Villainous Love (A Divergent Fanfic)

Chapter 13

Eric's POV

Lena - no, Selene jogs to catch up with her friend, the Erudite transfer. I fight the urge to smile to myself. I feel almost... jovial that she shared her full name with me. Somehow, knowing it gives me a sense of pride.

I think about all her past outbursts. Of how she seems to tread the line between good and bad. She is very obviously a Divergent. Confirming which factions resulted from her aptitude test and a nudge in the right - or better put, wrong - direction and she would make a perfect addition to Jeanine's team. I clear my head of all of that. Tonight, the goal is to win.

-

Keith and I pair up to hunt members of Four's team, as do Selene and Luna. Avi and Sophie guard the flag, which is mounted on a gate. Jay is behind the four of us, waiting for us to cover the space ahead and clear it of opposition, lingering to double check all the spaces. Then the five of us plan to ambush the pole they'd managed to lug it onto, and someone will grab the flag.

Before anything else, I see one of Four's members lurking around near Selene and Luna. Neither of them notice him. Making any sort of noise would alter him of our presence, although he should see us, given that we are right here. I gesture at Keith to pause, level my gun, and shoot. He flails as he hits the ground, and Selene and Luna duck hastily and turn. Selene shoots me what I'm sure is a glare, but I am not fazed. Teamwork is a virtue, but we are here to win. I gesture at them to get up and signal that they need to remain more alert.

Wallowing in my frustration, I almost miss hearing the twig break behind us, but Keith and I are both aware of our surroundings. We turn and shoot Nora in both her shoulders at the same time. She cries out as she hits the floor. That's two of Four's down confirmed, and I believe it is safe to assume we still have all our members up.

I hear a group of people shouting, Selene among them. I curse under my breath and Keith looks at me wide-eyed. We take shelter behind some rogue boxes hanging around and wait for the noise to die down. Eventually I peer around the boxes and see Selene and Luna jogging over towards us.

"Thanks for the help, guys," she says sarcastically.

"Why would we risk ourselves to get you two alive? Clearly you had it under control." She rolls her eyes.

"That's Rayne, Tracy and Elix down. And Eric, you got Simon. That's half their team down," says Luna.

"Great, who's left?" asks Keith.

"Everyone I didn't list," she replies.

"Come on, Erudite, I didn't memorize everybody's names."

"Kali, Sophie and Avi are left. I'd place my bets on the assumption that they're guarding the flag with Four. Or, two of them are guarding and two of them are backup hunters. Maybe we should-"

But she never got to finish her suggestion which, I'm sure of it, would have been brilliant, because all four of the remaining members from opposition surround us and begin shooting. I duck back behind the boxes, Selene and Luna close by. Keith is taken down, but not before he shoots Avi in the leg.

"Luna," Selene says desperately. "What's the plan?"

"We have less than a minute until they find us back here. You two stay in the shadows and head towards their flag." She peeks out behind the boxes. "Just like I thought. There's nobody left guarding the flag. I'll try and head back to ours to send Devon and Jess to help you on the ground and guard with Carmen. Go!"

Selene and I hurry along the fence behind us, keeping in the dark. The sounds of fighting fade away into the background as we near the pole they've hoisted their flag onto. Selene looks at me and her blue eyes reflect the moonlight back to me. She looks like she was born to carry the weapons of Dauntless, and I briefly wonder if I could be mistakened by her - maybe she really is just Dauntless.

"Why are you staring at me?" she asks, snapping me out of my daze. "We can't celebrate until we've officially won, remember?" I smile and shake my head.

"I'll give you a boost," I offer.

"Thanks."

Selene's boots are black and sturdy, and I recognize them as the ones the Dauntless initiates are given. Once you're confirmed as a member you get a new pair, and customize the soles. Many members get real creative, but mine are just dark blue, dark enough that they blend in with the rest of the black.

"Got it?" I ask. She hops down with the flag in her hand and waves it in my face in response.

"Let's go show you off," I say with a smile. We begin jogging towards the rest of the initiates and Four, who I presume are still fighting, when she pulls me back.

"Just a moment," she says, then pulls me down. She kisses me, smiling against my mouth, then pulls away. I am never content - I find myself always wanting more.

"What was that for?" I ask.

"Can't a girl kiss her... special friend?"

"She's welcome to do a lot more than that if she wants..." She slaps my arm playfully.

"Freak. Let's go."

-

"Alright, everyone, you've got tomorrow off. We begin the next stage the day after," I say. Four ushers the group on to the dorms.

"Lena," I call out. She turns to her friends and tells them not to wait up. Soon we are alone in the hall.

"What's up," she says. I've got to sort her out. I've got to tell her about how the mentals work. I put my arm around her shoulders and lead her outside.

"You too tired for a ride?" I ask.

"No," she replies, and laces her fingers through my hand.

On the train, we dangle our legs from the ledge.

"The day after tomorrow we begin mentals," I say. She looks at me attentively. "What happens is we inject you with a serum that makes you experience your fears in a simulated landscape. You're supposed to overcome the situations."

"Why are you telling me this?"

"You're a Divergent," I say. Her eyes widen and she starts to object. "Save it. You're awful at hiding it. Only thing I'm not sure of is which factions you got on your results."

"Are you- am I in- what are you going to do to me?" she stammers, suddenly backing away from the ledge. I realize I approached this the wrong way.

"Selene," I say, and shut the cart so it's less threatening. "Nothing. Listen, I know divergence is a taboo thing-"

"Taboo? Taboo? My tester said it was forbidden. She said never to speak of it, and-" she pauses to take a breath. After composing herself, she starts again. "Jade said my results made me dangerous and that if anyone found out, I could be taken hostage and used for weird experiments."

Of course Jade tested her. She's one of them. So is Four.

"I'm telling you this because you don't want Four and the others finding out. During the simulation, activate your Dauntless. Overcome your natural response to the sim and respond to your fears the way you know one of your Dauntless-born peers would."

She side-eyes me.

"Do you trust me?" I ask.

"I don't know," she replies, seemingly truthfully. "But clearly you're not stupid."

"Then at least think about what I'm telling you. I can't say everything, but no, nobody kidnaps the Divergents for 'weird experiments.' I promise you that. The thing is, you've got to manage the fear landscapes so the rest of the Dauntless leaders don't find out." The testers are strictly forbidden from communicating results to anyone but the individuals being tested for confidentiality reasons, and I can only hope Jade would expect Four and the others to catch the Divergents during the mentals.

"Why not?" she persists, and I wish I could say. I wish I could tell her everything, because I know she is perfect for Jeanine. But I know I must wait until she is a member and her presence is confirmed.

"I want you to trust me. I'll show you you can. I don't know how, but I will," I say, surprising myself at the emotion behind the words. She doesn't say anything, but when I reach my hand out to tuck her hair behind her ear she doesn't pull away.