đź’™Thank you all so much for the super kind responses!

I'm so happy to have a new story to work on, and I'm really excited for all the fun of this one!

I know there were a lot of questions, so I'll try to answer a few without spoiling the story. If you had none, you can skip head. Major major thanks to Bamberlee for editing!

1) In this story, Eric and Everly are a year apart. Eric's birthday is the day after The Choosing Ceremony. He spends an entire year being 18, and is almost 19 by the next ceremony. (One per year) Everly's birthday is the day of The Choosing Ceremony. This is changed only for this story to make him a year older and because he couldn't transfer at 24.

2) Frank =Four. I was incredibly sad to find there was no official Frank tag, so I added my own.

3)Harrison is in this story. Almost all of the regular characters are, with the exceptions of a few minor ones.

4)I got a ton of messages asking if Eric will eventually end up in Dauntless or if Jason and Rylan will be in Amity. These will be answered as the story progresses ;)

5)Yes, the chapters increase in length. It proved impossible to fit everything into the shorter chapters.

Have a really good week everyone! Thank you so so much to everyone who followed + reviewed the story!

"No! What have you done?"

Jeanine's words rise above the cheering and clapping. The noise of everyone celebrating is loud, and I smirk as I watch her nearly twist her ankle trying to get to me as the ceremony concludes.

A few minutes ago, my blood seeped into the dark soil until it disappeared completely. I'd stepped off the stage to shocked stares and excited clapping. The shocked stares were from most of the Erudite faction; Daniel's hand flew to his mouth, and Blythe was a ghostly white. Her jaw was slack, years of prodding and goading and preparing me to help her sister gone with a single choice and she looked visibly ill. I smiled at both of them, ignoring the stunned fury as Jeanine rose up, livid as ever, and I headed toward the exit where I'd be taken to my new home.

She didn't bother watching the rest. The remainder of the names went quickly, and by the time Jeanine reached the back row, the names starting with A were done.

I caught her eye and her rage was inspirational.

I'd chosen Amity out of pure spite and she knew it.

I knew it would kill them all to watch me give up a promising career of working with my father's friend or the honor of becoming a leader in Dauntless. There is a wave of satisfaction in freeing myself from their expectations, though I have no clue what the fuck I'll actually do in Amity. I know nothing about it other than it is heavily mocked. There are rumors of everyone who lives there being drugged into peaceful oblivion, and further rumors of how the entire point of the population is to be happy. There is no real point to it existing past delivering food to the other factions, and for a moment, I second guess myself.

Dauntless would have been easy.

A few feet away, Rylan joins the group heading to Dauntless, including the guy who shuffled past me in grey. A quick glance tells me I could take them all. I am physically strong, unafraid of much and smart. From what Jeanine hinted, there is some manipulation in Dauntless that would work in my favor and none of the people waiting would have stood in my way.

When Rylan catches my eye, he throws me a horrified look and holds his hands up in mock confusion; he's already ditched the blue jacket he had on, and someone has pulled his long hair out of the bun it was in. Two girls stand on either side, one pulling on his hair and one tugging on his arm, and his pleading grin to come join him is encouraging. The kid in grey is staring at him like he's never seen anyone so wild before and when I look at him, he looks away immediately.

I admit, right then and there, I may have made a mistake. I could have been standing with them, but instead, I'm walking toward Everly and the rest who have chosen to join Amity.

"I need to talk to you. Eric Coulter, you stop right now."

Jeanine's frantic words grow quieter as she hisses my name. She gets close enough to reach for my arm, but she does her best not to cause a scene. Her interest in which faction I chose could be suspicious, so she tries to play it off like she's coming to congratulate me. In the distance, my own parents sit stunned, unmoving as Everly's parents stand up. Another couple leans in to whisper something to Daniel and Blythe, and neither move. Blythe's head tilts slowly, and her anger is palpable even from a distance.

I feel Jeanine's grasp the moment Everly looks at me, and the man beside her frowns when she doesn't answer whatever he's asked her. Jeanine walks faster, her heel catching on a step, but she recovers quickly. Before the man with the long hair can greet me, Jeanine is in front, fingers digging into my forearm as she panics.

It's a rare sight; usually unflappable, she's now desperate to make this right.

"Eric, a word please."

