The first few nights sleeping in a coed dormitory were foreign to Tris, but she managed to get some sleep knowing that Christina was in the bunk next to hers. The first week showed some interesting personalities within her fellow initiates. There was an Erudite named Will and a Candor named Al who were quickly becoming friends with Christina and Tris. Al is a larger than life figure, tall and bulky, with muscles surrounded by some baby fat. His dark brown hair and brown eyes a good fit to his complexion, and he's incredibly kind. Will is tall, with a mop of curly light brown hair and celery green eyes and he appears to have a slight crush on Christina. Tris vividly remembered shooting him during her aptitude test, looking into his blank eyes as she begged him to recognize her. The person who was in that vision was robotic and zombie like, while the young man she's getting to know is animated and full of life.
Tris looks at the initiates gathered around the training room while waiting for their instructors to arrive. The remaining Candor transfers seem to be the worst, Molly is bulky and big boned, with a poor attitude to match her large size. Peter is taller, dark haired and green eyed, handsome and well built, but with a superiority complex and a horrible habit of bullying those he deems weaker than himself. Drew follows Peter and Molly like a puppy dog, his compact but bulky frame and carrot red hair an odd combination, and he lacks his own opinion or personality. The two remaining Erudite transfers are a couple, with Edward being tall, pale with blonde hair and blue eyes, fiercely competitive but friendly and kind. His girlfriend Myra is willowy but looks like a strong gust of wind could carry her away. It's obvious she chose Dauntless to follow her love.
"Today you will be learning how to shoot a gun in addition to the physical training as you've already been doing since last week. Follow me." Four bellows as the imitates fall into line behind him. They are led to the roof, where several targets have been set up. Tris is excited for the change of scenery, as her first two fights were rougher than she expected, even though she managed to win one. Tris roughly has a rifle shoved into her hand, and she mechanically walks to a station. She looks around for Eric, but he has yet to join them this morning. This is the first time since initiation began last week that he's not been there.
"What does firing a gun have to do with bravery?" Peter asks through a yawn.
Four quickly takes the rifle from Peter's hands and presses the barrel to Peter's forehead. "You're holding a loaded weapon, fucking act like it." He bellows. Peter pales and flinches, while the rest of the initiates all hold their breath.
Four pushes Peter and shoves the rifle back into his hand. "For the rest of you, if you know how to properly handle a loaded weapon, you're less likely to soil yourself or cry for your mother if you're ever in a situation where you need to use it." He replies.
"Don't just stand around, get to a station now!" Eric yells. Tris jerks her head towards him, not realizing he'd joined the group on the roof. She watches as Eric speaks to Four, and the conversation is obviously not going Four's way based on his body language and facial expressions. He huffs and walks away from Eric.
Four takes some time to demonstrate gun safety and the proper shooting techniques before having the initiates begin to practice shooting at their targets. Tris becomes frustrated when she has a hard time controlling the weapon in her arms.
"Don't be afraid of the weapon." Eric's deep voice makes her jump slightly and she hears him chuckle. "Here, let me show you." He stands behind Tris and places his arms on either side of hers, moving the rifle into its proper place. "It's going to have a kick back, but if you hold it against your shoulder it will give you more control." He says, his breath tickling her neck and she has to suppress a shiver. He moves his hands to her hips and slightly turns her, then uses his knee to spread her legs into a wider stance. "You want to keep your legs spread shoulder width apart." The timber of his voice gives her goosebumps, and she silently prays that he doesn't see them. The breeze on the roof is blowing his long hair towards her, and every once in awhile the strands tickle her face. He moves his hands up to hers. "Breathe Tris." He whispers in her ear and together they fire her weapon. She watches as the shot lands inches from the center target.
"Nice shot. Now you try." He moves away from her body, instead standing next to her and crossing his muscular arms across his chest. Tris takes a deep breath, lines up her shot and fires as she exhales. She hits next to their first shot. She smiles triumphantly, and he smirks at her. "Nicely done, initiate." He says.
"Thank you." She replies. He turns to walk away, but she catches him glancing over his shoulder at her. She turns back towards her target, grinning.
"What was that?" Christina whispers to Tris. "Mr. Ice Cold Dickhead seems to have eyes for you."
