Thank you so much for following me and your kind reviews!

As one of you kindly pointed out to me I mixed up some Elijah/Alijah in my last chapter. I meant for it to be Alijah, which is an Arabic name meaning sublime. The more common Elijah is quite similar and although I like it very much, I decided to go with Alijah because I wanted some more multiculturalism in the characters and names. My autocorrect is a bigger fan of common names however, so my sincere apology for the confusion.

Also, as some of you might have noticed, I'm not from an English speaking country (The Netherlands actually) so any further typos I completely, utterly and unfairly blame on that and my dyslexia!

Didn't you know that the "I own nothing" also goes for errors? haha.

Anyway; on with the story! Love,

Keena had had enough.

She found herself in a room of the Erudite headquarters waiting untill Jeanine would arrive so she could take her Aptitude test. Which was fine, if it wouldn't be for Eric's constant stares that were driving her to madness.

The room was quite simular to the one of the Aptitude Test in the Hub, except for the addition of two people; Eric and Four and f the quarrel she'd just witnessed earlier that afternoon was anything to go by, Four had invited himself along.

Not that she minded, he worked as a great distraction to Eric watching her every move.

Ever since she won her first fight a week ago, Eric had been close to stalking her and NO, obviously not in a subtle way. It was clear to her that he had been looking for something very specific, although Keena could not wrap her head around what exactly. She was quite certain, however, it wasn't just flaws or errors in her training he was searching for.

Maybe he was looking for signs of Divergence. Just like Jeanine was hoping to see confirmed today.. that bitch.

It mattered not. Today she would erase all doubts from Jeanine Matthews, Max, Eric and Four.

"So, how come you aren't?" Four asked. It must have been the third time in ten minutes he referred to her non-existend nerves.

Keena was about to answer when Eric scoffed.

"Please, the girl guards herself like a secret." Keena raised her eyebrow at this. "So, stop asking all those boring questions she will not answer honestly anyway."

Well, fuck him. That remark actually stung.

"I never lie if that's what you're implying!" Keena defended herself.

"But we both know you're not an honest person either." Eric said lazily, pretending to be interested in his nails.

She wanted to rip those nails out one by one, before giving them back to him by sticking them in his eyes. Who was he to determine what she was or wasn't like.

Who gave him the right to think that he knew her.

He didn't.

Or did he?

He had been paying so much attention to everything she did as of late. It made her nervous, anxious and even scared.

Eric was intelligent as much as he was strong. In fact, his more humoristic taunts were extremely clever and she had caught him more than once staring at her with a knowing look in his eyes when she was beating around the bush about a truth.

It was very much possible he saw right through her antics and that thought scared her more than anything.

From early on, everything had been taken from. Her choices, her body and her voice; all but her mind had been ripped away. Others had dictated her life, made decisions in such a way she had none left, her body had been abused, her mouth had been silenced. But her mind, they would never be able to reach her mind and if it could not be touched, it could not be stolen from her.

For years she had found comfort in the fact that her mind was a safe haven. A place no one could enter and thus, as a result no one could destroy. And yet, Eric was looking at her like he was familiar with her mind. As if he could crush it under his thumb at any given moment he so much as felt like it.

How dare he.

"Well, aren't you presumptious." She spat angrily. "At least Four did this thing called 'asking' instead of watching my every move for god knows what reason!"

"Oh-no! Am I making you feel uncomfortable?" Eric taunted in fake-concern.

Yes. But she was not the type of person to admit that. Also, it was the first time one of his taunts was actually spot on. She felt nerves bundle in her stomach and Keena couldn't help it. She laughed. Like the real and uncontrolable kind of laughter. It was pure because of the nerves she didn't know how to process - as she had never felt so out of depth before - but it was laughing nonetheless.

Eric narrowed his eyes at her, not liking the turn this conversation had taken in the slightest. He stepped closer to her, his tall and broad figure caging her in against a wall.

Keena's mouth dried up. Not out of fear but out of anticipation. She wouldn't have found it weird if his towering over her would have made her nervous, but the funny thing was that it didn't.

She actually felt calm, collected and dare she say... even relaxed as her nostrils filled with his scent of sandalwood, lemongrass and leather. He smelled exactly befitting; as a strong masculine man.

The air between them suddenly changed. She was not sure if Eric felt it too, but if the way his eyes shot to her lips was anything to go by, she guessed he did.

