A/N:

Hello!

As of December 2015, these chapters are in the process of being revised by the wonderful BK2U.

Just a few things:

-Eric and Four are both 24 in this story.

-Tris and Christina are both 20.

-Initiates chose at the age of 18.

- A/U in regards to the war- There are vague mentions throughout the story

-Movie!Eric because Jai Courtney

-Thank you so much to my brilliant beta BK2U for cleaning this up ;)

Disclaimer:

All rights to characters and places in the Divergent series belong to Veronica Roth. All original characters and the plot of the story that does not directly mirror events in the Divergent series belong to me. All associated rights reserved, no translations into other languages or re-posting on other websites is permitted without my express written consent.

I am the only girl initiate.

I glance around the room quickly; all of the others around me are male and much bigger. I can feel a slight sense of panic well up in me and I try to swallow it down. I chose Dauntless, the least I can do is act like it. It shouldn't bother me that I'm the only female here, but I can't stop the tiny nagging feeling that gnaws at me.

I'm not stupid. I know how initiation works. I also know that having a few other females would have given me a slightly better chance at becoming a member. The guys that surround me are all my age, but they have the advantage of height and weight. A few of them look like they've been bred for this despite coming from outside factions. The one next to me, tall and dressed in dark blue Erudite clothing, alternates between throwing dirty glances at my light pink dress and nervously looking around as we wait for the last of us to gather around.

I shift beside him, and try not to twist my fingers together.

The boy next to me finally turns and impales me with a long, hard stare. "You really think you're gonna make it here? Against all of us?" His eyes narrow triumphantly, as though the almost all-male presence is some sort of accomplishment, and he throws his shoulders back haughtily. "You should have stayed on the farm."

My hands ball into fists at my sides.

I could have, sure. I don't hate Amity, not even the least bit. It's just that for the past few years, all I could do was try hard to smother the suffocating urge to get out of it. I didn't really fit in there; I wasn't filled with a desire to farm crops or sing songs around a campfire all summer long. I longed for something more adventurous, dangerous even. I just didn't think it would happen quite so quickly.

"No, thanks," I answer sweetly, and shift my eyes forward. The man that instructed us to jump, the one with dark brown hair and a scruffy face, makes his way towards us now that everyone has finally jumped. He's quiet as he walks over, and waits until everyone stops talking.

"Welcome, initiates. My name's Four, and I will be in charge of your training for the duration of your initiation. Dauntless-born will be trained separately, but you will be ranked together. You will head out with Lauren as soon as we are done here. The rest of you are stuck with me." He gives us a half-smile, and there's the tiniest bit of niceness under his words. His smile falters when his eyes land on me.

"I will explain the rules of training while we take a quick tour of Dauntless, then we'll get you settled in. This will be your chance to make sure you understand how everything works." His voice is firm, and he motions for us to follow after him.

Everyone is nervously quiet as we obediently make our way through the compound.

The hallways are dark and cold, and I pull my arms close towards me as the chill sets in. One of the initiates, dressed in a dark black jacket and white shirt, watches me. I can almost feel him writing me off as we make our way down further into the compound.

When Four shows us where we will be staying, I can't help that my heart sinks. The room is filled with rows of bunk beds. While dormitory sleeping is nothing new to me, sleeping in a room with fifteen men who are vying for a spot in Dauntless definitely is. A few of the guys turn and leer at me, and I try to ignore them. In theory, this will be no different than sharing a sleeping room with my fellow Amity.

"I'll leave you to change and get ready. Dinner's in half an hour. Tomorrow your training starts at eight am sharp. Don't be late. The rest of the night is yours, but use it wisely." Four emphasizes the last word before his eyes fall on me.

"Everly, a quick word, please?" He motions towards the hallway, and I nod as I head out after him. I try to ignore the snickers and rare sympathetic glances that are aimed at me. When the door shuts behind us, I turn to Four and try to calm my nerves.

"Everything ok?" I ask him. He shakes his head slightly, and his eyes meet mine.

"I'm not…I'm not sure what to do with you. We've never had just one female initiate before." He hesitates for a moment. "I'm not exactly sure it's the safest option to let you stay here."

