A/N: Sorry this chapter took me longer to post and is so short. This week has been crazy busy and these next few weeks will be also, so bare with me. Anyway, enjoy!
I only own Lydia. The rest belongs to Veronica Roth.
"Lydia?" He says again.
I groan, lifting my head up. There he stands in front of me, blurry, but he's there. Great. I probably look like a wreck. Him seeing me this vulnerable makes me uncomfortable and I suddenly can't speak. I turn my head towards the ground but I can still feel his eyes staring at me.
After a few seconds I manage to find some courage. "Hi Eric." I mumble.
I hear him take a deep breath then he bends down, crouching by my side. "Are you alright? You reek of alcohol."
I nod my head. "That's what happens when you drink too much." I slur. He clenches his jaw, still crouched by my side.
"Believe me, I know." He admits. Even though I'm the one in such a vulnerable state, I have a feeling that this territory is vulnerable for Eric too.
It takes a lot, but I manage to push myself up and stand. I grip the wall tightly. One small push or movement could knock me back down. Everything around me is a blur and I'm seeing double of Eric.
"You're a lot less scary when you're blurry." I blurt. As soon as I say it I regret it.
Although he's blurry I can still see that damn smirk he gives that makes my stomach do flips.
"You think I'm scary?" He feigns being hurt, but that doesn't last long and he's back to his smirk.
I shake my head and start walking towards my apartment. "Where are you going?" He calls out. I turn around, moving too fast and stumble into the wall. "Home." I say before picking myself back up and walking again.
After a few seconds of walking I feel a large, calloused hand on my back and before I know it I'm being picked up and carried.
"I'm capable of walking." I inform him. Part of me is terrified because he could take me somewhere and hurt me but part of me knows that deep down there has to be some good in him.
"Are you kidding. Hell no you aren't. You could barely make it 5 feet so why do you think you could make it back to your apartment." He grumbles. He's got a point. I would have never made it back to my apartment. It's a miracle I made it this far. So I just let him carry me.
His grip on me is surprisingly gentle and I feel how warm he is. I want to lay my head against him but that's crossing way too many lines and the alcohol is clearly clouding my judgement.
After awhile we finally get to my door.
"Do you have a key?" He asks, setting me down. I nod and dig in my pocket for my key. I fish it out and hand it to him. He unlocks the door, waiting for me to enter first, then follows. I peel my jacket off, tossing it by the door.
"I think I can handle myself now." I say.
He stands close to the door, taking note of his surroundings. I would normally be paranoid that he's been inside my place but right now I don't even know how to feel. He turns and opens the door.
"Thanks by the way." I whisper, unsure if he heard me. Walks out into the hall.
"It was nothing." He answers.
I walk back to my room, not even bothering to change and climb into bed.
I wake up to a raging headache. I roll over to see a mess of black makeup on my pillow. I groan and throw the covers up over my head. I could get out of bed and try to feel better, or I could lay here. The choice is tough but this dress all tangled and uncomfortable so I make the choice of getting up.
I turn my alarm clock towards me to see that it's 1:00. Great. I drag myself out of bed and head towards my closet. I pick out some comfy clothes, throwing them on, and move towards the kitchen. I grab some medicine, swallowing it and chasing it with some water.
Next I move towards the fridge. I have a small amount of food left, none of which looks good. I guess I'll have to go to the cafeteria.
I first go to the bathroom to remove any makeup from the night before. When I get there I let out a small yelp. There is makeup all over my face. Mascara and eyeliner where it shouldn't be, and my face is patchy from the foundation. I quickly wash it off then head down to the cafeteria.
Kalel and everyone else have already eaten so I settle down at table by myself with some greasy fries. I faintly remember last night. I know I went to a party and had way too much to drink, and I barely remember getting home. For some reason I remember Eric walking up to me and that's about it. I'm so lost in thought that I barely notice someone standing in front of me.
"Rough night?" Eric asks, amused. I choke on my fry and my eyes start watering. It takes me a minute before I can respond.
"Rough everything." I reply, taking a bit of another fry.
"Whoa, Stiff. Didn't need to know the details of your night." His stare is not as cold as usual and I see a sort of sympathy in his eyes. I give him a mock smile then roll my eyes.
