TW: swearing, violence, intoxication
Song: Earned it
Artist: The weeknd
Layla's pov:
"You ready to see the initiates batter each other today?" I asked Eric with a huge grin on my face, as I held my mug of straight, black coffee in my ice-cold hands. Our apartment was freezing due to Eric putting the air conditioning on and essentially breaking it earlier; after a phone call with Jeanine about coming to Dauntless and not having all the equipment she asked for. He gave me a look that made me instantly start to laugh. "See, you are too!" I giggled, setting the mug on the kitchen table and grabbing my crutches, then helping myself up. He just rolled his eyes, unsatisfied that he'd been woken up by Max in the middle of the night regarding Jeanine.
Eric held the door open for me (just outside our apartment) as we made our way down to the training room. "You don't have to come to work, you know that right? You don't have to face Four today." My husband told me, gritting his teeth as he said his (sworn) enemies' name. I just rolled my eyes. Eric knew that I had to get back to work soon- I couldn't just stay at home all day, it would be looked down upon by the rest of the faction. I would also hate myself for becoming a stay-at-home wife —although there is nothing wrong with it— I just prefer to be out there leading the faction.
"I'll have to do it eventually. Just have my back if I try to kill him." I said, half joking.
I smiled bleakly at Eric as we reached the stair case. "Help me down?" I asked, motioning to my leg. He nodded and picked me up (his grip on my ribs) and threw me over his shoulder. I felt like a child. I felt the blood rush to my head as he turned me upside down.
"Zeke will be forcing you to go to that party of his tonight." Eric started grumbling again, I playfully rolled my eyes as he put me back down on the floor, "Do you really think that will be a good idea? You're still recovering."
I knew Eric had a good intention, but sometimes he was just too overprotective. "Eric, I've been stuck in the apartment since forever! I need some freedom." I pouted.
He crossed his arms and stopped walking. I was confused: what was he doing? Was he thinking?
"Yes, because you're obviously Rapunzel. Who has been trapped in our apartment her entire life by me, the evil mother." I burst out laughing at his random outburst; I start laughing even more when he pretends to flip his hair back.
"Didn't think you'd know so much about an ancient princess tale." I shoot back, amused by this.
"Don't tell anyone about that." He quickly mutters, pointing his finger at me as we start to pass people in the hallway again.
I chuckle, following my Mr Coulter into the training room where Four had just entered with Zeke. I sighed, leaning most of my body weight onto my crutches. "I'll kill him... both of them. All of them." Eric mumbled, placing a kiss on the top of my head.
"I think Max might have something to say about that, sweetheart." I follow on. He gives me another one of his famous eye-rolls at my nickname (one of many that I use on the daily basis) for him and then shifts over to the fight-boards. I watch him choose the pairs for the final part of stage one that has been prolonged for so long. I wonder which initiate we are going to loose today?
After a little while of tension between the four of us in the open, empty, vast space of the training room, Zeke approaches Eric and I.
From the corner of my eye, I notice Eric protectively reach for his gun but I stop him. "Zeke's okay, remember?" I remind him, "He's neutral. He's not on any side." I lied, he was probably on Fours' side, because they had been best friends for the longest time ever.
Zeke scoffed at Eric's action, "Aren't we all on the same side? Dauntless." He questioned, glaring at Eric.
I rolled my eyes, "Of course, but it got a bit hard to trust someone after they sabotaged my mission and lost over half of my team!" I accidentally snapped at Zeke- it wasn't his fault any of this had happened. "I'm sorry, it's just hard. I've known most of my team since initiation and some before that." I told him, he nodded and looked down.
"We will find them, Layla. I promise. Someone will at least. You know damn well that we have undercover dauntless members in all of the known factionless bases." He says, placing a hand on my shoulder before Eric sends him a look to take it off— which he reluctantly does. "Anyway, some positive news for once: Are you two going to my party in the pit tonight?" He asks, a toothy-smirk replacing the sorrowful look on his face.
"Maybe Zeke." I answer but then Eric interrupts our conversation with a directed 'cough'. I roll my eyes, "I'll see you tonight." He nods as the initiates wander in, all nervous to whether they'll pass or not.
