Love, Lies, Secrets and Manipulation (Divergent/Eric OC)

51. Erudite's Visit

(Natalie's POV)

"Jeanine," Eric acknowledges as we approach the group.

Seriously, what the hell is she doing here? This is a problem.

Nervous, I try my best to stay behind Eric so that he blocks me, but not before I catch sight of my dad and Jeanine's assistant behind Brian and Jeanine. The other Dauntless leaders are also among the group.

"Good evening, Eric," Jeanine greets with her proper Erudite tone. I stand halfway hidden behind his tall stature. "I assume you'll be joining us for our meeting."

"Of course," he replies.

"And who is this you have with you here?"

Shit!

Eric steps aside to expose me and places his hands behind his back. "One of our initiates," he answers.

Jeanine smiles at me. "Ah, yes. It's always nice to see a familiar face. How are you, Natalie?"

With my heart beating nervously, I force a small smile and answer. "Fine, thank you." Keep it together, keep it together.

"Mm. And how do you find yourself doing here at Dauntless, with initiation?"

Okay. Now we're beginning to cross into some very nerve-racking territory.

"This one here is actually doing quite well," says Brian after clearing his throat. Normally I'd be suspicious as to why he's answering for me, but in this case, I think I'm actually a bit thankful.

"At the moment, she's ranked second," he adds.

"Well," says Jeanine, sounding like she's impressed. "I'm glad to hear that. It seems you made the right decision choosing Dauntless."

Again, I force a small smile. "Yeah, well... I sure think so."

I hear Eric lightly clear his throat from beside me. "Actually, I was just escorting her to the simulation room where she wanted to practice working through her fears some more."

I turn to look at him, wondering why he'd make up that lie.

"Don't your initiates do that in more of the earlier part of the day?" Jeanine asks.

"They do," Max answers, and he looks at Eric as if he's curious why we'd be headed there.

"Yeah, we do," I say in agreement, quickly thinking of a way to back up Eric's lie. "It's just, well, I thought it might be a good idea to get some more practice in, since we only have a week left until initiation is over."

"So you'll be practicing your fear simulations for the second time today?" Jeanine asks in a confirming manner.

I nod yes but I notice how Max, Brian, Drea, and Henry all look at me a bit suspiciously. Even my dad looks a little confused. They all look like they're wondering why I'd be crazy enough to go through my fears more than once in a day.

"I don't know, I guess I'm just a perfectionist in that way," I add convincingly. "A kind of... overachiever, I guess you could say."

A small, devious smile plays upon Jeanine's lips. Yes, use her own word for me against her. Let her think I'm still planning on aiming for first rank and going through with her little mission.