You die, I die too

Chapter 7

"True friendship multiplies the good in life and divides its evils. Strive to have friends, for life without friends is like life on a desert island... to find one real friend in a lifetime is good fortune; to keep him is a blessing."

- Baltasar Gracian

Candice POV

The first week of initiation were intense. Not just because of the hard training, but because a certain leader made it more difficult. Eric seemed to make it his goal to torment me, he made me workout extra hours with him just because of my fucking mouth. Sometimes I hated myself for talking too much, especially when I shouldn't. However, I still believed he was wrong for what he wanted to do to that poor guy, and I stood by my words. The extra training was fine, it's just why did it had to be with Eric? He made me run until I almost collapsed of dehydration, not to mention my knuckles were sore and bloody from all the punching he made me do. He even made me fight him every now and then, which I was terrified of.

Flashback

I was fast asleep in my bed when someone shook me. I woke up with a jolt, only to find Eric standing by my bed, motioning for me to be quiet. I got out of bed and saw Eric staring at me. I looked down and realized I was only wearing a tank top and a thong. As awkward as it was, I was thankful it was dark in the room, because otherwise he would have seen me blush like a tomato. Eric soon cleared his throat and turned away so I could get dressed. When I was dressed we went straight to the training room, because it was 5 a.m. and the dining hall hadn't open yet. As soon as we entered the training room, Eric took of his t-shirt, and I couldn't help but stare. I mean he looked really good, and after all, he did the same to me. Anyway, I was too caught up with his exterior that I didn't hear him speak.

"Hey, princess. I know I look good, but we don't have time for you to gloat over my body. So, come on, get your ass out there and start running."

"I was not gloating, and besides you are not so innocent yourself, mister. I saw you staring at me earlier."

"Well, if you had of worn something with a little more fabric, I wouldn't of have. You shouldn't sleep like that, you never know what those guys might do."

"I take my chances. Why do you care anyway?"

"I don't. Now stop talking, god dammit! I like to get this over with before actual training."

"Geez, chill. I guess you didn't wake up on the right side, huh?" I gave him a small smile, but he just glared at me. I sighed and started running towards the exit, with Eric following right behind me.

Even though it was still early, the air was warm, and the sun was up, shining down on us. We ran and ran for god knows how long, all I knew was that I was getting a bit tired, and the sun didn't make it easier. The only positive was that Eric was quiet, I didn't want to get distracted by him, so the silence was welcomed. I started thinking about everything that had happen in my life up to this point. My childhood, moms' death, the years with Michael and lastly the past week that I had been here. So much had happen since I got here, and it's only the first week. I met Four and Zeke again, made new friends, got a new haircut, and apparently pissed of an already grumpy leader. Not to mention, I got myself a week of punishment, way to start initiation.

I failed to notice we were back in the training room, and Eric had stopped which caused me to abruptly run into him, making me fall on my ass in the process.

"You should watch were you're going initiate, don't want to accidently hurt your pretty ass again, now don't we?" Eric said while turning around, smirking.

"Real funny, ha, ha. I wouldn't have fallen on my pretty ass if you hadn't stopped so abruptly." I said while panting. I started feeling dizzy from the lack of oxygen. And I had to lie down on my back and close my eyes so I could try to regain my breathing. I could hear movements, and I soon felt a hand on my cheek. I opened my eyes only to see Eric eying me with concern in his eyes.