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Twenty-Eight

My father grins at me and I laugh, smiling widely. My cheeks sting even as he hugs me because my smile grows wider.

I step down off the table and Eric smirks at me, Katherine pulling me into her arms, hugging me. Colton and Harrison both clap my shoulders as the Dauntless whoop and scream my name.

"I don't know how I'll beat that, just that as their first act of being officially members, they will pick their jobs tomorrow morning along with their living arrangements." My father chuckles. "I can tell you all want to know the rankings. I can sense the tension and excitement in the air. So, without anymore delay, here they are."

I watch as Eric cuts the screen on, the board lighting up. I bite into my lip, looking for my name.

And I see it, and a scream leaves me. I see my picture beside the number one.

Right in the first spot is my name.

1. Lian.
2. Mason.

I cheer loudly, before hugging Mason.

I look for Zella's name.

6. Jay.
7. Zella.
8. Mia.
9. Daniel.
10. Dakota.

I yell, hugging Zella. "Oh my god, you did so good! Sixth is amazing!"

"You're first!" She laughs, "Mason's second! Oh my god, you two!"

Mason joins our hug, laughing deeply. The echoing cheers of the other Dauntless make our screams sound like whispers, and I pull away as Eric clears his throat, only inches away from me.

But Nikki and Dia hug me from the side, and I laugh deeply. Elijah, joins in, grabbing Nikki's hand afterwards, kissing her knuckles. I wiggle my brows, and Nikki gently punches my shoulder, laughing.

She rubs my arm afterwards, and I see Eric nudge Katherine. She walks over to the microphone, and clears her throat.

"I have an additional announcement!" The chatter dies down as Eric stands at her side. "Okay, as you all know, I am stepping down from leadership because I have a little one on the way. The top rankings were very close, and due to the closeness, the times of their fear landscapes were used to determine ranking, and Lian had ten seconds ahead of Mason. However, Dauntless law requires that the amount of leaders are an odd number. So, if she will consider it, Lian, we as leaders see no one better to be our newest leader."

I gasp softly and tears well up in my eyes, as I walk closer to the table. People start chanting my name, and I nod to Katherine.

"I'd be honored." She laughs, nodding back to me. She kisses my hands, as I whip around to see Eric.

"Congratulations." He tells me and I hear the chatter die down to a mutter, feeling all eyes on us.

"I talked to your dad.. and while, I don't think he'll think the timing is best, I think it's pretty good."

"Huh?" My brows furrow, and he grabs my hips and presses his lips to mine, and I exhale a sigh.

My hands up his cheeks before sliding to his neck, arms wrapping around his shoulders.

I pull away, enough for our lips to brush if we spoke. "I guess... you're looking forward to my promise."

"Whenever you're ready," He smiles and I bit on my lip to suppress a smile.

I pull away, and look over to my left, Zella, Nikki, Mason, Dia, and Elijah all in shock.

My father clears his throat and we break apart, snickering softly, my hands over my lips.

Eric walks off, grabbing my hand and pulling me off backwards, and when I turn around, he extends a bottle of alcohol to me.

I raise a brow and he opens it with his teeth, and I take the bottle, grinning.

"Not bad, Erudite." I tease.

"I was Erudite," He replies smugly.

He smiles a charming grin, that makes his grey eyes brighten, and it makes my heart beat in my chest.

I take a swig of alcohol, letting the burn sting my throat.

I look around for my friends, but I can't find any of them, as they mix with the crowd.

So many parties were going on tonight, but I was with Eric and we were dangling our feet off the Chasm.

After our third bottle, he extends a hand to me, and I stand up, pressing my drunken lips to his. He moans and kisses me back, dragging me along.

We barely make it off the bridge, but he pushes my back to the wall, my dress catching the rocks, and I feel his hands pry at the fabric. Wheeze-like moans escape me all too fast, our teeth scrapping against our lips.

I feel the back of my dress unzip and with hazy eyes, I nod, before he grabs my hand and we sprint up to his apartment, barely getting through the door, before we're making out again, my fingers opening his vest, and our limbs tangle together.

His lips smother mine, and I'm too high on him stop.

He lets his hands slide over my skin, and I melt underneath him as our skin touches. I felt so weak.

And then, I was on fire, consumed by his raging storm.