Something Y/n hated about being Dauntless was having to deal with unruly factionless. A group of Dauntless including Eric, Four and Y/n had been sent out to deal with a group of factionless that had killed multiple people.
It didn’t take long before they had gotten the situation under control. Y/n was walking around checking to make sure they could leave soon. When all of sudden she felt something run into her.
“Ooph.” Y/n looked down and saw a boy hugging her. “Hello there.”
“Where’s your parent’s?” Y/n asked after the boy didn’t say anything.
“Don’t have any.” he shook his head as he answered.
Y/n raised a brow. “What do you mean?”
“They were killed.” The boy mumbled looking at his shoes. Y/n noticed he had some dirt on him and a little blood but he didn’t look hurt.
“By them?” Y/n pointed to the group of factionless behind her. The group who had been responsible for killing a few people. The boy nodded ‘yes’, confirming her perceived thoughts.
“Stay next to me okay?” Y/n told him, holding him to her wanting to comfort the poor child who saw his parents murdered only hours ago. “Eric!”
Eric walked over with a confused expression. “What? Who’s this?”
“I’m Emmett.”The boy spoke up softly.
“That's a great name.” Y/n smiled down at him. Trying to show the child a friendly face after what he had no doubt seen.
“My mommy named me.” Emmett smiled up at her.
“Where is she Emmett?” Eric questioned the boy, he was wondering why his girl was with this boy in the first place.
“Gone.” the boy looked down at the ground sadly with watery eyes.
“Can you stay with my friend Four for a second?” Y/n knelt down hoping the boy would trust her.
“O-okay.” Emmett stuttered anxiously, not liking the idea of being away from her.
“You see that guy right there? That's my friend Four.” Y/n turned them to face where Four was and pointed him out.
“Like the number?” He asked with a smile.
Y/n nodded with a smile. “Just like the number.”
“Four!” Y/n yelled out causing Four to turn around and look at her. He sees the boy and nodd’s to Y/n in understanding. Emmett walked over to Four. Once he was out of ear chot Y/n and Eric turned to each other as Y/n stood back to full height.
“Where are his parents?” Eric asks with crossed arms.
“Gone. Dead. He said they were killed and pointed to the factionless over there.” Y/n explained to him what Emmett had told her.
“His parents were killed in the attack.” Eric sighed, getting even more angry that this happened at all.
“I think so. He’s not dirty, besides from hiding and there is some fresh blood on his clothes. But its not his, I checked.” She told him further.
“God dammit.” he huffed, pinching the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes.
“Eric, I don’t want to leave him alone.” Y/n spoke with a shaky voice worried to the boy who was no more than 6, having already grown attached to the kid.
“Be with him, We’ll deal with this.” Eric nodded understanding where she was coming from.
“Eric.” Y/n called his name as they walked away from each other. Effectively stopping him. “Make it hurt.”
Y/n referred to what they were gonna do to the murders in the factionless group. She hated that they made this poor boy an orphan.
Y/n walked over to Four and Emmett immediately latched onto her legs.
While Four walked over to Eric and the two watched Y/n and the little boy walked away.
“She’s already fallen in love with that boy. You know that right?” Four spoke up to Eric smiling at Y/n’s behavior.
“Yeah. I can tell. . . His parents were killed in the attack.” Eric agree’s before telling Four what had just happened to the said boy.
“Poor kid.” Four sighed feeling for the boy.
Once Four and Eric talked about what to do about the factionless situation Eric headed over to where Y/n and Emmett were playing tic tac to in the dirt.
“Ready to go?” Eric says as he approached Y/n.
“Yeah.” She nodded.
“Come one kid. You to.” Eric gestured with his hands for the boy to get up to go with them.
“What?” Emmett was confused.
“Your coming home with us.” Eric states, completely shocking the boy.
“Not that I’m not happy but why?” Y/n whispered to Eric so Emmett wouldn’t overhear her.
Eric looked her in the eyes. “He needs a family.”
It was more than that but they could talk about that later. Alone without listening ears.
“Are you serious?” Y/n was shocked but happy and also confused Eric doesn’t like kids as far as Y/n knew.
“He’s grown on me okay.” Eric answered with a shrug of his shoulder. Really what had grown on him was watching Y/n with the boy. How she was acting all motherly towards the boy. It did something to Eric watching that.
“Thank you.” Y/n smiled gratefully up at her man before kissing him on the cheek. Their little family.
Hi! Hi! I have been reading your Eric Coulter fics and I don't know if you're still into Divergent but i can i request a eric coulter x fem!reader where they go from rivals to lovers and literally everyone in Dauntless has bets on them to be together?
'rumors of rivals' - eric coulter
masterlist
Four’s got another pet project, but for once, it isn’t you.
It’s a habit of his, one he’d do best to kick. Although Four may like to keep his indifferent silence and pretend as if he were a shallow-hearted Dauntless through and through, he’s got a soft spot for the people he likes. He’s got a knack for finding similar souls and winning them over, even as he acts as if he couldn’t care less about any of you. He did this while you were an initiate, and now he’s repeating the process with one of his new trainees, a girl named Tris.
Since you don’t work the initiates, you haven’t yet had the pleasure of meeting Tris Prior, although you’ve heard Four talk about her often enough that you have a good gauge of her likes, dislikes, and every single conversation she’s had with your friend. For someone who claims that he couldn’t care less about anyone but himself, Four’s awfully attentive to Tris.
It makes you laugh, both when he’s around and not. Despite Four’s claims otherwise, it seems that even the toughest of Dauntless fall victim to their hearts every now and then. Despite Four’s claims otherwise, that’s one test you won’t be failing. Four may have fallen in love, but not you. Not a chance. The only decent one around here is Four, and he’s clearly besotted with Tris. No other men even come to mind.
Four and Tris catch up to you, and he begins the introductions. “Y/N, this is Tris, the initiate I’ve been talking about. Tris, this is Y/N. She’s a good friend of mine.”
Tris smiles at you. “It’s nice to meet you, Y/N. Four has said a lot of good things about you.”
You laugh. “It can’t be more than what he’s said about you, trust me. I think all of our conversations are now about you.”
Tris laughs too, evidently surprised at your camaraderie. “I’m sure he’ll argue with that, but I’m glad to hear it. I have to say, I knew what to expect from a Dauntless Leader, but you’re way nicer than I expected.”
You grin. “Oh, trust Four to talk up my reputation. We’re not all totally dramatic around here.”
Four rolls his eyes. “Yeah, right. As if you’re not locked in one of the worst rivalries Dauntless has ever seen.”
Tris widens her eyes, curious. “What are you talking about?”
You fold your arms across your chest. “Four doesn’t mean anything because he doesn’t know what he’s saying. There’s nothing there.”
Four scoffs. “Of course there’s something there. Tris, Y/N’s just denying it because she’s too embarrassed to admit that she’s totally obsessed with beating Eric at everything.”
Tris claps a hand to her mouth. “Wait, I know what you’re talking about. Everyone in the faction has been gossiping about Eric and one of the other Leaders. You don’t mean that–”
“Yes,” you admit reluctantly. “The rumors are about me. They’re just jokes, though. Nothing to take seriously.”
Four arches a brow doubtfully. “Of course they’re not.”
You swat him in the shoulder. “Anything more on the subject and I’ll push you off a roof, Four. Watch your tone.”
