Chapter 3

Aurelia followed the other Amity into the dorm room they were shown. Looking around at the bunk beds, she shook her head. She couldn't imagine a more depressing place to live. At least it would only be for the night. She hoped.

"Here, let's have this one." Anni said, pulling her over to a bunk in the corner. Aurelia sat on the bottom one with a sigh. They'd been told that they were to all share a single dorm room. There was a bathroom with showers just up the hallway and they were to all share that too. They were free to spend their time in here or go down to the Pit with the rest of the Dauntless and they were to join the Dauntless for dinner later that evening. She looked up when Anni stood in front of her.

"So…" Her friend began, "That Peter guy…"

"What of him?" Aurelia asked

"He was pretty good looking…"

"I suppose he was."

"Oh, come on, Lia!" Anni said, sitting beside her with a flounce, "You're meant to give me details…"

"Details of what?" She asked, "There's nothing to tell you. I got lost. He showed me how to get out…"

"So what?" Anni pressed, "You just came across him in the hallway?"

"Yep." She nodded "Pretty much."

"Well…" Anni pouted, "That's not as interesting as I had hoped."

Aurelia looked at her with a smile. "Sorry about that." She told her friend.

"Yeah, well… I mean you could try harder." Anni smirked at her, "Next time you come across a good looking guy, consider the story you're going to have to tell me and try your hardest to make sure it's interesting, will you?"

Aurelia laughed, thankful to Anni for trying to make her feel more comfortable. "I'll try." She told her.

"Good." Anni replied, as she got to her feet. "Now, we have free time to check this place out. I want to go check out this Pit thing."

"Alright…" Aurelia groaned as her friend pulled her to her feet.

"Hey!" Drew's voice echoed up the hallway and Peter turned to see his redheaded friend running toward him. "Where have you been?"

"I was doing stuff…" He replied, continuing up the hall when Drew had reached him.

"How awesome is this?" his friend said, "A bunch of Amity delivered straight to us. It's too perfect."

"You get lucky with the purple girl then?"

Drew snickered "You'd better believe it."

"I do." Peter replied, trying particularly hard not to picture it.

Drew laughed and clapped him on the shoulder, "So now… Amity chicks." He said, "I tried to talk to some earlier but we were too busy. I thought I'd miss my chance but with the Factionless kicking up a stink… They could be here for a few days…"

"Or just tonight." Peter put in.

"Yeah, true… But that still gives us all night with them." Drew winked at him, "Did you see any hot ones?"

Peter gave a nonchalant shrug, "One or two." He replied.

"I heard some of them are in the Pit." Drew said, "Wanna go check it out?"

Peter suddenly pictured Drew cornering Aurelia in the Pit and frowned. The thought disturbed him, though he didn't see why it should. Not that he figured she would be interested in Drew; he didn't think that would stop his friend, however. He quickened his step a moment later when he then pictured Eric cornering her.

They rounded a corner together and then entered the Pit. Peter had never seen it so crowded before. "Well," Drew began with a laugh, "they do stand out."

"Yeah…" Peter agreed, looking around. The Amity did indeed stand out, a mass of colour in a sea of black.

"Check that one out!" Drew said, nudging him in the ribs. Peter looked where Drew was indicating. There was a group of about five Amity girls standing nearby.

"… Be more specific." He said drily.

"The one with honey hair…" Drew replied, smoothing his own red hair down. "Think she'd go for me?"

"I don't know, Drew." He replied, his eyes scanning the Pit.

"Who are you looking for?"

"This girl I met earlier…" He said absently.

"Was she hot?"

"Yeah, a bit."

"Amity?" Drew asked, looking the crowd over again. Peter craned his neck, trying to see around people.

"What?" He asked, distracted, "Oh, yeah." He nodded, "She's Amity."

"You like her?" Drew asked mildly. Peter looked at him sharply.

"What makes you ask that?"

"There's a whole room full of Amity chicks and you're looking for this specific one…" Drew replied, running a hand through his hair again. Peter shrugged.

"She was interesting."

