A/N:
I couldn't remember if visiting day consisted of everyone in the factions or just the initiates so for the purpose of my fanfiction, every faction has a visiting day and it's for the entire faction. If that's not true to canon, then okay, that's what fanfiction is for ;)
thanks for reading!
Tobias
The first thing that becomes apparent to me is that the factionless are a much larger group than I had imagined.
Twice the size of dauntless easily, which is something that people in the factions would never believe.
The second thing is that most of them are here by choice.
Living in abnegation I'd always thought of becoming factionless as a punishment but the thing that I'm learning here is that these people don't see it as a punishment.
These people choose to be here because living in their faction, for whatever reason is worse than being factionless.
This is their haven, not their punishment.
That's when I realize that I want it to be my haven too.
Evelyn formerly introduces me to Belle and Bethany who I learn are sisters who both opted out of erudite after realizing they would never be able to pass the test.
Belle is the tougher of the two even though she is the youngest.
Evelyn likes her for that reason and because she's quite loyal to those that protect her.
I meet Edward and Myra who were kicked out of dauntless initiation the same year Al, Christina and Will were initiates.
Edward is missing an eye apparently, courtesy of Eric.
If I had thought Eric could be redeemed in any way, it's completely gone now.
I meet so many people that eventually it all just becomes a blur of names and faces swirling around in my brain.
I had never thought of the factionless as individual people before.
Now that I'm one of them, it's being forced on me quickly.
Eventually, Evelyn leads me into what she calls a 'factionless safe house'.
There are several of them along the sector for 'just in case' purposes she says.
I want to know what "just in case" circumstances require a safe house.
When she leads me inside, I'm only half-surprised to see Zach already there, waiting for us.
After touring the sector it became clear to me that Zach is Evelyn's right-hand.
She leads me to a table and I sit opposite her and Zach feeling like a child about to be scolded.
I stand up to eliminate the feeling.
Honestly, I've had enough of it to last me a lifetime.
"Tobias," Evelyn says softly. "I want to talk to you a little bit about your role here."
I shake my head the tiniest amount.
"My role?"
She nods biting down on her lip.
"I don't want a role. That's not what I came here for."
"What did you come here for?" She questions, eyebrows raised.
"I…" I pause for a moment and run a hand through my hair.
What did I come here for?
Zach watches me for a moment before he speaks up.
"Everyone has a role here, Tobias. That's how it works. That's how we keep things smooth here."
I cross my arms over my chest and shake my head.
"Do I have a choice?"
Evelyn leans back in her chair.
"You're my son, Tobias. I don't want anything from you unless you're willing to give it."
"Can we just get to the point already?"
She licks her bottom lip before speaking.
"I want you to be leadership here…with me."
She says the words almost shyly, like she's not really sure they'll make any sense.
I stare at her, my mouth hanging open for a moment.
"Leadership?"
She nods.
I shake my head.
"Are you kidding? I wouldn't have the first clue what to do."
She lets out a sigh.
"You've always had trouble believing in yourself." She says quietly. "Why do you think Marcus wanted to train you to be his successor initially?"
"How did you even know about that?"
She shrugs.
"It doesn't matter how I know it. That's not the point I'm making. He wanted you for leadership, Tobias because you're built for it."
I shake my head.
"You don't know that. I don't have any experience."
"You have incredible intuition, you're smart, and people listen to you. I need someone like you. I'll guide you through most of the important stuff I just need you to consider it."
Zach nods enthusiastically next to her.
"You're trustworthy and brave, Tobias. We need you."
Evelyn holds up her hands a little.
"Only if you want to. I'm not Marcus. I'll never force anything on you."
I look between the two of them and shrug my shoulders.
"I'll think about it."
Evelyn nods.
"Fair enough."
"…I have questions." I say slowly.
Evelyn nods again.
"Okay." She says simply.
I take a deep breath.
"Some of the factionless…the ones here…they look better than the ones I grew up serving food to. Well taken care of. Why is that?"
Evelyn tilts her head a little.
"Not everyone who is factionless agrees with me or wants to be a part of the collective. They choose to live alone instead. They don't want my help and I don't force it. I take care of the people in my collective. I leave the others alone."
"Where do you get your resources?"
She shrugs a little.
"The same place the others do. Abnegation. I'm just practical about our use. Waste not, want not. We're organized."
"And they just lie for you? Keep up the façade that you're dead?"