My heart officially falls to my stomach as I protest. "I can do it. I got Dauntless on my aptitude test!"

Four smiles, and this time it's sincere. "I don't doubt that you did. Not many Amity transfer here without a reason. It's just…I'm responsible for every initiate that comes through here. And I'd rather not lose one in the first few days just because the others think you're an easy target."

My nerves burn at his words. "I'm not an easy target."

Four appears to be somewhat amused, and he lets out a small laugh. "You may not be. But I'm gonna bring this up to Max. I think it would be best if you trained separately."

I don't really know what to say, so I nod at him. I don't really want to train separately, but it's pretty much out of my hands at this point.

"Come with me. We'll see what he thinks before you settle in for the night."

Max's office is large and intimidating. Also incredibly messy.

He watches me with entertained eyes, and I am starting to regret choosing the pink sundress to wear today. He and Four talk quietly, and I only pick up bits and pieces. I'm too nervous to pay attention, even though I know I should.

"…could train her. Keep her separate from both groups. It would be the only fair thing to do." Max finishes up, leaning back in his chair.

Four looks slightly displeased now. His eyebrows knit inward, and his mouth turns down. "You think that's the best solution? I was thinking maybe Lauren could help her…"

Max waves his hand and Four quiets down.

"It needs to be impartial."

"Eric is hardly impartial," Four retorts quietly. I watch as he paces back and forth for a minute. "Having her train with Eric might be worse than leaving her to possibly be murdered in her sleep."

I can feel Max's eyes on me, so I try to smile, but I have no idea what they are talking about.

"How do you feel about that, Everly?" he asks.

I shrug my shoulders at him. "Is it…uh fair…if I'm trained alone? Wouldn't that be unfair? To have my own trainer?" Confusion swirls through my mind; on the one hand, having someone help me individually might give me a better chance at staying. On the other hand, it gives everyone in the class even more reason to think I'm weak, or to think I've received some sort of special treatment.

"Eric is hardly fair." Four's voice is flat, and I get the impression that this is not the way he planned for this talk to go.

Max shakes his head. "He'll be fair. In fact, he'd probably really enjoy helping you out again." He looks at Four before smiling at me. "She might wind up better than some of the initiates in your class."

Four lets out a sigh before he throws his hands up in the air, palms facing Max. "Whatever you think. However, if she turns up dead from exhaustion in a few days, this is all on you."

Max gives Four a look before finding my stare. "I'll make sure she stays alive. In fact, I'll take her to Eric myself."

I don't answer, I simply stand and try to smooth out my dress. I feel out of place in this office; its dark corners and piles of folders strewn around are jarring to me. Johanna's office was always very clean and organized. For a moment I find myself wishing for the comfort of home, but I press the feeling back down inside.

Four finally nods at me, a look of remorse in his eyes.

"Good luck, Everly."

Max leads me out of his office and up into a control room. It's huge, rows of monitors and screens blinking back at me. Most of the Dauntless inside work quietly, but a few are chatting here and there. They pay almost no attention to me except to stare in confusion as I follow after Max.

When we reach the end of the room, there are two men standing and talking. We stop a few feet away from them when a man with dark hair stops us. His hair is short on the sides and pulled into a bun on the top of his head.

"Max. Good to see you here. Any news today?" He has a bright smile, and he grins at me. I smile back at him, and wonder if this is Eric.

"Not today." The two men chat idly, and I stand there, still feeling incredibly out of place. I watch the monitors, and it takes a second before I realize I'm watching a live feed of the compound. I watch as tiny dark clad members make their way down corridors and through walkways. One screen changes to the outside of a train tunnel, and I jerk my head back when Max and this other man start laughing. They are interrupted when the other two men join them. One of them gives me a friendly smile, and I impulsively want to hug him. His red hair reminds me of my friend, Jake. The other stares at me with the coldest of looks; his hair is closely cropped on the sides and slicked back on the top. His eyes look me up and down before stopping to stare at my dress with intense disgust.

