Alexis woke up to the smell of bacon. Its' deliciousness pulling her out of her dream about pigs frolicking in mud and found a plate of it sitting on the bed beside her. There were also scrambled eggs and buttered toast, but the bacon was the best part. Still lying down, she reached over and grabbed one, chewing it slowly as Eric walked out of the bathroom.

"You could at least sit up while eating." He watched her indifferently as he buckled his belt.

"And I will, when I'm done enjoying my bacon." She replied, reaching out for another with her eyes still closed. Her hand brushed flesh and she opened an eye to see Eric casually stealing one.

"Hey, those are mine." She sat up and glared at him. She could tell he was supressing the urge to smile.

"If you feel that strongly about it, then use it for tomorrow's fight. Clearly you need to kick it up a notch to beat me."

"Aren't we fighting today?" She asked, sitting up straighter.

"I've got something important to do this morning, so you'll be training with Four, but I'll be back for your fear simulation." He answered and took a few steps forward before turning back. "I forgot. We're adding something new to the regime today; Four should be around soon." He added and then continued on his way.

"Have fun." He called behind him, his voice dripping with sarcasm as he left with a bang.

Alexis fell back onto her pillow with a groan. What could they possibly be making her do now?

"Remind me again why we're doing this." She said, tossing her rag into the bucket of soapy water.

Four chuckled beside her as he wiped down the shower stall he was cleaning. "Because no one else is supposed to know you're here and someone has to clean this place."

"Then I think Eric should be here to clean up the mess he helped create instead of you." She grumbled above the toilet bowl she just finished scrubbing.

"I thought you liked my company." He joked, making her grin at the ease of their companionship.

"I do, but I doubt you like mine enough to put up with this." She waved vaguely at the bathroom.

"You're right, but I don't have a choice just like you don't." He playfully returned.

"Hey." She teased back with a pout. "Where does he keep disappearing to anyway?" She looked behind her, expecting Eric to show up any minute because they were talking about him.

"Not sure; he said it was important. It must be if it's more important than training an imprisoned Divergent for an upcoming war." He said with an edge to his voice as he crouched down to wipe the stall floor with his rag.

"You would think so. Maybe he's trying not to look suspicious… Doesn't anyone notice that you're gone a lot of the time too?" She asked him out of sudden curiosity.

"Not really. Eric told Max that I'm helping him on a project for Jeanine and to expect erratic attendance for the next two weeks." He explained.

"That guy has everyone wrapped around his finger, doesn't he?" She said in astonishment, her hands holding her hips as she faced him.

Four chuckled and shrugged. "Nobody really likes him, but no one messes with him either. Speaking of which, we better finish this so we can get back to training."

They were just finishing a ten minute run around the room and Alexis couldn't help but be impressed with the fact that she no longer collapsed at the end.

If she ever got back to Amity, she planned to run circles around Jeffrey Scott, the turd who thought he was all that because he could out run everyone their age, which wasn't saying much.

Alexis slowed her pace as she approached the benches and grabbed a water bottle, spraying some into her mouth before pouring more over her head to cool down and drying off with a towel. When she pulled it away she caught Four watching her before he quickly looked down at the towel in his own hands.

"What? Is there something on my face?" She asked, concerned she looked stupid.

"No." He assured her. "I was just noticing how much you're beginning to fit in here."

"Don't you dare tell me I'm becoming Eric." She warned with a glare.

Four touched her arm gently. "Just because you look comfortable in Dauntless doesn't mean you're anything like Eric. You're just tougher; stronger physically than you were before."

Realizing she'd overreacted, she joked, "Is that a nice way of telling me I look like a man?"

He smirked back. "No. You're still as pretty as you were when you first arrived, bruises and all." He touched her cheek where a disappearing bruise spanned across her cheek bone.

His eyes scanned her face and time slowed as he leaned in. She knew what was coming, but it still didn't prepare her as she froze in shock when his lips brushed hers gently. It was short lived though, as he left her there stunned when he was quickly hauled away from behind.

