Happy Sunday! Enjoy this next chapter. Thank you for all the reviews, they really keep me motivated to keep writing! Love Y'all
26 Years Ago
Natalie didn't love school, but she didn't hate it either. Most of the other people in her grade in Upper Levels felt the same way except the Erudite. They were the only ones who kept their noses in their books. She struggled early on in chemistry the first few weeks of class but thankfully her Erudite lab partner was gracious enough to tutor her before the next test.
"Hi Natalie" She smiles and looks up from her seat in the cafeteria to see Andrew Prior standing in front of her. He was typical Erudite, but they had gotten along well that semester as lab partners. He was thin and only a little taller than her, his dark brown hair was always parted and combed, everything perfectly in place. He was timid and shy, but he'd opened up to her increasingly as they worked together.
"Hi Andrew, I can't thank you enough for helping me with this."
"It's not a problem, I'd help you with anything," he says nervously pushing his glasses up on his nose.
He sits down next to her, and they start to work through the practice assignments given by the teacher. Thirty minutes later Natalie throws her pencil down in frustration as she gets another answer wrong.
"I don't understand why these formulas don't make sense. I'm never going to get it" she sighs.
"Don't say that I'll help you every day at lunch and even after school if I need to until you get it"
"You're sweet" Natalie smiles at him and starts to pack up her things.
Andrew does the same. He'd been nervous when he was assigned to sit next to her, but she had been a pleasant surprise. Natalie seemed different from most of the Dauntless girls.
Just as they start to walk out of the cafeteria the sounds of a group of rowdy Dauntless boys echo through the halls.
"There's my girl, where have you been?" Max greets her, pulling her by the waist and kissing her cheek.
"Studying for my chemistry test, Andrew was nice enough to tutor me," Natalie tells him.
She loved Max, she really did but as they had gotten older, he and the other Dauntless around their age could be cruel to the other kids at school. Andrew unfortunately had been one of the boys from her grade that was always picked on. Natalie was always kind to him, which she thinks actually made things worse for him.
"What are you staring at Nose" Max barks at Andrew who gulps feeling nervous.
"Nothing" He stammers.
"Cut it out Max, leave him alone," Natalie tells him with an eye roll.
"Did I say you could talk to my girl?" Max asks and his friends snicker at the scene before them.
"Maxwell, I mean it, cut it out" Natalie yells now shoving Max in the shoulder. "You don't get to decide who I can talk to"
Just then the bell rings and the halls start to fill with students heading to the next class.
"Come on, we have Faction History next" Natalie snaps at Max pulling his arm.
Andrew stands there watching them walk away. Natalie laughed as Max pulled her by the waist closer to him and whispered in her ear, her anger seemingly forgotten. He was tired of being pushed around. He despised the Dauntless. They were always picking on people, especially him. He wanted to fight back but if there was anything he hated it was them, but he was smart enough to know that challenging a Dauntless in a physical aspect wasn't the way to get to them. He had to outsmart them. Standing in that hall an idea comes across his mind. The perfect way to get even with Max. He smiles to himself as he walks to his next class.
The next day in chemistry class Natalie slides into her assigned seat, surprised that Andrew was nowhere to be found and wondering why he wasn't there yet. He was always early for class, wanting to have his pens and notebook set up in advance for when class started.
Just as the bell rings, Andrew comes in with his head down.
"Andrew, are you okay? Where are your glasses?" she whispers as the teacher starts to outline the lesson.
"Don't worry about it, Natalie, Let's just focus on class" He whispers angrily and opens his book.
Natalie nods and opens her book but throughout the class, she keeps looking over at Andrew who kept his head down and would never turn to look at her. His hair was out of place, his cheek was red, and it looked like he had a cut on his lip. He'd definitely been in a fight of some sort.
When class is over, Natalie grabs his arm and makes him look at her full-on and gasps when she sees the black eye forming.
"Andrew who did this? Why did someone beat you up? Tell me"
"Ask your boyfriend" he snaps grabbing his books and walking swiftly out of the room.
Natalie was seething mad as she stuffed her books in her backpack and headed straight for Max.
