Eric
I can't believe what she told me, that she was so open about it. I really don't think she's a threat. She works in security and does a great job. She's an exceptional Dauntless. How could her loyalties be anywhere but here? I don't think they are. I think that feeling I'd been having was right. She's not hostile or undermining the factions. I think I'll handle each request on a case by case basis. I will decide who threatens Dauntless from within—not Erudite, not Jeanine.
I look to her again as we sit in the boat. She's still eating her sandwich. I devoured mine in a matter of minutes. I know she likes it, though. I think she enjoys food. It sounds like the plain meals she was used to weren't her favorite and she loves to try new things. I want to be there with her as she does, introducing her to everything. The fact that she admits she's different? I see it now. I think that's what drew me to her. I believe that's part of the appeal. It's as if she's a forbidden fruit and I want her. If Jeanine knew my thoughts, she'd kill me—metaphorically speaking anyway. She's at risk. Anything I want to ask, I've got to do it away from the cottage. I should ask her my questions now, not later.
"Can I ask you a few things?" I inquire.
"Sure," she nods.
"What did you test for?" I question.
"Dauntless, Abnegation... and Erudite," she tells me softly.
"Three?" I ask in shock. I've never heard of that.
She nods. She is different... so different.
I sigh and look away. Maybe that's the draw. I grew up in Erudite and she suits that. She is pretty smart. We're both Dauntless... and she's selfless. I meet her eyes and she's staring at me. She doesn't look afraid of me. I see why her biggest fear was Jeanine making her kill her parents. She's very astute—as if she knows what Jeanine wants to do. Perhaps without Jeanine, she would've been her replacement... except for the fact that her kind are searched for and tested on. I feel like I need to know what Jeanine does with those she finds. She says they're a threat but I honestly don't know what she does there with them. Prison and examinations? I don't know. I probably should find out.
"What's on your mind?" Tris asks me.
"Thinking about Jeanine," I admit. "And you."
She stares at me for a moment. I sigh and look away from her. I don't want to scare her. "I'd never turn you in. I honestly don't want to turn anyone in," I divulge.
"Have you ever done that?" she inquires softly.
"She asked for Myra and Edward," I tell her. "I told her they were already gone."
She frowns at that. "I have seen Edward. I think he's gone nuts. I think that's why he and Myra split up," she tells me.
"That's a shame what happened to him," I say. "Nothing like your initiation happened in mine... except our trainer died."
"He did?" she questions shocked.
I nod. "Suicide. He was a fun guy. I never would've thought he was suicidal."
"Yeah," she replies softly. She's frowning. "Same with Al. Up until the last days, he wasn't that bad. I honestly think he felt terrible for helping Peter. I should've forgiven him."
"What did he do?" I ask confused.
"My abduction fear," she mumbles before taking another bite of her sandwich.
"He abducted you?" I question.
She nods.
"And Peter?" I ask.
"And Drew, too," she says. "Four beat the crap out of him but the other two got away. Then by the next day, Al was gone."
"Why didn't you tell me this? I had no proof with Hayes stabbing Edward. If he did something to you, I could've handled it," I say.
"Four had me convinced you were the bad guy," she tells me in a whisper. "I'm sorry for misjudging you."
"I would've protected you then. You should've told me," I tell her.
"I know that now," she responds softly.
"What's going on with Hayes?" I ask.
"I avoid him," she tells me. "I'd probably be able to beat him now. I train with some pretty impressive Dauntless."
I grin at that. I knew she had spunk. That's why I set that up. "I'd like to see that," I tell her.
"It'd probably end up like my fight with Molly," she admits.
I chuckle at that.
"I thoroughly enjoyed watching that one," I tell her.
"Of course you did," she mumbles rolling her eyes.
"What changed?" I question.
"Peter ripped off my towel and Molly criticized me," she says unable to meet my eyes.
I blink in shock.
"Was he always like that?" I question.