Eric had the back of Four's collar gripped in his left fist as he whirled him around. He quickly punched him in the nose and Four stumbled back, clutching his face, when Eric released him with a shove.

"Go to the infirmary." Eric ordered him with a murderous stare.

Alexis watched in shock as Four's heated gazed flicked from Eric to her; he was about to protest when she interrupted. "Go Four, I'll be alright." She said, not wanting them to fight.

He didn't go though and stood there as blood dripped down his arm and onto the floor.

"It's okay, Four. He won't hurt me if Jeanine wants that box open." She urged him to leave, because Eric's fists where clenching as he stared the other man down. He reluctantly agreed to go and she glared at Eric when he was out the door.

"Why did you have to hit him?" She angrily demanded.

"He shouldn't have kissed you." He grunted as his eyes burned holes in the door Four had just left through.

"Maybe I kissed him." Alexis goaded, her eyebrows raised as she waited for his reply. She had no idea why she said it, but there was no turning back now.

Eric looked at her quickly, doubt and hurt flicking behind his eyes before he stamped it out. "Doesn't matter. I need you to focus on training, not falling in love."

Alexis scoffed. "A kiss is hardly falling in love."

"To you it might not be, but to him it is. He's only been on one date since coming to Dauntless." He countered.

He's been in Dauntless for ten years, how could he have been on only one date this whole time? She asked herself, immensely curious.

"How do you know that?" She asked, also wondering how he knew.

"I keep tabs on all possible Divergents and I've had my suspicions about him from the beginning. From the way you two chat I would have thought you knew everything about each other by now." He sneered. "It shouldn't surprise you though; stiffs aren't known for expressing their feelings through physical contact."

"He's not Abnegation anymore and how do you always seem to know what I'm thinking or feeling?" She asked indignantly.

Eric stood up straighter and scowled down at her. "Erudite teaches its' members to understand people and why they say or do things. You would know that if you'd read those books I gave you."

"And I tried to, but if I wasn't so tired all the time then maybe I wouldn't fall asleep reading them every night." She bit back, arms crossed over her chest in defense. "Besides, you don't seem to care too much if I don't read them."

"That's because it's not my problem if you decide to let yourself fail that test and die because you refused to prepare for it."

"Won't Jeanine be mad that you let me fail?"

He rolled his eyes in exasperation. "Fine, if you need a babysitter to help you read, then I will do that."

"If your way of helping means hanging me over the side of a building while I read, then no thanks." Alexis said, taking a step back.

He smirked. "I'm not promising anything."

Earlier Eric had looked tense as they got ready for her simulation, but when she came out of it, he looked relaxed. She figured the change was because for once he wasn't in her fear and it didn't leave her feeling weak and sick.

She'd been scared of them since the fourth grade when she overheard a few Erudite boys discussing them and although terrifying, sharks weren't something she was going to come into contact with anytime soon and she got over it quickly.

Now they were relaxing in the dorm and she was reading up on Candor at his urging. Their book was the biggest, since their manifesto was the longest and she basically skipped the paragraphs, only reading the main topic of each.

"Dishonesty is rampant, Dishonesty is temporary, Dishonesty makes evil possible."

"Dishonesty leads to suspicion. Suspicion leads to conflict. Honesty leads to peace."

"Truth makes us transparent. Truth makes us strong. Truth makes us inextricable."

Beliefs

Value honesty.

See truth as black or white.

Blame duplicity for the world's problems.

Believe that politeness is "deception in pretty packaging".

No, wonder Amity doesn't like Candor. I'd hate them too if they bluntly told me all my faults to my face. She thought at reading the last part of their beliefs.

She was reading up on their initiation process when the words began to blur and she read the same sentence four times. Her eyes began to droop of their own volition and something soft hit her on the head, waking her up.

"Stay awake, Amity." Eric said, only glancing up once from the notebook he wrote in every night to see if she had done as she was told.

Looking down at the object beside her she found a rolled up sock lying there innocently. She picked it up and threw it back, hoping to hit him in the head, but he caught it one handed instead. Only slightly disappointed, she yawned and went back to the book to continue reading. Five minutes later she was being nudged awake.