Instead of taking your threat seriously, Four just cracks a rare grin and keeps his triumphant silence. In all honesty, he’s not wrong about the gossip, and neither is Tris. You have been rivals with a certain Eric Coulter for most of the time you’ve been at Dauntless, if not all of it, and beating Eric at anything from a fight in the ring to glowing recommendations from the other Dauntless Leaders does indeed make your day like nothing else.
At this point, there’s nothing you can do to stop it. There’s no way you could ever like Eric, he makes it impossible to so much as smile around him. He’s insufferable, that’s all, and he always has been.
You remember that from the very first day you arrived. Eric had been through initiation a year before you, so of course he swaggered about the faction like he knew everything and you knew nothing at all. It didn’t matter that you mastered every challenge that initiation set before you, it didn’t matter that, at the end of your training, you came out with the highest rank. No matter what, Eric would always boast that he’d done it better when he was an initiate. And, since the two of you weren’t in the same year, there was no way of proving him right or wrong.
Once you graduated initiation, your ill-fated relationship only took a turn for the worse. Both of you were gunning for positions as Dauntless Leaders, and did everything in your power to claw to the top. It was a common assumption that only one Leadership position would be vacated, meaning that one of you would succeed and one of you would do the worst thing possible for a Dauntless: you would fail.
Instead, both of you were appointed as new Leaders, and now you’re forced to spend even more time with him than before. Eric is more hands on, especially with his new position as an initiation leader, whereas you’re more devoted to strategy and all the ways to keep Dauntless as a faction running as smoothly as possible. The two of you clash whenever you so much as step into a room together.
Over time, this rivalry has drawn the attention of the entire faction. There’s hardly a soul in Dauntless that hasn’t witnessed the two of you going for each other’s throats at some point. Last you heard, some faction members were even going so far as to place bets as to when the two of you would get together, but that’s absurd. You and Eric hate each other. There’s simply no way you’d actually manage to get over your mutual loathing to fall in love.
“He’s an unpredictable asshole, I don’t know what else you want me to say,” you growl to Four.
Instead of being answered by your friend, however, a new voice joins you, one that makes you want to put your fist through a wall. “Are you talking about me again, L/N? I’m touched.”
Four and Tris exchange some interesting glances, which you definitely don’t appreciate. You turn to glower at none other than Eric, who’s somehow emerged out of the throngs of Dauntless milling about to appear right by your side. It’s as if he was summoned from your mere thoughts alone.
“So you heard me talking about an unpredictable asshole and immediately assumed it was you? That’s lovely, I didn’t know you had such great self-esteem.” You hiss.
Eric just grins. “You’re always so kind to me. Truly, it makes my day.”
You glance to your opposite side, hoping to deflect onto Four, but you notice that he and Tris have somehow disappeared into the crowds again, leaving you alone with Eric. You’ll have to chide him about abandoning you later, once you manage to shake Eric again.
Eric notices the changing subject of your attention and chuckles. “They left already? Can’t say I blame them.”
“Neither can I,” you fire back. “Having to spend time with you isn’t something I’d wish on my worst enemy.”
“See, that’s the difference between the two of us,” Eric intones, holding up a finger appreciatively as he speaks, “There’s no punishment I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy. It’s because I’m capable of doing anything to eliminate those who would rise against me. It’s what makes me a better Dauntless. I’m not surprised that you lack the courage.”
You groan in annoyance. “It’s a saying, Coulter. Goodness, I see why you’re not an Erudite. Critical thinking is not your strong suit.”
Unfortunately, Eric doesn’t seem particularly affected by this insult. “I’ll leave the critical thinking to you, L/N. The glory of battle is mine as always.”
You arch a brow. “Remind me who kicked your ass the last time we met in the ring? I’m sure the glory of battle was totally on your side then, too.”
Eric’s voice turns razor-sharp. “How about a rematch, then? Tonight. That is, if you can’t manage to talk yourself out of facing me again.”
You stop walking, meeting Eric’s eyes dead on. “I wouldn’t dream of it. Scared?”
“Not a chance,” he fires back. “I’ll see you then.”
With that, he stalks off, leaving you fuming yet again. You could name a hundred encounters that have taken place exactly like this one. It’s strange, you’ve always prided yourself on your control of your temper, but something about Eric Coulter just drags out every bit of irritation and passion from your heart.
Glancing around, you see that more than a few people have turned to look at you and Eric as you passed by, and are now whispering to each other. “Shut up,” you mutter at no one in particular, but it doesn’t seem to do anything to stop the flurry of gossip.
Great, now you’ll have another rumor to add to the mix. As if you needed any more. Grimacing to yourself, you set off again. You’ll be looking to tonight’s fight with Eric, if not for a release of anger than anything else. It would feel good to beat him up again, you decide, and it’s about time his ego got knocked down a peg or two.
Eric is waiting for you in the empty gym when you let yourself in later that night. The two of you arrive at the same time whenever one of you challenges the other to a fight. It’s become a sort of tradition. You know exactly when and where to find each other because you’ve done it so often. It comes to you like breathing, like living. Instinctive, intuitive. You and Eric may not see eye to eye on most subjects, but in the ring, it’s like he’s your double.
You and Eric face each other warily on the ring. There’s no one else here, not after hours, so the entire gym is empty. Even the smallest of sounds are amplified by the solitude, each shuffle of your feet from side to side sending ripples of echoes up to the high ceiling before bouncing back down again, creating ghosts of your every movement. The lights are dim. The shadows lengthen Eric’s already numerous tattoos, making him look as if the darkness could swallow him up entirely if you were to turn away for even one moment.
You lunge first, mostly as a feint to get his attention. At your level of fighting experience, both of you know better than to truly attack first. Eric aims a blow at your midsection, but you duck just in time, dropping low to kick his legs out from under him. Briefly, Eric loses his balance, but manages to regain it in time to send a returning strike your way.
On and on, the fight progresses, the tide rolling from you to him back to you again in an endless circle. Eric manages to pin you first and huffs out a triumphant breath, but you get him the next round. You’ve spent enough nights like this that every move seems familiar. Although the precise victor of the fights may switch off from night to night, the actions themselves have been done so many times that it feels like muscle memory.
You’re sure it’ll be a night just like any other, but then something strange happens when Eric wins again. Both of you have ended up on the surface of the mat, and after briefly striving for the upper hand, Eric manages to make it there first, and he swings his weight over you, pinning you to the ground. His hands lock your wrist onto the mat like cuffs. You try to throw him off again, but it doesn’t work, and the two of you rest there, panting from the exertion, but worst of all, looking at each other.
You wait for Eric to move off of you and begin the cycle again, but strangely enough, he doesn’t. Instead, Eric looks, he looks at you like he’s never seen you before in his entire life. You feel as if you couldn’t move a muscle, and lie there perfectly still. One twitch of a limb, one wrong breath, and he might react, or worst of all, leave. You don’t know why, but you know for certain that shattering this moment would destroy you both.
Slowly, carefully, Eric releases his hold on your arms, but you don’t swing at him. The erratic rise and fall of his chest has slowed as easy breath returns to him, but when he had held you down moments ago, you could still feel his pulse thundering in his veins, tumultuous and irreverent like the clash of a thunderstorm.