Tris shakes her head. "He was just helping. I couldn't keep control of the rifle." She whispers back.
"Yeah and he couldn't keep control of his hands." Christina snickers. "He's been watching you since training first started, every time the two of you are in a room together he can't tear his eyes away from you. He likes you Tris."
"You have an overactive imagination." Tris replies, focusing on her target.
"You are in denial. He's an asshole, but he's hot in that bad boy kind of way." Christina replies, before adjusting her goggles and shooting at her own target.
"Just like you're in denial about your little crush on Will." Tris replies with a smirk.
"Shhhh!" Christina hisses and Tris laughs.
"This isn't social hour initiates! Focus!" Eric yells as Christina rolls her eyes.
The two women continue to fire at their targets until Four dismisses them for lunch with orders to meet back in the training room in two hours. Tris carries her weapon to the table and watches Eric disappear through the door.
"You did well today." Four comments to Tris as he takes her weapon from her.
"Thank you." She replies. She looks at her instructor, noticing that when his face is relaxed like it is now he looks close to her own age. "Would you like some help?" She asks.
Four cocks his head to the side. "Your Abnegation is showing." He replies with a slight grin. Tris realizes that he's quite handsome when he's not scowling at her.
"You say that as if it's a bad thing." Tris replies, as she helps unload the weapons and set their safeties before placing them in large canvas bags.
"You're in Dauntless now. It will serve you well to act like it." He says coolly. She pauses and looks at him.
"Were you a transfer too? Or Dauntless born?" Tris asks.
"What makes you think you can talk to me?" He asks gruffly.
"It must be because you're so approachable." Tris retorts.
"Careful." He replies, glaring at her.
"Please, do tell me how I'm supposed to train with you if I can never speak to you." Tris challenges.
"You're dismissed initiate." He responds coldly. Tris huffs and walks away, heading to the door of the building and down the narrow staircase. She's surprised when she runs into Eric making his way up towards the roof.
"Where were you?" He asks gruffly.
"These stairs only lead one place." She replies, rolling her eyes.
"Careful initiate. I'm your leader." He replies. "So you were up on the roof with Four? Alone?"
"I stayed behind to help him pack the rifles away." Tris answers, crossing her arms across her chest defiantly.
"Of course you did. Two Stiffs helping each other out." He huffs, turning around to head back down the stairs.
"Four's from Abnegation?" She asks. Suddenly, Eric stops walking, turning to close the space between he and Tris. He stops one step below her, facing each other eye to eye. Tris can feel his breath on her face and smell the mint gum he's chewing.
"If you're so interested in Four's life story you should ask him about it yourself." He says in a deadly low voice.
Tris refuses to let the young leader intimidate her. She's heard the rumors about him, from almost everyone she's met. He's ruthless, cold, calculating and cruel. He has no friends, no girlfriend and he likes it that way. Tris sat down with Tori her first night here and heard how Eric hunts divergents for Jeanine Matthews from Erudite, the same woman who she watched capture Four and Tris in her aptitude test. She told Tris that the same group that Eric is now a part of was responsible for her brother's death five years ago. Tori suggested that Tris align herself with Four, but Tris still feels that the only way she can change whatever plans that Eric may be a part of is to change the man himself. Besides, Four's mood swings towards her are frustrating enough, and she doesn't feel like she has the time or patience to tame both her instructor and the young leader.
"I'm not interested in his life story, I'm interested in yours." She replies, refusing to back away from Eric. Tris watches the emotions that flash in his stormy grey eyes.
"Why is that?" He asks quietly.
"Why wouldn't I want to know more about you? You're a smart guy, I'm certain you can figure it out. You've caught me staring at you as many times as I've caught you staring at me. You avoid physical contact with everyone, except me. And right now, you're incredibly jealous that I was alone on a roof with Four, enough that you made a special trip up here to find me." Tris replies boldly.
Eric pauses, collecting himself. He prides himself on his poker face. He doesn't ever show emotions, and yet this Stiff is peeling him apart layer by layer. "You seem to think you have me all figured out, don't you initiate?" He replies evenly.
"You don't fool me. You also don't scare me." She challenges.