"Let's go, I've got an idea." He said, hoisting her up by the arm.

"I thought I told you I didn't want to be dangled off a building." She mumbled sleepily.

He didn't reply and dragged her out of the room and down the dark corridor. It was late, but not so late that everyone would be asleep if they choose to go to the bar and that fact made her more alert as they left the initiate wing. They walked further away than they ever had; passing the Pit and the sound of rushing water began to echo around them.

Is there a river in here? She wondered and dug her heels into the concrete floor when the thought that he might throw her in came to her tired mind.

"Stop that." He ordered and jostled her so she walked normally.

The hallway opened up to a large room with no floor and a bridge was the only thing that connected their hallway to the next. Water gushed below them and thundered in Alexis' ears, making it hard to hear Eric.

"Sit." He pointed down at the bridge and sat down himself, his feet dangling over the edge. He gave her an impatient look when she hesitated.

"Won't someone walk by and see us?" She asked, still standing in the hallway.

Eric shook his head and pointed to his ear. He couldn't hear her from over there. She took a deep breath and sat down next to him, but far enough that they weren't touching and leaned in to repeat her question.

Eric had no problem getting close enough to whisper in her ear though. "No one is stupid enough to walk around here while drunk, and if they are then they deserve the push over the side."

His warm breath tickled the short hairs on her neck and goosebumps raised on her skin at his words despite his body radiating heat that combated the cold air coming off the rushing water.

She expected him to back off right away, but he didn't and said something else. "No one watches all the cameras 24 hours, but I'll have Four delete the footage tomorrow. Now read." He handed her the book.

She took it gratefully when he leaned back and opened it to her last page. She ignored his close proximity and read a few pages, cringing at the part about the initiates having to tell everyone in the faction all their dirty secrets, before she felt eyes boring into her. She stole a quick side glance at Eric and saw him watching her intently.

She felt déjà vu as it reminded her of earlier when Four had kissed her. Four… She totally forgot about him and the kiss! Butterflies swam in her stomach at the memory and she remembered what Eric had told her.

Was it true that Four felt something strongly for her if he kissed her? She liked him a lot and he was good looking, but she wasn't sure if her feelings went further than that. There was no spark to their kiss either, even though the kiss itself was nice.

The only person she'd ever felt a pull towards was sitting next to her and she hated him. Everything he did and represented angered her, but she couldn't get away from the memory of his smiling face and all the little things that made him seem like a decent human being. Not that any of that mattered, because he clearly hated her too. You don't go throwing people you like off of buildings and say hurtful things to them, do you?

"Are you daydreaming?" His voice rumbled next to her.

Alexis snapped out of it and into attention. "What? No." She lied.

"Then why haven't you turned a page in the last three minutes?" He asked, his eyebrow raised in his usual look of scepticism.

"I…" She stumbled, but the sound of an alarm going off saved her.

They both whipped their heads up at the loud beeping and saw a red light blinking across the walls.

"What is that?" She asked, concerned.

"The fire alarm. Let's go." He replied, pulling her up with him and holding her in front so her back rubbed against his chest as he ushered her out into the hallway and towards the Pit.

The smell of smoke grew stronger as they got closer and Alexis had to cover her nose and mouth with the neckline of her t-shirt when she began to cough. The hallway slowly went from a dim blue colour to an orange and red glow and Alexis feared their way back might be blocked.

They could see flames licking at one of the stores on the main level of the Pit as they entered and Dauntless members quickly jogged past them from all directions to exit the compound.

Eric shoved her away from him and the flames, and said, "Get outside."

"But I don't know the way outside." She complained, watching as Eric and a few other Dauntless grab fire extinguishers and begin to try and put out the fire.

"Just follow the rest of them." He shouted over his shoulder, spraying the base of the flames in the doorway of the store one handed while shielding his mouth with his other.

Alexis hesitated, unsure of what to do. Smoke billowed up to the Pit's glass ceiling and filled the nearest corridors, making everyone around her cough.

