Chapter Text
Thomas knew, regardless of his parents, he was going to stay in Dauntless. It was the only place he felt he could belong…even if he couldn’t belong forever.
The truth was, Thomas was Divergent. According to the Aptitude test, he belonged nowhere.
But he was still okay.
He’d just continue living the way he’d always been. Dauntless born were destined to stay Dauntless, it was a simple fact.
And now, here he was, sitting in The Hub, waiting for his name to be called. No one in Dauntless really took The Choosing Ceremony too seriously. The fact was that most Dauntless liked to stay brave. Thomas was part of that majority.
According to his tester, if anyone were to find out he was Divergent; he’d be dead within the hour. And despite him being a Dauntless born, he still feared death more than anything else in his life. Death was the unknown. The unknown was the enemy.
Minho took a seat beside Thomas at the edge of the hall, clearing his throat with a sigh. “Hey, shank. How’s it going?”
“To be honest, pretty shit.” Thomas admitted.
“You ain’t stressing over this are you?” Minho asked. Thomas didn’t reply. “What are you, a stiff?”
“Shut up, Min.” He elbowed his best friend in the stomach, a smirk upon his lips.
Thomas and Minho had been best friends for years. Minho was a Dauntless by blood and by soul. The guy was fearless, well at least that’s what he let off. Every morning, Thomas would see Minho run along the track line, and he’d always be the first to jump the train. The boy's strength was remarkable.
He already knew which faction he belonged to.
“Teresa Agnes.” The man called from the stage.
Minho and Thomas watched as a young Erudite made her way up to the center.
“Dude, I know her.” Minho whispered over to the brunette. “Her mom used to instruct my mom during working hours.”
“No shit.”
“Her birth name’s Deedee.” Thomas raised an eyebrow and Minho nodded melodramatically. “I know right.”
Teresa held her hand over the Dauntless bowl and drew a drop of blood.
“Dauntless.” The man called.
The Erudite group gave looks of disappointment, whilst the Dauntless gave a rowdy cheer of approval. “Good choice, Greenie!” Thomas had heard Ben call from a couple rows back.
As Teresa passed Thomas on the steps, he felt obliged to say, “Welcome to Dauntless.”
She stopped, a look of surprise upon her face, before she smiled and gave a nod of acknowledgement, making her way towards one of the empty seats.
“I ship.” Minho stated.
“Ugh, please, don’t.” Thomas rolled his shoulders back.
Minho simply chuckled. “Whatever, man.”
“Thomas Edison.” The man called.
“Good luck, shuck-face.” Minho said with a grin as Thomas made his way up to the center.
I am Dauntless. I am brave.
He repeated the words over and over in his mind. It was the only way he could will himself to pick up the knife and hold his hand above the Dauntless bowl.
It felt wrong.
He wasn’t Dauntless.
He wasn’t anything.
But, with no other road to turn to, he traced the blade over the palm of his hand and let a drop of blood fall from his skin, landing in the Dauntless bowl.
“Dauntless.”
“Thomas! Thomas! Thomas!” A chant came from the Dauntless side of the room. Thomas chuckled as he went back to where he’d been before. The brunette was fairly popular with those of Dauntless blood. They seemed to think of him as a sort of leader of a massive clique.
Ironically, he wasn’t even part of it.
Minho gave his friend a pat on the back. “You had me worried there for a second.” He whispered.
Thomas furrowed his brow, but decided upon staying silent.
“Isaac Newton.”
That was when they noticed a young blond stand from the crowd of Amity. He dressed in the usual colorful attire of an Amity born, but he didn’t seem to have an ounce of spirit in him.
Thomas had noticed that he walked with a limp, struggling down the set of steps and making his way towards the center. He wasn’t like the rest of the Amity born.
He appeared cold.
There was a striking moment of silence, as the blond edged the knife along his skin, glanced upon the bowls for less than half a second before making his choice.
