The next afternoon, it wasn't a hangover that ailed Teddy, but the bump on her head and a swollen neck. Everyone kept eyeing the bruises along her throat, but no one made to say anything as Jonathan taught them a combination of martial arts and proceeded to have the candidates practice with each other. As there was an odd amount, someone always practiced with a leader. Usually it was Teddy or Mathias, as the sisters always stuck close to each other. But it seemed like luck was not on their side today. It seemed Eric was finally fed up with Amy and Zoe always fighting with each other.

"You're not going to learn anything if you spar with the same partner." His rich voice rang out. "Amy, you're with me today. Zoe, join Andre." The girls looked scared stiff at the thought of sparring with someone other than each other and Teddy wondered how they'd managed to rank first during initiation. Or maybe it had been so long that they'd forgotten what it was like.

"Teddy?" Mathias got her attention. "You ok?" Her gaze was taken away from Eric and his partner and refocused on her friend. They got into position and began sparring, using the forms as taught by Jonathan earlier.

"Don't be a fucking princess about it." She could hear Eric jeer Amy. Something tightened in Teddy's chest when he called her that. As much as she hated him calling her that, that was her nickname.

"Jesus, Teddy, I'm not actually attacking you, we're not in the ring." Mathias barely caught her heavy foot aiming for his chest.

"Sorry." She huffed. "Force of habit." She barely caught Eric's stare and could have sworn a smirk was forming. Why was he bothering her so much? He was just her mentor. But her gaze caught on to Eric blocking Amy's attack, forcing her arm behind her back and one of his hands wrapped around her throat, bringing her in close in what almost looked like an intimate gesture. Once again, he caught Teddy's gaze and she seemed concerned, not for the sparring pair but for something internal. It got Eric smirking once again.

"Ow!" Mathias cried out when Teddy grasped at his calf and twisted. "Christ, Teddy, what's eating you today?

"The fact that no one's eating her." Andre winked, sending Mathias howling with laughter. Teddy didn't quite understand. Even Zoe was laughing.

"Why would I want someone to eat me?" She didn't quite grasp the connotation. Her question got the leaders chuckling.

"Innocent little princess." Eric and Amy had finished their grappling. "I'm sure someone out there wants to eat you up." Then he made the crude gesture of darting his tongue between two spread fingers, which revealed a tongue piercing Teddy had never seen before and she felt her neck grow hot and the tightening in her chest intensified, only this time, she knew what was bubbling just under the surface, humiliation and rage. But she kept her composure as they moved on to different guns. And for the first time, she used the clichéd reasoning of imagining someone's face as the target.

After weight training a few days later, Eric wanted Teddy to spar with him. It was obvious to him that she picked up on the different styles of fighting fairly quickly and with her new strength, he wanted to see what she was capable of. As they both moved in a dance of martial arts and kickboxing, they were sure to pull their punches, not aiming to hurt.

Teddy was able to hold her own against the youngest Dauntless leader, which caught Eric by surprise, much to her delight. But what had her seething was that he didn't seem to find this difficult at all. In fact, he was barely breaking a sweat, mostly dodging her as though swatting away a bothersome fly. She got a few hits in, keeping a reign on the force as much as he was, but she wanted nothing more than to deck him in the face, still agitated over his comment the previous day.

Instead of letting her anger and frustrations hinder her, she kept calm, her face a blank mask, continuing to dance around Eric, gracefully dodging, swiping and maneuvering around each other, using the moves the candidates had learned throughout the past few weeks. The whole training room was their stage and while Teddy was quick on her feet, Eric was quicker.

Finally, he had her facedown, the force from landing on her belly leaving her breathless. He straddled her hips, a firm grip on one of her ankles and her opposite wrist. He pulled tightly, causing her to arch her back.

"Stop thinking so much." He leaned down, muttering in her ear. He sounded breathless and that excited Teddy in more ways than one. "You know what you're doing, so just do it." She could feel his grip loosen and, still angled awkwardly, she used her grasped foot to kick in at just the right angle. The kick in the head sent him sprawling with a grunt and she twisted her arm out of his grasp. When she rotated around on the floor, his face was contorted into a snarl, aggravated at the mistake he'd made of sitting on her hips and not her thighs.

She was sure not to make the same mistake twice, instead of aiming her legs for his waist, she used his broad shoulders as leverage, whirled around and wrapped her thighs around his neck. She saw his hands move before they actually did, and so she caught them before he could fling her off and crossed them behind his neck. But then she was falling and she realized that it was his intention to collapse on top of her. As he fell to his knees, she twisted them around so as not to hit her back and have the breath leave her. Eric hadn't anticipated that and he fell onto his own back with a grunt, Teddy's legs still wrapped around his neck. They were both panting heavily now and after a few moments, Eric smirked up at her.

"Do you like this position, princess?" His voice was all but a purr and Teddy couldn't help her dry swallow. Before she could do anything, she was pinned under him. This time, her breath did leave her and she arched into him as she tried to regain air. In that swift movement, he'd gotten her arms above her head and the bend of her knee was held firmly against her chest in an elbow lock. His legs were straddling her other leg and his hips were digging into hers. "I like this position better." He growled into her ear, sending gooseflesh down her back. He ground his hips against hers forcefully and with a sharp inhale through her nose, the breath was back in her body. Eric's smirk was back due to her reaction and when their eyes met, Teddy was sure he could see straight through her. His pupils were dilated, but within their close proximity, Teddy could see specks of blue here and there.

The ache in between her legs was almost unbearable now. His thigh was at just the right angle, nudging at her core with each breath he took. But she didn't dare give him a reaction. The room was very still until Teddy rolled her hips against his, squirming to get out of his grasp, her gaze never leaving his. His growl at her movements resonated within her and he ground down against her again, her breath hitching before she could stop it. And then Eric released her with a sigh.

"All right." His tone seemed pleased, even if his expression betrayed no emotion. "We're done for tonight." With lithe movements, Eric threw his vest back on and strode out of the training room, Teddy just barely getting to her feet.

Isolated in the gym showers later on, Teddy came fiercely against her fingers.