"I'm sorry, I'm just trying to get to my faction," I flash her a condescending smile, trying to step away from her. I'm well aware of the group heading to Amity watching, both in confusion and a few with funny, impressed smiles but Jeanine doesn't care.

All she can focus on is my failure to help her.

"It'll just take a moment," She manages to get me a single step away from them. She uses everything she has to yank me along, and I only give in out of morbid curiosity over what she has to say.

Also, because her stare lands on Everly. While trying to figure out how to fix this entire situation in a few scant minutes, Jeanine has realized there might be more to it than me being an ass. Her assumption is the girl watching has given me a reason to pick Amity. Everly stares back in pure confusion as the leader of Erudite glares at her like she had something to do with this, but she doesn't look away.

If anything, she stares up at Jeanine with some impressive defiance.

Unfortunately, this won't end well for any of us.

I wrack my brain trying to think of what Jeanine could possibly do. No one ever picked the wrong faction on purpose. Some might have done it on accident, but no one changed their mind or was allowed to change their mind, especially once they'd gone through the ceremony.

These were rules she enforced.

"Eric, you listen to me. I know you made a mistake and I can fix it. I'll have you pulled from the Amity initiation and taken to Dauntless. We'll rationalize this by saying you chose incorrectly due to…unspecified reasons. Eric, listen to me." Jeanine's words are dark; she speaks manically, trying to drag me further to the side as the mass exodus begins. "I can get rid of whatever momentary distraction caused this. You know that. Don't be stupid. Some…some girl from Amity is not worth it."

She looks over at Everly again, and in this moment, I know Jeanine saw me look at her when I chose Amity.

"There is no distraction. I chose the faction I wanted," I wrench my arm away from her, ignoring her seething attempt to drag me back, and as luck would have it, the timing is perfect.

There is pure chaos as the crowd begins to exit the building. Everyone who has chosen is now scrambling to find their place. The group heading to Dauntless takes off running with a loud roar of excitement, and the few who have selected Candor watch with unimpressed stares. They leave with their noses turned up, and Abnegation is practically silent as they slip past.

Behind us, Johanna says goodbye to the leader of Abnegation. He is tall and unfriendly looking, and his eyes stay on the Abnegation transfer. He slips when he frowns, the slight change of expression showing some personal disapproval, and he smiles blandly when Johanna politely tells him she'll see him soon.

I've never met anyone like her. Despite the hectic nature of everyone leaving, she is unhurried. Her eyes rake over those waiting to go to Amity with her, but her attention is on me. She comes to a halt by Jeanine, and when Jeanine steps closer, Johanna catches my elbow.

Her touch is careful. There is no anger or impatience behind it, only pure concern as they stand on either side. She must have witnessed Jeanine talking to me, or at the very least, picked up on her anger over where I am going.

"Eric, let me be the first to welcome you to the Amity faction. It's an honor to have you join us." She speaks evenly, as if she knows Jeanine is seconds away from self-destructing. There's the mildest hint of amusement in her tone, though she drops it before I can get a word in. "Jeanine, please send my warmest thank you to your staff. The Choosing Ceremony was wonderful, as usual. Eric, if you'll come with me, we'll be heading out soon. We don't want you to get left behind."

Jeanine's chance of convincing me to admit I've chosen wrongly slips right through her fingers as Johanna gently coaxes me away from her.

"If I find out you did this on purpose," Jeanine starts, daringly brave to lose her façade in front of another leader. Her eyes dart over to Everly, and she stares until Everly looks at Johanna. Jeanine must realize what she's doing, because she stops, and inhales sharply. "Then I congratulate you on accepting your new fate."

"Thanks," I stare right at her, knowing exactly what she's talking about. "Good luck with your…projects."

I'm sure Johanna does, too.

Her eyes narrow in the slightest, so quick it's barely noticeable, and her head tilt hints she's suspicious. She plays it off by smiling and gesturing for me to follow her. "Thank you again for the lovely ceremony."

Jeanine looks only at me.

"We'll cross paths soon, no doubt." She steps closer, but Johanna moves a step further in between us, and I take this as my cue to leave.

"Faction before blood," I remind her loudly, watching her expression falter as she struggles to remain composed. There are a few snickers at my words, mostly from the Amity transfers watching in awe at my lack of respect for one of the leaders, but they don't know her like I do.