She purses her lips and nods.
I sigh harshly. "I hadn't realized he tormented you," I admit. "Come to me if anything else happens," I tell her caressing her leg.
Her eyes meet mine and she nods.
I row us back when my basket is full. I teach her how to clean the fish. I freeze some and refrigerate the others.
"Do you want me to take you back for your stuff?" I ask.
"We could do that," she nods.
I drive her back and tell her it's best that we talk about anything confidential in my truck or on the pond. I drive and we talk... about lighthearted things actually. She's not so different and it feels like this doesn't change much between us other than I know I have to be cautious with her around Jeanine.
I pull up at the campground and park. We climb out and I escort her to her cabin. I notice a large group of Candor members sitting together at the beach.
"Do not many Dauntless come here?" she asks me.
"Normally they do," I tell her. This is weird that we're the only two. But I'm honestly good with that. Nobody from our faction is bothering us or hitting on her. That pleases me.
We step into her cabin and she grabs her bag.
"Should I bring it all?" she asks me.
"If you want," I shrug attempting to hide my smile at that.
"Are you moving out?" the Erudite girl asks.
"Not exactly," Tris replies. "Jana this is Eric. Eric, Jana."
I nod to her.
"I know who he is," she mumbles.
"You do?" Tris asks surprised.
"Sure. He's Jeanine's son who defected," she replies still looking through her microscope.
"Nephew," I correct.
"Whatever," she shrugs dismissively.
"Are you having trouble with guys in here?" Tris asks her.
"Nope. I'm a nerd. They're not interested," she replies quickly.
"Well, one of them was a problem for me yesterday. Eric says some others were behaving threateningly so I'm staying with him," Tris explains.
The Nose looks up in surprise. "Well, it's Amity after all," she responds.
I snort in reply. "We're not having sex," I tell her rolling my eyes.
"Sure you're not," she laughs.
"Do you always talk to faction leaders like this?" I question.
"Oh," she says in response. "I hadn't realized."
"We're... we're not..." Tris stutters.
"We're friends," I clarify but I notice the blush covering her face. I hadn't perceived that she had such a reaction before.
"Uh huh," the Erudite replies.
I see Tris grabbed her swimsuit and phone cord.
"See you around, Jana," I tease.
"Have fun in Amity," she replies to us.
I escort Tris out.
"She was nicer the last time I talked to her," she replies.
"Disregard her behavior. She's just jealous that you're getting all the male attention," I tell her.
"What do you mean?" she questions.
"She's not very pretty and they're ignoring her. She's jealous of your negative attention," I explain putting her bag into my trunk.
"I'm not very pretty either," she protests.
"Stop being so modest. You're gorgeous," I disagree.
I open her door and she's gaping at me. I walk around and climb in.
"Are you coming?" I ask when she's still standing outside.
"Y... yeah," she says getting in.
She's quiet on the return. We arrive back and I start a fire to smoke some of the fish.
"You want to swim?" I ask.
"Can you do both at the same time?" she inquires motioning to the fire.
"This'll take like three hours," tell her. "I just didn't want to leave with the fire going."
"Oh," she nods. "Sure."
She goes upstairs and changes. I get the fish situated over the fire on a skewer and having them hang down. I brined them briefly while we were gone. I put some foil over the coals and put some applewood chips on the foil to smoke. I'll check this periodically.
I run up to change and she's still dressing. I put another pair of trunks on and open the door. She's in the bathroom putting on sunblock. I immediately step in there and start applying it to her back. I like that this one is mostly backless. The others had several straps I had to navigate around. I recall helping my sister with this and putting this on Tris is nothing like that. When I finish with her, I start on myself and she puts some on my back. I glance at the front of her suit. It's a two-piece halter top with bikini bottoms. She looks incredible in this one and I have to deliberately keep looking away.
