AN: Thank you for all of the reviews, favorites and follows. It's very encouraging!
As a reminder, I don't own these characters or anything Divergent related. All credit goes to the talented Veronica Roth.
Eric reluctantly led Jeanine to his office, and she made herself comfortable in one of the chairs across from his desk.
"So, what did you need to talk to me about?" Eric bluntly asks Jeanine. She notes the hint of impatience in his voice. Once again, Jeanine thinks that Eric really needs to learn how to speak to people. It's like he was raised by wolves...well, that's not too far off now that she thinks of it.
"How's initiation going so far?" She asks calmly.
"Fine. It's only the second week, but there are initiates that show great potential." Eric replies.
Jeanine sits forward in her chair and raises her eyebrows in surprise. "Potential divergents?" She asks.
Eric hopes the eyeroll he feels coming on will be an internal urge only. "No, potential Dauntless members. You realize that I actually do have to train them, right?" He asks. She's been here less than ten minutes and he already wishes she was gone.
Jeanine narrows her eyes at the boy in front of her and realizes she will have to, once again, remind him of how and why he's a leader. If he wants to act like a child, she'll be happy to put him in his place like one.
"I'm quite aware of what your position entails Eric, but don't forget that Max and I have hand selected you to help me with this special project. You wouldn't want to disappoint your superiors, now would you?" Jeanine asks.
Of course she'd bring up Max.
When Eric was offered his position in leadership, he was unaware of the strings that were pulled to get him there. Although Max still wanted Four in leadership, Jeanine made it abundantly clear that he needed to make room for Eric as well. To say Max was upset would be an understatement, at first he viewed Eric as an arrogant boy who tried entirely too hard to be a hard ass man. However, he was pleasantly surprised at the work ethic the young man demonstrated. Eric was completely committed to Dauntless, and took his role in leadership seriously. He was passionate about training the very best soldiers, and although he was standoffish and very much a loner, it suited him well and he earned the respect of his fellow leaders, especially Max. The head Dauntless leader saw that Eric had the potential for great things, if he just could learn to control his temper and learn some social graces. Max soon realized that Eric had absolutely no idea that Jeanine was the only reason he'd been put into leadership.
Eric was happy in leadership, and it was reflected in his work. He was irate when he learned of Jeanine's role in his leadership appointment, however she and Max were able to spin it to make it look like something to be proud of. He was hand selected, and Jeanine knew exactly how to stroke his ego. She quickly recognized what Eric needed, he had no father in his life, and his mother was an alcoholic who's promiscuity was well known in Erudite. Even if she was in a state of mind to raise a child in a two parent household, she wouldn't have a clue who Eric's father even was. Eric practically raised himself, and Jeanine learned quickly that he could be easily groomed with the right type of attention and praise. She took the boy under her wing when he was fourteen, and as a result she earned his trust. She knew Eric wanted to be as far away from his drunk mother and the bullying of his fellow dependents, and she started grooming him for Dauntless knowing that he'd one day play an invaluable role in her plan.
"No, I wouldn't." Eric replied quietly.
"I'm quite impressed to see you with Beatrice Prior. I take it you've noticed she has the signs of being a divergent." She says, watching Eric intently for his reaction.
Eric's mind was racing, but he betrayed no emotion. "I am interested in her development as a soldier. I've not seen any behavior that suggests she's divergent." He replies calmly.
"Her results were entered manually as Dauntless, and it was noted that she was in testing for almost two hours. When I inquired further, I was told the serum made her extremely ill, and her simulation had to be manually stopped as a result. Apparently the administrator analyzed Beatrice's choices herself, and established she was Dauntless. Don't you find it odd that a girl from Abnegation would end up with Dauntless results?" She asks.
"Not with this transfer. She's just as Dauntless as any full member. I've noticed she does have a weak stomach, she often has to spend mealtime away from the cafeteria to deal with various stomach issues." Eric mentally praises himself for thinking of a lie that quickly. "She's impressive in training, great with weapons and she's working hard to improve physically." He replies.
"Keep a close eye on her." Jeanine says and Eric knows any further discussion regarding Tris is over.
"The second stage is where we'll see more signs, if we have any divergents I'll find them." Eric replies, and Jeanine smiles. He knows at least for now he's said the right things.
