2 years later
"Eric! Eric!"
At the sound of Annabelle's voice, Eric turned to find her running in his direction from Abnegation. Immediately understanding her distress, Eric left the group of other Erudite boys he'd been in a heated debate with and immediately ran to her aid, falling in stride with her steps as the pair ran back towards the little grey house that had become all too familiar to Eric. As always, the pair stopped a few houses down from Annabelle's so that she could fill him in on the specifics of the situation, only this time Annabelle was at a loss for words. Eric had never seen her so panicked, which clued him in to just how bad it must be this time around.
Hoping to ease her worry, Eric pulled Annabelle into his arms and allowed her to cry into his chest. He stroked her back and placed soft kisses to the top of her head, quietly shushing her cries so as to not draw attention from surrounding members of Abnegation. Knowing they couldn't waste any more time, Eric pulled back from Annabelle and bent down slightly to be at eye level with her, helping to wipe away some stray tears as he did so.
"Hey. He's going to be fine. Just go out to the fields and get prepped. I'll bring him to you. Okay?"
"Okay. Thank you."
"You don't have to thank me, Belle. He's my best friend and you're my girl. I'd do anything for you both. Now go. Get prepped."
Annabelle nodded quickly at Eric's words, taking a few more deep breaths to fully compose herself before leaning up on her tip toes and placing a quick kiss to his lips before making her way to the med kit stashed in the field.
After about ten minutes of waiting, Eric finally made his way into the fields with a weary looking Tobias on his arm. Annabelle instantly stood to help ease Tobias off of Eric and onto the ground where she made quick work of assessing his injuries. As usual, Tobias was far too tired to engage in much conversation, so Eric and Annabelle kept one another company while she worked.
"How bad was it this time?"
"He's getting stronger, but so are we. Tobias wasn't too bad; he was still fighting back. Made it easier to take Marcus down."
"Good. I'm glad. Did he get any hits in? Do you need anything?"
"No, babe, I'm fine. Just focus on this idiot here."
"I can hear you, asshole."
Annabelle and Eric both chuckled at Tobias' strained response. No matter how badly Marcus beat him, he always managed to stay his usual cocky self. As Annabelle finished treating his wounds, he slowly sat himself up and the three stared into the horizon to watch the sunset. At some point in the night, Annabelle found herself curling into Eric, doing her best not to fall asleep. Luckily, she didn't need to try for too long as the conversation suddenly shifted to involve her as well.
"Anna. Wake up. We need to talk."
Slowly and most unwillingly, Annabelle shifted her body against Eric's to face Tobias more easily.
"Listen, Anna, choosing ceremony is in a couple of months. We need to talk about what's going to happen."
Eric immediately noticed the way that Annabelle tensed in his arms and placed a comforting kiss to her temple while pulling her in closer as a means of comfort. Tobias gave a short nod of thanks to Eric as he continued with the impending conversation.
"Anna, you know I can't stay here. I need to get out."
"Yeah, I know. It's a good thing. I wouldn't expect you to stay Tobias."
"Yes, but what do you think that means for you?"
Somehow, Annabelle had never given much thought to what her life would be like without Tobias. He'd always been there. Protecting her, caring for her. But without him around for Marcus to incur his wrath on, would he really turn to her for beatings? The thought suddenly paralyzed the girl with fear, and both Eric and Tobias sensed it. Tobias reached out a hand to grab Annabelle's leg, hoping to bring additional comfort along with Eric's presence.
"Hey. It's okay. We aren't going to let anything happen to you. We have a plan."
At the mention of "we", Annabelle turned to look at Eric whose eyes remained trained on Tobias, but his expression was unreadable. No matter how close the two of them had gotten over the last two years, he still had a great talent for covering up his emotions. Anna looked frantically between the two men, waiting for further explanation.
"What do you guys mean? What plan?"
Eric and Tobias continued their staring contest, clearly having a silent conversation between the two of them. Apparently, Tobias won, as Eric let out a heavy sigh and turned to look Annabelle in the eyes.
"Tobias and I have been talking about it a lot and it's obvious that he needs to leave Abnegation. It's the only way to separate him from Marcus. Otherwise, he's eventually going to die here. But it is also important, most important, that you are safe. And that someone can still be here to protect you."
"Okay. So..."
"So, we've decided that I will transfer to Abnegation. To be with you. To protect you. We aren't going to leave you alone here."
Annabelle looked between her brother and her boyfriend, trying to determine if this was real. If Eric was really going to sacrifice his own potential future, all for her.
"You're willing to do that for me? Really?"
"Look babe, I'll be honest. It's not my favorite thought, becoming a stiff."
Annabelle chuckled at the way Eric struggled to say the word but was appreciative of the effort he was putting forth.
"But like I said, we've talked about it a lot and at the end of the day, you're more important than any of it. I'm not going to leave you. I promise."
