its hook and onto my shoulders. "Will my father be joining us?"

"No. It's just going to be the two of us." She gestured for me to go first through the door and I did. As we stepped outside the driver opened the door for us.

I slid across the back seat, leaving room for Jeanine. She climbed in without a word. The driver quickly shut the door and proceeded to his own seat.

As we made our way closer to Erudite Headquarters I had expected Jeanine to make small talk but the ride was silent. It was an uncomfortable silence. I needed to think about what I was going to say. I needed this woman to trust me.

Before long we pulled up into the back of Erudite Headquarters. The driver opened the door for us. We slid out of the car, with the driver shutting the car door behind us.

Jeanine started walking, and I took the hint to follow her. She led me through the doors of the Erudite compound finally stopping at what appeared to be a diner. The sign read "Ab Erudio Abitio" which was Latin for 'The Erudite Place'.

A waiter came up to us. "The usual place?" The waiter asked. Her hair was all neatly pinned up in a bun, with a pencil behind her ear.

I looked at Jeanine, who simply nodded her head.

"Certainly Ms. Matthews," she said, leading us past people eating scones, salmon and lobster. She opened a door, which Jeanine walked through. It was a private room, with two chairs and a table positioned in between. There was two plates with salmon sitting on the table, with scones in between them. There was two water glasses, a lemon slice on each glass.

Jeanine took a seat in one of the chairs, and I took a seat in the other. I balled my hands up in fists, nervous about messing this whole interview up. I looked up at Jeanine, and she was looking me straight in the eyes.

"I can tell you're nervous Jenivieve." I quickly relaxed my fists, scared that I was going to blow this whole thing. "You know how many other people I picked out for this position?"

She was messing with my head. She was basically saying I was screwing this whole thing up by being nervous, or what I thought. "No one," she said.

I felt my shoulders relax. "Really?" I questioned.

"Yes. You must know that you are my only option of this position. No one else has the characteristics that you have, that I need. You happen to be the perfect fit for the positioned." She had to be joking. There was no way.

"Are you serious?" I questioned.

"Yes." she said. "But-" that was the exact word I was dreading. Conditions needed to be addressed. "I would like to ask you some questions to get to know you." So this was an interview.

"I would be pleased in answering the questions Ms. Matthews." I said.

"You can call me Jeanine. Ms. Matthews has too much formality to it. We need to be friends and partners." I nodded my head, and she continued. "Who are your closest friends?"

Was this a trick? Was I supposed to say her? "Angelina." I said.

"Anyone else?" she asked.

"Not really." Eric came to mind. I didn't want to think about him. Especially since he is her nephew.

"Any close male friends?" I am taken back momentary. Her questions were personal. But I wanted her to trust me.

"Eric." I whispered, I looked at my hands in my lap.

"And they're are both gone now, does that make you sad?" Jeanine had picked up the knife and fork, she started on the salmon and waited for my reply.

"Generally speaking I don't let people get close to me very easily. But since were the only people close to me besides my dad, then yes I am sad that they are gone." I know that I have to be somewhat truthful with her. I needed her to let me in. I needed to know what she had planned.

"You seemed generally surprised by their choices today." She does not look up from her plate as she points this out.

"Yes I was quite shaken up." I mimicked her and started on my own lunch. I wasn't really hungry but it kept my hands busy.

"Statistically speaking you should have known one of them was going to defect." Again she said this without looking up at me.

"Deep down I knew, but the logical part of my brain couldn't comprehend what they were about to do." I answered her as logically as I could before taking another bite of the salmon.

"If I would have told you yesterday that one of your friends were going to defect, would you have thought of Eric or Angelina?" This is a test. She wanted to know where my loyalties were.

"No. I would have never thought that either one of my only friends would have left me all alone." It's a lie but I know what she wants to here. "I can't fathom the idea of leaving Erudite. It has been my home since birth and I will never leave here. I can't leave my father all alone like they left me." I put venom in my words, hoping that she take it as anger toward them.

"Does it bother you that they both left you alone?" She was testing me again.

"Yes." I felt an emptiness inside of me, knowing that I am truly alone for the next year.

"If it was my life on the line, would you kill one of them?" My heart sank, but I knew what answer she was looking for.

"Yes." My voice was firm, reassuring her that I indeed believed in Faction before Blood.

"Well I'm not going to ask you to do that. I just need to know where your loyalties are. I need to know your loyalties are with me." I suddenly knew what she wanted. It all made sense. She wanted to know if I'd be willing to kill Divergents for her.

Being one of the top students in the school and the daughter of one of Erudite's smartest scientist gave me access to material that would otherwise be hidden from the public view. I had seen reports in my father's office about Divergent. They feared people who were considered Divergent. They killed them and made it look like an accident. They said they were sick. Were they really sick?

"Faction before Blood." I say to her. I have convinced her that my loyalties are indeed with her.

