Coming to Dauntless was a bad decision. A very bad decision. I have only been here a week and I don't remember being so scared. Some nights I'm scared for my life. It's very intense being here and sometimes I don't know how I get through the days. The training is crazy here. Initiation will either make or break me. And at the rate I'm going, most of the time I think it's going to break me.

My cot is at the very back of the room and I haven't made any friends. I'm so completely alone in this. They all look at me like I'm still the Stiff. The Abnegation girl who doesn't belong here. But what they don't know is that I do belong here. I don't belong anywhere else. I know I don't. This is it for me. This is home.

Sometimes I wish I had chosen differently, but what else is there for me to do? The test said that I belong here and I'm supposed to trust the test. But in moments like these where I'm washing my hands of blood, it's easy to think this decision was wrong for me. This place is dangerous and dirty and it hurts like hell.

I turn off the water in the bathrooms and look up at myself in the mirror. I have a bruise along my jaw and I've had a consistent headache since I've been here. I run my hands over my face with a groan and jump when I hear a voice from behind me.

"You look like you've just received a beating."

I shiver at the voice. It belongs to Eric. Eric is one of the leaders here at Dauntless. He's terrifying and intense and from the stories I've heard, he's the most sadistic person that's ever walked through the doors. He's been watching me the entire time I've been here, but this is the first time that we've actually been alone. And I don't know how I feel about it.

I drop my hands and meet his eyes in the mirror. I swallow and reach over to grab a paper towel to dry my hands. Once I've finished, I toss it in the trash. I turn around, leaning against the sink and crossing my arms across my chest. "You should see the other guy." My voice is shaking and I wish that it wasn't. He's staring at me with those intense eyes and my heart is speeding up in my chest. I can barely breathe.

He raises his pierced eyebrow at me and I clear my throat trying to get a handle on my emotions. I don't want him to see the effect he has on me. "I have seen the other guy," he smirks. "He's in the infirmary."

"I won't say he didn't deserve it," I say.

He grins at me and my heart flutters in my chest. What the hell is that feeling?

I shift uncomfortably on my feet. "Did you…" I clear my throat again. "Did you need something?"

He takes a step toward me and I wish that my back wasn't already against the sink. I have nowhere to run to at this point. "Just wanting to check on you," he says, his voice coming out in a purr.

Goosebumps rise on my skin and my jaw drops in surprise. "What?"

He grins again. "What do you mean what?"

I shake my head. "What do you mean you wanted to check on me?"

He shrugs. "I'm a leader, shouldn't I check on you?"

My eyebrows come together on my forehead. "Are you kidding?"

Eric looks offended now. He crosses his arms cross his chest, mirroring me now. "Why do you think that I'm kidding?"

I drop my arms, not wanting to be connected to him by our movements. "Like you don't know what people say about you?"

The offended look is gone now and he's amused, taking another step toward me. Why is he getting closer? Step away! "What do people say about me, Tris?"

Now he's pissing me off because he's goading me.

"Why are you doing this, Eric?" I snap at him. "What do you want from me?"

He smirks and reaches out, running his hand across the bird tattoos that I got my second night here. I figured that I needed to fit in as much as I can. I need to wipe away any trace that I ever belonged to Abnegation. They're my past and Dauntless is my future. And that…as well as this moment, cannot be escaped. "What do you want think I want from you?" His finger is still on my birds and his eyes have dropped to my collarbone.

My breaths are coming in short and rapidly. I think I'm going to pass out. "You're provoking me. Why? What can you possibly get out of this, Eric?"

His hand moves down to my hips and he's pulled me against him. I am either too scared to move, or too captivated to leave. I can't figure out what it is and that scares me more than being here.

"I can get a lot out of provoking you, Stiff."

And there it is. I do what an Abnegation does best and I stiffen in arms. I was intrigued and I place my hands on his chest and push him away. "Don't even think about it," I snap at him again before heading for the door.

He grabs my elbow and pulls me back against him. "Don't walk away from me," he hisses in my ear.

"Don't touch me like that, Eric," I say, my tone matching his. "You don't just get what you want because you demand it! And you can't just take things without asking."

He drops my arm and takes a step back. "You think I'd just take it from you?"

"Isn't that what you're doing right now?" I say, scowling at him.

"No!" Eric snaps. He groans and slams his hand against the stone wall of the bathroom.

I stare at him stunned. "Whoa."

He runs his hand through his hair and stands next to the sink, his shoulders hunched. "I've never disrespected a woman like that," he says his voice rough. "Is that what people are saying about me?"

I don't know what to say or do. Do I stay? Do I go? I swallow. "No," I say shaking my head.

He looks up at me in the mirror. "Then what do they say about me?"

"That you're a monster," I tell him, my voice quiet. "You're a sadist and you're dangerous."

"I wouldn't argue about any of that," he says, grinning. "But never in bed with a woman."

I bite my lip. "Is that what you want with me?" I ask quietly.

I don't know how I'll feel if that is what he wants with me. I mean, this is Eric we're talking about. People are terrified of him, but there's a part of me, very small I hope, that finds him the tiniest bit sexy. His lip curls in a smirk as he turns from the sink and runs his fingers down my tattoo again, lingering dangerously close to my cleavage. His eyes flick from his finger up to meet mine. He leans in and brushes his lips against my cheek.

"Maybe I do," he murmurs against my skin before pulling back.

I stare at him as he pulls back and leaves the bathroom, not saying anything else to me. My jaw hits the floor and I have no idea what to make of what's going on inside of my body. I groan.

"Oh fuck."