Her words are a threat. I might have chosen Amity to get away from all of them, but this won't be the last I see of her.

Not a chance in hell.

"You really want to live in Amity? Why?"

Everly sits beside me in the truck, pushed close thanks to the lack of space. Not a ton of people had chosen Amity, but there are four of us in the backseat, and the tight space is highlighted with every turn of the road. I quickly learn Amity is farther away than I'd been thinking, and even less popular than I'd believed. I walked out with the small group of transfers into bright sunlight and was corralled over to the waiting trucks. They clearly weren't expecting many transfers, and I found myself climbing in after Everly, and being asked repeatedly for my full name by the man driving.

His name is Landon and he makes sure I know this.

He can't be much older than me, maybe a year or two at most. His long brown hair is tied back into a low ponytail and his shirt is a faint green. He seems fine; he's normal and polite, a little too eager to get everyone to Amity, and too friendly with Everly. It's easy to see he likes her. Landon spends a lot of time looking at her in the rearview mirror, and even more time asking her if she's alright.

She is alright, but she's more focused on me than anything else.

Everly sits with her legs pressed against mine, and a girl named Noelle sits next to her. At first, I thought Noelle picked the wrong faction. She hasn't shut up since we got in the truck, and she kept asking Everly if she thought Amity would be fun. Everly's answer of maybe was telling, but Noelle missed it entirely. She then asked where I was from, and even Everly threw her a funny look.

"Jeanine seemed really mad you didn't pick…" Everly pauses and her knee bumps into my thigh. She's even shorter sitting down, and she has to really look up at me to see my face. I glance down at her, and she stares back, oddly brave for someone who couldn't tell her parents she didn't want to stay in her home faction. "She wanted you to pick somewhere else, didn't she? She said if you picked wrong, she'd fix it."

"She wanted me to pick Dauntless," I answer off handedly, watching Landon carefully. He drives us quickly, taking a sharp turn toward a more wooded part of the road. I don't know where we are going, but I do know we are far away from Erudite. The trees are changing now, becoming taller and greener, closer together with each passing minute. "I didn't plan on picking it. She assumed I would."

"Why?" Everly asks a good question, and I glance at her again, wondering if everyone in Amity assumed you'd just tell them whatever. In Erudite, her questioning would be considered rude, unless she was conducting an experiment and needed answers. In Candor, she'd be readily accepted. "Sorry, I just…I just saw she looked really mad when Johanna told you it was time to leave."

Everly must catch the look on my face because she stops talking immediately. She sinks away from me and turns her attention to Landon when I exhale heavily. She leans forward, and when he glances back, she asks if we'll beat her parents back. His grin is immediate, and he laughs as he tells her no, her father drives like a maniac.

I hate him.

I don't know why, but the rush of pure, hot annoyance is instant, and so is the flash of jealousy. I have no real reason for it, so I do my best to ignore the feeling. Everly is no one, but another member of the Amity faction, and I have no reason to want anything Landon has. My guess is he's never left Amity, and he lives amongst the farmers, working from sunup to sundown.

The truck grows claustrophobic until he makes a hard right.

"We're here! First order of business is a quick tour. Then we have dinner, sleeping arrangements, and a bonfire to welcome everyone. You guys are in for a real treat. Hank made macaroons." Landon is joyful about all these things, and I try to figure out how in over my head I am. The slight feeling of unease is creeping its way up my spine, reminding me I do not belong here. My life in Erudite has not prepared me for this, nor would be advantageous here.

By the time I climb out of the truck, I realize picking Amity might actually be harder than picking Dauntless.

The faction is much larger than I could have ever thought. It spans farther than I can see, and it's surrounded by an endless army of trees. The area is quiet except for the sound of a few chirping birds, the rustle of leaves as the wind blows, and the low shouts of the faction coming together. The pathway is dirt, in fact, all their roads appear to be dirt, and the expensive shoes I have on are immediately covered in dust.

A quick perusal of the faction shows several barns, the largest one connected to what appears to be stables, and homes, set back from the main road. There's a sprawling lake sparkling in the afternoon sun, a playground with a looming structure for kids to play on, and all sorts of small children everywhere.

I stare at all of this, turning only when Noelle bumps my arm.

"Crazy, right? I never thought I'd miss a paved street. This faction is…very outdoorsy. Everything in Candor is much more sophisticated than this. You better take off your fancy jacket and unpart your hair. I have a feeling we're in for it."

