Hello again! Here's the second chapter to my new Fanfiction… I'm really enjoying writing this, probably because I love the characters so much! But it's also because a few of you have already taken the time to review, and I am more than grateful. Thank you so much, your words mean a lot to me! I hope you enjoy this chapter as well…

Forbidden Factions

Beatrice's POV

I'm awake even before the sunlight begins to filter through the trees, or the birds start to sing their usual morning song. My eyes feel swollen and tired, as if they've been open wide all night, just staring up at the ceiling. Perhaps they have.

Of course, he's the first thing that springs to my mind. Who am I kidding? He's been in their ever since I first clapped eyes on him last night. With though hypnotic, blue orbs and that hooked nose; he got to me immediately.

"Beatrice?" My mother's voice is soft and uncertain, as it always is when she first speaks to me in the morning behind the closed door, afraid of awakening me from a deep slumber.

I wish that I could tell her that I'm already wide awake, and have been for hours, all because of… a boy. My cheeks flush at the very thought of confiding in my mother, well in that way at least!

I put on a slurred voice "Coming!"

A quick glance in the mirror tells me that my appearance is practically screaming the truth: My hair frames my face perfectly, with hardly any stray hairs compared to my normal 'bed head' and my eyes are heavy with bags that indicate a lack of sleep. It looks like I've just been sat awake in my bed all night, which is partly true.

I ruffle my hair slightly to make it seem like I've been tossing and turning, and slap at handful of cool water into my face to ease the puffiness around my eyes.

In school today, I wonder if I'll see him. I can't quite recall him being on the bus journey before, and being that he's 2 years older than me he's certainly not in any of my classes. I could ask around and find out which locker is his, and then just wait. Or, maybe I could-

What am I saying? What is it about this boy? We hardly even spoke to each other… Get a grip, Beatrice!

There's another knock on the door, but this time the voice that follows is low and sombre "Beatrice, can we talk?"

It's Caleb. I'll be honest, I still feel quite reluctant to talk to him. He saw straight through me yesterday, he'd spotted the way I was looking at Tobias! He knows…

But still, he's my brother and he wants to talk.

"Come in." I say weakly.

The door swings open gradually, and he steps inside. The awkward silence that follows confirms my worst fears: he's still concerned about last night.

"You do understand what I was saying, don't you? I mean, yesterday. You get why I had to be so stern with you?" He dares to come a little closer, resting a hand on the foot of my bed.

I grit my teeth; I hate it when Caleb chastises me. I feel so young and immature, like he's scolding a little girl for sneaking cookies from the jar.

"Yes, I do."

He bows his head and sniffs indignantly "Tobias Eaton, he- You just don't want to get involved with someone like that, OK?"

I shrug, not quite sure what he's implying "There's nothing going on, Caleb. I'm just trying my best to fit in with the Abnegation!" I swallow and look down at my thumbs "When I'm being distant with people, you say that I'm being impolite. But when I'm being kind to people, you say that I'm trying to… You know."

I glance at his face to spot the reaction, but besides a rush of colour to his cheeks, he remains neutral, with his arms hanging firmly by his sides.

"I know, and I'm sorry for that." He looks around the room uncomfortably "I just don't want to see you get hurt, that's all."

Part of me feels warm with a sudden surge of gratitude, but the greater half feels deeply offended by his lack of faith in me. But of course, I conceal my anger by balling my fists and forcing a smile.

He returns it gladly "You better get dressed, we'll be late."

And just like that, my 'big brother lecture' comes to a close. I just hope to God that he doesn't drag it up again, because I'm not quite sure how long I keep the charade up.

Tobias' POV

I run a hand over the calendar stashed under my mattress; only 9 days to go until the choosing ceremony now. The crosses indicating the passing of another day lead all the way up to Tuesday, the day I met Beatrice.

It's been around 12 hours since we spoke for the first time, and I still can't seem to shift those dazzling, bright eyes out of my mind. She's nothing like the girls I usually take to; she's thin and meek with nothing in particular to draw your attention, but she's unique in her own way.

But enough about her, I wasn't supposed to be thinking about her. Tonight, I'll mark off today: Wednesday. And tomorrow, will be Thursday, then Friday, then Saturday and so on so forth. The labels for each individual day mean nothing to me, just the time they hold.

