Party Girls Don't Get Hurt

Emily Beilschmidt didn't know, even in this moment, which faction she was going to choose - the glass, that she had for so long called home?But it had been fake, a false mirror. Could she bear to stay in a house filled with liars, if she was never to see her real home? Brushing her red locks from her face, she caught the faces of the strangers masquerading as her parents at the corner of their vision. They had straightened their backs and their blue blazers, and wore that awful Erudite smirk she had grown to hate, even though she bore it herself on occasion. Marlene's eyes were on her in interest; Emily knew for a fact that Marlene could not bear to stay there for a moment longer. The only dash of truth in Emily's life full of lies.

The hand holding the knife shook. She was intelligent enough to be an Erudite...she doubted her talents in the other factions. It wasn't until she noticed her on-again off-again flame, Kyarah Mansfield, that she decided she couldn't bring herself to stay - she'd rather be factionless. Were Marlene to choose another faction, Emily knew that eventually she would be enamored with her bubblegum bitch again. And Kyarah was always ready to pop her heart. Turning her head away from the crowd, the coals burned in front of her. She shook her head - fear simulations were an Erudite creation, and she knew she couldn't deal with the sims. She'd never be able to tell they weren't real, she'd be overwhelmed.

Erudite. Dauntless. Fervor. It only left the metal bowl left, and immediately a rush of adrenaline ran through her. The faction of the free, the party life. She was in good enough physical state to be a runner, and honestly she wouldn't mind rebellious hair colours, piercings and tattoos. So much better than blue, blue, blue. Her eyes turned to Kyarah, to her "parents", to Marlene as she dragged the blade of the knife across her palm, and tilted it to let a bead of blood drop onto the metal.

The Erudite man - Kyarah's father, she remembered, who'd never much liked her - looked at her in confusion, but the Fervor section went into cheers, and she took her seat being clapped on the back and welcomed. Goodbye, Erudite. She leant back in her chair, resting her legs on the vacant seat next to her, as Marlene's name was called.

This was gonna be easy, she knew. She'd either follow Emily, depending on what the ginger chose, or she'd go to Fervor. She couldn't stay in Erudite. She wouldn't. That wasn't where she belonged and it was obvious. Though she appreciated everything they taught her (not really), and she knew she could learn more if she stayed there, she realized she didn't have to know evething. That wasn't what her happiness was based on.

She observed Emily as she had her own inner battle. As Emily walked over to the metallic bowl, a smirk began to tug at her lips. That definitely made things easier. As soon as her name was called, she walked up, and with confidence, took the knife. She didn't take long to make her way to the metallic bowl, dragging the knife across the palm of her hand on the way. Once there, she let a small drop of blood fall.

Fervor. Home of the free. As the Fervor section yet again erupted into cheers, Marlene sauntered over, sitting down next to Emily.

Emily wasn't satisfied with leaving Kyarah and the rest; she wanted to rub salt in the wounds. So, when Emily saw Marlene on her way over, she moved her feet from the seat and gave her a quick kiss, just enough for Kyarah to see. The Fervor section then burst into applause, and it took a lot of shouting from the representative to get it all to quiet down. "Hey, liebe, I could get used to this life, I think." she whispered, her arm around Marlene's shoulders as they sat back to watch the next flow of initiates.

Her smirk broadened slightly once Emily pulled away. "I know I'm gonna get used to it," Marlene replied as she sat back down, eventually pulling her blonde locks into a ponytail. "And soon, probably."

"Might take me a bit longer," Emily conceded, not even wanting to look at the Erudite stands, boredly watching Kyarah's choice back into Erudite. As soon as the sorting ceremony was over, when the Fervor got up she pulled Marlene to her feet. "What are we waiting for?" Let's go!" As they raced past, in a mess of arms and legs, she called "Auf Wiedersehen!" in the Erudites' direction. "Fuck, that was satisfying."

"You do know you were an Erudite not thirty minutes ago, right?" she shouted as she ran, her tone amused. As soon as they were in the train, Marlene sighed and leaned back against the wall. "Slightly hoping initiation is just 'hold down this many drinks' and 'fuck this many people'."

"You're only fucking one person," Emily pointed out with a grin, completely ignoring the other people in the carriage. "But Ein Fervor there's no excuse not to fuck every night, is there?"

She chuckled, but nonetheless nodded. "Oui. I'm definitely gonna get used to this kind of life quickly," she grinned, taking her hand and pulling her in for a kiss. "Initiation hasn't even begun yet and I already want it to finish."

Emily held Marlene afterwards, before getting a kiss on her terms, too. "Ja, I think I could get used to being a party girl," she says, looking down disdainfully at the Erudite clothes they were still wearing.

Noticing the look Emily was giving their blue clothes, she pursed her lips and leaned in until her mouth was by Em's ear. "Don't worry - we get to take them off later," she whispered, then pulling back and falling into her previous position. "They're starting to jump."

"I'll be looking forward to that," she whispered back, before judging the jump and giving herself a run up before feeling her feet leave the train. She was flying for a moment before she landed squarely on the pavement, propping herself up against a wall. "That felt good and awful at the same time," she muttered to herself.

Marlene hesitated slightly before taking the jump, and joining Emily moments later. She winced slightly as she landed, later standing up and wiping her hands. One step closer to what I want, she thought as she stood by Emily and waited for everyone to finish jumping. As soon as they did, she had to bite back a groan as everyone broke into a run, headed down the stairs of that building. Having no other option, the blonde joined them. "Coming, Beilschmidt?"

"I landed cleanly. Man, I thought you were the more athletic of us two," Emily laughed, catching up to Marlene with relative ease although she would quickly tire. "I was coming before you said that, and you know it," she replies, following the rest of the initiates and picking the Fervor-born out from the rest.

"I am," she retorted, smirking. "I like considering you the cute geek of the relationship," she added, looking straight at who she assumed would be their trainer. "And of course you were coming - you always are."