To Save a City (Divergent/Eric) 2 of 3 COH Series

Chapter 27

(Hosanna's POV)

I went back to my apartment to shower and change into something more appropriate for a birthday party.  I put on a more modest, pretty top than what I've worn lately to parties and a pair of jeans.  After what happened in my office, I don't think I want to encourage any unnecessary closeness tonight. 
I walk into my living room to see Eric on my phone again listening to my music.  I stop short when I hear what he's playing. One of my favorite songs is on and I smile brightly. I haven't heard that in so long and I hadn't even clicked on it when I saw that Matthew put it in there.  "I love that song," I grin. The first time I heard it, I just sang and sang it.
Eric looks up to me.  "Really?  I've never heard you play it before or sing it," he comments.
"Well, I had a bad experience with that," I explain frowning.  "I used to hum and sing it a lot.  But one day, I didn't hear Marcus come home and he didn't like that I was singing.  It was too much of what a faction traitor would do—too Amity.  After that... I only sang on the roof when I was home, so I could see when he was coming."
Eric frowns, too.  "It's quite lovely," he whispers, walking over to stroke my cheek.
I feel my stomach flop at the contact and I grab his hand to pull him out the door. 
We walk down the hallway to Ryan's apartment. I can hear the music beyond his door, so we just walk in. It looks like everyone is here already. Several people congratulate me on my speech and I thank them.
We make our way through the crowd of drinking and dancing people to the guest of honor. "Happy birthday!" I say hugging Mia.
"Thank you," she responds hugging me back tightly. "You did a number on my man's face though," she laughs grabbing his chin.
I look over Ryan's face to see a bruise on his forehead and a split lip. I frown, "Sorry about that."
He laughs. "Don't worry about it. I was expecting worse. Besides, we totally deserved it," he whispers the last part in my ear as he hugs me.
I laugh shoving him playfully. "You totally did."
Mia grabs my hand and pulls me aside into the bathroom. She sits down on the toilet and I laugh awkwardly. "Why am I in here for this?" I question still laughing hard. Her frilly dress is surrounding her lap and her panties are at her knees.
"I wanted to talk to you," she says furrowing her brows.
"I'm sorry but I can't take you seriously when you're doing that," I say smirking and turning around. I lean against the wall chuckling.
"Whatever," she says flushing the toilet. She walks over to wash her hands.
"So, what did you want to talk about?" I say now that she's not urinating.
"What's with the plain Jane outfit?" she questions motioning to my shirt. "You got so many sexy tops. I thought you'd wear one of those."
I shrug. "It didn't seem appropriate after what happened today," I admit.
"What happened?" she whispers.
I bite my lip. "I'm not allowed to tell you," I say.
"Why not?" she asks rubbing my arm.
"The leaders have a few secrets that we can't share about leadership initiation," I explain.
"Oh," she responds frowning and sitting on the counter. "So what does that have to do with your outfit?"
I sigh. Perhaps I can explain a little. "You have to promise never to repeat the leadership part. Ever," I tell her firmly.
"Of course. I promise," she says very seriously.
"The leaders do a sort of... hazing," I start. "And I got really mad at Eric about it. Really mad. He came to my office afterward to beg for my forgiveness. I tried to slam the door in his face when he came to apologize. He was on his knees pleading for me to forgive him. And I got really... aroused at the position we ended up in. I figured that I should dress a little more conservatively for a while to keep him at a distance."
"Oh... I see," she says. She looks down at her own dress. "Maybe I should do the same."
"Why's that?" I ask.
"Ryan and I are having a similar problem. He wants to wait but when we get together, we're both struggling to keep our hands to ourselves, too," she admits.
"How do you feel about that?" I ask.
"At that moment, I almost let my body and my desires take over. But I want to wait, too. It's getting difficult and frustrating. I feel like we've both awoken something in our bodies that we're not ready for and I don't know how to make it stop. I love him but I don't want to give into some sort of caveman type urges we get, you know," she explains.