"I'm fine, thanks." I throw her an annoyed glare, moving away from her, and right into Everly.

She grins. She nudges my arm, then points in the distance, and my eyes rake over the giant structures, so unlike the neat and spotless play centers in Erudite.

"That's the playground. My dad helped build the pirate ship. My little brother is over there." Everly smiles up at me, and I wait for her to take hold of my arm again.

She doesn't.

She waves to someone, a small child yelling for her to watch him as he leaps off a wooden plank and she leaves my side to go see him.

The disappointment of her leaving is on par with realizing my cell phone won't work out here. It matches the realization there is no coffee shop serving exquisite and complicated orders. There is no hospital, not a single store with shiny windows and bright clothing, and no library.

Only trees, bright skies, and Everly pausing to greet a man waiting at the fork in the road. He waves wildly, reminding me of Rylan in every way, and he bounds over before I can ask her who he is. He makes a beeline for her, so fast he picks her up before she can stop him, and she loudly tells him to go away. It takes me a single second to realize they're related; she smacks him to put her down, and she turns to introduce me like we're good friends.

We're not.

Forrest, his name quickly announced before I can even ask what he's doing, rushes over and hugs me as though we are, and very, very loudly, so loudly it echoes in my ear for a few hours, welcomes me to Amity.

I push him away, eyeing him with all the disdain I can muster, before I realize Johanna is watching. Her stare lingers, less suspicious than when she looked at Jeanine but just as curious, and she eventually smiles.

A sinking feeling rushes over me, and I realize this will be much harder than I thought.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck."

I hastily hiss this into my phone, and I frantically press on Rylan's name. The call takes a long time to connect, probably because we are in the middle of nowhere, and even longer for it to ring. There's a very low chance he'll answer, or that he's even brought his phone, and I swear even louder when it goes to his voicemail. I leave a clipped message for him to call me back, ignoring the few stares of those turning around to look at me, and I shove the phone in my pocket.

Up ahead, Forrest proudly shows us the fields where the main crops are grown.

My panic isn't actual panic, but more of a fuck my life moment as I'm led further into the faction. It's clear my assumptions about Amity were based off incorrect information. The faction, so large it seems impossible to see in one day, let alone a quick hour, is immense. There are more homes than I can count, all made from wood, and all looming from the forest line. There are children everywhere. Families are wandering around, though it appears to be mostly older members sitting and talking while the kids play, and men working to finish out their day.

Up ahead, is nothing but rows and rows of corn. My mind is black as Forrest leads us down one, and there is a certain horror when he explains how it's harvested, and worse, how they defend their crops from wild animals.

"Is he serious?" Noelle, stepping carefully over an irrigation ditch, is pale. "Oh shit, we're not going back yet, are we? This tour is going to last forever."

"Okay, on to water management!" Forrest leaps across a ditch, and his hair isn't quite as long as Landon's. He's dressed less garishly, too, though his outfit hints he's considered a career in a local Amity band. "To the left of you, is one of the smaller fields. Cold weather crops are grown there. To the right, is a road leading to the lake. If you take the long way around, you can see the greenhouses. Hank is there now."

Forrest keeps talking, pointing as fast as he can name places, and his grin is wide with pride. I inhale sharply as we all follow him, and I hate to admit Amity is far more complicated than I could have imagined.

We keep walking. Forrest leads us past a water treatment facility. It looks out of place, more advanced than Amity in general and is huge. He explains how the water is pumped in from the river, treated, then used to water the fields. There is a whole team of men and women working right now, and there's a wave of joy when the creaking machine whirls, and the water spills out and down the irrigation lines.

I shut my eyes when it hits my shoes, and Forrest cheerfully waves us on.

Next on his tour is the tree line, where he warns us not to venture past. In the distance, there is empty space filled with grass and a few rocks, and the faint outline of a large fence. He explains there are ancient outposts there, now primarily used by Dauntless soldiers.

I ignore the faint twinge of regret when he says the name.

By the time we make it back to the main part of the faction. I'm not impressed with Amity but confused as to how no one has realized what a massive undertaking this place is. I have a lot of questions, like does it have running water and when the fuck can I take a shower, and even more pressing, where are we sleeping?