“Y/N,” Eric whispers, low in his throat and urgent. You don’t know what to say. You’re not sure that there is anything to say, not without giving something away, a secret so terrible and all-consuming that to utter it aloud would use up all of you, leaving nothing behind but the ghost of a person who had once been you.
He’s waiting. For what, you don’t know. Or, you don’t want to know. Both of you are on a precipice, the edge tall and mighty, but unlike the roof back at the entrance to Dauntless initiation, you do not know that the fall won’t kill you. You could survive this jump, sure. But you could also break your bones in the leaping, and come out of this a ruined version of someone who had thought they knew everything about Eric Coulter, and then learned otherwise.
The indecision is too great, and so you do something utterly befitting someone of your station, and you run. Eric doesn’t move when you suddenly slip out from under him, nor does he stop you when you leave the gym. It isn’t a Dauntless move to flee from a fight, but then again, you transferred here from your home faction in the Choosing Ceremony, so the habits of the brave haven’t been instilled in you completely. You still, it seems, have a lot to learn.
The walk back to your apartment seems treacherous. There aren’t that many people out at this time of night, but you swear that of those who remain, every eye is on you. Haven’t you heard the rumors? Isn’t it true that these people have guessed what you are when it comes to Eric Coulter? If they see you, they will know.
You crawl into your bed and hope for sleep, but nothing comes. You stare at your ceiling in the dark, wondering what you’ve done. You’ve claimed to hate Eric for a very long time, but the way you felt in that ring, with him looking down at you– None of that was hate. You haven’t felt an absence of anger like that in such a long time that you’ve almost forgotten how to name that emotion entirely.
You get up the next morning, exhausted and confused, and complete your daily duties in somewhat of a haze. Every one of your moves feels mechanical. Eric is busy with the initiates, so your paths shouldn’t cross. When he finds you later that day, then it must mean that he sought you out intentionally. You’re not sure if that’s for better or worse.
You do your best to shake him, but he tracks you down eventually, pulling you into an empty room and shutting the door behind him. “Y/N,” he says urgently. “We should talk about last night.”
You don’t want to, not when the way he says your name reminds you of the way he’d whispered it last night, soft and careful, none of the things you have ever associated with Eric. It wasn’t as torturous as you expected, being alone with him without a fight to separate you. In fact, if you weren’t on guard, you would even admit that you liked it.
When you remain silent, Eric sighs, frustration beginning to tinge back into his breath again. “I know something happened. We can’t just pretend otherwise.”
You glance back up at him. “Can’t we?” You ask. “We can go back to fighting all the time. I’m sure it would come easily to both of us.”
You’ve become an expert at provoking him over the years, but now, in the face of all your attempts, Eric’s gaze remains neutral. “Is that what you want?”
Yes, you start to say, but for some reason the words dry up in your throat and the only thing that comes out is a terrible, awful exhale, “No.”
Eric hasn’t let go of your hand since he pulled you into this room. He seems to remember it now, his thumb rubbing light circles back and forth against your wrist. “Neither do I. Turns out, the only thing I like better than fighting you is when we aren’t fighting at all.”
You’ve never understood it when people say their heart skipped a beat, but you feel it now, the stuttering of desperate hope locked between your ribs. “So– you want–”
“You, Y/N,” Eric interrupts. “I want you. I always have.”
When he kisses you, it tastes like victory. Hot, brave, triumphant. A thousand nights undefeated in the ring couldn’t light you up with a fire half this bright. Sometimes, the rumors are true, and sometimes, the very man you thought was your greatest rival was instead your best love. Eric is all of these things, but most importantly, he is yours.
Imagine: Only a few of your younger siblings escaping the slaughter of your family, ordered by Jeanine and you plan your revenge against her
Warnings: Possibly triggering to people who lost their family to homicide (or not, but it is a very sensitive theme)
She was gonna pay! That was for sure! When you saw your younger siblings running towards you on the Dauntless training ground, crying their eyes out, you knew something was wrong. You had a very big family back in Amity, but you chose to follow your heart and choose Dauntless. You are actually the oldest of 5 siblings, and your cousins also lived with you, but your entire world came crashing down when you found out from your 3 youngest siblings that they were the only ones who managed to survive, because they hid in their closets until everything was over. You were already plotting how you were gonna make Jeanine pay for what she did to your family. Four tried to calm you down and ask you to find a more focused and more hurtful way to get revenge than death. And he managed to talk you into it and offered his help for his own scores he needed to settle with Jeanine.
---***---
@cokecola4211 I hope you like it <3
I have a similar fic to this one, but I wanted to answer to the request, and it is a pretty sad fic, but I still hope you guys might like it :)
Sorry for the lack of posting for a long ass while, I work full time and go to school full time. But I have had many request to come back so here is a little something to restart. I will get back to writing your ask and I will try to post on here regularly. Thanks for understanding, -Megan
“Self care isn't just for women, guys can do it too.”
“I don’t care i'm not putting that on my face.”
“Nobody will see you what does it matter, im the only one. It's just a face mask it gets rid of all the dead skin on your face when you rip it off, it will make it nice and smooth, get rid of all those blackheads.”
“No, im not”
“Eric stop being a baby i'm trying to help you. It's not like i'm asking you to paint your nails. You don't even have to anything i'll do it.”
Eric rolled his eyes and threw his hands up in surrender. “Fine but this is the only time so you better enjoy it as much as you can.”
y/n’s lips turned up into a grin and she leaped off the bed and ran into the bathroom grabbing the bottle and a brush. She looked at him a moment then ran back into the bathroom coming out with a headband. Eric had just gotten out of the shower so his hair was in his face. Crawling onto the bed she straddled his outstretched pajama covered legs. He looked up at her and sighed and she squirted liquid onto brush then painted it onto his face. He pulled his head back quickly from the brush being a reaction from the cold goo. She grabbed his chin and pulled it back into place. She delicately stroked the brush looking intent and focusing on getting none of it on his stubble or eyebrows.
Once she finished she ran into the bathroom and did her own. Coming out smiling bright at Eric. He rolled his eyes and grabbed his phone to read emails before bed. While he wasn't looking she pulled hers out and took a quick picture with him in the background of herself and him in the back completely unaware. Keeping it too herself to laugh at later to his expense and maybe use as leverage.
15 minutes later both were dry and time to peel off. He sat on the edge of the bed and she stood above him peeling up an end so she could rip it off. She yanked quickly. Eric grunted and pulled away. “What the hell” he had furled eyebrows pointed in his direction.
“What that's how you get it off” Y/N explained and reached to grab the edge again. Eric pulled away from her quickly. “Eric!” She snached his head in her hand and held it tight. “The quicker the better” she said as she grabbed it and yanked quickly leaving Eric letting out a huge profanity and pushing her away.
“Self care my ass.” she reached in again but her grabbed both her arms and held them. “No.”
She sighed, “Please just let me do it,” he squinted at her.
“Slow”
“Slow doesn't work, you have to go fast.”
“Do it slow or your not doing it”
“Fine. so much for leader of the dauntless.” she snorted, he let go of her hands slowly. She pushed him onto his back and sat on his chest. “We will do this more relaxed.” She said then quickly pinned his two arms under her legs so he had a harder time fighting back to what she was about to do. She yanked on the edge and he fought back trying to break his hands free. “Almost done.” she said then yanked the rest of it off. She quickly jumped off of him then ran to the other side of the room holding up the floppy rubbery mask she ripped off. “Look your done” she defended as he quickly got off the bed.