"Yeah, I know the feeling," I agree nodding.
"I was wondering... you know, because... well you offered before," she stutters.
"What is it?" I ask.
"Could we maybe go with you Sunday, to see what it's like?" she asks.
"Yeah," I grin. "That would be nice."
She hugs me tightly. "Why don't we look for something less sexy for me tomorrow?" she questions.
I laugh. "Are you going to be alright wearing something like that?"
She looks down at my shirt. "That one is really pretty. It's just not revealing. I think I can live with that," she nods.
I smile. "Alright but I'm paying for everything," I say.
"You don't have to do that," she frowns. "You said one outfit."
"Well things change and I really don't mind. Between mine and Eric's paychecks, what else are we going to spend it on?" I shrug.
She laughs, "You really are a great friend and a good person."
"So are you," I tell her.
We go back to the party, both deciding to limit our drinks and spend the time dancing. If our men are going to drink, we're going to stay in control. I grab Eric's hand and pull him to the dance floor. He tries to keep his hands in respectful places but we still have fun. I see Mia and Ryan dancing together, laughing and smiling.
I notice a few people around the room that I don't know. They're drinking heavily. They keep trying to pass drinks to Ryan but he's been declining. I take a seat on his sofa with Eric, Ryan, and Mia joining me.
"Who are they?" I ask Ryan nodding to the group surrounding his kitchen table.
He shrugs, "Just some friends of mine."
"They really like the drinks," I comment. They've been downing them as quickly as they can.
"Yeah, well they're my drinking buddies," he explains. "We all have a fairly high tolerance."
I nod. He has been known to drink heavily but I thought it was always his choice and not peer pressure. Maybe Ryan needs some more positive influences in his life. He really is a great guy for my friend and a good leader.
"Well, I'm having a good time," I say.
"Me, too," Mia agrees leaning her head against mine. "We should have a sleepover sometime," she suggests.
"That sounds fun," I grin. "I've never been to one of those."
"I should have said something before the party started. Everyone is on their way to be sloshed by now," she motions to our friends.
"You could stay the night at my place tonight if you want, just the two of us. Then we can spend the day shopping," I offer.
Mia claps her hands. "That sounds great," she says excitedly.
I look over to Eric with a smile on my face and he appears concerned. "What's the matter?" I ask.
"You won't forget about our date tomorrow night, right?" he questions.
"No, of course not. What time should we meet up?" I inquire.
"Dinnertime?" he says. "We'll be going out though, so dress appropriately."
"Out? Like to one of the restaurants in the Pit?" I question.
"No, out of the complex. Just the two of us," he clarifies.
I smile widely. "That sounds nice," I tell him.
Eric puts his arm around my shoulders in reply. I'm actually pretty excited about this date. He's never really taken me out like this before. We've had dinner together but nothing like this. When he mentioned it the other day, my heart fluttered. It still does at the thought of it. He's such a romantic sometimes.
Eric pulls his arm away from me and sits up. He tosses something at Ryan to get his attention, nodding his head near the kitchen.
"Is that... Uriah?" I say squinting.
"Yup," Eric responds standing up.
"But... he's underage. What's he doing here?" I ask.
"I'm going to find out," Eric steps forward but stops abruptly and turns around. He looks to Ryan and then me.
"I've got her. Go take care of it," Ryan says moving to sit where Eric was a moment ago.
"What happens if he's been drinking?" Mia asks us.
"Eric will decide his punishment," I tell her.
I watch as Eric walks into the kitchen, passing Uriah. He comes back out a minute later, a beer bottle with the cap still on in his hand. He approaches us and squats down in front of me.
"So, Uriah is already really drunk and he brought a few of his friends. Marlene and... Shauna's little sister, what's her name?" he says pausing.
"Lynn," I chime in.
"And Lynn are there. They're all drunk. I can't handle dragging three of them back to their homes and I only know where Hannah's place is," Eric explains.
