Welcome all to my first Divergent fanfiction (original novel by Veronica Roth.) This story is rated T for moderate violence, language, and sexual themes. Please review; I'd love to read your feedback.

Ciao, Gabrielle.

Chapter 9: Heat Wave

Nina hummed her favorite song as she twisted Maddie's long, wet hair into a French braid. The girls were relaxing before dinner, wiped out after a day of shooting exercises. The week of gun training was coming to a close, with only one day left. The initiates had progressed from shooting stationary targets to shooting moving targets while running. Next week they would be selecting and training with a secondary weapon of choice. Well, the other transfers would be choosing anyways; Nina had promised Eric she would select the chain as her weapon. The idea of the impending one-on-one training with him made her stomach flutter with nerves.

Maddie began to softly sing the lyrics to the Phoenix song as Nina tied off the end of the plait with a band. Nina placed her head on her friend's shoulder and smiled; Maddie's serene voice and the enchanting lyrics never failed to fill her with nostalgia and joy.

"Hey, let's have a girl night tonight. It's been too long since we hung out, just the two of us," suggested Nina. "We can raid a bottle of wine from the storage unit and get delightfully smashed."

"Mhmm, that sounds wonderful," Maddie grinned. "Red or white?"

"Red, pretty please."

"You know I prefer white. Oh well, I guess we'll just have to raid two bottles," she feigned disappointment. The girls giggled but after a moment Maddie frowned. "Oh shoot. Can we do this another night? I've just remembered I already have plans with Amir."

"I see... Plans that don't include me, clearly." Nina cast her eyes downward, disappointed.

"Don't be mad, Marina. We're celebrating our 10 day anniversary tonight!"

"10 days? 10 days?! Get a grip, Mads. You barely know him," she scoffed.

"Oh, here we go again, with the relationship advice from the love guru. What is your fucking problem with Amir? And by the way, you're being pretty hypocritical. I know there's something going on between you and Eric."

'What's my problem?' Nina thought. 'My problem is that today is my 17th birthday and you have totally forgotten. My problem is that I feel like I'm losing my best friend.' Instead she stood up and stated coldly: "I hope you enjoy your date." Then she marched out of the dormitory, not even stopping to slip on shoes.

Nina refused to go to dinner and face Maddie and Amir. She swung by the tattoo parlour and let herself in with the key Sonya gave her, so that she would be able to sketch or practice tattooing anytime. So far, Nina had a hard time finding anyone willing to be tattooed by an amateur, so she mostly just used her own skin to practice. She had begun to tattoo the lyrics to the Phoenix song on her arm, starting at the top. It was slow going, because she was using only one hand on herself and because she was still learning the techniques for tattooing letters. She'd designed the lyrics to encircle her arm in a spiral from her shoulder to her wrist.

Sonya usually ate dinner in the parlour instead of at the dining hall but today she was gone. Nina opened the mini-fridge and realized why: the fridge was bare except for a pack of beers. She treated herself to a bottle as she sketched. She'd completed her original drawing of a phoenix days earlier, but she was now attempting a more masculine, less flowery version. Soon the ache in her stomach could not be ignored, so she finished the last of the beer and closed her sketch pad. She grabbed another bottle, jotted a quick note for Sonya, and locked the parlour door behind her.

She finished up the beer as she rapped on Eric's door. He opened up and leaned against the frame, blocking her entrance. "What are you doing here?"

"I came for a visit. Aren't you going to let me in?"

He sighed but opened the door. "Why aren't you at dinner? And why are you barefoot?"

She looked down at her bare feet with surprise. "I guess it's an Amity thing. What is this, twenty questions?"

"Faction before blood," he reminded her sternly.

"Yea, yea," she said rolling her eyes. "Aren't you a real piece of work?" She tossed her empty bottle into the bin and sauntered over to his fridge. She opened it and appraised her options. Food, food, alcohol, food, alcohol. She decided to continue with her drink of choice of the night by selecting a bottle of beer. She perched herself on one of Eric's barstools, ignoring the wave of lightheadedness that suddenly washed over her, and began to rummage through a drawer in search of a bottle opener.

Eric snatched the bottle from her hands. "Does this look like the liqueur store to you?"

"Oh, come on Eric," Nina pouted her lips. "It's my birthday."

Eric contemplated, his muscular arms crossed sternly. Then he turned away, grabbed another bottle from the fridge, and opened both with a magnetic bottle opener. He handed one to Nina and began to sip on the other. "Have you eaten?"

"Beer has calories, right?" She answered playfully.