He charged at her making her squealed as he grabbed her by her legs and threw her over his shoulder and marched to the bathroom. “Your turn” he said as he carried her into the bathroom.
Hey, can I request something platonic with divergent. Something where reader was a dancer (I'm thinking ballet but it's up to you) before coming to dauntless so everyone underestimates her because they don't know how much strength it takes to dance. Feel free to ignore, I love your work.
'finding the moment' - divergent
masterlist
You’d think a faction that prides itself on taking any person and making them stronger than all others would know better than to underestimate somebody, but you’d be wrong. You’d think that the several years you’ve spent in Dauntless would be enough to wipe the glaring target clean from your back, but you’d be wrong again. You thought you knew what it took to stop the endless rumors about just how you got into this faction, but– well, by now it’s a pattern.
Everyone talks badly about the transfers. Everyone. All it takes to clear your name is one good fight in front of everyone or one great display of strength, and then even the most fervent of naysayers will shut up for good. That being said, apparently you’ve just got bad luck when it comes to finding that one moment, because no matter how many fights you win, it seems like the right crowd just isn’t watching.
You passed initiation with a far higher score than even you expected. You weren’t the top two, but definitely among the top five. It was more than a respectable showing, especially for a transfer. You picked a job you liked and showed your success with it. Dauntless is clearly changed for the better because you’re here, yet you still hear the whispers of rumors whenever you enter a crowded room. Everyone does something big to prove themselves. What’s your grand show going to be?
It’s starting to gnaw away at you, rust at a grand metal showcase. You have never failed your chosen faction. You’ve gone above and beyond at your job, but it seems like behind the scenes work isn’t the way to cut it when it comes to Dauntless popular approval. When two years have come and gone since you entered initiation and yet the tide still hasn’t turned in your favor, you decide to throw in the towel and go to the best source of advice regarding former transfers who managed to rally this bravehearted faction behind them, and that would be Four.
Although he’ll never admit it to anyone but a chosen few, Four isn’t exactly Dauntless born and bred, although you’d never guess it by looking at him. Four emanates cold, calculating judgment, always in control but quick to a punch when he needs to be. Yet behind him in a dusty and well-hidden past lies an upbringing not in Dauntless, but Abnegation of all the factions. Talk about a reversal of roles. Four wears Dauntless well, but he, too, had to go through the pain of being a transfer once, and if anyone can tell you how to hack it, it’s your friend.
Four knows what you want from the moment you find him. “I was wondering when you were going to start asking that sort of question,” he admits. A slight twitch of his lips is the only sign of a smile, swallowed up by his usual stony demeanor. No one can do a poker face like Four, although you’re secretly not sure if it’s due to supreme control over his emotions or perhaps just apathy at life surrounding him. A childhood in Abnegation would certainly do that to a guy.
You arch a brow. “So you were just keeping that information from me all this time? Way to be a good friend, Four.”
He coughs. It might be a laugh, but it can be hard to tell sometimes. “A true Dauntless would seek out information on their own. They wouldn’t need someone else to hold their hand and give them what they need all the time.”
You frown. “That sounds more like Erudite, really. You might be getting your factions confused.”
“I see why no one takes you seriously as a Dauntless,” Four deadpans. “Attitude.”
You roll your eyes. “Yes, Four, because you certainly don’t have an attitude. And neither does Eric. Or anyone else here.”
This time, you’re sure he grins. “You might have a point. Although Eric might not be the best example of Dauntless pride. He’s a transfer too, you know.”
Your jaw drops. “What? No way, he seems like he’s been here all his life. If you told me Eric Coulter just appeared one day out of the pit, I’d believe you.”
“It would make sense,” Four muses.
You shake your head, clearing your thoughts. “Jokes aside, I’m serious. How is it that both you and Eric were able to get rid of the transfer gossip so quickly?”
“We weren’t,” Four reveals. “We both had a bunch of public, bad fights in the ring before anyone started taking us seriously. That, and the fact that we were both in the top two initiation results. We had to have a moment where we proved to everyone that we deserved to be here.”
You groan. “I keep hearing about this moment thing. That’s not real, right? I’ve won plenty of fights here, but that doesn’t impact my reputation in the slightest.”
“Probably because they think you’re pulling your punches,” Four says. “Look, I didn’t lead your initiation when you went through training, so I don’t know for sure, but rumor has it, people don’t think you’re willing to go all the way. That’s why they accepted me as one of their own, you know. I got into a fight with a rival initiate, hurt him so badly he never dared to look at me again. That’s how they know you’re a real Dauntless. You have to give up fear completely.”
You whistle under your breath. “Dark stuff, Four.”
“It’s Dauntless,” he says. “What else did you expect?”
Truth be told, not much else. You love your chosen faction, even when its acceptance can be slow going, but it’s always been gritty, violent. Real. It’s what drew you here in the first place. You’re used to people lying to your face. In Dauntless, everything is fact or fiction, no gray areas. At last, everything makes sense.
You’re still mulling over Four’s words the next day, trying to wrap your head around just how you can eliminate fear completely from your person. This proverbial moment of Dauntless infamy is far harder to come by than anyone seems to suggest, and it’s starting to drive you mad.
Tired of seeing you tired, your friends drag you out for a training session one night. In true Dauntless fashion, nothing lifts your spirits like a round or two in the ring. After another thrilling victory, one of your friends laughs disbelievingly as she pulls herself up.
“I don’t get it,” she says, brushing herself off. “You always move so easily. How do you keep your balance that well?”
You grin. “I used to dance before I came here. It was great for coordination.”
Your friend nods along, and starts to say something about how she could see that when she’s suddenly interrupted by a voice a few feet away. “You did dance? I can’t believe it.”
You frown, glancing towards the source of the trouble. It’s a young man about your age, he went through initiation a year or so after you did. “What did you say?”
The man scoffs again. “If I were you, I’d never admit to something like that. Dance. Might as well transfer to Amity. It’s probably a better fit for you anyway.”
He starts to turn around, but he stops dead in his tracks when you call after him. “You want to try that again? Don’t talk to me like that.”
He casts you a disbelieving glance. “I’ll say whatever I want.”
“Then you’d better transfer to Candor,” you tell him icily. “Or, better yet, how about you meet me in the ring?” When he hesitates, you laugh. “What, are you scared? I thought you were so much better than me just because I did dance.”
That does it, and the man crosses the floor to join you in the ring. Your raised voice has started to draw a crowd, but you couldn’t care less about the other people there. The only thing that matters is making sure you get this guy to the ground before he can draw another breath to put you down. He’s substantially taller than you, and his arms are well muscled, but he’s underestimated you, and nothing– nothing– makes you as furious as that.
See, there’s one thing nobody here realizes about dance, because none of them have done it, and that is the incredible strength it takes to pull off even the most basic of maneuvers. You have exquisite balance, fantastic timing, and your legs and core are stronger than many people here.
So, although it comes as no surprise to you when your opponent is toppled and swiftly pinned in a matter of minutes, the ripple of shock that surges through the training hall echoes all the way up to the high ceilings. You stand over the felled man, looking down on him coldly. “Don’t ever try to belittle me again,” you inform him. “Also, you might want to look into some dance lessons. Might help you stop being so weak.”
