Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

There's only one mirror in the house, always kept shut and only opened once a month. Abnegation doesn’t believe in vanity. Mirrors contribute to that and therefore are not allowed to be used often in the homes of those in that faction. Betty stands in front of the mirror staring at the wood sliding panel that divides her from her reflection. She nervously adjusts her grey sweater for what feels like the last time, fiddling with the threads on the sleeves. Her typical abnegation uniform consisting of all grey to blend in and draw the attention away from themselves. Her mother has just offered to cut her hair and so Betty ties it up in her usual ponytail. A simple hairstyle to match their simple lives.

“Are you nervous?” Her mother asks as she slides the panel to the side revealing Betty’s reflection. I look paler then before, she thinks. Her eye bags a little more defined with the lack of sleep from the overbearing anxiety that has lead to this day.

“Nope,” Betty lies. Certainly not Candor then, she thinks.

She looks at herself then, thinking about how she doesn't quite look like she's ready to be eighteen yet. Her birthday is in a few months and everyone in the city at the age of seventeen is required to take the aptitude test at the end of the year that determines the faction they belong in which is held today. Then the choosing ceremony tomorrow where they decide the faction you will be in for the rest of your life. Candor the faction of honesty, Amity the faction of kindness, Dauntless the faction of bravery, Erudite the faction of intelligence and lastly Abnegation the faction of selflessness. The one Betty was born into, but doesn't quite fit into.

“You should probably eat something before you go,” her mother suggests.

“Right,” Betty says.

Her mother closes the mirror shut for what might be the last time.

They both walk into the kitchen were Charles the oldest son and their father Hal are seated for breakfast. Hal is perched in his favourite spot reading the newspaper and Charles is now helping their mother Alice prepare the food while she hums to herself. It is the small moments like these that Betty feels the most guilty for wanting to leave them. She tries to convince herself that Charles must be feeling the same way, but she can’t quite decide if that makes her feel better or worse.

Charles is Betty’s older brother but only by a little while. He has always had a nature for acting older than he actually is. With his tall height, lanky frame and mature attitude people were always quick to judge he was much older than Betty. She didn't blame them. He made the family very proud with his outstanding grades and devotion to study. He was always reading some sort of ridiculously thick book from a young age.

Charles and Betty say there goodbyes and start walking to the central part of the city when they come across an old Abnegation woman who's dropped her shopping. Charles is quick to run and help her as he carries as many of the fallen items in his arms as possible, sending a scolding look Betty’s way as he notices her standing watching a train come past at a rapid speed. He's definitely inherited his mothers selflessness.

“Betty!” Charles yells over the bustle noise of the people. “Why don't you come on over here,” he says.

You can tell he sounds irritated that he had to tell her but she goes over and helps re pack the ladies bags without a word.

They finally made it into the heart of the city where it contains the Hub. The Hub is where the faction testing and choosing ceremony always take place. Built specifically for the faction system. A tall white building with glass exterior on the top level. There are train tracks built above the ground that run all along the city. Betty's never rode on a train before. Only Dauntless do.

Betty's walking to stand with the long line of people outside the five different doors. The historic symbols of each according faction is placed above each door on the building. Betty and Charles made their way past the cluster of red and oranges from the amity line to the queue of people in grey for Abnegation. Charles looks unbothered as he stands next to her now talking to his friend Amelie who came over from Candor. Amelie smiles sweetly as she talks to Charles with her voice slightly higher pitched than usual, maybe she's nervous too. That eased some of Betty's nerves. She was wearing a high waisted black skirt with a loose white blouse that was cinched in at the waist. Candors uniform consisted simply of just black and white. A stark contrast to express their straight forward and honest attitudes. Betty knew Candor was completely off the list of possible factions she might get today. She's always found it very easy to lie if necessary. She's surprised her mother isn't Candor actually, she’s not supposed to but she's never been afraid to tell Betty what she really thinks. Candor works for the law as their ability to be honest came in useful for the court. They always looked very put together just like Erudite. Erudite stood one line away from them in their formal blue attire. Erudite people are generally teachers, scientists, doctors or anything that required studied knowledge. They didn't like Abnegation, how they were in charge instead of them.

The energy feels different today as it is the last time this year group will be held together before the factions determine the rest of their education and everyone will be split up. Betty’s heart rate is already elevating just thinking about it.

An Erudite boy dressed causally In blue pushes past her to get in her line. Betty nearly falls over. Her face now heating up at the action.
Erudite have been sending out antagonist news about Abnegation recently and everyone is seeming to believe it as this behaviour has been happening to her faction for a while now. Normally the boring grey clothes are supposed to help in forgetting herself and others forgetting her too but now they've been created as a target.

Betty knew this boy from school, his name is Reggie Mantle. She Didnt know him personally but she saw him around school. Always known to give people a hard time. He had sort of pale skin with brown eyes and short black hair. Betty carefully watched him as he picked on one of the other guys in the line.

“So where's your food? Huh,” he says getting right in the guys face. “Aren’t you guys supposed to bring food for your little factionless friends,” he jokes.

“Wh- what,” the other boy replies. Looking taken back.

“Don't act dumb now stiff” he says impatiently as his company from Candor laughs although nothing seems to be funny.

The laugh is wicked and Betty is losing her patience as she watches the boy being harassed stand helpless in silence unsure of what to say.

Then Reggie shoves him.

“I said fucking hand it over already!” He spits.

Betty makes a move to go over there when the hands now on her shoulders are forcing her back in her spot. She looks up to see her brother looking at her pointedly.

“Stay put Betty, now is not the time.” Charles says quietly. Always so responsible.

Reluctantly Betty stays. She hates the way Erudite are treating Abnegation horribly, and people just seem to watch. Abnegation are suppose to help people but they shy away violence and they’ve grown afraid of Erudite. She watches over at them again and sees the pretty Candor girl next to Reggie swishing her fiery red hair over her shoulder. She's never seen this girl before she must be one of Reggie’s friends.

The all familiar sound of the train screeching as it comes at a rapid pace around the bend resonates in her chest as she turns to watch Dauntless prove their courage by jumping off a moving train. Her father believes their truly insane but there's something about them that draws you in. Their focus is bravery and they wear strictly black clothes and most of them have tattoos and piercings that make them all the more intimidating and fierce. They are the faction that provide the protection of the city. Specifically at the fence that surrounds the outside. No one knows what they are guarding them from, but what Betty does know is they are Daunting.

Chapter Text

Two people from each faction are lead into the room through the large doors. Abnegation as always have volunteered to do the testing for some of the factions but their is a also a Dauntless and Erudite that has to do Abnegation because people are not allowed to be tested by someone in there own faction. Charles is before her with their neighbour Trevor Brown while his sister Valerie Brown is waiting with Betty where they will be next. They're very attractive siblings that have lived next door to the Coopers for their whole lives. Light brown hair, green eyes and tan skin with a perfect complexion. They've been friends for as long as Betty can remember and she's always thought that Valerie would end up with Charles and Trevor was destined to be with Betty, but now she's not too sure.

Betty's started fiddling with the sleeve of her sweater again, clenching the fabric to stop the urge of digging her nails into her palms. She thinks her heart rate might be beating a thousand miles per minute. You can't prepare for these tests, so she has no idea what to expect. Charles gives one last smile her way as he moves confidently towards the doors. This is the last time she'll see him until tonight at dinner. Betty thinks she's pretty certain they both know what faction he'll be getting. When she thinks of Him she thinks of all the selfless things he's done like giving up his seat on the bus to someone who needed it more than him, helping an old women with her shopping and refusing a lift to school everyday from the neighbours because he didn't want to be an inconvenience. She thought her instincts were much different than Charles because it wasn't her first thought to give her seat up on the bus or carry someone else's bags, she would consider that an invasion of privacy. Betty's tried reasoning with him before but he just doesn't get it. The look of his disappointment is etched into her mind now.

She tries to keep still as she waits for the adviser to come back out and call her in next but can't help shifting side to side on the balls of her feet as she wills herself not to throw up. The thought of throwing up in front of all these people crosses her mind. Oh god could you imagine. She takes a look at Valerie who looks calm and collected. Of course she does. She wishes she could be like that. No anxiety or no visible affects of anxiety at least. Betty closes her eyes as her stomach wrenches and tries to listen to the loud laughter and chatting of the Dauntless people next to her. She turns to see that Abnegation is waiting quietly, like their told to.

A middle aged Erudite woman wearing a blue dress and glasses comes out and calls “next two please.” Looking straight at Betty and Valerie. She has bright blue eyes that match the colour of her dress.

They walk into the long hallway were the end meets two doors labeled room 4 and room 5. Valerie's gives a quiet “good luck!” And enters room 4. Betty smiles politely in return. Never forgetting her mothers manners as she opens the door to room 5.

The room is larger then she expected with large span mirrors that fill up the walls of the entire room. There's very little to no detail expect the set up in the middle of the room. Betty walks in and notices her reflection for the first time in a full sized mirror. She finds it odd seeing her whole body in front her.

“What's with Abnegation and mirrors?” The Dauntless woman says clearly bored.

She's short with long brown hair and pink strands.

“Sit down,” she says as she gestures to the recliner chair, that looks more like a dentists.

Betty does as she's told putting her head in the head rest, the light blinds her a bit. She looks for the long needle, instantly regretting it as she feels the vomit threatening to disperse again. Her school had warned her about the needles, anyone who refused to participate properly would resort to that.

“Don't worry it doesn't hurt,” she reassures, clearly noticing the sweat that must be lining her forehead. Great. “My names Toni by the way. You're Elizabeth Cooper correct?” She adds.

“Yeah, that's me.” Betty replies. She tries focusing on Toni fiddling with the machine next to her and not the needle, or the test, or the tattoo on her forearm? It's a serpent wrapping around her arm with its fangs on display.

“Why a snake?” Betty blurts out as Toni attaches an electrode to the side of her head.

“I've never met a curious Abnegation before,” Toni says, raising her eyebrows at her.

Betty shivers, looking away noticing her mistake. Being curious is a betrayal to Abnegations values.

Toni attaches her own electrodes to her head then looks at Betty, “Try to relax.”

That's easier said than done.

She takes a deep breath anyway looking at the light on the ceiling. It's not centred properly, she thinks while curling her fingers into her palm. Carefully lining up her nails to the fresh indents.

“Dauntless often symbolise themselves with snakes, so if I was going to be apart of Dauntless I needed to rid my fear of them,” she explains, now connecting a wire to her electrode, to Betty's and then the machine.

Toni hands her a what looks like a shot glass with clear liquid.

“What's this?” Betty asks. Her throats feels swollen, she swallows hard. “What's going to happen?”

“Bottoms up,” is all Toni says.

She swings her head back and swallows it quickly. It burns her throat and Betty gasps at the sudden contact. Needing a distraction she looks at Toni's arm again. The snake is coloured red like fire. It reminded her of the Dauntless symbol.

“You're afraid of snakes?” Betty slurs, her mind now fuzzy.

“I was,” she corrects. Then Betty shuts her eyes, the room going black.

Betty wakes up in the chair, almost thinking for an instant that it was already over but Toni's gone and so is the equipment. She gets up and walks over to the mirrors. She looks at her slim body noticing the curves that weren't there before and her blonde hair she only tied this morning. Then she hears a voice echoing behind her saying “Choose.”

She turns around looking for the source of the voice but sees no one.

“Choose,” she repeats.

Betty looks to the left and sees two tables, one with a knife and one with meat. “But what for?”

“Choose!” She yells more urgently this time.

Betty scowls as stubbornness takes over and doesn't take an item. Then the door clicks behind her and she quickly turns to see who it is, or what she should say. A large dog creeps in with sharp, angular teeth revealed by the curling of its lip. It's growling deep within its throat and Betty can feel it through her body. She looks over to the tables again but they've disappeared. She sees why the meat would have come in handy. Or the knife, but it's to late now.

The dog inches forward towards her. She needs to make a decision. She looks around to find something to jump on but there's nothing, the room is empty. The equipment from before have disappeared. She tries to think about how she read once that dogs can smell fear so keeps still and avoids eye contact. Maybe it's threatened by her height? She gets down on her knees slowly so she doesn't startle it. She closes her eyes and can smell its foul breath. The dog is near her head now but she can't hear it growling. Instead she hears panting and feels something wet touching her cheek. She looks up to see the dog licking her playfully. She was suddenly glad she didn't pick up the knife.

“Your not so bad after all,” she says carefully raising a hand slowly to touch its soft fur. It's like it's a completely different dog. Betty gets up off the floor being sure to make slow movements then blinks to look up and see a girl in a grey dress at the door.

“Puppy!” The little girl squeals.

Betty looks closer at the young girl and notices she looks just like her sister Polly when she was a kid. Exactly like her sister, from the dress, to the blonde hair just like hers and that sweet, kind smile. That's impossible, she's dead. She stands there in shock as the girl jumps up and down in glee.

Then she starts to move towards the dog. Betty looks down to see it transformed back into the angry animal like before. “Polly no!” She yells as loud as she can. She's can't explain how foreign it felt to say that name again, she hasn't said it since she was 8. The girl stops staring at Betty, her smile slowly turning into a frown as she braces herself. Betty's heart feels like it lodged in her throat. The dog is moving and getting ready to pounce as it's muscles contract and throat growls. Betty doesn't think she just jumps hurling herself on its body wrapping her arms around its body.

She falls on the ground this time it isn't tile it's a dirty floor thats vibrating from the movement. She's on a bus. All the seats are full so she stands up and grabs hold onto a poll. There's a man sitting holding tightly onto a newspaper like he's about to crumple it. He's look mad about something but Betty can't tell. He looks at her then. “Do you know who this is?” He says shoving the paper into her face so she can read the headline. It says Murderer Evicted! It's been a long time since Betty has heard about any murderers but she looks at the man on the paper. He has a plain face with brown hair and soft features. He looks familiar she thinks she knows him from somewhere but can't quite figure it out.

“Well do you?” He repeats.

Betty can't tell him that she does know him or something bad will happen to her, she can feel it. She can clear her throat and shrug her shoulders that way she would be able to convince him that she doesn't. But she would be lying then.

“Tell me right now if you do,” he says. There's anger in his voice.

Betty clears her throats and shrugs her shoulders.

“Do you?” He says louder this time. People on the bus are starting to watch.

Her heart is pounding. This isn't real, this isn't real it's all irrational.

“Well?”

“No,” she says with a set jaw.

“You're lying! You're lying,” he yells. “She's lying.” He's pointing at her but Betty stands her ground.

“I am not.”

“I can see it, I can you're lying.”

She straightens her shoulders. “You can't, because I'm not.”

Betty wakes up in the chair again feeling sweaty and guilty. She looks over to see Toni sitting on a stool next to her looking at the large computer screen. Betty realises then that Toni could see everything that she did in the simulation. She gulped at that. Now ashamed of lying so easily, again definitely not Candor. She waits for a well done, or it's over but neither come. Toni just removes the wires from their heads and the machine with pinched lips.

Betty sits forward on the chair wiping her palms on her dress when Toni finally says something.

“That..” she stutters. “That was uhh..”

Betty must have done something very wrong by the strange look on Toni's face, but how can you fail a test you can't prepare for? What does that computer say that's so shocking, she thinks. She wishes she would just come out and say it.

“So what are my results,” Betty finally says, speaking up. She can't wait any longer or she'll start thinking about being factionless. Separated from the community, no reason to live.

“Your results Elizabeth. They were inconclusive.”

Inconclusive?

“The test- the simulation is supposed to rule out the factions that your not in but yours only rules out two,” Toni says her brows furrowed together.

Betty just stares at her. “Two?” She says, chocking on her voice.

“Yeah if you had picked the meat in the first simulation that would have lead you to a different scenario that would have given you Amity, but you didn't. So that's ruled out,” Toni fiddles with the keyboard. “The test works by isolating one faction and ruling out the rest, so I put you on the bus to see if you were Candor but that was also ruled out.” She looks up to see Betty's face worried. “Don't worry only Candor tell the truth.”

That eased Betty's mind a bit, maybe she isn't a horrible person after all.

“But telling the truth was also an Abnegation response too,” Toni added, scratching her neck.

Betty's mouth fell agape. Oh god.

“You threw yourself on the dog though so that lead to Dauntless, your knowledge about them lead you to Erudite and you warning the little girl lead you to Abnegation. This means that you got all three. Inconclusive.”

Betty was so shocked and confused trying to process all of this information. “What does this mean?”

Toni grabs Betty's arm so quickly it gave her a freight and pulls her off the chair and to the other door at the back of the room. “It means Elizabeth that you are Divergent,” she says in a hushed whisper as if someone could hear them. “And under no circumstances do you tell anyone about this,” she says seriously looking Betty straight in her eyes. Their hazel and intense. “Your going to go home and tell your family that you got sick from the test alright.”

“But- but what do I choose tomorrow? The results are supposed to tell me what I choose,” Betty asks now panicking.

“I'm entering you as Abnegation on the system but it's up to you to choose tomorrow. Now go,” she says hurrying Betty out the door.

What the hell?

Its up to you to choose

Abnegation, Dauntless or Erudite.

Divergent.

Betty walks to the local shopping centre near the Abnegation homes where Amity delivers the produce. She notices the faint yellow lines of what used to be roads for cars. There are very few cars in the city now, everyone catches the bus, walks or if your Dauntless catches the train.

She walks past the abandoned old building where the factionless live. There's graffiti on the walls and a lot of people sitting near an open fire. Her heart aches for the people in factionless. They have no purpose, no faction and no stable home. Abnegation helps them in giving food and donating old clothes. She always wonders how they ended up there.

Betty reaches her street a bit earlier than she usually does with food shopping in her hands. The neighbourhood looks dull from an outsiders point of view, with the identical, rectangle grey houses and small windows. There's grass surrounding the houses with only a small metal mailbox and that's it. Betty doesn't find it gloomy though, it's a comforting reminder of her childhood.

She enters the house and places the bags on the table. She went around the city for the rest of the afternoon busying herself, not wanting to go home too early and explain to her parents what happened. Because she couldn't, she wasn't allowed to.

Her brother is cooking again. Although it's not his night to cook, it's hers. She grits her teeth. He's always been so selfless, it's irritating that it doesn't come as naturally to her. “Where did you go today? I didn't see you at school after,” Charles says as he continues chopping up there dinner. She goes over to join him.

“Yeah they sent me home the serum must of made me sick,” she lied. She hated lying to her family but she didn't know what would happen to her if she told them the truth. She wasn't about to find out.

He studies her carefully as if he doesn't believe her but she just smiles trying to look convincing. “I feel better now, don't worry,” She says unpacking the bags. Her parents weren't home yet, thank god.

“Really Betty. Can you tell me the truth now,” He says, obviously not buying a second of it.

She narrows her eyes. “Why don't you tell me what happened in your test Charles.”

He goes still for moment, caught off guard. He looks back down at what he was doing avoiding contact. “We’re not allowed to remember?”

“Exactly. So… just don't tell our parents what happened today okay?”

He looks at her then only nodding once.

By the time her parents come home, dinner is made and the table is already set. Her father comes in and drops his bag down. “How was the test today?” He asks straight away. Not wasting a second. It sounds like it has been on his mind.

“It was fine,” Betty says as she watches her mother come in shortly after him.

“I heard something went wrong with one of the tests today,” her mother says. Like her father, her mother works for the government but more for city improvements. Betty and Charles exchange a glance but simply just shrug.

“That's odd. I didn't hear about that,” says Charles. He was lying for her and she gave him a look that meant she appreciated it. Looks like he isn't Candor either.

“Really?” Her father said. Problems with the test are very rare. It made her stomach clench.

She sat down at the table next to her husband. “Yeah a friend at work told me today do you know who it is?”

“No,” Betty says. Bringing the food over and sitting down along side Charles.

They sit in silence for a while, her father more quiet than usual though. They're not allowed to share their test results. It's against the rules. In case the parents tried to convince them otherwise. She could only imagine the look on there faces if she told them she was a divergent, whatever that is.

She plays with her fork, tilting it slightly to see her reflection. It was something she always did when she saw something shiny like metal that created a mirror. She couldn't help it.

Betty's mother directed her eyesight to her father “So, tell me what happened at work today,” she asked him, knowing something was wrong. It was as if she could read minds or something.

“Well it's just things with FP Jones again, you know with everything that's going on recently,” her father says rather disgruntled. FP is Betty's fathers coworker, they are both political leaders. Working as representatives for the factions and Abnegation. They have a very influential voice in the decisions that are made in behalf of the community. They put Abnegation in charge due their selflessness and devotion.

“Does it have something to do with the report Sierra McCoy released?” Her mother says. Sierra McCoy is Erudite’s sole representative, she has a lot of power and a very high IQ score.

Betty looks up then. “A report?”

She can see Charles glaring at her for speaking in her peripheral vision. They aren't supposed to speak at the table unless her parents ask them a direct question but in this case she couldn't resist.

“Yes,” her father says. Frowning in thought. “She keeps publishing reports that badly comment on FP. It is ruining his career.”

“What did it say?” Betty asks. She already started. Why stop now?

“Elizabeth,” Charles mutters.

Betty doesn't acknowledge him, she doesn't like being bossed around by her brother.

“It said that FP’s violence towards his son is the reason why he chose Dauntless instead of Abnegation. Probably building up his strength to fight back one day.”

Wow.

“Oh that's horrible,” Betty's mother says looking genuinely upset by the news.

A few years back FPs only son- only family member Forysthe left him to go to Dauntless. Everyone working alongside FP in government including her father was very shocked. Assuming Forysthe would take over his fathers position one day. FPs wife went missing a long time ago pregnant with his second child, it was a devastating tragedy. McCoy made it front cover headline all over the city.

Betty's met FP briefly before but she doesn't remember Forysthe. Maybe they met when they were kids she's not too sure. Her father Hal is very close with FP, they went to school together when they were kids. He's a nice man she always thought. Hal doesn't seem to believe any of what McCoy said. He's never liked her though, constantly complaining about her.

Her mother shakes her head “Cruel? FP? There the ones being cruel, constantly reminding him of his loss,” my mother says, agreeing with him.

“Why are they doing this?” Betty asks. She's pushing it this time.

“Elizabeth listen to your father for a bit,” she try's to say it gently but it comes out a bit commanding.

Betty puts her head down avoiding eye contact with her brother. She can already see his disapproval.

“You know why. They've been doing this for months now, if not years. We have power and they want it,” her father says.

Betty has decided that she will not be choosing Erudite. It was on her list but she couldn't do that to her father, choose his enemy over them.

After dinner everyone part ways to go to bed. Tomorrow is a big day, it's the choosing ceremony and so it is required that they keep to themselves for the night to think about their decision. Betty is terrified of losing her family but she's also terrified of staying. She just wished that the test would of told one faction instead of three. That's just the joys of being Divergent.

Betty was getting ready for bed when she heard a quiet knock on the door. Turning around it was her mother coming in, shutting the door behind her.

“Just so you know Elizabeth it doesn't matter what you choose tomorrow. We still love you no matter what.”

Betty's mother has never been an overly affectionate person. She's very independent and put together and expresses her love in other ways. It's nice to see this side of her, she isn't very good at talking about her feelings.

Betty smiles as she takes her mothers hand. “I love you too,” she says.

The anxiety has already made its way back. She definitely will struggle tomorrow.

Chapter Text

Betty walks as a family back to the Hub the day of the choosing ceremony. Where they will decide a faction that determines the rest of their lives. For Charles it's easy, she already knows what he will choose. Making the family proud.

They walk past clusters of reds and whites and blues as the other families make their way in through the doors. Her father holds the door open for a large group of Candor people that just got off the bus. Betty is required to wait too, the selfless thing to do.

They reach the top floor and Betty thinks about how massive the room is. The seating is angled upwards and is divided into five large sections for the respected factions. She looks to the front of the room and sees the five bowls with the head leaders of each faction standing behind them. The leader from Erudite, Sierra McCoy is making her way over as Betty's family goes to Abnegation.

“Hal. Alice. I didn't know you had kids choosing today,” she says with a faux sickly sweet smile plastered on her lips.

“Yes, this is Charles and Elizabeth,” Betty's mother says being polite.

She nods her head looking over to Betty and Charles, “its nice to meet you both I'm Sierra McCoy.”

As if we don't know already.

“A pleasure,” Charles says as he reaches out his hand for McCoy to willingly shake. She looks surprised, but pleased with the engagement.

Betty hopes he's being sarcastic right now.

“I wish you both the best of luck today,” she says nodding to both Charles and Betty. She smiles at her parents one last time and walks up to the stage at the front of the room.

Before they sit down her father hugs her and taps Charles on the shoulder, grinning.

“See you soon,” he says without a trace of doubt.

