I awaken the next morning at around the same time that we were roused for training during Stage One. I suppose I've become accustomed to it. I realize that I slept in my new dress last night. Glancing around the room, I see that I am the only one awake; the rest of my dorm mates are still asleep. I hurriedly change into a warm-up suit, then fold my dress carefully and place it in the footlocker under my bed. Having skipped dinner last night after eating only a light lunch, I am now absolutely famished. I start for the door alone, but then I remember my promise. I tiptoe over to Spencer's bunk and gently shake his shoulder. His eyes open slowly, bleary with sleep.

"Morning, Spence," I whisper. He smiles. His disheveled blond hair sticks up in every direction. "I'm going for breakfast. Want to come?"

He nods, and peels back the covers. He sleeps in just his warm-up shorts. I turn away modestly, but I can't help but notice the developing definition in his torso and arms. My ears warm up. I walk back to my bed and fuss with my pillow and pretend to be smoothing wrinkles in the blankets while Spencer gets dressed in the corner.

"Ready?" he asks quietly.

"Sure," I say casually, depositing the pillow on my bed.

We walk to the Pit, neither of us speaking. The silence is different than the silences that Dante and I share, which have become comfortable; a way of just enjoying the simple state of being in each other's company. Spencer is different. His silence has an aura that reminds me of the way I felt when I first started spending time with Dante, like there was always something that someone wanted to say but either we didn't know how, we didn't think it was the right place, had assumptions of expectations, or some other awkwardness that kept us from speaking.

Spencer and I take our seats across from each other, sitting on either side of a heaping platter of pancakes and sausage. His face brightens at the sight of the breakfast fare.

"Ooh, pancakes! I love pancakes!" he exclaims, and proceeds to devour half a dozen of them, along with a large quantity of the sausage links. Presently he looks across me at the table. He is trying to be brave and carry on, I can see, but I can also see the emptiness deep in his blue eyes.

"How did Visiting Day go for you?" he asks. "I saw some people here from Amity, but I couldn't tell if they were related to you."

"It was probably Joseph's family who you saw," I answer. "Only my brother's wife came to see me. There is a big irrigation project in my family's sector, so they needed as many people to work as they could get. Annette is expecting a baby, so she doesn't have to do the hard labor projects now and that's why she was able to visit me."

"Wow, how exciting," Spencer says, smiling kindly. "How old is your brother? Is this their first baby?"

"He's three years older than I am. I think he and Annette have been in love forever. And yes, this is their first baby. It's weird to think that I'll be an aunt, but that I'll probably never see my niece or nephew," I reply. That's the one downside of Faction Before Blood, as we all say when we have transferred factions and left our families behind.

"You could, you know," Spencer drops his voice, taking on a conspiring tone.

"Oh really?" I humor him. "How?"

"Well, you know that the Dauntless guard the fence, right?" Of course I do; I nod. "Well, there's another line of perimeter guards ho are also Dauntless. There haven't been many of them up until now, but in the last few months, Dauntless leadership have been increasing their numbers. They're called the Perimeter Guard, and they guard what's called the Point of No Return. It's a boundary that's a couple of miles past the outer Amity farms. It's basically a wasteland, but they are the first line of defense if anything threatens the city. They are there to alert the Amity and the fence guard if something happens. Think about it: you could see your family, and you would be acting as your little niece or nephew's defender. All you have to do is make it through Stage Two with a high enough ranking."

I have stopped eating. I am staring at Spencer with wide eyes and my mouth hanging open. I close it quickly when I realize that I have a half-chewed mouthful of pancake in it. I chew rapidly and swallow.

"Spence, that's brilliant! I never knew about the Perimeter Guard. And I never really thought about what job I wanted in Dauntless after initiation. Wow, that really gives me something to look forward to. Thank you," I say. He smiles, but his eyes are still empty.

"Can I ask how Visiting Day went for you?" It's like testing the water with my toe before stepping in. Spencer is quiet for a moment, staring at the space over my head.

"It was easier than I thought," he says slowly. "Our… my mother came to see me. She hadn't been told about Leah. I had to do it. It was really hard not to get emotional about it, but I couldn't; not with Eric standing right behind me the whole time. Luckily, Mom is a tough person and she pointed out a few strengths that Leah lacked. Strengths that I do have."

"Eric," I reply, my voice filled with contempt. "I really do not like that guy. He just… rubs me the wrong way."