Overwhelmed with emotion, Annabelle threw her arms around Eric and fervently placed kisses all over his face to which the latter struggled to break free from. Luckily, he didn't have to struggle long as Annabelle then turned her attention to her brother who she all but tackled to the ground in a hug. After a couple more hours of talking and watching Eric and Tobias wrestle like idiots for a while, the trio finally decided to clear out for the night and return to their respective homes. Tobias turned in first leaving Annabelle and Eric to have a moment alone before he returned to Erudite.
"You're really sure about transferring Abnegation?"
"Belle, come on. We talked about this. I told you I will, and I will."
"I know, but Eric... I don't want you to spend the rest of your life unhappy because of me."
Eric offered Annabelle a soft smile and gently grasped her hand in his.
"As long as I'm with you, I'll be perfectly happy, Belle. Okay?"
"Okay. I love you."
"I love you too."
Careful to be sure no one was around watching, Eric pulled Annabelle in by her waist to place a searing kiss to her lips. The pair of them longed for the day they'd no longer have to hide their relationship and could be in love as openly as they pleased. But for now, the hidden kisses in the dark of Abnegation would have to do. After what felt like an eternity, the couple finally pulled apart, although it still felt too soon for the both of them. Eric kept Annabelle close, not yet wanting to leave her for the night. He tried pulling her in for another kiss, but sensing what he was doing, Annabelle pushed herself back to give them some distance prompting some pouting from Eric.
"It's late. You should get home."
"Just a few more minutes."
"Eric."
"Fine. I'll go. If anything happens, you come find me, okay?"
"Okay. I'll see you soon."
"Get some sleep, babe. I love you."
"I love you too."
With a final kiss goodnight, Eric finally departed for the evening and Annabelle found herself with a wide smile on her face as she returned to her home for the night too.
-----
2 months later
"I'm going to miss you so much."
"I know. I'm going to miss you too. I'll visit as soon as I'm able. I promise."
"Okay. I trust you."
"Good. Besides, you have nothing to worry about. You'll have Eric."
Annabelle smiled at the thought of being with Eric every day for the rest of her life. It was the only thing getting her through the day. But as she searched the room for Eric in the Erudite section of the hall, she failed to find his familiar blue eyes in the mix. Unable to search any longer, Anna and Tobias made their way to their seats while Marcus stood on the stage preparing to begin the ceremony. One by one, initiates were called up to choose their factions. Most stayed within their born faction, but every now and then there was a surprise transfer that caused slight surprise and chaos from the audience.
"Eric Coulter."
Annabelle watched with eager anticipation as Eric made his way to the stage and stood in front of the bowls each representing one of the five factions. She gripped Tobias's hand tightly and gave him a big grin, but it immediately faltered when Marcus's voice suddenly rang out with an unexpected word.
"Dauntless!"
Both Annabelle and Tobias looked on as Eric made his way to the sea of black residing at the far side of the hall, Annabelle in hurt and Tobias in anger. Tobias was currently preoccupied with the thought of how to kill his best friend when Annabelle suddenly turned to him with tears in her eyes and then his expression softened to a look of concern.
"Tobias. What are we going to do? What's going to happen to me?"
"Nothing. Nothing is going to happen to you. I'll stay."
"No. No, you can't stay. You have to go. We've always known you'd leave one day."
"Annabelle, I'm not going to leave you with that monster. Eric went back on the plan, but the plan wasn't to get me out. It was to keep you safe. So, it is what it is. I'll stay."
Seemingly at the end of discussing the matter, Tobias gripped Annabelle's hand and returned his attention to the front, clearly now anxious and tense in a very different way than he was before.
"Tobias Eaton."
With a shaky breath, Tobias stood to make his way down to the stage, ready to seal his fate under Marcus's control in Abnegation. But before he could make it to the end of the row, Annabelle gripped his arm tight, stopping him from moving any further. He looked at her in confusion, not understanding her distress and the fear in her eyes.
"Do not choose Abnegation. Go anywhere else. Please."
"Tobias Eaton."
At the sound of his name being called once again, Tobias took one final look at his sister before nodding his head in understanding and continuing down to the stage, now with more haste than he previously put forth. Tobias was quick to slice into his hand with ease before moving his hand over the bowl of hot coals, signaling his decision to transfer.
"Dauntless."
Everyone cheered as he made his way to the Dauntless section of the hall, only to be shocked when he walked right up to Eric and punched him squarely across the face. Annabelle also gasped in shock as tears streamed down her face at the scene before her. She couldn't hear the intense conversation being had as members of Dauntless held Tobias back from doing any more damage to Eric's face. Tobias was clearly fuming, but Eric made no move to stop his aggression towards him. He looked on at his best friend in sadness, but refused to entirely meet his gaze, too ashamed to look him in the eye. On the stage, Marcus failed to even attempt to hide the smile gracing his face. He turned to meet Annabelle's eyes and, in that moment, she knew. Her life was about to become far more difficult than she ever thought it could be.