Bianca hit the mat with a gasp, the air leaving her lungs and temporarily stunning her. She rolled to her side just in time to miss the fist heading for her face, making her opponent hit their fist against the mat instead of her nose. She desperately kicked out her legs and made contact with soft tissue, making all the men in the room groan in unison.
"Oops," she muttered as Will fell to his knees, his hands folded over his crotch. She felt guilty for the cheap shot, even if it did work in her favor. The transfer who had been kicking her ass now looked ready to vomit.
"Finish it," Eric's stern voice came from the sidelines. With a displeased glance towards him, Bianca mustered up the rest of her strength and punched Will in the cheek, sending him down in a heap. He wasn't knocked out, the soft moans of pain giving him away, but it was enough to satisfy Eric and his stupid 'no one forfeits' rule.
Bianca stepped off the mat and practically collapsed onto a bench on the sidelines, Marlene and Lynn flanking her. "What the hell am I doing here?" she mumbled, willing the tears away from her eyes. One of her friends handed her a wet cloth to wipe the blood from her face while the other gave her a water bottle.
"You're exactly where you belong," Marlene reassured, rubbing her back soothingly.
Lynn, ever the realist, added, "Probably not where you belong, but it's what you chose and now you need to deal with it. You're stronger than you think."
"I just took the lowest way out of a fight and then hit him when he was already down. Is that brave? Does that make me Dauntless?" Bianca was sick to her stomach over seeing Will's helpless face after she kicked him.
"I think Eric's next lesson needs to be how to deal with a fight emotionally," Marlene said with a smirk, nudging Bianca and getting the hint of a smile in return.
"Does he have emotions?" Lynn asked sarcastically, which made the three of them laugh out loud.
All of the initiates, transfers and Dauntless-born, were less rowdy than usual at dinner that night. The first day of fights had taken a lot out of them, physically and mentally. Up until that point everything they were doing had been easy to brush off as 'just training'. Now they were pitted against each other, with everyone's rankings at stake, and it was humbling.
Bianca was slowly picking at her food when that familiar, well-groomed and heavily-muscled figure came to stand beside her table. His jaw was clenched as he looked her over, his arms firmly clasped behind his back. Was that concern in his eyes? Bianca almost snorted at the absurdity. He was probably just pissed that someone had marred her face.
"How are you holding up, initiates?" Eric asked the group, but his eyes remained on Bianca.
The initiates each replied that they were fine, nobody daring to utter a complaint. Bianca nodded to him, silently telling him that she was okay. It seemed to placate him because he nodded back before moving on to the leaders' table. She thought that was the end of it, but a few minutes later, as she was making her way to the dorms for some much needed rest, she was yanked into that annoyingly familiar hallway.
"Seriously?" she asked, glaring up at Eric in the darkness. Why weren't there any lights in this hallway, anyway?
The only explanation she got from him was in the form of his large hands gently cupping her face, his eyes sweeping the bruised skin and appraising the damage. His jaw was clenched, his nostrils flared in irritation, but his grip on her was so delicate she couldn't help but relax against him.
"I'm going to kill him," Eric stated, and as much as Bianca wanted to believe he was joking, she knew he was completely capable and willing to do such a heinous act.
"If you kill everyone who hits me in the next few weeks, there won't be any initiates left," she replied, tentatively resting her hands on his wrists. His skin was warm and surprisingly soft, though the muscles were firm beneath the surface.
Eric shrugged without hesitation. "I'm okay with that."
Bianca ducked her head to hide a smile. She wasn't quite ready to let him see that she might find him amusing. "How about, instead of killing the rest of my competition, you do this?"
She gently pulled his hands away from her face and wrapped them around her waist, then wrapped her own around his middle, securing him in a hug. She exhaled with content as she rested her head against his chest. It hadn't occurred to her until that moment that she'd been craving positive human contact ever since training started.
The was a split second where Eric was frozen in place before he reciprocated, pulling her flush against him so there wasn't a centimeter of space between their bodies. His chin rested on her head as his hands tenderly rubbed her back. "Okay," he answered simply, his voice laced with contentment.
