A Different Divergent Tale (Eric and Tris)

Chapter 61

I look in my bathroom mirror at my reflection.  I place my very last hairpin in my hair as Eric opens my front door, then closes it. It's Friday night and this week has flown by.  I grin as I examine the style I tried out today. I followed the tutorial exactly and it came out better than I expected. I put a small, delicate braid in the front of my hair trailing around the crown of my head toward the back where I made a larger, loose braid with a knot slightly off to the side. It's beautiful and holding tightly so it should be fine for dancing in. I pull out my makeup bag and start applying some of the eye products first.
There's a knock on my opened bathroom door.
"You can come in if you want," I tell Eric not even looking away as I'm applying my eyeliner.
I feel a delicate graze at my waist before he wraps his arms around me and tucks his head in near my neck. He kisses me softly there and sighs.
"You look beautiful," he whispers.
I can't even stop the smile forming on my face. Him calling me that just melts my heart. I still find it surprising to hear.  It's not that I don't believe him, just that he's the only one who's ever told me so—the only one who's voiced such a sentiment. It really means so much to me that he calls me something I never saw in myself before.  I finish my eyeliner and can't help but kiss him gently. 
"Ugh, I've missed you," he breathes. 
"We've only been apart for maybe ten to fifteen minutes," I chuckle lightly at his admission. 
He hums a reply.  I grin and choose a dark grey shadow with a dark charcoal hue accompanied by a selection of shimmery light grey accents.  I apply the colors just like how I read up on the package and it looks incredible.  I start on my mascara setting my little two-sided brush out to quickly detangle and separate the lashes when I'm ready. I lean forward and pull out the wand. I hear a gentle protest from Eric since he can't reach me but I'm unable to snuggle right now. He rests both hands at my hips as I rapidly brush the mascara on and separate the lashes on my right eye, then repeat on my left. I sigh as I stand up straight and survey my work so far. It's extremely well done. I'm pleased.
"Is this the dress I bought you two weeks ago?" Eric asks.
"Is it?" I reply furrowing my eyebrows.
"Uh huh," he mumbles as he kisses my neck.  I feel him running his lips across my skin affectionately. I shiver at the sensation. 
I look over my choice tonight for the dress and it is the one from the day I went to church by myself. He bought me this afterward. I also tried on another one—the most beautiful dress I've ever seen.  But that price was exorbitant.  For a wedding... I could see it if the frivolity is what's expected—especially with my salary, or any leader's for that matter—but just to wear for the seminars... something less costly would be just as acceptable.  It was incredible, though.  I sigh and move onto my choice of lipsticks.  I lay out my tremendous amount of options I have now.  I set aside all the lipglosses along with the colors that wouldn't work for a night out.  I'm about to pick one up that's new and enticing. 
"Are those the lipsticks?" Eric asks me. 
I hum a reply. 
I instantly feel him turning my chin. His lips meet mine.  I laugh lightly and respond.  I sigh happily as he deepens the kiss.  It's so passionate—so full of love, longing, and desire.  I sigh again as he slowly pecks me just once more. 
"I needed that," he whispers along my jaw. 
I can't stop the smile from spreading across my face once more.  I hurry up and apply the lipstick, blotting slightly.  I pick up quickly.
"I'm getting a necklace," I tell him disengaging from his hold removing one arm, then the other immediately followed by me ducking away from his face nestled in the crook of my neck.  I rush to my bedroom knowing he won't follow me in.  I hear an exaggerated sigh coming from him as I open my jewelry box.  I blink when I see a couple more in there.  I laugh in disbelief and peer through my doorway, down the hallway to see him heading for the living room.  I turn back to the gifts he's hidden in there.  They're beautiful but I'm guessing they're real... although, with all the swing dances and flips we've been practicing, I think I'll choose my favorite again.  I know it's not real but I'm just drawn to it.  The white stone sparkles with an iridescence of green and purple.  The color is unsurpassed by any other.  The new purple one is beautiful along with the double gold medallions.  If we weren't dancing, I'd definitely choose one of those.  But I don't want to ruin them and I fear I will do just that if I'm not careful.