"Just who I was looking for." Max smiles in their direction, and I turn my head back to the group. "Eric, I've got a new task for you."

"Does it involve this one here?" The red-haired man is grinning at me now, and I suddenly feel a little less nervous. He doesn't seem so bad.

Max nods. "She's the only female initiate in this year's class. For her own safety, she's to be trained separately. Four is worried that she won't have a fair shot at staying alive with her class."

The man with the cold glare narrows his eyes. He looks me up and down again before turning to Max in indignation. "And you want me to train her?" His words drip with disdain, and I can feel my cheeks start to warm up.

Crap.

I realize my friend with the red hair is not Eric, but the man with the short blonde hair is. He takes a step closer to me, his posture straight and rigid. The piercings above his eyebrow glint under the lights. I stare back up at him, trying to make myself smile at him.

He smirks.

"You have some free time. Thought you might be interested," Max offers up.

Eric's eyes flash at me again, and this time there is a hint of malice behind them.

"I'm not," Eric answers in a bored voice. "Besides, she wouldn't last in any training class, let alone mine." His lips curl upward, almost as if he finds the whole situation amusing. A flash of annoyance bursts through me and I find myself scowling. Eric notices immediately, and the amused look drops off his face and is replaced with pure and utter loathing.

Max shifts beside him, and I can tell he's becoming impatient. "This really isn't a request, Eric. Think of it this way, you get the chance to show Four who's the better trainer. You take this one here and make her Dauntless, well, then, there's really nothing you can't do."

Something behind Eric's eyes changes. I can tell he's processing Max's words, some sort of unofficial challenge in the air.

"Fine. But I train her my way. No questions asked." Eric's voice is low, but there's the tiniest bit of delight behind it. I suddenly realize why Four said he didn't think this was a good idea.

"You keep her alive, Eric. Understood?" Max's voice is firm, and his eyes meet mine. "I think she'll do just fine."

I nod at him, more determined than ever. "Thank you."

Eric stares at me for a long second before turning on his heel and stalking away.

Max hands me a key, and puts his hand on my shoulder. "You'll be staying in an apartment close to Eric's. Keep quiet about it, we don't normally allow initiates to stay there." Max says goodbye, and it takes everything I have to not ask to go with him. My nerves have set in, and they are making me jittery. I try to remind myself that I chose this, that this is what I wanted. It may not be happening the way I thought it would, but it's happening.

Eric returns a few seconds after Max leaves, and he stares at me as though he's never seen anyone so atrocious before him.

"Did Four show you where you are staying?" His tone is still bored, and his grey eyes hold mine. I get the feeling he's never the one to look away first.

"He said I couldn't stay with them. That it wasn't safe. But Max gave me a key to an apartment near yours." I offer up the key, and I swear Eric rolls his eyes.

"Great," he sneers. "Let's go. We start training at five am."

I raise my eyebrows in surprise. "I thought training started at eight?"

His eyes are still on mine, but his expression changes to utter exasperation. "You aren't training with them. You're training with me." He says his words very slowly, as though I am too stupid to comprehend what he's saying. He suddenly shifts his posture, and I watch his cold eyes narrow at me.

"Don't worry." His face suddenly breaks into a smile that sends a small chill up my spine. "It'll be fun."

The key doesn't unlock the door it's assigned to, and Eric sighs in irritation.

"You sure this is the key Max gave you?" He tries it again before giving up and angrily throwing the key against the door.

"Yes." I watch him, trying to take a step back from him without appearing completely afraid of him. He's definitely intimidating, and more annoying is that he knows it. "Should I go get him?"

Eric gives me a dirty look. "No. You aren't going to go run to Max. You can stay with me. It'll be easier anyway," he snarls at me, and starts walking a few doors down. "Are you coming, or are you sleeping in the hallway?"

I follow after him silently.

I am terrified.

Utterly terrified.

He wants me to follow him to wherever he lives, and there is a small part of me that knows it would be safer to sleep in the room with the other initiates. I'd probably have a better chance of survival with them.

He stops about five doors down and throws the door open. Eric steps through without looking back, and I follow him in.

Be brave, I tell myself.