"They're loyal to me, Tobias because I take care of them."
"Why are you so afraid of Jeanine finding out what you've done here?"
She lets out a small sigh.
"Jeanine and all the other factions for that mater have no idea what we are, what we've managed to accomplish. They think we are all separate individuals out here. They don't know that we've banded together like this. That we are a family, a large and powerful one at that. I'm not ready for them to know."
I shake my head a little.
"How do you know she doesn't know already?"
"No one checks on us Tobias. What did you think the factionless were like before you got here?"
I think back to the days of passing out food to the factionless and pitying them.
I never thought being factionless was anything like this.
"I see your point." I say quietly.
"She doesn't know and I'd like to keep it that way." She says softly.
"It's important that we keep this operation under wraps for as long as possible."
"Why?" I press.
"Because abnegation isn't the only one harboring divergents. I need her focus on abnegation right now. Not on us."
I pause for a moment.
It makes sense.
The factionless is a perfect place for a divergent.
Where else do you go when you don't fit in anywhere else?
"You're afraid of having her attack here."
Evelyn shakes her head.
"Not afraid, just not quite ready to take her on yet."
"Yet?" I question.
Evelyn and Zach exchange a look.
"Well, we'll have to eventually if we want to help abnegation—" Zach starts but I cut him off quickly.
"Help abnegation? You have a plan?"
"It's tentative but yes."
My heart expands just a little from the tight squeezing sensation it's had for months.
"What's the plan?"
Evelyn tilts her head a little.
"We're going to try and fight fire with fire." She looks at Zach for a moment.
"Jeanine thinks she has a leg up on everything because she has a hold on dauntless. Well, we're twice the size of dauntless. We're not all soldiers but…I'm confident if the abnegation need defending that we can do it."
A weight the size of an entire city lifts from my chest.
This is one problem I can mark off of the giant checklist of problems constantly circling around in my brain.
Someone can defend abnegation and stand up to Jeanine.
That is everything.
"…I thought you hated abnegation." I say quietly.
Evelyn's eyes flash a shade darker for a moment but then she lifts her shoulders in a shrug.
"I don't hate abnegation." She says quietly. "I hate what abnegation has been taught to be."
Having grown up there, her words make sense to me in a way I don't think they would to anyone else.
I nod a little.
"I'm in. If this is what we're doing…if you want me for leadership…I'm in. I want to help abnegation."
She smiles a little.
"I'm so happy to hear that, Tobias."
"There's one condition, though."
Evelyn purses her lips.
"Oh?"
"You have to let me see Tris."
"Tobias—"
"I know the risks. Okay? I know it's dangerous but I can't leave her in the dark. I can't…" I let out a breath.
"She deserves to know what's going on with me. She deserves to know that I'm okay. I left her in the dark once before and I lost her. I won't let that happen again."
Evelyn watches me for a moment and then nods.
"I know this is important to you. We'll figure something out."
"Evelyn—" Zach starts but she simply waves a hand at him to silence him.
"I can't let you go to dauntless but…I'll try and get a message to her for you. Will that be sufficient?"
I nod a little.
"For now."
"Good." She says quietly.
Zach stands up.
"Let me show you where your sleeping assignment is." He says nodding towards the door.
I stand up and with one last glance at my mother follow Zach out the door.
Tris
Visiting day
Standing in the pit watching everyone else reunite with their families I've never felt more lonely.
Across the room, Ellie and Al converse with their parents in low voices.
A little ways away from them, Will's sister is hugging him like she can't believe how much he's grown.
I stand here by myself wondering why I thought for even the tiniest moment that my parents would be here.
Dauntless is not what they wanted for me.
What reason do they have to come visit and support me?
Still, I thought maybe since visiting Caleb in Erudite isn't possible for them they'd at least think of me.
Caleb.
Today is my one and only chance to see him.
The only problem is Tobias is completely missing in action and I don't want to go to erudite without him.
"Beatrice?"
The voice is so familiar and overwhelming that it almost brings me to my knees.
I spin around so quickly that I lose my balance.
My mother is standing in front of me.
"Mom?" my voice is shaky, and uncertain even seeing her standing in front of me I'm not really sure I believe it.
I am only now realizing just how much I miss her.
How much I need her.
"Mom." I breathe again.
She smiles at me for a moment her mouth shaking a little and then she holds her arms out toward me.
It only takes a second for me to collapse into her embrace.
