The door slammed shut behind Lilith as she exited her house, her white bag hanging from her left shoulder and her right hand in the pocket of her black jacket. She bit her lower lip as her eyes surveilled the street, her mind miles away from where she stood. It was a rather important day, one that would tell her if her long made decision of transferring to the faction of the brave was indeed the right one.

Then again, the test results didn't really matter, not when the final choice was up to her. Unlike her best friends, Christina Marshall and Reyna Sigworth, who had been fretting over the test during the last week, Lilith was comforted by the fact that, to her, it was just a way to see if she was compatible with Dauntless. Even if she wasn't, her choice had been made years ago, and she would make it work.

Heaving out a sigh, the brunette stepped away from her house, glancing at the empty driveway as she exited the front yard. Her mother, Adelia, often left the house early to join Candor's representative, Jack Kang, at the faction's headquarters. Usually, Lilith would have the company of her younger half brother, Scott, during the walk to school, but the boy had stayed the night at his father's house and was, therefore, getting a ride to school from him. The man had offered to stop by the Ovard house to pick her up but, just like all the other times, she had shaken her head at the offer, before retreating into her room.

The hardest thing about leaving Candor would be leaving Scott. They had a closer relationship than most siblings she knew; after all, Lilith had pretty much raised him, when her mother was too mentally unstable to do it. Of course, she had the help of her older sister, Hortense, but she'd left their faction when Lilith was only thirteen. It had been Scott and her for the past five years, and she dreaded to think of how her brother would feel, when she left.

"Hey!" a voice called out from behind her, as she made way down the sidewalk. She instantly recognized the voice as her next door neighbour's, instantly rolling her eyes. Quickening her pace, she hoped that he would catch the hint, but he called out again, "Hey! Lilith! Wait up!"

Telling herself that this was the last day she would have to put up with this, she stopped for a few seconds, her fingers gripping the strap of her bag tightly as she waited for the boy to catch up to her. The only emotion she ever felt around Peter Hayes was annoyance. He hadn't even reached her yet, and she already wanted the walk to school to be over. 

After what seemed like an eternity, Peter finally reached her side and, without another word, she started walking down the street once more. Lilith didn't need to look at him to know that he was wearing his usual arrogant grin, a feature that only made her even more peeved by his presence.

"Morning," he greeted, pulling a pack of cigarettes from the inside pocket of his white blazer.

"Hey," she offered him a tight-lipped smile, before her attention turned back to the street in front of them. 

Peter held out a cigarette in her direction, to which she shook her head, like she did every time he offered. Lilith was aware that smoking was highly detrimental to the state of her lungs and, if she wanted to make in Dauntless, where physical activity was one of the requirements, she had to be as healthy as possible. Assuming that the clouds of smoke that drifted around most members of Candor hadn't tainted her lungs already, that was.

"So," Peter started, placing the cigarette between his lips and lighting it with a quick gesture, "Nervous?"

She simply shrugged her shoulders, "Not really."

He watched her for a few seconds with furrowed eyebrows, before releasing some smoke into the air, "Impressive. You're not lying. Most people I've asked are, and those who say they're not, are lying. But not you."

"Why would I lie?" Lilith questioned, her eyes focusing on him as he brought the cigarette to his lips once again. Peter simply shook his head as he inhaled the nicotine, making the girl shrug her shoulders as they advanced further into Chicago. It wouldn't be long until their classes started, at 8AM, but the strong wind that often blew in the city was already starting to make its presence known. 

"To make yourself seem brave," the curly haired male replied, after a minute of silence. There was something about the way he had pronounced the word brave that made Lilith stare at him with raised eyebrows, though she couldn't be certain that he had actually spoken it in a different manner. He didn't give her any signs of noticing that he had caught her attention, staring at a group of teenagers from Amity walking ahead of them as he continued, "This is the day that's gonna define the rest of our lives. If you're not scared by it, everyone's gonna think you have some pretty big ba-"

"I get it," the brunette raised a hand to cut him off, lips twisting in disgust. Peter simply chuckled, and Lilith turned back to him, "What about you? Apparently you've been asking everyone how they're feeling, but what about you, Hayes? Nervous?"