"Max what did you do?" she asked him, grabbing his arm and pulling him into the janitor's closet and closing the door quickly.
"What are you talking about? Did you pull me in here so we can make out?" He grins, grabs her waist, and leans in to kiss her.
"No, I didn't" She snaps pushing his hands away "I saw Andrew's face"
"What makes you think I had anything to do with it?" Max growls, challenging her back.
She grabs his hand holding up his knuckles that had a few scrapes.
"Why lie Max? God, you would never make it in Candor"
"I wasn't lying…I just knew you wouldn't be happy when you found out" He sighs.
Natalie had been his first kiss when they were eleven and they started dating when they were fifteen. He had no doubt in his mind now that they were turning 18 that Natalie was the only one for him, but things had been great until this year when Andrew Prior came into her life this school year.
"You have to stop picking on him. This has gotten ridiculous. He's my friend. You can't bully everyone who you think looks at me or talks to me and you don't like it." She demands putting her hands on her hips.
"Nat, he's a creep, Yeah, I've probably laid it on a little tick but the way he looks at me when you aren't looking, it's like he's up to something" Max couldn't stand the little twerp. The way he smirked at him when Natalie wasn't looking. He'd punched him that morning because he cockily said he could have Natalie if he wanted, and it sent Max into a rage.
"You have nothing to be jealous about, you can't solve every challenge with your fists, especially with people outside of Dauntless" Natalie huffs throwing her head back in frustration.
"I'm sorry, Baby, I just can't stand the way he's always watching you. You're mine"
That did it for Natalie. The last six months had just been too much. She loved Max, he'd been her first everything but the crowd he was hanging with now, this wasn't what she wanted.
"I can't do this anymore Max, I'm not some possession that you own and get to stake your claim over," Natalie tells him with tears in her eyes.
"Come on Nat, I didn't mean it like that" Max groans.
"Oh yes you did, this whole thing with Andrew has become one big pissing contest and I'm the prize, well I'm not standing for it. We're done" She chokes out, tears rolling down her cheeks.
"I love you, Nat, I don't understand why this is such a big deal," Max asks realizing he'd never seen her this worked up.
"It's a big deal Max because you're not who I thought you were. If you loved me, you wouldn't be acting like this," She wipes her tears and opens the door leaving him standing there alone looking dazed and confused.
Six months later
"What are you thinking about?" Andrew asks Natalie as he closes the book he was reading. They were sitting alone as they had started doing as soon as it got warm enough. Living in Dauntless, which was basically a cave, Natalie loved to soak up the sun when the weather was nice enough.
Natalie was leaning back on her hands with her legs stretched out in front of her enjoying the feeling of the sunshine on her face in the patch of grass near the small track where the physical education classes were held. They were supposed to be in study hall, but Natalie always wanted to sneak out and enjoy the sun when it was nice out. Since they were finishing their last set of classes and taking their aptitude tests in the next four weeks, most of everyone choosing wasn't trying to focus on their lessons except the Erudite.
"Just wondering how different life could be in a few weeks. No more school, going through initiation, I could even be in a different faction"
"Do you want to stay in Dauntless?" Andrew asks. He'd been very careful the last six months with Natalie, but she'd followed along with his plan without even knowing that she was playing into everything he wanted.
"Sometimes I think it would be nice to start over somewhere new, but I would miss my sister, even though she's getting married and training to be a doctor, so I don't see her much now"
Andrew detects the hint of sadness in her voice, but he knew it was time to make his move.
"Come on it's time for lunch, I'm hungry," she tells him wanting to change the subject.
"Hey Nat, are you coming to the Candor or Dauntless Party this weekend?" Sienna Jacobs asks sliding into the seat across from her.
"Ummm, Yeah I was planning on it" Natalie shrugs pushing the food around on her lunch tray.
"Well just be prepared, I overheard Olivia Parker telling her friends to make sure they dare her to make out with Max" Sienna tells her leaning on her elbows to get closer to Natalie to spill her gossip.