I breathe in her scent and try to memorize the way her hug feels.
"Oh, Beatrice." She says, pulling away for a moment, pressing her palms to my cheeks.
"You look so beautiful. So strong."
"Mom…" is all I can get manage to get out.
I still can't believe she's really here.
"Your haircut is beautiful, Beatrice."
I reach a hand up and touch the ends of my hair and shake my head.
The last thing in the world I want to talk about right now is my haircut.
"What are you doing here?" I breathe.
"It's visiting day." She says as if I never should've doubted that she would be here in the first place.
I shake my head slowly.
"Is it…is it just you?" I say quietly, peering around her for a glimpse of my dad but I find nothing.
She forces another smile.
"It's just me, sweetheart."
I nod a little and try not to let the little pang of hurt show.
I turn my head a little and my eyes land on Eric, staring across the room at us.
I take a few steps away from my mom remembering that Zeke told me initiates shouldn't look too attached on visiting day.
"Are they treating you well here?" She asks, glancing around, her eyes bright and eager.
I shrug a little bit.
"As well as the dauntless can, I guess."
I want to tell her absolutely everything that's happened to me since I've been here but I'm not even sure that the words will come out right.
She reaches out for a moment and pushes a strand of hair behind my ear before linking an arm with me and pulling me along with her as she starts to walk.
"How did the combat go?"
I look up at her for a moment.
"It went okay I guess—"
"And the fear simulations, those are going well?"
"Well…the fear simulations are sort of—" I pause for a moment and then tilt my head towards her.
"How do you know what we do for dauntless initiation?"
She shakes her head a little.
"That doesn't matter." She says softly pulling me towards the edge of the room. We're pressed into a corner now, no one on either side of us.
"I need to ask you something." She says in a low voice.
"Your test. What were the results?"
"My test?"
"Your aptitude test."
I shake my head a little.
"Why are you asking me that?"
"Sweetheart…" She says, her voice taking on a serious quality. "What were the results?"
My breath catches in my throat.
I can almost hear Tobias in my head telling me not to trust anyone but she's my mother.
"Beatrice," She says softly. "It's okay."
"…They were…they were inconclusive." I whisper.
She nods a little bit.
"That's what I thought. Beatrice, do you have any idea what's going on right now in Abnegation or in Erudite?" She glances around for a moment but no one is paying us any attention.
I nod my head a little.
"What do you mean?"
"Beatrice I need you to be up front with me. We don't have very much time."
I close my eyes for a moment and then nod slowly.
"I don't know everything…just that…things are getting bad and they center around Jeanine Matthews."
"Beatrice, listen to me. You need to go and see your brother."
"Why?"
"There are things happening in erudite and people there that can manipulate him. He needs to be aware. He needs to understand."
"Understand what? Mom, you're not making any sense."
She grabs my face for a moment, locking eyes with me.
"Go and see your brother, Beatrice. Today."
I chew on my bottom lip for a moment.
"Mom, what do you know?"
She shakes her head.
"I don't want to put you in anymore danger than you're already in."
"Mom—"
She leans forward and presses a kiss to my forehead.
"I love you so much, Beatrice."
She hugs me, holding me close to her for a moment before pulling away.
"I need to go. We've already spent enough time together to make them suspicious of you."
"What? But you just got here!"
"I know, sweetheart, I'm so sorry."
She reaches a hand out to touch my hair.
"You've grown up so much here. I'm so proud of you."
"Mom, what's going on? Tell me what you know."
She shakes her head a little bit.
"Be careful who you trust, Beatrice and be safe."
Then quicker than I can process it she's leaving the pit.
I feel like I just woke up from a dream.
This can't be real.
What just happened cannot be real.
I move through the pit and start my way back towards the initiate dorms.
I don't know where I'm going exactly just that I have to get away from all the noise and the families.
The hallways are practically empty as I make my way through them and before I reach the dorms I stop and press myself flat against the wall.
My mom is part of all this somehow.
I know it.
I just can't for the life of me figure out how.
There are so many secrets surrounding my life that it makes my head spin.
I barely hear the footsteps as they make their way down the hall towards me.
It's the voice that jerks me out of my reverie.
"What are you doing?"
Al's unmistakable voice echoes through the hall.
I freeze automatically.
It's been days since I've spoke to him directly and being alone and vulnerable with him like this sends me straight into panic mode.
I know he won't try anything, not again but it doesn't make him any less intimidating.
"Tris?"
