The simulation today seemed more stress-free. But by no definition easier.
Tris didn't have to anticipate the glass tank, or being tied to a pole with flames around her. This time she just had to re-live it. And if possible, improve her techniques.
This time, Eric wasn't there.
This time, she actually felt disappointed.
To her dismay, once she emerged from the simulation, Four had the most reproachful look on his face. He kept glancing at her and then to the screen in front of him and then at her again. His tongue ran along his bottom lip, as if to test if his taste sense was still working. As if to find out whether he was in a simulation himself.
Tris strode out of the room before she could be interrogated by her instructor.
"Dauntless don't break the glass like that," he said upon her departure. She ignored him and walked away. Back to the Pit. Where she knew all her friends would be after the test.
Celebrating having a better score than last time.
She could not let anybody know that she was Divergent. And apparently, Four began suspecting that when he watched over her simulations. She could see it in his eyes. He knew. But the problem was: she didn't know how to manipulate the test. She didn't know what gave her away. As far as Tris was concerned, she was only trying to survive the simulations. Thinking logically.
She shakes her head as she walks into the crumbling Pit. She needs to talk to her mother again. Or somebody who she trusts. But who?
Tris releases her hair from the band and allows it to flow over her shoulders. It was tugging lonely strands before, causing her skull to itch. But now she could alleviate that feeling.
After securing the hair band around her wrist, she tangles both hands in her hair and pulls gently. The feeling causes her eyes to flutter shut, a moan rising in her throat. Thankfully, the music is way too loud for anyone to hear her. Which is good. Nobody likes a weirdo in the middle of the Pit, tugging at her hair and moaning.
When Tris opens her eyes, her vision becomes vivid. People dancing here and there. Somebody fighting playfully in the corner. Peter and Drew drinking at the bar. And from her peripheral vision… Eric.
"Initiate!" he yells over the music, jumping down from the rock he was standing on.
The omnipotent leader has a beer bottle in his hand, the neck of it being caressed by his fingers as he swings it back and forth. At one point, Tris gets a mini heart attack at his careless way of holding objects. A little less pressure and the bottle would shatter into tiny pieces.
A few heads turn as he approaches her cautiously, lowering his head like a lion in the middle of a corn field.
Tris walks up to him, stopping when he is a foot away, "I want you to leave me alone."
Eric scoffs at her. He takes the last swing of his beer, not bothering to fill in the silence between them.
"Please," she says, folding her arms.
"If you want me to leave you alone, make me," he says, "Don't beg."
Tris watches the alcohol swimming around in his eyes. He doesn't seem uptight today. He doesn't even seem curious about why she would want him to stay away. Tris has decided this earlier though. He can't just keep kissing her whenever he wants and act completely oblivious to her presence the next day.
"You're just so confusing," she whispers to herself. Eric raises an eyebrow and puts his glass bottle down near his feet.
"How was the simulation today?" he murmurs, leaning closer until she can smell his minty breath.
She stares up at him dubiously, not knowing how to react. She hasn't seen him like this before. Since when is he interested in what she does? He isn't. He can't be. This is just another show he is putting on. But this time, she would not fall for the act.
Tris rolls her eyes and turns around. A hand grips her wrist. Warm, calloused fingers press into her skin. He won't let go.
When she turns around, he is smirking. This new smirk is almost too big for his face.
"What if I don't want to leave you alone?"
"Then too bad," she smirks back, "I'm not interested in guys like you."
"Guys like me?" he steps closer to her, groping her small curves. She realizes at that moment that her eyes have been locked on his. Never leaving them, "Have I been that bad?"
The slur in his voice makes her giggle. Loudly. She forgets about being Divergent. Or passing the final test. She feels like this is the moment she wants to be in. Well, any moment. Only with him.
It doesn't surprise her when he captures her lips with his teeth, tugging and nibbling until they are ready to be moistened with his tongue. Tris gasps, not hearing herself in the loud atmosphere. But she is certain that he heard her. She leans up, kissing him softly. He returns the favour eventually.
"You drive me crazy," he mumbles, his deep voice making her skin vibrate.
She manages to mutter his name in return.
His big hands come up to her face, brushing back her hair. Tris flushes when she smells aftershave on his palms. He is still just a guy. Even though he doesn't act like one. He still shaves. And showers. And takes naps.
Tris was foolish enough to think that he was immortal. He was a human tank.
He's not. The aftershave reminded her.
She whimpers quietly- knowing that nobody can hear her in the Pit –when Eric's hands run up her sweater. Her skin tingles at his touch. Her head spins in delirious circles. She let's go of everything.
"Yeah, show some skin, Stiff!" Peter's voice booms over the music.
Tris gasps in embarrassment and pushes herself away from the human tank, tugging the material of her sweater down. How could she be this stupid? Making out with everybody's most hated person in the centre of Dauntless. A few people turn to stare at her. Some glare. The others shake their heads.
But her friends aren't among those people. Thank God. It would be a hard thing to explain.
She takes a moment to flush away the redness from her face before looking over at Peter. He has a confused expression plastered on his face. Not hate. Confusion. What are you doing, Stiff? He would say. You've just ruined everything.
She notices that he throws a cautious gaze towards Eric. Drew does it too. Why are they acting so strange?
They simultaneously grab their alcoholic beverages and back up until their silhouettes fade into the dancing crowd. Before Tris has the chance to start gluing the pieces together, figuring out their problem, Eric's arm wraps around her again, pulling her close.
"Let's get out of here," he whispers into her hair.
Oooooooh, guys. Guys.
These moments alter the future. Don't forget that. Peter and Drew and Al were supposed to be planning to chuck Tris into the chasm. But now that they've seen her making out with Eric...
That's all I'm going to say. That's all I'm going to say xD
Review please :)
