A/N- I wanted to get another chapter out before my move this week (From GA to NC!) and I wanted to make it a nice long one to tide everyone over. Please review, and I might be able to post another sooner rather than later!
Veronica followed Christina into The Pit, trying her best to look unconcerned. Inside however, her stomach was a bundle of nerves. She told herself that she didn't care if her parents came to see her, but she was only lying to herself. The first stage had been easy for her in comparison to the other initiates but she was yearning for her mother to smooth her hair down and ask her how she was doing. They aren't going to be here, she told herself, hoping the disappointment wouldn't show on her face if she didn't see them.
Christina nudged her with her elbow pointing to a woman and young girl wearing black and white. "Come meet them!" She told Veronica excitedly, grinning from ear to ear. Veronica nodded before her voice caught in her throat as she saw her Father, clad in a pair of navy blue dress pants and a bright blue shirt.
"I'll come over in a minute." Veronica told her quietly, trying her best to keep her smile off her face as she motioned towards her Father. Christina squeezed her elbow before bounding towards her family and Veronica crossed The Pit to where her father stood uncomfortably. "Dad." She said, giving him a quick smile.
"Oh Veronica." He said happily, embracing her quickly. He held her at arm's length, appraising her. He brushed a fading bruise on her cheek with his finger, but said nothing.
"Is Mom here?" Veronica asked, more hopefully than she meant to.
"Oh yes, she's…" He began looking around before waving to someone behind her. "They were just speaking with one of the leaders here."
"They?" Veronica asked before turning to see her Mother and Aunt Jeanine walking towards her. "Oh." She said, her smile dropping as her Aunt gave her a smile that didn't reach her eyes. Veronica did her best to ignore her Aunt as her Mother gave her a warm hug, smoothing her hair as she did.
"How are you sweetheart?" Her Mom asked her, concern in her eyes. Veronica knew that her Mom thought the Dauntless were a group of reckless savages.
"I'm fine Mom. I'm actually doing really well." She told her, trying her best not to sound as if she was bragging.
"Veronica, it's time to come home now." Jeanine's sharp tone cut through her homecoming, causing her to frown as she turned her attention to her Aunt.
"This is my home now." Veronica reminded her. "I can't leave." She didn't add that she didn't want to leave, wanting to spare her Mother's feelings.
"There are always exceptions to any rule." Jeanine told her. "I am the leader of Erudite, and given your… trauma… I can easily explain why you are coming back."
"No." Veronica told her. "I'm not leaving." She started watching her Aunt's face for a sign of why she was insistent that Veronica come back to Erudite.
"Veronica, please, just listen to your Aunt…" Her Mother pleaded quietly, hope on her face.
"I'm not leaving." Veronica told her.
"Veronica, this is no place for you." Jeanine snapped, annoyance etched on her face. "You will come back to Erudite where your mind can be put to use." She sighed before adding, "There have been some advances in skin reconstruction and I believe we can fix…" She motioned to Veronica's chest, where the pale scars showed above her low cut t-shirt.
Veronica felt her temper flare, knowing a bribe when she heard it. "I'm NOT leaving." She insisted, raising her voice. "Why do you care anyway?" While she knew that she was intelligent, she wasn't at the level to attract attention from the Erudites.
"For your Mother." Jeanine hissed, cutting her eyes to where Veronica's Mother was blinking back tears.
"Hey!" Dominic's voice made Veronica and Jeanine step back from each other and he took the space between them. "Mom, Dad, Jeanine. It's been a while."
"Dominic." Her Father said, clapping his son on the back, though the gesture appeared awkward and forced. Their Mother hugged Dominic while Jeanine stood with lips pursed.
"What's going on over here?" He asked innocently, though he gave Veronica a knowing look.
"I was explaining to your sister…" Jeanine began before Veronica interrupted.
"She was telling me I needed to go back to Erudite." Veronica told Dom, shooting daggers at Jeanine around her brother.
"What?" Dom said sharply before regaining composure. "Well, it's too bad that isn't done. Everyone here knows the rules." He gave a winning smile, managing to look disappointed for them.