I unclasp my prettiest necklace and attempt to put it on. As I try to hook the clasp together within the hole, I just can't catch it or I'm releasing the trigger at the wrong time. I don't know why, but my fingers just aren't cooperating. I sigh in frustration and set the necklace down on my dresser. I notice the bottles of perfume sitting beside it and I reach out for the green one. I smell it and decide this would be good for tonight. I spritz it once and it's so incredibly light that I use another.
"Tris?" Eric calls out for me.
"Just a minute!" I reply. Maybe he can put the necklace on for me. I grasp it and my purse with everything I already packed in there for tonight before I stride down the hallway. I step out to the living room and surprisingly see him standing facing an active screen on my wall.
"We're live," he tells me.
"Hello, Amar," I say.
"Good to see you, Stiff," he teases.
"Same here," I laugh lightly in reply.
I walk up and join Eric's side.
"What's going on?" I inquire.
"I'm just here to confirm times and procedure. That's all," he says reassuringly.
"Alright," I agree.
He explains that we'll stop at the hospital tomorrow for a quick consultation and an injection there—the same as Dana gave me.  Then, we'll drive out to the cottage and leave our vehicle there. They'll cause disruption with Jeanine's recording instruments but the Dauntless patrols may pass by and become concerned if Eric's vehicle is missing. He elaborates on the path we should take and promises he'll meet us at the halfway point. I nod in understanding.
"I'll see you two tomorrow," he grins.
"Thanks, Amar," I tell him.
"Anytime. I can't wait to satisfy your Erudite curiosity," he jokes with Eric.
"Last time you told me that you practically tortured me," Eric jests.
Amar snorts at that.
"That was fun. No fear landscapes this time—just reality, though it may feel like a hallucination," he admits.
"See you tomorrow," Eric replies.
Amar responds the same and says goodbye to us.
Eric turns the monitor off with his palm. He faces me but he looks nervous. I don't know if I've ever seen that expression on his face before.
"Can you help me with this?" I ask him trying to distract him from whatever is weighing on his mind.
"Sure," he responds.
He shakes out of it and I set the necklace in his hand. I see a smirk on his face and he bites his lip to hide it. I turn around and let him put it on me. I honestly am surprised he didn't ask me why I haven't chosen one of the new ones. He actually seemed... pleased at my choice. Maybe he knows my thoughts—that I don't want to break the real ones.
"All done," he whispers setting the chain down against my skin. I feel a kiss to my shoulder. "Mmm, you smell good," he says softly.
I grin as he showers me with a trail of kisses. I laugh when it starts to tickle. He backs away.
"You picked it out," I mention.
"Yeah, but it smells better on you," he insists.
I smile at that.
"You about ready?" he asks.
"Yeah, we can go," I respond.
Eric walks me to the door and opens it for me. I step out and I'm about to grab my keys when he beats me to it, locking up.  I grin at how sweet he is and we're off down the hallway. He presses the call button for the elevator and we ride it down to the ground floor of the Pit. The doors open onto an excited, bustling crowd out to enjoy their evening. We catch the passerby's attention as we walk the expanse hand in hand. I hear someone call out to us, "Go, Eric!" I laugh at the comment and glance at him. He doesn't seem phased at all. I notice his shirt, though. I feel the material and it's the one I bought him—the silk, floral one. He rolled up the sleeves and it looks really good on him. We match, now that I think about it—we both got each other these outfits on the same day.  I grin at that so happy to be with him.
We continue on turning down the corridor that leads us toward the bars, dance clubs, and from what I've heard, a karaoke bar. I don't know if I could ever convince Eric to go there but I might get the girls to join me sometime. This area is extremely crowded with people standing around or going from place to place.