None of my questions get answered, at least not yet. We are led through their version of the Erudite shopping district, a single, lone general store offering a variety of offensively colored shirts and pants. The inside, Forrest grins, has general goods. Boots, toiletries, vegetables, meat, all things that can be purchased for a small fee. He explains we'll all be given a point card, but the points are more or less for the larger markets they visit every so often.

Here, if you need something, it's more than likely someone will just give it to you.

"Do you like it?"

I glance down to see Everly standing beside me, looking hopeful. She glances at my jacket, the royal blue too bright for this faction, and the dress slacks that won't fit in here. None of what I have on will, and for a moment, I contemplate telling her no.

It's unfamiliar. Dauntless would have been unfamiliar as well, but not like this.

It's almost too open.

"It's very…bright."

I squint at the setting sun, nearing the tops of the trees, and Everly is silent. I'm not sure why she wants me to like this place, because it's clear I'm supposed to be elsewhere. As much as I refuse to admit defeat, a whole two hours in, Erudite might have been a better option.

Hell, even Candor would have been acceptable.

"The nights are dark."

I look down to see her trying not to laugh, and I throw her one dirty look.

"It's really dark, actually. There aren't any lights in the woods."

"Hilarious," I snap, and my irritation isn't really at her.

It's at Johanna, beckoning everyone to the Dome. There's a realness to seeing her welcome us all for dinner, and a very sharp slap of reality when Landon and his friends stroll by, spanning out to show everyone where to go. They give directions loudly, instructing us to take a tray and pick out whatever we'd like for dinner, and the members of the faction are endless.

They slowly file inside, one by one, until there are so many they blur together.

It's another world here, one for which I am unprepared.

"Fuck."

I say it again, as Everly and I walk forward, and in the distance sounds the low, impatient moo of a cow.

The Dome is like nothing I've ever experienced.

I eye it critically, observing the large glass structure and mustering a speck of appreciation for whoever designed it. The layout is practical, but the air inside is cold, and I imagine it's freezing in the winter.

When I get done memorizing the layout of tables and where the members serving food are going, I try to count the transfers and Amity born in our class. The Dome is so crowded it's almost impossible. The number of people in bright colors is overwhelming, and the ones from Amity blend right in. Only a few others and myself do not.

I quickly realize some members work here, cooking and serving the meals, and everyone else shows up during what must be their dining hours. There are farmers of all ages, most looking very content after a day of hard work, and families of all sizes. I spy the little boy Everly went to see running and hiding beneath each table, and her mother, chasing after him but not really. She pauses to talk to someone else, a mother with a blonde-haired girl who keeps looking in my direction, and a darker haired girl who waves.

They both greet Everly excitedly, and she stops by them with her tray in her hands.

"Are you losing the jacket or what, Brainiac? They're going to make you toss it, you know?" Noelle takes the seat by me, shoving her red hair back and out of her face with a huff. Her own dark jacket is off, but tied around her waist, and she examines my tray intently. "Salad? That's it? Are you on a diet?"

"I don't trust any of the food here. How do you know they aren't drugging us?" I eye her sharply, and she shrugs.

"It might make this easier if we were drugged," she comments, and she smiles in faux friendliness when Everly sits down beside me. Noelle stares at her, then scoots over closer and bends her head in. "Look, you and I are two of the ten transfers. We need to make an alliance now. I only picked this shit hole to get away from my parents. You clearly did the same. We stick together and this might be bearable."

"Amity isn't a shit hole," Everly looks at me, and her glare at Noelle is the meanest she can muster. "Why did you come here if you don't like it?"

"I just told you. I didn't want to get stuck working in the courts. My parents insisted I stay, saying my dad would get me a job. I picked Amity because it seemed easy." She fluffs her hair, and her gaze is haughty. "Erudite over here doesn't want to be here, either. His shoes got all muddy."

"Well, most people wear boots when they're out there." Everly is defensive of her faction, and rightfully so. Our tour hasn't been awful but has shown us there's hard work involved here. "Eric, you're happy you're here, right?"

I look at her, her eyes still a shade of green I haven't seen before, and her black hair spilling down to her sides. Her dress, an offensive shade of pink, looks different here. It suits her, making her look like no one I've ever seen before, and I have the strange feeling of wanting to be nice to her.

I'm not sure why.