Betty's mother squeezes her hand as she sits down next to her, Charles on the end. Charles looks over at her giving a reassuring smile as she swallows the lump in her throat and wills herself not to cry.

Abnegation volunteered to be seated on the far right which means they will be deciding last. Betty's stomach sinks at the thought of all that time she has to think about her decision.

McCoy stands in front of the bowls clearing her throat before she speaks into the microphone, “Today you will be dropping your blood on the faction that you choose to devote your life to. The test held yesterday told you your true faction that you belong to, but it is still your decision to choose regardless of the results. I suggest you choose wisely because once the choice has been made there will be no change permitted,” McCoy says as she takes the honours of introducing herself and the other leaders.

The room is full and the crowd looks huge. The leaders standing behind the bowls are required to call out the names of the people in their factions, which means FP will be doing Abnegation. The bowls are filled with a substance that represents each faction. Earth for Amity, glass for Candor, water for Erudite, stones for Abnegation and lit coals for Dauntless.

One by one, each seventeen year old steps out of line and walks to the middle of the room. The first girl to choose decides on Amity, the same faction from which she came. Betty watches her blood droplets fall on soil, and she walks over to sit with them, alone.

There is constant movement of new names being called, new knives, new choices. She recognises some of the people but doubts they know her.

A distant noise of people whispering and mutters comes from the far end and a woman crying as the first transfer was called out from a boy in Amity, Archie Andrews who chose Dauntless. The first faction transfer. Betty looks down at the floor.

He will be considered a traitor now, no longer belonging to Amity. His parents will have the option of visiting him in his new faction a week from now but most people don't.

The next thing she knows FP is calling out, “Charles Cooper!”

He makes his way to the front standing in the middle of Abnegation and Erudite. He grabs the stainless steal knife and slices his hand placing it over a bowl. The droplet of blood seeps into the water turning it a deeper shade of red.

“Erudite,” FP calls out.

There's a ringing sound and Betty's stomach drops. There is a muffled noise as the people from Abnegation angrily whisper in disapproval. How could he do this to the family? She thinks of all the times she's seen him with books and studying. All the places where he's probably hid them from their dad in his room. He wasn't a natural Abnegation, he had just studied enough to know how to act like one. He was pretending the entire time.

Her parents must be devastated. She doesn't look terrified to see their expression. Then her name is called.

“Elizabeth Cooper!”

It's the nerves that bring her forward and out of her chair. She looks over to Erudite and sees her brother nodding his head as if encouraging her forward. Did he really just choose Abnegations rival enemy over his family? She looks away walking up to the bowls, she realises then that it's her ears that are ringing. The room is silent.

She must think about her family, think about the perfect daughter she's always tried to be for her parents but she also has to think about herself. She has no other choice, now that he has left them, but how can she be fit for Abnegation when her brother isn't?

She sets her jaw. I have to be the daughter that stays, I have to do this for my parents, she thinks.

Betty takes the knife from FP, looking into his eyes. They are a dark blue, a strangely magnificent colour. She turns to stand in between the two bowls. Abnegation with stones on her left and Dauntless with coal on her right. She holds the knife and touches the blade to her palm. Gritting her teeth she slides it across watching the blood pool in her hand. It stings, but she barely notices.

Blood trickles down her finger as she lifts her hand up above the bowls. A gasp she can't contain escapes her as she moves her hand forward, the blood sizzling on the coals.

“Dauntless!”

Chapter Text

When the last girl makes her choice - Erudite - it's time to leave. Dauntless leave first, followed by Candor. Betty trains her eyes on the floor walking with the dauntless crowd towards the doors of the room. The people in front of her are lot taller than she is, so she only sees black clothing. She walks past the big group of grey clothed people and notices her parents sitting there.

Before she leaves she looks over to them. She has to see her parents one more time. As soon as she does she immediately regrets it.

Her fathers stare burns into hers, with a look of accusation. He isn't impressed and he shouldn't be. First FP’s only son and now both of Hal's children. She thinks she might actually cry.

Beside him, her mother is smiling.

Not what she was expecting to say the least.

The Dauntless crowd are pushing her forward and closer to the door, past Abnegation, past her family where they will be the lasts ones to leave. Probably even clean the bowls or pack up the room at the end. Erudite is standing around behind them and she looks over her shoulder for her brother and sees him shaking hands with an Erudite born initiate. The easy going smile is an act of betrayal. It makes her heart wrench, but maybe just maybe it'll be that easy for her too.

When they are out the door she looks to her left to see a boy in Erudite that looks as nervous as she feels. She never thought much about what would happen if she chose Dauntless, but she wonders now what awaits her at Dauntless.

The crowd start descending the stairs and she thought only Abnegation used the stairs. She could hear the thundering footsteps of boots hitting each step as everyone picked up their pace and whoops and shouts and laughter is echoed throughout the building. It was then that Betty realised it wasn't a selfless act it was a wild one.

“What the hell is going on?” The Erudite boy shouts next to her. He has brown hair and kind brown eyes.

She could hardly hear anything through the loud noise of the people so she just smiles and shakes her head, “I have no idea.”

She keeps running until they all make it out of the building, the crisp air hitting her face as she glances up to the overcast sky.

The Dauntless run to the other end of the road, in front of the bus that's breaks screech as it stops for the crowd of people. She hardly ever ran in Abnegation it was considered an act of enjoyment only for oneself. It didn't benefit anyone else so they didn't recommend it. Betty would sometimes run in the early hours of the morning though, before everyone was awake. She needed a little exercise sometimes. It was one of her little secrets.

Her muscles ached, lungs burning and her chest pounded from the adrenaline. She followed everyone around the bend when she heard the all familiar sound of the train horn.

“Oh my god,” the Erudite boy said dramatically next to her. “Are we seriously supposed to be hop on that thing?”

“Yes,” she says breathless.

It's a good thing she supposes that she always watched what the Dauntless did after school. They spread out in a long line on the side and waited till the train was close enough to get on.

The train glides towards them on steel rails, its lights flashing and horn blaring. The sliding door ways of the train are open, waiting for the Dauntless to pile in and they do. Group by group. Until only the new faction transfers are left. That was to be expected.
Betty starts running with the train, the wind blowing strands out from her ponytail. She grabs the handle and throws herself in. She's not as big and strong as some of the people that have transferred so she struggles to pull herself completely inside. She grabs the handle tighter but struggles, arms shaking. Finally a Candor girl grabs ahold of her arm and pulls her in. Gasping, Betty thanks her.

She sits with her back on the other side of the wall next to the girl, watching the city go past through the doors.

“Are you alright,” the Candor girl asks briskly. She is around the same height as Betty with darker skin, shiny black hair and a expensive looking black and white dress. Very pretty, she thinks.

“I'm Veronica,” she says, outstretching her hand.

Betty shakes it willingly, “Elizabeth Cooper.”

She hasn't shaken a hand in a long time. She hasn't had to meet anybody new in Abnegation for a long time and even then, Abnegation don't shake hands.

She thinks about Charles shaking McCoy’s hand today. Had he planned that before he came? Researching about Erudite’s values. She will never know.

“Do you know where we're going?” Veronica asks. The train speeds up and she has to speak loudly over the wind coming in through the doors.

Betty tucks the loose strands behind her ears and pulls on the sleeve of her sweater, cold from the wind. “Dauntless headquarters most likely,” Betty says, “but I have no idea where that is.”

Veronica laughs. “Does anyone?” Her classy pearl necklace wrapped delicately around her neck glitters in the light.

Abnegation only allowed simply jewellery that wasn't too flashy.

The train is higher up now and she watches as it goes past the boxy grey homes that used to be her house. It was Charles turn to cook tonight, she wonders what her parents are doing right now. She imagines them sitting alone at the dinner table in silence. Her father waiting for McCoy to realise another report, maybe even wondering if Charles is the one to write it. It makes her feel sick to the stomach. What a good actor Charles was. She left them too but at least she didn't choose the enemy and made her father believe that she was staying.

“They're are jumping off!”

She lifts her head and it aches from being still for so long. She has been sitting there for at least twenty minutes watching the city go past. The train has slowed down for the past few minutes and she gets up to look out the doors and realises the guy who shouted that was right, the Dauntless born initiates are jumping off onto the roof top that must be about seven stories up.

The idea of jumping out of a moving train onto the rooftop with a large gap in between makes her stomach flip.

“Then we are jumping off,” a Candor girl says with long natural red hair. She looks familiar.

“Yeah,” a Erudite boy replies. “Because that makes perfect sense Cheryl, jump off a moving train.”

It's Reggie Mantle and the redhead from yesterday.

Of course he chose Dauntless. She doesn't know him personally but she's not surprised from what she's heard around school.

“This is kind of what we signed up for Reggie,” she points out.

She's right, Betty has officially signed up for complete chaos.

“Im not jumping,” a girl from Erudite says frantically shaking her head in disbelief.

“You have to,” Veronica says. “Come on it won't be so bad. Dauntless do it everyday.”

She's shaking her head,“no… no way. I'd rather be factionless than dead.”

Betty didn't agree with her, she would much rather be dead than factionless and empty.

“We can't make her go,” Betty says glancing at Veronica. Her brown eyes are wide and her lips are pressed together, she offers Betty her hand.

“Here,” Veronica says, reaching out. Betty raises an eyebrow almost about to tell her that she doesn't need help but then she adds, “Sorry it's just that- I thought it might be easier if someone drags me.”

Betty takes her hand and they stand at the edge of the door. It's starts to pass the roof so Veronica counts down, “three … two.. one!”

On one they jump as far as they can off the train, a weightless moment when they are in the air until her feet slam into the ground and pain stings all the way up her shins. Gravel is all over her hands and her knees as she stumbles forward in the fall, letting go of Veronica's hand.

Veronica's laughing, looking stunned at what they just did. “Well that was fun,” she says sarcastically, dusting off the gravel on her dress.

Betty looks around to see if everyone had made it but the girl from Erudite was nowhere to be seen as the rest of the train leaves. The thought makes her shiver as she clenches her hands. She's now factionless, she has already failed initiation. It can happen at any moment.

The Candor girl- Cheryl winces as she holds her ankle and Reggie is standing as he grins proudly. He must of landed on his feet.

She starts to feel a burning sensation in her elbow. Hands shaking, she pulls up the sleeve of her grey sweater to examine it. She had grazed her elbow and parts of it were bleeding, her sweater now ripped and ruined.

“Ooh scandalous! A stiff showing some skin!”

She lifts her head. “Stiff” is slang for Abnegation, and Betty is the only one here that transferred from there.

Reggie is pointing at her smirking and she hears laughter. Her face heats up so she pulls her sleeve down trying to distract herself.

“Oi! Listen up, my name is Malachi!” The loud voice booms over the roof top. He is young looking man with dark greasy hair and more tattoos than she can count. All up his arms and neck. He's standing on the ledge like it's a sidewalk. The Dauntless born imitates slowly make there way over and the transfers follow suit. “Down below us is one the Dauntless entrances. If you don't have the courage to jump off, you don't belong here. Our initiates have the privilege of going first.”

“You want us to jump off.. there?” Says a girl from Amity. One out the two people from Amity that transferred to Dauntless. She is small and mousy with brown hair.

This is Dauntless after all, Betty doesn't quite get how she can be shocked.

“Yes,” Malachi says, he looks overly amused.

“Is there water at the bottom or something,” asks a boy from Erudite. The same guy that she came down the stairs with her earlier.

“Who knows?” Malachi says raising his eyebrows. There's a piercing on one of them.

The crowd in front of the new initiates step to the side making an entrance for them to the ledge. Everyone is looking everywhere but at Malachi. Some people are brushing gravel off of them or inspecting minor injuries from the fall, but Betty is feeling brave.

She looks straight at Malachi and then the ledge and makes her way forward. If she's going to be apart of Dauntless, she might as well act like it.

She hears snickers come from behind her. Malachi steps to the side making the way clear and she leans over the ledge, looking down. There is more buildings below but a giant black hole is in the roof of the building straight down from the ledge. She takes a unsteady breath as she imagines herself getting pushed down there.

There doing it to scare you, she thinks. She will land safely at the bottom, she just had to be brave enough to discover the unknown.

That's the only thing that gets her standing on the ledge. She feels her skirt blowing in the wind and tries to smooth it down, but there's no use it's too windy. Looking down she gulps at the long distance it will take to land down there. She can't back down now, not when the whole group behind her are betting she will fail.

Swallowing hard, she doesn't think. She just jumps.

Her heart pounds so fast it starts to hurt, the ground growing closer towards her as she falls through the hole surrounded by darkness.

She hits something stretchy that gives way beneath her, it's a net at the bottom of the building. She looks up and laughs to herself, relieved and hysterical. She just jumped off a roof.

She needs to get on the ground. Betty gets up on her knees steadying herself on the net and unexpectedly feels the surface being pulled down from beneath her. She sees a hand stretching out for her to grab on the edge. She assumes it's a guy as she grabs ahold of it tightly. He pulls her out with ease and she would have fallen if he did not catch her.

She was right it's a young man with tan skin, dark black hair and and blue eyes, very blue eyes.

He grips her arms, but he lets go as soon as she stands upright again.

“Thank you” she says politely. Alice Cooper would be pleased at her manners at least.

They are standing on a platform a few feet above the ground with the hole above as their light source. She notices a crowd of people standing to the side below them which leads to large spacious dark hallway.

“Huh, can't believe it,” a woman says. She has messy blonde hair that has streaks of brown and white, dyed badly. She looks older than Malachi and the man in front of her. “A stiff, The first to jump? Unheard of.”

“There's a reason why she left Penny,” he says. His voice deep as it rumbles. “What’s your name?”

“Um…” she's not sure why she is hesitating but choosing Dauntless gives her a chance at a fresh start and she didn't want the Abnegation born name Elizabeth following her around for the rest of her life.

“Think about it,” he says, a faint smile on his lips. “You don't get to pick again.”

“Betty,” she says. She chose a nickname only her closest friends and family call her.

“Betty,” Penny repeats, grinning. “Make the call Jughead.”

Jughead?

He turns over his shoulder and shouts, “first jumper- Betty!”

The crowd he spoke to erupts into an applause, cheering. It's takes her eyes some time to adjust and then she sees them. Pumping their fists until a scream is heard as another person jumps down to the net.

Jughead leads her to the stairs down to the rest of the group. His hand placed on her shoulder. It feels warm through her sweater until it's cold as he lets her go.

“Welcome to Dauntless.”

When all of the initiates stand on solid ground again Penny and Jughead stand before all of them clad in black. Penny wearing a simple jeans and t-shirt and Jughead wearing black jeans with combat boots and- surprise, a black old worn leather jacket. It's much colder down in this empty building so she regrets wearing the dress that ends just above her knees, but she hadn't known what she would be choosing this morning.

They start to lead all the initiates down a long dark tunnel with blue lights on either side of the ceiling. Betty follows the Erudite boy in front of her for a while until he stops suddenly and she has to stop herself from nearly smashing her face into him.

“This is where we divide,” Penny says. “Dauntless born initiates are with me, I'm guessing you don't need a tour of the place,” She isn't very tall, especially not in comparison to Jughead standing next to her.

When all the Dauntless people descend into the shadows she takes a look at the people around her. The majority of the group is made up of Erudite and Candor. With only two people from Amity and one from Abnegation. Is she really the only Abnegation transfer?

Jughead addresses the new initiates next. “Most of the time I work in the control room, I'm considered one of your leaders and for the next few weeks I will be your instructor,” he says. “My names Jughead.”

Veronica asks, “Jug-head?”

“Yes,” he replies sternly. “Is there a problem?”

“No.”

“Good, we're going into The Pit now—”

Betty hears Veronica snicker next to her, “The Pit? How creative.”

Jughead walks straight up to Veronica standing right in her face. His eyes narrow. For a second he just stares at her.

She needs to learn to keep her thoughts to herself, Betty thinks.

“What's your name?” He asks quietly.

“Veronica,” she squeaks.

“Well Veronica if I wanted to put up with your smart-mouth commentary I would have joined Candor,” he hisses. “First lesson you should learn is to keep your mouth shut.”

She nods.

He moves away and starts heading to the end of the tunnel, everyone following in silence.

“Ugh, what a jerk,” she mumbles

“Probably just doesn't like to be laughed at,” Betty replies.

“Whatever.”

Betty's makes a mental note to be wary around Jughead. He seemed slightly less scary at the net but she's not so sure now.

He opens the large doors that lead to “The Pit.”

“Oh,” Veronica says. “I get it now.”

The Pit is an underground cavern built with many man-made adjustments. It's so big Betty couldn't even see the people on the other end. It has uneven rocky walls, several stories high with a glass dome roof for sunlight. Built into the walls are shops, food and other places with paths that connect to them. They have no barriers to keep people from falling down over the side.

There is dimly lit blue lights adorning the walls for when it gets dark just like in the tunnel. The sun is starting to set and the orange light from the sky is shining through the glass roof.

“Follow me and I'll show you the chasm,” Jughead says leading the group through one of the pathways.

She notices his black wavy hair and a curl that brushes over his forehead and over his eye. It looks healthy unlike Malachi’s longer hair slick back from his hands and the grease. Jughead is very attractive she has to admit it. From his mysterious demeanour to his jawline. She heard the Amity girl— Ginger whispering to Cheryl about how hot he is too. The two girls giggling while the guys frowned in dissatisfaction.

They approach the right side of the Pit where there is now steal railings to stop you from falling. She looks over to see water crashing and moving against the rocks. The sounds of water splashing echoes. It's a steep drop from where they are standing.

“The chasm reminds us of the fine line between bravery and idiocy!” Jughead shouts. “You jump over this, you die. It's happened before. You've been warned.”

“Wow,” Veronica says in awe. “This is incredible.”

“It is,” Betty replies.

Jughead continues to lead the group to the other end of the path which is a giant hole that envelopes her in darkness until you go further inside and see the massive space filled with tables and chairs of Dauntless people seated and eating. When they make there way in, the crowd applauds, stomps there feet and shouts. It fills her with excitement.

There's a balcony area that sticks out from the tall roof at the other end of the room where she can see Penny watching and discussing with an older looking man who is very tall.

Veronica and Betty look for empty seats and find the only space on the long table on the far left. She ends up sitting in between Jughead and Veronica. A boy from Erudite and a boy from Amity sitting across from them.

In the middle of the table is food she doesn't recognise, circular pieces of meat with bread and red sauce. She picks it up awkwardly and puts it on her plate.

“Have you never had a burger before?” Veronica says stunned.

“Abnegation only eat plain foods,” the boy from Erudite says.

They both lift their heads looking at him. She notices him from before.

“Why?” Veronica asks.

“Because extravagance is considered self indulgent and unnecessary,” He says.

“No wonder you left.”

“Yeah it was only because of the food,” Betty says.

She swears she saw the corner of Jughead's mouth twitch.

“Hey I'm Kevin by the way,” the Erudite boy says smiling. “Kevin Keller.”

Veronica gives her perfectly manicured hand for him to shake. “Veronica Lodge.”

That sounds familiar.

As if reading her mind the Amity boy repeats, “Lodge?” eyebrow raised.

“Don't mind him, this is Archie Andrews,” Kevin says rolling his eyes. Then he looks at Betty, “and you are?”

“Right, sorry. I'm Betty Cooper,” she says giving him her hand to shake as well.

Veronica seems to already be in a conversation with Archie. “Yeah you might recognise the name from the Candor justice system. My father owns the Lodge court of Law.”

Wow. Betty did not know that. Makes a lot of sense now, even the fancy clothes. Her father is a very powerful man and very rich too. She's heard her parents talk about Lodge industries before. Veronica could of had that life, she thinks. Betty wonders now, why she transferred to Dauntless. Maybe she will ask later.

“Well with that Candor mouth of yours, lets hope you don't get into any trouble,” Kevin says jokingly. “Wouldn’t want your father seeing you in court, would we?”

Archie smirks looking at Veronica. She is laughing and fluttering her eyelashes, leaning forward. Looking all pretty.

The room falls quiet and Betty hears the banging sound of someone roughly throwing the doors open. She turns her head to see Malachi sauntering into the room. He looks even more intimidating than Jughead, but what makes him look so menacing is his cold eyes as he scans the room.

“Who even is this guy?” Hisses Veronica.

“He’s a Dauntless leader,” says Jughead.

“Seriously? He's so young.”

Jughead gives her a grave look, “age doesn't matter here.”

Veronica looks as if she's about to ask another question but stops short when she sees him coming towards their table. He sits himself down next to Jughead and the room slowly picks up the conversations again.

Malachi takes a look at them sitting around near Jughead. “Well look at you sitting here with your new friends.”

Jughead just rolls his eyes.

“Ooh and a stiff too,” Malachi says smirking at Betty. She winces as she sees him give her a once over. “We'll see how long you last here.”

Betty wants to tell him she will last, she can prove him wrong but the words fail to come out of her mouth and for an instant she's glad. She doesn't want Malachi looking at her any longer than he already has.

“So Jones what's going on?” He asks, inspecting his scabbed knuckles that are split in the places where it would bleed if you punched something… or someone.

“Nothing you should be concerned with,” Jughead shrugs.

Betty notices Jughead's tense shoulders as Malachi is talking to him. Are they friends? Or rivals? What they're saying seems normal but there's a tension she can't quite figure out.

“I hear that Tall Boy wants to meet with you, but you never show up,” Malachi says. “He wants to know why.”

Jughead looks at him then. “Tell him I'm fine with my position here.”

“So he wants to give you a job.”

“So it seems,” Jughead says.

“And your not going to take it?”

“I could have taken it two years ago.”

So Malachi is threatened by him, she thinks.

“I'll give him the message then,” Malachi says as he gets up clapping Jughead on shoulder, a little too hard.

Betty slouches as he leaves, releasing a breath not realising she had been holding. The curiosity of them gets the best of her as she asks, “are you two… friends?”

“Same initiate class,” he says, face unreadable. “He transferred from Erudite.”

“Did you transfer?”

“I thought only Candor asked too many questions?” He says coldly. “Now I've got stiffs too?”

“I guess it's because you look so approachable,” Betty deadpanned. “You know like a bed of nails.”

Veronica snickered and Kevin's eyes go wide.

She keeps eye contact with him, not wanting to break it and show that she is submissive. Her stomach drops, what will happen after the tension breaks?

“Careful, Betty.” Is all he says.

After dinner Jughead left as what seems to be Tall boy mentioned earlier calls him over and Veronica shares her theory that Betty has a death wish. It was pretty risky talking back to her new leader but she couldn't help it. There was a moment were she felt as if she didn't have to be so cautious around him like she was with Malachi.

Malachi happens to be the person that lead them through a bunch of dark hallways without telling them where they are going. It makes Betty nervous having Malachi instructing them instead of Jughead. Maybe it's just for tonight.

He finally stops at a heavy wooden door with his arms crossed. Everyone gathers around him.

“You might all remember me from the rooftop, but for the slow ones falling behind. My name is Malachi,” he says. “I am one of four leaders here in Dauntless and we take the initiation process very seriously here so I will be overseeing most of your training.”

The thought makes her nauseous. Two leaders now will be overseeing the training and the fact that's it's Malachi makes it ten times worse. Turns out he will be around longer than she had anticipated.

“Now for the ground rules,” he says. “Everyday you will be in the training room from eight to six, with a break for lunch. After six you can do whatever you want. You will also get a break after each initiation process.”

“Do whatever you want” was something Betty was not used to hearing. She wasn't allowed to do things to her enjoyment in Abnegation. Other people's needs always came first.

“You are only allowed to leave the compound when there is a Dauntless leader with you,” he adds. “Behind this door is where you will be sleeping for the next few weeks.” He's picking at his cuticles. “The Dauntless born initiates and transfers will be evaluated separately for stage one and during each stage you will be ranked, so the best five will then go—”

“Rankings?” Cheryl asks. “Why the hell are we ranked?”

Malachi’s smiles. It's a wicked smile that looks carved into him. “Like I was saying redhead, at the end of each stage you and the Dauntless born initiates will be ranked. Only five from each group make it through to the next stage and there is nine of you so that means four won't make it through.”

Everyone stands still, not daring to move.

“What?” Veronica says.

“What happens to the ones that don't make it through?” Asks Reggie.

“What do you think?” Malachi says as if it’s obvious. “You'll be factionless.”

Betty's stomach tightens and she feels like her lungs might actually collapse. Factionless? There is a high chance that could be her. One of the smallest girls and only Abnegation.

“Rankings serves for another purpose too,” Malachi says. “The higher you are on the list, the better job you will get here at Dauntless.”

“Someone should have told us!” Veronica exclaims as Ginger covers her mouth stifling a sob.