"Oh, he's not so bad. He's incredibly strong and brave. Having him there helped me understand how I should deal with loss as the Dauntless do. You know who I really don't like here is Four. I think he's a coward. He finished first in his initiation class last year, apparently way ahead of the others. They offered him a leadership position, but he declined. It just seems to me that he's shirking his responsibilities to the faction." Spencer certainly isn't shy about voicing his opinion on the matter. I never thought of Four as being a coward for turning down the leadership position; just humble. I think he's good at what he does, but I'm not so sure he would make a good representative to an entire faction on a political level. But Spencer is entitled to his opinion, so I don't argue.

After breakfast, we wander aimlessly around the compound, eventually finding ourselves at the entrance to a tunnel where the train tracks lead underground. We perch on an old, dilapidated bench on the platform of what must have once been a train station. The trains don't stop here anymore, and we watch several go by in both directions; Dauntless members jumping on and off near the platform as they go about their lives in the city aboveground and here in the Pit. Through our conversation it becomes apparent that Spencer has been very curious about the other transfers and what life was like as a minor in other factions, before we all came to join Dauntless. I tell him a little about farming life, avoiding details that I think might bore anyone who didn't grow up in Amity. I do tell him about the time we had to plow the fields with the horses because the tractor needed to be repaired. I also tell him about the baby chicks that climbed all over my arms and legs when I was little. He asks me a lot about my life before the day I took my aptitude test, but only offers a little information about his own. I get the feeling that he's trying to distract himself from the pain of the loss of Leah, who was a part of his life every single day up until two days ago, and if I can help make it any easier by talking about other things then I am happy to talk to him for hours.

It crosses my mind on several occasions how very different Dante and Spencer are. Spencer is of a very average height with short blond hair; Dante is remarkably tall and has long, dark brown hair. Spencer seems to be an endless fountain of verbal exchanges, whereas Dante and I spend most of our time together in silence. But the most markedly different thing about them is their eyes. Dante's are a rich brown that seem like they are aflame with life. Spencer's are a medium blue that I'm sure would look very nice if only they were not completely devoid of emotion.

Talking for hours is exactly what Spencer and I end up doing. In the middle of our conversation, I feel a sudden pinching sensation in my midsection and realize that it must be close to lunchtime.

"Hey, are you hungry? Should we go get some lunch?" Spencer asks, as though he's read my thoughts.

"Starving," I reply with a smile.

We return to the Pit and the lunch crowd is in full force. We manage to find a handful of empty seats at a table with a few of the other initiates and take our seats beside them. Among them is Erica, who has apparently been looking for me today. I introduce her to Spencer.

"We've been walking around the complex all morning," Spencer explains to Erica. "Rain has been regaling me with details on the incredibly interesting life of a minor on an Amity farm."

I smack him on the shoulder playfully. "Don't tease, Spence! You're the one who asked," I scold. He grabs his shoulder where I hit him in mock agony.

"I wasn't teasing! I really do think it's interesting. Very different from Erudite, that's for sure," Spencer defends. A few of the other Dauntless-born initiates join us, leaving only the seat to my left open. They join our conversation, which turns to our thoughts on Stage One of initiation, and what we are predicting for Stage Two. I finish eating and I am focusing on Joseph, who sits across the table and down several seats from me, when someone slides into the empty seat beside me. I somehow know before I even turn my head that it's Dante. I glance at him, but he pointedly looks at his plate, setting about with deliberate focus on preparing his meal. All the others' eyes are on Joseph as he tells us about what he speculates will be our challenges in Stage Two, so I risk a few words.

"Thank you for last night," I murmur. For a moment, Dante doesn't say anything.

"I should be thanking you," he says quietly.

"Doing anything tonight?"

"Only if you'll come with me."

"You don't even have to ask. Where and when?"

"Chasm, after dinner."

I nod. Dante goes back to his meal and I return my focus to Joseph and the others. I see Erica look away from me quickly. Of course she noticed Dante and I; for a moment I'm nervous about what she will do. She glances at me a moment later, offering a wink and a small smile, and I know she won't give us away. I smile back at her. I grip the edge of my seat with both hands and lean forward to give me a better view of Joseph. Under the table, I feel Dante's fingers brush the back of my left hand. I deftly turn my hand palm-up, and he slides his fingers between mine. I stay focused on the conversation, and he carries on eating. Every once in a while, Dante slides his thumb across the back of my hand, sending rippling sensations across my skin that make it very hard to pretend that nothing is going on between us.