Eric is fighting a losing battle with the young woman in front of him. His brain is overloaded, his body is keenly aware of the close proximity they are in with each other and there is an ache in his groin that proves it. He can smell her shampoo, some sort of vanilla scent, and her own natural scent attracts him like a moth to a flame. Their faces are mere inches apart, and he realizes how easy it would be to lean forward just a bit and capture her lips with his own. He hears the door of the roof open and sees Four's silhouette shadowed by the bright sunlight. He's carrying two large canvas bags. Eric quickly puts some distance between Tris and himself.
"I thought I dismissed you initiate." Four says to Tris.
"I ran into Eric." She replies. "We were talking."
"What business do you have speaking with Eric?" He asks, closing the distance between them.
"We were exchanging recipes." She replies sarcastically. Four reaches the step above Tris and bends over, his face inches from hers.
"You will not speak to me that way. You are dangerously close to being considered as committing insubordination." He says.
"She's technically on lunch, so while her attitude sucks it's not punishable." Eric replies to Tris' surprise.
"Of course you condone her attitude when it's directed at me." Four replies.
"Careful Four, I'm still your superior." Eric growls as Four roughly pushes his way past both Tris and Eric.
"Second place." He yells over his shoulder as he bounds down the stairs.
"Asshole." Tris mumbles. She hears the low chuckle from Eric and sees how handsome he is when he actually smiles. "I'm going to eat, care to join me?" She bravely asks.
Eric considers her offer. He eats alone, usually hiding in his office or apartment. "I don't do crowds." He replies.
"You don't like people." She answers. "I'm willing to compromise. We eat, together, wherever you choose. You already talk to me more than anyone else that I've seen, besides the people you're forced to talk to. How hard will it be to share a meal?"
"Fine. We pick up food from the cafeteria and we bring it to my apartment. Still want to eat with me?" He asks, knowing that her Abnegation upbringing will prevent this from actually happening.
"Yes, let's go." She replies, walking past him down the stairs.
Eric shakes his head and follows behind Tris, surprised at her bold attitude. There's something very un-Abnegation about her. They enter the cafeteria together, gathering stares as they quietly get in line for boxed meals to go. They exit the cafeteria, both aware of the eyes that follow them.
"That wasn't uncomfortable at all." Tris sighs as she follows Eric.
"You're the one who decided that you want to be friends with the most hated person in the faction." Eric replies as they reach his door. He keys in his code on the lock pad and opens the door, gesturing for Tris to enter. He guides them to his kitchen island and pulls a stool out for her to sit on.
"Why are you the most hated person in the faction?" Tris asks.
"Because it's just easier that way." He replies.
"You just pulled my chair out for me, so apparently there's something redeemable about you." Tris says as she looks around his apartment. She notices everything is extremely clean and meticulously kept. The walls are a combination of black, grey and blue. He has bookshelves, covered in many books. His furniture is large and manly, and he had a television mounted to one wall. Another wall has quotes painted on it from the Erudite manifesto along with the Dauntless one as well. Tris quirks her eyebrow at Eric.
"You were a transfer from Erudite." She poses it as a statement instead of a question. Eric pauses his eating and stares at the young woman in front of him. She gestures towards the wall.
"You know the Erudite manifesto?" He asks.
"I recognize it." She replies in between bites of her meal.
"I transferred two years ago." He replies carefully.
"You were second in your initiation class and Four was first." She replies.
Eric can feel the flush of anger rising on his cheeks. "Stop." He commands.
"No." She replies. "You don't get to do that."
"I don't? The last time I checked, this is my home. This is my life you're speaking of. So I get to do whatever the fuck I want." He replies.
"You're right, this is your home and your life. This is our friendship though. We should be able to talk." She replies calmly while eating her salad.
"Who said I wanted to be friends with you?" He asks loudly.
"How many people have been in your home?" She asks. "How many people have sat at this counter and shared a meal with you?"
"You are way too fucking confident to have ever been a Stiff." He replies, shaking his head with a chuckle. "Yes, Four was first. He beat me in stage two." Eric replies.
"What is stage two?" Tris asks.
"So, you want to be friends with me to learn more about initiation? Think you're going to get a better rank?" He asks angrily.
