A/N: I'm so so sorry that even after more people than I expected told me to keep writing but my laptop broke and I had to wait for a new mother board for like three weeks. So yeah, same crap I always say but you rarely do even though I don't bite or anything: please review, I would be pleased to have your feedback (:

Chapter Eighteen – 'Divergent'

Everything is fuzzy and there are only a few things I am sure about. I am in Four's bedroom. I'm crying on Emmett's arms. Maeve is dead. We need to leave. And by we, I mean all the people in this room. This place went from Home to one of the most dangerous places we could be in, in less than an hour.

I feel a hand in my back and I look up. Four is trying to hide his sadness but it's an impossible goal in a room where everyone is crying. "We need to talk." He says. His words have a double meaning, as always – we need to talk, but not here, where anyone can hear us.

I nod and stand up from Emmett's lap. He looks at me with red eyes from crying, though he stopped crying a long ago. Actually, I and Owen were the only ones who cried for the last couple hours. I let go of him and walk into the bathroom. I open the water and I'm ready to wash my face when I glance at the mirror. All the makeup Maeve made me wear for our last day as initiates has now made a big mix of golden, brown and black in my face. I look terrible; but that's not the matter though. My crying ruined one of Maeve's last works. I rush on washing my face and leave the bathroom. Only Emmett is waiting for me and the door is opened.

"Four told us to meet him in the train station in fifteen minutes. Owen took Kate and left right the way. I think he has something in mind, and it's probably not a good thing." I nod and take his hand.

"He has to do what he thinks he needs to do." I don't look at Emmett in the eyes. I can't. In this moment I don't think I can face anyone. I pull by his hand and we leave the room towards the train station.

Fifteen minutes later a train comes and we jump in. Owen and Kate appear just in time. Owen is carrying a backpack. Four and Emmett both look surprised with it, but I don't. He can't stand it staying in the Dauntless headquarters anymore. Owen has made his decision, he is now factionless. He looks at me for a brief second and I get the message. "Tell my sister goodbye for me." I nod saying I will.

The silence is heavy but no one breaks it. The train passes through to the Dauntless headquarters station again – we just made a full circle around the town and no one said a word yet. As the train continues Four finally decides to break the silence. He's looking right at me, so I look down.

"Owen, Kate. You might want to take a seat." I feel Emmett's hands pulling me closer to him and I know he just realized what happened to Maeve and what Four is going to say.

"Four…" Emmett tries to say, but shuts up once Kate and Owen stare at him.

"We all know who killed her right?" Owen eyes immediately move from Emmett to Four.

"You're saying-?" Four simply nods. I look up to Emmett. It could have been one of us if only Eric knew about our Divergence. But both of us had terrible fears that made our weak moment, which obviously drowned Eric's attention away from us, unfortunately leaving Maeve in the spot light.

"That's not the matter now, anyway." Four continues. "It's not the matter?! HE KILLED HER!" Owen is on his feet again, walking towards Four with a furious look. "How can you possibly say that?!"

Four puts his hands on Owen's shoulders forcing him to calm down. "Look, there's nothing we can do to save Maeve now. And Eric is beyond our reach. In the other hand, there are other people who could use our help." Four looks back at me and Emmett. Owen makes a confused look. "What are you talking about?"

"Think," Four says "why would Eric want to kill Maeve? What in the world about him and what in the world about her could connect them two and give him the need to kill her?"

For the surprise of the surprises, Kate stands up too and shoves Four's hand from Owen's shoulders, standing between them two. "Owen, where did you say Eric was from?" Her back is turned to Four, ignoring him. She's completely focused which is something new in Kate; but I'm guessing she's still a Candor after all, she wants the truth. "Erudite, but what-"

"And Maeve got the first place right? You said something about her being extremely good at stuff most people had trouble with."

"Yeah, all but the fighting, she was good at it, but it was average. Everyone was. But still, what does that have to do with her getting killed."

This time, Kate turns to Four, ignoring her boyfriend. "Maeve was—was—"She takes a deep breath and focus again. "Divergent." She doesn't wait for Four to confirm it, she immediately turns around one more time to face me and Emmett. "And so are you two." Yet she doesn't stop there. She turns back at Four and stares at him. She opens her mouth but then she and Four exchange a look and she closes her mouth again. I wonder what was she about to say, but then we all hear Owen's loud breathing, as if he is panicking.