Eric scoffed, opened his pantry and took out bread, peanut butter and jam. Nina studied him quietly, the alcohol removing any inhibitions she might have had about checking him out so obviously. If his tongue was sharp, his muscles were sharper. He held the butter knife in his hand as comfortably as he would hold a sharp one, with intent to harm. He was deadly; a killing machine from head to toe. And she liked every inch of him. His tight black clothing accentuated his hard muscles. His face was decorated with rings and his skin was inked everywhere visible to the eye. Nina had a sudden desire to rip off his shirt and study the tattoos she knew he had underneath. She had seen him shirtless, touched him once, but always briefly. She closed her eyes and chugged the remainder of her beer. 'You're as bad as Maddie. Get your fucking shit together.'

Eric set down a plate with a sandwich. "Eat," he demanded.

She complied gratefully, her body eager for food to fill her empty stomach. The kitchenette was filled only by the sounds of Nina chewing. She finally decided to break the silence. "So, Eric, how is life treating you?"

He stared at her incredulously and didn't answer.

"Well my life's pretty great, thanks for asking. I mean I'm sitting in silence eating a sandwich on my birthday. Life can't get any better than this."

Eric stole the sandwich from her and took a bite. "Birthdays are pointless. They just serve to mark the passage of 365 days of nonsense and mediocracy."

"Well, in Amity birthdays are a big deal. Actually, Amity just loves any excuse for a party."

"Faction before blood. How hard is that for you to understand?"

"Oh, you're on about this again. Yea, Eric, I get it. There's a reason I chose Dauntless and not Amity. But it's not like I can just erase years of my life. You're from Erudite. Don't you still have some of their traits?"

"Remind me to tell Sonya to stop spilling my secrets to you." Eric ate the last of the sandwich. "Want another?"

Nina shrugged in reply. "Why are you always so secretive? Being a transfer doesn't make you any less Dauntless."

He got up and started making a second sandwich but didn't answer her question. Nina had come to learn that Eric was generally a quiet person and he only spoke when he felt that he had something to say. He was not generous with his words. He chewed slowly and then offered the remaining half of the sandwich to her. Finally, he spoke. "Yes, I suppose."

"You suppose what?"

"I suppose I do still have some traits from Erudite. But I chose Dauntless. This is where I belong. That's the way the system works."

"But what if the system doesn't work?" she pressed on. "What if it's flawed?"

"It's not flawed. It's perfect. You either choose a Faction or you're Factionless. There's no in between," he narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "Got that?"

"Yea, geez," she laughed nervously. "Don't get so weird." The silence stretched on awkwardly and Nina wondered what she had said that had upset him. "Anyways, I never wanted a big party. This is nice, just hanging out with you," she blushed. She hadn't meant to say that outloud, but it was the truth. Eric was harsh, but he was genuine. Nina appreciated that. "I'm mainly just upset cause I wanted to spend time with Maddie but she's too busy being a girlfriend."

"You say that like it's a bad thing."

"What, girlfriend?" She felt nervous just saying the word, especially in front of him.

He nodded and she chose to ignore him, feigning interest in the meager decor of his kitchen. She pulled herself up onto the metallic counter, and kicked her feet out anxiously. She could feel his intense eyes studying her, the way she had just studied him. It made her feel naked and vulnerable. Like she was burning in ice, or freezing in fire.

"What's the reason?" he asked.

"What's the reason for what?" She stopped kicking her feet and looked at him, confused.

"You said there's a reason why you chose Dauntless and not Amity."

"Oh. That's easy. I chose Dauntless because I value courage above all else."

He stood up and placed his fists on the counter on either side of her legs. His scent overpowered her; pine needle and mint. She remembered it well from his pillowcase. She could feel the presence of his arms on either side of her. His hands were so close to her thighs yet not close enough. He drove her crazy without even touching her.

"What about you, Eric? Why did you choose Dauntless over Erudite?"

His icy, grey eyes captured hers. "Because I value courage above all else." His gaze was so intense that she almost had to look away.

He glanced down at her lips and she at his. And for one moment, for one, crazy moment, Nina thought that he was going to kiss her. She wondered what his lips would feel like against hers. Would his lips burn or freeze her skin? She felt heat rise to her cheeks. Did he know what she was thinking? Did he want this too?

And then the moment was gone. He turned away and started to brew coffee. "You need to go. I'm expecting company." His voice was frigid and hard.

Nina slipped out of his room quietly, seething. 'Fucking dammit. I hate the way he makes me feel. I hate myself for feeling this way.' She thought of his parting words: "I'm expecting company." A date, obviously. He was expecting a fucking date. The thought of him with another woman made her blood freeze. 'Why?! He is nothing to me and I am nothing to him and it will always be that way.' She wouldn't have it any other way. She didn't need him as a distraction.

"Nina, hold up!"

She turned around to see who was calling her. It was the last person she would have expected: Tae. She had a determined expression on her face. "I want to ask you something."