"Very well then, I look forward to our next update. Eric, I need to be sure your focus is on the bigger picture, I'm sure Max has filled you in on our plans, correct?" She says.
"Actually, no. He just keeps calling it a project, just like you." He replies, getting more and more frustrated with this cryptic conversation.
"Eric, the project is huge. I need to know I can trust you. So far, Max has had very high praise for you. Can I trust that you are on our side?" Jeanine asks.
"Yes, of course." He replies, curiosity peaked.
"Abnegation controls the government by themselves, now do you find that to be fair?" She asks.
He thinks about his answer. There are five factions, all that should have an equal part in maintaining the city and making the laws, the system is flawed but not unable to be fixed.
"I can see the disadvantage of having all of the government in one faction." Eric chose his words carefully, he desperately wanted Jeanine to finally show her hand.
"Precisely. This is why we are going to overthrow Abnegation." She replied.
"Overthrow them? How?" Eric asked.
"We've had a breakthrough of sorts, our scientists have developed a serum that is a long range mind control. Once administered, we can essentially program the recipient via computer software. They are in a sim, and unaware. It's a thing of beauty, Eric." Jeanine is obviously very proud of her work.
The Erudite in Eric is impressed with what she's explained, but the Dauntless in him is worried about how exactly she plans on pulling this off. He's also surprised that Max is going along with this plan, as the elder Dauntless leader doesn't seem to be one to take kindly to another faction trying to usurp his tight control on Dauntless.
"You're going to inject the Dauntless." Eric says, making a statement and not asking a question.
"Yes. Max has already arranged for the serum and equipment to be delivered. The serum will be introduced as a tracking device, explained as a way to ensure that Dauntless can find any soldiers in the field, a safety measure of sorts. The only downside is that this serum doesn't work on divergents. That's where you'll be essential. I still need divergents for testing, however we've found that the lower percentage of divergence the less accurate the test subject. Ideally, finding a 100% divergent would be key, however anything over 70% could be ideal." Jeanine replies with a bright smile.
"I see. How exactly am I to know a percentage though?" Eric asks, still confused on what her plan is for him.
"You'll be receiving a new device, a scanner of sorts. It's so easy to use, it's literally point and click. You'll see." Jeanine's smile is wide, she's barely able to contain her excitement.
"So, my job is to continue to bring you divergents for testing, and once I get the device you spoke of I'll only bring you the ones who are 70% divergent or more?" Eric asks.
"Yes, exactly." She replies.
"What will I do with those who are below the threshold?" Eric asks.
"Eliminate them." Jeanine replies.
"Kill them?" He clarifies.
"Yes. They are of no use to our research, and dangerous to our faction system as a whole. Abnegation has the highest concentration of divergents, which is why I'm extremely interested in both Tobias Eaton and Beatrice Prior. It's rare for an Abnegation dependent to leave, and even more so for them to transfer to Dauntless. You can certainly see the irony in both of them, can you not?" She asks.
"Well, yes, it's definitely unusual." Eric's head is spinning, and now that he finally knows exactly what Max and Jeanine have planned he wishes he could push the knowledge from his mind. "These divergents, what will you do when you're finished testing them?" He asks.
"It's not what I will do with them, as you well know I'm certainly not a trained soldier. I trust that you can eliminate them as well. It'd be no different than your elimination of the lesser divergents, and by now you must understand that divergents have no place in our society." She actually smiles as she says this. "I trust that you now understand our goals, and that you'll keep a close eye on Miss Prior?" She asks.
"Yes ma'am." Eric replies.
"Excellent! I've always known you had the potential to be someone extraordinary. You'll have a high rank in my new government, you and Max will be right beside me. Thank you for making time for me after hours."
Eric simply nods and he follows Jeanine out of his office, locking his door behind them.
"I need to see Max again before leaving. Enjoy your evening Eric." Jeanine says before turning on her heel towards Max's office.
"Thank goodness." Eric mumbles as he makes his way downstairs. He realizes he's not sure where Tris would be waiting for him, so he decided to check the cafeteria first. Eric takes a quick glance around the room and doesn't see Tris, although he sees the group that Tris usually spends time with sitting at a table.
