Dauntless,' he says. 'I was born for Abnegation. I was planning on leaving Dauntless, and becoming factionless. But then I met her, and...I felt like maybe I could make something more of my decision.' Her. For a moment, it's like I'm looking at a different person, sitting in Tobias's skin, one whose life is not as simple as I thought. He wanted to leave Dauntless, but he stayed because of me. He never told me that.
Veronica RothHe bends over to untie his shoes. โSo, have you been ostracized from your little crowd of devotees?โ โNo,โ I say automatically. Then I add, โMaybe. But they arenโt my devotees.โ โPlease. Theyโre like the Cult of Four.โ I canโt help but laugh. โJealous? Wish you had a Cult of Psychopaths to call your very own?
Veronica RothI know I belong in Dauntless because everything I did in that aptitude test told me so. I'm loyal to my faction for that reason -- because there's nowhere else I could possibly be. But her? And you?" She shakes her head. "I have no idea who you're loyal to. And I'm not going to pretend like everything's okay.
Veronica RothI laugh, and it's laughter, not light, that casts out the darkness building within me, that reminds me I am still alive, even in this strange place where everything I've ever known is coming apart.
Veronica RothI settle into their pace. The uniform pounding of feet in my ears and the homogeneity of the people around me makes me believe that I could choose this. I could be subsumed into Abnegationโs hive mind, projecting always outward.
Veronica RothBut that wasnยดt the first time I ever saw her. I saw her in the hallways at school, and at my motherโs false funeral, and walking the sidewalks in the Abnegation sector. I saw her, but I didnโt see her; no one saw her the way she truly was until she jumped. I suppose a fire that burns that bright is not meant to last.
Veronica RothI see love developing from friendship. Common ground is a strong basis for friendship. My husband is my best friend and we have a lot in common even though we're admittedly different people. I think it evolves from how I see relationships working. You know, the opposites attract thing happens all the time, but so does the best friends thing. It's just a great kind of relationship in fiction.
Veronica Roth