“Or what? You wouldn't have chose Dauntless,” he says, his voice indifferent. “If that's the case feel free to leave now, because if you are really Dauntless, it won't matter to you.”

What does matter here?

He opens the door to the bedrooms and and everyone slowly makes there way in. There's ten beds so one sits empty as everyone chooses where they will be sleeping. No one dares to speak as the news is still raw and everyone is shaken up. The beds are close together and there is only a dim blue light on each side of the large room. Two toilet stalls are behind a wall that blocks the beds from them.

She takes off her shoes and lays down, not bothering to get changed out of her grey dress and sweater. She pulls the covers over herself as she thinks about her family and the room she would of had all to herself if she chose Abnegation. All warm and safe.

Wondering about what Trevor and Valarie chose today, the sounds of the Amity girl Ginger crying from behind her breaks her out of her thoughts. She can hear one of the boys from Erudite that she doesn't know yet comforting her. Betty tries to look around the room to distract herself from crying too. She can't cry around these people. It makes her look weak. She notices then the black pile of clothing next to her bed and remembers the early start she has tomorrow. Shutting her eyes, she waits a long time until exhaustion finally catches up to her.

Chapter Text

“The first thing you will learn is how to shoot a gun,” Jughead says placing a gun in Betty's hand and keeps walking. “I assume everyone that's here should already know how to get off a moving train.”

Betty's body still feels sluggish, only getting around 6 hours of sleep.

“Initiation is divided into three stages. Each stage different, but all ranked based on your progress.”

Betty looks at the gun in her hand, surprised to actually be holding one for the first time. Never in her life did she imagine that she would be shooting a gun.

“Dauntless is about bravery. These stages prepare you to eradicate fear and cowardice. Stage one focuses on physical, stage two: emotional and stage three: mental.”

“But what…” Reggie yawns through his words, “what does firing a gun have to do with… bravery.”

He looks bored and tired, standing lazily with his arms crossed.

Jughead flips the gun in his hand pointing the barrel to Reggie’s forehead, and clicks the bullet into place. Reggie freezes, his yawn dead in his mouth.

“Wake up,” Jughead snaps. “You are holding a loaded gun, you idiot. Act like it.”

He lowers the gun, and once the immediate threat is gone Reggie’s eyes harden. He looks pissed off and Betty is surprised he didn't make a comment like he usually would but his face reddens.

Jughead walks up to the targets and stands legs slightly apart holding the gun in both hands. “Watch.” Is all he says as presses the trigger and the loud bang hurts her ears. She tilts her head to see the target better and notices he hit the middle of the red circle, bulls eye.

Betty faces her own target. Standing legs apart and lifts her gun away for her body, holding it delicately. Only if her parents were to see her right now. They would probably say something like guns are for self-defence and violence, therefore are self-serving.

The gun feels foreign as it sits hard and heavy in her hands. She presses the trigger hesitantly at first and then harder. She cringes away as the loud bang rings through her ears and the recoil sends her stumbling back. She looks at her target and isn't surprised to see the bullet far from it.

She fires again and again, but none of the bullets come close.

“Statistically speaking, you should of at least hit one bullet by now,” Kevin says grinning. “Even by accident.” He's lean with brown short hair. Veronica told her this morning that he is their new gay best friend and it's oddly comforting information.

“Is that so,” Betty says.

“Yeah,” he smirks. “I think your defying nature or something.”

She grits her teeth and grips the gun harder in her hands, pulling the trigger down hard and this time she's ready for the recoil and doesn't move in her spot. The bang is still loud, but when she looks she sees a bullet hole on one of the black outer circles.

She looks back at Kevin.

“See! I'm always right,” he says.

She smiles at that.

It takes Betty many more rounds until she finally hits the centre and a rush of energy goes through her, it's the first time she felt like she could actually make it into Dauntless.

Beside her Veronica is doing really well, not missing the target once and Betty notices Cheryl is excelling as well with good, steady aim like she's done it before.

When Jughead walks around acknowledging everyone's progress she hears Cheryl call him over for help that she doesn't need. Shes trying to show off how good she is with his full attention. Betty tries to not look, putting her head down. She pulls the trigger a little too harshly as she shoots 2 consistent shots in a row.

By the time it was lunch Betty's arms were sore and her fingers were hard to straighten from being in the same position for so long. Veronica invites Archie to come over and sit with them. He has red hair like Cheryl's. Only not as long and he has a stocky, muscular build.

They are talking about the gun practice but Betty's mind drifts off to the day of the aptitude test and wonders where Toni is right now. She thinks about what she would say if she knew Betty chose Dauntless. Nothing has happened yet, but being divergent still lingers in her mind. She can't trust anyone. What if she let's her guard down and something terrible happens?

“Oh come on how do you not remember me in math class?” Veronica asks Archie. “I am not a quiet person.”

“Who pays attention in math?” Archie replies.

What if the danger doesn't come soon, but far in the future and she doesn't see it?

“Betty,” Veronica says waving a hand in front of Betty's face. “Are you in there?”

“What?”

“I asked if you remember taking a class with me. No offence but I don't remember, all Abnegation look the same to me.”

Betty just stares at her, her mind still adrift.

“Sorry, am I being rude?” She asks. “I'm used to saying whatever is on my mind so politeness lacks a lot in my facility.”

“That's why Candor and Abnegation aren't seen together,” Betty says with a short laugh. Abnegation and Candor don't hate each other the way Abnegation and Erudite do, but they generally avoid each other. Candor’s real problem is with Amity. They easily lie if it keeps the peace.

“Can I sit?” Kevin says, tapping on the table.

“Not wanting to hang out with your Erudite buddies?” Says Veronica jokingly.

“Definitely not my buddies. Just because we are in the same faction doesn't make us friends. I mean are you friends with chuck?” He says, sitting down next to Veronica.

Veronica laughs, “hell no.”

“Exactly and plus rumour has it, Ginger and Moose are dating.”

“Really?” Says Archie surprised.

“Why are you so shocked about that? They literally have not left each other's side since,” Kevin says creasing his brows.

“I don't know… I just didn't think he was uhh.. into girls?” He says nervously, like he might offend Kevin somehow.

The information peaked Kevin's interest and they started talking about school again and how Archie knew Moose and more about him. Betty tuned out, catching glimpses of the conversation here and there.

After lunch, Jughead lead them all to a new room. It was hollow and massive with a large black cushioned mat in the centre and workout equipment on the sides. There was a big glass slab on one of the rectangular pillars with everybody's name on it. She's seen them in school before when teachers would display information.

There's a black punching bag for everybody as she notices their names placed on one so they line up behind them and Jughead stands in the middle so he can see them all.

“Next you will learn how to fight. The physical stage as I said this morning,” Jughead says. “The purpose being to prepare you to act. Prepare you for challenges and threats which you need to survive at Dauntless. This room is were you will meet in the morning for the next few weeks endless we tell you otherwise.”

Betty can't even think about her life at Dauntless permanently, all she can think about is getting through initiation.

“We will go over technique today and then tomorrow you will fight each other. Those who don't pay attention will get hurt.”

Jughead demonstrates techniques, first in the air and then on the punching bag. Everybody then repeats what he does. It takes Betty a few tries before she gets the hang of it, like with the gun. Her hands burn and her legs are a bit stiff. She's wearing black jeans and high top shoes with a basic black t-shirt that's a bit too big for her. It's the clothes that Dauntless provided them, so she had no other option.

All around her she hears skin hitting tough fabric and she looks at her knuckles to see them red with some parts of the skin already splitting. It's nothing compared to the scars on the other side.

Jughead wanders through the crowd of initiates and Betty's stomach flips when he stops at her. He looks her over in a practical gaze, examining her technique.

“You don't have much muscle,” he says.

She keeps hitting the punching bag, repeating the same movements.

“Your never gonna win, not like that.”

Betty lets out a breath, “that's good to know.”

“You need to use your whole body. Your Knees and elbows for better advantage ”

He suddenly places his hands on her waist. He has large hands that are warm through her t-shirt. She's terrified now that for some reason he would be able to feel her heart beat, or hear considering there close proximity.

He shifts her body side ways. “Keep tension in your stomach,” he says placing his hand there. “And try not face them front on when you fight,” he says in a quiet voice.

He lifts his hands away and continues to move on. She can still feel his hands on her waist and it takes her a few seconds to regain her breath.

When Jughead dismisses them for dinner Veronica slides her arm through Betty's.

“I'm surprised he didn't brake you in half,” Veronica laughs. “He scares the hell out of me.”

“Yeah he's…” Betty looks over at him. His tall frame fits his leather jacket perfectly and he's running his hand through his black locks. “Intimidating.” But she's not scared he will hurt her.

Kevin who was in front of them turns around once they reach the pit. “I want to get a tattoo.”

From behind them Archie asks, “A tattoo of what?”

“I don't know,” Kevin laughs. “I just wanna feel like I've left my old faction. Besides my dad would never of let me get one.”

“That makes two of us,” Betty says.

Veronica snorts looking at Betty, “huh, you are going to get a tattoo?”

Betty was agreeing to the last part but is she really that predictable?

“Yeah right,” Archie says yanking her ponytail playfully.

“Hey!” She says hitting his arm.

Kevin has a mischievous look on his face, “So your willing to look the part?”

“No,” she says. “I am not dying my hair or getting my face pierced.”

“What about your belly button,” Veronica suggests.

“Or your nipple,” Archie snorts.

Everyone laughs and Betty does too, it feels nice to finally laugh again.

Now that it's six and training is over for the day they are free to do whatever they want and it makes Betty kind of giddy because she's not use to this.

The Pit is swarming with people and Veronica tells Kevin and Archie that they will meet them at the tattoo parlour and drags Betty to a clothing store.

“What's wrong with my clothes? They're not grey anymore,” Betty protests, but fails because she's already picking out outfits.

“These clothes they gave us are huge and ugly, we need new ones,” she sighs and she's right. They are huge and they are in fact ugly.

Betty picks out black high waisted jeans that are actually her size and Veronica hands her a bunch of clothes to go try on. She's never seen this much black clothing in her life.

A few minutes later Betty is standing in front of the mirror in a skirt and tight black top, it's like the sweaters she always wore in Abnegation expect the neckline is much lower and it's tighter. Veronica then pulls out a pencil.

“Eyeliner,” she says as Betty closes her eyes and doesn't bother to protest the makeover.

When she opens her eyes they look bigger and greener than before and Veronica takes out her ponytail. The hair falling loosely on her back and framing her face. The blonde hair and black clothing a stark contrast.

“Wow Betty you are so pretty!” Veronica exclaims in awe.

Betty almost blushes a bit, not used to compliments. She's been called pretty a few times before though, even from Trevor once. Veronica picks out clothes for herself and then they leave with their bags to the tattoo parlour.

When they get there Archie is already sitting getting a tattoo with Kevin waiting on the side.

“What happened to wanting a tattoo?” Veronica asks Kevin teasingly, already knowing the answer.

Archie snickers, “he chickened out.”

“Figures.”

Kevin got up as soon as he saw them in better lighting, “oh my god new clothes! I love it!”

He was being extremely loud and Betty had to duck her head in embarrassment, but Veronica relished it in.

“Yeah, you guys look great,” Archie says eyebrows raised.

Veronica smiles, “Well I'm glad you noticed.”

Betty went to go look at all the tattoo templates on the walls, they are printed on glass panels. Betty has never been in a room filled with art before, its amazing. The room is big with chairs for getting tattoos on the left side of the room and giant glowing signs adorning the walls. Betty looks at the tattoos brushing her fingers across a serpent with its fangs out, it reminded her of Toni.

Betty sees someone in the corner of her eye and it's said Toni holding a box. Toni notices her too and for a second looks shocked but then continues taking the box one of the stations.

She must work here, Betty thinks as she follows her over to one of the chairs.

“You made a mistake,” she says quietly. “Choosing Dauntless.”

Betty looks at her small frame. She's wearing fishnet stockings layered with plaid. All black of course.

“Why?”

Toni just looks at her, “Elizabeth is it?”

“Betty actually,” she replies. “Do you work here?”

“Yeah I do and I recognise that name. First jumper?”

“Yeah, I was.”

Toni unpacks what looks like ink and starts to fiddle with the needle.

Betty gulps at the sight, “hey listen- I need to talk to you about uh…” she looks over at Veronica and Archie, “about something.”

“I don't think that's a good idea,” Toni says sternly.

Betty grips the ends of her sweater, a habit to stop her from digging her nails in too deep. She has answers but she isn't saying anything, not now anyway. She will have to find a way later.

“Want a tattoo?”

Betty looks at a snake on a different template. The end of its little tail held a branch with three leaves, like it was protecting it. The leaves reminded her of her family. It wasn't as big as Toni's though, much smaller and less scary. The snake reminds her of what she learnt once in school, in Hinduism- snakes are a symbol of a new life, a fresh start. Exactly what Betty had in mind. She picks it up. “Maybe this on my wrist?”

Toni smiles, “it's a slim little snake, just like you.”

What a coincidence, she thinks. Betty never intended to get a tattoo when she came here, and it's another wedge in between her and her family that she can never remove. But she thought about what Toni said when she asked about hers. Dauntless identify themselves with serpents, as a representation of overcoming fears and being brave.

——————————

“Since there are an odd number of you, one won't be fighting today,” Jughead says as he moves away from the screen so everyone can see. He gives Betty a look. She looks at the screen and the spot next to her name is blank

She sighs in relief as the knot in her stomach unravels.

“Oh that's just great,” Veronica says sarcastically, nudging Betty with her elbow to look at the screen. Betty winces. She has more sore muscles than she can count.

“Sorry,” she says. “But just look at that I'm versing Cheryl.”

Veronica has already become one of the closest friends she's had in the span of a few days. Back in Abnegation she had her brother, Valerie and Trevor but it was hard to make friends when they couldn't do things together for their own enjoyment. Veronica shielded Betty this morning in the dorm when they were getting changed and it's the small things like that, that gives her hope.

“At least it's not Chuck or Reggie,” Betty replies quietly.

She sighs, “yeah that's true. Those three over there,” she points to Reggie, Chuck and Cheryl. “Have been inseparable for a while now. I hate them.”

Kevin and Archie are currently in the centre with their fists and arms guarding their faces like Jughead taught them. They're shuffling around in circles, neither making the first move. Although Kevin is slightly more slimmer than Archie she found out this morning at breakfast that he actually trained for wrestling which will give him a better advantage at technique.

She looks over to Reggie and Chuck. Chuck has dark bronze skin and is built like Archie, broad shoulders and muscular. Reggie is stocky with dark hair and pale skin. Cheryl has her long red hair, she's tall and curvy with a bit of muscle and fair skin.

“What's wrong with them?” Betty asks.

“Reggie is just an asshole, always picking fights with other factions, you should know he loves to bully stiffs. Chuck is a womaniser and Cheryl is the biggest bitch you will ever meet.”

In the arena Kevin punches Archie hard in the gut and Betty turns to see Malachi smirking across the room.

Archie stumbles back a bit holding his stomach and swings at Kevin, hitting him hard in the arm. Kevin winces and Archie blocks Kevin's next punch with his strong arm. He shifts and punches him again, Kevin tries to block it but Archie is a lot stronger.

Reggie, Chuck and Cheryl are all sending looks in her direction and whispering things to each other.

“They know we're talking about them,” Betty says.

“Don't worry about it. They know I hate them,” Veronica replies.

“Really? How?”

Veronica fakes a smile and waves at them, Cheryl glaring in response. Betty looks back at the fight not wanting to get involved in case one of them has to beat her up tomorrow like Archie and Kevin right now.

Kevin hooks his shoe around Archie's legs and yanks back, Archie falling to the ground. The sound of his heavy body hitting the mat echoes the room.

“Because in Candor we tell it how it is, plenty of people have told me they didn't like me and I've told plenty of people too. It doesn't matter I'm doing them a favour.”

Betty looks back at the Arena and both them are hesitantly circling each other. Kevin looks at Jughead like their waiting for him to call it off but he is leaning against a pillar with his arms crossed, face unreadable. She notices that one lock messily hanging over his eye. It distracts her until after a few seconds, Malachi shouts, “what do you think this is? A leisure activity? Fight!”

Archie stands straighter letting his arms fall down to his sides, “are we being scored or something? When does this end?”

“It ends when one of you is unable to continue,” says Malachi.

“Or when one of you concedes,” adds Jughead.

Malachi narrows his eyes at Jughead, “according to the old rules, the new rules no one concedes.”

“That wasn't the case when we fought,” Jughead says looking at Malachi.

Malachi's eyes go harder, colder. “No one steps off that arena until there's one on the ground!” He shouts still looking at Jughead.

They stare at each other for a few seconds. Betty can feel the tension, it's like looking at two kinds of Dauntless. The honourable kind and the ruthless kind. From the looks of it, she thinks Jughead might of hit a sensitive topic.

“What's the point? He's in my own faction!” Archie shouts at them.

“You think it will be easy Archie?” Kevin asks. “Hit me!”

There's a determination in his eyes that weren't there before. Kevin has the skill and Archie has the strength, but does Kevin really think he can win? One hit in the head from Archie and he's knocked out cold.

That is, if he can actually hit Kevin. Archie tries a punch, and Kevin ducks, then dodges another punch, slipping around Archie and kicking him hard in the back. Archie lurches forward and turns charging at Kevin. He grabs Kevin's arm so he can't move and smashes him in the jaw.

Betty watches the light leave Kevin's pale green eyes, and he falls hard and fast to the ground. Betty feels cold all over and the room falls silent. Archie gets on the ground with Kevin his face lines with sweat and eyes wide with concern.

Malachi is smiling wickedly like he's just seen his first meal and hasn't eaten in weeks. “Get him up!” He says.

Jughead moves to the screen and presses Archie's name. Victory.

“Next up- Cheryl and Veronica!” Malachi shouts as Archie pulls Kevin's arms over his shoulder and drags him out of the arena.

Veronica cracks her knuckles. Betty wants to wish her good luck but she doesn't know if it would do much. Shes smaller then Cheryl, so hopefully she has better technique.

Across the room Jughead takes Kevin from Archie, supporting him by the waist and leaves the room. Archie stands there watching with slouched shoulders. Jughead leaving makes Betty really nervous and the urge to dig her nails in her palms grows irritable as she hears Malachi shout, “go on then!” Its like leaving them with a babysitter that sharpens knives.

Cheryl flicks her long red hair over her shoulder, it's down to the middle of her back and Veronica tucks hers behind her ears. It's shiny, black and straight ending at her shoulders.

As she watches them guard their faces and walk around in circles she wonders what will happen to her when she's in that position. Her body being carried away like Kevin or will she be standing over them like Archie.

Veronica kicks Cheryl's thigh and Cheryl grits her teeth looking vicious, her hair falling in her face.

Archie comes and stands next to her then but she's too focused to look at him, or congratulate him if that's what he wants.

Betty's attention snaps back to the arena when Cheryl smirks and out of nowhere throws herself onto Veronica, knocking her to the ground sitting on top. Veronica thrashes beneath her but Cheryl's position and body wait pins her to the ground.

Cheryl tries to punch Veronica but she moves out of the way, but she's not quick enough to get out of her grasp so Cheryl swings again, and again and again. Betty gasps as her fists connect with Veronica's jaw then nose then cheek. Holding her head down as she does it. “Not fun is it?” She says tilting her head looking at Veronica.

Cheryl doesn't look bothered by the way she punches Veronica, not like Archie did any time he hit Kevin. Betty thinks that Veronica is right, she really is a bitch.

Blood is starting to run down Veronica's face and it is the first time Betty has prayed for someone to fall unconscious. But she doesn't, she screams and hits Cheryl's side of her face. Cheryl stumbles off of Veronica and Veronica kicks Cheryl and screams again as she examines the thick red blood dripping from her nose. She crawls away from Cheryl and Betty can see that the heaving in her shoulders is her sobbing.

“Stop!” Wails Veronica as Cheryl lifts her shoe to take another hit at Veronica. “Stop! I'm..” she coughs. “I'm done.”

Cheryl smiles and Betty sighs in relief. She unclenches her hands and looks down not realising she had been doing it. Her palms burned but that was no where near close to the pain Veronica would be feeling right now.

Malachi makes his way over to the arena, movements slow as he towers over Veronica kneeling on the floor. “I'm sorry what did you say? You're done?”

Veronica pinches her nose to stop the bleeding, “yes.”

“Get up,” He says. If he had yelled Betty would have felt less scared, but because he said the words calm and quietly meant yelling wasn't the worst he was planning on doing. Her insides twisted and she took a glance at Archie who was watching Malachi carefully.

Malachi grabs Veronica's arms and yanks her to her feet. He tattoos all up his arms and on his neck. “Follow me,” he says to the rest of the group.

He takes them to the Pit, and she can hear the roar of the chasm. They are standing near the railing and no one seems to be around as it's the middle of the afternoon. Even if people were she doubts they would help her. From the looks people gave as Malachi entered a room. No one crosses his rules. Expect maybe Jughead. She really wishes he was here right now. Maybe Malachi wouldn't have doing this, but who is she kidding.

Malachi shoves Veronica against the railing.

“Climb over it,” he says. His face dead serious.

“What?” Veronica asks, her eyes narrowing confused.

“Climb over it,” he says slowly. “Hang there for a minute and if you succeed I will forget your cowardice and if you bail out then you fail initiation.”

Betty suddenly finds it hard to breath.

“Fine,” Veronica says, her voice shaking.

Betty closes her eyes and imagines her friend slipping and falling into the rocks, she shudders at the thought. She has a decision of being factionless or brave and risking death.

She swings her legs over and wipes her hands. She grabs onto the cold, hard metal railing and Archie sets a timer on his watch for a minute.

Seconds are lot longer when someone is hanging onto their life, literally.

Veronica is fine for the first 30 seconds then she slowly starts to lose her grip. She has to re grip a couple of times but her hands fall from one of the bars.

“Come on Veronica! You can do it,” says Archie, his low voice surprisingly loud. “You can do it! Grab the ledge.”

Betty hears Ginger gasping from behind her and Archie claps his hands together trying to be encouraging. No one else is saying anything expect Archie and she wants to say something, she wants to go over there and help but would she even be strong enough to hold her up if she did?

Archie nudges her hard in the arm.

“Come on Veronica!” Betty and Archie shout, their voices join together.

Then the timer goes off. “The minute is up,” Archie spits at Malachi.

Malachi checks his watch, taking his time tilting his wrist. “Fine, pick her up,” he says as he steps back letting Betty and Archie come through to pull her up.

The next morning Betty woke to a start. She had a nightmare about Veronica falling off the ledge and only a divergent being able to save her, but when she went to go help they pushed her over the edge.

She felt sweaty so she went to the girls bathroom to shower and change. When she came back she heard laughter and saw that “stiff” had been spray painted red on her bed. She turns around her heart pounding with anger.

“What did I do to deserve this?” She yells at Reggie who's laughing and whistling with his friends.

“Nice decorations,” he says.

Betty clenches her fists to stop herself from shaking. “I don't know if your thick head can comprehend this, but we’re in the same faction now.”

He glances at her, “you and I will never be in the same faction.”

She shakes her head yanking the covers off her bed. It's because he's Erudite and hates Abnegation like the rest of them, she tells herself. He's an asshole like Veronica said and he wants to rile her up and get a show out of her, but she won't let that happen.

Archie walks in the same time Reggie, Chuck and Cheryl leave. He doesn't say anything, he just comes straight over and helps her strip the bed.

“Hopefully I'm paired with him today so I can beat him up,” he says carrying the sheets in his arms and throws them out. Together they walk to the training room.

“Yeah that would be fun to watch,” she says quietly. The thought of who she will have to fight today pretty much kept her up all night. Will she end up like Kevin? “How's Kevin?”

“Yeah he's good. He isn't angry,” Archie says. “Guess I'll be remembered as the guy who knocked someone out cold first.”

“There are worse ways to be remembered,” Betty replies. She would know.

“Good too,” he says nudging her. “First jumper.”

She looks at him. He has kind brown eyes, she can tell he belonged in Amity.

When they walk into the training room she looks straight at the screen. She didn't have to fight yesterday, but she will definitely be fighting today.

Her stomach sinks and she finds herself having to look again.

Her opponent is Reggie.

Reggie fucking Mantle.

“Oh no,” Veronica says as she shuffles in behind them all bruised and limping. “As if they are making you fight him. I bet it was Malachi's decision.”

They will be the first pair in the group to fight boy on girl and Reggie happens to be a lot bigger and a lot stronger than she is with the advantages of being a male. He could knock her out without even trying.

Chapter Text

“Maybe you should just pretend to go unconscious,” Archie suggests.

“Yeah,” Veronica agrees. “No one would blame you.”