The way he says my name makes me want to vomit.
"Stay away from me." I say in a dark guttural voice.
"You look like you need help I'm just-"
"Don't touch me!" I scream and it echoes throughout the hallway
Al holds up both his hands and steps his process towards me.
There's a large space between us but he keeps talking anyway.
"I just want to talk to you." He says quietly. "I can do it from here with my hands up if that makes you more comfortable."
"Comfortable? You tried to kill me." I whisper.
"That was mostly Peter. I…" He closes his eyes again.
"Tris, there's a lot going on in dauntless right now that you know nothing about."
"I bet none of it justifies what you did."
"Maybe not. I don't think I'll ever be able to make up for that."
"I don't want to talk to you." I say in a low voice.
"I know that but there are some things you should know and I have something for you."
I stare at him, taking him in for a moment.
He doesn't look well.
There are dark circles shadowing his eyes and his hair is tousled like he'd hardly bothered with it this morning.
"Speak quickly." I say quietly.
"The day you broke up with me Eric called me into Max's office. At first, I thought it was something about Ellie. I mean, what would Eric want with me? But he didn't even mention her."
"So what did he want to talk about?"
"You." He says quietly.
"Me?"
Al nods slowly.
"Yeah. He started asking me all sorts of things about you. Who you hang out with, what you do in your spare time…He asked about our break-up and I…I sort of told him everything."
"What does that mean? Everything?"
"Just that you were in love with someone else…that you had a hard time letting go of abnegation because of it."
"What does this have to do with anything?"
He lets out a small sigh.
"I'm getting there…After I told him about the break up he kept saying how you didn't belong here and that I should be so angry at you for being such a tease."
I let out a loud scoff but Al presses on.
"He just kept talking, Tris. For hours and I was so mad at you that eventually…I don't know the things he was saying…made sense. I mean, at first I told him I had nothing against you because I didn't. I mean I was angry and hurt but…" He pauses for a moment.
"I didn't want you out of dauntless. I didn't want anything bad to happen to you."
His words are like a completely different language to me.
None of it makes sense.
"You do realize my death is something bad happening to me. You tried to do that."
"I know! I'm trying to tell you that I didn't mean it!"
"How the hell could you not have meant it?! You let Peter drop me over the chasm!"
"Tris, just listen, please. Give me two more minutes to explain."
I take a deep breath and then cross my arms over my chest waiting.
"Eventually, Eric brought Peter in. The two of them…I don't know. They just kept talking about you and I just kept getting angrier. Eric said he had something that would make me feel better about our break-up. So…I let him inject me with serum. I thought it was peace serum or something you know, what they use in amity but…instead I just got…vengeful. All of the sudden, I didn't care what happened to you. I didn't care about anything. I wanted you dead. Which made me a great partner for Peter."
"You were under the influence of a serum?"
He nods a little.
"Yes."
I swallow a little.
"And when your hands were up my T-shirt was that part of the serum too?" I say through my teeth.
He closes his eyes for a moment.
"It's not a secret that I'm attracted to you. The anger mixed with that must've…" He trails off but doesn't finish his sentence.
"Why does Eric want me dead?"
Al shakes his head a little.
"I don't know."
I blow out a breath.
"You said you had something for me?"
Al looks up at me for a moment and then nods.
"Oh. Oh yeah." He reaches into his back pocket and hands me a folded up newspaper.
"I took a walk last night outside of the compound and someone handed me this and said I should give it to you."
"Who was it?"
He shrugs a little.
"No idea."
I stare down at it for a moment not really sure of what to say to him.
"Tris…I'm really sorry." His voice is shaking as he said the words and when I look down I notice that his hands are too.
"I feel terrible about what happened and I…I know I handled things wrong and I just…." He pauses.
"Can you forgive me?"
I watch him for a moment my eyes fully taking in his sad appearance.
No sympathy comes though I know it should.
"You know what I think?" I say quietly.
He opens his eyes and waits.
"I think that all that serum did was bring to light the person that you really are. The things you really wanted to do. You should've never touched me. I think you're a coward."
"Tris—"
"I hate you. Do you hear me? I hate you! No. I do not forgive you. Not in a million years. Get the hell away from me."
He stares at me for a moment and I watch as tears fill his bottom eyelids and then he nods slowly before disappearing down hall.
I lean against the wall and let my breaths come out in quick gasps for a moment before I pull myself together again.