I glance over to Eric, he's stood with his arms crossed against his chest. "What's got you in such a grumpy mood since what...? Five fucking minutes ago?" I asked Eric, nudging my elbow into his rib cage making him let out a small grunt.
"Fucking Zeke." He mumbled in my ear.
Rolling my eyes for what felt like the millionth time today, the remaining lost initiates pour into the training room and stand in front of Four. They are chatting away, some play fighting and others biting their nails with anticipation. Before we have to watch their final fights, I lean up to Eric's face (distracting him) and also to kiss him. I grab onto his left hand whilst my other hand pushes the back of his head closer to mine. His hand suddenly drops from my own and I feel his tongue swarm into my mouth and feel a pair of warm hands trail down my torso to my waist and squeeze.
Four *coughs* towards us and when I pull away from my husband we have a million pairs of eyes on us. I flip the initiates off and pick up my crutches that I had previously laid against the wall. "We'll finish this later." Eric whispers in my ear, pressing his lips against my temple, once more, before he walks over to Four to project the fight board onto the Erudite-made screen. So fucking fancy.
Many of the initiates gasp when they see who they're fighting today, Eric and I placed many of them up against their friends or people by they thought they could trust. Dauntless before blood... or friends. The faction always comes first.
"Right, who wants to go first?"
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They were awful. This was one of the worst groups of Dauntless initiates I had seen in years— including my years of overlooking them in Erudite. I shake my head and turn around to see Four and Eric wandering around slowly. Eric looked distraught (at no one in particular) whereas Four looked... I'm not so sure. As if he was focusing on just one initiate in particular. Beatrice. The initiate Tori had warned me about ages ago. What were they up to?
"Get on the mat." I shout, looking directly at the first two initiates of the day (Hector and Harry). Hector is Lynn and Shauna's brother, a Dauntless born, he's showing great potential and his fighting skills are immaculate. I would love to have him on one of the security details in the future. Today, we have the Dauntless born and new initiates training together because of the physical testing today. So that they can be graded together and also so that we can see the strongest and most progressed initiates.
The two boys fought well, extremely well in fact, but at the end of the day there can be only one winner.
"Come on, we don't have all day!" I shout, circling around the ring that they were standing on. Hector was crouched down slightly, he was going to charge at Harry— one of his sisters must have taught him that move. As I turn to face my husband, I hear a loud groan, and just as I thought; Hector had taken his partner to the floor. I smile at his courage and see his name move to the top of the training screen.
"Someone take him to the infirmary." Fours' voice sternly says, motioning to the other lifeless Dauntless born who knocked his head on impact with the ground. As another male initiate takes Harry to the medbay, I send a nod in Hectors direction telling him that he is free to leave whenever since he has been tested and there's nothing else for him to do for the day.
As the rest of the Dauntless born initiates get tested, we finish for a lunch break before the newbies get ranked and fight. Eric, Four and I stay behind in the training room— we are surrounded by other Dauntless members, so it isn't the time for Eric to start something with Four— personally I would rather ignore the rebel as and when I can but I work with the sod so it is being proven as just quite impossible.
"We've got..." Eric looks at the white clock, perched on the highest point of the wall on the grimy obsidian walls, "28 minutes until they get back. What do you say? Supply closet, I'm sure that will be long enough." He smirks and leans down to kiss me, instantly shoving his tongue against mine. I pull away after about a minute, gasping for air.
"I can't walk already—" I start.
"Then what have we got to loose?" God, his face, his body, everything about him is perfect.
I glance around the room looking for any excuse, I'm really not in the mood but I don't want to let his spirit down. "Actually, I have something to show you." I tell him, smiling.
His head tilts to the side when he crosses his arms across his right chest, flexing his biceps.
I lean my crutches against the wall and pretend to struggle to stand up properly, always such a tease. When Eric begins to approach me, I shake my head and go up to him— walking without my crutches and without a limp. He looks flabbergasted.
"W...wow? Wow, this is amazing, Layl!" He exclaims, picking me up and quickly wrapping his arms around my neck and thighs. My smile grows even more. Who would have thought, Eric Coulter stuttering— and for a woman— shocking.
"It's the Erudite medicine that Jeanine made." I beamed, everything's gone. Finally.
"Now that is something to celebrate." He smiles, "Why don't we skip Zeke's party later?" He tries, but I playfully punch him.