With that, you jump down from the ring. A crowd has formed, but they part to give you space wherever you walk. For once, though, the faces aren’t judgmental but awestruck. On every expression here, you see something new: grudging, genuine respect.
It occurs to you at last, when you look back at all the people who’ve seen you win, that this was it, this was your moment. You’ve proven yourself. At last, you’re one of the Dauntless, and everyone knows it, too. This is victory, and it is yours.
You absolutely hate Eric Coulter. He absolutely hates you. So how is it that you find yourself kissing him in the middle of a game of Capture the Flag?
masterlist
You’ve only been in initiation for about three days before you decide you hate Eric Coulter. It’s not like it was a difficult decision to make- the guy is impossible to deal with. You joined Dauntless because you wanted to feel powerful; now you see that the training just made him cruel. He seems to take special joy in driving initiates down into the dirt, which has only served to make you work twice as hard. It’s like by succeeding and forcing your name higher and higher on that list of initiates, it’s an insult to him.
Your arms are folded across your chest as you watch him tear some initiate to shreds. Only with his words, of course, although you can tell that Eric is eying the guy with a want for blood. You’ve no doubt the victim messed up somehow, but whatever it was he did, it doesn’t deserve this verbal lashing.
You glance over at your friends Tris and Christina, noting with a grin that they’ve got your same disgusted look reflected on their faces. “At this point, I’m thinking he joined Dauntless just for a chance to beat up anyone he could.”
Tris chuckles. “I wouldn’t be surprised. Could you imagine him in a desk job?”
You laugh at that, turning to face her. “It makes no sense, though. For all that, the guy’s just talk. I heard that Four did better than him in training, but you wouldn’t know it from the way Eric struts around.”
Christina’s got a gleam of urgency in her eyes, but you can’t quite figure out what she’s trying to tell you.
“You’d think he’d have a little bit of modesty, but I suppose that could never happen.” You say.
There’s a low voice from behind you, and you feel yourself stiffen up the second you hear it. “And why would that be?”
You turn around to see Eric, and finally understand Christina’s warning. However, you’ve dealt with Eric Coulter before, and you know that the worst thing you can do is show any signs of weakness. So, you straighten up, looking him dead in the eyes as if you’re just having a friendly chat about the weather.
“It could never happen because you’d never let us forget that you got your spot in the Dauntless initiation in the first place. Can’t boss around the trainees if they doubt you, right?”
Eric raises an eyebrow. “Then why do you have no problem talking back to me?”
You pretend to consider this. “Well, wasn’t Max talking about how silence is worthless? I’m just following the Dauntless code.”
Eric stares at you for a second, then holds out a hand, gesturing to the ring behind him.
“Well, if you’re such a star pupil, how about you prove it? Surely you’re not just talk, right?”
Eric calls out for a tall boy named Lukas to take a spot opposite you in the ring. You let your eyes flicker over your opponent, mentally cataloging the strengths and weaknesses of the boy. You can instantly tell why Eric chose Lukas to go against you- he’s one of the top initiates right now, and his biceps are about the size of your head. He’s got an advantage over you in height, weight, and basically everything that Eric considers important in a fight. That being said, Eric’s only looking at physical strength. There’s a whole separate aspect of fighting, and that’s the mind. That’s where you’ll win this round.
Eric’s looking at you now, expecting you to back down or come up with some excuse to make your way out of this. He’s expecting you to not have a death wish and not want to fight Lukas, but you happen to be full of surprises. So, you jump up onto the ring, tossing a cocky grin to Eric like it’s a penny to a fountain.
“Well, I’m never one to back down from a challenge.”
Lukas takes a fighting stance, and you settle into one as well.
Eric calls for the fight to begin, but your attention is already off of the tall, razor-tattooed man. Instead, your eyes are locked onto Lukas, taking in the way he shifts in his stance before he attacks. You wait a moment, double-checking your theory, then spring into action. There- the hesitation in his steps, and there’s your kick to the legs, throwing him off balance. You lunge forward, flinging his arms over your shoulder and to the ground. His impact hits him hard on the knee, and you can see it give out.
You stalk over to him, blocking his attempted punch with a quick jab to the stomach. When he reflexively curls in on himself to recover from the blow, you raise your heel and aim a harsh kick at his nose. The blood gushes all over his face, but his hand doesn’t move to wipe it away. Barely a couple of minutes in, Lukas is already unconscious. You step back, wiping the blood onto your shirt. It isn’t yours, and that’s all that really matters.
You let your gaze finally leave Lukas, traveling across the ring until it meets Eric. He stands, doing his best to hide his shock, and then a grudging smirk rises across his face. It cuts a slash across his harsh expression, and he shakes his head in disbelief for just a second before speaking again.
“Well, I can’t say I was expecting this. Someone go take Lukas to the medic. Y/N-”
He pauses for a second, taking in your evident lack of injuries. “If I catch you mouthing off again, you’ll get hit with something bigger than just Lukas.”
You nod your acknowledgement before stepping hurriedly over to Tris and Christina, who are regarding you with expressions somewhere between awe and horror.
Tris speaks first. “You have a death wish, you realize that?”
Christina shakes her head slowly. “I thought you were dead. Honestly. What were you thinking, talking to him like that?”
You throw your arms around their shoulders, walking with them towards the exit. “Honestly, I think you’re both thinking about the wrong things. I just beat Lukas’ ass, and looked good while doing it. I think this is a cause for celebration.”
Christina snorts. “You’re definitely insane. But insanely good.”
You beam at her. “That’s the spirit.”
The two of you head over to another corner, away from the bloodstained boxing ring and one particular training leader who’s glancing over at you with an unabashed grin now that you’re facing away from him.
If you were smart, you would take this as a reason to keep your mouth shut and stop talking about the training leaders. However, you didn’t choose Erudite for a reason, and you find yourself wandering back onto that track of conversation a few days later. To be fair, though, you’re not in the training room any longer. That means you’re considerably safer, right?
You flop into a seat in the cafeteria next to Tris and Christina, idly staring at the apple in your hand. “Is it wrong of me to consider killing one of our initiation leaders?”
Tris nods. “I think so. Unless you call it one big act of bravery and manage to talk your way out of it. Other than that, I think it’s just murder, which is illegal.”
You point your apple at her. “But would I be wrong? Tell me that you’ve never wanted to kill Eric at any point.”
Christina shrugs. “She’s got you there.”
You flash your friend a grin. “Exactly. I just can’t stand the guy. Thinks he’s so cool. Very wrong.”
There’s a movement behind you, and then someone slides into the seat next to you. You groan inwardly when you see Eric.
“Are you talking about me again? I’m almost flattered.”
You shoot him a glare. “Are you following me again? I almost feel proud of myself for taking up so much of your attention.”
Eric ignores this. “I’m an initiation leader, Y/N. What, you thought you could disappear and do whatever you want?”
You look at him pointedly. “At this rate, what I want to do is go one week without having to speak to you outside of class.”
Eric pretends to think this through. “Don’t think so. What, are you scared of talking to people? That’s not very Dauntless of you.”
This time you can’t hold back a groan. “It’s not very Dauntless to be a complete-”
Tris cuts you off, panic glowing in her eyes. “I think what Y/N’s trying to say is that she is glad to be doing so well in training. That’s what we were talking about, right?”