We grab some towels and head outside. I check the fish to see it's fine. I see her setting her towel down on the chair. She kicks her sandals off and digs her feet in the sand. I can't help but look at her again. She's so beautiful.
I'm kind of shocked that her Erudite friend was so bold in her words earlier. She almost sounded Candor. Tris was uncomfortable with what she said. I wonder if it was the subject matter or me. I'm assuming the subject. She's uncomfortable with touch and intimacy. It's got to be that. I decide to test my theory. I walk over beside her and touch her shoulder with one hand and toss my towel to the further chair. She looks up at me with her crystal blue eyes. She's not uncomfortable with me touching her. It's got to be intimacy.
"Come on," I say taking her hand.
She follows me easily. Yeah, she's fine with me. The girl's assumption is what bothered her.
We walk through the shallows, slowly acclimating ourselves to the water. We get out deeper and start swimming together.
"Did you already know Jana?" she asks me.
"No," I shake my head.
"But she knows you," she mentions.
"That's like everyone in Dauntless knows Max, but Max doesn't know everyone," I point out.
"True," she nods.
"She made you uncomfortable, didn't she?" I question.
"That she assumed such a thing about us? Yes," she nods.
"What's your fear exactly?" I inquire since we're talking freely about it.
"Intimacy," she says softly. She flushes and doesn't meet my eyes.
"Is it a Stiff thing?" I ask.
"I think it may be common with former Abnegation," she shrugs. "Any sort of touch was taboo. It makes sense to me that something so personal is not really like a screaming fear. It's more like an internal panic and discomfort."
I purse my lips and nod at that.
"Were you laughing at my fear?" she asks bashfully.
"We all were," I admit. "It wasn't like a humorous kind of laugh. I think your fear kind of made us all uncomfortable. Yours was the only one like that that got an actual emotional response from us. The rest were expected. Yours was unexpected."
"Yeah. My fears are weird," she says.
"No different than mine or anyone else's," I disagree.
"Really?" she asks surprised.
"You have fewer than most," I point out.
"How many do you have?" she asks.
"I had twelve in initiation. I knocked it down to eight during my leadership training," I divulge.
She grins at that.
"I think you've also lost some," I mention.
"I think so, too," she nods.
I pick her up and she chuckles. I toss her backward playfully in the water and she's laughing. Yeah, she's not afraid. We mess around splashing each other for a while. We swim together and I'm thinking about how at ease I am with her. I notice how she's behaving with me. She's very casual as she climbs on my back and wraps her arms around me.
"I've never had a friend like you before, Eric," she tells me gently. "I've never told anyone the things I've told you."
I caress her arm and tell her the same. I'm not sure if this is a friendly gesture or more. So, I wait. I observe her for a signal at what she wants.
*****
Tris
Eric teaches me how to fry fish. He batters them and they look incredible. I steam some vegetables and sear some diced potatoes beside him. This smells so delicious. I can't believe I'm vacationing with Eric—that we're in his kitchen cooking, spending the day swimming and fishing. This is so fun.
We sit down to eat together and it's the best I've ever had. We've had fish twice in the cafeteria—tuna salad and fish sticks. These are better.
"You were underselling your skills," I tell him.
"Oh?" he chuckles in reply.
"This is the best fish I've ever had," I explain.
"Maybe we'll bake some next time. We'll probably have the smoked fish tomorrow," he says.
"Okay," I grin eating some more.
We swim for a while until the sun goes down and we take turns rinsing off in the shower. Then, I throw on his Erudite sweatshirt and some other clothes and we hang around outside by the fire. We talk and laugh. I have him chuckling with my sarcasm while he tells me jokes and teases me a bit. I start to realize... I think I'm seriously crushing hard on Eric.
We climb the stairs at bedtime. He hugs me before we separate. This one is more casual, more comfortable. I'm engulfed in his arms and he picks me up in an all-consuming bear hug. I chuckle before he sets me down. I look up at him resting my chin on his chest. He kisses my forehead before parting.