"Shut up, we're going. It's final." I wander over to the scoring board to see which initiates are under the red line. Tris is making her way back up and Al has almost dropped into the red category, but apart from that everything is the same.
Apparently when I was away, Eric went all angsty on the initiates during training and Max had to send him off the training program (temporarily). Four was pissed at him and the other leaders had Dylan sent off work to try and 'manage' his temper. Clearly none of that worked because when I got back I noticed a hole through the bedroom wall— like a fist. His fist.
After lunch was over, it was the final testing of the first phase. Personally, I am most intrigued about Beatrice's fight— she was against Peter— I'm not sure how well she'll do when put up against him. He's strong and a lot bigger than her but it makes her advantages equal I guess, she's smaller than him making her more likely to be quicker and more agile than him. He's cocky, I don't like that, but then again she mouthed off to my husband whilst I was away, I don't like that either.
"First fight. Peter verses Tris!" I hears Eric's voice ricochet from wall to wall in the massive training room.
"If you fail, you're out." I yell back at the initiates. They were standing around all over the place, talking to each other instead of training. They mumble to one another and look shocked as Peter (the stronger one of the two) approaches the mats, Tris following slowly behind. They both run chalk on their hands before the fight commences.
"It's Eric, he's just trying to get back at you." Christina tells Tris, I try to hide my chuckle when they both turn their heads into our direction. They have no idea.. it's not about getting back at Beatrice, it's about getting back at Four. He had clearly taken a liking to this girl— I wonder how he's going to feel when she gets thrown in with the Factionless.
Before the fight actually starts, I notice Four bring Tris to the side, he grabs her arm but it seems to be a gentle conversation. I nudge Eric and nod my head in their direction.
"What a pussy." Eric mutters, placing his arm firmly on my shoulder and pulling me closer to him. I can smell his strong aftershave, it's refreshing and also soothing. Even in a time like this.
For the first few minutes, Peter looks like he's winning, as he backs Tris up and she walks off the mat. He throws her on the floor when she tries to kick his stomach.
"Come on, stop playing with each other." Eric says, looking bored.
"This is boring, show us some real fighting!" I tell them as Tris' opponent allows her to stand up and get back into position. But with just one more punch from Peter, she's back on the floor again. Blood trails down her lip from the entrance of her nose, she picks her head up to look at Four. He's just walking away though. He's avoiding. He's always avoiding.
Eventually, Peter stamps on her head and she's out cold as a dead dodo. I nod at the lad as his name jumps a few places on the leaderboard— directly behind Hector— there's only a couple of points behind the two boys now.
Christina and Will take the girl to the infirmary just as her name drops back down to the place directly above the red line. She's so fucking lucky.
I angle my head to lean on my husbands collar bone, he looks down at me and smirks before lightly kissing my forehead and moving a strand of hair from my face. The training room is getting quite hot currently, due to the about of stress and violence in the room. The fighting and physically sweating teenagers aren't really helping either to be honest. It really stinks in here.
Later, the rest of the initiates fight. Eric marks them on it and then we leave to get ready for our plans tonight. (I practically beg my husband to make an appearance at the party tonight).
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"Yo, Zeke. My man." Dylan yells from the pit when Zeke makes an entrance holding a bottle of vodka in his right hand. I am standing beside my best friend in my gear since Eric, Four and myself are about to check up on the initiates: I thought I should check on the boys before I left to make sure they aren't blackout drunk quite yet.
"Go easy on the booze, Zeke." My tone is half serious and half joking as he nearly trips over his undone laces on his combat boots. "At least wait until I get off shift."
He gives me one of his drunken, goofy smiles, "I'm just tipsy, I'll wait for you and Eric and Dylan and Rosie and Lauren and Four and.." he starts to ramble on as he wanders off to bother someone else.
I roll my eyes before I finish hearing what he is saying.
"He's such a wanker." Dylan starts laughing uncontrollably and I give him a little shove, chuckling slightly under my breath.
"Right, well I'll be back as soon as I can. I've got to check on the initiates and make sure that they aren't going to get out of their dorms and come here to 'put on a show'. Because the last thing I want to do tomorrow is fishing initiates out of the chasm with a suicidal hangover." I tell him, playfully saluting him before heading to the shared rooms.
To be continued...