He snorted, giving her a lopsided grin as he stomped on the remnants of his cigarette, "Not at all. I already know what my choice is going to be."

"Good for you," a sigh left the girl's lips as they turned the corner, and the school building entered their field of vision. She noticed the tension all around the school each year on the day in which the Aptitude Tests were taken, and that day wasn't being any different, except for the fact that her heart hammered against her chest as she once more recalled that it was finally her turn. People she had attended classes with during all of her life were noticeably fidgeting as they spoke amongst their friend groups, and the area was a lot more silent, allowing her to hear the birds chirping in the distance.

"Well, do you?" Peter asked, as they approached the main entrance, "Know what your choice will be, I mean."

"As long as it not the same as yours, I'll be happy," her lips spread into a smirk, and she watched as he brought his hand up to his chest in mock offense. Once upon a time, he might have been offended by the occasional remark, but those days were long over and, even if they didn't scare him away, Lilith had kept the habit of throwing them at him whenever she could. 

Now inside of the school, the two teenagers muttered their goodbyes to eachother and, as Peter strode down the hallway in one direction, Lilith rushed down the other, her eyes flickering across everyone's faces as she looked for her two best friends. They had been meeting up by Reyna's locker for the past few months, so that was where the brunette headed first, pushing her way through the crowd of stressed students. She was forced to stop when the girl walking ahead of her froze, and the brunette quickly realized what had happened. Just a few feet ahead of them, a girl donning grey had fallen to the marble floor, her belongings spreading around her, as a group of boys from Erudite laughed.

Lilith was quick in pushing the girl in front of her to the side so that she could assist the Abnegation girl, but she was faster. In less than two seconds, the light haired female was back on her feet and her books were back in her hands. Before anyone could say another word, she disappeared into the sea of other students, only distinguished by the redness taking over her cheeks. The Candor girl's lips were pursed as she glared at the group of Erudites, but they payed her no mind as they made their way to one of the classrooms.

"I don't understand these people," a familiar voice spoke up, from Lilith's side. Glancing to where the voice had come from, she was faced with her friends, Christina and Reyna, who had approached as the situation had gone down. Reyna had been the one speaking, her eyebrows furrowed in confusion as she too followed the Erudite with her green eyes.

"This is going way too far," Lilith replied, folding her arms over her chest.

"And to think it all started because of those rumors," Christina shook her head. She was reffering to all the information the Erudite had been trying to spread about Abnegation and, even if their faction wasn't directly involved in the situation, the girls had been following it closely since the first news had came out. Reyna had felt bad for the faction of the selfless from the very beginning, all while Lilith and Christina remained more neutral, but still refused to believe any information that couldn't be proved.

"This isn't okay," Lilith chewed on her lower lip, "Someone needs to teach them a lesson."

"Agreed," Reyna nodded, pushing a strand of blonde hair to the place behind her ear. 

"They'll grow tired of it," Christina shrugged, "Erudite, I mean. Abnegation is an easy target because they can't fight back, even if they want to. Tormenting them is bound to become boring."

"Still doesn't make it okay," Reyna replied.

It wasn't often that the three girls found themselves enveloped by a tense atmosphere, not wanting to argue with eachother, but also not wanting to back down from their own points of view. It happened mostly between Christina and Reyna: whereas Reyna was soft, forgiving, and willing to do anything for peace, Christina was made out of sharp edges and an unbothered attitude that made it seem like she didn't really care about anything other than herself. Lilith knew that was a lie, however, and they had remained friends because the dark skinned girl also knew how to be a good individual. 

Not wanting to spend the whole morning with what they had just witnessed hanging over their shoulders, Lilith turned to her friends with a small smile, "So," she began, "Are you guys nervous?"

───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────

Classes were only mandatory during the morning, even if every eighteen year old in the building didn't really care for what was being taught. Lilith had done her best to pay attention to Literature, seeing as it had always been one of her favorites, but the boy next to her had been fidgeting every two seconds, and she hadn't been able to stay focused. Everyone was doing their best to pretend like they weren't scared of the test, and some almost succeded, but it wasn't like Lilith hadn't been taught about body language and what it meant. She didn't blame them, though.