"Good. Do you know what the term Divergent means?" She questioned.

"All I know is that they are people that threatened the faction systems." I didn't want to admit that I knew so much more. I knew those files on my father's desk were confidential. I couldn't risk him getting hurt for my curiosity.

"They do. The simulations don't work on them." She says this as if its common knowledge but I am confused.

"But they work on everyone." My Erudite curiosity once again gets the better of me. "How do they not work on people who are Divergent?" The question is out of my mouth before the thought had fully crossed my mind. I wait for her to reprimand me for being so blunt. But she surprised me by answering the question.

"The simulations don't work on the Divergent. That's why they threaten the system." She takes a drink of lemon water before continuing. "When they are in the simulation, they are fully aware. They can manipulate the simulation.

"That can't possibly be. The test is supposed to work on everyone."

"Oh but it doesn't work on them Jenivieve. That's why they are dangerous. They don't fit into just one Faction. They fit it multiple Factions and that is why they need to be hunted." She had finished her lunch at this point. I looked down at my half eaten plate. I hadn't been able to finish.

"When you catch them, do they die?" I questioned with a mask for curiosity on my face.

"Only the one's that resist." She tried to hide a smile but failed. "The ones that don't resist are taken to a private lab here in the headquarters to be studied."

"What do the studies look for?" I am generally curious now.

"Why, what makes them Divergent. And once we discover what that is we can create a serum to destroy it. Making them normal once again." Part of me doesn't believe her. Part of me wanted to believe her.

Suddenly my mind put all the pieces together. All the information was now pointing to one conclusion. Eric was Divergent. He had said himself that he didn't want to do want people expected of him, be what people expected of him. It all made sense.

I kept my face completed calm as I asked the next questions. "What is the plan?" I needed her to know I was on board with her.

"The plan is to use Dauntless to find the Divergent. It's in a very early stage at this point." She folded her hands together on the table and placed her head on them. "Now do you want to hear more about your friends?"

"Yes." I said trying not to act too surprised.

"Well I need to send you to Dauntless." She said. "You are going to be my representative there. I have a lot going on here and I won't be able to oversee their progress on a daily basis." She smiled one of her wicked smiles again. "That is where you come in. You are going to need to convince Eric to rank first in his class. I think he deserves a leadership role."

"A Leadership role?" I asked. I am almost too over joyous at the thought of seeing Eric. I lowered my tone. "Was Eric part of your plan?" I silently hope that he joined Dauntless for her but I know the truth. She is just using him. Like she is using me

"Not originally. It never occurred to me to have an Erudite transfer to Dauntless to get someone on the inside. But with your friendship with him, you can convince him of what needs to be done. Plus if he has a leadership role, then he'll get to see you more. He'll have more control over everything." She used him against me. She thought she could control me. She was wrong. But I didn't need her to know that.

I needed to talk to Eric. And she was giving me the chance to walk right inside Dauntless and see him. She was making it too easy.

"I would love to do it." I said with confidence.

"Fantastic. I had already set a meeting up between you and one of the current Dauntless Leaders. His name is Max. I will send a car to your house on Saturday. The car will then take you to the Dauntless compound where Max will escort you inside. This will be your first test. You must get Eric to agree with our plan."

Our plan. I hid a smirk. I had my own plan. It didn't have anything to do with hunting Divergent but saving them. I just had to learn what 'her' plan was exactly and how the Dauntless was involved. I needed to get Eric on 'my' side. We could figure this out together.


That evening, long after Jeanine had dropped me back off at my house, I once again left to meet Evelyn. She waited in the shadows as I approached. When I was in visual range she step out.

"Have you thought about what I said?" Just the sight of her made my blood boil. This women left my older brother to a life of misery and pain. But right now I needed her. I didn't have to like her.

"Yes but there have been some changes." I crossed my arms over my chest. "The Dauntless are not to be harmed. AT ALL." I almost shouted the last words and she looked like she wanted to scold me but I continued. "You are right. Jeanine is using the Dauntless. I don't know how yet. But she trust me and I will find out what her plan is."

"How do you know she trust you enough to tell you her plan for Dauntless?" She questioned me. Not trusting me. The feeling was mutual.

"Because I'm the one that is going to oversee that things at the Dauntless Compound go according to the plan." I huffed at her.

"But you don't know what that plan is yet?" Her stance mimicked mine.

"I have a good idea but she hasn't actually told me. I have a meeting Saturday with one of the Dauntless Leaders." I shuffled my feet, ready for this conversation to be over.

"Why do you care about what happens to the Dauntless?" I have to give her a reason to not harm them.

"I have plenty of reasons for caring about Dauntless. But I'll just give you one." I meet her eyes. My eyes. They are the same. "Tobias joined Dauntless." The shock that crossed her face is real. She cared. She may pretend that she doesn't but she does. I turned without saying another word. She would agree to my terms. She wouldn't hurt her son.