"No! She would have told me!" No one says a word. It's a hard thing to accept – that someone you love is Divergent. Both I and Emmett were never able to share that fact about us. Even between the two of us we could only share it after we started dating. Being Divergent is probably the most terrifying thing that could happen to anyone, no wonder why Maeve kept it to herself.

Kate walks towards the car's door. By the position of the sun I can tell that it's almost midday. We're all awake for more than twenty-four hours straight. "I think we need to go Owen." Kate says, trying to keep her voice as calm as possible. Seeing her extremely happy and funny boyfriend like this must feel terrible for her. Owen takes his backpack off and lends it to her.

"There's something I still need to do at the Dauntless headquarters. I'll meet you at your apartment later at night." His eyes are still red like he's about to start crying again.

"Owen, I don't think that's a good idea." Kate says. He approaches her and we all look away. After a few minutes her shadow disappears and I'm guessing she just jumped out of the train.

"Owen I hope you're not planning something like trying to kill Eric." I say, leaving Emmett's arms for a moment. It's the first chance I get to support Owen.

"I would, if I could. But it's not the time yet." He says. "Didn't you want to work with Tori? Well, I have a job for you." His voice breaks a little at the end of his statement and he takes me on his arms and cries for a little longer; just until we get to the Dauntless headquarters. There all the sadness in his face seems to be gone, replaced by an expressionless mask.

I remember talking about the jobs we wanted back when we were planning our trip to the Candor faction. It was only a few days ago, but it seems like years. That was the day when I announced that I wanted to work with Tori at the tattoo's store. I even made a joke saying that then I would get a lot of Owen's visits every time he got caught doing something he shouldn't and was sent there to clean the store. Emmett told everyone he'd like to work with Four at the computers room in the Dauntless headquarters. Owen said he'd take anything as long as he could jump from buildings or drive a bike at high speed whenever he wanted. And at last, Maeve told us she'd like to train new initiates, just like Lauren and Four – a chance she never got, and never will.

At the Dauntless headquarters people open paths for us everywhere we go. We get kids staring and grownups looking away. Maeve's family is waiting for us in the dining hall. None of them is crying – a stupid rule from Dauntless that says that crying is coward. For me, cowardice is now showing what you feel, and I'm quite a pro in that. But I never considered myself as brave after all, did I?

After that, all the initiates met at the training room. (Owen was mysteriously gone and Lauren was late and she looked quite mad and sad, so no need to wonder about where Owen was.) Four tells us it's time to pick our jobs. I feel bad to be the first one, as though I'm taking Maeve's place. I say what I want and Lauren tells me to go to the store and tell Tori I'm her new assistant. I pass my fingers through Emmett's and quickly leave, still not being able to look into his eyes. Eventually I realized what has been stopping me from looking right into people's eyes – guilty. I blame myself for Maeve's death. I'm probably being stupid, but I knew something was wrong. I knew something bad was going to happen and didn't warn anyone. I simply played egocentric and worried about my relationship with Emmett when that was never in risk. I force myself to stop thinking about it once I reach the store.

Tori is really nice to me and puts me working immediately. She tells me to show what I can do with a pencil and I draw some simple drawings. "I see you're quite talented." She says in her calm voice.

I remember Four telling me she used to volunteer to do the faction tests to the Abnegation members. Maybe that's where she learned how to be so calm and controlled all the time.

After the drawings she says she's going to show me how to do them with a needle. I don't particularly like the idea of a needle as it reminds me of a syringe, but I manage to focus on what she's telling me.

At about six o'clock she closes the store, as, according to her, tattoo makers need to be wide awake to work. So basically she's telling me I have every night free. Though I don't think that's going to happen today. First, Tori is going to make me a tattoo on my arm – the Abnegation symbol. I tell her to put it right next to the Dauntless one.

Again, I don't think of myself as selfless, I mean, I just proved I wasn't yesterday, but I now know that I need to be. I owe that to Maeve. The second reason is that once I'm done with my tattoo and Tori lends me the keys of the store so I can take a look at her drawing books as she goes have dinner, Owen enters the store.