It is only then that I realize I'm still holding the newspaper Al handed to me.
I slowly look down and unfold it quickly.
As soon as I open it a photograph flutters to the ground in front of me.
I kneel down quickly and pick it up.
Pictured there is an area outside of abnegation that I know very well.
The factionless sector.
When I turn it over there is only one sentence written there.
He's with us.
"Oh my god…" The words flow out of my mouth quickly as my eyes read the words over and over again.
My heart feels like it's going to beat it's way out of my chest.
Tobias.
That's where he's been all this time.
The factionless.
He's with the factionless.
Every cell in my body aches to be near him at the new information.
Zeke said it would be dangerous for me to go to him in abnegation.
He didn't say anything about the factionless.
The thought has barely left my head before I am running the length of the hallway and out of the dauntless compound.
Tobias
The knock on the door jolts me awake.
I roll out of the mattress pressed against the wall and throw on a t-shirt before making my way towards the door to open it.
I've been assigned to share a room with Bethany though she's hardly ever here.
She's a recruiter.
Mostly, she's out in the factionless sector trying to sway the ones who refuse my mother's help over to our side.
There's another loud knock and I let out a groan.
"I'm coming!"
I reach for the doorknob and pull it open quickly.
My breath catches in my throat as I find myself at Tris.
It's only been a week and a half but it feels like forever.
"I got your note." She says quietly.
I knew that Evelyn had sent her something but I didn't know how soon she'd respond and I certainly didn't expect her to just show up like this.
"H-how did you know where to find me?"
"I didn't." She smiles a little. "Turns out walking around in dauntless clothing with a shoulder tattoo in the factionless sector people start to wonder what the hell you're doing there. Zach found me and he showed me where to find you."
I stare at her for a long moment, taking her in.
The way her hair falls into her eyes because it's too long in the front.
The way her body curves in just slightly to the right because she leans when she's nervous.
"Come here…" I whisper, holding my hand out towards her.
She takes it quickly and I pull her in, my lips finding hers in seconds.
I will always believe that our lips were made for each other.
They fit together like puzzle pieces and her lips against mine feel like waking up from a bad dream.
Safe.
Warm.
She pulls away before I'm ready to let her go.
I press my forehead against hers my breath coming out in huffs.
"I'm sorry…" I whisper. "I just missed you…"
She pulls her head away from mine for a moment and closes her eyes.
"What's wrong?" I ask, my eyes roving her face.
She shakes her head quickly.
"Nothing. I missed you too."
I smile a little and take her hands in mine.
She shakes her head a little.
"Now do you want to tell me what the hell you're doing here?"
I let out a small little laugh.
"Yeah. I do…I want to tell you everything."
I touch her cheek for a moment but she pulls away quickly.
"Well, aren't you going to invite me in?"
I nod a little.
I step aside giving her some space to move through the doorway and then gently close the door behind her.
She takes a slow walk around the room and then turns towards me.
"You live here?"
I nod a little bit.
"I know it's not much…it's…we sort of live by the bare minimum here."
Her eyes land on the Mattress opposite mine and then on the box of cigarettes lying on the desk, the one piece of furniture pressing against the south face wall.
"Do you share it with someone?"
"Uh…Yes, actually."
She nods a little bit and then crosses her arms over her chest, her eyes giving me a once-over.
"What?" I ask.
She shakes her head.
"Nothing. It's just weird seeing you in color, that's all."
I look down at myself and realize that I'm wearing an Erudite blue T-shirt and dark red pants.
"Yeah, it's sort of protocol here."
"What happened, Tobias?"
I lift my shoulders in a shrug.
"I couldn't walk back into abnegation, Tris. I just couldn't do it, not after that night. Not knowing everything that I know."
She runs a hand through her hair.
"So then you came here?"
"I didn't have anywhere else to go."
She blows out a breath but nods a little.
"Let me guess, when you got here your mother was ready and waiting with open arms."
I look down at the floor for a moment and then shrug.
"She isn't as awful as you think, Tris."
"Really?" she tilts her head a little. "Then why do I get the feeling she's the reason you didn't come and see me in dauntless?"
"Tris. It was dangerous to come and see you."
She nods a little bit.
"Right."
"Don't. Don't do that."
"Do what?" She asks, her voice coming out in a short, staccato kind of way.
"Don't judge me for my choices. You don't understand."
She chews on her bottom lip for a moment.
"Is this permanent?"
