Duplicity [p.h]

chapter six || jeanine smiled (or as peter might describe it, bore her teeth)

THE WEATHER COULDN'T have been more gorgeous in the morning, with a cool breeze making the trees of the orchard dance and golden beams of sunlight shimmering down as if they were from the heavens. Even still, I found myself on a bench in the shade, fiddling with the fresh gauze adorning my palm. It was a feeble attempt at putting to rest the unease in my stomach — the reason I wasn't at breakfast like everyone else — but it at least kept me occupied.

It felt like a weight had been lifted off my shoulders after I finally talked to Peter. Apologizing out loud had nearly been the death of me, but I wasn't sure how much longer I could have tolerated not being on speaking terms. What would have happened if I didn't run after him?

I shook the thought away. I did run after him, and that's all that really mattered. For the last couple of days we had continued on as normal; walking together to breakfast, taking on shifts for menial tasks (seeing as we were injured), going on walks through the gardens, and sharing whispers under the pale light of the moon before falling asleep had become part of our daily routines. But no matter how happy that made me, I could shake the looming feeling that something bad was about to happen.

A rustle in the orchard trees snapped me out of my thoughts. I dropped the gauze and squinted, just being able to make out a figure amid the apples and branches and leaves. It got closer and closer until, finally, out emerged a head of familiar blonde hair.
"Tris?" My fellow transfer didn't pay me any mind, nor did she slow down from her full sprint. She kept running, and running, and running towards the dining hall until once again she escaped from my light of sight. "I wonder what her deal is," I said to no one in particular.

I picked myself up off the bench, brushing off the tiny specks of peeled paint I was sure had found their way off the dilapidated wood, and strolled out in the field. With closed eyes and outstretched arms, I welcomed the sun's warmth. It balanced out the breeze that swept through my hair. I breathed as much of the fresh air in as I could. Lord knows there was nowhere else in Chicago where it was this clean.

This time, the sound of heavy booths thumping on the ground was what forced my eyes open. I turned around. I wasn't sure what I expected exactly, but it certainly wasn't the man in front of me. I sucked a breath in, though the air felt much colder than it had but moments ago.

I probably should have expected him to turn up sooner or later. After all, Tori had said it wouldn't take them long to pick me up. And here they were, clad in black save for the blue ribbon fastened around their biceps. In front, in all his greasy-haired glory, was none other than my ex-instructor Eric.

"Jax," he sneered, though it could have very well been an attempt at a smile. "I was told you'd be here."

I forced my hands apart from each other and straightened my spine. The last thing I wanted was for Eric to think I was nervous. "Eric," I greeted him. "I'm glad you could make it."

He rolled his eyes. "Yeah... not sure why you didn't just stay at the compound like the rest of us."

"I was keeping an eye on the traitors," I blurted. Stupid, stupid, stupid. Eric raised an eyebrow (along with the many piercings that ran through it).

"Traitors," he repeated. "I have to say, Jax, I'm upset I didn't think of that. Look at you, you're already thinking two steps ahead!" He stepped forward to ruffle my hair. I fought back a frown. "Keep that up and you'll be in leadership in no time. Now why don't you point me in the direction of the traitors, and then you can grab a seat in the car?"

I bit my lip and wracked my brain for something, anything. "Amity made their HQ a sanctuary.  I'm not sure if they'll let you do anything—"

"Yeah, like anyone's ever cared about sanctuary. Seriously Jax, where are they?"

"Dining hall." The words left a bitter taste in my mouth. Despite the gnawing feeling that told me what I was doing was wrong, I reminded myself that this was much bigger than me and my friends. All of Chicago was relying on me and Tori and Zeke to put an end to Erudite tyranny. They were resourceful enough to escape. One day they would understand. "Everyone's eating breakfast now."

Eric's wink only made my stomach ache worse as he pointed uphill to where the Erudite cars were parked. "Go on. I'll meet you there once I'm finished." With a curt nod, I obeyed.

• • •

I was unable to bring myself to speak much with Eric or Tori on the ride there, somehow able to pass off the guilt gnawing at my insides as a side affect of some walnuts that surely would pass.  He hadn't thought much of it.  Then for a while, the only sound that could be heard was the humming of the engine.  I hadn't realized I had dozed off until Tori shook my shoulder.

"Where are you going to stay?"

I blinked. "With my parents?"

Tori shook her head. "Not sure if the neighbours would like that very much. Faction is stronger than blood, right?"  What she really meant by that, was I have plans for you already.

"Right," I nodded. "Well, I suppose I'll just stay where you're staying, then."

Tori smiled, and left me alone.

It had only been a couple of months since I was last at Erudite HQ.  Physically, nothing had changed; everything was still framed by pristine white walls and in its rightful place.  Yet, I couldn't shake the feeling that something was off. It was like the blue everyone wore had become supersaturated or their backs were a little too straight, but nothing stood out enough for me to put my finger on.  Regardless of what it was exactly, one thing was clear: in some way, the entire faction had changed, and I couldn't say it was for the better.

There was no time to waste once we arrived; as soon as I was out of the car, Tori and Eric ushered me into one of the spacious seventh floor offices (or, as we used to call it, the cloud suites). The cloud suites were renowned for two things: first, for belonging to the most important of faction members, and second, for the fact that all of their walls were really just windows. From so high up, it really did feel like working on a cloud. Growing up I had always wanted to occupy one of them doing something important — or at least, looking like I was. But now, as my hand met the white handle of Jeanine Mathew's door, I felt as though I had lost the shield of privacy normal walls gave.

Jeanine looked up from her sleek silver computer and pulled her sky blue glasses from her narrowed nose. "Jacqueline! I was wondering when we'd meet again. I was so disappointed when you transferred, you truly were one of our brightest...," the woman shot me a pointed look, "but where you truly belong was out of both of our hands, no?"

I cleared my throat. "I suppose not, though I'm flattered to hear you think so highly of me."

Jeanine smiled (or as Peter might describe it, bore her teeth). "Of course. The test is always conclusive. But what does it matter? You're with us now, and at Erudite we're all on the same team. Please, make yourself at home."

a/n: hi. quarantine update. sorry it took me 7 months lol. i'm losing motivation to write this so if anyone wants to offer some inspiration by all means do so. stay safe and social distance my dudes.

qotd: heheh... when do you think the next chapter is going to be up?

until next time (whenever that may be),

~ Tori