I look around the room. "There's Zeke, my brother, and Shauna," I point out finally seeing them for the first time at the party. "I saw them all sitting together during my speech. I invited them but they may have said something in front of the dependents. Why don't you decide their punishment and have those three take them home for blabbing?"
"I can have them show me where they live, possibly drag them, but a leader really should be present to talk to the parents," Eric says.
"You're right," I agree nodding.
"How about Four can stay here and watch over our girls while we go and handle this quickly?" Eric says to Ryan.
"That's fine with me," Ryan concurs. "What's the punishment?"
"A month on cleaning duty and helping out in the cafeteria. They'll be monitored until their Choosing Day so this doesn't happen again," Eric states.
"Good call," Ryan and I both say at the same time. We laugh.
Eric crosses the room to my brother and sends him over to sit with us. Ryan goes to meet up with him. Eric, Zeke, and Shauna drag the dependents out of the party gaining a little attention from the crowd. Ryan follows laughing and bows at the door before walking out. Once they exit, everyone returns to what they were doing.
"Hey, congratulations on your speech," my slightly intoxicated brother says hugging me.
"Thanks," I reply. I consider asking my brother about what he told Eric but decide against it. I've got to keep this to myself. "So, how did they end up here?" I ask instead.
"I don't know. We were talking about coming to the party during dinner. I think they thought it was a congratulatory party for you or something. We were whispering but they eavesdrop sometimes. They probably followed us here and thought they could sneak in and out, without getting caught. It looks like they had a bit too much," Tobias explains.
I nod my head.
"So... happy birthday Mia. What'd you get?" my brother asks.
She shows him the necklace that Ryan gave her. He whistles. I look around the room as they talk. I see several of my friends drinking and having a good time but, "Hey, where are Ellen and Neil?"
"Oh, Ellen has to work tonight and Neil has the day shift tomorrow," Tobias says smiling.
"Why is that such a good thing?" I ask.
"Because I don't have to work this weekend," he responds with another smile.
"It's okay. We already did something together yesterday," Mia says.
"Alright," I respond.
"Where were you yesterday anyway?" Tobias asks. "I was looking for you and I couldn't find you anywhere."
"Um... I had my meeting with the leader of Erudite yesterday and I toured the faction a bit. Afterward, we met up with Eric's baby sister," I tell him.
"Wait. You spent the day in Erudite?" Tobias whispers, concern in his voice. I nod. "Is everything okay?" he asks.
"Yeah, it was fine. I enjoyed meeting Elizabeth," I say.
"Like your middle name?" he questions. I nod again smiling.
"She goes by Liz or Lizzy," I say. "She's really sweet and curious."
"How old is she?" he asks.
"Twelve, I think," I reply.
"So... can I stay over tonight?" Tobias inquires.
I wince. "What's the matter?" he says.
"I kind of already promised Mia we'd have a sleepover," I admit.
"Oh," he says pausing. "Can... I stay in your extra room?"
I look to Mia to see she's been listening to every word we've been saying. I raise my eyebrows in question. "Yeah sure. We can have a little sleepover party. We can play Candor," she responds.
Now my brother winces. "Okay. No Candor," Mia laughs.
"Alright," he agrees.
Eric and Ryan arrive back quickly.  "You didn't move since we left?" Ryan asks Mia surprised. 
"This one doesn't dance," I say slapping my brother's leg.  "So, how'd it go?"
"Their parents were fuming," Ryan chuckles.  "Especially having two leaders bring their kids home, not to mention drunk when they're supposed to be having a sleepover that was not co-ed.  Let's just say that Eric's punishment is nothing compared to what their parents are going to do."
My brother kisses my cheek and stands up, walking back over to an irritated Zeke and Shauna.  Eric sits back in his previous seat, replacing his arm around my shoulder.  He's smirking. 
"What?" I ask.
"Their parents assumed it was a party for you, like something official... we didn't correct them," he laughs.
I slap his chest.  "You are so bad!"