Tris stands up and walks over to Eric. She puts her hands on his arms when she speaks. "I don't care about my rank, because as you pointed out I am fucking confident. I don't need your friendship to make it into Dauntless. I want your friendship." She replies, keeping eye contact and slowly rubbing her hands up and down his tattooed forearms. "I'm going to make it into Dauntless because I'm going to work my ass off, not because of any special favors from you, or anyone else for that matter."
She pulls out the stool next to him and sits down, dragging her meal across the island and placing it in front of her. She quietly continues eating. Eric misses the way her hands felt on his skin, so in a bold move he reaches for her hand and threads his fingers with hers. She doesn't pull away, nor does she acknowledge it, she simply continues eating. It's a little awkward for him to eat with his left hand, but he doesn't care, he's enjoying the simplicity of holding her hand.
"Stage two is mental. There's no way to prepare for it like there is in stage one. Although I did extremely well in stage two, he had an advantage that I couldn't compete with. So, he surpassed me." He carefully answers.
"At the end of the day it doesn't really matter though, does it? You're a leader." She replies.
"That's a deeper conversation than we have time for if we're getting back to training on time." He answers and watches as Tris nods her head. He appreciates that she doesn't dig further. While she is bold and extremely brave, she also doesn't try to do anything more than give him little pushes to expand his comfort zone.
"We should be getting back." She says, moving to stand up. Eric reluctantly drops her hand and helps clean their lunch.
"Will you come back for dinner?" He asks before they open his door to leave. She turns to him and smiles.
"Of course I will." She opens his door and they head back to the training room.
Once they're in front of the door he pauses. "You go in first. No need to raise suspicions." He says and she nods before bounding through the door. He gathers his thoughts before heading in.
"We missed you at lunch Tris." Al says as he shifts his weight from foot to foot.
"Yeah, where'd you go? I saw you get a box meal and leave with Sir Asshole." Christina says in a low voice, glancing over at where Eric stands against the wall.
"How many nicknames do you have for him?" Tris asks smiling.
"As many as he deserves." Christina replies. "Did you forget he made me hang over the chasm yesterday?"
"No, and did you expect him not to punish you when he had just given us a speech about the importance of never giving up or conceding?" Tris asks.
"You sound like Will." Christina groans. "He could have found a less deadly way of punishing me."
"Right, because Dauntless is so safety oriented." Tris replies, rolling her eyes.
"Ok, now that you have learned how to fire a gun, you're going to learn how to use one of our other weapons of choice. Each station has knives set up, get to a station and then pay attention." Four announces while all of the initiates scramble to pick a station. Tris finds herself between Christina and Peter.
Four demonstrates the proper way to throw knives and even Eric has to admit it's impressive. He watches as the initiates painfully miss the targets again and again.
"What are you even doing Stiff? Did you forget what a knife is?" Peter asks Tris. Eric turns his attention to them and watches as Tris repeatedly practices the throwing motion without a weapon. Damn, she's smart, he thinks to himself.
Tris picks up a knife and throws it, landing it on the left side of the target. "Hey Peter, did you forget what a target is?" She taunts back at the idiotic Candor transfer.
Eric can't help but be impressed, not only is she one of few who've even gotten a knife to stick, she actually made it onto the target instead of the wood around it. He watches Tris for awhile longer, until the annoying clang of knives hitting the ground becomes unbearable. He watches as the large Candor transfer lazily tosses knives towards the target, not making an effort at all to use proper form. Eric walks quietly over to his station.
"Do we need to move the target closer for you? Or perhaps you'd like to try actually using the form that you've been shown." Eric says to Al in a low menacing tone.
"It slipped." Al replies lamely.
Eric may have let the younger man get away with his lazy half assed attempts had he not had the audacity to lie to him. "It slipped? Go pick them up." He growls.
"You want me to go get them while everyone's throwing?" Al asks.
"Yes, are you afraid?" Eric asks.
"Of getting hit with a flying knife, um yeah." Al replies.
"Everyone stop throwing!" Eric yells. "You, in front of the target." He says to Al.
Al looks horrified as he moves to stand in front of the target. "Four, a little help here?" Eric asks. As much as it pains him to admit it, Four is much better at target practice than he is.