They had been told to stay in the cafeteria after lunch, divided by factions. Even if they didn't wear different colors, it would be easy to tell who belonged to the same group; after all, the most obvious differences were in the way that behaved and reacted to the world around them. Lilith was sitting between her two best friends, listening to their discussion about what could possibly happen in the test. On the other side of the table, Peter was discussing the Choosing Ceremony with his friends, Molly and Drew. Their voices were loud as they spoke, but it wasn't a serious argument, since the curly haired boy was smiling.

Lilith's eyes drifted to the table where the Dauntless were waiting for their turns, no doubt the loudest group in the room. Laughter came from their mouths as they yelled at eachother, teasing the ones who were involved in some kind of card game. Her heart rate accelerated as she kept her eyes on them, and she found herself wishing that the next day would arrive quickly. 

Her attention was ripped away from the Dauntless when the Abnegation volunteer came back into the room, a list of names in her hand. Her eyes were kind as she glanced up from the paper, allowing herself one look around the room, before she started calling people out. Two people from each faction were chosen: Erudite, Abnegation, Amity, Dauntless, and then, from Candor. Lilith exchanged a glance with Reyna as their names were both spoken, the blonde girl giving her a smile as they stood up from their seats.

"Good luck, guys," Christina too smiled at them. Out of the three of them, she was probably the most anxious, Lilith had noticed. She'd tried masking it by speaking about the test like it didn't bother her, but the brunette knew her well enough to know that the way she kept drumming her fingers against her thigh was a nervous tick. 

"Thanks, short stuff," Reyna gave her a wink, and their friend seemed to relax.

"You got this," Peter spoke up, eyes travelling between the two girls, "Both of you."

"Being nice, Hayes?" Lilith raised an eyebrow, giving her neighbour a half smile, "I'm starting to think you're going to choose Amity."

"As if."

The ten teenagers who had been selected to take the test were led outside of the cafeteria, to a place where ten similar looking offices awaited. What expected them inside was a mystery: only those who were taking the test were allowed inside, and so the remaining students didn't have a clue as to what existed behind the mirror covered walls. The Aptitude Test didn't allow any sort of preparation, as it seeked for the most authentic results, and they wouldn't be as genuine if the students knew what they'd be doing.

"It's going to be okay," Reyna whispered, as they stood in front of the doors, "Right?"

Lilith nodded her head, making the blonde's shoulders relax slightly. They exchanged one final glance before they walked into different offices, and the brunette immediately noticed the Abnegation woman standing inside as she closed the door behind her. Gulping to herself, the girl then looked around the room, noticing how every wall was a mirror. All she could see where endless reflections of herself, and she couldn't help but feel a little self conscious. The only source of light in the room came from a white lamp in the ceiling, making Lilith squint as she looked away from it and to the reclining chair in the center of the office, with some kind of machine next to it.

"You can go ahead and sit down," the woman spoke up, after a few seconds. Much like the volunteer who had came to fetch them from the cafeteria, this female too looked kind and welcoming. The freckles on her skin made it so that she looked younger than she probably was, and the warmth in her green eyes made the Candor girl feel safe. Her lips spread into a gentle smile as Lilith approached the chair, "My name is Moira."

"Lilith," she replied, making the woman's smile grow as she settled into the chair. The girl's brown eyes were fixated on the ceiling as Moira approached, and she felt the older woman place something that she recognized as an electrode on her forehead. Making sure that no stray hairs had been stuck under the device, the woman gave her a few words of reassurance, before retreating closer to the machine once again. Lilith chewed on her lower lip, before deciding to speak up once again, "Do you know what's going to happen?"

"I do," Moira nodded her head, making the girl look at her expectantly. A small laugh came out of her lips as she handed Lilith a small bottle with a clear liquid, "All I can tell you is that you need to drink this."

"What is it?"

"Now, that I can't tell you," Moira replied, "But it will be okay."

After a few seconds, Lilith gave the brown haired woman a nod, before bringing the bottle up to her lips. She hesitated for a few seconds, but quickly cleared her mind of all thoughts going through it, and simply focused on gulping down the unknown substance.

At first, Lilith Ovard didn't feel a thing.

But then, her eyes closed on their own accord and Moira and the office with mirror cladded walls were gone.