I'm not especially nice to anyone.

My closest friend was the only one I really hung out with, and he's in an entirely other faction. Even in our class, a decent sized group of Erudite's finest children, I disliked most of them. The general population of Erudite is not as smart as they pretend to be; most work hard to appear smart, but few are naturally as intelligent as Jeanine claims.

As arrogant as I am, I know I'm smart.

I know agreeing with anything Noelle says will land me in hot water, and I know pushing Forrest away might raise concerns over why I'm here. Even worse, if I draw attention to myself, it'll give them reason to kick me out and right over to Jeanine when she comes looking for me.

I also know that if I tell Everly no, I'm not entirely thrilled to be here, her face will fall and she'll go back to looking disheartened.

So I shrug, and I finish my salad while the members of Amity swarm around me, brightly and happily eating their dinner as the sky darkens.

By the time we make it to the bonfire, I feel like I'm dreaming. To force myself into remembering this isn't a dream, I run through a mental checklist of things to remember as the fire burns. I compare Amity to Erudite, and ultimately, I come up with the slow realization that I have to suck it up and stop.

Comparing them will do me no good. Even if I wanted to leave, I couldn't return to Erudite.

Out here, in the heart of the woods and the middle of nowhere, the sky is black and the air is cold. Nights in Erudite were always the same; warmer, maybe from the paved roads and looming buildings, and silent. The faction mostly shut down except for the medical facilities and a few late night shops, and the street lights came on. It was the sign for everyone to go home. The members of Erudite would work around the clock if left to their own devices, and they needed the physical cue that it was time to stop.

In Amity, the faction is slow, but still alive as they celebrate their new members.

We were taken here after dinner. I turned in my plate where everyone else did, and I walked along the main pathway to a smaller clearing. It was set up for tonight with a large fire, plenty of seating, and a few opening words from Johanna. I listened carefully, trying to read between the lines of what she was really saying, and the best I could come up with was our full participation was expected.

We were being asked to get through a twelve-week initiation, and once done, we'd select an area to work in. The list of jobs and specialized areas needing help was endless. There were plenty in the agricultural field, plenty of jobs which were simply manual labor, a few in the community childcare center, some in the maintenance group, and several jobs in the kitchens. Delivery drivers were also needed, though everyone in Amity let out a small laugh when she brought this up. Landon laughed loudly as Forrest slapped him on the shoulder, and I found the inside joke annoying.

As the fire burned higher, Johanna hinted it was nearly impossible to fail out of the Amity initiation. She also hinted that despite this, we would still have to prove we truly wanted to be here. Screwing around, especially while under the watchful eye of the men and women who'd volunteered to run the initiation, is frowned upon.

So is taking peace serum.

Johanna smiled brightly as she informed us we'd only take it once we completed initiation. After we become official members, it is entirely optional. Preferred, as it made conflicts less likely, but optional if you could keep your composure. She revealed it was a mere rumor everyone here was forced to take it, but it was encouraged, especially if you needed it. I glanced at Everly out of the corner of my eye wondering if she would take it, because she seemed pretty easy going in general.

Ten minutes later, Johanna finished up her speech by thanking us for choosing Amity and saying she couldn't wait to get to know us.

I felt like this part was directed at me, but I might be a little paranoid. I'd currently counted ten transfers –of which I think I'd met half – and fifty Amity born. Over dinner, I was introduced to a few. Their names escaped me, not entirely unimportant but too many for me to keep track, and most came by specifically to say hi to Everly. The others were busy with their own dinners and talking with their families. I experienced no rage over them having their family's support, both in person and unspoken, while I did not; I couldn't imagine Blythe or Daniel eating in the Dome, nor would I want to spend my first night on my own with my parents.

Still, something pressed at me, pointing out I should know the names of my competition, even if I was the only one thinking of them this way. A couple of the transfers were strong looking, and almost all the boys from Amity looked like they grew up here. I had noticed more were physically fit from growing up with the outdoors as their playground, and had I focused only on my studies, I'd be at a disadvantage.

I hated to admit it, but the odds were stacked against me, even if there were none. It's unlikely I'd fail, unless I lost my shit and couldn't cut it here, or I decided I wanted out. It doesn't mean I should let my guard down, but quite the opposite.

I had to prove I could fit in here while others tried to prove I couldn't.