Her cheeks feel hot, like they did earlier when she was mad at Reggie. She knows they're just trying to help but It bothers her that they don't believe, even just a tiny bit that she has a chance against him.

She stands and watches Chuck fight Moose. She can tell that Chuck will win today, he's much stronger than him.

Betty looks at Reggie stretching his arms warming up and talking to Cheryl. She tries to remember what Jughead had told them yesterday about finding the opponents weaknesses. Other than his very unlikable personality, he is tall enough to be strong but not big enough to be slow. He's vicious and won't show mercy and he suspects that she's an easy target which makes him cocky.

Betty considers Archie's suggestion. Maybe she should just take a few hits and pretend to be unconscious.

But that would cost her at the bottom of the ranking list. Factionless.

“You ready for some real fighting?” Malachi says loudly, looking at Jughead. his voice booms throughout the room.

“Not even close,” Jughead says.

By the time Moose peels himself off the ground, half conscious. Betty's heart is pounding so hard she can feel it in her fingertips. Reggie is already standing there in the arena cracking his knuckles. She wonders if throwing up all over him would do her any good.

Probably not.

She makes her way to the centre when someone grabs her arm, halting her in her tracks. She looks to see that it's Jughead who just pressed Chuck as the winner on the screen.

“Hey, remember what I told you yesterday,” he says, his voice low. “Don't face him front on and he steps before he punches.” His blue eyes pierce into hers. For a moment they just look at each other, “alright?”

“Okay,” she says, her voice shaky.

She tries to take in the information as her stomach flips and he lets go of her arm and walks away without another word.

Did he just give her advice? Maybe he thinks she has a bigger chance of losing. Which she does.

Reggie smirks at her, not looking the slightest bit nervous. “Time to ruin that pretty face of yours.”

Betty gets up on the arena and looks over Reggie's shoulder to see Jughead and Malachi leaning against a wall arms folded. Jughead’s scowling, like he's just tasted something sour and Malachi's tapping his foot impatiently.

“Looks like your about to cry,” Reggie says putting his arms up to guard his face. “Maybe I'll go easy on you.”

She puts her arms up too, she's wearing a black singlet top and her arms are exposed. She can still feel the heat of where Jughead’s hand was wrapped around her arm. Clenching her fists in front of her face, which she is an expert at. They start circling each other. Her stomach is twisting in painful knots.

“Come on blondie,” he says, eyes glinting. “Just a tear or even some begging.”

The thought of begging to Reggie makes her taste acid in her throat. She would rather be beat up.

On an impulse she kicks him on the side. He grunts.

“Stop playing with her,” Malachi shouts. “I don't have all day.”

Reggie’s mischievous look disappears and he steps forward. Betty ducks to the side dodging his punch as he swings his arm out. Jughead was right.

“Yes Betty!” Someone shouts along the side. From the high voice she can tell it's Veronica.

Reggie's arm twitches again and it came so quickly Betty didn't move in time. She stumbles back, pain spreading across her face and stabbing at her jaw making her vision go blurry. She did not see that coming.

Betty sways as she tries to keep her balance. She tries kicking him again but he grabs her leg and shoves her to the ground. Her head starts to ache as she hits the ground hard. She pulls herself up, getting back on her feet. She has to stay on her feet.

She manages to punch Reggie's cheek as hard as she can and he grunts, his face red and eyes angry. He darts in front of her and kicks her hard in the stomach. His foot forces the air from her lungs and she doubles over. She can't breathe. Her lungs hurt so badly, or maybe it was the kick. She doesn't know she just falls.

She needs to get up. She tries to push herself up but Reggie is already there, he pulls her ponytail and punches her in the nose. The pain feels different this time. It vibrates through her head and her vision starts to spot black. Her face feels wet and a loose hair is sticking to her lip. It's blood, her nose is bleeding.

He punches her again, this time on her cheek near her eye. She screams for the first time as the pain jabs at her face. She turns her head to the side to avoid another and sees Jughead leave pushing through the heavy doors. Maybe it's because the room is spinning so much. She doesn't blame him, she wouldn't be able to stand if she tried.

She tries shoving him off of her but he hits her in the ribs this time. More pain. He gets up. Is it over?

He lifts his leg and Betty screams even louder. It echoes around the hollow room. He slams his foot into her and the room goes black.

When she regains consciousness for a moment she can feel strong arms around her, someone is carrying her. Her vision is still blurry and her eyes burn at the light when she opens them, but she looks to see a man with dark hair and tan skin holding her. It's Jughead.

He smells nice, like mint and cigarettes. She's never been this close to him before.

She thought she saw him leave though, or was it a Hallucination?

“Why did you leave?” She blurts out. Her head throbs when she speaks.

He looks down at her, his brows furrowed. “It wasn't exactly something I wanted to watch.”

What's that supposed to mean?

Betty's eyelids feel way too heavy and the room is still spinning. She wants to ask him why but she falls back unconscious before she can. Her head leaning safely on his shoulder.

When she wakes up, she's no longer in Jughead's arms but a bed in a narrow room with lots of others. Had she imagined that part? Or dreamed it?

“I think her eye is already black,” Kevin says.

She feels something cold and hard on her cheek, it's Veronica with an ice pack. “Do you think she can come out with us tonight?.”

“I dunno.”

Betty looks at Veronica sitting next to her on the bed, her cheek is smeared with blood and it's a darker shade of purple from yesterday.

“What happened to your face?” Betty asks.

Kevin chuckles beside her and Veronica moves the ice pack closer to Betty's eye, she winces. “What happened to yours?”

Betty groans, “you probably saw everything.”

“We all did unfortunately. I had to go get Jughead to carry you out,” Kevin says, sitting himself on the end of the bed. It sinks a little from all of their weight. So he did carry her after all. “I wanted to slap that smug look off Reggie's face so badly.”

Reggie. Oh god she has to face him once she gets out of this bed. She tries to sit up and her head pounds. She could really use some pain killers for this headache. At least the black spots are gone.

“Woah, woah there,” Veronica says, pushing her shoulders back down. “Take it easy will you?”

“I'm fine, just a headache.”

Kevin pulls a packet out of his pocket, “In that case, I know how it feels. You should probably take something.” He gives her the pills and she takes it gratefully with a glass of water.

“Thank you. What time is it?”

“6pm, you slept all afternoon,” Veronica says taking the glass.

“You only missed Archie beating up Veronica here and Cheryl won against Ginger,” Kevin adds. “Oh and you missed Malachi's announcement, where going on a field trip tomorrow at 8:15 to the fence to learn about Dauntless jobs.”

“Oh, thanks.” Betty replies. “And sorry to hear about your fight.”

“It was bound to happen at some point,” Veronica says.

“Wait, so where are you guys going tonight?”

Kevin and Veronica glance at each other than back to Betty. “Moose told Archie about this hang out spot where all the Dauntless initiates go for drinks and invited us,” Kevin says getting all excited.

Betty thinks about how quickly Moose made friends with the others. When? There's been no time. She could use a distraction though, her muscles are aching and her head hurts but it doesn't matter, she needs to get out of this bed.

“I'm down.”

“Eager to meet new boys are we?” Veronica says, her eyes teasing.

Betty hadn't even thought about that. She smiles anyway, “Ha ha.”

By the time Betty had dinner with the group and got dressed it was already 8pm. Her body could probably use the extra rest but she had already pretty much slept the entire day so she was glad she was going out.

She felt nervous as Kevin took them down a corridor. She had no idea what the Dauntless initiates would be like but apparently, coming from Kevin they're really cool people so they have to make a good first impression.

The corridor took them to a building built like a warehouse. It's big and spacious with a metal spiral stair case. They stay on first floor and she looks to see a bar in the far left corner where Dauntless people are sitting having drinks with music playing over the speakers. To the right, she hears muffled talking and Someone shouting, “over here!”

They turn to see Archie descending from a group of people clad in black over to them. He's holding a glass bottle. “Betty, how are you?” Archie asks, staring at her bruised face. “I have to admit, I'm impressed you made it here.”

She laughs, “Yeah I am too to be honest.”

“You gonna introduce us to your friends Andrews?” Someone from the group shouts behind him, his voice deep.

“Come with me,” he says gesturing to the three of them, his drink sloshing around in the glass.

She walks over to the lounges positioned in the corner where theres only a red light illuminating them. She notices Moose first leaning against a seat as he lifts his bottle acknowledging them. He then takes a swig and passes it to the person next to him.

The guy that called is tall, very tall. About 6,5 and he has a tattoo on his neck. His names Sweet Pea of all things. He doesn't look very sweet and shes suddenly glad it wasn't him today that beat her up. Archie points to everyone else around the room naming them, the people on the lounge Kevin decides to sit next to are Fangs and Josie. Jughead? Sweet Pea? Fangs? Who named these people?

“So how's your first stage of initiation going then?” Fangs asks them eye brow raised. He's looking at Betty and Veronica now sitting opposite him.

Veronica rolls her eyes, “what do you think? I'm purple all over.”

“I think you kicked their asses,” Sweet Pea says as he puts his arm up on the head rest. He's sitting in his own chair.

She looks at Josie and Fangs and notices that Josie has a black eye and fangs has a cut across his nose, but that's it. She can't see anything else. Probably because they've been training for a lot longer than they have. Will she have to fight them soon? She hopes not.

The conversation picks up and not long after Fangs is sitting next to her offering her a drink. She looks at it not sure of the substance inside.

“Its alcohol,” he says as if reading her mind. “Everybody's favourite painkiller around here.”

She's never had alcohol before. Abnegation would never of allowed it, but she did see her parents drink it on special occasions. Not one of them acted the way Archie is right now though. By the looks of it he's had a lot of drinks tonight.

She politely refuses, not wanting her headache to last any longer than it has too. Plus if she has to do this day all over again tomorrow, she needs to be awake.

Veronica takes a drink and pulls a face as she tries it. She's never had it before either. Her parents were too strict and same goes with Kevin, apparently alcohol reduces your capability of learning. Such an Erudite thing to say.

The Dauntless initiates all laugh and she just frowns, “I don't get it. Why do people drink this sewage again?”

“Makes you feel good,” Sweet Pea smirks, taking the bottle from her and downing the remains.

Its around 9:30pm now and her body is starting to feel heavy. She can feel herself start to lean against Fangs. He doesn't move so he must not mind. He's only just a bit taller than her, but he has a stocky build. He's been really nice to her tonight, as well as the others so she hopes to see them again.

Just as Fangs turns his head about to say something, she's startled completely awake when she hears glass shattering on the floor. She looks to see Archie shoving Moose.

“What the hell” he yells.

Archie mixed with drinks really doesn't suit him, but Sweet Pea is the first to get up standing in between them, even he towers over them.

“Look man I'm sorry,” Moose says, his arms up in surrender.

Betty turns her head to the rest of the warehouse, wondering if they had made a scene. A few heads were turned watching them carefully and then she sees him. Jughead standing with a guy around the same height with short black hair. He is scowling and he looks at the group. She wasn't sure at this point if that was just Jughead or because of the situation. Betty swallows hard. Had he noticed her there too? After a moment he turns back to his friend resuming the conversation.

Veronica gets up and stands next to Archie. “It's getting late,” she says. “We should probably start to head off now.”

“It's not that late,” Archie protests.

Kevin gets up too patting him on his shoulder, “come on Archie lets just go.”

————————

The next morning she didn't wake to an alarm, or people moving around, she woke to Veronica shaking her shoulders and tapping her cheek.

“Not you too,” she says sighing. “Come one. Up you get.”

Betty dreamt that Reggie crashed there hangout last night and beat her until she told him she was divergent in front of everyone. She woke up with wet cheeks.

She groans and checks the time. It's eight and she is supposed to meet them there at eight fifteen. Her body aches so badly it hurts to breathe. She lifts her top to find her ribs and stomach bruised. Memorising colours like blacks, purples and blue.

“I'm gonna go grab some breakfast and let you get ready,” Veronica says. “Cause it might take you a while.”

Betty just grunts and picks up her clothes in the draw under her bed. It hurts to bend over at this point. She's glad Reggie isn't here to make fun of her. Once Veronica leaves she's alone in the dormitory.

Once she's finished getting ready in one of her simple black sweaters with a low neckline and black jeans, she just sits there staring at her untied shoes.

Veronica comes in with a muffin in each hand and bends down to tie them for her. Looks like there's a little Abnegation in everyone.

Everyone expect Reggie.

“Thanks Veronica,” Betty says grateful.

“Call me V,” she says.

“V?”

“Yeah were on nickname basis now,” she says smiling. She stands up reaching an arm out for Betty to take. “And your B. B and V.”

Betty smiles, she decides in that moment she's lucky to have a friend like Veronica.

They have to rush to get to the Pit on time and when they do everyone's already waiting. They take the stairs to the glass building on top of the Pit and leave through the exit. They arrive at the tracks just in time for the train, its horn blaring.

“Where were you guys?” Kevin shouts over the noise.

“Betty was too crippled to get out of bed in time,” Veronica replies.

Betty laughs, “shut up.”

Jughead stands dangerously close to the edge of the tracks, if he were to move any closer he might actually get hit, but he moves back to let a few people go first. Kevin being one of them. He pulls himself up struggling a bit as he falls on his stomach and climbs in. Jughead grabs the handle on the side and pulls himself in smoothly, like he doesn't have six feet of his body to work with.

Betty jogs with the train, wincing a bit as pain shoots through her ribs, but she ignores it and grabs the handle on the side. This is going to hurt.

But then Archie comes to the door and grabs her under each arm and lifts her easily into the train. Pain shoots through her, only for a second and she looks behind him to see Reggie. She appreciates his gesture so she smiles at him, but knows that Reggie is bound to say something.

“Feeling okay there?” Reggie says, giving her a look of mock sympathy. “Or are you a little… Stiff.”

He bursts into laughter at his lame joke with Chuck and Cheryl joining in. Cheryl's laugh is wicked and Chucks is obnoxious.

“Yes, yes we are all awed by your incredible wit,” says Kevin.

“I'm surprised you didn't go to Erudite,” Veronica says. “Heard they don't object to pricks.”

Jughead standing in the doorway, with his arms crossed speaks before Reggie can, “am I going to have to listen to you bickering all the way there?”

Everyone shuts up after Jughead speaks and he stands at the doorway holding onto the handle watching the city as it goes past, the wind blowing through his t-shirt. It's the first time she's seen him without his leather. She tries to look beyond him too, but every few seconds her eyes shift back to Jughead. She's not sure what she's expecting to see or what she wants to see but her eyes trace his torso, his arms, muscular as he grips the handle. She sees a tattoo peaking out from under his sleeve, but the lighting makes it hard to tell what it is.

When she looks next to Veronica she sees Archie sitting on the floor, leaning against the wall. His face is pale and he is definitely hungover. She wonders what he yelled at Moose for last night. Whatever it is it wasn't important because they were speaking earlier before they got on the train.

When they get to the fence the train halts to a stop and everybody lurches forward. She's grateful that it's stopped because she can finally stand still again. Everybody gets off and Jughead leads them to the gate which is as wide as a house and opens to a road that leads to the city with Amity farms on the outside.

“If you don't rank in the top 5 after initiation, you will probably end up here,” Jughead says as they reach the gate. “Once your a fence guard there isn't much advancement but apparently it's not as bad as it seems.”

“Anything but driving busses and picking up rubbish like the factionless,” Veronica whispers to Betty.

“What rank were you?” Asks Reggie.

She was sure Jughead wouldn't answer but he looks at Reggie with a blank face and says, “I was first.”

“And you chose this?” Reggie asks, his eyes wide. He looks as shocked as everyone feels. “Why didn't you get a government job?”

“I didn't want one,” Jughead says flatly. More like doesn't want one, She remembers the conversation he had with Malachi on the first day. He could have any job he wanted and they are still asking him to reconsider.

She learnt about Dauntless jobs in school. Dauntless have limited options, you can guard the fence or provide security for the city. There's also the Dauntless compound where you can work in shops, drawing tattoos or making weapons. Or there's working for the leaders which is what she wants but won't get if she's ranked at the bottom like she currently is.

They stop next to the gate as the Dauntless guards pull the heavy doors open for a truck.

The truck stops just in front of the gate and the driver gets out. There's people sitting in the back with crates of what looks like food and supplies.

“Elizabeth?” An Amity boy says.

She turns her head at the sound of her name- her old name. It feels foreign hearing it again.
One of the people has brown hair and brown skin. Trevor. She tries to remember him at the Choosing Ceremony but nothing comes to mind. Had Valerie chosen Amity too?

He gets off the truck and makes his way towards her. He's wearing blue jeans with a white top and red flannel. It's odd seeing him without grey. After a few seconds hesitation he envelopes her in a hug. She stiffens. She hasn't had a hug in a long time. Only people in Amity greet each other that way.

His smile fades as he steps back to look at her, “what happened to you? What happened to your face?”

“Nothing,” Betty says. “Just training.”

“Elizabeth?” A voice next to her repeats. Cheryl flicks her hair over her shoulder and folds her arms. “Is that your real name stiff?”

Betty rolls her eyes,“that's what he said isn't it?”

She scoffs, “thought I might of heard weakling. Since that's what you are and all.”

“Theres no need to antagonise her,” Trevor says softly. “What's your name?”

“None of your business,” Cheryl says. “Why don't you get back on your truck? We're not supposed to fraternise with other factions.”

“Why don't you just get away from us then?” Betty snaps.

“Right, wouldn't want to get in between you and your boyfriend,” she says, walking away smiling.

Trevor gives her a look, “well they seem nice.”

“Some of them actually are,” Betty says.

“You could go home you know. I'm sure Abnegation would make an exception considering your father.”

“I can handle this,” Betty says her cheeks hot. “I don't want to go home.”

“Yeah you can handle it, but you shouldn't have to. Don't you want to be happy?”

“This is what I chose, this is it,” she says looking over Trevor's shoulder. The guards seem to be finished examining the truck. “My goal isn't just to be happy.”

“Wouldn't it be easier though?” Trevor says touching her arm and backing away before she has time to answer. He gets back on the truck again and there's a girl sitting next to him on a crate. He waves to Betty as it leaves and she starts to imagine another life that could have been hers. A life in Amity with Trevor where she would be safe and peaceful and happy.

The Dauntless guards close the gate and lock it behind them. The lock is on the outside. She bites her lip. Why would they lock the gate from the outside and not the inside? It almost seems like they don’t want to keep something out. They want to keep them in.

Which is ridiculous, she shakes her head. That makes no sense.

Jughead steps away from the gate, where he was talking to a dauntless guard holding a gun on her shoulders. “I'm worried you'll keep making unwise decisions.” He says a foot away from her.

She crosses her arms, “a two second conversation is hardly unwise.”

“I don't think a smaller time frame makes it any less unwise,” he says furrowing his eyebrows and touches the corner of her bruised eye with his fingertips. She jerks her head back but he doesn't move his hand away. Instead he tilts his head and sighs. “You know, if you could just learn to attack first, you might do better.”

“Attack first?” She repeats. “How will that help.”

“You're fast. If you get a few hits in before they know what's going on, you might win.” He shrugs and his hand falls.

“I'm surprised you know that,” she says quietly. “You left during my one and only fight.” She cringes at herself for bringing it up again.

He clears his throat. “Looks like the next train is here, time to go Elizabeth,” he says teasing.

She crawls across her mattress and plonks down with a sigh. It has been two days now since the fight with Reggie and the bruises are still a deep purple with a bit of brain and yellow on the outside. Not the most flattering colour combination. It still aches to move but she moves better now.

Luckily Betty was paired with Ginger today who is scared to throw the first punch. She did what Jughead said and got a good few hits in at the start and managed to win, as she felt too dizzy to get back up. She wanted to feel proud, but you can't when hitting someone as delicate as Ginger.

The minute her head hits the pillow she hears the dormitory door fly open and and people stream in with flashlights. She sits up straight away to see what's going on.

“Everyone up!” Someone roars. He's shining the flashlight straight into Chucks eyes and he winces at the brightness. The light from someone else's torch shines on him and she sees his long greasy black hair as one of his piercing glints in the light. It's Malachi. Surrounding him are other Dauntless, some of them she can't recognise, but she notices Sweet Peas tall frame in the back. Jughead stands among them.

As if on instinct his eyes shift to hers and stay there. She stares back and doesn't even realise that all the transfers are getting up around her.

“Are you deaf stiff?” Demands Malachi. She snaps out of her gaze and moves out of her bed. She's suddenly grateful for sleeping fully clothed because Veronica stands there in just one of Archie's oversized t-shirts, her legs bare staring at Malachi. She wishes she had the confidence to do that half naked.

“You have 5 minutes to get dressed and meet us at the tracks. We're going on another trip,” Malachi says, leaving the room with the rest of the people.

Veronica quickly pulls on some pants and they shove on there shoes running to catch up to them. When they run up the stairs to the top floor they pass by some other dauntless people who don't even bat an eye when they see them frantically hurrying. Is it really that common here? She laughs.

By the time they get to the tracks she sees Fangs and Sweet Pea holding large black bags filled with god knows what. She can tell it's them in the dim lighting of a lamp post from the height difference.

She hears Malachi speak to Jughead next to her, “time estimate?”

“Any minute now,” he says. “When are you going to learn the train schedule?”

“Why should I, when I have you?,” Malachi says, shoving Jughead's shoulder.

She sees a light coming towards them from the left, shining on Jughead's face creating a hallow and outlining his jawline. The wind from the train blows her hair into her face and only then does she realise that her hair is out, wavy on her shoulders and not in her usual ponytail.

He is the first to get on the train, and she rans after him not bothering to wait for Veronica, Kevin or Archie. Jughead grabs the handle and stands at the doorway. When he sees her next to the train he holds out his hand. She grabs his arm and he pulls her inside effortlessly. Even the muscles in his forearm are taut, defined.

She lets go quickly, without looking at him, and stands off to the side.

Once everyone is in, Jughead speaks up, “everyone go grab a gun.”

They do what there told and Josie and Fangs come over to stand with them. “Hey guys,” Josie says to the four of them, already jumping into a conversation with Kevin.

Fangs stands on the other side of her picking up a stand of her hair. Betty looks at him. “I like your hair like this,” he says, fingering it in his hands. “It suits you.”

She thinks he might actually be trying to flirt with her, but if he is she pretends not to notice. “Uh, thanks,” she says, turning her head forward. Jughead is looking down, his lips twitching like he's trying to contain a smile.

She folds her arms and slowly, but slyly steps to the side allowing distance between her and Fangs.

Cheryl scoffs looking at the gun in her hand, “What kind of gun is this?”

There's a loud bang and then a scream as Cheryl slams her back into the wall and wails in agony as she grips her leg.

“It's the kind of gun that stimulates a real bullet wound,” Malachi snaps. “Only lasts a few seconds.”

Cheryl gasps pulling out the bullet with a little syringe on the end and throws it to the side. It's clanks against the floor.

“We will be dividing into to teams to play capture the flag. Each team will be mixed with both Dauntless initiates and transfers. One team will get off and hide their flag first and then the other group will wait then do the same,” Malachi shouts so everyone can here. “This is a Dauntless tradition so I suggest you take it seriously.”

“What do we do if we win?” Someone shouts.

“That's something a Dauntless person wouldn't ask,” Malachi says flatly. “You get to win.”

“Malachi and I will be your team captions. We’ll divide up transfers first,” Jughead says. “Malachi you go.”

Malachi shrugs, “Chuck.”

Betty's fingers curl into her palm. This is going to be embarrassing, she will be picked last for sure.

Jughead leans against the wall, the moonlight illuminating his bright blue eyes. He scans the transfers and then without calculation says, “I choose the Stiff.”

“Trying to prove something Jones?” Malachi asks, smirking. “Or are you choosing the weak ones first so you have someone to blame if you lose?”

“Something like that,” Jughead shrugs.

Angry. She should definitely be angry right now. She scowls at her hands. She thought getting chosen last was bad, but being used for some stupid target the weak strategy of his might be even worse.

“Your turn,” Jughead says.

“Reggie.”

“Veronica.”

Veronica isn't one of the weaker ones. She won a fight against Moose today. What is he doing?

“Archie.”

“Kevin.”

“Cheryl.”

“Moose.”

“Ginger is the last one left so she's with me,” Malachi says. “Dauntless initiates next.”

Betty stops listening after they finish naming the transfers. She try's to think about the people that Jughead chose. What do they all have in common if not weak? All the people Malachi chose are big and strong, when the people that Jughead chose are narrower and smaller. He told her that she's fast and capture the flag involves speed rather force. She looks at Jughead trying to hide her smile. Malachi is more ruthless, but Jughead is smarter.

The train finally slows down to a stop and everybody sways at the jolt.