Eric points to Tris. “See? Listen to your friends, you’re worrying them.” He stands up, plucking the apple from your hand before disappearing back down the aisles of tables. “I’ll see you in training tomorrow.”
You look back at Tris. “You didn’t have to do that.”
Tris stares at you. “I very much did. Unlike you, I plan on staying alive through the remainder of initiation.”
Christina laughs. “Honestly, I’m beginning to think that the two of you just like insulting each other. There’s no other reason why you’d intentionally annoy each other so often.”
You make a face at her, a denial already slipping from between your lips, but you can’t help but think this over.
You don’t like talking to Eric, right? That’s kind of the whole point. But Christina’s not wrong, either- you haven’t exactly gone out of your way to avoid him. Quite the opposite, actually- you seem like you’re doing your best to annoy him so he’ll come over and argue with you. You push away your tray. Suddenly, you don’t think you’re hungry anymore.
By the time Four announces that the initiates will all be playing a round of Capture the Flag, you couldn’t be more excited. A chance to run around in the dark of night and shoot the most bothersome of your fellow trainees? This is the opportunity you’ve been awaiting for a while. It’s even better when Four picks you as his second choice for his team- now you can intentionally gun down Eric. What more could you ask for?
Your feet pound on the packed earth as you duck between crates. Tris and Christina are hot on your heels, and the three of you come to a hurried stop as you consider the path before you. The flag is being held in the tall building across the park, but between you and the flag run almost all of Eric’s team. Your only cover is tall metal crates, but even those won’t protect you forever.
You consider the situation before you, then gesture for Tris and Christina to go to the right. “I’ll draw the guards away. You guys run for the flag.”
They nod their understanding, then take off. You shoot at the members of Eric’s team, taking them down long enough for your friends to run through the park. You’re just about to join them when you see a familiar figure heading after them. Eric is stalking Tris and Christina, moving quickly in between you and them.
An idea forms in your mind, and you grin at the thought of it. Silently, you begin to run forward, clearly in Eric’s line of vision. Who would he choose to go after- two initiates who’ve done respectably or the girl who’s fighting with him at every opportunity? Sure enough, you can see Eric switch directions out of the corner of your eye, changing his path to follow you instead.
You keep moving, ducking around crates as if you have no idea that Eric can see you. Slowly, steadily, you lure Eric away from Tris and Christina until you’re sure that he won’t be able to find them anymore. You straighten, looking for an escape route. Time to lose him. You’re almost about to head back out past the row of crates when an arm lands around your waist, spinning you around and pinning your back against the crate.
You look to see Eric smirking victoriously. “I hate to ruin your moment, but this is going to hurt.”
His fingers tighten on the trigger of his gun, and you feel a brief spurt of panic fire into your chest. Without a second’s thought as to what this would mean, you lean forward, crashing your lips into his. However stupid, however dangerous, your ploy works, and Eric’s hands leave his gun, reaching instead to pull you closer.
You break away for just a second, whispering something in the heated space between the two of you. “Sorry about this.”
Eric leans away, something like confusion appearing on his face. He doesn’t have much time to think this over, though, because your gun is in your hand and your finger is already wrapping around the trigger. Two darts lodge themselves in his chest, a grunt of pain issuing from his mouth to match the look of betrayal on his face.
You can’t help but grin. “Looks like you shouldn’t have let down your guard. I’ll see you when I win this game.”
With that, you turn and sprint away, heading towards the end of the park where you know the flag is waiting for you. You do not spare another thought to the man behind you, and you most certainly do not think about the way you might have just damned yourself entirely. What had you been doing, kissing him? What are you supposed to do after this?
Luckily, there’s another way back to base after Tris and Christina find the enemy flag. You’re ushered away to the zip line, and you allow yourself to be strapped in without a second thought. A smile rises unbidden to your lips as you fly through the air, the wind whipping your cheeks as you sail past crumbling buildings.
Maybe you don’t have to talk to Eric on the way back, but that doesn’t mean that you won’t ever have to see him again. As you walk through the doors of the Dauntless establishment, you can’t help but feel your smile drop as you think about what you’ve just done. Arguing with him, trading insults, that’s one thing. Kissing him is something entirely different. And, you realize, there were more strings attached then you’d thought. You had intended it as a diversion, something that would probably not even buy you time. But you hadn’t entirely felt that way, had you? You had felt sorry to leave him, regretting the betrayal even as your fingers closed on the trigger of the gun.
There’s nothing to do now except pretend it didn’t happen. You show up to training the next day along with everyone else, ignoring Eric’s gaze burning holes in the back of your skull so you can dirty your hands with the blood of your sparring partners just like always. Practice ends when you’re in the middle of a sparring match, and you hurry to knock your partner to the ground so you can escape before the room grows too empty.
This, however, proves to be a worthless endeavor. You haven’t gone ten feet out of the door before you’re pulled into a small room nearby. You don’t even have to look up to know who’s brought you here- you’d know Eric anywhere. You don’t want to know how you know that, or why the twisting chagrin in your gut is met with some fleeting satisfaction in your heart. Maybe you’re not the only one feeling this way. Or maybe you’re just fooling yourself, and Eric is about to send you packing for daring to kiss an initiation leader.
When you finally look up, Eric’s gaze is locked on yours. You do your best to call up the usual uncaring smirk, to pretend like nothing he could do would ever bother you. Even you, though, can tell that the charade is lacking.
Eric folds his arms across his chest. “The kiss last night.”
You start speaking, somehow terrified of hearing anything he has to say on the matter. “It was a ruse. It won’t happen again.”
You look away, trying to reach for the door, but his hand closes around your wrist, bringing you back to face him again. “We both know that’s a lie. You wouldn’t be trying to leave so hurriedly if it meant nothing.”
You hesitate. “It won’t happen again.” You repeat, finding you can’t look at him.
Eric’s voice echoes around the quiet room. “What if I don’t want that?”
You look up, startled, and there’s a glint of something in Eric’s eyes before his hand reaches your face, pulling you forward to kiss him. You stand there, stunned, then kiss him back. When he finally breaks away, you realize the gleam of light in his eyes is of happiness, of chance. You might have lucked out on the biggest gamble of your life. Eric Coulter might actually like you back. Somehow, that thought makes you far happier than you could have ever imagined.
