Zella comes to our accommodation to change with us, and therefore, that's how I end zipping up the back of her dress.

She's singing happily and I laugh, listening away. I finally join as soon as I catch onto the words, "Baby sell that soul, serve heaven well. Somebody's gotta raise a little hell!" I belt out, rocking my hips in my dress, and Zella laughs once I'm done.

We twirl each other around, repeating raise hell at the tops of our lungs, giggling when Mason comes out in a button-up black dress shirt and black jeans, wear in a clean pair of boots.

I whistle, smiling, "Looking sharp." He chuckles and watches as I slip on my heels, and fix my necklace. I take off my locket and put it under my pillow for the first time.

I feel a lightness on my shoulders, figuring out that seeing my mother in my landscape and facing her, was much-needed closure for both my father and I.

I could only relax and take a deep breath, before I run a hand through my hair, looking at my bob.

I smile, wiping a little bit of lipstick from my mouth.

"Ready?" Mason asks, and we nod.

He wraps his arms around our shoulders, escorting us to the dining hall.

"I am so lucky, despite the losses we've suffered from. I have an amazing best friend," He winked at me, " and a beautiful girlfriend." He kissed Zella's head.

"And you know what? We're a small family," Zella said, sniffling.

I felt my eyes actually water up as I wiped my eyes, sending away tears. We were like a family.

We walk into the dining hall, and we scramble to the table in the center of the room, all of us crowding on the table. I look at the transfers, chuckling because they look so nervous.

"I'm sure you all did fine," I comment, and they nod, still shaking. We murmur for a while, until the screech of a microphone stops all conversation and I turn around.

My father stands on a table, microphone in hand while the other four leaders stand beside the table.

"Can they hear me?" My dad asks, intending to whisper, but the microphone is on, and we break into laughter.

Katherine nods, smiling as she smooths out her dress.

"I'll say that's a yes," He replies, chuckling.

The Dauntless cheer and laugh, clapping our hands on the table.

He waits until the noise dies down, and begins to speak.

"Speeches aren't really a Dauntless thing, they are real an Erudite thing. So I'm not going to be before you long. A few months ago we had a new pack of Initiates, and after working their backsides off, we have a new pack of Dauntless. We faced them with a challenge, they met it and even exceeded it. But, how about we hear those words from someone who knows best?" He chuckles and smiles.

"Lian, if you would," he says, catching me by surprise.

I blink twice, and it isn't until Nikki comes from the crowd and stands me to my feet.

I chuckle nervously as I walk over to the table, smoothing out my jacket. My dad holds out his hand, helping me to stand on the table.

"Ah... god." I laugh, "Well, my dad caught me by surprise for once."

The Dauntless hoot and laugh, cheering and I even hear someone yell, "That's alright, girl!"

I swallow and laugh, "Bare with me. A few months ago, I was presented with the challenge of following the Dauntless manifesto, the Dauntless way. Our bodies toiled, fought, broken, and bent during physical training, and our minds did the same during the last two stages of Initiation. And our work has paid off because here we are. We have loved, and we have lost, we have developed relationships and mourned together like family. We have cared for each other and shed tears for each other. We've stood together to become more than the initiates we were when we entered the compound. This is what makes us Dauntless. More importantly, this is what makes us family. We choose bravery, we choose justice, we choose this over anything else. And that is what makes us Dauntless."

My father grins at me and I laugh, smiling widely. My cheeks sting even as he hugs me because my smile grows wider.

I step down off the table and Eric smirks at me, Katherine pulling me into her arms, hugging me. Colton and Harrison both clap my shoulders as the Dauntless whoop and scream my name.

"I don't know how I'll beat that, just that as their first act of being officially members, they will pick their jobs tomorrow morning along with their living arrangements." My father chuckles. "I can tell you all want to know the rankings. I can sense the tension and excitement in the air. So, without anymore delay, here they are."

I watch as Eric cuts the screen on, the board lighting up. I bite into my lip, looking for my name.

And I see it, and a scream leaves me. I see my picture beside the number one.

Right in the first spot is my name.

1. Lian.
2. Mason.

I cheer loudly, before hugging Mason.

I look for Zella's name.

6. Jay.
7. Zella.
8. Mia.
9. Daniel.
10. Dakota.

I yell, hugging Zella. "Oh my god, you did so good! Sixth is amazing!"

"You're first!" She laughs, "Mason's second! Oh my god, you two!"

Mason joins our hug, laughing deeply. The echoing cheers of the other Dauntless make our screams sound like whispers, and I pull away as Eric clears his throat, only inches away from me.

But Nikki and Dia hug me from the side, and I laugh deeply. Elijah, joins in, grabbing Nikki's hand afterwards, kissing her knuckles. I wiggle my brows, and Nikki gently punches my shoulder, laughing.

She rubs my arm afterwards, and I see Eric nudge Katherine. She walks over to the microphone, and clears her throat.

"I have an additional announcement!" The chatter dies down as Eric stands at her side. "Okay, as you all know, I am stepping down from leadership because I have a little one on the way. The top rankings were very close, and due to the closeness, the times of their fear landscapes were used to determine ranking, and Lian had ten seconds ahead of Mason. However, Dauntless law requires that the amount of leaders are an odd number. So, if she will consider it, Lian, we as leaders see no one better to be our newest leader."

I gasp softly and tears well up in my eyes, as I walk closer to the table. People start chanting my name, and I nod to Katherine.

"I'd be honored." She laughs, nodding back to me. She kisses my hands, as I whip around to see Eric.

"Congratulations." He tells me and I hear the chatter die down to a mutter, feeling all eyes on us.

"I talked to your dad.. and while, I don't think he'll think the timing is best, I think it's pretty good."

"Huh?" My brows furrow, and he grabs my hips and presses his lips to mine, and I exhale a sigh.

My hands up his cheeks before sliding to his neck, arms wrapping around his shoulders.

I pull away, enough for our lips to brush if we spoke. "I guess... you're looking forward to my promise."

"Whenever you're ready," He smiles and I bit on my lip to suppress a smile.

I pull away, and look over to my left, Zella, Nikki, Mason, Dia, and Elijah all in shock.

My father clears his throat and we break apart, snickering softly, my hands over my lips.

Eric walks off, grabbing my hand and pulling me off backwards, and when I turn around, he extends a bottle of alcohol to me.

I raise a brow and he opens it with his teeth, and I take the bottle, grinning.

"Not bad, Erudite." I tease.

"I was Erudite," He replies smugly.

He smiles a charming grin, that makes his grey eyes brighten, and it makes my heart beat in my chest.

I take a swig of alcohol, letting the burn sting my throat.

I look around for my friends, but I can't find any of them, as they mix with the crowd.

So many parties were going on tonight, but I was with Eric and we were dangling our feet off the Chasm.

After our third bottle, he extends a hand to me, and I stand up, pressing my drunken lips to his. He moans and kisses me back, dragging me along.

We barely make it off the bridge, but he pushes my back to the wall, my dress catching the rocks, and I feel his hands pry at the fabric. Wheeze-like moans escape me all too fast, our teeth scrapping against our lips.

I feel the back of my dress unzip and with hazy eyes, I nod, before he grabs my hand and we sprint up to his apartment, barely getting through the door, before we're making out again, my fingers opening his vest, and our limbs tangle together.

His lips smother mine, and I'm too high on him stop.

He lets his hands slide over my skin, and I melt underneath him as our skin touches. I felt so weak.

And then, I was on fire, consumed by his raging storm.