She felt his hand brush against her own and damn, if she had thought boys of her past made her feel sparks, this shit was like the Big Bang. Her skin was literally burning while the air was being sucked out of her lungs.

"Enough!" Four bellowed, his voice bringing them back to reality and they quicky jumped apart. "Both of you are acting like children. Let's get this one day done without taunts." Way to ruin a moment, Four.

"Don't tell me what to do." Eric whispered agressively. Eventhough Four tried to look unfazed, it was an effective warning.

Taking Keena's hand, Four walked them over to the other side of the room - not that it helped much as it was a super small room. Keena didn't quite like the fact that Four had just grabbed her hand. She wasn't big on physical contact like that.

Fighting? Yes.

Seks? Whatever.

A rough friendly clap on the shoulder? Sure.

But she wasn't big on the small physical contact with no purpose other than showing intimacy, regardless whether it was meant in a romantic or friendly way. She just didn't like it.

Except with her siblings of course. They could hug her or hold her hand as much as they wanted.

Extracting her hand at lightning speed, she could just feel Eric's fuming face turn into one displaying satisfaction. Without looking back at him she decided to taunt him but before she could do so, Four turned around, facing her.

He lowered his head. It was too close.

"Jeanine thinks you're divergent." he whispered in a hushed voice. "You have to be carefull, do you understand?"

"Okay."

"You're not divergent are you?" He said a bit harder, frustrated at her seeming indifference.

"Well, as I'm about to make the Aptitude Test, how would I know?" Keena told him indignantly.

Four nodded his head in relief as Keena tried not to be bored with the situation at present. For a silent broading guy, Four was not the most perceptive unless it was right in front of him. He was clever but not intelligent. Turning around, however, showed her someone who was.

Eric's eyes were razor sharp and focussed. No doubt he had heard the conversation.

It didn't matter. She would show them how Dauntless she was in the test. She wasn't stupid, after all, she would simply do the test the way a true Dauntless would do it; Don't be defiant, just grab the knife. Don't out-smart the attack, just kill the dog.

It would be fine.

"Katharina, pleasure to see you again." Jeanine's cold and detached voice lied as she walked into the room.

"It's Keena now." Keena told her, not wanting to return the fake sentiment.

"I didn't realise you would be monotoring the test yourself, Jeanine." Eric said after giving a kiss on Jeanine's cheek. "I would have thought you'd have something better to do with your time."

Keena was surprised. Everyone in the room she currently found herself in knew Jeanine was obsessed with the idea of her being Divergent. She wouldn't miss it for the world. So why was Eric attacking Jeanine like that? What use could he have?

"And miss a chance to meet up with my only nephew? I wouldn't dare." Jeanine's face actually contained the ghost of a smile. An honest smile.

What?!

Keena's eyes shot to Eric's and back to Jeanine's. Both had the same ice blue color.

This made so little sense and so much sense all at once.

For one, the fact that Eric grew up in Erudite made a lot of sense. She had always known he was intelligent as well as clever, and with his knowledge, him growing up at Erudite was not such a shocking thing to believe. Also, his detached personality boardering on cruelty at times... well, yes, it fitted the profile of an Erudite perfectly.

Being related to Jeanine Matthews however. No logic was found in that. Jeanine was the most dispassionate woman Keena had ever had the displeasure of meeting with. Eric... Well, they fought a lot but Keena had never found that a bother. In all honesty, she rather liked the challenge and with Eric it really was. Sometimes he won, sometimes she did. Mentally that is, Eric would always win any fight by making it a physical one as soon as it became clear he wasn't going to win the psychological part.

Asshole.

The point was, however, that although with an agressive nature, Eric was as passionate as Jeanine was not.

While Four and Jeanine also shook hands, Jeanine's eyes already focussed back on Keena.

"Also, I'm here to stop my curiosity." She started. "I've been informed that you never tell lies." Keena looked about the room and spotted a recording camera in a corner. Of course that witch had been watching.

"I'm not a Candor." Keena settled on. Not liking the turn this conversation was about to take.

"I'm sure you're not." Jeanine's eyes were calculating, relishing in her temporary obsession.

"Shall we start then?" Eric's voice consisted of nothing else than unimpressed boredom. "I have more on my hands today than just this trip."