"Just 9 more days…" I mutter under my breath, stuffing a school book into my bag and slinging it over my shoulder.

I can't ignore the trembling in my fingers as I descend the stairs; my whole body is shaking uncontrollably. But at the same time, I'm not surprised. I've been acting like this a lot recently; it's as if I'm responding to my father's probable rage next week already. But at least he won't be able to hurt me, not when I'm gone. Not when I'm running free with the Dauntless.

I've already decided that they're the best option for me. I'm not kind enough for Amity; I wouldn't be able to stomach the constant laughter and forceful happiness. I can't stand the thought of having to reveal my deepest, darkest secrets, so Candor is also a no go. And I'm smart, but nothing special, so certainly not good enough to pass Erudite initiation.

The Dauntless always seemed like free spirits to me, and although I can't quite picture myself leaping off trains and punching people in the face, freedom is something that I've been craving for a long, long time.

"Tobias?" That voice sends a shudder down my spine, fills me with the deepest dread imaginable and freezes me on the spot.

I can feel his presence behind me, his shadow, greatly exaggerated in the light looms over my head, like he's ready to pounce.

I inhale and exhale, just like my mother once told me to do.

It will help, trust me. Her words speak to me soothingly in the back of my head, and I relax "Yes, father?"

He lays a solid hand onto my shoulder, and I turn to face him.

I dig my fingernails into my palms; he looks particularly menacing today. The shadow of a pre-shaved beard darkens his jaw, and his watery eyes are narrowed in a sceptical manner.

"Who were you talking to last night?"

Beatrice Prior. Her name is caught in my throat, but something tells me that it would be best to keep that to myself. No, I can't lie to him, he's sure to find out the truth. What's the issue, anyway? We talked for all of 2 minutes, and her brother was right there!

I force my eyes onto his "Beatrice and Caleb Prior, sir. They came to wish me good luck with the ceremony next week…"

For a brief moment, I'm scared that he's seen right through my act. His jaw tightens, and his fists clench momentarily by his sides. But then his expression softens, and he smiles thinly "Ah, Andrew's kids! How kind."

I'm dismissed, and before I can say something to set him off, I scurry out through the door, without even remembering to take my lunch.

Beatrice's POV

I leave the house before anyone else. Usually, me and Caleb walk to the bus stop together, but this morning, I feel like it would be best if I gave him some space.

The air is pleasantly warm, soothing the goose bumps on my arms, as I cross the road. On the other side, I'm greeted by Susan and Robert Black.

"Good morning, Beatrice!" She smiles.

Susan is about the closest thing I have to a friend in Abnegation; we've been neighbours for as long as I can remember. Almost every day we'll exchange pleasantries and often walk to or from school together, but I've never felt like I could confide in her properly…

"Good morning. Isn't your father driving you this morning?" Mr Black works around the city, always seen in his car. He'll usually offer me and Caleb a ride to school, which we always turn down, being the wholesome Abnegation we are.

"He had to work early this morning, so we're taking the bus." Robert says.

Side by side, the resemblance between the two siblings is striking. Susan's blonde hair is pinned back precisely, matching almost identically in shade with her brother's, and their pale eyes take the same shape. The sad thing is, with us both having blonde hair and blue eyes, we also come across as twins in our Abnegation grey. So maybe it isn't their relation that links them together, it's just the dull, repetitive appearance as seen in our faction.

"Where's Caleb this morning?" Susan asks, her face lighting up at the thought of my brother.

Me and Robert exchange a knowing look; for years, we've watched the relationship between Caleb and Susan evolve. The flirtatious grins, the longing stares… We've seen it all.

I sigh "I went ahead; he wasn't quite ready."

Her smile fades, and she looks down at her feet disappointedly "Oh, well."

"I'm sure he'll be here soon." I offer her a shred of hope, though it's likely that Caleb will trail behind today, as he always does when he needs time to think.

She nods curtly, and we head towards the bus stop together.

Just then, I hear a familiar voice "Beatrice Prior."

It's already especially low for his age and etched with a distant confidence, as well as caution.

I turn to face him, my heart in my mouth and force my lips to move "Tobias Eaton."