"No. I didn't mean it like that. God, why are you even here?" I question, rubbing my temples. Any hint of sympathy in his eyes is gone and he's back to his cold, hard stare.
"I thought I'd be a nice person and see how you were after last night." He offers. Wow, Eric trying to be nice.
"Oh, well, I'm fine. A little hungover, but fine." I inform him. He crosses his arms across his chest, his stare still not letting up.
"Next time, if you are going to be reckless, at least be able to walk home." He remarks. All signs of friendliness are gone. So much for that. I push my fries away, standing up from the table.
"You know, I never asked you to walk me back. I was capable of walking back by myself." I spit. I know the last half is a complete lie but I'm tired of him acting like he controls everything I do.
He laughs in response. "Yeah right. There was no way you could walk yourself back. I helped because it's one of my duties." He retorts.
"Don't you think that after living here for four years I know that you are the damn leader! I've learned my lesson, ok? You may be the leader but you don't control my fucking life!" I tempt. It takes only a few seconds for him to close the distance between us, grabbing ahold of my arm. I back into the table, his grip tightening.
"Might want to lower your voice." He hisses. I try and break free of his grip but it only tightens. Normally I would be backing down but something rises in me and I'm too pissed to care about the consequences.
"You're hurting me. Might want to let go before I cause a scene." I retaliate. There are some eyes on us but from their angle it doesn't look like anything is going on. He glares at me before releasing my arm and walking away.
I take a deep breath while rubbing arm. I look around the room and only a few people look suspicious. I give them a small smile before quickly walking back to my apartment and staying there the rest of the day.
I have been dreading Eric's appointment ever since our encounter. It's 12:45 when he finally shows up. He walks right to the seat not even making eye contact or saying a word with me. I'm perfectly fine with that.
"Thanks for showing up." I say.
He glares at me, taking his shirt off.
"I had things to do." He snaps. I don't bother to press any further so I start on the tattoo.
Halfway through, I hear the bell ring above the door and Zach walks in with a bag.
"Hey Zach. I didn't see you on the schedule. Are you getting another tattoo?" I ask, taking a break.
He sets the bag down on the counter then comes over. "No, actually I thought I'd bring you lunch. Isn't your lunch break usually now?" He responds, smiling. I give him a small smile back. It's a nice gesture. A gesture that someone you were seeing would do, but we aren't even together. It's only slightly creepy that he knows when my lunch break is seeing that I never told him.
Eric looks amused. It's almost like he can tell this makes me uncomfortable and finds humor in it.
"Uh yeah, it is. I'm actually kind of in the middle of this right now though. Thank you for bringing some food, that was really nice of you. Can we talk later though? The faster I finish this, the faster I can eat." I answer. I have no intentions of talking to him later, or eating the food he brought. I'm not even hungry. I just want him out of here so I can finish this and not have to deal with Eric again.
"Oh. Yeah, uh, call me later?" He asks. I nod and give him a wave before he leaves.
Once he's gone I get up and grab the bag, tossing it in the trash.
"What a waste." Eric comments. His voice cuts like a knife through the silence.
"I'm not that hungry. Besides I wasn't going to eat anyway." I admit. He stands up from his seat, walking towards me.
"Your boyfriend went through the trouble to get that for you and you throw it away?" He says, stopping in front of me. Why should he even care?
"He's definitely not my boyfriend." I confirm before heading back over to the seat. He follows, taking a seat.
"Well I hope you are nicer to him than you are to me." He teases.
"Well unlike you, he doesn't drive me crazy. And like I said, he's not my boyfriend." I say pushing his arm away from his tattoo, and start up the gun.
"I drive you crazy." He says it as more of a statement then a question. I look up at him and his smirk has once again returned. I shake my head and focus on the tattoo.
"Not in a good way." I mumble. I add the finishing touches and then wrap him up. I don't bother giving him the information on what to do for care because I'm sure he already knows.
He meets me at the counter and pays for the tattoo. Once paid for he walks towards the door. "Later Stiff. Don't forget to call your boyfriend." He says before walking out. I grumble, flipping closed the planner and take a seat on the nearby stool.