As Four connected all the wires to Keena's head, Jeanine decided to scew up her field of view by standing right in front of her. She was far from ugly but pleasant looking was a whole other description. Maybe if she wouldn't look like you would freeze from her cold emotions Jeanine could have been called gorgeous. But alas, life had it's cruel ways.

"Have you ever heard of the term 'divergence'?" Jeanine asked.

"I did. At a campfire back in Amity. It was some supposingly scary story." Keena yawned unfazed.

"Drink up." Four ordered. Handing her the liquid.

Doing as she was told, she drank the bottle empty. Glad to get away from Jeanine for a little while.

/

Keena had come out of the test as a true Dauntless.

Sucked.

Eric had hoped he could continue taunting her as a fake-Dauntless, but at least he would never have to stop using his nicknames for her Amity-upbringing. He liked her riled up by them way too much.

Jeanine did not look happy with the results either.

"I was convinced she was Divergent! My instincts have never been this wrong."

To her credit, Eric could imagine why she'd think Keena was divergent. He'd had moments, these past two weeks, in which he'd thought the same. He also noted her carefully placed words when Four had asked her directly if she was one. She did neither confirm nor deny the question but simply asked him a question back, leaving the interpretation of some empty statement up to Four, who'd taken the bait easily.

As Jeanine left the room, Keena woke up.

"And? Am I a real Dauntless?" She asked, her eyes locked on his. For a moment, Eric could swear he could see something akin to mock in them before they turned to concern.

"Where is Jeanine?" She asked, looking around.

Her voice sounded indifferent as usual, but after a week of studying her very closely Eric had finally found out her tells.

First of all, just like all other people who lied, her pupils would dialate as a sign that her brain was working hard. Yet, with her, the dialation of her pupils made her eyes seemingly darker, turning her usually bottle green eyes into a shade of emerald.

And secondly, by false indifference her every movement would be just the bit slower than her real indifference. It was probably meant as a way to ensure people would notice her indifference by ways of fanning the flame.

Both tells were bearly detectable but yet they were there. And right know, Eric knew she was not impartial of the fact that Jeanine wasn't here.

"She's gone. Probably doesn't find you interesting anymore now you turn out to be a real Dauntless." Four said with a small smile.

Keena smiled back. Another deception, she was not happy or relieved in the slightest.

She looked at the door and then back at himself and Four.

"Can we go then?" She asked and as Four answered in the confirmative Eric noticed her demeanor slip again; her eyes were focussed and anxious.

"It can't be this easy." He heard her mutter to herself, brushing past him following Four to the door.

It was only seconds later the voice of Jeanine Matthews ordered them to stay put. With a bottle of white liquid in her hand, she came hurried down the hallway towards them.

Truth serum.

If Keena really was divergent, this would be a time to panic.

Turning to the girl in question, he was taken aback by her demeanor. Eric swore he saw her sigh in relief. There was something not quite right about her eagerness for Jeanine's return. It was an eerie kind of voyeurism in her need for bad news.

It was part of her mystery, he supposed, how she remained so calm facing storms and became so anxious in the quiet. It was as if she was always on the lookout for another setback, as if she didn't believe life could be easy at times and didn't know what to do with herself when it was or seemed to be. Instantly, a knot formed at the bottom of his stomach.

Her world only made sense to her when there was something going wrong. Maybe that was the reason she was so defiant to him, she craved the trouble it got her in. She was the type of girl that would stick her hand in fire, not because she was stupid enough to think it was something else, but because she liked to get burned.

"I want to do a truth serum." Jeanine said.

Eric noticed the pure terror in Keena's eyes.

"Absolutely not!" She stated firmly.

"You don't have a choice." Jeanine's eyes were like a predator measuring up a pray. Eric didn't particulairly like that and unconciously took a step forward.

Jeanine flashed him an annoyed look, before turning her attention back to Keena, who scoffed.

"Yes, I do. I came here merely as a kindness to you, for the sake of statistics but I never agreed to being treated like a Candor-initiate or suspect in a court case."

Admittedly, Eric was impressed. Not many dared to stand up against Jeanine, even less would find their point of view have more logic than that of Jeanine. Keena would actually win if it would come down to a argumantative war.

"You wouldn't be so scared if you weren't divergent." Jeanine stated matter-of-factly.

"And what about the sake of privacy?" Keena hissed. "How am I to know what you're going to let me reveal."