We enter the same dance club as last time—the one Eric took me to on the first night I truly got to know him. The music is playing but nobody is dancing yet.  There are a few people out on the dance floor but they're talking and drinking, standing around.  I see Uriah waving us down from across the room.  It looks like they have an entire section reserved for all of us.  I notice the rest of leadership already there including Lydia and Hale, along with some of his friends from my congratulations.  I point them out to Eric and he puts his arm around my waist to escort me.  There's more of a crowd congregated over here.  As I look closer, they're kind of observing what our friends are doing.  I see Marlene and Lynn with them.  We greet everyone and I decide to sit by Lydia so I can meet some of Hale's friends.  He introduces me to Aries first—an older but very strong and handsome man.  He has black hair, green eyes, and a square jaw.  I feel Eric slide a protective, possessive arm around me pulling me closer to his side.  I shake Aries's hand as he scoots in the booth between Lydia and me. He seems a little off in my opinion—kind of on par with Lena... but oddly directed at me.
I also meet Orion, Kane, and Lynx.  All of these men are maybe ten years older than me or more and absolutely enormous—even bigger than Eric.  Orion has very dark skin with light brown eyes.  He's the largest out of the group.  Kane has olive-colored skin with hazel eyes and medium brown hair.  He seems friendly but he's the smallest out of the bunch.  Lynx has unique, short black hair with a few white wisps at the ends of some.  His skin is incredibly pale making me think he has an apartment like Christina's and rarely sees sunlight.  The tattoos on his skin are somewhat striped like that of a tiger or something.  His eyes are the most striking, though.  His pupils are extremely dark and bold—very noticeable—while the shade is almost a pastel, blue-green as if it's unnatural. 
As I think it over, I'm surprised all these men don't have dates.  They're all attractive.  I even notice Gabe joining Lynn along with Rita and Finn.  He sits right next to her. 
Eric nudges me grasping my attention.  He hands me a menu.  "Thanks," I say to him.  I open it up and peruse my options.  I see a variety with pineapple and coconut that sounds incredible.  When the waitress takes my order, I request a virgin variety. 
"Got it," she nods.  Eric swipes his point card for us and I realize I was last in our area to order.
"What'd you get?" I whisper to Eric. 
"The usual," he shrugs. 
"You should come see the fight next Thursday," Aries says to me. 
"If I'm feeling well," I reply. 
"What's wrong?" he questions. 
"She's getting the same treatment I got," Lydia answers for me. 
"The growth thing?" he asks her.  She nods in reply.  He nods as well looking at me.  "Imagine if she grew more.  Eric would be fighting with all of Dauntless to hold them back."
"I already am," Eric replies. 
Aries guffaws.  "Can't argue there," he says staring at me. 
"So," Ryan says getting my attention.  "Where's your other friend?"
"Dana?" I question. 
He nods. 
"She should be coming," I shrug. 
"I hope so," he replies. 
He tells a few jokes that have us all laughing.  Max is chuckling and Jude almost spews his beer everywhere.  I'm grinning at seeing them out.  They both entertain each other well. 
Zeke and Shauna join us.  Zeke hugs Eric, then he hugs Shauna.  I hug her, too, when she offers. 
"Thanks for the invite," she says. 
"No problem.  I'm glad you could make it," I tell her. 
She smiles in reply. 
Our orders arrive on a large tray.  Most everyone got beers.  Lynn got some bottle of something with a couple small glasses.  She pours a drink for Gabe and herself.  They clank the glasses and down the contents together.  She pulls him off to the dance floor and he looks ecstatic.  My beverage is placed in front of me and I smile at this incredible-looking drink thanking the waitress.  It has a large slice of fresh pineapple and a cherry decorating the rim of the glass.  It's so colorful and unique. I take a sip and this might be my go to from now on.
"You know what they say about ladies who like piña colada's?" Aries says nudging me.
"No," I laugh in surprise.
He and the rest of the fighting league guys start bursting out in song—even Hale. I'm chuckling at them. Everyone else joins our table from the other to listen as they all dramatically serenade me. I blush at some of the words, some I'm not familiar with. I glance to Eric and he's not impressed. He might even be a bit jealous of the guys having my attention. I reach out for his hand and he kisses the back of it in front of them. When they finish, everyone else is laughing and joking with them. Max teases Hale about his lovely singing voice. Hale throws his head back in laughter at that.