“Your team can get off second,” Malachi says.

“Don't do me any favours,” Jughead says, almost smiling. “You know I don't need them to win.”

“No, I know you won't win no matter when you get off,” Malachi replies. “Take your scrawny team and get off first then.”

Everyone in Jughead's team makes there way to the door and Archie gives her and Kevin a pained look. If anyone was to be on Reggie, Chuck and Cheryl's team at least it's him. They actually like Archie and usually leave him alone.

Betty jumps off the train and excitement floods through her when she lands on her feet. It's a small move, but it makes her feel Dauntless.

When there all on the ground walking one of the Dauntless initiates touches Jughead's shoulder and asks, “when your team won, where did you put the flag?”

“That kind of defeats the whole purpose of the exercise Midge,” he says coolly.

“Come on, Jughead,” she whines, giving him a flirtatious smile. Jughead brushes her off his arm and for some reason Betty finds herself grinning.

“At the Theme park,” One of the Dauntless initiates says. “My brother was on the winning team. They kept the flag in the carousel.”

“Lets go there then,” says Kevin. No one protests so they make their way to the marsh that was once a lake. She tries to imagine what it used look like before they built the fence over it.

“Where close to Erudite headquarters right?” Veronica says nudging Kevin.

He looks over his shoulder and for a second she sees longing, but then it's gone. “Yeah. It's south of here.”

She's less than a mile away from her brother. She hasn't thought about him in a while. She wonders if her parents will visit him on visiting day. She wonders if they will visit her. She shakes her head, she can't think about this tonight. She needs to focus.

They all start to go over the bridge. They can't walk across the marsh because the mud is still too damp. She wonders how long it's been since the lake dried up.

Once they cross the bridge, the city changes. Behind them the buildings are active, in use. In front of them they consist of worn down cement and broken glass. The place feels eerie and quiet. It creeps her out and she can't see where she's going because it's around midnight and the lights are turned off.

Midge turns on her flashlight and flashes it at the street in front of them.

“Scared of the dark are we?” Sweet Pea teases.

“If you want to step on broken glass Pea, be my guest,” Midge snaps, but turns the light off anyway.

There's a strip of land along the marsh with a giant wheel that has red passenger seats attached to it. The Ferris wheel.

“Can you believe people used to ride that thing? For fun,” says Kevin.

“Must of been Dauntless,” says Betty.

Veronica laughs, “a Dauntless Ferris wheel wouldn't have seats. You would be dangling from the bars.”

They reach the carousel and Jughead takes the flag out of his leather jacket pocket. It's glowing bright green in the darkness, the other flag is orange.

“The other team will be picking there location soon,” he says. “I suggest you form a strategy because mental preparation is an aspect of being Dauntless. One of the most important.”

He is right about that. What good is a prepared body if you have a scattered mind?

Kevin takes the flag from him, “Some people should stay here and guard, and some people should go out and scout the other team’s location.”

“Yeah? You think?” Midge says, grabbing the flag from him. “Who put you in charge?”

“Someone has to be.”

“Maybe we should develop a more defensive strategy. Wait for them to come to us, then take them out,” suggests Veronica.

One of the other Dauntless initiates shrugs, “we should just hide it well enough so we can all go out and fight.”

Everyone talks over each other with different strategies and ideas, their voices getting louder and no one actually listening. Veronica agrees with Kevin. The Dauntless born initiates vote offence. They are all arguing about the decision but times ticking. Jughead just leans against one of the carousels broken down horses, looking up to the sky. There's no stars to look at but that doesn't stop him. The muscles in his arms are relaxed. He looks almost comfortable, holding his gun to his shoulder.

She closes her eyes for a second. God, why does he keep distracting her so easily? Focus.

What would she say to the group if they were to listen? She would say they can't act until they know where the other team is and the only way to find out is if she can see from a high ground. Betty turns to look at the Ferris wheel standing tall in the distance. She swings her gun over her shoulder and looks at the group to make sure they aren't paying attention and then quietly moves away.

When she looks up at it, she bites her lip under estimating how big it actually is. So big she can't see the seats at the top. She mentally tells herself that if it's this big it will be able to support her weight.

Her throats feels tighter. Will she really be risking her life right now for some Dauntless game?

It's so dark she can barely see them, but when she stares at the huge, rusted poles, holding the wheel in place, she can see the rungs of a ladder. Each pole is only as wide as her shoulders, and there are no railings to hold her in, but climbing a ladder is better than climbing the spacious bars.

She's grabs the rung and pulls herself up on the ladder. She jumps a bit to make sure it can actually hold her weight and when it doesn't move she lifts her leg and starts climbing up.

“Betty?” A low voice says behind her. She jumps a little at the unexpected sound. Gripping the rungs tighter in her hands. Although his voice is low and almost soothing she still gets a freight because she didn't think anyone had followed her.

She turns around to see Jughead standing off to the side of the ladder.

“Yes?” She says.

“I came to find out what your doing.” He looks at the ladder she's currently on.

“Just seeking higher ground for a better view of the other team.”

She can see his smile in the dark. “Smart. I'm coming.”

“I'll be fine,” she says.

“Undoubtedly,” he replies. She doesn't hear sarcasm but she knows it's there, it has to be.

When she climbs, it's only a few moments later before Jughead catches up and his hands are where her shoe leaves the rungs. He's tall, which makes him fast.

“So tell me…” He says quietly as they climb. He sounds breathless. “What do you think the purpose of this is? The game I mean not.. this.”

The question reminds her that he is her instructor, her leader not someone like Veronica, Kevin or Archie.

“Strategies probably,” she answers. “Teamwork?”

His laugh hitches in his throat, “teamwork, huh?”

“Maybe not,” she deflects. “It doesn't seem to be a Dauntless priority.”

The wind picks up so she presses closer to the white pole so she don’t fall, but that makes it hard to climb. She looks down and the carousel looks smaller. She can barely see her team. Maybe they left.

“It's supposed to be,” Jughead says, but she doesn't listen. Her hands are sore from climbing, she can feel her open wounds on her palms rubbing against the metal and her legs feel shaky. It's all so dizzying, but she doesn't think it's from the height. She thinks it's because of him.
She can hear fast heavy breathing from behind her. She wants to turn around but the wind is starting to pick up and she doesn't want to fall. “Are you okay Jughead?”

“Are you human Betty?” He says more breathless than usual.

“You afraid of heights?” She asks

“And you aren't?”

She looks down to the large gap between her and the ground. If she falls right now, she will die.

“Not really,” she says. “Were almost there.”

She looks above her to the platform just below the centre of the wheel. If she gets on that she will have a better view.

A gust of wind comes and it forces her to the right side of the railing, her body slamming into the metal and her balance shifting. She gasps and clings onto the rungs, her knuckles turning white. She finds it hard to breathe. Jughead grabs her waist with his hand, his fingers resting on her exposed skin from her top riding up.

Now she really can't breathe.

“You okay?” He asks quietly.

“Yes,” she says. Her voice strained.

He lets go of her and she can still feel the ghost of his hand on her skin.

She keeps climbing silently until she reaches the platform. Judging by the blunted ends of the metal rods, it used to have railings, but it doesn’t anymore. She sits down close to the end so Jughead has somewhere to sit. Without thinking, she puts her legs over the side. Jughead, however, crouches and presses his back to the metal for support. His breathing is heavy.

“How do you manage at Dauntless with your fear?” She asks Jughead.

He runs his hands through his hair. She notices his muscles tense, he's uncomfortable here, on this platform.

“I ignore it most of the time,” he says. “Nothing you can do really.”

She stares at him for a second. How can he just ignore his fear? When he's literally walking on the edge all the time.

His blue eyes are significant in the darkness. He has a straight bridged nose, very attractive. She really shouldn't be thinking about him like this, but she can't help it.

She realises that she's been staring for too long.

“What?” He asks quietly.

“Nothing.”

She looks out through the Ferris wheel and all she sees is a building blocking her view.

“Were not high enough,” she says, looking up. Above her is metal poles that tangle between each other. Scaffolding. If she climbs them, she would be able to see above the building.

“I'm going to climb,” she says standing up.

“For Gods sake, Betty,” he says.

“You don't have to follow me,” she retorts as she shoves her food in between two bars and pulls herself up. She grabs the bar above her and starts to sway a bit.

“Yes I do,” he says, following her.

She could put her foot in the wrong place at any moment and her life would be over. It's crazy, but there's something seriously exhilarating about being this high. She looks down to see if Jughead is following her, but sees straight down instead. She inhales sharply at the sight.

She can't breathe.

She understands his fear now.

She imagines her body falling down the Ferris wheel and for some reason she still grabs the bar above her and continues climbing. Jughead grabs a bar with each hand and pulls himself up with ease, like it's as easy as getting out of bed.

She looks at the sky line, seeing a dark blanket covering the city. Then she looks at one of the tall buildings that's a bell tower. The flash of glowing orange sits in the open.

“See that,” Betty says, pointing.

“Yeah, you found it,” he whispers. A smile spreading across his face. His head is near her shoulder. She can feel his body heat from their close proximity.

“They probably thought we wouldn't see it because it's high up from the ground,” Betty says looking over at him. She forgets where she is when she looks at him. Instead she notices his moles adorning his cheeks, three in a row and the scar near his lip.

“Um,” she says, clearing her throat. “We should probably get down.”

Jughead nods and steps down. His legs are long so he finds a place to plant his foot easily and guides his body through the bars. She notices his hands shaking when he lets go.

Betty holds onto the bar in front of her and places her foot onto one of the crossbars. It creaks and gives way beneath her. Clattering against the metal as it falls down. Her legs are dangling in the air and she lets out a strangled gasp.

“Jughead!”

She looks for somewhere to put her foot, but the bars are too far away for her to reach, she would have to let go of the bar and that would lead to death. She grips onto the bar until the colour fades from her fingers.

“Hold on!” Jughead shouts. “Just hold on, I've got an idea.”

He starts climbing down the stairs in the wrong direction.

No, no, no. Not that way. Why is going away from her? He's supposed to come up, not down. Her palms grow sweaty and she starts to think about all the times she wipes them on her clothes. She will not fall.

Jughead wouldn't leave her.

They start to slip and she has to re grip, her arms burning. She won't last long like this. God knows how Veronica did it.

“Jughead!” She screams. Maybe he really did leave? A test of her bravery and strength. She shuts her eyes briefly and tries to control her breathing. Her heart is pounding and she would clench her fists so hard till they bled if they weren't saving her from falling to her death.

She hears something wheeze and creak loudly. The bar she holds onto shudders and she screams through clenched teeth.

The Ferris wheel is moving.

She opens her eyes and looks towards the ground that's now growing closer towards her. Thank god for Jughead.

It picks up the speed and nears towards the ground. She has to jump in time, or it will take her back up and then she really will be screwed. Bracing herself she lets go of the bar and drops to the ground. Her body slamming against the grass. She picks up her body and runs just in time for the carriage to miss her as it goes past. Betty collapses onto the ground again and presses her palms to her face.

She is safe.

She feels Jughead kneeling down in front of her and his hands wrap around her wrist pulling it away from her face. He encloses her sore hand in his and for a second Betty prays he can't feel the indents. Even if he did he doesn't acknowledge it. The warmth of his skin soothes the ache in her hands.

“You alright?” He says, pressing their hands together.

“Yeah, thank you.”

He laughs.

His smile is contagious and his teeth are perfectly white and straight. Betty laughs too. She's aware of how close they are and it almost feels like they should be closer.

He stands pulling her up with him. The wheel is still moving and it blows her hair over her shoulder. “You should have told me it worked,” Betty says, trying to sound casual. “We wouldn't of had to climb.”

“I didn't know,” he says, glancing at her lips. “I just hoped it did when I got down here.”

Jughead drops her hand and nods his head towards the carousel. In other factions they would give her time to heal but this is Dauntless so instead he smiles and starts to jog back where their team members are waiting. She follows along closely behind.

When they get there Veronica is picking at one of her nails leaning against the horse Jughead was next to before. Betty can see the bright glowing green flag behind her. There aren't as many people as they had arrived with. The majority of the Dauntless born initiates stand around near the carousel with an older looking Dauntless leader she recognises as Penny from the net.

“Where'd the others go?” Jughead asks her.

“Did you guys turn the wheel?” Penny says. “Because you seriously might as well of said, here I am! Come find me!” She shakes her head. “I don't wanna lose another year. Malachi won't shut up about it.”

“The wheel doesn't matter,” Jughead says. “We know where they are.”

“We?” Veronica says raising her eyebrow. She looks back and forth beneath her and Jughead.

“Yes, while the rest of you sat here doing nothing Betty climbed the Ferris wheel to look for the other team,” he says,

Veronica gives her a look and she tries to ignore it.

“What do we do now?” One of the initiates asks Jughead.

He looks at Betty with that half smile he had on the train. He's letting her make the call. Everyone's heads turn to Betty. All eyes on her. Shes not use to having the spotlight. She was going to shrug her shoulders and tell them she doesn't know, but she thinks of a plan.

“The flag is at the top of the bell tower,” Betty says. “So we should split up. Some go fight the people guarding the building so they can distract while the others go in and take the flag.”

“Sounds good to me,” Penny says clapping her hands together. “Lets get this over and done with, shall we?”

“Split up,” Betty says. “Three can come with me to the top of the bell tower.”

Veronica looks at her like she doesn't even recognise her. She doesn't blame her. Betty doesn't know this side of her either.

She ends up with Veronica, Midge and a tall brown haired Dauntless born on her team. The whole group head over to the tower and Jughead's half go and join the rest of their group in shooting the other team. She watches as Jughead hides behind a wall and shoots dead centre into Malachi's chest. He falls gritting his teeth in pain and tries shooting at Jughead, but he's too quick.

Betty and her group manage to get past, Midge stops for a moment though shooting back at someone shooting at her. She stays there, falling behind as the rest of them move on. When they get around the corner of the building The Dauntless born lifts his gun and shoots straight away already knowing someone's in there. She hears a yell and then sees Chuck gripping at his side. He takes his gun and shoots at her teammate.

Betty and Veronica run quickly past them, not wanting to waste anymore time. The stairs are pitch black and creaky as they make their way up. If someone's at the top, they definitely would have heard them. Betty's legs are longer than Veronica's so she's in front.

When she gets to the top, her eyes adjust and she notices the bell right next to the top of the stairs. Betty holds up her gun, finger on the trigger but there's a click in the distance and Betty yells as a shot of pain, worse than Reggie's punches burns in her arm. Someone shot her.

“From the window” Veronica shouts, and starts shooting towards the open rectangular whole on the other side of the bell in the wall.

Betty notices a flash of red hair as she stands behind the wall shielding herself. Cheryl. Betty holds up her gun again, the pain slowly dissipating and waits until Cheryl moves into her sight.

Cheryl re loads her gun and moves into their view. Betty was the first to shoot, getting her straight on her stomach.

She watches as Cheryl cries out in pain, bending over and Veronica runs towards the flag. Grabbing it, she waits for Betty to come over and together they wave the flag over the building for everyone to see. Veronica shouts in triumph and all the people in her team below them scream and yell in victory. She looks around and sees Jughead smiling at her from a distance. The feeling left excitement and hope in her chest and for the first time, she was excited to be apart of Dauntless.

Chapter Text

The next morning Betty trudges into the training room, yawning and sees a long line of targets against the wall with a table full of knives on it. Target practice again, she thinks. At least it won't hurt.

Malachi stands next to the table, his posture frigid. The sight of him makes her feel like there's a weight on her shoulders that shouldn't be there, like the air has been sucked out of the room. At least when he would slouch against a wall she could pretend he wasn't there.

“Tomorrow is the last day of stage one,” he says. “You will resume fighting then, but today you will be learning how to aim. Everyone pick up three knives.” His voice is deep and raspier than usual. “And listen to Jughead when he demonstrates the technique.”

No one moves.

“Now!”

They scramble for their knives. When she picks them up they feel lighter than the gun, but still foreign in her hand. It feels like she shouldn't be holding them.

“Jughead!” Malachi shouts across the room.

Jughead is leaning against a wall with an air vent to the side of him, looking bored as he smokes a cigarette. He looks attractive as ever with his legs crossed and his arms exposed. She's never smoked a cigarette before, and she's never seen him smoke one either. In her old faction- Abnegation, would never of allowed that. They are seen as waste of money for self enjoyment.

He drops the end of the cigarette and steps on it, then he walks over slowly. Picking up three knives positioning himself in front of a target.

Malachi is in a bad mood today. Everyone can tell from the poisonous look he gives Jughead. Maybe that's why Jughead's smoking, because he has to put up with Malachi being a sore loser about the game all day. Looks like he took the game more seriously than she thought.

She watches Jughead's arm as he throws the knife. Then she watches his stance, legs apart and exhaling just before he throws. He gets the target every time.

Of course he does.

“Line up!” Malachi yells.

They all go stand in front of a target and she sighs as she ends up next to Reggie. The sound of knives clanking to the floor is heard as everyone goes straight in with throwing. Malachi pacing way too quickly behind them.

Betty pulls the sleeves of her sweater down and takes her time positioning herself and lining her knife to the target. Before throwing them she practices a few times without letting go to get the hang of it.

“I think Stiff’s taken too many hits to the head!” Reggie remarks. “Remember what a knife is?”

Ignoring him, she practices again. Blocking out Reggie's comments, Malachi's pacing and the nagging feeling that Jughead is staring at her, she aims and throws the knife. It hits the target, only making it by an inch. It doesn't matter she's the first one to hit the target.

She looks to see Reggie throw a knife only for it to bounce right off. “Hey Reggie,” Betty says. “Do you know what a target is?”

Next to her, Veronica snorts and her next knife hits the target.

A half hour later, Kevin is the only one who hasn't hit the target yet. His knives clattering to the floor or bounce off the walls. While everyone goes straight to the board to collect theirs, Kevin has to hunt for his.

The next time he throws and misses Malachi marches up to him, “how slow are you, Erudite? Do you need glasses?”

Kevin's face turns red. He throws his next knife and it sails to the right hitting the wall and bouncing off in front of the other targets.

“What did you just say?” Says Malachi calmly. Too calmly.

She bites her lip. This isn't looking good.

“It- it slipped,” says Kevin.

“Then go get it,” he says gesturing his head to the knife. Everyone stops throwing and Malachi scans the initiates, his eyes cold. “Did I tell you to stop throwing?”

Everyone starts hitting the board again, but one flings off and lands just next to Kevin's. His eyes go wide.

“Go get it?” He asks. “While everyone is still throwing?”

“And?”

“And I don't want to get hit.”

“I think you should trust your fellow initiates here to aim better than you,” Malachi says smiling, his eyes stay cruel. “Go get your knife.”

Any of them would usually oblige to Malachi's demands, but Kevin's sets his jaw.

“No.”

“No?” Malachi repeats. “Are you afraid?”

“By getting stabbed by an airborne knife?” Kevin says. “Yeah, I am.”

You'd think it would be brave to stand up to Malachi, but it's cowardice to be afraid.

“Everyone stop!” Malachi shouts.

The knives stop along with all conversation. Betty grips her knife tightly.

“All of you gather around!”

Everyone walks towards the end target Kevin's currently at and they all inch around her eager to see what makes Betty's stomach turn.

“Stand in front of the target,” says Malachi.

Kevin's hands shake and his face goes pale. He walks to the target.

“Hey, Jughead.” Malachi says over his shoulder. “Give me a hand here, huh?”

Jughead walks over to Malachi. He has dark circles under his eyes, he's as tired as the rest of them.

“You're going to stand there while he throws knives,” Malachi says to Kevin. “Until you learn not to flinch.”

“Seriously Malachi? Is this necessary?” Says Jughead. He sounds bored, but his face and body are tense. Alert.

Betty clenches her hands into fists. Her nails digging into her palms. No matter how causal Jughead sounds. He's challenging Malachi, which he rarely does.

At first Malachi just stares at Jughead in silence. Jughead stares back. Her palms burn, but she ignores it.

“I'm the one with the authority,” Malachi says looking directly at Jughead. “Not you, remember?”

Jughead clenches his jaw and grips the knife so tight, his knuckles whiten. He looks over to Kevin.

Betty looks to Kevin's wide brown eyes and his shaky hands to Jughead's set jaw. Anger bubbles in her chest and bursts from her mouth: “Stop!”

Jughead turns the knife over in his hand, his fingers sliding dangerously close to the blade. He gives her such a hard look, his eyes narrowing down at her. She knows why. She's stupid for speaking up in front of Malachi. She's stupid for speaking up at all, but she can't help it.

“Anyone can stand in front of a target,” she says. “It doesn't prove anything.”

“Well it'll be easy for you to take his place then.” Malachi says simply.

That's the last thing she wants to do, but she has no other option. Weaving her way through the initiates, she feels someone shove her shoulder.

“There goes your pretty face,” Reggie hisses.

Kevin smiles at her when she walks past. She tries to smile back encouragingly, but she's not sure she did. She stands in front of the target, aligning her body so it's pressed against the wall. This will help in keeping her steady, to stop the risk of flinching or moving. How does someone prepare for knives being thrown at them? She takes a deep breath.

Jughead is taking his time as he walks over to the table, setting down the knives and lining them up neatly. He looks tense and his face is serious.

“Any day now Jones,” Malachi says, getting impatient.

She can do this. She can stay still, she tells herself as he picks up a knife aiming it to her head.

Betty wants Jughead to say something, anything to end this. Stand up for her like she stood up for Kevin, but this is Dauntless. You can't always be saved and there's no way Malachi is leaving here without Jughead throwing a knife at someone's head.

“If you flinch,” Jughead says slowly. “Then Kevin takes your place. Understand?”

She nods, clenching her hands tighter. Jughead's never sloppy, she's fine.

Jughead's eyes are still on hers as he pulls his elbow back and then throws it.

There's a flash and a thud as the knife lands on the target to her left side about half a foot away from her face.

She lets out a breath and sighs, shutting her eyes briefly. Thank God.

“You about done Stiff?” Jughead asks.

She remembers Kevin's terrified face and shaking hands. “No.”

“Eyes open then,” he says, tapping the spot between his eyebrows with the tip of the knife

It helps her focus.

He throws it and there's an audible crack as the knife slices through the wood, just at the top of the target. It's much closer than the last one. She can feel it hovering over her head.

“Come on” Jughead says. “Let someone else take the hit.”

Why is encouraging her to back down like a coward? Does he want her to fail?

“Shut up, Jughead!”

Malachi laughs, “I think you and I both know Jughead, you can throw a lot better then that.” He says, tilting his head for a better angle. “Just a little trim,” he adds smiling at Betty. It's a unnerving smile that makes her look away.

He's taunting her. Making her feel afraid. Malachi could just glance at her and she'll automatically feel afraid.

She swallows hard, looking at Jughead for reassurance. There's a glint in his eye as he twists the knife.

“A trim?” Jughead replies, throwing and catching it in one hand.

“Yeah why not?”

Betty wasn't ready for it this time as he throws the knife straight at her. She hears the sound of the knife slicing through the target board loud next to her ear. A few people gasp, not yet expecting it either. The metal blade is cold against her cheek, but then comes the burn.

Betty moves away from the board touching her ear that's now wet. She looks down to see her fingers red with blood.

“Points for bravery Stiff, but not as many as you lost for opening your mouth!” Malachi yells, filling the silence as everyone watches Betty. “Lunch break starts now!”

She waits till everyone makes it to the door before she walks past Jughead. He's putting away the knives still on the table. The ones that were probably going to be thrown at her.

She stops at the table and stares at him.

“Are you okay?” He asks quietly.

This guy is something else entirely.

“Am I okay? You cut me!” She yells. She can't help it, she trusted him.

“You seriously think he was going to let you leave without a scratch?”

Betty scoffs, “oh so should I be thanking you then?”

“Yeah, I was helping you.”

Helping her?

She grits her teeth. “Seriously Jughead? You stabbed me and taunted me. That's hardly helping.”

“You know, I'm getting a little tired of you not catching on!”

He glares at her and she glares back.

“Catching on? Catch on to what? The fact that your trying to prove how tough you are in front of Malachi? That your sadistic, just like he is.”

“I'm not sadistic.” He doesn't yell. She wishes he would yell. It would intimidate her less. He leans his face closer to hers, “if I wanted to hurt you, don't you think I would have already?”

He slams the knife into the bench. So hard that it sticks up right, the handle pointing to the ceiling then he crosses the room. She steps back, not expecting the movement.

“I—” she starts to shout, but it's too late. He's already gone. She screams through gritted teeth, frustrated and wipes some of the blood off her ear.

———————————

Today is the day before Visiting Day, where her parents will either come visit her or not. Which is worse? She doesn't know. Anxiety creeps in as she thinks about standing in the Pit alone, her parents not showing up.