"Please, I'm only interested about your Divergence. Not in your pathetic little personal life." Jeanine frustratedly spat.

Keena let out a bitter laugh.

"Pray, do tell, what is worth the word of an Erudite?" She stared up at Jeanine in an icy glare. It was a terrifying one, even if you weren't the receiver of it. Eric was glad to note Jeanine took a small step back because of it. "Precisely. Absolutely fucking nothing. As you so efficiently showed me before."

A flash of understanding showed in Jeanine's piercing blue eyes, and it didn't go unnoticed by Eric. For some reason he was sure it had something to do with that classified file on Keena he'd found a week ago.

"Fine, than answer me this; Are you divergent?"

"I can not possibly answer a question if I do not understand its meaning. What do you mean by divergent?"

Eric didn't miss the fact that Keena stated some random fact first. She could have easily said 'I don't understand what you mean' or 'I don't know what Divergent is'. but she didn't, meaning that she probably did know and understand.

It always went the same way with her when she refused to answer a question;

She'd try to divert attention from the asked question and if that didn't help she would simply stat a fact. It was done cleverly, always about something that could be interpretated as related to the question's subject, but in fact always missed the reference to it, also making it a general statement alltogether that could be said about a number of subjects.

Smart enough to cover this up, she would then follow the divertion up with a question of her own, related to the question and only seemingly related to the stated fact before.

Eric was fairly pleased with himself for figuring her out.

Jeanine however took the bait.

"A divergent has not one but two aptitudes."

"In that case I'm not a divergent. You just saw me get only one." Keena stated bored, but neither Eric nor Jeanine missed the gleam in her eyes.

Jeanine took in the girls appearance and narrowed her eyes. "I mean multiple aptitudes."

"You just saw me getting only Dauntless. I don't understand why you keep persisting so."

"I think you are a smart enough girl. So much, that you could have easily manipulated the Test because you knew what to do to become a Dauntless. I think you already made the test, your results showed your divergence and your dear Candor father was left to cover it up with lies."

Eric's eyes shot up. It was a bit far-fetched but still possible.

Everything with Keena so far had been far from easy. So a far-fetched theory like this could be closer than the truth than he'd suspect with anyone else.

For two weeks, Eric had been wishing her out of his life. Gone from his sight, mind and dreams. Now, he finally had the chance to make that happen. All he had to do was make her swallow the liquid, ask her the question and cross his fingers for her being divergent so Jeanine could erase her out of his life forever.

Finally, he'd gotten something that he wanted.

Only it wasn't what he wanted, was it?

Sure, he had wished for it. But wishing for something and wanting something turned out to be completely different things.

He wished for her to be gone. But his wish was a mere desire for her to never having entered his life. Now she had, however, he wanted her to stay. Or more specifically, needed her to stay because his wish could not become true anymore; he could never truly erase her from his mind even if she did disappear from his life right this second.

He sure as hell didn't want her to end up dead as her being a Divergent would have her do.

"He's not dear to me."

"Answer me this! Do you have multiple aptitudes? Yes. Or. No." Jeanine's voice was a terrifying mixture of demand and coldness.

He was about to step in when he heard Keena answer.

"No."

Eric wouldn't have guessed how surprised he was with that answer. It only showed him how much he had thought that she was.

After all, she was extremely intelligent so being a Dauntless and Erudite wouldn't have surprised him. But she also never lied, so she even could be Candor. There was even a possibility to claim her to be Amity or Abnegation too.

She was a complex person.

So her answer of confirming her to have only one aptitude effected him in such a way he was surprised at the extent of his doubts. He didn't know he had given it so much thought.

His eyes shot to Keena's but the fire in her eyes was gone and instead looked very much hollow.

"She's lying!" Jeanine suddenly leaped forward, grabbing Keena's arm and yanking Keena towards her. Her goal was probably to force the substance down Keena's throat but Keena defended herself without a second thought, flooring the other woman and making the bottle of liquid shatter on the ground.

"Jeanine." Eric drew out as bored as he could muster. "She just showed us she is a full Dauntless by means of the test as well as this spectaculair show of you being floored, we will be leaving now."

Keena flashed him a greatful smile as he brushed passed her towards the door.

It was a first for him to get one of her real grateful smiles and for reason it crumbled all of his last bit of resolve in admitting - to at least himself - that he, indeed, wanted her.