"Dude, isn't that song about a guy cheating on his girlfriend?" Ryan asks Eric.
"Sort of," Eric responds. Ryan motions for him to continue. "The guy is bored and looking for another girl. The one he meets up with is his current girlfriend that he didn't know as well as he thought he did."
Ryan and I nod.
"Are you listening in," Eric teases nudging me.
"Intently," I grin.
He kisses me. I wrap my arms around his shoulders and the whole table cheers for us. I'm laughing as he pecks my cheek.
"Looks like she's not bored to me, man," Lynx tells Aries.
"Give them time," he replies in a whisper but I heard it. He's absolutely someone to stay away from.
Christina and Will finally join us and I slide down to make room freeing up the space between Aries and me. Will sits there and Christina beside me.
"You look nice," I comment on her new dress and makeup.
"Thanks, so do you," she replies.
I smile in response.
"So... where've you been?" I inquire.
"Will took me out to dinner," she grins.
"Oh?" I question with a raised eyebrow and glance at Will as he shakes Aries's hand. "Nice."
Christina beams at that. A waitress approaches us again and takes some drink orders from the new arrivals. Christina and I talk for a while and I introduce her to Lydia and the fighting league. Orion looks at her with interest and I don't think Will even noticed. I tell her quietly and she saw it.
"What are you two over there whispering about?" Aries asks.
"Girl talk," Christina shrugs it off.
He nods pursing his lips but glances at me. Their drinks arrive and Christina gets a mixed drink... it looks like a chocolate milk or something.
"What the heck is that?" I ask her.
"It's called a Chocolate Russian Mock-tail," says taking a sip.
It's in a short glass like Kane's drink but it has chocolate dripping around the rim. It somewhat resembles an iced hot chocolate. I mention as much to Christina and she nods telling me it's kind of like that. She offers me a sip of hers. I offer her one of mine as well.
"That's good. Does it have coffee in it, too?" I question.
"Espresso powder," she nods, then explains it's a stronger coffee.
"It's good. I don't think I've had anything here I don't like," I reply.
"Yours is interesting—really fruity and creamy," she mentions.
I agree with her.
We start to move around the tables talking with everyone. I visit Uriah, Zeke, Marlene, and Shauna. Eric joins me. I see him and Zeke together and really do think they're good friends. Dana arrives and I have her sit with me. She's dressed like she does for church but more party-like.
"You look nice," I compliment.
"Thanks, so do you," she grins.
"Where've you been?" I question.
"I actually ran into a friend of mine from initiation. We hadn't seen each other much since she got married," she explains.
"Oh? Anyone I know?" I inquire.
"She runs ones of the flower shops. Her name is Daisy," she tells me.
"Amity transfer, right?" Eric asks.
"She was," Dana nods.
"Next time, invite her," he insists.
"I don't know if she'd be up for something like this," she replies.
"She could bring her husband," he shrugs.
"That's just it," she admits biting her lip. "He died years ago and she's still wearing the ring. I don't think she's over him."
"Oh, that's terrible," I frown with Eric responding a similar sentiment.
There's silence between us for a few moments. We each sip our drinks—Dana the water she ordered.
"Maybe a smaller get together," I suggest.
"Perhaps I could coax her to something like that," she nods.
"Ladies' night out at my place?" I offer.
"Maybe," she grins nodding. "So, you're seeing Dr Smith tomorrow?"
"I am," I nod. "Eric and I were thinking of taking some time off and staying at the pond," I mention.
"Together?" she whispers concerned.
"He has two separate rooms there," I tell her.
"That might be hard," she points out.
"Yeah," I nod.
"Then why would you do that?" she questions.
"I don't know," I admit. "I just... have a feeling this dosage is going to hit me harder than the last one. If it's worse, I don't know if I'll be able to manage being around Dauntless when I'm kind of out it, you know?"
"I get it," she nods in understanding. "So... only if you're so weak that he'll just be watching over you?"
"Pretty much," I agree.
"That's different. It's not like a vacation together... or living together for that matter," she concludes.
"Yeah," I reply.