"Goodnight, Stiff," he tells me. I reply the same before entering my room. I really do like it here with him.
*****
I wake in the morning to the light patter of rain on the window. I rise and open the curtains. I look out the window to see a gentle sprinkling outside. I wonder what we'll do today... I go to the bathroom and get ready for the day. I step out and he's still in his room. I decide to let him sleep. He's done so much for me.
I go downstairs and debate on making something for him. I grab his grandma's cookbook and flip through the breakfast items. I wonder if he has these ingredients. I look through the pantry and he does. I decide to make him pancakes with bacon and eggs. I start the bacon in a pan first while I follow the recipe and add all the ingredients to a bowl. I hear the shower start up and I smile pouring a few scoops of batter out on the griddle. I start up the coffeemaker and flip several rounds of pancakes. This is easier than I thought. When the bacon is finished, I decide to make some basted eggs like his grandma has in her book. I butter the pan and crack them in. I've noticed he eats several and I'll have two. When they're sizzling, I add a little water and put the lid on turning the temperature down.
Eric steps into the kitchen and surrounds me in a hug from behind. "Thanks for breakfast," he says kissing my temple.
I close my eyes and grin in reply. I sigh shakily as he releases me.
"This looks much better than anything I'd make," he says. "Did you use my grandma's cookbook?"
"I did," I nod.
"I haven't had her food since I was little," he tells me.
"Good. Then you can tell me if I failed," I tease plating the last of the pancakes.
He chuckles in reply as I set them on the table. I peek at the eggs and they look like they might be done. I plate up his eggs and pass him the plate, then mine. We sit down across from each other. I see he put some fruit on the table along with the syrup, cream, and sugar.
We eat breakfast together and he tells me it's good—better than he remembers.
"They're different from the ones in Dauntless," I agree. These ones are more fluffy and light. They're smaller, too. The ones in the cafeteria are enormous and cover a whole plate.
"You can cook for me anytime," Eric smirks. I laugh lightly and blush at the compliment, thanking him quietly.
We talk and laugh over breakfast, then another cup of coffee each since we've got nothing else going on. When we finish, we put the leftovers away and he helps me clean up the kitchen. Afterward, he offers to play some games in the living room.
"Sure," I easily agree.
We sit down on opposite ends of the sofa and use the middle cushion as a table. He teaches me a card game. We start with Go Fish. It's simple and fun. We play a couple rounds and we each win. Then, we move onto Speed. He says it was always his sister's favorite. The rules are simple and I feel like I'm faster than him sometimes. I'm smiling and laughing racing him to put my cards down first. I win the first round, then Eric the second. He teaches me how to play War next. This one is just as fun but he wins first. We play again and I win.
We move onto a more advanced game with two decks of cards called Spite and Malice. It's interesting and it's definitely more challenging than the others. We play one round since it's a long game. Of course, Eric wins. We move onto his favorite game—Poker. This game is the most complex in my opinion and it takes us a few practice rounds before I fully comprehend the concept of the tiers of winning—the ranking of the cards. I grasp it and I find it fascinating. We play so many rounds. I actually win a few and Eric is grinning at me.
"Do you want some lunch?" he offers.
"Sure," I nod.
"In here or do you want to take a break?" he asks.
"Whatever you want," I shrug since I don't mind continuing. I really like this game. Some of the others seemed more simple—like for children.
"Alright," he smirks.
We eat some of the leftover burgers from the other day. He puts bacon on his. I decide to try that, too, since I've never had it. We grab some cut raw vegetables and a bag of chips. We sit down back on the sofa and return to our ongoing game. We eat our lunch continuing our play. I set my plate aside when I'm finished and I feel like we play for hours. It's pouring outside, though.
I stretch a little.
"You want to be done?" Eric asks as he wins the last round.
"What else do you have?" I inquire.
"It's kind of an antique board game," he says biting his lip. "But it's large and we're the pieces. It's called Twister."