She tries to pull her top over her head, but it's too tight in the chest. She must of picked up Veronica's instead. Betty stands there in the bathroom in only a skirt and bra as she contemplates what to do. She can't put the top on. It doesn't fit.

She holds it in front of her for some coverage and walks back to the dorm, praying that no one is in there.

When she walks into the room, her stomach drops. Reggie, Cheryl and Chuck are all standing in the corner laughing. When they look up as she walks in, they start snickering.

She walks over to her bed, pretending they aren't there and fumbles through the draw for the dress Veronica made her get. Her hand pressing the top hard to her chest, she stands up, and right behind her is Reggie.

She jumps back, almost tripping over Veronica's bed. She tries to slip pass him but he he leans his hand on the bunk, blocking her from moving. She should of known he wouldn't let her get way easy.

“Didn't realise you were so slim Stiff.”

“Get away from me,” she says, her voice steady.

“This isn't the Hub, we don't follow Stiffs orders around here,” he says. Eyes tracing the length of her body. He does it excruciatingly slow. The others come in and stand behind him, eyeing her too like they are about to prey on there next meal. It reminds her of the dog from the aptitude test.

This is going to be bad.

She needs to get out of here.

She sees a clear path under Reggie's arm. If she can duck under it, she'll make it to the door.

“Look at her,” Cheryl teases. “She's practically a child.”

“Oh I don't know about that,” Chuck says looking from her long legs to her chest. “She could be hiding something under that top.”

Now.

Betty ducks under Reggie's arm, but she feels him grab ahold of the top covering her and yanks it out of her hands. It pulls her back and the air is suddenly cold on her skin. She hears Chuck whistling and the rest of them laughing. Anger rips at Betty's chest and she picks up the dress fallen on the floor. She feels nails dig into her skin on her back and realises Cheryl grabbed the hook of her bra. She lets it go and it slaps loudly against her back.

More laughter erupts the room and she just runs out of the room as fast as she can back to the hallway and then to the bathroom. She leans against the door, breathing hard and closes her eyes.

It doesn't matter, I don't care.

A sob bursts from her mouth, and she slaps her hand over her lips to contain it. It doesn’t matter what they saw. She shakes her head like the motion is supposed to make it true.

With shaking hands she gets dressed. God knows how she's supposed to fight in a dress, but what's the point in caring what they see now? The dress is plain black with a v neck and tight at the waist, but a line at the bottom.

Once the urge to cry is gone, she feels something hot and violent in her stomach, like she wants to hurt them.

She stares at her green eyes in the mirror. She will.

She goes straight to the training room, probably already late. She hopes she gets paired with Reggie.

“Where were you this morning?” Veronica asks as Betty walks in.

She squints to see the names on the screen, but the space next to her name is blank.

“I got held up,” Betty says.

Jughead stands in front of the screen and presses something. Please be Reggie, please be Reggie

“Are you okay?” Archie asks. “You look a little…”

“A little what?”

Jughead moves away and the name next to hers is Cheryl. Not Reggie, but good enough.

“On edge,” says Archie.

Her fight is second in the list which means she has to watch Reggie and Moose fight first. They are already standing in the arena circling each other. Unfortunately it'll be a quick and easy fight for Reggie. Moose isn't much of a fighter and goes down after a few hits.

Kevin and Veronica are after her fight and Betty bets on Veronica winning.

“Go easy on me okay?” Kevin asks.

“I make no promises,” she replies.

She looks at the ring and sees Moose trying to kick Reggie and missing. She looks over to Jughead standing with his arms crossed, eyes off in the distance bored.

She stares at the board and tries to predict he outcome of every fight. It doesn't take long. She starts to think about Cheryl and remembers her fight with Veronica. Veronica lost which means she's good. She has a powerful punch, but doesn't move her body much. Betty can't let her get a punch in.

As predicted Moose falls to ground and doesn't get back up after a few hits. Reggie steps out of the arena smug like he always looks when he wins, and Jughead presses his name for winning.

By the time Moose gets himself up off the floor with the help of Archie and his girlfriend Ginger, it's her turn fight Cheryl.

Cheryl saunters over onto the mat and flicks her red hair over her shoulder. Without looking at anyone or anything except the centre on the room, Betty walks over. The anger from this morning hardly faded, but she thinks about how cold the air was on her skin and how exposed she felt when Cheryl helped them. Look at her. She's a child.

Cheryl stands across from her smirking, “what cup size are you again?” She says. “Your really pale Stiff.”

She'll make the first move. She always does.

Betty waits for her to launch herself forward and throw her weight into a punch. There it is. Betty ducks in time and drives her fist into Cheryl's stomach. Right below her belly button. She makes a squealing type noise and Betty's dips out of her reach before she can get a hold of her.

“You bitch,” she says, not smirking anymore.

She runs at Betty again, but she moves out of the way. Jughead's words from the first day of training stick in her head. You need to use your whole body. Your knees and elbow for better advantage.

Cheryl punches again and Betty blocks it with her arm. The blow stings, but she barely notices. Cheryl grits her teeth and lets out a frustrated groan. She tries a sloppy kick at her side, but Betty dodges it. While her balance is off Betty shoves her elbow in her face. She moves away in time and punches Betty in the ribs. It makes her stumble back.

Regaining her breathe she looks at Cheryl's arms. There too high up, guarding her cheeks and nose, leaving her body exposed. Betty takes the opportunity and forces her fist into her stomach again. Cheryl gasps and bends over. Betty hooks her shoe under her ankle and she falls to the ground.

Her mothers disappointed face appears in her mind.

She doesn't care.

The feeling of when Cheryl slapped her bra across the skin vibrates through her body and she slams her shoe into her ribs while she's still on the floor.

Cheryl rolls to the side trying to protect herself and Betty straddles her so she can't move. She punches her in the ribs again. Practically a child. Betty punches her again, this time to the nose. Blood drips down her face. Look at her. Another punch to the cheek.

She pulls her fist back again, but Jughead grabs her under the arms and pulls off and out of the ring. She breathes heavy, through a clenched jaw. She looks at Cheryl's blood covered face. A deep red, darker and richer than her hair.

Cheryl groans wiping her face and rolling back over.

“Enough! I said,” Jughead says, sternly. “You won. Stop.”

She looks at his usually calm blue eyes, but they aren't calm anymore. They are wide. Alarmed.

“You need to control yourself,” he mutters.

“I'm fine,” she says. “I'm fine now,” she says again, more to herself.

“Take a walk Betty.”

She looks down at her knuckles now covered in blood. Looking up she notices Malachi smirking at her from across the room. If Malachi's pleased. She's definitely done something wrong.

Chapter Text

Visiting day.

Betty opens her eyes the second she remembers. Her heart leaps and plummets when she sees Cheryl limping out the door with medical tape on her face. She looks around the room quickly to check if Reggie and Chuck are still in there before she gets changed.

Their not so she gets dressed and doesn't even bother worrying if the other initiates see her in her underwear, she doesn't care. Not anymore.

They all dress in silence, not even Veronica smiles. They all know what might go down at the Pit. Scanning faces until they realise that no one belongs to them.

Betty makes her bed, throwing the covers over neatly and aligning her pillows just as Malachi walks in.

“Attention!” he announces, flicking a lock of dark hair from his eyes. “I want to give you some advice about today. If by some miracle your families do come to visit you…” He scans their faces and smirks. “…which I doubt, it is best not to seem too attached. That will make it easier for you, and easier for them. We also take the phrase ‘faction before blood’ very seriously here. Attachment to your family suggests you aren’t entirely pleased with your faction, which would be shameful. Understand?”

Betty understands. She heard the threat in his voice. The only part of that speech that mattered was faction before blood. Dauntless are there family now, not them.

On her way out of the dormitory, Malachi stops her.

“I may have underestimated you Stiff,” he says. “You did well yesterday.”

She stares up at him. For the first time since beating Cheryl, she feels guilty for what she did.

“Thank you,” she says hastily, slipping out of the dorm.

Through the dim lighting of the hallway, Betty sees Veronica and Archie walking ahead of her. Archie laughs at a joke Veronica probably made. She doesn't try to catch up. For some reason she feels like it would be a mistake to interrupt them.

Instead she looks around for Kevin. He would be making some joke about how hot Archie's abs are by now, but he's nowhere to be seen. She didn't even see him in the dormitory. Maybe he's already there.

Betty starts to feel nervous again, wiping her hands on her dress. She got a different dress after her fight with Cheryl because the blood ruined it. It didn't feel right keeping it. She runs her hands through her ponytail. Is she covered up? Her dress is too short and the neckline is too low. They will never approve.

Who cares if they approve? This is her faction now. They are her clothes that her faction wears. Alice Cooper can't control her anymore. She thinks about what her parents will say if they see her.
Dauntless Betty? Seriously? They have the highest percentage of criminals. Chaotic.

Clusters of families stand in the Pit floor. Most of them Dauntless with their initiates. All tattoos, piercings and dyed hair. She sees Cheryl and Reggie sitting alone in the corner. She tries to suppress a smile, obviously their parents didn't show up.

But Chucks did. He stands next to a presentable couple with large smiles and a warm welcome as they greet their son. Dressed in black pants and white shirts. Do they know what kind of a person he is?

The again, what kind of a person is she?

Across the room Betty notices Archie hugging a man dressed casually in brown and red. It's his father. He has a kind smile, just like Archie's.

Next to him, Veronica is standing with a couple that has to be her parents. Tan with expensive looking outfits, all in black and white. Veronica's mother wears heels and Betty only wanders how she feels walking around Dauntless in those.

Betty looks around again, trying to see if she can find Kevin throughout the crowd. Maybe he's already in the dining hall.

Should she even bother looking for her parents? She could just go back to the dormitory.

Then Betty sees her. Her mother standing along the railing, hands clasped together in her grey dress and cardigan. She's never looked more out of place. Betty starts towards her. She came, she came for her.

Betty walks faster and her mother turns around. For a second she just stares and then comes towards her for a hug. Her mother smells like soap and laundry detergent.

The hug doesn't last long. Her mother pulls away keeping Betty's hands in hers. She smiles with closed lips, like she always does. Betty wills herself not to cry, blinking back the moisture in her eyes.

“Well look at you,” she says. “You've filled out.” She looks at her wrist where her tattoo is and quickly glances away, “tell me how you are.”

“You first.” The old habits come back quickly. She should always let others speak first. Not keep the conversation on herself for too long.

“Today is about you Betty. How is it?” She says seriously.

Betty thinks about her leaving the Choosing Ceremony, about leaving her parents. The look on her fathers face when she walked with the Dauntless crowd out of their lives.

“Dad didn't come.” She feels a pulse in her throat.

“About that,” she says hesitant. “He had to work.”

Betty looks down. “You can tell me if he didn't want to come.”

“Your father…” she starts. “He's been selfish lately. It doesn't mean he doesn't love you though.”

Selfish? What on earth for. She must be angry to be calling her husband that in public. Abnegation would never be caught dead talking about other people like that.

“What about Charles?” Betty asks. “Will you visit him?”

“I wish I could, but Erudite have prohibited all Abnegation visitors from the building. If I tried I would be removed from the premises.”

“What?” Betty demands. “That's terrible. Why would they do that?”

“Tension between the two factions are worse than ever right now,” she says bitterly.

Betty thinks about her brother standing alone in a crowd of initiates waiting for her mother to show up. It brings pain to her chest. She's still mad for all the secrets he kept from her, but she still doesn't want him to get hurt.

“That's terrible,” Betty repeats, looking towards the chasm.

Standing alone, looking over the edge is Jughead. Although he isn't an initiate anymore they use this day to come together with their families. Either Jughead's family doesn't like to come together or he wasn't originally Dauntless. What faction could he have come from?

Her mother looks over her shoulder to her right, following Betty's line of sight. “That's my instructor,” Betty says leaning closer. “He's kind of intimidating.”

“He's handsome,” her mother says.

Betty finds herself nodding without thinking. Her mother laughs and looks at Betty. She wants to suggest to go some place else, but just as she is about to say something Jughead turns around.

His eyes widen at the sight of her mother. She offers him her hand.

“Hello, I'm Alice. Elizabeth’s mother.” She says.

Betty cringes at the use of her full name. She's also stunned at the sight of her mother shaking hands with someone. Jughead eases his hand into hers. He looks stiff as he shakes it twice. The gesture looks unnatural for both of them. No, Jughead is not Dauntless.

“Jughead,” he says. “It's nice to meet you.”

“Jug-head?” Her mother repeats. “Is that a nickname?”

Betty remembers his temper the first time Veronica mentioned his strange name.

“Yes.” He doesn't elaborate. What's his real name then? “Your daughter is doing well here at Dauntless. I've overseen her training.”

Since when did “overseeing” mean scolding and throwing knives at someone?

“That's good,” she responds. “I've heard a bit about Dauntless initiation. I was worried about her.”

He looks at Betty. His eyes tracing down her face all the way from her eyes, to her nose, to her lips. Then he says, “you shouldn't worry.”

She can't keep the heat from rushing to her cheeks. She hopes it isn't noticeable.

Is he just reassuring her because of her mother or did he really believe it? And what did that look mean?

Her mother tilts her head, “you look familiar, Jug-head.”

“I can't imagine why,” he says, his voice suddenly cold. “I don't associate with Abnegation.”

Betty rolls her eyes.

Her mother laughs. “Few people do these days. I don't take it personally.”

His shoulders relax a little, “well I'll leave you to your reunion.” He glances at Betty one more time before he walks away.

Her mother just stares at his retreating form. The sound of the chasm fills Betty's ears. Maybe he was Erudite? Which explains why he doesn't like Abnegation. Or maybe he just believes in the articles written about them. But it was kind of him to tell her he thought she was doing well, although she knew he didn't actually believe it.

“Is he always like that?” He mother asks.

“Worse.”

Her mother doesn't even look around the place when she starts walking away from the chasm, like it's something she does everyday. They walk past the other initiates and she hears someone scoff next to her. She looks to see a tall man with a blue and white suit and a woman with a dark blue dress standing next to Reggie. Looks like his family showed up after all. He's cocking an eyebrow and a girl a lot shorter than them is standing, crossing her arms and frowning.

“What the hell are Abnegation doing here?” The younger girl snaps.

“Cara,” the woman says, quietly. Pathetically. If that was supposed to be a warning. It didn't work.

“Do you know what she is?” She points at Betty's mother. “She’s a council member’s wife is what she is. She runs the ‘volunteer agency’ that supposedly help the factionless. You think I don’t know that you’re just hoarding goods to distribute to your own faction while we don’t get fresh food for a month.”

Betty's mother keeps her calm, “l believe your mistaken.”

“Mistaken? Ha. You're just as selfish as the rest of us,” Cara says bitterly. “No one believes the innocence.”

“Don't speak to her like that,” Betty says, gritting her teeth. “Or I swear to god I'll break your nose.”

“Break her nose?” Reggie demands. “I'll break your whole fucking face.”

Betty watches as Reggie's parents just stand there and say nothing. Not even batting an eyelid at the conversation their children are having at an adult in front of them. The father looks bored as he checks his watch and yawns.

“Your not breaking anyone's nose,” her mother says. She sounds gentle but the force as she grabs Betty's arm and pulls her away from them makes her wince in pain. She takes her towards the dining hall and just before she reaches it, she turns left and leads them into a hallway Betty hasn't even explored yet.

“Mom,” Betty says. “Mom, how do you know where your going?”

“Enough questions,” she snaps. She's speaking to Betty as if she was still in Abnegation. “How have the fights been? Where are you ranked?”

“Ranked? Fights? How do you even—”

“It's not top secret information you know.”

Betty doesn't know how hard it is to find out about other factions initiation processes, but she knows it wouldn't be easy to find out. They like to keep it unknown to the public so it doesn't mess with your decision at the Choosing Ceremony.

“I think I'm near the bottom,” Betty says finally.

“Good,” she says. “That's good. They don't look too closely at the bottom. Now this is very important Elizabeth, what were your aptitude test results?”

Betty feels like her heart just skipped a beat. Toni's warning pulsing through her head. Don't tell anyone. Not even your parents. She should tell her she got Abnegation, because that's what she put in the system.

“It was inconclusive,” Betty blurts out.

It's okay.

She's her mother.

She can trust her.

“I had a feeling you were,” she sighs. She doesn't look mad though. It's a look of understanding. “You have to be very careful during the next stage of initiation Elizabeth. You need to stay in the middle of the pack. You can't draw attention to yourself. Do you understand?”

“What's going on?”

“Just listen to me alright. Be careful,” she says, gripping Betty's hands tighter.

She looks over her shoulder at the people moving into the dining hall. laughter and muffled conversations going past. The dim lighting helps in preventing anyone from recognising them.

“I have to go,” she says turning back to Betty. “Look. I can't visit your brother, but you can. When initiation is over go find him and tell him to research the serum. Okay? Can you do that?”

“Not unless you explain some of this to me, Mom!” Betty crosses her arms. “You want me to go hang out at the Erudite compound for the day, you better give me a reason!”

“I can't. I'm sorry,” she says letting go of her hands before moving away. “I should leave now. It'll look better if we don't seem too attached. I'll hope to see you soon Betty.”

She just called her Betty. She's never done that before. The lump in her throat is hard to swallow.

“I don't care what I look like the them,” Betty says.

“You should, they're monitoring you.”

She walks away then, and Betty is too stunned to follow her. She watches as her mother turns the corner so confidently and she's gone.

Betty stands alone in the dim light.

She's been here before, she knows where she is going because her mother was Dauntless.

————————

That afternoon Betty finds herself going back to the dormitory while everyone else spends time with their families.

When she enters the room, Kevin is sitting on the bed, his head in his hands.

“Kevin!” Betty says. “There you are. I've been looking around for you actually.”

He looks up for a second and then his posture slouches again.

Betty comes over to sit with him on the bed. She shoves his shoulder and he moves over for her.

“What's going on?” She asks, concerned by his unusual quietness.

“I bailed on going to the Pit today,” he says. His voice strained. “I just… I couldn't do it Betty.”

“You didn't what to see them?”

“Didn't want them to ask how I'm going,” he says looking at the ground again.

She shuffles closer and leans her head on his shoulder. “There's nothing wrong with how your going.” She can tell he's pulling a face at her. “I'll probably be at the bottom of the list tonight too.”

He makes an exaggerated huffing sound and says, “you'll be higher than me with that last performance.”

Betty groans and Kevin laughs. “Thanks for trying to make me feel better, but I've lost pretty much every fight expect the one with Ginger.”

“I know you've lost a lot of fights by choice though, maybe you could tell them that?”

He shakes his head. “My dad was a fighter, always tried to teach me wrestling and stuff, but I wasn't as good as he was. I think I was more interested in boys at the time.” He smiles when Betty laughs. “He wanted to be apart of Dauntless, so naturally he wanted that life for me too. He would want me to stay in Erudite, but he only said that because he had to.”

“Is that why you chose Dauntless? Because of your parents?” Betty asks.

“No, I chose it because I liked that it involved protecting people and standing up for them. Like what you did for me,” he smiles. “My father was like that too. I guess I inherited it. That's what Dauntless are supposed to do right? Protect people. Not hurt them for no reason.”

Betty remembered what Jughead said about how Dauntless used to be about team work and she wanders what she would be like if she was there back then. Would she have broken Cheryl's nose or threatened Reggie's sister?

She feels a pang of guilt. “I'm sure it'll be better after initiation.”

“We will see about that tonight,” he says.

Discussing the rankings for stage one are all anyone can talk about that night. They are expected to get the results after dinner and Betty just wants to change the subject.

Her rank probably isn't as bad as it used to be after she beat Cheryl, but she still might not be top ten overall when you factor in the Dauntless born initiates.

At dinner she sits with Veronica, Kevin, and Archie at a table in the corner. They are uncomfortably close to Reggie, Chuck, and Cheryl, who are at the next table over. When conversation at their table reaches a lull, she hears every word they say. They are speculating about the ranks. What a surprise.

“You weren't allowed pets?” Archie demands. “Why not?”

“Because they're illogical,” Kevin says as if it's obvious. “Who wants an animal that literally can't even communicate properly. Plus they ruin your furniture, making everything smell bad and taking all your money when it just dies and leaves you depressed?”

Veronica and Betty meet eyes, like they usually do when Kevin and Archie bicker about something stupid.

“They're fun to have though,” Archie says in defence.

“They're smelly, but they're cute I have to admit,” Veronica joins in. Archie smiles at Veronica for agreeing.

Kevin rolls his eyes.“Then why don't you both get one if you're feeling so nostalgic?”

“Well…” Archie starts. Stabbing the meat onto his fork. “They're ruined for me. You know.. after the aptitude test.”

They exchange looks. They all know that they aren’t supposed to talk about the test, not even now that they've chosen, but for them that rule must not be as serious as it is for Betty. Her heart jumps unsteadily in her chest. For Betty that rule is protection. It keeps her from having to lie to her friends about her results. Every time she thinks the word “Divergent,” She hears Toni's warning. Don't tell anyone.

“You mean… killing the dog?” Kevin asks.

God damnit Kevin. He's the Erudite one, he knows more than any of them that they aren't supposed to talk about it.

“Yeah,” Archie says. Twisting his fork harshly.

She almost forgot. Those who got Dauntless would have stabbed the dog when it attacked. No wonder they don't want a pet dog anymore. She pulls her sleeves down and twists her fingers.

“You all had to do that too?” Veronica pipes in. “Right?”

She looks at Kevin, then to Betty. Her dark eyes narrow and she says, “you didn't.”

“Hmm?”

“You're hiding something,” she says. “You're fidgeting.”

“What?”

“In Candor,” Kevin says. “They read people's body language to know when someone is lying or keeping something from them.”

“Oh,” Betty says, scratching her neck. “Well…”

“See! There it is again,” she says pointing at Betty's hand.

Betty feels like her heart is in her hands. She needs to control her body language if she is going talk about this. She drops her hands in her lap and claps them together. Is that what honest people do? She needs to stop moving.

She won't lie about the dog. “I didn't kill the dog.”

“How did you get Dauntless then?” Archie asks narrowing his eyes at her.

She looks at him in the eye and says evenly, “I didn't. I got Abnegation.”

It's half true. If he were to look at the system that's what Toni put her down as. And technically she got Abnegation. She just got Erudite and Dauntless too. She keeps her eyes on Archie's for a few seconds before she shrugs and plays with her food again.

“But you chose Dauntless anyway?” Veronica says. “Why?”

“I told you, it's because of the food” Betty smirks, thinking back to day one when she had never had a hamburger before.

“Oh my god I remember that!” She exclaims.

Veronica dives straight into re telling the story although both Archie and Kevin were both there. They all laugh and her body starts to relax again. But she still feels heavy. She doesn't like lying to her friends, it creates barriers that she doesn't need.

When dinner is finished she finds it hard to will herself not to sprint back to the training room, knowing that the ranks will be there. She just wants to rip the bandaid off and get it over and done with.

When she reaches the training room everybody is already there crowded around. Everyone is surrounding Jughead as he stands in front of the blank screen where the rankings will be shown.

“For those of you who just came in, I’m explaining how the ranks are determined,” Jughead says. “After the first round of fights, we ranked you according to your skill level. The number of points you earn depends on your skill level and the skill level of the person you beat. You earn more points for improving and more points for beating someone of a high skill level. I don’t reward preying on the weak. That is cowardice.”

Betty thinks she saw him look at Reggie at the last line, but his eyes don't stay long enough to be sure.

“If you have a high rank, you can lose points for losing against a low ranked opponent.”

Cheryl makes a noise, that sounds like a snort or a grumble.

“Stage two of training is weighted more heavily than stage one, because it is closer to overcoming cowardice,” he says.

Betty shifts from each foot and tries to get a good look at Jughead. She's at the back and can't really see over all the tall guys. When she does she looks away. He's already looking at her, probably drawn to her nervous movement.

“We will announce the cuts tomorrow,” he says and moves to the side to press something on the computer.

The screen flickers on and the rankings are displayed.

Reggie

Archie

Chuck

Veronica

Cheryl

Betty

Sixth? She can be sixth? Beating Cheryl must of boosted her ranks more than she thought. And losing to Betty must have lowered hers. She looks at the end of the list.

Moose

Kevin

Ginger

Kevin isn't dead last, but endless some of the Dauntless born initiates failed there initiation, then he will be factionless.

Betty glances at Veronica. She's tilting her head at the screen. Shocked. The silence in the room is deafening and uneasy, like a rock about to fall off a ledge.

And then it falls.

“What?” Cheryl demands. “I beat her! I beat her in minutes and I'm ranked below her?”

“Yeah,” says Veronica smug. “And?”