"Dominic, there are exceptions…" Their Mom began, but Dominic shook his head, cutting her off.
"Well, we just had an initiate who fell off a path and is in a wheelchair, and he doesn't get to go back to his faction. I'd hate to have to bring this up at the next leader council and see what the other factions have to say about it, it could make Erudite look, well, like rule breakers." He leveled a gaze at Jeanine, giving her a small upturn of his mouth. "No one wants that."
"No. We don't." Jeanine said through tight lips.
"And besides, I don't think she wants to leave." Dominic continued. "Do you?" He asked her.
"No." She said firmly. She softened when she looked at her parents. "I'm sorry." She told them, feeling a wave of guilt wash over her. "I'm where I should be." She told them.
She gave her Mother a hug doing her best to ignore the sadness she felt in the pit of her stomach. She hugged her Father and told them goodbye, following Dominic as he walked away, watching until his parents and Aunt began the ascent to the top.
"Why did she want you to leave?" He asked her as soon as they were out of earshot of the groups in the pit.
"She said it was for Mom." Veronica said her voice conveying her disbelief.
"Aunt Jeanine hasn't done anything for anyone else since she became the leader of that faction." Dominic said, barely attempting to mask his disgusted tone.
"I know." Veronica said, chewing her lower lip as she thought. Why would Jeanine want her out of Dauntless so badly? "Dom, what's next in initiation?" She asked, trying to spark an idea.
"Ronnie," he told her warningly, "you know I can't tell you that."
"Yeah, I know." She sighed. She guessed she would find out soon enough. "Thanks for you know, interrupting that whole thing."
"Well, you looked a couple steps away from smacking the Erudite leader in front of half of the faction." Dominic told her. "Couldn't let that happen."
"I wouldn't have." She told him.
"I wouldn't have thought you would jump another initiate in the dorm either." Dom shot back, though he didn't sound as angry as yesterday.
"That was different…" She began.
"I know, kid's an asshole. Four told me he was pretty much asking for it, and that you were just upset about everything that happened."
"He did?" Veronica was shocked that Four came to her defense.
"Yeah, I guess he's taken a liking to you." He told her. "Well, as much as Four likes any initiate."
"Really?" She said, processing this new information.
"Yeah, he fought to score you first in the first round. He said it was brave that you stopped Edward." Dominic said absently, just happy to be getting back to normal with his sister and not having to remember he was mad.
Veronica was shocked that Four went to bat for her. He seemed so tough on her in training, and wasn't exactly friendly when scolding her about beating Peter in the dorms. "I'm going to go meet Christina's family. Buy me a drink at the rankings tonight?" The combined rankings were being released tonight, and it was expected that things would be more rowdy than an average night in the pit.
"When are you going to buy me a drink?" He demanded in faux anger.
"When I get more points. I don't know if you know this, but Leaders get a lot more points than initiates." She told him with a smirk.
"Whatever, mooch. I'll get you drunk I guess." He told her with a playful grin mussing her hair before he left. "See you tonight." He called over his shoulder as he left her to find Christina.
Christina followed Veronica as they navigated around the crowd in the pit, trying to make their way to where the two groups of initiates waited for the large screen to show the combined rankings. Christina said she wanted to feel pretty for once, instead of like a dirty gross initiate. Veronica couldn't deny that the idea of feeling attractive wasn't a bad idea. She and Christina both did smoky eye makeup and dark lips, making their eyes stand out. Christina wore a tight black dress with a plunging neckline, while Veronica wore tight black shorts, shorter than any she'd worn to train in, and a black t-shirt streaked with red accents. Though the neckline was higher than Christina's her shirt exposed a small patch of toned flesh if she moved her arms up.
"Whoa." Al said when the two walked up, whistling lowly. "You guys look great." He moved his gaze to wear Will was staring at Christina and nudged Veronica, sharing a quiet snicker.
Looking around, both groups seemed to have the same idea, most of the girls were in makeup and new outfits, and the guys were all clean shaven and dressed nicely. It was a victory party of sorts for most of them, though 3 of them, 4 if they didn't count Jeremy among the cut initiates, would be given a chance to say goodbye and pack their things in peace while the other initiates celebrated. Veronica couldn't help but look for Drew, who was standing by himself, away from Peter's group. It appeared that Peter had already ostracized him, and Veronica felt a small twinge of sadness for him as he stood forlornly, hands in his pockets.