"Why don't you stop by before you leave tomorrow and I'll give you your next pill pack for the following month?" she suggests.
I agree. I didn't even think of that.
"So, do I get to see you guys dance?" Zeke asks Eric.
I turn to their conversation.
"I'm up for it," I shrug at Eric.
He chuckles lightly but I glance to Dana and I don't want to leave her alone.
"We'll hang out," Ryan insists.
I look to Dana. "It's fine," she replies to my unvoiced question.
I see Christina come over to our table, too, and I feel better about that. She's always helped to make someone who feels out of place welcome.
I smile and let Eric lead me out on the dance floor. There's a slow song playing and he leads me not too far away from our table. He turns me a few times. It's a simple dance. I feel like he's just warming up. The next song plays—another slow one. He starts leading... and yeah, this one's more choreographed but still not all we've done before. I feel like he's saving some of the slow ones either for in private—or the more likely choice is for a special occasion. This dance is somewhat reserved. It's still fun and we absolutely have the faction's attention—all of those present are watching us intently.

When the song changes to something of a ska persuasion with trumpets and a faster beat, he turns me quickly. Before I know it we're in the middle of a serious swing dance. We're moving for a moment with comfortable steps and I know this one. He's building up to a flip. He does a flip overarm with me first—which is exactly that. The crowd goes wild around us and that's probably the simplest. We go back to a basic East Coast Swing before he does a cradle swap next where he picks me up bridal style almost and then tosses me—one of my legs over his neck—immediately followed by tossing me again where he's holding me in the same position as the first but the opposite direction. I'm laughing at that one. I hear whistling and I'm glad the ceiling here is higher than both of our apartments'. We do the Titanic, the back to back, the tunnel inversion, the momentum, the Lindy flip... the around the world has everyone excited—shouting, whistling, clapping. I'm laughing at all the attention. We do my favorite—the angel—and I'm loving it. We end with the proposal and everyone is freaking out. Even when the song is over, they're still cheering for us.
We make our way back to our table. I need a drink. I grab my glass, Eric his beer and we sit beside Max and Jude.
"I told you those swing dances were pretty incredible," Max tells him.
"You weren't lying," Jude nods. "I am impressed."
I laugh bashfully. "It was all Eric," I insist.
"He may have taught you but he's right, you learn quickly," Max comments.
"Thank you," I say softly. I sip my drink but it's mostly gone.
Max and Jude go up dancing with Lynn and Marlene like last time.
"I don't think she's getting bored with him anytime soon," Orion laughs at Aries.
"Yeah, yeah," Aries says dismissively but he's staring at me.
"Should I get you a refill, sweetheart?" Eric offers.
"Sure. Just water this time, please?" I request.
"Anything for you," he says pecking my lips.
I smile and watch him walking away to the bar. I notice him sit down beside Four—who was watching me.
I close my eyes and sigh.
"What's wrong?" Aries asks sitting beside me.
I notice many of our group up and dancing. Dana is out with Ryan surprisingly and only Rita and Finn are at the other table.
"I see my ex over there," I shrug.
"Four?" he questions.
"Yeah," I reply.
"I wouldn't worry about him. He's a total pansy," Aries insists.
I blow off the comment and sip the dregs of my glass.
"How about we get out of here?" he whispers to me.
"Despite what you may have heard, I'm not that kind of girl," I tell him.
"You can learn, angel. It doesn't bother me teaching you," he replies smoothly.
"I'm sorry. I'm not interested," I tell him flatly.
"Think about it. I don't mind waiting for a girl like you," he tells me.
He gets up and goes out dancing. He is skilled but I'm not intrigued by him whatsoever. I see him start dancing lewdly with Lena. That girl Rosie—from the grocery store—is dancing similarly to them with Kane. I set my gaze away from that crowd and observe the other leaders out there. They look like they're having a great time. Ryan and Dana look good together, too. I'm astonished by that. She's laughing and smiling. She appears carefree and I'm glad.
I think about Eric and me... we're good. I'm perfectly content with him—more than that actually. I couldn't be happier. Things are great and I doubt I will ever have an interest in anyone else... ever.