“If you want a high rank, I suggest not losing to low ranked opponents,” says Jughead, his voice cold as it cuts through the mumbling of the rest of them. The words sting a little to Betty, because she knows he's referring to her and he just walks past her without another glance.

“You!” Cheryl yells, her eyes narrowing at Betty. “You are going to pay for this.”

Betty expects her to lunge or throw a punch, but nothing comes. She just turns on her heels and stalks off to the dormitory. It almost makes it ten times worse knowing this isn't the worse that will happen. Betty would of preferred if she just hit her or something, because then it would be over with. Now she has to wait for Cheryl to plan something evil. Leaving Betty on her guard.

Reggie looks awfully smug as he talks himself up with Chuck back to the dormitory and Moose looks furious as he glares at the screen. His face unusually pale.

Archie and Veronica clap hands, grinning at each other and then Archie's hand which is bigger than her shoulder blade claps her on the back.

“Look at you. Number six,” Archie says, his smile widening.

“Uh, hello I'm looking at 2nd place here,” Betty replies. She wanted to say sixth place still might not be good enough. Because it might not be, but why kill the mood?

“We should celebrate,” he suggests.

“Lets go then,” Veronica says, linking her arm in Kevin's. “Even you Kev. No matter where your name is on that board. You still killed it.”

“I think we should save the partying until tomorrow night,” Kevin says, his voice still flat like earlier.

He walks off alone back to the dorm and the rest of them follow. In the dark hallways it's easier to forget about Kevin's rankings and Cheryl's revenge. But lingering in the back of her mind is the fact that Veronica and Archie are her competitors now. If she wants to fight her way to top ten. She'll need to beat them first.

She just hopes it won't result in betraying them.

That night Betty has trouble falling asleep. Will Kevin be cut? She really hopes not. He's become one of her best friends. Someone she knows she'll always have. Especially when Veronica and Archie start flirting and they become a third wheel. Betty tries to divert her mind, but it just goes to her family instead. She hates thinking about her family.

If her mother was really Dauntless, then why did she choose Abnegation? Because of its peace and acceptance? She wishes she could ask someone what she was like when she was younger, but she doesn't even know who she would ask.

Betty buries her face in the pillow. Her mother wanted to research about the serum. Was it because she was Divergent? Betty sighs, there's a million questions left unanswered and she's not sure if there will ever be a time when she'll know.

It was that night that Betty wakes to the horrific sound of someone screaming blue murder in her dormitory. She had barely fallen asleep when she heard someone moving around, but didn't think anything of it. The next thing she knows she's sitting up startled by the sound of someone screaming in pain. It makes Betty's heart stop, but she gets up walking slowly towards the sound when someone shouts, “turn on the lights!”

Betty feels like she is in a trance. She moves with caution trying not to trip over anything and then the light comes on.

There lying on the floor is none other than Chuck Clayton yelling as he presses his hand to his stomach. A knife larger than his hand is sticking up from just next to his belly button. His shirt drenched in blood and pooling around him.

There's more screams, more high pitches than Chucks. She realises its Cheryl. Someone else starts screaming and there's yelling for help. She think it might be Ginger. Reggie runs out of the room for help.

Betty's Abnegation instincts kick in and she kneels next to chuck. Her legs now submerged in the blood. She absolutely despises him and his passé, but no one seems to be doing anything so she's his only hope.

“Lie still,” Betty says as she firmly places her hand on his chest. She feels calm, but she can't hear anything. Her head feels like someone just pushed it underwater.

“Someone do something!” He screams.

His body starts thrashing around so she says it louder, sterner. “I said, lie still.”

Betty smells something foul. She thinks someone may have vomited.

“Get it out!” He yells. “Get it out of me!”

He grips the handle and Betty has to stop herself from screaming. “No,” she snaps. “You have to let the doctor take it out. Don't touch it.”

Cheryl gets beside Chuck now running her hands through his hair. “Reggie's gone to get help. They're coming.”

Betty gets up then, her knees soaked from the blood. The smell of vomit fills her nose and she thinks she might vomit too. The nurse finally comes and Reggie helps them take him out.

She looks around the room and there's two faces missing.

Moose and Ginger.

Veronica walks Betty to the bathroom and Betty changes her clothes and washes off the blood. Veronica stands by the door and waits. She doesn't say anything and Betty's glad. There's not much to say.

There's blood all over her hands as she scrubs them. Once again she finds herself looking at someone else's blood, not hers.

Betty throws away the soiled clothes and finally as they are walking back to the dormitory Veronica speaks, “the only person that wasn't there when they turned on the lights was Moose.”

“I know,” Betty says as they get to the door.

“Do we say something?”

“Do you really think Dauntless would even do anything?” Betty says. “After they hung you over the chasm, made us beat each other unconscious? I mean that could have happened to me if Jughead had a shit aim.”

Veronica doesn't say anything.

Betty picks up the cleaning appliances and starts on the floor. Someone's got to do it and since she won't be sleeping for the next few nights. It might as well be her. Veronica helps, bringing over new paper towels and throwing out the old ones. Reggie doesn't come back and neither does Moose or Ginger.

No one sleeps much that night.

“This might sound weird,” Archie says. “But I wish we didn't have the day off today.”

Betty nods. She knows what he means. Having something to do would distract her, and she could use a distraction right now.

Betty hasn't spent much time with Archie, but Veronica and Kevin are sleeping in the dormitory and they don't want to be in that room any longer than they have to. He didn't tell her that, but she knows.

Betty still can't wrap her head around the idea that it might of been Moose. They are all quietly accusing him because he was the only one that wasn't present when it happened, but for all they know it could have been Reggie. It still doesn't make sense as to why, but Reggie is a cruel person so anything is possible.

The Dauntless generally have rules about that kind of attack on someone but Betty has a feeling that with Malachi in charge, they might go unenforced.

“I don't even know what to think,” Archie says confused. “I just don't believe it was Moose.”

Betty knows where he's coming from. He's not a bad guy and her heart pangs for Archie because she knows he's friends with Moose.

“I have no idea anymore,” Betty sighs. “I'm sure Kevin will be able to feed us with gossip later.”

“Speaking of feeding. Can we go eat cake or something?”

Betty smiles, “okay.”

Later when they return to the dormitory, Moose and Gingers area has been whipped clean. Their stuff cleared.

“You'll never believe what just happened,” Kevin says, his arms flailing about.

“What?” Archie asks, his face pained like he's dreading what's coming next.

“Moose was the one who stabbed Chuck, like we thought,” Kevin says. “It turns out that Chuck has been having an affair with Ginger while she was still dating Moose.”

“Moose totally flipped out,” Veronica adds. “That's why he looked so mad yesterday.”

Archie's shaking his head in disbelief.

“Yeah, but it gets worse,” says Kevin. “Moose found out about it because apparently Chuck sexually assaulted Ginger when she didn't want to do anything with him and she didn't know who to tell, so she told Moose.”

Sexually assaulted? Cheating?

Chuck is starting to look worse than Reggie.

“That's horrible. Is that why Moose did it?” Betty asks. “Because Chuck…”

“We think so.”

“Moose was told to leave and Ginger was cut from initiation anyway, as well as two other Dauntless people. I forgot their names, but because Moose was eliminated they didn't cut Kevin,” Veronica says.

Betty nods, still completely shocked at this new found information. “At least something good came out of it.”

“So what happens to Moose now?” Archie sighs. “Like where will he go?”

“He's factionless now Archie,” Veronica says gently, touching his arm. “I'm sorry.”

Betty looks over to the screen and notices Moose and Gingers name crossed out with a red marker. They started the initiation with nine initiates.

Now they have seven.

——————

It's noon, lunchtime.

Betty sits in a hallway she doesn't recognise. She walked there because she needed to get away from the dormitory. Maybe if she brings her bedding there, she will never have to go to the dormitory again. It may be her imagination, but it still smells like blood, even though she scrubbed the floor until her hands were sore, and someone poured bleach on it this morning.

She pinches the bridge of her nose. Willing for the smell to leave.

Betty hears footsteps coming down the hallway, echoing on the stone floor. She looks down at her black high tops. Fiddling with the laces. Sometimes she would wear her grey shoes, because she didn't eat to get rid of them. They brought her back to Abnegation. Made her feel like she had a piece of her old home with her.

“Betty?”

She looks up to see Fangs standing above her. He waves along the other initiates and they give her a look, but keep moving.

“You okay?” He asks.

“I had a difficult night.”

“Oh yeah, I heard about that Chuck guy.” Fangs looks down the hallway. He watches as the Dauntless born initiates turn down a corridor. Then he grins a little. “You wanna get out of here?”

“What?” Betty asks. “Where?”

“To a little Dauntless tradition,” he says. “Come on, we need to hurry.” He reaches out his hand and Betty grabs on to it.

Well she isn't just going to sit and mope around here all day.

She pushes herself to her feet with the help of Fangs and they jog down the hallway to catch up with the others.

“They only really let Dauntless initiates come endless they have siblings,” Fangs tells her. “So just act like you belong.”

“What are we doing?”

“Something dangerous,” he smirks. Excitement bubbles in Betty's chest at the thought of doing something reckless and fun like she always thought they did when she was in school. She might only have a few weeks left. Might as well make the most of it.

They slow once they reach the initiates.

“What's the Stiff doing here?” Someone with metal sticking through his nose says.

Fangs gives him a look. “She just saw someone get stabbed in the eye. Give her a break.”

He just shrugs and turns away. No one else says anything, though a few of them give her sidelong glances like they’re sizing her up. The Dauntless born initiates are like a pack of dogs. If she acts the wrong way, they won’t let her run with them. But for now she's safe.

They keep moving as a group and more people file in. They definitely all can't be related to someone, but some look like initiates in her group and others must be older, new members from last year and the year before. Probably all Dauntless born.

“Lets go!” Someone shouts as he takes the stairs three at a time. He's massive and she realises that it's sweet pea leading the group. They all go up the stairs and Betty almost trips over a step, but manages to keep herself balanced. The stairs lead to the top of the glass building, above the Pit.

The light emerges all down the stair case when he opens the door and they all start lining up for the train. She feels like she's done this a million times before.

They all jog in a single pack next to the train, and in waves, members and initiates pile into the train. Fangs gets in before her, and people press behind her. She can’t make any mistakes. So she throw herself sideways, grabbing the handle on the side of the car, and hoists herself in. Fangs grabs her arm to keep her steady.

The train picks up it speed and the wind gets stronger.

“Where are we going?” She shouts over the noise.

He shrugs. “Toni never told me.”

“Toni?”

“She's like my older sister. We grew up together,” he says pointing to the pink haired girl Betty recognises.

“I've met her before,” Betty says.

He raises at eyebrow, “since when?”

Betty was going to tell him about the time at the aptitude test, but thought it was best to just keep things simple. “Tattoo parlour.”

“Oh, right.”

“It's best If you don't know,” a girl says, sitting next to her. “It would ruin the surprise.” She reaches out a hand. “I'm Kasey.”

She shakes her hand in return and she squeezes too tight and lets go too quickly. Betty will probably never be good at handshakes.

“I'm—” Betty starts to say.

“I know who you are,” she says. “You're the Stiff. Jughead told me about you.”

Jughead? She thinks she might be hearing her wrong.

Betty prays the heat in her cheeks isn't visible. “Oh? What did he say?”

She smirks. “He said you were a Stiff. Why do you ask?”

“Well If your instructor is talking about you, you'd wanna know what he is saying.” She tried to sound as casual as possible. Hoping she was telling a convincing lie. “He isn't coming is he?”

“No, he never comes to this,” she says. “They do this every year so it probably lost its appeal. Not much scares him.”

He isn't coming. Something in her deflates and she tries to ignore it as she nods. If he isn't coming she has a feeling it has something to do with what scares him. Heights. What they're about to do will probably be high up. If she talks to him enough, maybe she would know this.

“Do you know him well?” Betty asks. She's too curious. She always has been.

“Everyone knows Jughead,” she says. “I was in his initiation group, he would help train me every morning.” She scratches the back of her neck, suddenly serious. “Nice of him.”

The girl gets up, walking over to the group where Toni was standing. Her serious expression fading almost as soon as it came. Betty felt rattled at what she just said. Half confused at the idea of Jughead being “nice” and half wanting to punch her in the face for it.

The train doesn't slow down but someone shouts, “here we go!” And one by one everyone starts jumping out. Betty stands in the doorway next to Fangs. The train is going much faster than it has every other time shes jumped, but she can’t lose her nerve now, in front of all these members. So she jumps, hitting the ground hard and stumbling forward a few steps before regaining balance.

They jog to catch up with the other members, along with some other initiates who don't even look at her.

She looks around as she walks. The Hub is behind her, black against the clouds, but the buildings around her are dark and silent. That means they must be north of the bridge, where the city is abandoned.

They turn a corner and start towards one of the tallest building in North bridge. Are they going to climb it?

As they get closer, the members start to run and Fangs and Betty jog to catch up to them. Jostling one another with their elbows, they push through a set of doors at the building’s base. The glass in one of them is broken, so it is just a frame. Betty steps through it instead of opening it and follows the members through an eerie, dark entryway, crunching broken glass beneath her feet.

She expects the, to go up the stairs, but they stop at the elevator.

When the elevator door opens Toni turns around to see Fangs and notices Betty. She smiles at her briefly before following the crowd inside.

“What floor?” Midge asks. Betty recognises her from capture the flag with Jughead.

“One hundred.” Betty says.

“How would you know?”

“Midge come on,” Fangs says. “Be nice for once.”

“Were in a hundred story building with a bunch of Dauntless,” Betty says. “How do you not know?”

She doesn't say anything as she jams her thumb into the button and the elevator creaks, moving them all up to the top floor. Betty sways as she watches the numbers go up. Twenty, thirty. Fifty sixty. Ninety. One hundred and the doors swing open.

“I wonder how we will get to the roof from—” Fangs starts, but stops as wind gushes in from a gaping hole in the hundredth floor.

Sweet Pea is the first to grab the ladder and starts climbing to the top. Once he gets there he holds it down for the next person.

Betty starts to contemplate whether this is a suicide mission disguised as a game.

Betty climbs the ladder after Fangs. It reminds her of the metal rungs on the Ferris wheel with Jughead at her heels. She still remembers the feeling of his hands on her hip, how they kept her from falling. She almost misses a step. Stupid.

When she gets to the top, the view of the city is incredible. It's dark at night, but still beautiful. The wind is so loud, all she can do it hear and feel nothing else. She notices Fangs pointing to something. Attached to one of the poles is a cable as thick as her arm. On the ground is a pile of black slings made of tough fabric, large enough to hold a human being. Sweet Pea grabs one and attaches it to a pulley that hangs from the steel cable.

The cable goes down towards the city and is so long that you can't see it in the distance, where it ends. This could actually be a flying fox that leads her to her death and she doesn't even know it.

There about to jump off a building a thousand feet up.

“Oh my god,” says Fangs.

All Betty can do is nod.

Kasey is the first person to get in the sling. She wriggles forward on her stomach until most of her body is supported by black fabric. Then Sweet Pea pulls a strap across her shoulders, the small of her back, and the top of her thighs. He pulls her, in the sling, to the edge of the building and counts down from five. Kasey gives a thumbs-up as he shoves her forward, into nothingness.

Betty steps to the front to watch as she is supported as she goes down. Which is a good sign.

The members whoop and pump their fists and form a line, some shoving one another out of the way to get a better place. Somehow Betty is the second in line, right in front of Fangs.

Her heart pounds as Sweet Pea gets another sling and attaches it to the cable. Her hands shake as she tries to pull herself into it.

“Don't worry,” Sweet Pea says right next to her ear. He takes her arm and helps her get in. Face first.

He tightens her midsection and slides her to the edge of the roof. She looks down at the buildings, all the way to sidewalks. She is a fool for doing this. She's also a fool for enjoying the feeling of her heart pounding so hard against her chest.

“I'm impressed Stiff,” Sweet Pea says. “I thought you would be screaming and crying by now.”

“I told you,” Fangs says behind her. “She's Dauntless through and through, now hurry up and get on with it.”

“Patience Fangs. I might not tighten your traps enough,” Sweet Pea smirks as he pulls her back. “Ready, set—,”

He releases the sling before he even says “go.” The wind is so intense it makes her eyes water and she forgets about Sweet Pea, about Fangs, Jughead and her family. She only hears metal against metal and the incredible sensation like she's flying as she watches the city go past next to her. So high up.

Her heart beats so hard it hurts, and she can’t scream, she can’t breathe, but she also feels everything, every vein and every fiber, every bone and every nerve, all awake and buzzing in her body as if charged with electricity. She feels nothing but adrenaline.

The ground grows later beneath her as she sees people standing at the bottom on the pavement. Pure joy fills her as she gets closer. The people are pumping the fists an yelling. She should scream but she just yells back. Louder.

She looks down as the ground smears beneath her as it slows down and soon she's hanging there, still in the sling and she runs a hand through her hair. Now teased and loose out of its ponytail. She feels someone pull her down and loosen the sling. She steps out of it laughing in hysteria. She just jumped off a building, a thousand feet up.

They all stare at her, probably mind blown that the Stiff transfer was next in line. “How does it feel?” Kasey asks smirking. She looks as free and excited as Betty feels.

“When can I go again?”

They all laugh, then look up as a blood curdling scream sounds from above them. Betty watches Fangs makes his way down.

“I bet he'll cry.”

“Look his arms are flailing.”

They all did what they did for Betty, and helped him down.

Kasey puts an arm around Betty. “I guess we can't call you Stiff anymore,” she says. “Betty.”

When they get back to the Dauntless compound Fangs and Sweet Pea as well as the rest of the Dauntless crowd all make their way down the same corridor to warehouse. The Pit is unusually quiet for an afternoon that initiates have off.

“Wait where are we going now?” Betty asks Fangs quietly.

“You my friend. Are about to experience your first Dauntless party.”

“Dauntless never miss an opportunity to party,” Sweet Pea says.

When the corridor ends and they reach the secluded warehouse they hung out in before, they all walk in as a crowd. For the first time since Betty has got there she feels like she's one of them. Standing among them.

Some of the other initiates stop and stare. She notices Veronica, Kevin and Archie gaping at her from a distance. The music is loud and room feels muggy. She remembers what Kevin meant from earlier. Save the party for tomorrow night. This is the party to celebrate passing stage one.

Sweat pea and Fangs wave her off to go find Josie and Betty makes her way over to her group.

“Where were you?” Asks Veronica. “What were you doing with them?”

“Uhh… You know Fangs and that. They just dragged me along with some of the members,” says Betty. “Didn't really want me there.”

“Well if they didn't want you there before,” Archie says. “They definitely want you there now.”

Betty tries brushing it off as nothing and just takes the drink Kevin hands her. She doesn't want to feed them anymore information, because from the way Veronica's looking at her she can tell they must feel some sort of jealousy.

“Well now that Betty finally decided to show up. Here's to surviving Dauntless,” Kevin says raising his drink.

Betty doesn't even bother asking what's in it and raises her cup too. “To surviving Dauntless.” They say in union.

Then they all take a drink. Betty watches as they down the whole cup, so Betty does too. The liquid inside almost makes her gag as it burns down her throat.

“Is it always like that?” Betty asks Kevin. She's never had alcohol before, but she at least expected it to taste even a little bit nicer than that.

“Its alcohol honey,” Kevin says patting her shoulder. “It's not supposed to taste nice.”

“I’m taking another shot,” Veronica says grabbing a tiny little cup and pouring clear liquid into it, until the the top is overflowing. The bottle reads “vodka.” She's not an idiot she knows what that means.

Kevin grabs the bottle once she puts it back down, “maybe we should slow down.”

“That's not very Dauntless of you,” Veronica says while swinging her head back, downing it all in one go.

Betty winces just thinking about the taste. Then Veronica saunters off with Archie at her heels.

“Is she okay?” Asks Betty.

“She's fine,” Kevin says. Pouring more of the liquid into her cup. “Here I'll mix it this time.”

A few hours later Betty finds herself sitting in the couch nursing her cup and watching the liquid slosh around. She lost Veronica and Archie somewhere during the night so now she was standing with Fangs and Kevin. She had to admit it was amusing watching Kevin flirt with a straight guy, she wondered if she should tell him but it looked like Fangs didn't care so she just left it.

Betty looks over her shoulder and finds Veronica talking to both Sweet Pea and Archie. Although from the scowl on Archie's face, she's clearly flirting with Sweet Pea and Archie looks miserable about it.

Betty pretends like she doesn't notice and glances around the room again to hopefully find a certain set of blue eyes and black jacket, but she can't see him anywhere. She's hates to admit that she's a little disappointed. Parties don't seem like his thing anyway.

She's not sure if it's the alcohol really starting to kick in or if she's hallucinating but she hears Fangs say, “Yeah McCoy is hunting them down, she wants to kill them.”

“Wait, Really? Wow,” Kevin replies, clearly intrigued.

Betty sits up straighter listening to the conversation.

“Yeah, they call them divergent,” Fangs says more quietly this time, afraid of being heard. “Apparently there are even a few here in Dauntless, maybe even in this room right now.”

Definitely not a hallucination.

“Wait they want to kill them?” Betty interrupts, her mouth falling open.

“Yep, McCoy said they're dangerous to our community or some shit,” Fangs shrugs.

Dangerous?

Betty looks at the people around her. She didn't think she was any different to them. She narrows her eyes, confused. “Why would they be dangerous?”

“I read a bit about them in Erudite actually. Their minds are more complex than ours. Makes them more powerful,” Kevin says, taking a swig of his drink.

Just because their minds were more complex didn't make them dangerous. Just because they thought more ways than one in different under pressure scenarios didn't make them a threat. That's no reason to kill somebody.

The room felt stuffy and suddenly the music was too loud.

Oh god, they were going to kill her. Her stomach clenched and the acid burn of alcohol trickled back up her throat. She needed to tell Toni.

“Are you alright Betty? You look a little… pale,” Fangs says wearily.

Kevin looks at her then, chuckling with his eyebrow raised. “I think someone had one to many drinks.”

Fangs joined in on the laughter, smacking her shoulder playfully. “Thatta girl, good on you, finally loosening up a little,” he smiles. Kevin gives her a look indicating the arm that lingers on Betty's shoulder. Betty doesn't think anything of it as she moves away slyly. She's not sober enough for this. She just smiles excusing herself from the group. Standing up makes her sway and so she grabs onto the couch to stop herself from tipping. She's just tired, she tells herself. She will just agree with Kevin and pretend she is drunk and head over to the bathroom.

When she's out of their sight she starts frantically looking around the room for Toni. But all she can see is a blur of black clothing. Why is the room spinning so fast?

Then Betty sees Toni's brown and pink hair near the entrance to the room only Dauntless leaders go into. The control room. No one knows what's in that room except them. She makes her way over thinking she's walking straight but from the strange look sent from Cheryl as she walks past, she thinks Kevin might be right. Betty mentally reminded herself to just say no to the drinks next time.

She finally made it to Toni stumbling a bit as she grabs onto her arm. “Toni!” She says exasperated, her breathing heavy, and her heart beating fast. Toni turns around to see who is holding onto her arm, her eyes alarmed looking from Betty to her forearm. Betty releases her grip even though it was keeping her balanced.

“Toni… its- its bad,” she slurs. She shouldn't be stuttering. Not now this is important. Focus.

Toni turns back to her group. “Yeah… I'll be right back.”

Betty looks to see who she is talking to.

Jughead and Malachi.

Of course she is.

Since when were they standing there?

Fangs recently told her that Toni is the same age as Jughead and Malachi. Three years older than her making them 19. They were even in the same initiation group, except Toni is Dauntless born and Jughead and Malachi are not. How does a 19 year old get a leadership position?

It doesn't matter.

This cannot be happening to her right now. Jughead’s brows are furrowed together creating a crease between them and his eyes look concerned as he stares down at her, arms now folded. That one piece of hair dangling over his eye. Malachi just looks amused but slightly suspicious as he twists one of his piercings in thought.

Did she really just stumble over drunk crying out for help in front of her leaders. The leaders that decided she wouldn't be cut today. She bets they regret that decision now.

It's Toni's turn to grab Betty's arm and drag her over to the outside wall of the room, where they were away from the rest of the crowd.

“What the hell was that? What happened?” Toni somehow yells in a hushed whisper.

Betty leans against the wall to stop herself from swaying. “They're are going to kill me!” Betty says, mimicking Toni's tone.

“Who- who wants to kill you?”

“McCoy and Erudite just to name a few. They want me dead cause I'm diver-”

“Shh!” Toni cuts her off covering her mouth to stop her speaking completely. “Don't ever say that in public again. Ever!”