"I'm up for it," I shrug.
"Okay," he grins.
He grabs a tattered box. He brings out a mat and unfurls it onto the floor. It has red, yellow, blue, and green rows of dots on it. He explains the rules and they're simple. We begin to play and it's funny how we have to reach around each other to touch the mat. As the game progresses, we really do have to twist and turn around each other. Eric falls and takes me with him. We're on the ground rolling around laughing.
"My bad," he chuckles.
I can't stop giggling. I guess I win.
We take a break from games. The downpour outside is ridiculous. It's absolutely pouring so much so that it's incredibly noisy inside. Eric makes us some tea and he gets out some sort of cookies. We sit side by side on the sofa sipping the tea and eating a few cookies. They're good. They go really well with the tea. He has his arm behind me against the back of the sofa. He sets his cup down on the coffee table. I follow when I finish. The downpour has lightened somewhat. It's more of a gentle drizzle now.
We talk a bit about work for us. I tell him how much Jax is teaching me and how I'm progressing physically with my team. He tells me what he's been up to lately—budget meetings, security changes, inter-faction relations. He mentions the seminars in the winter and how Jax has to stay behind in Dauntless... but he offers to bring me.
"I thought it was only for leadership," I mention glancing at him.
"I could bring someone if I want," he tells me.
I grin at that. "That sounds nice," I reply.
"So, you'd come with me?" he questions.
"Alright," I nod in agreement.
We talk a little more about hobbies and what we do in our down time in Dauntless. I explain that Christina loves shopping so I get dragged out to the stores frequently when we're off at the same time. He tells me he goes out with Ryan. Sometimes they zip line, go rock climbing, play billiards...
"I didn't know we had that in Dauntless," I respond.
"We do," he nods. "It's on a lower level of the Pit. It's below the dance clubs."
I grin and tell him I should check it out sometime.
"We could go together. I could teach you to play," he says softly.
I grin in that he wouldn't mind being seen with me in Dauntless—especially in public.
"I think I'd like that," I tell him smiling.
"I like spending time with you," he says gently caressing my cheek before he rests his hand back on his lap.
I look him in the eyes and tell him the same. I feel like he's waiting on me. I decide to be bold. I reach out my hand for his and lace our fingers together. My heart is racing in my chest.
He smirks at me and caresses my cheek with the other hand again. Then he turns my chin up with gentle pressure from his fingers. He leans closer toward me and I instantaneously close my eyes in anticipation. He kisses my lips softly and I shudder in euphoria from the graze of his lips on mine. He does want me. I feel so overcome at how incredible his kiss is. I respond kissing him back. He threads his fingers through my hair and deepens the kiss—completely taking over. I react in kind but still let him be the authority. He's very passionate and controlling... but I don't mind surrendering to him. His kiss is overwhelming and I crave more. This is what I'd always thought of him... and I want this with him. I've never felt like this before. Eric is so different—so much more intense and fervent than I've ever experienced. He slows the kiss and breaks away, gently pecking me once more. I can't help the smile plastered on my face.
"Mine," he declares.
I giggle expecting nothing less from him.
He kisses me again. I sigh contently and wrap my arms around his shoulders as he pulls me closer. His tongue enters my mouth and I whimper at the new experience, totally overcome by him. I meet his tongue with mine and I'm completely addicted to him—the taste of him, the way he holds me, kisses me. I know it's him that I want. We continue to make out—him kissing my cheek, my neck, the ravens along my collarbone. I can't keep the smile off my face as he holds me. It's as if the atmosphere has entirely changed from us being great friends to young lovers in a matter a minutes.
"Be my girl," Eric whispers along my temple as he holds me.
"I thought you already claimed me," I tease.
"I want to hear it from you," he says softly.
"I'm yours," I reply gently.
"Good," he says kissing my cheek.