"What? Being factionless? Tris, it's not like I can walk back into abnegation."
She watches me for a moment and then she leans against the wall and sinks down, wrapping her arms around her knees.
She looks so small and fragile like that it makes me want to wrap her in my arms and never let go.
"Our lives just keep getting more and more complicated, don't they?" Her words come out in a shaky breath.
My stomach squeezes as a thought that has been drifting around my brain circles back around to the forefront.
"…I think I know a way to un-complicate it just a little."
She looks up at me for a moment, her expression curious.
"Do you remember when I told you that I would find a way for us to be together?"
She nods.
"Well, I think I found it."
She tilts her head a little bit.
"…I'm not following."
"I'm factionless now." I say slowly.
"Yeah, I know." She responds her expression still confused.
"We could be together…if you were factionless…with me."
Her eyes grow wide for a second and then she opens her mouth only to close it a few moments later.
I hold a hand up.
"Before you answer just listen to me for a second. Things are incredible here, Tris. It's…" I shake my head a little bit.
"They're so organized but there is so much freedom here, Tris. We can do a lot of good here. We're going to try and help abnegation. Jeanine won't win if we can help it."
"Why do you keep saying we like you own the place?"
I let out a soft sigh, one hand reaching up to touch my temple.
"…Oh my god." She lets out a disbelieving laugh.
"She asked you to run things with her didn't she?"
"Tris, I want to do good here. I think that I can with Evelyn's help…and yours. If you'll give it to me."
"Tobias. I…I can't be factionless."
Her words hit me like stinging bricks.
"Tris, I found a way out for us just like I said I would. We can be together here, we can—"
"Tobias. I cant."
My entire body feels like gasoline, one lit match and I'm up in flames.
"Being factionless isn't what you think it is." I say quietly.
"I'm sure it isn't. That's not the reason I'm saying no."
I shrug my shoulders a little bit.
"You're saying no?"
She looks at me for a moment her lips parted just a little bit.
"…I'm not saying yes."
My heart falls into my stomach.
"I thought this was what you wanted."
She shakes her head a little bit.
"How can you ask me to be factionless knowing everything that I've gone through just to be dauntless?"
"That's the point. It shouldn't be this hard to fit in somewhere, Tris."
"I've worked too hard to throw it all away, Tobias. I can't."
"Not even if it means being with me?"
She closes her eyes for a moment.
"Don't put that on me. That's not fair."
I cross the room towards her in two strides and take her hands in mine quickly.
"I found a way for us, Tris! I found it!"
She shakes her head and I press my lips against hers mid-shake.
I pull away after a moment, and drop her hands in favor of holding her face.
"Try this with me. Please."
Her face crumples in a matter of seconds and the tears are coming too fast for me to catch.
"Tobias, I'm sorry."
I drop my hands from her face and take a couple of steps back.
"Tris…what are we doing?" I ask quietly.
"What do you mean?" She sniffles.
"Do you want to be with me?"
She opens her mouth a little.
"Of course I do! How can you even ask me that?"
"I'm giving you an out! A surefire way to be together and you're turning it down! What am I supposed to think?"
"You don't know what you're asking me! I can't just give everything up, everything I've worked for!"
She slips off the jacket she's wearing and holds her arms out to me. They're still covered in bruises from combat though they're yellowing now.
"I've been through hell and back Tobias. I'm going to be dauntless if it kills me."
I stare at her for a moment and then I hit the wall hard with my fist.
We're both quiet then.
The only sound in the room is our breathing.
After a long few minutes she speaks again.
"I saw my mother today." She whispers quietly.
I look up at her for a moment.
"It's visiting day." She continues. "…She told me that I need to go see Caleb. Warn him about the manipulation in Erudite."
I nod and then reach for a black jacket sitting on one of the mattresses and slip my arms through it.
"…What are you doing?"
"Going with you to Erudite." I shrug. "Isn't that what you came here for? To get back-up?"
She looks at me, her eyebrows furrowing.
"What? No…I…I came here to see you."
"Why would you do that?" I say in a flat voice. "Dauntless don't have anything to do with the factionless."
I see the hurt flash across her face and feel a pang of guilt.
I close my eyes for a moment.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean that."
She shrugs a little bit, her eyes focused on the ground.
I take a deep breath.
"Do you want me to go with you to Erudite?"
She looks up at me for a moment.
"Yes."
"Okay then," I say quietly.
"Let's go."