"You're boyfriend's shift is about to be over. I told him to meet us here." By the tone of his voice I can see he's not telling me everything, but I don't pressure him. "Meanwhile, I hope you learned how to do your job. I want a tattoo." I sigh. "Owen… You should wait for-"

"I can't. I need to leave. And I want you to do it. It's important." I look at the floor, not knowing exactly what to do. I feel Owen walking towards me and making me look into his eyes. I try to look away, unsuccessfully. "Is, please. You're one of-" He shakes his head. "You're my best friend. Do this thing for me and for Maeve, would you?" I close my eyes and nod.

Emmett walks in right in the moment I'm saying 'Okay, take your shirt off' to Owen, which makes me feel quite embarrassed. Emmett himself seems to be hiding something by the look he exchanges with Owen, but I decide I will ask later, after Owen leaves.

Owen asked me to write Maeve's name at the top of his back and 'Divergent' at the bottom. I tried to refuse doing the bottom one, but he insisted. His skin is burning red when I cover it with a bandage. "It should be healed in a couple of days." I say, repeating Tori's words. Owen nods and thanks me as he puts his shirt back on. He opens the door. "I'll see you soon, hopefully." One last look exchanging with Emmett and he leaves, rushing towards the train station.

I turn to Emmett, who's already behind me, making me jump. We both raise one eyebrow to the other.

"You're very jumpy."

"You're hiding something." We accuse each other at the same time.

I look down almost immediately, but he keeps his look steady. Whatever he's hiding doesn't bother him. He puts his arms around my waist. "I know this scared you, Is. It scared me too. Still does. But it won't change who we are." I let my head rest against his chest and tell him what I felt like yesterday.

"You were seriously thinking I was going to dump you? I had to be insane to do that!" I roll my eyes, almost managing a smile. "Emmett, that's not the matter here." He puts his hands on my cheeks and makes me look into his eyes. It seems easier now that I told him about how such a piece of trash I felt like. "Look," he says "it's not your fault. You weren't the one to throw her. It was Eric. We all know it was him. And it's as Four told Owen. We can't change what happened now, but we can save ourselves. Maeve would want us to do that." I close my eyes, struggling with the pain caused by the fact that everyone now uses the past tense to refer to Maeve.

"I know. We need to leave. But people will suspect if we leave now." Emmett sighs with relief. "I thought you'd say we should stay here."

"Why on Earth would I say that?" Emmett looks down.

"I know it feels like home for you here. I know you've never had this." It's my turn to make Emmett's eyes meet mine.

"Home is wherever you are. I thought you were smart enough to go to the Erudite faction, but I'm having my doubts…" He shows me an offended expression and tickles me.

"Are you calling me an Abnegation Brain?" Abnegation Brain is supposed to be a big offense among Erudite members, as it's the faction they hate the most, and they think it's the dumbest.

"You're the one to say it." I say, raising both of my hands, on a peace gesture.

Emmett lays on the table-strike-bed where Owen was lying before while I was making his tattoo, and pulls me to him. Two normal people probably wouldn't fit the table but as I'm so tiny and Emmett is quite skinny in a muscled and cute way, the table is just fine for the two of us. We cuddle for a while until we decide we're getting hungry. I'm ready to start cleaning the stuff I used for Owen's tattoo when Emmett pulls by my hand. "Would it be too much to ask you for a tattoo and I'll go get the food for us while you prepare everything?" I look into his eyes, trying to decipher them, wondering what he has in mind.

I shrug. "I guess it's okay."

He gives me a fast kiss and rushes towards the dining hall while I get everything ready.

We leave the Dauntless tattoo's store at about three in the morning. Both of us have now the word 'Divergent' tattooed on the bottom of our backs, just like Owen. When Emmett asked for it I refused to do it, saying it was too dangerous. But a few kisses and a speech about Maeve and being brave and not afraid of who we are ended up by convincing me – under the condition that I would get one too, and he'd be the one to do it. Surprisingly, Emmett was great at copying things. I did the draw for him and he made it exactly as I did it on the paper, just on my back.

My wrist and my back hurt, but I don't really care. I'm so tired I think I could sleep for two days straight. We forget that each of us now owns a bedroom and end up by sleeping on Emmett's old bed at the initiates' dorm.