He makes his way to the initiate dorms and he finds Tris inside alone, sleeping on her bunk. He's torn between waking her and leaving her be. He makes a quick decision to wake her, after all she needed to eat. He walks over to her and gently nudges her shoulder. She opens her eyes and blinks a few times.
"Hey." She says.
"Hey. I wasn't sure if I should wake you. Did you eat?" Eric asks.
"No, I was waiting for you." She replies and Eric can't help surpressing a small smile. He offers her his hand and she grabs it, pulling her to a standing position. She doesn't immediately drop his hand, instead she gives it a quick squeeze before reluctantly dropping it.
"We missed dinner. Sorry about the meeting, it was unexpected. I can see what we can scrounge up at my apartment." Eric says and Tris nods in agreement.
They walk down the back hallway, and take the seldom used back staircases to the leaders floor. Eric unlocks his door and holds it open for Tris.
"Let's clean that ear up." Eric says, leading Tris to his bathroom. He pats the counter, and Tris hops up.
"Are you ok?" She asks as he finds what he needs out of his medicine cabinet.
"Yeah." He answers without making eye contact. He hears her sigh softly, but she thankfully doesn't press.
Eric pushes Tris' hair off her shoulder and tucks some stray strands behind her ear. He notices a slight shiver when he touches her and for a moment he wonders if he did something wrong.
"I'm sorry." He says, unsure how comfortable Tris is due to her Abnegation upbringing.
Tris quirks her eyebrow and scowls slightly. "Why are you apologizing?"
"I don't want to make you uncomfortable. I mean, you were Abnegation and all." He replies.
"I was. Past tense. I'm going to be Dauntless." She says. "I'm not a Stiff, remember?" She smirks.
"You were never a Stiff." Eric chuckles as he cleans her ear carefully. "This looks pretty superficial, shouldn't even scar."
"Well damn. I was looking forward to my first scar." She grins and Eric shakes his head at her.
"You have plenty of time for that." Eric replies as Tris slips off the counter.
Once again, Eric is aware of their close proximity and he is suddenly very nervous. He wipes his sweaty palms on his pants. Tris and Eric exit the bathroom and head to the kitchen.
"So, I have an important question." He asks as she raises an eyebrow at him. "What do you want for dinner?" Eric asks with a smirk and Tris opens his refrigerator.
"You have no food, Eric." She sighs.
"I may not have thought this through properly." He replies. "I have lots of cereal." He says hopefully.
"Cereal it is." Tris replies as she grabs the milk.
They set up everything they need at the island, eating cereal and enjoying their easy banter. Eric automatically reaches for her hand, and just like at lunch she allows him to thread their fingers together without reacting. Tris secretly loves the fact that Eric holds her hand when they share meals together. She notices he absentmindedly rubs his thumb across her hand as they talk and eat.
"We have a little over two hours until curfew. Want to watch some TV?" He asks and she nods. They take their bowls to the sink, clean up their impromptu dinner and sit down on Eric's oversized couch. Tris reaches for Eric's hand, threading their fingers together. He doesn't even try to suppress his smile, and he is happy that Tris is taking the initiative to show him affection. He finds an old movie that peaks her interest and they begin watching it.
"I didn't realize that Dauntless and Erudite worked so closely together." Tris says nonchalantly.
"What are you talking about?" Eric asks, caught off guard by her statement.
"Well, Jeanine Matthews wanted to meet with you. It must have been important for her to actually come here instead of call." Tris explains.
"You're awfully curious about things. Are you sure you're not Erudite?" He replies with a smirk. He feels Tris stiffen next to him, and she moves her hand away from his.
"I should go." She says nervously.
"Tris, what's wrong?" Eric asks. He notices she seems extremely nervous about Jeanine's presence in Dauntless.
"Nothing. I just didn't want to overstay my welcome." She replies without looking at Eric.
"You're not. I like having you here." Eric replies. Tris remains standing, glancing towards the front door. "If you really want to leave, I'll walk you back." He relents.
Tris nods and Eric sighs as he stands. He pulls his boots on and runs a hand through his hair in frustration. He's never seen Tris this nervous in the two weeks he's known her.
"Did I do something wrong?" He finally asks.