"Yeah, whatever." His friend snickered, "You laid the groundwork, didn't you… You just don't want to have to start again. You want to win our competition."

Peter thought about that. Could he win? If he found Aurelia again, he'd certainly like to try and find out. She was prettier than at least half these other Amity girls. It was possible. He rolled his sleeves up, still looking around. He mostly just wanted to make sure that Eric didn't get hold of her again. It was because of her that Eric had overlooked the fact that he had disobeyed him and he had escaped punishment. He would make sure that she was spared another run in with the older man. He owed her that.

She caught his attention the moment she walked into the Pit. He watched as she was pulled along by her blonde friend, laughing.

"Hello, Blondie…" Drew said, turning toward the entrance. Peter glanced at him to see he was looking at Aurelia's friend. "Come on, I wanna talk to this one…"

"Mhm." He murmured, following his friend through the crowd.

"Are you enjoying your stay, ladies?" Drew asked when he was close enough to the girls. Peter watched as Aurelia's green eyes looked at Drew and then flicked to him. She gave a small smile.

"Yes, thank you." The blonde girl answered.

"Great." Drew said, "I'm Drew and this is Peter…"

"Anni" The girl answered, "And Aurelia."

"Gorgeous." Drew commented and Peter rolled his eyes. He'd never understood how his friend had gotten anywhere with girls acting the way he did.

"…So what do you guys do here for fun?" Anni asked. Drew turned to him.

"Well," Peter said, thinking about it. "We're still going through initiation, so we don't really have all that much free time… But so far a few of us have gone to get a tattoo… But that seems to be about making oneself look more Dauntless… The girls seem to do the shopping thing… but mainly it's just hanging out and doing adrenaline junkie things… That and fighting one another…" He watched Anni raise an eyebrow and exchange a look with Aurelia.

"You guys should come stay at Amity for a while." She said, "We'd show you fun."

"I'll just bet you would." Drew grinned. Peter watched the expressions on the two girls' faces go from friendly to wary and just a little bit creeped out.

"Easy, Drew…" He said, clapping his friend on the shoulder. "Don't scare them away, now." He looked back down to Aurelia to see her looking past him, her eyes growing wider as her face appeared to drain of colour. Turning, Peter spotted Eric approaching them. When only a metre or so away, Eric's dark eyes flicked to them and he stopped beside Peter.

"Ah." Eric said, his cold eyes sweeping over them and coming to rest on Aurelia. "I trust you know your way between the dining hall and your dorm…?" he asked, "There should be no reason for you to get lost… again."

Peter looked at the colour Aurelia had turned and stepped in front of her, looking at Eric. "I've got it covered." He said, "I'll make sure she's where she is meant to be."

Eric's cold eyes turned on him and Peter tried his best to keep his expression neutral. "Good to see you doing what you're told to." Eric said, before adding "So now, if she's found anywhere she shouldn't be, I'll hold you responsible."

"…Yeah." Peter just about choked out as Eric turned and walked away without a further word.

"He scares the crap out of me…" Drew commented. "But he's so awesome."

Peter turned back around to face them and gestured across the Pit. "How about we go and get some dinner…"

"Great idea." Drew agreed, leading them across the Pit. Anni followed after him quickly. Peter strode after them and looked down at a hand on his arm.

"Thank you." Aurelia said softly. "That was… kind… of you. I hadn't taken the Dauntless to be kind."

"It wasn't kindness." He told her. "You distracted him from me earlier. I distracted him from you just now. Now we're even."

"That's very black and white." She murmured, "You transferred out of Candor, remember?"

"I don't think we ever truly stop being what we were." He replied, watching as she inclined her head slightly.

"We can try." She answered. "I think that's the point of everything. Trying."

"Sometimes there is no point." He murmured, "Sometimes, people just don't have what it takes to change no matter how much they wish they could. They just don't have it in them."

She made a small noise and he looked down at her again. "Sometimes," She said, "They just need somebody else to see it in them and tell them they can."

Author's Note:

A review would really make my day, guys. I'd love to know what your impressions are. I'm flying blind, here.

A nice slice of Dauntless Chocolate Cake for everyone who drops a review.