Disclaimer: I don't own Divergent.
Megan, Year 2143
It's Visiting Day today. Mom and Dad are making me go to Dauntless headquarters with them, so we can all visit my brother. Honestly, I'd rather just stay home.
I'm still shocked that he left us. I didn't think he'd have the guts to piss off Mom like that. But the most shocking thing of all is, I hear he's doing amazing in Dauntless. There's this rumor going around that he's ranked first in his class.
I actually didn't believe it at first. Something pretty much everyone knows about my brother - he never, ever finishes first. In anything. If he had another middle name, it'd be "Almost".
He almost got first prize at the Erudite Youth Piano Competition, but then he got stage fright and screwed up the last few notes, right in front of all five judges.
He almost beat Emmett Carlisle in a fight, until he got too close, and Carlisle slammed him into the floor and locked him in an armbar, forcing him to tap out.
He almost got straight A's that one year, except for the B his professor gave him in Writing and Language, for "bringing politics into the classroom".
He almost finished school at the top of his class, but the girl from my homeroom, Cara, did just a tiny bit better than him.
What's it feel like, to always be one step behind, never in first place? Probably an awful feeling. But I should be thankful, that I don't know. I'm the one finishing ahead of him, in our family.
Even then, I feel sorry for him. Almost.
Tobias, Year 2143
It's the morning after my last fight, and I'm thinking of taking a risk. Stepping out of my comfort zone. At breakfast, in the dining hall, I pick a seat next to Zeke and Shauna. Eric isn't up yet, so it's not like he'd notice.
Shauna mostly just slumps over her food and grunts while half-asleep. Zeke's yawning into his large coffee, but he points out his family to me - his little brother, Uriah, is parked at one of the other tables with Lynn, Shauna's younger sister. Zeke's mother, Hana - the tamest Dauntless I've ever seen, you can only tell she's Dauntless by her black clothes - is still in the breakfast line.
"You miss living at home?" I ask Zeke.
I pick off chunks of my bran muffin. The Dauntless love their baked goods - they always have at least two different kinds of cake at dinner, and right now, there's a mountain of muffins near the end of the breakfast line. When I got there, all the good flavors were gone, so I was left with bran.
"Not really," Zeke replies. "I mean, my family's right here. We're technically not supposed to talk to family till Visiting Day, but I know if I really needed something, they'd be there."
I nod. Next to him, Shauna's eyes slowly close, and she dozes off with her chin resting on her hand.
"What about you?" Zeke asks. "You miss home?"
I'm about to answer with a hard "no", but right at that moment, Shauna's chin slips off her hand and she smashes her chocolate muffin with her face. Zeke laughs so hard he actually cries, and I can't help but grin as I finish off my juice.
The Pit is stuffed with dozens of Dauntless families - a tattooed wrist here, a flash of pink hair there. Little kids with nose rings, and tanned, muscular arms cradling newborn infants.
Still, there are some parents and siblings who clearly aren't from here. A grandmother in a gray robe, an aunt and uncle with spectacles on their noses. The transfer families. They're few and far between, but they definitely stand out.
Eric doesn't know if he'd be happy to see his parents and Megan, or if the sight of them would immediately trigger his insecurities. Mom doesn't even know about my tattoo, or Mia. What if she says something, right in front of the Dauntless?
He grinds his teeth together and tells himself to remain stoic, until he can see Maggie, Jeffrey, and Megan in the crowd.
The charade doesn't last.
When Eric gets the first glimpse of Maggie's blue suit jacket, and Megan's makeup-covered face, the tears start to well up in his eyes.
They came. They actually came.
Eric is actually in danger of crying, in front of all these Dauntless alpha males. He quickens his pace until he's right in front of Maggie.
"Eric!" Maggie's voice nearly cracks. She folds him in her arms and holds him there, for what seems like an eternity.
Mom, I missed you so much, Eric desperately wants to say. But words fail him. Instead, he lets Maggie hold him, as Jeffrey and Megan look on.
Finally, Maggie releases him, and cradles his face in her hands. "Are you okay?" she asks, looking concerned. "Did you get hit by someone?"
Megan and Jeffrey come a little closer, to see Eric's face. They gasp at the sight of the bruises.
"What the -" Jeffrey squeezes his way past Maggie, then leans in close to his son. "Unbelievable! Somebody clocked you in the face!" He shakes his head. Megan looks at Eric with pity.
"I'm fine," Eric insists, his face red. "Everyone gets hit a few times, in Dauntless. That's just how things work here."
Maggie puts a reassuring hand on Eric's shoulder. "You don't have to lie. You can tell me if it's too hard for you. Do you want to come home? I can talk to Jeanine Matthews."
Eric pulls back suddenly, and flicks Maggie's hand away. "Mom, what the fuck?" he snaps, sounding angrier than intended. "I don't need special treatment. I'm doing really well. I won my last two fights."
"Hey!" Jeffrey barks, pointing a finger at Eric's face. "Don't speak to your mom like that."
"Sorry," Eric mutters, looking down at his shoes. His Dauntless-issued boots. How alien he feels, standing next to his - former - family, with their blue clothes.
"It's okay," Maggie says, her voice mellow. "I know you're stressed." Hesitantly, she grasps Eric's arm. "Are you sure you're not having trouble?"
"I'm sure," Eric says firmly.
Maggie doesn't go any further, but the worry in her eyes stays, as she talks to her son. She asks him about his plans for the future, and reacts with surprise when he says the words "Dauntless leader". Eric tells his family about his progress in Dauntless initiation, and all the fights he won. He refrains from mentioning Mia, or his tattoo, or his illness in the hospital, or his mental struggles during the combat stage.
He takes his family on a tour of the Dauntless compound, pointing out the shops and restaurants in the Pit, the training room, the dining hall, the dorms, and the chasm. When he's finished, and Jeffrey declares that it's time for them to go home, Maggie turns to her son once more.
"Wait," she says, with some urgency. "You didn't tell me, why you chose Dauntless. Can you tell me? Why did you leave home?"
Jeffrey and Megan wait for a response. For a moment, Eric says nothing.
He thinks about the way his mother acted, how unusually gentle she seems now. He knows he can't tell her the truth about why he transferred. But if he doesn't say something, she'll keep on pressing him. He decides to give her part of the truth.
"I - I wanted to be free," he blurts out. "To choose my own path in life."
"That's what you wanted?" Maggie looks hurt. Neither Jeffrey nor Megan seem to notice. Eric feels guilt rising up within him, and hurries to quash it.
"Yeah," he says quickly. Maggie nods, and turns away.
"Okay, then," she says, her voice quiet. "I'll see you on initiation day. Goodbye, Eric." She gets ready to leave. Jeffrey half-heartedly waves goodbye, and Megan says something about how she guesses she'll miss her older brother. Then Eric's family is gone, and it's almost like they were never there.
Eric turns back in the direction of the Pit. Through the glass roof, he can see that the morning has turned to afternoon. Most of the transfer families have dispersed.
Eric hears Tobias calling his name, and he walks away, resolving to forget his mother and family, along with all the pain they've caused him.
AN: Sad, I know. Most of Eric's family doesn't give a shit about him. At least Eric still has Tobias, right? Next chapter you'll get to see the rankings from the combat stage. And yes, the rankings here differ from those in the canon novel.