Tris think about how to answer. Truth be told, Jeanine's surprise visit has rattled her, especially when she purposely brought up her test results. All can she think about is her strange aptitude test. Tris had visited Tori and talked, but they had to be extremely cryptic and guarded during their brief conversation. Tori still feels like Tris shouldn't continue her friendship with Eric, explaining that in the two years since he transferred she couldn't find anything redeeming about him.
"No. You didn't, I'm just on edge about starting stage two." Tris replies.
"Can I trust you?" Eric asks and it catches her off guard. Is he about to tell her about Jeanine?
"Of course." Tris replies.
"Tonight, Four and I will be waking all of the initiates, both transfers and Dauntless born, for a field trip. A good field trip. A fun field trip." He says with a smile.
Its not exactly what Tris was expecting, but she can tell by Eric's enthusiasm that this field trip is important to him. The fact that he's sharing this information with her makes her feel marginally better.
"Based on your smile, I have a feeling I'm going to like this field trip." She smiles.
"I can promise you that you'll like it." He replies.
Eric can see Tris relax, and he can feel his own nervousness subside. She shakes her head slightly before sitting back down next to him. Eric sneaks sideways glances at her, and she seems to be much calmer. He purposely places his hand next to hers on the sofa, and he's pleased when she scoots hers closer and hooks her pinky with his. He rolls his eyes and just grabs her hand and she scoots closer. After a few minutes, she rests her head on his shoulder. Eric, feeling extremely brave, moves his hand so he can put his arm around her and she leans in, angling her body closer to his and resting her head near his chest. Tris is nervous, but she's also extremely comfortable with the level of affection that she and Eric share.
Tris absentmindedly starts playing with Eric's hair, a gesture that feels incredibly nice to Eric. He sighs contentedly as he relaxes at her touch.
"That feels incredible." He says and she glances up at him. "Seriously. It feels amazing. Don't stop." He grins.
"My mom always would play with my hair, it was the easiest way to relax me if I was upset or sick." She replies.
"It sounds like you were close to your parents." Eric says.
"I was, my mom especially. My dad worked a lot, he's in the government so he would often have meetings and work that demanded his attention. My brother Caleb and I were close in age, but not so much as siblings. He chose this year too, and he transferred to Erudite." She says.
Eric immediately realizes that her father is Andrew Prior, and her brother Caleb is an initiate that Jeanine has praised highly during previous meetings, something he should have put together on his own before now. Her father is one of Jeanine's targets, and her brother may very well be helping Jeanine.
"Were you close to your family?" Tris asks, breaking his train of thought.
"No." He replies, unsure if he's ready to continue.
Tris can tell that she's hit a nerve with asking about his family. "You don't have to talk about anything you don't want to." She says quietly.
"I've just never talked much about my life back in Erudite. I don't want you to think less of me." He replies.
Tris looks up at Eric and meets his eyes. "You can tell me anything. I'm not here to judge you."
She can see the myriad of emotions in his stormy grey eyes. She's noticed that his eyes seem to change with his moods, sometimes they are completely grey like she sees now, and others they are more blue. Eric is gazing at her intensely, and she can almost hear him thinking. She runs her fingers through his long hair, and his expression softens a bit.
"My mom drank, a lot, all the time. I guess she's what you'd consider to be an alcoholic. She never knew who my dad is. Not even able to narrow down the possibilities." Eric chuckles nervously. "My mom didn't really like being a mom, so I was left alone a lot, or with her friends, or whatever boyfriend/daddy of the week. My childhood sucked, kids at school were the worst, always talking shit about my mom and making fun of me because I had no dad. I couldn't wait to leave Erudite." Eric says. "I knew I wanted to come here, no matter what the aptitude test said."
"You are Dauntless, I see that about you, from the first time I saw you. I wish you had of had a better childhood, but no matter what you went though I think you're a great person. You're a leader, you're respected here and you are someone to be proud of." Tris says.
"Thank you." Eric says. Tris wraps her arms around him and embraces him, which he happily returns. They sit together on the couch, snuggled together and quietly watching a movie until the alarm sounds on Eric's cell phone.
"Time for me to go." Tris says as she stretches.
"I'll walk you back." Eric replies as he laces his boots.
As they leave the apartment, Eric grabs Tris' hand. She looks up in surprise.
"Sorry." He replies, but she only squeezes his hand to avoid breaking contact.