"Is this really necessary?" Four asks, absentmindedly scratching his eyebrow with the tip of a knife.
"Yes. Initiate, you will stand there while Four throws knives at you. If you flinch, you leave Dauntless today. Understand?" Eric asks.
Tris feels panic bubbling as she watches her extremely terrified friend. She sees Four pick up several knives, then turn and square up to take his throwing stance.
"Stop!" Tris yells, Four and Eric both look surprised. "Anyone can stand in front of a target, it doesn't prove anything except that you're trying to bully him, which is a sign of cowardice."
"Well, it shouldn't be too hard for you to take his place then, should it?" Eric replies in a low tone.
Tris strides up to take Al's place in front of the target. "Same rules apply initiate." Eric says keeping eye contact with Tris.
Four throws the first knife, it lands far to the right of Tris. "You can do better than that." Eric jeers.
Four nods and throws the next knife closer to her left side. "You can get closer." Eric replies.
"Want me to give her a little trim?" Four asks, smirking at Eric.
"Yeah, a little off the top." Eric agrees.
Four throws the next knife and it lands right above Tris' head. He quickly throws the next knife and it lands next to her ear, drawing blood.
"Points for bravery, Stiff, but not as many as you lose for mouthing off." Eric announces, walking closer. He puts his hand on her shoulder, "I should keep an eye on you. We train soldiers, not rebels. Everyone out, you're dismissed."
As the room empties, Four speaks.
"You ok?" He asks.
"You cut me." Tris replies.
"I meant to, If I hadn't, you'd still be standing there. Do you think he was going to let you off without a scratch?" He asks.
"Oh, so should I be thanking you?" She replies sarcastically.
"You need to be smart. If I wanted to hurt you, I would." He yells before stalking off. Tris screams out in frustration. She sees the door open and Eric strides in.
"What was that all about?" Tris asks.
"It was meant for Al, not you. He's weak, and I watched him make absolutely no effort to land a throw. Just like he's made no effort to win a fight. He's not cut out for Dauntless, he's a coward. Why did you volunteer, Tris?" Eric asks.
"He's my friend." She replies simply. Eric walks closer and examines her ear.
"Let's go get that cleaned up. I have some antiseptic in my apartment. Then we can get dinner." He replies.
"You still want me to come for dinner?" She asks. He furrows his eyebrows at her urging her to continue her train of thought. "I mean, I did just mouth off to you in front of the whole class." She smiles shyly.
"You got a cut ear in the deal. I think we're even." He replies with a smirk as they walk out of the training room.
As they're making their way to his apartment, they hear someone calling Eric's name.
"Eric, I've been looking for you." A older, blonde woman in Erudite blue calls out.
"Hello Jeanine." Eric replies, sounding unhappy.
"Good evening Eric." She replies, then turns her attention towards Tris. "Beatrice Prior. It's good to see you again. It's nice to see you here in Dauntless, I was concerned when I heard about all of the problems with your aptitude test." Jeanine says.
Eric shifts uncomfortably, watching Tris out of the corner of his eye.
"I have a weak stomach." Tris nervously replies.
"So I heard. It seems as if your test was problematic in many ways. It would have been protocol for you to be retested, however Ms. Wu took it upon herself to manually score you. I just feel that perhaps we weren't as fair with your results as we could have been if you'd had the same computer scoring as your fellow dependents." Jeanine replies evenly.
"I do appreciate the concern Ms. Matthews, however no matter what the test said I'd still have chosen Dauntless. I belong here." Tris replies proudly.
Eric quietly observes the exchange between Jeanine and Tris, wondering what exactly Jeanine's angle is. She never makes a point to speak with initiates, and he can tell that Jeanine isn't just making small talk. She's carefully watching Tris for a reaction.
Jeanine narrows her eyes at Tris then turns her attention to Eric.
"Do you have a few minutes? I promise not to take too much of your time." Jeanine says.
"Yeah, we can go to my office." Eric replies to Jeanine. He looks back at Tris, "I'll find you when I'm done."
Tris watches as Eric and Jeanine walk away, and for the first time since arriving at Dauntless she believes that the strange vision she saw during her aptitude test may actually become a reality.
