Author's Note: So yea, if you don't like the pairing don't read it. This is mostly just something to keep me busy on my day off. I read all the books and yesterday I saw Divergent and now I kind of ship Eric and Christina. I'm going for something between what happened in the books and what happened in the movie. So here we go.
I doubled over as soon as Al's hands left my body, taking deep breaths to try and get my fear under control.
Your feet are on the ground. You are safe. Ha. I couldn't help it; I was lying to myself and I knew it. There's a reason you couldn't be Candor. You know you'll never be safe in Dauntless, that's the whole point.
I could feel his eyes on me with each breath I took but I also knew that looking up would be a challenge, a challenge I was not ready to issue. My eyes didn't leave the floor until he moved on.
"Four has given you the impression that it is ok to give up in Dauntless. That it is ok to give up before you have given your best. He says that a wise man knows when to concede." Eric caught me unaware, locking my gaze and holding it steady as he delivered his next statement. "Let me be very clear. Being Dauntless requires you to be your best, try your hardest, and give your all. If you aren't ready to do that then might I suggest that you jump into the chasm right now."
His hand swept toward the railing and I shuddered, my aching arms overpowered every injury that I had taken in my fight. They were reminding me of the three minutes that I had just spent dangling over that void. I removed my hands from my knees and straightened up, trying to make myself look surer than I had even ten minutes ago.
Eric smirked. "No? Then get out of my sight, back to the training room with all of you. I'll even be nice. Take the rest of the day to practice your fighting skills. We'll resume matches tomorrow."
They turned slowly, hesitant to give their back to Eric less he strike out at any of them the same way he had when he'd hoisted me over the rails like I weighed nothing.
Al went to wrap his arm around my shoulders, to give me some support and as much protection as he could muster and man did I ever want it, but before he could land it a hand clamped down on his wrist, halting both of us.
"Actually, Christina will be coming with me."
"She needs to go to the hospital." Bless your heart Al. I thought even as I knew it wasn't going to do any good. Eric had that look in his eye…that look that never really left. It was predatory and it screamed that he wouldn't be leaving the bridge until he got what he wanted. Even if it means throwing Al into the chasm.
I opened my mouth to try and save him but Eric got there first. "Then I'll be sure to take her there. I would get back to that training room if I were you. With all those dives you've been taking in practice spars I know you need some work before your match tomorrow."
Poor Al...they really are always watching. I put a hand on his arm and gave him a light push, trying to get him away from here.
"Go on Al. I'm just going to go get patched up and if I'm not back by training time then I'll definitely be back for dinner. Just go get a good work out in, for me?" I tried to smile but the pounding I'd taken made that harder than I'd like to admit.
"She's Candor, she can't lie. So get going." Eric chimed in even as his hand slid from Al's wrist to the small of my back. I shuddered, that was where his hand had been right before he had both his hands on my waist.
"It's hardly a lie if she doesn't know she's walking into danger." Al gave me a pointed look but turned and walked in the other direction, drastically slower than Tris or any of the other transfer initiates had. I wanted to run after him but I let that thought go as soon as it entered my mind.
"Mouthy little bastard. Let's go, unless you want to try another three minutes?" I made my feet start moving, putting one foot right in front of the other and trying to forget about the fingers that were constantly touching me. It wasn't enough pressure to push me in any direction really so there wasn't really a reason for his hand to even be there.
"What are you thinking about Initiate?" His voice sounded different now. It still rang with authority and sureness of himself but there was less of an edge to it. He sounded genuine.
"Nothing…something. It…why are you still touching me?" It couldn't hurt to ask right?
"Wouldn't want you tipping over now would we? You know I wonder something about you Christina." Another shudder rocked through me as he said my name, putting a spin on it that was practically tailor made to make me uncomfortable. "You left Candor for Dauntless. Does that mean that you'll stop telling the truth all the time now? Start lying?"
"Is this part of my training? Are you going to interrogate me to find out if I can keep secrets in case I have to be a spy or something?" It was a hard habit to break and I knew the second the words left my mouth with a sarcastic ring to them that I was going to be in some sort of trouble. I should have kept my mouth shut, this isn't Four. He might have gotten in my face about my sarcasm but Eric? Eric would do something about it.
Eric stopped and I only got a step further before her grabbed my arm at the top of my bicep and swung me into a wall face first, putting his knee in my back and twisting my arms together so that my hands were forced to meet in the area between my shoulder blades or risk being broken, not that this was truly more comfortable than that.
"I didn't ask for you to sass me initiate. I asked a very simple question, you want to try answering it again?" His voice hissed about an inch from my ear and I bite my tongue to keep myself firmly grounded in the moment.
Fear washed through me for a moment, overwhelming my senses but my only hope was that if I answered him he'd release me. I took as deep a breath as I could and squeaked out an answer.
"Haven't really thought about it. It's hard to break a habit. I can't see why it should bother Dauntless if I should tell the truth. Maybe it's not good for being a spy and maybe then I could lie but I should think it would make for a good solider."
He released my hands and I braced them against the wall, about to push off since it seemed as if he was going to let me go but he didn't. His knee remained firmly pressed against the bruise that Molly had left one of the times she kicked me.
"So then tell me. Why have you been watching me since the day you got here? Your interest is…well interesting." He was as close as before but this time I didn't react, didn't show any of the thoughts that were running through my mind on my face. There was a difference between lying and simply choosing to stay silent. In Candor we were encouraged to tell the truth no matter what and taught that choosing to stay silent was lying to ourselves but this wasn't Candor and I was not as self-aware as they.
If it was possible to translate a smirk into sound waves then Eric would definitely be capable of doing it. "Can't or won't answer? Never mind. Think about it. I'll ask you again later."
His knee left my back and he grabbed the top of my arm again, pulling me off the wall and starting us on our path again.
The rest of our journey to the infirmary was spent in silence with the exception of our footfalls and those of the other Dauntless that were rushing around us. I wasn't about to answer his question and he seemed to be enjoying letting me squirm.
"Nina, patch her up." I looked around us as Eric pushed me towards a bed. I hadn't even realized we'd gotten to our destination until now. I hopped onto the bed, taking off my shoes and crossing my legs as Eric stood over me.
"I'm a big girl. I don't need to be babysat. I'm sure you need to get back to leading or something."
He raised an eyebrow at me but only uncrossed his arms and shoved them in his pockets. Nina, a lovely woman with piercings in her eyebrows and lips hurried over with bandages and ointments, settling on the edge of the bed.
"Here swallow these. They'll dull the pain while I probe you for broken bones and get those scrapes covered. Remember to hold still, if you move you're going to cause yourself pain and you're going to make my job harder."
When she started dabbing at my open wounds Eric turned and left.
"So…what did you do to get a personal escort here by Eric? Normally you initiates get dragged in by your friends or your instructors…not a leader."
I took a deep breath, prepared to give her some answer that involved him intimidating me or trying to make me reconsider my decision but then I snapped my lips shut. I had absolutely no idea why Eric had just walked me to the hospital sector.
"Nina, if I knew I would tell you." I drifted off into my thoughts.