During the following weeks, people slowly stopped opening paths everywhere we went and stopped looking at us with pity. I and Emmett are now known as the Dauntless couple. We rarely hang out with anybody else inside or outside the headquarters.

I'm getting out of the store for my lunch break when Emmett rushes towards me. "Thought your shift only ended on twenty minutes." I say, accepting his kiss when he reaches me. "Owen just messaged me. He said there's an old train car they found and the four of us can have it. It's near the Amity fields, which can cause us some problems in what comes to access to the city, but Owen says he'll try to get us a bike as my sister will use his to go to work. And she'll also have to pretend she's still living with Zander while he doesn't find someone else to stay with him." All this information seems to have trouble to sink in. This means we leave this night, or tomorrow morning, at tops.

"You're alright?" He asks, placing his hands right over my 'Divergent' tattoo. I take a moment before I nod. "Just getting used to the idea that we're moving – again." He looks at me for a second longer.

"I have to go back. I need to talk to Four. See if I can convince him to leave with us. Maybe he could stay with Zander." I laugh and shake my head. "It's not going to happen. He's so stubborn."

"More than you?"

"Hey!" Emmett laughs and gives me a fast kiss before he leaves.

At eight in the night, both I and Emmett have our things packed. It's basically just our clothes from back at Candor and a few personal objects like tooth brushes and shampoos. Four is waiting for us at the train station. We're heading there now. Our fingers are laced, as usual, but there's a weird tension. This'll be the first night we'll spend like alone-alone. I mean, we've been sleeping on Emmett's bedroom for the last few weeks, but like anyone could come in or knock at the door, or just step by in the hall. Tonight's going to be different. We're going to be alone. In the woods. No one will be around. And that idea just scares the hell out of me.

"Is, you're still here?"

"Huh, what?" I say, suddenly realizing Emmett was talking to me. "I was saying that Owen and Kate said they'll be waiting for us in the train, so that they can show us how to get to the old car we're staying in." He stops walking and stands in front of me. "You're okay?" He asks. Obviously, I feel too nervous about what's going on my mind that I can't say a word, so I simply nod. Emmett understands something is wrong, but he decides not to pressure me.

In a couple minutes we are standing with Four. He gives us a fast hug, while I and Emmett try to convince him to come with us. "The train is coming." He says, just to shut us up.

We know it's truth so we say goodbye to Four. Emmett gives him a fast hug and shakes his hand. "It was a real pleasure to call you a friend and a trainer, Four. Thank you, for everything." I hear Emmett saying and wonder how he can always be so careful and wise with his words. Right now, I'm speechless, trying to figure how can I say a definite goodbye to Four. Four, the guy who I've looked up to since I changed factions; the guy I trusted and the guy who like me, never felt like he really had a home.

Four stands in front of me with a sad smile. He opens his arms to me, and I crash against his chest feeling his arms around me. Hot tears start to watch my eyes and fall through my cheeks.

"Hey," he says, "it's not like I'm going to die, you know?"

I look up to his eyes. "Promise me I'll see you again before that happens." I ask. He nods.

"Is, it's time." Emmett calls from behind me and I let go of Four.

"You go," Four says, "She'll follow you in a matter of seconds."

Emmett starts walking towards the train path as I turn to Four, raising my eyebrows with surprise.

"Here," he says, lending me a gun and a set of knives, "to keep you two saves, Abnegation Brains." I kick him for hearing that, but take the gun and shave it the back of my black jeans. As for the knives I have no intention of taking them. Four shakes his head, but doesn't force me to take the knives, which I'm thankful for. I'm ready to turn around when he stops me.

"One last hug?" He doesn't wait for me to answer he pulls me closer to him. "If you ever have problems with the factionless say you're friends with Tobias Eaton." He whispers really fast to my ear as I feel the zip of my backpack being closed and I'm sure he just shoved the knives in there.

"Who's he?" I ask, starting to walk towards the train. He follows me until I start running so I'll be able to jump, and I'm afraid I won't get an answer. And it's when my feet leave the ground and I officially leave what I once called home to become factionless that he shouts his answer.

"A good friend and a powerful name."