I jog through the corridors and hallways filled with Dauntless, back to my room, with one thought filling my mind.

I am now a leader of Dauntless.

All through initiation, there had always been a tiny, lingering doubt at the back of my mind. What if it didn't work? What if all of my plans had been for nothing? Worst of all, what if Tobias beat me to the leadership position?

But now I see that I shouldn't have worried. Jeanine said she would make sure I would become leader, and I have. I can trust what she says. She is an Erudite; someone clever and smart, just like I once wanted to be, a long time ago. There are no doubts in my mind anymore; she is worthy of my trust. She is in control of everything.

As I enter my room and sit down on my bed, not bothering to tidy up the clothes lying around, I remember that it is the sixth day of the second week this month; a very important day. I set my alarm for just after midnight; waking up at exactly midnight would be suspicious; and put it under my pillow to muffle the sound. I can't afford for anyone else to be awake when I am.

Tonight will be the night I sneak out of Dauntless to report to Jeanine in Erudite.

It is much easier, now that I am a member of Dauntless. I found it difficult to see her during initiation; initiates aren't allowed out of the compound; especially transfers, for fear that they might sneak out to their former faction and see their families. Although many would challenge an initiate on sneaking around at night, no one would challenge the new leader of Dauntless.

At least, I hope.

I don't allow myself to worry about sneaking out. It's easy, though I lose a lot of sleep, and I am a leader now; I can do anything.

Just after midnight, my alarm goes off. My hand shoots out to stop it, although I know no one will hear; I asked for a room alone. There was no one else I wanted to share with, no one else I knew well enough to sleep in the same room as.

When I had asked Max if there were any single rooms, he had given me an almost knowing look and said, 'You're the second person to ask me that.'

'Who else asked you?' I asked. I couldn't imagine any of the Dauntless-borns being alone; they are used to noise and people, and none of them could cope with being alone. That would leave the transfers.

'Four,' Max had said, like it was obvious.

Of course Tobias would. He is too antisocial to want to be with someone else; though for a few moments I thought he would have shared a room with Zeke and Shauna. But the Stiffs grow up in silence, and he is used to that quietness. I thought that he would try to cover up a lingering hint of Abnegation; but even the greatest people can be wrong sometimes.

Max had looked at his list. 'You're in luck; free single room, second floor, fifth one along. Sound okay to you?' I had nodded happily, hoping it was nowhere near Tobias but honestly not caring if it was.

I open my door quietly, locking it behind me and putting the key in my pocket. My shoes make strange, faint sounds on the floor; irrationally, I wonder if they are getting louder. Telling myself to calm down, I turn a corner; and bump into Tobias.

'What are you doing here?'

'What do you want?'

Our words overlap. 'You first,' I say to him. 'What are you doing? It's past midnight.'

'None of your business,' he says sharply. 'What are you doing out here?'

I'm not going to tell him what I'm really doing, but I haven't thought of a cover story. Stupid. I was arrogant enough to think that no one would bother me; I make a mental note to always think of a cover story, no matter how innocent the situation is. Instead, I focus on Tobias. The staircase he just came down doesn't lead to anything except-

'The fear landscape,' I say aloud. 'You were in your fear landscape, weren't you?' There was a haunted look in his eyes when he first walked into me; something that could only have come from facing his worst fears in a simulation. He says nothing, merely giving me a freezing glare, but I know by the look on his face that I'm right. 'Why would you do that?' I ask, genuinely curious for a few moments. I frown. 'Is it because you want to seem brave? Because it's not brave; it's just stupid.'

'I am flattered by your interest in my whereabouts at night and whether or not I face my worst fears,' he says sharply, his voice implying the exact opposite. I try to think of a smart remark to set him straight, but nothing comes out. He narrows his eyes at me. 'At least I'm not out visiting my Erudite buddies at night,' he continues.

How does he know? He is bluffing. He has to be bluffing. I can only hope that he is guessing, grasping at straws, rather than the alternate, which I would rather not think about. He has no concrete proof, but I can't help wondering all the same how much he knows. Is he bluffing, or is he holding this information above my head the way I do with his name?

'Well, I have better things to do than to talk to you all night,' I say, anxious to move onwards. Jeanine will be expecting me soon; I have lost valuable time talking to Tobias.

'What, like sharing Dauntless secrets with Erudite?'

I try to think of a devastating remark, but eventually just brush past him and continue onto Erudite headquarters.

'Oh, Eric. I was beginning to think that you had forgotten about our meeting.' Jeanine's voice, sharp as ever, is icy.

'Sorry,' I say. 'I was held up by Eaton. I didn't give anything away,' I add quickly. 'He was coming back from somewhere; I think it was the fear landscape, but I have no concrete proof.'

She types something into the computer. 'Yes; the fear landscape was entered twenty-seven minutes ago, lasting five minutes and thirty-eight seconds. I cannot access who it was entered by without looking suspicious, but that should be enough to determine who was in there.'

'Definitely Eaton,' I say. 'What were his fears?' I add, a little too eagerly. Jeanine doesn't answer, though I didn't expect her to. I am sure she knows; she saw one of his simulations, and she has access to the Dauntless records, but she doesn't divulge information without having a good reason to do so.

'So, about our current situation. You are now an official leader of Dauntless; am I correct?'

I nod. 'Was that because of you?'

'Only in part. It was due to your skill and bravery that Max thought to give you a chance; I merely made sure he would choose you as leader over his other candidates by telling you what to say.' She pauses. 'You are now a leader, and you have more power than most. What are your goals?'

'I want to make initiation a more competitive place,' I say confidently. 'Like I said at the interview. And I don't want Tobias to have his way with training.' Where I advocated for a limited amount of spots in Dauntless, and for the threat of factionlessness to be looming over the initiates at all times, Tobias wanted to take out the knife-throwing, and prepare people physically and mentally. It is obvious why Max chose me over him.

'Initiation is less than half a year away,' Jeanine says. 'That can be easily achieved. Now, I would like to talk about the rankings. Why do you think you came second?'

I have known that this conversation would come up. I expected, hoped, wanted to be first. No one remembers the second initiate; Tobias has gone down as Dauntless legend, not me. 'I don't know,' I say, 'but I want to find out. Either way… I know how I can be noticed again, and this plan will not fail.'

A/N: Woop, 2nd chapter in a day. What do you think Eric's got up his sleeve? I already know, but take a guess! You may be closer to the truth than you think ^-^

So about the chronology of this: Two chapters ago, Tobias, feeling overwhelmed by Zeke and Shauna's making gooey eyes at each other, went into his fear landscape. Eric, in this chapter, bumps into him just as he is coming out of the room, and they have a confrontation; this is why Tobias feels so shaken up and refuses to leave his room. Zeke tells him to come out and watch Uriah getting his first tattoo, and this is what I'll be focusing on in the next chapter.

In another simultaneous but completely separate timeline, Caleb met Emily three days ago, and has already fallen in love with the place. (Not with Emily… yet ^-^ But seriously, I haven't decided how far their relationship will go) I'll also be following that; Caleb still has one and a half years to go until his initiation, so it's too early for him to be making decisions… but yeah, thanks for reading :)