Eric, Max, Trinity, Frank and Dom stood above the crowd and Frank raised his hands up bringing the roar of the crowd down to a dull whisper. "I'm going to keep this short because everyone knows how this works. If your name is in grey on the screen, please pack your things and leave the compound. Do not make us escort you out." Frank ran his gaze along the initiates, not pausing at any in particular. "From here on out you will be scored together, so look around… this is your competition. There will be no cuts after Phase 2. At the end of Phase 3 we will be cutting at least four more. If we think there are more that need to leave, they will." He warned before giving a wide smile. "Now, to the good part." He motioned to the screen that had lit up and displayed the rankings.
Veronica scanned the list quickly and was surprised to find her name in the third spot, below a Dauntless born initiate named Uriah and Edward. Peter was below 2 Dauntless borns, Lynn and Chris, and judging by his face, he was not happy about being 6th. She also saw Drew and Jeremy's names greyed out at the bottom of the list. Myra was in last place, but still in the faction for now.
Drew hung his head, looking defeated and shuffled away from the throng of people descending on the initiates. Veronica lost sight of him when Al picked her up and swung her around in happiness. "V! Your third! Be happy!" He told her, his wide smile infectious.
"I am!" She assured, laughing when he sat her down. She stumbled a step, regaining her equilibrium before a shot of amber colored liquid was pressed into her hand by Will. "To…" He began, before realizing he didn't have a toast worked out.
"To making it." Veronica finished, tapping her shot glass with Christina, Al and Will. She took the shot in one gulp, grimacing at the bitter taste. Her belly began to warm nearly immediately and she followed her friends to a table where they began passing drinks around. Veronica hadn't finished her first beer, when a severe looking girl with a shaved head flounced over to their table.
"Who's Veronica?" She demanded, looking around accusingly.
"Uh… I am?" Veronica said, not sure if she wanted to be.
The girl looked Veronica over appraisingly before declaring, "I could take you."
"Oh… Ok." Veronica said, not sure what else to say.
"Lynn, stop being rude." A caramel skinned Dauntless initiate told her as he and a pretty blond joined them. "I'm Uriah." He said to the table. "This is Marlene." He motioned to the blonde while speaking. "I guess you met Lynn." He said with a smirk.
"In a manner of speaking." Will told him, still taken aback by Lynn's hostile attitude. Will motioned to free chairs at the table, which Uriah and Marlene readily accepted.
Lynn stood with her arms folded still glowering at Veronica until Veronica told her, "Well we can either fight right here or you can have a drink and get over it."
Lynn seemed to be debating the merits of both when Marlene pulled her by the arm into a chair. "You'll have to excuse Lynn, she's a little… competitive." Marlene explained.
"So am I." Veronica confided with a small smile. The group was interrupted then as Dom, Shauna, and Zeke swarmed on them, trays of drinks and shots dropped on the table as they gave their congratulations to the initiates. After the shots had been taken and drinks distributed, the older siblings left the initiates to their conversation.
"Dom is your brother?" Lynn demanded. "No wonder you are ranked so high."
Veronica opened her mouth to protest, but Uriah beat her to it. "Lynn, you know Dom wouldn't play favorites."
"Besides," Marlene added, "Lauren told us that Dom wasn't scoring. Remember?"
Lynn muttered under her breath, "I guess" and Uriah grinned.
"She can't stand the idea that there are transfers that might be better than her." He explained.
Veronica found herself zoning out of the conversation as the alcohol began taking effect, and she began scanning the room. She told herself she was just looking, but she knew who was conspicuously absent from the pit. Where was Four? Instead, she spotted Drew heading towards the dorms, carrying bags from the shops, having spent what points he had available. They wouldn't be good once he left.
"I'll be right back." She said, interrupting a story Will was telling and standing up.