"Max can make out with whoever he wishes, we aren't together anymore, and we haven't been for a while"
"Well, Margo told Olivia that Max told Brody that he was still in love with you" Sienna relays. "You really aren't going to give him another chance?"
"I…It's complicated…" Natalie stammered.
Her feelings for Max still confused her. It had been hard to let go of him. There were times when she would catch him staring at her across the dining hall in Dauntless or on the train ride to school even though she did her best to avoid him as much as possible which was hard because his best friend was her sister's fiancé. He'd tried in the first few months to show up with flowers, which were hard to get in the city, he'd written letters that she didn't read but with all his gestures, Natalie had stayed firm that she didn't want anything to do with him.
"Okay if you say so, see you Saturday" Sienna sighs and gets up from the table.
They walk back to the main building and once inside the cafeteria, there are several Dauntless standing in the hallway including Max.
"Let's go back to the table," Andrew whispers to Natalie.
"No, don't be afraid" she grabs his hand and marches toward the exit.
"Where you going Nose?" Paul growls. He was typical Dauntless, with tattoos up his arms and an eyebrow ring.
"Leave him alone" Natalie snaps, standing tall and looking Paul in the eye.
Paul smirks at her and crosses his arms.
"Move," Natalie says louder this time.
"Come on dude, get out of the way," Max says not wanting to give Natalie any more reason to hate him. It pained him to see her openly ignore him.
"You really let this Nose sweep in and steal your girl" Paul chuckles which draws a few laughs from some of the others
Max draws himself to full height and shoves Paul so hard he gets knocked off balance drawing oohs and ahhs from the other Dauntless in the hallway.
"Not today gentlemen, not today" A teacher calls out running from the cafeteria. "I will not have Dauntless causing disruption today, break it up!"
Max grinds his teeth and narrows his eyes at Paul who breathes deep through his nose.
"This ain't over…" Max glares and he doesn't miss that Paul's eyes shift a bit. Dauntless were known to pick fights trying to prove how tough and strong they were, especially going into initiation. Max had never lost a fight, so in the last six months there were a few Dauntless-born looking to build status challenged him. His father pushed him harder and harder with every fight, not wanting to show any weakness. He had Paul's number. He was punk, looking to show he could intimidate people.
Natalie holds her head high and grabs Andrew by the hand. This was exactly why she was done with Max. As they pass by, Paul knocks Andrew's notebook out of his arm and causes papers to fly everywhere.
"Sorry" He replies in a sick sarcastic tone before sauntering down the hall.
Natalie growls as she bends down to help Andrew pick up all the papers. She looks up when she sees Max crouch in front of her and starts picking up papers.
"I don't need your help" she snaps.
"Nat, please, how long are you going to go without speaking to me," Max says softly. He missed her so much. She was the most stubborn person she had ever met but he had never thought she would really go this long with trying to prove her point.
Natalie doesn't reply, she just takes the papers and adds them to her stack. Max sighs, as he stands up and walks away. He stops and looks back at her. For the first time, he realized he'd really lost her, and it was tearing him apart.
"I'm sorry I cause you so much trouble Natalie," Andrew says as Natalie hands him the papers she had gathered.
"You have nothing to apologize for, I'm sorry they are picking on you because of me, I thought after I broke up with Max, they would leave you alone. Don't worry, I can handle them." She was going to give Paul a piece of her mind later.
"You're the most amazing girl I've ever met Natalie," Andrew says with a smile.
Natalie stands a little taller and smiles.
That afternoon when school lets out, Natalie and Andrew meet in the same place they had earlier in the day during study hall.
"You deserve someone who will treat you right, maybe you can give me a chance," Andrew says softly.
Natalie is at a loss for words. She was flattered. Andrew had become her best friend outside of her sister in the last year. Did she think of him like that? She wasn't sure.
"How...Choosing Day is..."
"Let's start over, you and me, choose together," Andrew asks grabbing her hand.
Natalie bites her lip as her thoughts race all over her mind. Dauntless felt so suffocating right now after everything with Max and it was as if she was itching for something different, something new. She would miss her sister and her mother, but there was Visiting Day. Hana was starting her own life with Reggie, and they were spending less and less time together with her working long hours in the infirmary.