"It's ok, we'll be careful." She says with a smile.
Tris stops walking as they reach the corridor with the initiate dorms. "You'd better not come down here. I'll see you later." She smiles and Eric gives her a quick grin.
"Indeed you will. Sleep tight." Eric squeezes her hand and before he walks away Tris surprises him by kissing his cheek. She quickly turns away and jogs to the dorm, leaving Eric stunned. Finally, he walks away, heading back to his apartment with a small smile on his face.
As soon as Tris walks back into the dorm, Christina catches her eye. She follows her gaze all the way to her bunk, and Christina sits on her bunk facing Tris.
"Where have you been? I thought you were taking a nap?" Christina asks.
"I did take a nap, but when I woke up I was hungry so I ate and then just kinda walked around and lost track of time. What did you do tonight?" Tris replies, knowing if she can get her friend talking about herself, she may not have to answer too many questions. The look on Christina's face shows that she doesn't believe her, but soon the look fades into something different.
"Can you be a girl for a second?" Christina asks, bouncing slightly on her bunk.
"I'm always a girl." Tris replies with a smirk.
"I'm serious!" Christina admonishes.
Tris twirls her hair around her finger. "Ok, spill!"
"Will kissed me." She whispers.
"Really?! When?!" Tris exclaims.
"You can be a girl!" Christina giggles. "After dinner. We went for a walk, and he just stopped walking and turned towards me and kissed me."
"What did you do?" Tris asks.
"I kissed him back. It was so awesome. Then we just kept walking. He held my hand too." She smiles.
"How did you know you liked him like that?" Tris asks.
"I just knew. We are always together, we eat every meal next to each other, and we always were touching in some way. I mean, we just kind of had these looks too. It's hard to explain." She replies, stumbling over her words but beaming the entire time.
"I'm really happy for you two. You're perfect for each other." She smiles.
"Thank you! Now, we just need to find you the perfect man. You know Al really likes you." Christina says and Tris shakes her head.
"He's just my friend, I don't like him like that."
"What about Four? He's super hot, and I see him checking you out." She presses.
"He's our instructor Chris, he's supposed to watch us." Tris replies with an eyeroll.
"Well, Tris, there has to be someone. You can't just practice, train and sleep. And besides our little group, the only person I ever see you interact with is Eric." Christina stops talking and Tris swears she can see the light bulb pop up above the other girls head. "Oh my gosh, how am I so blind? You like Eric." Christina says, much too loud for Tris' liking.
"Christina, shhhhh! Don't be so loud!" Tris whisper yells.
"You like him. You're not denying it." She whispers back.
"He's a leader..." Tris argues weakly.
"You were with him tonight, weren't you?" Christina asks.
"You have to promise me to keep this conversation between us. I mean it Chris." Tris says quietly and Christina nods, scooting directly next to Tris.
"I promise, it's just between us." She replies.
"It's not what you think, but yes I was with him tonight. We've become friends, he's very much a loner and we've just started spending time together. I had dinner with him, and then we watched TV together." Tris explains.
"Has anything happened? I really think he likes you. He's different with you in training, always watching you, he actually touches you. I know body language, and he's definitely more than just friendly with you." She smiles.
"We hold hands." Tris whispers back. "And tonight while we were watching a movie he put his arm around me and we kind of cuddled. He walked me back here and I kissed his cheek."
"Aww! That's adorable. Do you want something more to happen?" Christina asks.
"I don't know. It makes me nervous to think about it. I've never had a boyfriend before, I've actually never so much as even held hands with a boy before Eric." She answers.
"Oh my gosh, how?!" Christina whisper yells.
"Abnegation, remember?" Tris smiles and Christina shakes her head. "I just don't want people to think I'm trying to get a better rank. I really enjoy spending time with him, not because he's a leader."
"Well I definitely know you wouldn't do anything like that, but I can understand where you're coming from. Peter always seems to find some reason to single you out. No need to give him extra ammunition." She replies. "Your secret is safe with me."
"Thanks Chris."
"You're welcome. Just know you can talk to me about him, you know for advice or just boy stuff. I guess we should try to get some sleep." Christina hugs Tris before scooting over to her bunk. Tris is almost too excited to sleep, thinking about the field trip that Eric promised tonight.