And right then, everyone’s hearts ceased to beat.
“…Dauntless.”
There was another heaving silence as the Amity placed the knife upon the edge of the table with a light clatter. He stood for a moment before turning to the Dauntless.
It was then that Minho stood, as if to remind the others that a Dauntless was a Dauntless regardless of whom they were before. “Let’s have it for the shank!”
His call was followed by an uproar of applause from the Dauntless. Even Thomas found himself joining the group to cheer the blond on.
An Amity moving to Dauntless was a brave move to say the least.
Newt made his way over to his new faction, not even daring to look back at the rest of the Amity he’d left behind.
He passed Thomas and made brief eye contact with him. Thomas could have sworn he’d seen the very hint of a smile from the blond, but it was short lived.
He was beautiful.
…
“Train’s on its way, hurry the shuck up klunk-heads!” Minho called from the side of the tracks, helping his fellow Dauntless scurry up to the train line. “Come on, come on, anyone who falls behind gets to sleep with the Factionless!”
Thomas sees the train approaching and can’t help but lay a prayer down for the transfers.
“Race you.” Minho offers.
Thomas quirks an eyebrow. “Fine. See you on the train.”
Minho shakes his head with a snicker.
The train begins to slow by the tiniest amount and soon the Dauntless born are darting to get on, heaving the metal doors open and throwing themselves inside.
Thomas catches onto the edge of the train and manages to pull himself in, laughing as he rolls inside and ends up on his back. Minho follows soon after, landing on his knees and giving a grumble of frustration. “Better luck next time, shank.”
“Shuck off.” Minho flicks Thomas on the back of the ear.
It’s then that Thomas notices that some of the transfers were still struggling to get onto the train. He stands and makes his way to the sliding door just in time to see Teresa pull herself onto the platform.
He notices the young blond boy giving a hand to one of the other transfers and yet still trying to run after the train. His true Amity was beginning to show.
After heaving two more transfers onto the platform, the blond begins to make haste in getting onto the train himself, and Thomas fears he might not make it in time.
It was then that Thomas leaned from the train door, reaching his arm out to the blond as he ran.
“Take my hand!” He called.
The blond hesitated, eying the brunette, before shaking his head and grabbing hold of Thomas’ hand, allowing him to pull him up to the platform just in time.
Thomas stumbled, accidentally pulling the blond towards him, ending up on the floor of the train with the blonde’s body up against his chest.
Newt jumped, pushing himself away from the brunette in a moment of pure embarrassment. “I…uh…thank you.”
“Any time.” Thomas smirked, still trying to catch his breath. “My name’s Thomas. You’re the Amity, right?” When he got no answer, he simply cleared his throat and awkwardly continued speaking. “That’s, uh, that’s a pretty dangerous move, transferring to Dauntless of all places--”
“It’s Newt, and do I look like a bloody Amity to you?” The blond huffed, standing from the floor and brushing the filth from his shirt.
Thomas was almost taken aback by the marvelous accent. Where’d he even get it? He’d never met someone with such an accent before, and he had to admit, he rather liked it.
“…Well…it’s not as obvious as it could be.” Thomas laughed. “But, I mean, under all that bravery, you’re still Amity at heart, right? You saved those transfers from becoming factionless.”
“Well, that’s more Abnegation than Amity, don’t you think?” Newt laughed, before instantly regretting it. “Well, maybe not.”
Thomas smiled, though, he’d wondered. Abnegation? Dauntless? Amity? It was all very suspicious.
“Thomas,” The blond called, snapping the brunette from his daze. “I, um…” Newt felt his cheeks begin to warm, but Thomas seemed to find it rather adorable. “I hope we can be friends. I mean I know you’re a Dauntless born and I’m a transfer…but it’d be a real bloody shame to lose contact.”
“Well, let’s hope that doesn’t happen.” Thomas smirked, already enjoying Newt’s tender company.
“Yeah…”