"Um, ok..." Nina answered hesitantly.

Tae sighed deeply. "I'm ranked last. You're ranked fifth. I'm terrible at shooting. You're arguably the best shooter amongst the initiates. Tomorrow is our last day of gun training, and we start secondary weapon training next week. Then comes primary eliminations." She closed her eyes and breathed nervously. "I need your help. I need your help or else I'll be kicked out."

Nina crossed her arms and contemplated. The Amity voice in her screamed 'yes, I should help her!' But the Dauntless in her was jaded. And a small, cruel voice in her head reminded her that Tae was competition that needed to be eliminated. "Why are you coming to me for help? I've been a bitch to you from the start. That's not an apology by the way."

"I know. I deserved it. I was whiny... I'm different now. I'm ready to work hard. It's just for tonight. One night to improve my shooting score," Tae begged.

"Right," Nina said indecisively, not quite believing that Tae was truly willing to work hard. She had to see it to believe it.

"And the reason I'm coming for you is... well, you're tough. You're a hard worker. I know that last week you stayed up late at night training. And it paid off."

Nina started pacing as she thought. "Say I help you. What do I get out of this?"

Tae smiled grimly. "I'll tell you who's been fucking with you."

Nina felt her blood boil as she thought about her stolen shoes and mattress. Someone dead set on fucking her over. "Clark."

"Is that what you think?" Tae answered mysteriously.

Nina eyed Tae in a new light. She was smarter than she'd expected. Nina extended her hand. "It's a deal."

After three hours of training, Nina had to admit that Tae had improved. A lot. Whatever change the raven-haired girl had experienced upon facing her supposed death, it had been for the better. Tae seemed to have a new outlook on life. She wasn't as weak and timid. Nina was even starting to like her.

The girls walked quietly back to their rooms, exhausted. They were slick with sweat, and they knew they would have only a few hours to sleep. But it had been worth it, atleast for Tae. Nina had no doubt in her mind that her new shooting talent would bump her from last place to 10th. From there on out, she had a week of secondary weapon training to stay in the safe zone before the first round of eliminations were announced.

"Alright," said Nina softly, aware that most of the cavern's inhabitants were asleep. "I held up my side of the bargain. Your turn."

Tae hesitated for a moment in anticipation of Nina's reaction. "It was Clark."

"What the fuck?! I guessed that earlier and you said it wasn't him!"

"I neither confirmed nor denied it. Would you have agreed to help me if I had told you then?"

Nina narrowed her eyes at Tae. "No. Fine. You're right."

Tae lowered her voice. "It wasn't just the shoes and mattress, you know. He's done other things too."

"Like what?" Nina nibbled on her bottom lip; a nervous habit.

"Small things. Like pouring water out of your bottle when you're not looking, so that you'd get dehydrated. And last week, during combat training, he put oil on his body before fighting you to make it harder for you. You kicked his ass anyways, but you know that's not fair fighting."

Nina's fists clenched in anger. She had indeed noticed her water bottle always seemed to be empty even when she hadn't been drinking much. And using oil to make it more difficult for her to punch him? That was just low.

"Nina, you need to be careful. Clark is obsessive. Things will escalate."

"How do you know these things?"

"I've known Clark forever. We're both from Erudite. To be honest, he's always terrified me. I think he's a total psycho."

"Fuck. Why me?"

"I honestly don't know. Like I said, he's obsessive. He was the same way with a girl in Erudite... She ended up in the clinic with a broken arm. And that was when we were 11 years old."

Nina shook her head. She couldn't believe it. She hadn't done anything to Clark to make him hate her. How far was he willing to go to eliminate her? She needed to watch her back.

As they rounded the corner that passed by Eric's apartment, Nina saw his door open. She twisted back around the wall and clamped her hand over Tae's mouth. She peeked her head around and saw Max step out into the darkness. Nina felt first an indescribable relief to know that Max was the company that Eric had been expecting; followed by terror when she imagined what they must have been discussing: Abnegation. War. Divergent. She still didn't know what that term meant but she had to find out. When the coast was clear, the two girls rushed quietly to the dormitory.

Nina fell asleep almost as soon as she got into bed, eager to forget the worst birthday she'd ever had. Her dreams were filled with dark visions of a looming man. Whether it was Clark or Eric she did not know.

But when she awoke she was drenched in sweat. And beneath her pillow was a solitary, red apple.

Please let me know what you think of this chapter! Did you love it? Did you hate it? I always appreciate constructive criticism.

Also, I wrote this all from my phone, can you believe it? This is what happens when I'm on vacation in another country without my laptop. And I've already started the next chapter which will be very exciting, I promise! Should be out sometime in the next week.