Chapter Text

Betty’s mouth tastes like acid and her throat burns as she try’s to hold in her tears.

Turns out there are worse people drunk than Archie Andrews after all.

Malachi and Jughead look like they’re having a heated conversation. Toni follows Betty’s line of vision and Jughead glares in their direction.

Asshole.

“Let’s just get you sobered up,” Toni says, gripping her arm like she is about to drift away.

She leads Betty to the drinks bar where Veronica and Sweet-pea are dancing near by.

Veronica is enjoying the music and dancing a little too close to Sweat-pea.

At least they’re having fun, but where was Archie?

“Toni!” Fangs calls from the other side of the bar.

Overstimulated from the music and the conversations Betty starts fidgeting with her sweater and watches as Fangs saunters up to them with a plastic cup in reach.

Toni smiles, “It’s like you’ve read my mind.”

“Just looking out for a friend,” Fangs says with a faint smile on his lips as he hands the water to her. His gaze lingering on Betty.

She doesn’t want to meet his gaze. She looks around the room awkwardly. Trying to find something, anything to walk off to.

She can practically feel the alcohol burning up the food she ate today. It sizzling up to her throat.

“Maybe we can sit down Betty. You don’t look so good,” Fangs says concerned.

“No need,” someone says from behind them.

They all quickly snap their heads to see who it was and for a brief moment the colours of the lights merge together all fuzzy and blurry.

The colours formed a Jughead.

He’s leaning against the bar with some sort of brown liquor swishing around in his glass.

His face is blank. Hard to read.

How did he even get there in time? Especially when the room is spinning so fast.

“I’ll take her to her dormitory,” Jughead says swiftly.

His eyes are dark. His tone sounds dull, like Betty has just inconvenienced his evening.

Yet he is the one offering.

“I can go myself,” Betty says confidently. “I don’t need some sort of escort.”

“Sure you don’t, but you need someone to help you stand?” Jughead says smoothly as he gives his pointed look towards Toni’s arm holding Betty up.

Right.

“I’m heading out anyway. I think she needs to go as well.”

Toni didn’t move for a moment. Hesitating as she evaluates the circumstances of walking Betty to Jughead.

Toni is probably terrified Betty will blurt her entire aptitude test results to Jughead.

She doesn’t blame her.

Toni gets close to Betty’s ear and whispers so quietly she almost didn’t hear it, “you need to stop coming to me.”

Betty heard the urgency in her voice. She may as well have made not only herself, but Toni a target as well tonight if anybody heard or saw their conversation.

But she knew two people that saw. Let’s just hope they didn’t hear.

Chapter Text

As far as Betty can tell, the second stage of initiation involves sitting in a dark hallway with the other initiates, wondering what’s going to happen behind a closed door.

Last night was a blur but looking around the room everyone else looks pretty green too.

The walk to the dormitory with Jughead was quiet from memory. Betty felt too woozy to feel or think anything except holding in the liquor threatening to come up.

Her body felt heavy today and her head was pounding with a headache.

Sweat pea sits across from her, with Midge on his left and Fangs on his right. The Dauntless-born initiates and the transfers were separated during stage one, but will be training together from now on. That’s what Jughead told us before he disappeared behind the door.

“So,” says Midge, scuffing the floor with her shoe. “Which one of you is ranked first, huh?”

Her question is met with silence at first, and then Reggie clears his throat.

“Me,” he says.

“Bet I could take you.” Midge says it casually, turning the ring in her eyebrow with her fingertips. “I’m second, but I bet any of us could take you, transfer.”

Betty almost laughs. If she was still in Abnegation, her comment would be rude and out of place, but among the Dauntless, challenges like that seem common now. She is starting to expect them.

“I wouldn’t be so sure about that, if I were you,” Reggie says, his eyes glittering with the thought. “Who’s first?”

“Sweat-pea,” she says. “And I am sure. You know how many years we’ve spent preparing for this?”

If she intends to intimidate us, it works. Betty already feels colder. Smaller.

Before Reggie’s big mouth can respond, Jughead opens the door and says, “Midge.”

He beckons to her, and she walks down the hallway, the blue light at the end making her head glow blue.

So you’re first,” Archie says to Sweat-pea.

Sweat-pea shrugs. “Yeah. And?”

“And you don’t think it’s a little unfair that you’ve spent your entire life getting ready for this, and we’re expected to learn it all in a few weeks?” Archie says, his eyes narrowing.

“Not really. Stage one was about skill, sure, but no one can prepare for stage two,” he says. “At
least, so I’m told.”

No one responds to that. They sit in silence for twenty minutes. Betty counting each minute on the clock.

Then the door opens again, and Jughead calls another name.

“Reggie,” he says.

Each minute wears into her like a scrape of sandpaper. Gradually, the numbers begin to dwindle, and it’s just Betty and Cheryl and Kevin’s leg bounces, and Fangs fingers tap against his knee, and Betty tries to sit perfectly still.

She hears only muttering from the room at the end of the hallway, and she suspects this is another part of the game they like to play. Terrifying them at every opportunity.

The door opens, and Jughead beckons to her. “Betty.”

Betty stands, her back sore from sitting so long and Cheryl sticks out her leg to trip her but Betty dodged it at the last second.

Jughead touches Betty’s shoulder to guide her into the room and closes the door behind her.
When Betty sees what’s inside, she recoils immediately. Her shoulders hitting his chest.

In the room is a reclining metal chair, similar to the one she sat in during the aptitude test.
Beside it is a familiar machine, but this time the room has no mirrors and barely any light. There is a computer screen on a desk in the corner.

“Sit,” Jughead says. He squeezes her arm and nudges her forward.

“What’s the simulation?” She says, trying to keep her voice from shaking. It doesn’t work.

“Ever hear the phrase ‘face your fears’?” he says. “We’re taking that literally. The simulation will teach you to control your emotions in the midst of a frightening situation.”

Betty touches a wavering hand to her forehead.
Simulations aren’t real; they pose no real threat, so logically, she shouldn’t be afraid of them.

It takes all the willpower she has to steer herself toward the chair and sit down in it again, pressing her skull into the headrest.
The cold from the metal seeps through her clothes.

“Do you ever administer the aptitude tests?” Betty asks. He seems qualified.

“No,” he replies. “I avoid Stiffs as much as possible.”

I don’t know why someone would avoid the Abnegation. The Dauntless or the Candor, maybe, because bravery and honesty make people do strange things, but the Abnegation?

“Why?”

“Do you ask me that because you think I’ll actually answer?”

Why do you say vague things if you don’t want to be asked about them?”

His fingers brush her neck and her body tenses. A tender gesture?
No—he has to move her hair to the side.

He taps something, and she tilts her head back to see what it is. Jughead holds a syringe with a long needle in one hand, his thumb against the plunger. The liquid in the syringe is tinted orange.

“An injection?” Her mouth goes dry. She doesn’t usually mind needles, but this one is huge.

“We use a more advanced version of the simulation here,” he says, “a different serum, no wires or electrodes.”

“How does it work without wires?”

“Well, I have wires, so I can see what’s going on,” he says. “But for you, there’s a tiny transmitter in the serum that sends data to the computer.”

Of course there is.

He turns her arm over and eases the tip of the needle into the tender skin on the side of her neck. A deep ache spreads throughout her throat. Betty winces and tries to focus on his calm face.

“The serum will go into effect in sixty seconds. This simulation is different from the aptitude test,” he says. “In addition to containing the transmitter, the serum stimulates the amygdala, which is the part of the brain involved in processing negative emotions—like fear—and then induces a hallucination. The brain’s electrical activity is then transmitted to our computer. I will forward the recording to Dauntless administrators. You stay in the hallucination until you calm down—that is, lower your heart rate and control your breathing.”

Betty tries to follow his words, but her thoughts are going haywire.

She feels the trademark symptoms of fear: sweaty palms, racing heart, tightness in the chest, dry mouth, a lump in the throat, difficulty breathing.

He plants his hands on either side of her head and leans over her. “Be brave, Betty,” he whispers. “The first time is always the hardest.”

His piercing blue eyes are the last thing she sees.

Betty stands in a field of dry grass up to her knees. The air smells like smoke and burns her nostrils. Above her the sky looks like bile, and the sight of it fills Betty with anxiety, her body cringing away from it.

She hears fluttering, like the pages of a book blown by the wind, but there is no wind. The air is still and soundless apart from the flapping. A shadow swoops overhead.

Something lands on her shoulder. She feels its weight and the prick of talons and fling her arm forward. Betty tries to shake it off, her hand batting at it. She feels something smooth and light. A feather.

Betty bites her lip and looks to the side. A black bird the size of her forearm turns its head and focuses one beady black eye on her.

She grits her teeth and hits the crow again with her hand. It digs in its talons and doesn’t move. Betty cries out, more frustrated and exhausted than pained, and hits the crow with both hands, but it stays in place, one eye on her.
Thunder rumbles and she can hear the patter of rain on the ground, as the sky darkens.

Still cringing away from the crow, she looks up. A flock of crows start swarming towards her with an army of outstretched talons and open beaks, each one squawking, filling the air with it’s unbearable noise.

Betty tries to run, but cant. Her feet are firmly planted and refuse to move. She screams as they surround her, feathers flapping in her ears, beaks pecking at her shoulders, talons clinging to her clothes.
She screams until tears come from her eyes, arms flailing. Her hands hit solid bodies but it’s doing nothing for her. There’s too many. She’s all alone. They nip, they scratch and they bite at her tense body.

Betty twists and falls to the ground, covering her head with her arms. They scream against her. She opens her eyes to one of the beaks hitting her in the nose. Blood dripping down her face onto the grass and she sobs, she screams.

“Help!” she wails. “Help!”

And the crows flap harder, a roar in her ears. Her body burns, and they are everywhere, and she can’t think, she can’t breathe.

“Help,” she sobs and screams.

She’s dying; shes dying; shes dying.

But she’s not dying, and Betty starts to remember that it isn’t real, but it feels real, it feels so real. Be brave.

Jughead’s voice screams in her memory. She cries out to him, inhaling feathers and exhaling “Help!”

But there will be no help; Shes alone. Alone in the hallucination until you can calm down, his voice a distant memory, and she coughs. Her face is wet with tears, and another crow has wriggled under her arms, and she can feel the edge of its sharp beak against her mouth.

Calm down. She can’t, She can’t. Her head is throbbing.

Breathe. Its just a simulation.

Betty keeps her mouth closed. She digs her nails into her palms to feel centred. To control her own pain. It feels like it’s been hours since she was alone in the field; it has been days. She has to slow down for this to end.

Betty let’s the flapping of wings and the squawking and the pecking and the prodding continue, relaxing one muscle at a time, resigning herself to becoming a pecked carcass.

The pain overwhelms her.

Betty opens her eyes, and finds herself sitting in the metal chair.

She’s still screaming and hitting the birds to get them off of her body. Their talons wrapped around her legs, her arms-

Betty pulls her legs up to her chest and buries her face in her knees.

A hand touches her shoulder. Betty flings her arm out hitting the solid arm. “Don’t touch me!” she sobs.

“It’s over,” Jughead says. He awkwardly strokes his hand through her hair, but Betty remembers the feeling of her fathers hand through her hair when she was a little girl. And her mothers hands through her hair when she was cutting it.

She runs her hands over her arms still trying to brush the feathers off that aren’t there.

“Betty.”

She sits still as ever. The metal chair now warm on her skin.

“Betty, maybe I should go get someon-”

“No!” Betty snaps. “They can’t see me. Not like this.”

“Oh calm down,” he rolls his eyes. “There’s a back door.”

Betty protests but Jughead takes her hand and helps her up. She wipes her tears off her face and feels a wave of nausea. The echoing sound of squawking still ringing in her ears.

“Why are they doing this to us?,” Betty says. “I wasn’t aware Dauntless was into torture when I signed up.”

“Did you think overcoming your fears would be easy?” He says.

She wants to go home, but that’s not an option anymore. It’s either this death trap or factionless.

He doesn’t look at her in sympathy. He just looks at her. His eyes look black in the dim corridor and his mouth is set in a hard line.

“Learning how to think in the midst of fear,” he says, “is a lesson that everyone, even your Stiff family, needs to learn. That’s what we’re trying to teach you. If you can’t learn it, you’ll need to get the hell out of here, because we won’t want you.”

“I’m trying.” She says, her voice trembling. “But I think I’m failing.”

“How long do you think you spent in that hallucination, Betty?”

“I don’t know.” She shakes her head. “Half an hour?”

“Three minutes,” he replies. “You got out three times faster than the other initiates. Whatever you are, you’re not a failure.”

Three minutes?

He smiles a little. “Tomorrow you’ll be better at this. You’ll see.”

“Tomorrow?”

He touches her back and guides her towards the corridor. She can feel his fingertips through her shirt. The gentle pressure makes Betty forget the birds for a moment.

What was your first hallucination?” she asks, glancing at him.

“It wasn’t a ‘what’ so much as a ‘who.’” He shrugs. “It’s not important.”

“And are you over that fear now?”

“Not yet.” They reach the door at the end and he leans against the wall, “I may never be.”

“So they don’t go away?”

“Sometimes they do. And sometimes new fears replace them.” His hands slide into his leather jacket pockets. “But becoming fearless isn’t the point. That’s impossible. It’s learning how to control your fear, and how to be free from it, that’s the point.”

Betty nods. She used to think the Dauntless were fearless. That is how they seemed, anyway. But maybe what she saw as fearless was actually fear under control.

“Anyway, your fears are rarely what they appear to be in the simulation,” he adds.

“What do you mean?”

“Well, are you really afraid of crows?” he says, half smiling at her. The expression warms his eyes enough that Betty forgets he’s her instructor. He’s just a boy, talking casually, walking her to her room again. She gets Deja vu.

“When you see one, do you run away screaming?”

“No. I guess not,” she says as she thinks about stepping closer to him, not for any practical reason, but just because she wants to see what it would be like to stand that close to him; just because she wants to.

Foolish, a voice in Betty’s head says. She steps closer and leans against the wall too, tilting her head sideways to look at him like she did on the Ferris wheel. Betty knows exactly how much space there is between them. Six inches. She leans. Less than six inches. She feels warmer, like he’s giving off some kind of energy that she’s now close enough to feel.

“So what am I really afraid of?” She says.

“Only you can know.”

Betty nods slowly. There are a dozen things it could be, but shes not sure which one is right, or if there’s even one right one.

“I didn’t know becoming Dauntless would be this difficult,” she says, and a second later, Betty is surprised that she said it and admitted to it. She bites the inside of her cheek and watches Jughead carefully. Was it a mistake to tell him that?

“It wasn’t always like this, I’m told,” he says, lifting a shoulder. Betty’s admission doesn’t appear to bother him. “Being Dauntless, I mean.”

“What changed?”

“The leadership,” he says. “The person who controls training sets the standard of Dauntless behaviour. Six years ago Tall boy and the other leaders changed the training methods to make them more competitive and more brutal, said it was supposed to test people’s strength. And that changed the priorities of Dauntless as a whole. Bet you can’t guess who the leaders’ new apprentice is.”

The answer is obvious: Malachi. They trained him to be vicious, and now he will train the rest of them to be vicious too.

Betty looks at Jughead. Their training didn’t work on him.

“So if you were ranked first in your initiate class,” Betty says, “what was Malachi’s rank?”

“Second.”

“So he was their second choice for leadership and you were their first,”

“What makes you say that?”

Betty looks down as she fidgets with her sweater. “The way Malachi was acting at dinner on the first night. He seemed… Jealous, even though he has what he wants.”

Jughead doesn’t correct her. She must be right. She so badly wants to ask why he didn’t take the position the leaders offered him. And why he is so resistant to leadership when he seems to be a such a natural leader. But Betty knows how Jughead feels about personal questions.

She wipes her face one more time, and smooths out her pony tail.

“Do I look like I’ve been crying?” she says.

“Hmm.” He leans in close, narrowing his eyes like he’s inspecting her face. A smile tugs at the
corner of his mouth. It makes her smile too. They’re even closer now, so they would be breathing the same air—if Betty could remember to breathe.

“No, Betty,” he says. A more serious look replaces his smile as he adds, “You look tough as nails.”

Chapter Text

When Betty walks in, most of the other initiates—Dauntless-born and transfer alike—are crowded between the rows of bunk beds with Reggie at their centre. He holds a piece of paper in both hands.

“The mass exodus of the children of Abnegation leaders cannot be ignored or attributed to coincidence,” he reads. “The recent transfer of Elizabeth and Charles Cooper, the children of Hal Cooper, calls into question the soundness of Abnegation’s values and teachings.”

Cold creeps through Betty’s spine. Veronica, standing on the edge of the crowd, looks over her shoulder and spots Betty. She gives her a worried look. Betty can’t can’t move.

Her father. The Erudite are attacking her father.

“Why else would the children of such an important man decide that the lifestyle he has set out for them is not an admirable one?” Reggie continues reading. “Cheryl Blossom, a fellow Dauntless transfer, suggests a disturbed and abusive upbringing might be to blame. ‘I heard her talking in her sleep once,’ Cheryl says. ‘She was telling her father to stop doing something. I don’t know what it was, but it gave her nightmares.’”

So this is Cheryl’s revenge. She must have talked to an Erudite reporter.
Cheryl smiles. Her teeth at the bottom crooked. If Betty knocked them out, she might be doing her a favour.

“What?” Betty demands. Or tries to demand, but her voice comes out strangled and scratchy, and she has to clear her throat and say it again. “What?”

Reggie finally stops reading, and a few people turn around. Some, like Veronica and Kevin, look at her in a pitying way, their eyebrows drawn in, their mouths turned down at the corners. But most give Betty little smirks and eye one another suggestively. Reggie turns last, with a wide smile.

“Give me that,” Betty says, holding out her hand. Her blood runs cold.

“But I’m not done reading,” he replies, laughter in his voice. His eyes scan the paper again.
“However, perhaps the answer lies not in a moral man, but in the corrupted ideals of an entire faction. Perhaps the answer is that we have entrusted our city to a group of proselytising tyrants who do not know how to lead us out of poverty and into prosperity.”

Betty storms up to him and tries to snatch the paper from his hands, but he holds it up, high above her head so she can’t reach it unless she jumps, and she refuses to jump. Instead, she lifts her heel up and stomps as hard as she can where the bones in his foot connect to his toes. He grits his teeth to stifle a groan.

Then Betty throws herself at Cheryl, hoping the force of the impact will surprise her and knock her down, but before she can do any damage, cold hands close around her waist.

“That’s my father!” Betty screams. “My father, you coward!”

Kevin pulls Betty away from her, lifting her off the ground. Bettys breaths come fast, and she struggles to grab the paper before anyone can read another word of it. It needs to be burned; It needs to be destroyed; It has to.

Kevin drags Betty out of the room and into the hallway, his fingernails digging into her skin. Once the door shuts behind him, he lets go, and she shoves him hard.

“What? Did you think I couldn’t defend myself against that piece of Candor trash?”

“No,” says Kevin. He stands in front of the door. “I figured I’d stop you from starting a brawl in the dormitory. Calm down.”

Betty laughs a little. “Calm down? Calm down? That’s my family they’re talking about, that’s my
faction!”

“No, it’s not.” There are dark circles under his eyes; he looks exhausted. “It’s your old faction, and
there’s nothing you can do about what they say, so you might as well just ignore it.”

“Were you even listening?” The heat in her cheeks is gone, and her breaths are more even now. “Your stupid ex-faction isn’t just insulting Abnegation anymore. They’re calling for an overthrow of
the entire government.”

Kevin laughs. “No, they’re not. They’re arrogant and dull, and that’s why I left them, but they aren’t
revolutionaries. They just want more say, that’s all, and they resent Abnegation for refusing to listen to them.”

“They don’t want people to listen, they want people to agree,” Betty replies. “And you shouldn’t bully people into agreeing with you.” She touches her palms to her cheeks. “I can’t believe my brother joined them.”

“Hey. They’re not all bad,” he says sharply.

She nods, but doesn’t believe him. She can’t imagine anyone emerging from the Erudite unscathed, though Kevin seems all right.

The door opens again, and Veronica and Archie walk out. “It’s my turn to get tattooed,” she says. “Want to come with us?”

Betty smooths her pony tail and clenches her fists till her nails line up with the indents. She can’t go back into the dormitory. Even if Kevin let her, shes outnumbered in there.

The only choice is to go with them and try to forget what’s happening outside the Dauntless compound. She has enough to worry about without anxiety about her family.

Ahead of her, Archie gives Veronica a piggyback ride. She shrieks as he charges through the crowd. People give him a wide berth, when they can.

Betty feels the cool air on her shoulders due to Veronica’s persuasion to purchase a sweater that’s more off the shoulder to show off her collarbone. Betty doesn’t object to her makeover attempts anymore. Especially since she’s found herself enjoying them.

Kevin and Betty walk behind Veronica and Archie. Kevin smiles. His teeth are white and straight. “So, what was your fear today, Betty?”

“Too many crows,” she replies. “You?”

He laughs. “Too much acid.”

She doesn’t ask what that means.

Archie almost drops Veronica, and she slaps her hands around the first thing she can grab, which is his broad shoulders. At a glance, Archie seems happy, but there is something heavy about even his smiles. Betty’s worried about him.

She sees Jughead standing by the chasm, a group of people around him. He laughs so hard he has to grab the railing for balance. Judging by the bottle in his hand and the brightness of his face, he’s intoxicated, or on his way there. Betty had begun to think of Jughead as rigid, like a soldier, and forgot that he’s nineteen.

“Uh-oh,” says Kevin dramatically. “Instructor alert.”

“At least it’s not Malachi,” Betty says. “He’d probably make us play do laps around the edge of the chasm or something.”

“Sure, but Jughead is scary. Remember when he put the gun up to Reggie’s head? I think Reggie wet himself.”

“Reggie deserved it,” Betty says firmly.

Kevin doesn’t argue. He might have, a few weeks ago, but now we’ve all seen what Reggie is
capable of.

“Betty,” Jughead calls out. Kevin and Betty exchange a look, half surprise and half apprehension.

Jughead pulls away from the railing and walks up to her. Ahead of them, Archie and Veronica stop running, and Veronica slides to the ground of his shoulders. Watching. She doesn’t blame them for staring. There are four of them and Jughead is only talking to Betty.

“You look different.” His words, normally crisp, are now sluggish.

“So do you,” Betty says. And he does—he looks more relaxed, younger. “What are you doing?”

“Flirting with death,” he replies with a laugh. “Drinking near the chasm. Probably not a good idea.”

“No, it isn’t.” Bettys not sure she likes Jughead this way. She wonders if this is how he felt when he saw her the other night. There’s something unsettling about it.

He sips the bottle and glances over his shoulder at his friends, who are carrying on without him, unlike hers. He says, “I’d ask you to hang out with us, but you’re not supposed to see me this way.”

Betty is tempted to ask him why he wants her to hang out with him, but she suspects the answer has something to do with the bottle in his hand.

“What way?” She asks. “Drunk?”

“Yeah...well, no.” His voice softens. “Real, I guess.”

“I’ll pretend I didn’t.”

“Nice of you.” He puts his lips next to my ear and says, “You look good, Betty.”

His words surprise her, her name on his tongue makes her heart leap. She wished it didn’t, because judging by the way his eyes slide over hers, he has no idea what he’s saying.

Betty laughs. “Do me a favour and stay away from the chasm, okay?”

“Of course.” He smirks.

She can’t help it. She smiles. Kevin clears his throat, but she doesn’t want to turn away from Jughead, even when he walks back to his friends.

Then Archie rushes at Betty like a rolling boulder and throws her over his shoulder. Betty shrieks.

“Come on, blondie,” he says, “I’m taking you to dinner.”

She rests her elbows on Archies back and waves at Jughead just as he carries her away.

“I thought I would rescue you,” Archie says as they walk away. He sets her down. “What was that all about?”

“Yeah, I think we’d all like to know the answer to that question,” says Veronica in a singsong voice. “What did he say to you?”

“Nothing.” Betty shakes her head. “He was drunk. He didn’t even know what he was saying.” She clears her throat. “That’s why I was grinning. It’s...funny to see him that way.”

“Right,” says Kevin. Rolling his eyes. “Couldn’t possibly be because—”

Betty elbows Kevin hard in the ribs before he can finish his sentence. He was close enough to hear what Jughead said to her about looking good. She doesn’t need him telling everyone about it, especially not Veronica. Not when Veronica prefers all the male attention on her.

Although Betty’s home was chaotic sometimes. Her mother strict and her father even stricter. Everything used to be quiet. She never imagined to be carried around by a large boy, or laughed until her stomach hurt at the dinner table, or listened to the clamour of a hundred people all talking at once.

Peace is restrained; this is free.