"Get some more drinks!" Christina told her, holding up her half full bottle. Veronica nodded, taking her own beer with her as she began making her way towards the dorms after Drew.
When she reached the dorms, Drew had already pulled everything from his locker, stuffing it into bags with wet cheeks. "Hey." She said from the doorway, immediately averting her eyes as he rubbed the tears from his face quickly.
"Come to gloat?" He asked bitterly, not taking his eyes from his task.
"No." She said, crossing the room, "just thought you might need help. Doesn't look like any of your friends are volunteering."
He laughed humorlessly, but didn't stop her when she began folding shirts and pants. "Yeah, they knew I was dead in the water a couple days ago."
"Sorry." She told him honestly, before finishing the task silently. He loaded up with his bags and looked at her. "Bye Drew." She told him, slapping his arm awkwardly, not sure what else to do.
"Thanks." He said, turning to leave. He paused, turning back to her. "I didn't push him." He confided in her. "And I didn't ask anyone to do it for me."
"I believe you." She thought it was important to him that she believed him.
He nodded. "Watch out. Peter really hates you." He warned.
It was her turn to laugh humorlessly. "Yeah, I picked up on that." He turned, not having anything more to say, and left towards the top of the compound, where he would take one last train ride.
Veronica watched the door close behind him before turning to leave the way she came in, running into a solid chest. She jumped and Four put his hand on her shoulders, steadying. "Jesus Four!" she said in annoyance, her heart still racing from the adrenaline rush.
"Sorry." He told her, though the amused smile playing on his lips made her believe that he wasn't too terribly sorry.
"How long have you been lurking?" She asked him suspiciously.
"A while. I saw you leave." He confided. He was also holding a beer, and she deduced that he must have been in the pit somewhere, she just hadn't seen him. "Why did you go with Eric?" He asked suddenly, as if remembering his annoyance with her.
"He took me to see Jeremy."
"I know where you went. I asked why you went with him." He emphasized.
She looked at him in confusion. "Because Dom couldn't and he offered."
"Why didn't you ask me?"
"Because I thought you were still pissed at me, and I didn't know where you were." She told him in exasperation.
"You should avoid him."
"Why?" She demanded.
"Because he's not a nice guy."
"You keep saying that, but he's been nice to me."
"Doesn't that make you wonder why he's being nice to you?" Four questioned, feeling his temper flare.
"What? Because I'm just a stupid initiate he must be using me?" Her anger rose to meet Four's, ready for a fight.
"I didn't say that, just listen to me damnit. I'm your trainer, I'm not going to steer you wrong!"
"Well, maybe you should start acting like my trainer instead of a jealous boy!" She snapped her lips closed before she said more, already knowing it was a mistake to raise her voice to him. He narrowed his eyes at her, infuriated with her stubbornness.
"When are you going to figure it out V?" He asked softly, surprising her with his shift in tone. "I'm trying to treat you like an initiate, but it's impossible. Because you're not just an initiate to me." He sighed.
"Oh." She said, exhaling a breath she had been holding. They stared at each other, the void between them feeling much larger than it had been 60 seconds ago. He backed away from her, feeling the need for more space.
"Four." She called to him, catching his attention. "I don't care what Eric thinks about me. Not like I care about what you think." She hadn't thought the statement out, she just knew she wanted to confess to him, the way he had to her.
He smiled softly, it made his deep blue eyes crinkle at the corner, and he looked younger than 20. "You should get back to your friends." He told her before placing a hand on her back and putting his mouth to her ear, their bodies touching. "You look great." He whispered, the breath on her ear sending shivers through her body. He smiled again and left her to compose herself.
She ran her hands through her hair, debating if she should throw some cold water on her face to regain her senses. "Damnit Four." She cursed to the empty room, before shaking herself and leaving back to the pit.
A/N—I know that it will take a while to generate the buzz for this story, as it's been so long since I picked it up. I would really appreciate it if everyone would take a quick minute to leave a review and let me know your thoughts, especially on the new chapters. (7-9) It would definitely motivate me to keep going at a good pace, even with the low traffic. I greatly appreciate everyone who is reading! Thank you and please review/favorite/follow if you can. Thanks!