"You would leave Erudite?" She says finding her voice.
"For you, yes," Andrew tells her honestly.
Natalie sucks in a deep breath. Max was Dauntless through and through there was no choice about where he would stay, and she knew he would never leave Dauntless for her. A few moments passed and Andrew could sense how conflicted she was as she still hadn't said anything. He needed to make her feel comfortable and assure her he wasn't Max if she was going to agree to leave Dauntless.
"I know you don't love me, but maybe you could learn to love me. You're my best friend and I know I could make you happy. Think about it, we still have a month until Choosing Day"
Natalie takes a deep breath and smiles. She leans in and kisses Andrew on the cheek. S
"I'll think about it, I promise, the train is coming, I gotta go," she tells him. She squeezes his hand and smiles at him again before walking away.
Andrew smiles to himself as she walks away running to jump on the train. He'd beaten Max without having to raise his fists.
Present Day
Jeanine holds up her key card to enter her private office. It beeps and she walks in smiling as her project is hard at work.
"Hello, George. Have you been keeping an eye on our new guests"
"Yes," he replies in his robotic tone that she had become familiar with now. He didn't move from his posted position in front of the transparent glass where there were two test subjects that were bound to two chairs and struggling against their restraints.
A buzz on her computer lets her know someone was at the back entrance to her lab. She makes a few strokes on the computer to pull up the camera. There were only a few people in her circle who knew about that entrance. She types in the security code to let him in.
A few minutes later the side door opens and Eric steps through.
"Well, I'll be damned" Eric states walking in and eying George.
"Impressive, isn't he?" Jeanine continues to type on the keyboard.
"Have you any of the others worked?" Eric asks as he walks up to Geroge standing in front of him and turning his head to the side to see if he could see if there was any difference in him since he was under the influence of the serum Jeanie developed.
"You are just in time; I was about to inject these two subjects with the updated serum"
Eric moves to the side so he can get a better look. Two syringes filled with a blue liquid in a mechanical arm move toward each of the subjects. Eric smirks as their eyes go wide with fear as the needle moves toward them. He could tell from their clothing one was Amity and the other Candor.
They go limp as soon as the serum is fully injected. Jeanine adjusts her glasses as she watches. She smiles when the computer beeps registering their vital signs. After a few minutes, the subjects lift their heads blinking but no longer struggle.
"It worked?" Eric asks, turning around and looking at Jeanine.
"Yes, I want to monitor their vitals a bit longer, but I think it worked. This new serum is the right conversation"
"So how many does that make?"
"Five that have survived" Jeanine types notes on her computer, trying to see if there was anything significant, she was missing with all of the test subjects that had survived.
"Just five? After all the subjects we've brought you?" Eric snaps, turning his attention to Jeanie. "You fucking expect me to keep this up? This isn't what I signed up for" Eric had been snatching factionless members and keeping his ear to the ground in Dauntless looking for anyone he could find that was divergent.
"Tell me what exactly do you think you signed up for?" Jeanine challenges, moving to cross her arms and raising her voice.
At that moment George moves and quickly grabs Eric by the throat.
"What the fuck Jeanine" Eric gasps as he claws at the hand around his throat.
"Be careful Eric, George has become quite attached to me, he doesn't like it when people threaten me" Jeanine smirks. "You were supposed to finish at the top of your class in Dauntless so you could have been of more use to me."
"I tried, Four fucking got in the way" Eric gasps starting to feel lightheaded now.
"You can let him go now George" Jeanine sighs with a wave of her hand.
Eric coughs and sputters when George removes his hand from around his neck and goes to stand at attention on the other side of the room.
"It was a setback, with you not getting into a leadership position in Dauntless and Max refusing to make an exception also wasn't anticipated," Jeanine tells him with a clenched jaw.
"So, what's next?" Eric asks, still rubbing his neck, moving to her desk wanting to know what the next assignment was.
"Now we move to phase 2" Jeanine informs him. "If Andrew, Marcus, and Max won't hand over any more divergent, then we'll have to find another way to get them"