Finding the Moment - Based on this request: “something platonic with divergent. Reader was a dancer before coming to dauntless so everyone underestimates her because they don't know how much strength it takes to dance” Oneshot
Something More - Based on this request: “a jealous four. reader isnt oblivious and sees the way four looks and acts with her but she gets tired of him taking long to shoot his shot so she starts flirting with another dude to make him jealous” Imagine
Under My Skin - Based on this request: “four x dauntless!reader. when she's going into the fear simulation she got scared of the needle so he calm her down.” Imagine
Keep the Spark Alive - Based on this request: “Four x fem!reader, where four can see she’s struggling and offers some private lessons” Imagine
Four and Five - Based on this request: “platonic Four x fem reader. She and Four have been best friends since they were kids. Her mother died when she was a kid and her father became an abusive alcoholic. She and Four chose Dauntless. Tobias had four fears and reader had five. Her fears are spiders, as she was bitten by one before her mother died, her father, confined spaces, dying, and losing Four.” Oneshot
Identically Driven - Based on this request: “Tobias x Reader? Reader is from Erudite and the same age as Four. Both became trainers. Her younger sister also join Dauntless. Reader and Four are a power couple. Reader is Divergent and knows Four’s real name and that he is divergent. When Tris kissed Four, he moves so she only kisses his cheek. The next day Four kisses reader. Tris is heartbroken since she didn’t know about their relationship.” Imagine
Power and Consequence - Based on this request: “four and reader are both trainers. Yn also has a number nickname, two. Her fears are her abusive father and losing Tobias Just them being a couple, the hardass around the compound and then Tobias would melt the second the door is closed” Imagine
Dating Four and Being Another Trainer Would Include... Headcanons
Smoke and Fire - Based on this request: “fic happens while y/n is smoking a cigarette. she ran from her faction to dauntless because her parents were too strict, now she is stuck between two men who want her. The love-hate relationship with Eric and the too needy and draining with Four.” Imagine
Winning - Based on this request: “four imagine where reader is an initiate and is secretly dating for but all the other initiate are picking on the reader” Imagine
Wordless, Loveless - Based on this request: “four soulmates au where the reader transfers to dauntless and they have a secret or something so when she figures it out that four is her soulmate she hides it but he finds out in the end” Soulmates AU
To Have Or To Hold - Based on this request: “Four and reader have a secret relationship but something happens that makes Four extremely jealous in the middle of a fight that f!reader is having, and maybe he says "you can stop touching my girl now" or something” Imagine
Hoping for Change - Based on this request: “Four x reader: The reader confronts jeanine and ends up getting hurt from trying to fight her, so four comes in” Imagine
Still Dauntless - Based on this request: “four x reader: an initiate talks trash about the readers strength, she shows them up and four is proud of her” Imagine
Sudden Changes (Part One) (Part Two) (Part Three) - When you, an Erudite, accidentally stumble upon Jeanine Matthew’s plans, she forces you to transfer to Dauntless. Your only hope is to blend in, although Four seems less willing to let that happen. Multi-Part Imagine
A Light in the Dark - Based on this request: “Platonic Four imagine where reader is an initiate and looks up to Four as a father figure. She is from Amity and clearly hiding something but doesn’t want to say. It turns out she was being abused when it’s time for fear simulations, and visiting day is next.” Oneshot
Throwing Punches - Based on a request for a Four Soulmate AU. I chose one where you can feel your soulmate’s pain :) Soulmates AU
The Replacement - You and Four have been close friends for a long time, ever since the early days of initiation when you found out you were both Divergent. Now, however, the sudden appearance of one Tris Prior is making it harder and harder to have the same connection with Four. Imagine
Lies - Y/N L/N is a Dauntless transfer, and one of the best at fighting and all tasks initiates have to face. Her only problem is Four, and his insistent habit of trying to figure out what she’s hiding from him, although it may be a larger secret than he thinks. Imagine
When you, an Erudite, accidentally stumble upon Jeanine Matthew’s plans, she forces you to transfer to Dauntless. Your only hope is to blend in, although Four seems less willing to let that happen.
masterlist / part two
Your feet echo off of the tiled halls, the sound rattling up the white walls to to dissipate against the high ceilings. Erudite has always prided itself on having the best architects, the finest engineers, to design each and every one of its buildings. This one is no exception- tall arches, blue and white accents, glass windows that can make even the most dismal space seem bright and full of life. That’s why you love your home faction so much- everywhere you look, you see the chance to build something new and bright. There’s a future right before you, one that you can’t wait to create.
You’ll be able to start work on it soon enough, anyways. Your Choosing Ceremony is tomorrow, less than twenty-four hours away. Then, you’ll be able to slit open your palm and dash your blood upon the rippling waters of Erudite, forever sealing your future into safety. You’ve been planning this ever since you were a little kid, ever since you learned about the choosing ceremony in the first place. You’ve thought long and hard about the other options for the factions, researching them with the meticulous care always shown by your fellow blue-coated companions, and in the end, you realized that Erudite would always be your home. No matter what, you belong here.
This is the last day before you officially begin the initiation process, before you officially become an Erudite for life. Sure, you’ve been living here since you were born, but tomorrow, once your blood has tainted the waters in Erudite’s vessel, you’ll have declared yourself to your faction, once and for all. You can’t wait to begin your life in earnest.
You’re distracted by thoughts of the future, too lost in your own head to take note of where you’re walking. The windows disappear from the walls, fewer places for people to look in and see the inhabitants. This should worry you, you’re used to picking up on the small signals that no one else really notices, but you’re not entirely focusing on what’s around you, too lost in dreams of the future awaiting you after your ceremony. Maybe that’s why you don’t realize that something is going wrong until you’re rounding the corner into a large room full of guards, both Erudite and Dauntless.
You freeze in your tracks, but it’s too late- you’ve already been noticed. You’re not entirely sure what’s going on here, only that you should most certainly not be here. You wheel around, ready to do a 180 and pretend you never saw anything at all, but a pair of guards has appeared out of nowhere to block your path. They wear identical uniforms, carry identical weapons, and regard you with identical scowls. This is not good.
One of them steps forward. “Civilians aren’t allowed here.” His voice is cold and clinical. He gives off no signs of weakness, leaving no space for accidents or mistakes. You won’t be getting out of this easily. You fumble around for something, some excuse, but come up with nothing. The only thing you can do is tell the truth. “I’m sorry, I didn’t realize where I was going. I’ll leave now, I swear.” The guard shakes his head, the movement stiff. “You’re not allowed here.” He repeats, and you feel your stomach sink. What happens to those who find out what they’re not supposed to? Nothing good, you can be sure about that.
A voice sounds from behind you. “What’s going on here?” You turn around and feel a rush of gratitude swell in your heart at the sight of Jeanine Matthews, head of Erudite. She’s been your mentor for a long time, providing you with opportunities to show your success as a student that many of your peers would kill for. Surely, she will help you through this once again. However, when you take a closer look at her, you notice the firmness of her face, the cold look in her eyes. If you’re looking for sympathy, you’re not sure that you’ll find it with her.
“I don’t know what’s happening, really. I took a wrong turn and ended up here. I didn’t see anything, nothing I understood. I won’t say a word.” Jeanine regards you for a second, then snaps her fingers at the guards. “I’ll take her from here. Return to your stations at the doors, and make sure no one else stumbles upon this room.” The glare she delivers to the guards is like nothing you’ve seen on her before, like every experience you’d had with her had just been a front. She’d been playing the ruse of mentor, you see that now, maybe to find out if you could help her with whatever secret project she has going on.
Jeanine takes off briskly, and after a hesitation, you follow her, steps irregular as you try to catch up to the blue-clad faction leader. At last, she turns into an empty room, something that had once been an office before this entire space had been re-commandeered to serve as her headquarters. She closes the door behind her. It is only now that she looks at you, hands clasped in front of her. “So, you found this place by accident.”
You nod frantically. “It was a mistake, honestly. It won’t happen again.” Jeanine shakes her head. “No, it won’t, will it? Usually, I would have any interlopers executed. This is secret business, Y/N. I’m sure you understand. However, you’ve been helpful in the past, and I hate to rid our city of such a promising citizen. So, I’m going to offer you a choice. Tomorrow is your Choosing Ceremony, no? Either you select another faction, or you’ll be dead by midnight tomorrow.”