Susan's eyes are burning into my skull from behind; she's probably wondering what on earth I'm doing talking to someone like him. But right now, I couldn't care less.

"I saw you leave your house, and thought that I'd-"

"Stop and say hello?" I smirk "Or just say my name like some creepy stalker?"

He raises his hands slightly and grins "Oh, sorry! I didn't take you for the paranoid type."

I wish that I could just teleport us both to another dimension, one where I didn't have Susan and Robert observing us like a pair of suspicious parents in the background. I've always kept my distance when it comes to boys, but this one feels different… So different.

He glances over my shoulder and blushes "I-I didn't know we had an audience…"

I know that his slick confidence has been dwindled to bashfulness now, and that our conversation will never continue the way it was with them watching.

"Are you taking the bus to school?" I ignore their accusing glare.

He laughs shortly "I haven't taken the bus since I was 8 years old!"

My face contorts "I've never seen Marcus drive you?"

At the mention of his father's name, he recoils and turns pasty "I walk."

Robert scoffs "That's quite a trek…"

I can sense the tension in the air, and Tobias' lip curls "I like to walk." His one eyebrow raised, he adds "Problem?"

A jolt of energy rushes through me; I've never seen an argument in person, which isn't surprising considering the faction I'm in.

But, to my dismal, Robert's face turns scarlet and he steps back, defeated "N-No, sorry."

Always so courteous, never any fun.

No. My faction is kind and respectful. We don't have time for fighting, but that doesn't make us dull.

I shake off my selfish thoughts and smile "Mind if I join you?"

The question had formed on my tongue before I'd had time to consider how stupid it would sound.

Thankfully though, his lips part slightly in what seems like a look of relief to me, and he nods "Sure."

Tobias' POV

We walk side by side, our hands almost touching, with the morning breeze whistling through our hair. Well, her hair at least… Mine is buzzed so close to my skull that it would hardly shift throughout a storm.

I sneak a glance at her face, which looks surprisingly content as she goes on. Her eyes are glistening just how I remember them, but appear somewhat tired with subtle bags beneath them.

"You look exhausted." I say.

Damn. You don't just tell a girl that she looks exhausted! What an idiot…

Luckily, she takes little offence and laughs it off "Well, I didn't get much sleep last night."

I wonder why.

For the remainder of our journey, I can't seem to peel my eyes away. When her face is turned in the other direction, I risk another look, and always find myself marvelling over something new. Her knobbly knuckles and thin legs, her childish, but somewhat cute figure, her wispy, blonde hair that falls across her face and over her shoulders, her long neck and curved nose… And those eyes.

"What?" She catches me in the act.

My face burns with shame and embarrassment rolled into one "N-Nothing… Sorry."

Her eyes narrow, searching my face for something. A twitch? A moment of a weakness? I sign of my deceit? Thank God we're not in Candor, is all I can think.

Finally, she bites her lip and smiles "You're weird."

It would strike me as an insult if it had came from anyone else, but with her, I take it not as a slur, or a compliment either. It's just a general observation. I'm not sure how she feels about my 'weirdness', but it doesn't seem to sway her.

"OK." Is all I can muster.

She laughs lightly "Well, we're here…"

That is true. I'd been too fixated on her face to realize that we'd actually reached the front steps of our school. "Oh, yeah."

"Thanks for the talk, Tobias." She grins as she turns to leave "It certainly was thrilling!"

I chuckle and run a hand over my face; that could have gone so much better.

As she camouflages into a large group of Abnegation bodies, she turns to face me once more and smiles. Her eyes are alight with a sudden joy that I hadn't noticed before, and my stomach churns. She is petite and easily unnoticeable to those who don't know her. But I do, and I notice her. She is Beatrice Prior, and she is not pretty. She is staggeringly beautiful.

Squee! I love talking as Tobias when he's thinking of Beatrice… It's so cute! You may have noticed that Tobias is not as stern, and should we say 'grumpy' as he is in the books, but that's not because I'm rubbish at writing him, it's because he's obviously still in Abnegation, so he hasn't got that Dauntless stubbornness about him yet. But don't worry, it will come in time… Anyway, I hope you enjoy it! Please review for more chapters…