We sit together in each other's embrace just talking, kissing, and laughing... but the dynamic of our relationship is so different now. He can't stop touching me, caressing me. For a girl from Abnegation, I can't get enough of him. He showers me with attention and affection. I've needed that kind of confirmation in a relationship. I've needed to know where I stand. I love this. I don't question his motives. I know he wants me. He wants this official and I've never encountered this. I never realized how much I'd craved acknowledgment from a companion. I feel like this is what I've always wanted, always longed for. I sigh overjoyed at this relationship with him. I've got new perspective on life and love. This is it... finally what I've been looking for.
*****
Eric
I can't keep the smile off of my face as I hold her. I wasn't expecting anything from her... but now, I'm never going back. Life has new vision, new purpose, new meaning. I kiss her temple again and she turns and nuzzles her head into my chest. I close my eyes. The time with her has been unbelievable. I've longed for this and I couldn't be happier right now.
We spend the afternoon and early evening curled up together on the couch. We reheat leftovers for dinner and sit down together. I can't resist pulling her chair closer as we eat and wrapping my arm around her. She laughs lightly pecking my lips and returns to her dinner. She takes another bite and appears to have something on her mind.
"What are you thinking about?" I inquire.
She meets my eyes and finishes chewing.
"I probably shouldn't stay here at night," she says softly.
"Why not?" I frown.
"Before... it was like I was your roommate. Now? I don't want to be tempted to do something foolish," she replies.
My frown deepens.
"It's just that... I fully intend to wait for marriage for certain advancements in a relationship. I plan on only giving myself fully to my spouse. Staying here..." she explains pausing. She nods. "... is probably not a good idea. It would be a temptation for me."
I smirk at that. I'm thinking I might be in her fear landscape now and I'm not disappointed. I'm incredibly flattered.
"Okay," I agree. I get it. I honestly was intending to do the same... but if someone like Tris wanted that, I'd probably give in in the moment. She's right—a full commitment is better. But a thought occurs to me. "What about your cabin? You have six Candors there," I point out.
"Shoot. That's right," she winces.
"Why don't I take you to the office after dinner? We'll see if something else is available," I suggest.
"That'll work," she nods. She leans forward and pecks my lips. "You're brilliant."
I smirk at that.
We clean up and I'm sad to see her pack her bag back up. "Do you want to do laundry?" she questions with a shrug.
"Sure," I nod.
That's probably the best thing to do on a rainy day. There's no fun outside for us. That's where Lizzy and I went over the summers since they have facilities at the campground. I pack a bag as well and grasp a deck of cards. I grab us a pair of umbrellas from the front closet and lead her out. We load up the trunk and I drive her to the office. I mention the issues she's had and it's no problem to move her. She's put in cabin 102 with an Amity family and a female Dauntless. The cabin is full and I'm relieved. I walk her there and the family is playing a game inside, the Dauntless woman is included. Her mouth hangs open in shock when I enter the door with Tris. She's got a small Amity girl on her lap.
"Hi," Tris says to the Dauntless girl.
Tris reaches out and shakes her hand, introducing herself. It turns out she's the owner of the flower shop I order from when I have leadership needs and obligations. She looks a little weary of me, though. I realize this is her family and honestly? I don't care. If I could have my baby sister around in her current faction, I'd spend the time with her, too. I know we have to push the faction before blood lifestyle around but I'm not worried.
Tris sets her few belongings down and grabs her clothes. We head to the laundromat here. We do our laundry and play cards together. She tells me her roommate's name is Daisy. I saw a wedding ring on her finger but nobody else in the room.
When we finish, I walk her to her room. I kiss her outside of her door.
"I'll call you in the morning," I tell her holding her.
"Okay," she grins looking up at me.
I peck her lips again wishing her goodnight before parting. I slowly release her, our fingers the last to let go before I'm on my way. I get to my truck and put my laundry in the trunk. I climb in and set my umbrella down on the passenger floor mat. I sigh already missing her.