You stare at her, blood running cold. This is the woman who had guided you like a teacher, and here she is, discussing the matter of your murder like it’s a friendly chat over brunch. “You want me to leave Erudite? Where would I go?” Jeanine considers this. “A good question. How about Dauntless? I’m sure you could handle being a soldier.” You feel your shoulders tense. Dauntless? That’s where the muscle and brawn go, those who can’t stand another second of using their minds. The thought of going there is awful. You’d be signing away your future as a thinker, damning yourself to your fists and nothing else. You’d almost rather be shot in the head and have it all over with.
However, you’ve only gotten this far in Erudite because you were willing to move forward, no matter how difficult any situation seemed. That’s why you nod your head once more. “I’ll do it. I’ll transfer tomorrow.” Jeanine almost smiles, although the cold look on her face seems as appreciative of humor as a solid cliff face. “I would hope so. If not, well, you won’t be alive to regret your choice.” With that, she opens the door once more. Your audience is over, your future suddenly gone. What do you do now?
Well, you at least know the answer to that question, if not to the countless others swirling around inside your head. You can’t sleep a wink that night, tossing and turning over this latest change in events. You had been planning your life out since you were a child, and it always ended with a continued life in Erudite. You had never once thought that you’d transfer, and especially not to Dauntless. However, you can’t show any signs of indecision, not now. You know that your life is on the line, and you can’t give away any weakness lest Jeanine interpret that to be rebellion and send someone to kill you.
So, the next morning, you wake and dress as usual. You look at yourself in the mirror one last time before you go, straightening the lapel of your jacket and the lines of your shirt. This will be the final time you dress in the blues of your home faction, the last time that you could see a throng of sapphire silhouettes and feel at home there. There’s a sudden pang in your chest at the thought that you’ll be leaving all of this behind- Erudite is your home, it always has been. You aren’t ready to go, not at all.
That being said, you’d rather survive in Dauntless than die by Jeanine’s bullet. You have to live, to prove to her that you’re more than one of her casualties. You’re not sure what she was planning in that room with those guards, but it must have been something significant. You hadn’t been able to see too much of the work in there, too focused instead on not being killed by the guards, but you had caught a few glimpses of tables covered in documents. There had been diagrams of the different factions, mainly Abnegation, Dauntless, and Erudite.
You can remember lists of names from those same three factions, and diagrams of the brain highlighting different structures. Some of the notes and charts appeared to be medical in nature, but no matter how hard you think, you can’t imagine what they could possibly be about. You weren’t able to read any words, just see the images from afar. Whatever they discussed, however, it was apparently enough for your life to be on the line.
You shake your head roughly, trying to dislodge these thoughts from your head and convince yourself to continue out the door and join the streams of people swarming to the trains. The Choosing Ceremony will take place in Abnegation, so you’d best get there in time. If you don’t make it there, and your blood does not strike the coals of Dauntless, you’ll be bleeding out from a bullet wound within the hour. Your parents wish you well before you go. They’ll be unable to go due to crowd restrictions, so the only way they’ll find out that you’re transferring is through word of mouth. You hold them tight before you go. If they notice any unusual strain in your goodbyes, it is not enough for them to stop you.
You arrive a few minutes early to the Choosing Ceremony, so you mill around in the building with the other members of your faction. Across the room, you see Jeanine talking to a family dressed all in gray. She doesn’t say anything, doesn’t approach you, just fixes you with that same cold glare. You nod once, and something almost like triumph enters her eyes. You’re doing what she wants, after all. Why wouldn’t she be happy?
The Choosing Ceremony is long, each person filing to the front of the room to slash open their hands and cement their life’s decision before the waiting crowd. At last, your name is called, and you force yourself up and to the array of vessels, each one representing a faction. Your limbs feel wooden, but you take the offered knife nonetheless. You can’t back down, you know that. You have no other options.
So, you let the blade drop into your hand, skimming over the skin to reveal a line of red bubbling up to the surface. You let a few beads of scarlet drop into the searing coals of Dauntless, causing a few sparks to emit from the vessel. Maybe you’re kidding yourself, but you swear you hear a few surprised gasps from the blue-clad section of the room. Those who know you well know that you would never seem the type to transfer away, especially not to Dauntless. Your friends regard you with unadulterated shock, but your eyes linger not on them but the blonde woman sitting next to them. She regards you with a snake’s smile, all hissing eyes and vicious victory. She’s won, yet again. Where does that leave you?
You feel like your head is swamped in murk, unable to let a single thought form. What are you doing? You’re not meant to be a soldier but a thinker. Still, your legs carry you over to the Dauntless section, where you’re offered a bandage for your hand and clapped on the back. You take your place with the other transfers, although you’re unable to join in their same celebratory air. This isn’t what you wanted, not at all. However, it’s the only life before you. You’ll be a Dauntless until the day you die. You might as well do your best to enjoy it.
And, despite your strongest reservations, you find that you do. Your feet run sharp along the streets. The Erudite don’t run, they walk, exchanging casual conversations with their peers. Running like this, though, with the other Dauntless, is strangely freeing. There’s a lightness in your lungs and chest that hadn’t been there before, like you’ve just taken off a heavy cloak to bathe in the sunshine. This might not be the worst life after all.
After jumping on and off a train, you’ve decided to abridge your thoughts a little. Sure, it might be fun, but the Dauntless are utter lunatics. They’re crazy, out of their minds. To be honest, you might be out of yours as well. At last, everyone is gathered on the roof of a building, all eyes drawn to the precipice below. One of the initiation leaders, Eric, calls out for a first volunteer to jump. It might be a sign that you’re truly losing your mind, but you step forward. You already knew you had no plan, right, no way to move forward? You might as well make a statement.
You leap before you look, letting the rush of the air echo in your ears. You tilt your head up, feeling like the angels of the illustrations in all the books you’d read as a child. If you shut your eyes slightly, it doesn’t feel like you’re falling, not at all. Maybe you’re flying away from Jeanine and your family and everything you’d known before. Maybe you were meant to be a Dauntless after all.
You hit the ground before you know it, limbs collapsing onto the net far below. You bounce once or twice before coming to a stop, your momentum released onto the squeaking springs surrounding you. Then, the fabric of the net is pulled taut as someone helps you out. There’s a man before you, maybe one or two years older than you. His light brown hair is cropped short, and there’s a warmth in his eyes that you hadn’t expected from a Dauntless leader.
“What’s your name, initiate?” The thrill of the fall is still gilding your tongue, and you just manage to speak through the grin on your lips. “Y/N. I’m Y/N.” The man nods, although you swear that his brow furrows slightly at the name. He looks between you and the sapphire of your clothes as if he recognizes you, then turns to the crowd of awaiting Dauntless behind him. “First jumper: Y/N!” You’re greeted by a rush of cheers, although you find that you can’t draw any excitement from them.
Instead, your attention is on the man before you, the way he’s still regarding you with confusion as if he knows you, and knows that you don’t belong here. His hands linger on yours from where he’d helped you off of the net, and his eyes swim with suspicion. You pull away from him, joining the others at the far side of the room, although you swear that his eyes follow you as you go. You’re not sure what Jeanine would think about you being here, if she’s still watching you. Regardless, you know for a fact that you don’t want any questions about why you’re here or why you suddenly transferred. You have a sinking feeling that this man isn’t going to make it easy for you to blend in.
idea help from my dearest of friends luna, ily queen
divergent tag list: definite girlboss @underc0vercryptid