Grunts of pain echoed in the training center once again the next day. This time multiple fights were taking place at once while Eric, Four, and Lauren walked throughout them, keeping sharp eyes on everyone. Bianca was waiting for her next fight and stretching with Lynn and Marlene when a commotion caught their attention. One of the transfers, Christina, was down and claiming she couldn't continue. Unfortunately for her, Eric was the closest instructor to their ring.
"You need to stop?" he asked, looking down at her.
Say no. Get back up. Of course the girl nodded, making Bianca and Lynn both curse under their breaths.
"Okay. Let me give you a hand." He held his hand out to the girl, and she foolishly accepted. Bianca felt an unwelcome surge of jealousy as Eric pulled the girl up. It was only overshadowed by the sense of dread of knowing that something very, very bad was about to happen.
"Stop him," Marlene whispered to her as Eric called for everyone to take a break.
They hurried after the pair as Eric led Christina out of the training center and into the tunnels. She didn't know what, if anything, she could do. But she knew she had to try.
"Eric," she said quietly as she caught up to them in time to see him place his hand on Christina's back. She remembered those hands on her back just the night before and wondered where that gentle Eric was right now. He spared her a glance, a warning to stay back, before the shit hit the fan.
"You feeling a little better?" he asked Christina, sounding as if he actually cared. He was so good at faking it that Bianca couldn't help but wonder if he was always faking it, even with her.
"Yeah," Christina barely got out, and then Eric was throwing her over the side of the bridge they'd just walked onto. Her scream echoed in the cavern, followed by the shouts and gasps of the rest of the initiates.
Bianca tried to lurch forward but Lynn was at her side in an instant, holding her back. "Don't challenge him in public," she whispered, ever the voice of reason.
"Grab the rail," Eric commanded, "or don't." He let her hand slip from his grip and she desperately clung to the rusty bridge. "You've got three options: hang there and I'll forget your cowardice, fall and die, or give up. But if you give up, you're out."
To her credit, Christina hung onto that railing like a champion. Bianca wasn't sure, had she been in that position, she'd be able to do the same. One of her friends attempted to call out encouragement to her but was immediately silenced by Eric's sharp glare. As he turned to look back at Christina he caught Bianca's pleading eyes.
After a few more seconds he rolled his eyes and called, "Time." Two of Christina's friends rushed forward to haul the petite girl back up. "Dauntless never give up," he stated firmly, then turned and left them on the bridge.
The rest of the initiates started back towards the training room, but Bianca followed the young leader down the tunnel he'd taken. "Eric," she called firmly, making him stop in his tracks and turn towards her.
"Get back to training, initiate," he snapped, pointing a large finger in her face.
Summoning courage she didn't know she had, or perhaps straight adrenaline, Bianca moved swiftly to first slap his hand out of her way, and then connect her other palm to his face in a deafening smack. "You could have killed her!" she growled, pushing against his shoulders with all of her strength. He barely budged.
"And that would have been her own fault," he snarled back, snatching her wrists before she could push him again. "You need to start thinking like a Dauntless if you want to fit in here."
"Dauntless doesn't mean heartless!" she yelled, struggling in his grasp. "Or is that it? You have no heart, no feelings? Are you just faking whatever it is we have?"
"What do we have, Bianca? Hm?"
Bianca stilled, letting her arms drop, Eric's hands remaining locked around her wrists. "I... I thought it was just going to be business. I needed to get through initiation, you wanted whatever it is you want..."
"I want you, Bianca. I thought that much was clear." Eric sounded exasperated.
"I know, but I thought you just meant, like, sex," she whispered the last part, her cheeks heating up. "But last night you were, I don't know, nice."
Eric rolled his eyes. "Yeah, well, don't tell anyone. I have an image to maintain."
"So is that what that whole thing with Christina was? Upholding your image?"
"No, she totally deserved that," he replied firmly, but with the hint of a smirk. "Now can we get back to that part about sex?"
"Oh my god, you're hopeless," she groaned, finally detaching from his hands and retreating to the safety of the training center. His laughter her followed her down the hall.