I add Johanna to my list of people to be aware of, and I attempt to figure out if anyone works for her directly. Amity didn't seem to have the same spies Erudite did. Jeanine had a neat web of assistants and directors beneath her. They did all her undesired work, and most would take her secrets to the grave. If she didn't feel like attending a meeting or listening to what someone was suggesting, she sent them to handle it. They were her closest confidants, a select few willing to do her dirty work, and almost everyone in Erudite knew it.

Johanna appears to have no one.

She floats around the campfire, greeting a few members and answering questions, and the only one who approaches her is someone from the kitchens.

"Hey, can I talk to you for a second?"

I look up to see Forrest standing next to me. In his hands is an amber bottle, and the homemade label tells me he's made it himself. I nod, rising up immediately, and it's the right choice.

Johanna gazes my way, smiling in approval when I walk away with Forrest.

He stumbles over a tree stump, snickering to himself as he waves me over a few feet away from the group. A few turn to look in our direction, but they quickly lose interest when he speaks so only I can hear him.

"Okay, so…you're the last one I have to talk to. You might not know this, but uh, I'm in charge of housing. Or…making sure everyone is accounted for when it comes to having a place to sleep. Did Everly tell you this? I saw you ate dinner with her." Forrest pauses, and I shake my head no.

"Okay, well…here, in our initiation, we have a few options for where our initiates stay. We want them to feel like they're part of the community from day one. We have a bunch of homes for everyone to sleep in and most choose to join in the communal living. Some share rooms, some sleep on the couches, just…wherever there's space." Forrest pauses again, and I can feel my blood pressure rising at the very thought. "Unfortunately, we started remodeling the houses this year, and didn't finish in time. The ones we have ready won't hold everyone. Luckily, some mentioned they're fine staying home. Some of the ones from here can live at home if they want. It's really easy. We don't care where you stay, just that you show up when you're supposed to."

"And what does this have to do with me?" I raise my eyebrow at him, and he looks slightly apprehensive.

"So, you're one of the last ones I got to talk to. I got through the list Johanna gave me, and… it looks like you'll be living…alone. There's a single house available. It's not finished by means of furniture. It's got everything you'd need, but it's just…mostly empty. The other option is, and I'm willing to do this, you can stay with me. I just got approved for a home, but it's just me and my fiancée. She's real quiet. You might like it. We have a few pets, nothing major, and we both get up early. If not, the other house is yours."

He looks at me like I'm going to storm off in a fit of rage, but really, the relief is like a punch to the stomach. "So you're telling me I can live alone? I don't have to stay with the others?"

Forrest nods. He has no idea the thought of cramming myself into a communal living space is enough to make my head hurt, so this comes as a nice surprise. I make him wait a second, and he relaxes when he realizes I'm not upset.

"I know it's not the normal Amity experience. We really prefer to try and keep everyone together the best we can, but we'll make sure everyone knows where you live, and you'll still be expected to show up with the others." He rocks back on his heels, and his expression is kind. "If you want a roommate, I think Noelle said she'd volunteer. It's not bad. It's a quiet place, right off the main part of Amity. It was built for initiates, but…we've had less and less over the years. We were trying to finish up everything in time but we couldn't. I thought we'd have enough but almost no one transferred out of Amity."

"Really? Why aren't people coming here?" I blink at him, and our differences are jarring.

My shirt and pants are so unlike what he has on, and his hair has come loose since I first met him. Never in a million years did I think I'd be standing here, in the middle of Amity, being given an opportunity to live alone.

My decision in picking Amity doesn't seem so bad after all, but there's something to his tone when he spoke about not many transferring here that makes me nervous.

"Yeah, a lot of folks think Amity is either an easy choice or a total joke. They don't realize the hard work or the dedication it takes to keep the faction going." His voice drops when he reveals this, and his shrug isn't all that dismissive. "We really hope you like living here. We have a good community and…hey, what's up?! Are you lost?"

"How would I be lost?"

Everly crosses her arms over her chest, and she looks at me, then right back at Forrest. She's cold, even though it's not freezing out, and she looks tired. She stays a careful distance from both of us, and she glances around before speaking again.

"Um, if you're done talking to Eric, I'm supposed to come talk to you. I changed my mind."

