Chapter 2:

I tried my best to put on a brave face while walking to my desk, but Candor are notoriously good at seeing through bullshit. James, one of the Candor security guards, asked me if I was alright. Shit. How was I going to get around this? I could lie, but he'd spot in a second. While most of Candor probably knew I was divergent, I also wasn't exactly keen to remind them, especially considering the timing. I needed to tell him enough of the truth to sound convincing, but not so much that I put myself in danger.

"Just a bit nervous, James. Saw something on TV that really scared me," I replied. As much as Candor were honest, I was also part Erudite, and I was generally cautious in what information I chose to share with others. My TV habits, thankfully, were not one of them, so James had no idea that I usually watched the evening news broadcast.

"Ah, yeah, those scary movies'll get to ya! Least you weren't watching one right before bed, ya might not've slept for a week!"

"Yeah, that's true."

James nodded and returned to his post. I finished setting myself up at my desk. Six hours passed fairly uneventfully, and I began to find myself calming down.

Suddenly, just past midnight, the Candor guards started making a commotion, running around and communicating on their radios. Some even left the main hall and went outside. Since James was the closest guard to my desk, I managed to grab his shoulder and hastily get his attention.

"James, what's going on?!"

"Some Dauntless soldiers were spotted at the entrance to Candor. We're sending some guards out to meet them, while some of us are staying here just in case. You shouldn't need to worry about it, we have enough guards stationed tonight. Just stay put at your desk here and you should be fine. If anything happens, just follow my lead" Fuck. Well then. Unlike the security guards, I had absolutely zero self defense training, so I instead shakily returned to my desk, feeling much like a sitting duck.

I sat there, wide eyed, watching the commotion. Part of me was terrified, and the small Dauntless part of me hated myself for being so terrified, and for doing nothing. That part was tempered by the Erudite part, which recognized that I had no real training that would be of any use, but the internal Dauntless rage grew regardless. I resolved myself that I couldn't physically fight back, sure, but that didn't mean I had to make it easy for the Dauntless. I still had my Erudite smarts and Candor tongue. Surely I could at least piss them off a little bit. Maybe that was a dumb idea, but my Dauntless rage was quickly overcoming my Erudite rationality.

Finally, with a loud crash, a large wave of Dauntless soldiers stormed in through the glass entryway to Candor, cuffing or shooting down many of the guards stationed in the main hall. I noticed that James had been shot in his side, and I quickly felt my ire begin to reach a boiling point.

Now red hot with anger, I focused my eyes on the two men at the head of the Dauntless soldiers. Both were, admittedly, fucking hot. I almost felt a brief pinch of regret at myself for transferring to Candor and not Dauntless. But of course, if I had done that, I would have been dead the minute anyone found out I was Divergent. Instead, I took a minute to inspect the two men. One was younger, with brown hair and narrow green eyes. His face held a cocky smirk that made me want to punch him so badly. Trying to remain calm, I turned my attention to the other man. Now here was a specimen of masculinity. His blonde hair was neatly shaven, and his face looked vaguely familiar, but I couldn't but my finger on it. He carried himself with an air of authority that, in full Candor honesty, was starting to turn me on a little bit. He was the most ripped man I have ever seen - just muscles upon muscles upon muscles. And I thought the Candor security guards were in shape. He made them look like prepubescent boys. Still breathing heavily from his dramatic entrance, the blonde man's chiseled torso (as if sculpted by Zeus himself!) heaved up and down. I couldn't help but find myself staring at a bead of sweat that trickled down his chest and underneath his black tank top. Thankfully I don't think he noticed, or else that would have been incredibly embarrassing. Fixing myself with a neutral yet haughty gaze, a remnant of my Erudite upbringing, I waited calmly for his approach, doing my best to keep my own arousal in check.

Moments later, I was face to face with perhaps one of the finest men I have ever seen - that is, until he opened his mouth. "Who are your Divergents," he barked at me, in a tone that left no room for argument. His dismissive brusqueness rubbed me the wrong way.

"Last I checked, I don't answer to you." I replied cooly, while raising an eyebrow.

Clearly, that was not the answer he wanted to hear. He growled, leaning in until he was inches from my face, his ice blue eyes staring directly into my soul. "I'm going to say this again. Who. Are. Your. Divergents."

"I can see why you're not Erudite," I answered smugly, "nevertheless, I'll repeat it again for your Neanderthalic brain. I. Don't. Answer. To. You." I accentuated this last word by pointing my finger into his chest.

His stormy blue eyes filled with rage and he threw me up against the wall, his hands wrapped around my neck as if to choke me. My eyes widened with shock, but then quickly returned to their rage-filled glare. I faintly heard someone laughing in the background. Keeping my eyes firmly fixated on the blonde man in front of me, I quickly scoped out of my peripheral vision that it was the green eyed man who was laughing.

"Let her go, Eric. If you kill her we won't get to have any fun with her. And she is pretty feisty," he said with a wink, then looking me up and down salaciously. I couldn't help my nose curling up in disgust. I'm very glad I didn't transfer to Dauntless if this is what their men are like.

"Shut up, Peter," (so that was his name) the blonde man said, albeit dropping his hold on me. I tried to thinly breathe, wanting to catch my breath but not make it obvious the effect his hold had had on me.

Next thing I knew, the blonde man - Eric - was pointing a loaded gun at my forehead. "Now, since you won't do this the easy way, we're going to do this the hard way. You're going to come with us, and we would appreciate your Candor honesty," he said, with a pointed look at me.

I saw no way out of this situation but to comply, but I sure as hell wasn't about to comply so easily. I grabbed the gun and pulled the butt of it so that it was resting directly against my forehead. I saw a bit of shock and - was that respect? - flash in his eyes at my bold move.

"I'll come with you," I said, "but let me clear, I don't have to answer to you." I glared firmly at him.

His lips pursed and he returned my glare. I continued to stare him down for what felt like hours. I felt like I couldn't breathe, the way his smoldering blue eyes gazed at me.

"Fine," he muttered grumpily, looking at me one last time with a look that, if I didn't know any better, could have been classified as admiration, or even - desire? Fuck, my attraction to this man was clearly getting to me. He averted his eyes and I couldn't help but smirk at having won our little staring contest.

I turned around and he shoved the gun into my back. I threw my chin up in a display of false confidence, thankful that I was surrounded by Dauntless who were not trained to see through such facades, and began to walk forward.