"About what?" Forrest's concern is quick. He moves toward her like she'll run, and he shakes his head back and forth. "Everly, I told you, I'd help you get to Dauntless if you really wanted. You said you were fine staying here. You can't pick another faction now. Or are you just gonna…go show up there?"

Her large eyes look at me, and she shakes her head. "No, no, I'm fine here. I just…I originally said I was going to stay home. But I've decided I don't want to stay with mom and dad. I think if I'm going to go through initiation here…and I did stay…then it should be the way I want. So, I'd like to live elsewhere. And I know you're in charge of the housing."

Everly says the last part triumphantly. Forrest goes back and forth between looking proud and looking uneasy. They look alike; his hair isn't as dark as hers, and she's half his size, but it's easy to tell they're related. They both make the same face as he mulls this over, but only his eyes light up.

"Oh, cool. Yeah, you should experience it for yourself. Mom and dad will be fine. I can help with Zander. Um, the only problem is…uh…"

"Is what?" Everly crosses her arms tighter, and I realize her hair is so long it hits the small of her back. She wavers with her bravery but refuses to back down. "Is it full? Dad said the Amity born might take up most of the housing. He said we had a large number from our own faction. I thought I would be okay with staying home, but I don't want to feel stuck."

"It's really full. But hey, uh, if you're dead set on experiencing life as a real, Amity initiate, I'll find you a spot. Actually, you know what? You can stay with Eric! I just told him he was the last one assigned housing and he's by himself. I don't think he'd mind having a roommate. Right? What do they do in Erudite? Make you sleep in the lab?"

It takes me a second to answer him.

Everly is waiting patiently, doing her best not to look right at me. Living with her isn't at all what I'm expecting, but I'm quickly learning things here seemed to run by whoever was assigned to oversee them. Johanna might have handled this differently, but Forrest is determined to make it work no matter what, and he's completely fine with his solution of us sharing the house.

They both look at me expectantly, and I've almost forgotten to answer.

The disorder of this place is startling.

"No. They have initiate housing. It's close to the labs, though." I glance down at Everly, and when she looks up at me, her smile has the slightest hint of smugness.

"So it's settled. You two can share the last house. I'll have to see about getting another bed. I think there's only one." Forrest grins, utterly enthused that he solved this on his own, but my head tilts.

"There's only one bed?"

"Yeah, and one couch. We started to furnish it, but things have been nuts around here. We got a really bad case of chicken pox a few weeks ago. Put Carole out of commission for a week." Forrest steps back, and he glances at his sister. "I'll grab you guys keys. You're free to go any time after that. Johanna is giving everyone tomorrow morning off. First meeting is at lunch."

"Sounds good to me," Everly smiles sweetly, she looks at me, and I have the funny feeling she has zero concerns over living together. "Are you okay with this? I don't want to impose."

"Why wouldn't I be?" I chew on my cheek for a minute, trying to figure out what she wants. "You changed your mind about living at home?"

She nods.

It shouldn't surprise me she was going to live at home. In our brief time in line together, she mentioned helping her parents and picking Amity because of them. It's not a big shock they'd ask her to continue living with them, and it sounds like she helps with her younger brother. Living at home makes sense for her, but something made her change her mind.

I'm mildly surprised when she steps closer, and she looks up at me. "I just thought if I couldn't go to Dauntless then I would try some new things here. I was going to keep living at home, but maybe it's time I branch out. Besides, it's crowded at home and having some space will be nice."

I nod back at her, and in the distance, Noelle throws me one very nosy look.

She looks at Everly, too, and her expression isn't pleased at all.

"Yeah. It will."

I wait until Everly smiles again. Forrest returns a second later, and he gives a gold key to each of us. They are old and heavy, and he jokes they could be used as murder weapons.

"It's the fifth house from Carole's. Watch out for her chickens. I'll let Johanna know what's up, and someone should be by with clothes for both of you. Or at least, for Eric. Dad can bring yours over, Everly."

"Okay," she agrees softly, as light as the breeze grazing past us. "Thanks Forrest."

"Good luck tonight! Get a good night's sleep. Tomorrow's first lesson is livestock management."

Forrest winks, and with that –minimal instruction, a last minute housing assignment because his little sister changed her mind, two keys, and one bed –my first night in Amity comes to a close.

I stand beneath a starry sky until Everly's hand finds my arm, and she gently pulls me in the direction of my new home.