This is my chance to get free. She thought, trying to convince herself to go, but then a woman with her two kids ran past and she knew she had to stay and help.

"What are you doing?!" Eric shouted to be heard above the fire when she joined them.

"I'm helping." She said with determination.

"No, you're not." He replied with a brief glare. He looked relieved when Four ran up and he said, "Get her outside, Four."

Four went to take her arm, but she flinched away and scowled at him too. "I'm not leaving."

"The flames aren't the problem." He coughed. "These walls are stone so the fire will burn itself out; it's the smoke inhalation we have to worry about." He explained.

Alexis looked around and noticed that what he said was probably true, but as her eyes swept passed the shop a figured moved and caught her attention.

"There's someone inside!" She said loudly to be heard above all the noise.

"Are you sure?" Four asked and she nodded frantically.

"She probably just saw a piece of fabric moving from the heat." Eric said, listening to their conversation.

"No, it was a person!" She pushed, but the look of doubt on Eric's face made her decision.

She darted out of their reach and ran into the shop, ignoring their shouts. It was filled with smoke and flames licked at the walls and in some spots of the store where racks of clothing once stood.

She swallowed roughly, the smoke searing her throat, and called out, "Is someone in here?! Where are you?!"

"Over here!" She heard behind the counter and she ran over as Eric burst through the flames to join her.

Two teenaged boys were cowering on the floor and she motioned for Eric to come and help her get them out. With one in each of their grasp, they made their way out and deposited them around the corner as the others controlled the fire and eventually put it out.

As soon as the danger was gone, Eric picked them both up by the arms and dragged them to an empty room to scold them in private and Alexis followed.

"What the fuck happened?" He asked, staring them both down with his steely blue eyes.

They fidgeted, glancing at each other and when the one with blue spikey hair nudged the foot of the black haired one, the black haired boy spoke up.

"We'd like to talk to Max."

Eric's jaw jumped. "No. I found you so you will deal with me." His tone sounded deadly.

"Uhh…" The boy said again and glanced at Alexis. He focused on her instead of Eric and said, "We just wanted to sneak a puff without our parents finding out and my mom's shop was closed so we went in there. We put the butt in the garbage can and lit another, but then it started to smoke and we freaked out. Charlie kicked the can over and it rolled into some cleaning supplies, then flames just came out and it spread so quickly we didn't think we could get out."

Eric bowed his head and breathed in deeply once the story was done. He looked like he was about to go off on them so she said, "They're just kids, Eric."

"Kids who set a whole store on fire and could have killed someone, including themselves, Amity!" He shot at her.

The boys looked at her with curiosity and confusion, and Eric noticed.

"Ah, fuck." He mumbled to himself and ran his hand through his hair. "Fine! I'll let you off with a warning this time, but if you as so much as mention that you were in that fire to anyone or anything about us, I will skin you both alive."

They both nodded frantically and ran out the door before Eric could change his mind. He then turned on her.

"Going into that fire was stupid. If you wanted to escape me so badly, you could have just gone outside, like I told you!"

"You didn't believe me and if I had listened to you then they would have died. Can't you just say thank you?" She argued back.

He closed his eyes in irritation and said through clenched teeth, "Thank you."

"You're welcome." She gave him a sweet smile and he rolled his eyes.

Back in the dorm, Eric took of his shirt and wiped the soot off his face with it as he made his way to the showers. Alexis wanted to go too, the fire covered them both in sweat and grime, but she wasn't desperate enough to get naked around him and instead changed into her PJs and slipped into bed.

She wasn't tired though, the adrenaline from earlier still pumping through her veins and she stared up at the ceiling as Eric finished washing off and crawled into his own bed.

Her mind raced with thoughts, the silence in the room only making them harder to ignore and she let them come. One in particular was itching away at her and so she voiced it.

"Are you scared of fire?" She asked him, hoping he wasn't asleep yet. The sound of his bed creaking as he rolled over told her that he wasn't.

"Why do you want to know?"

"I don't know. I could feel the panic in your grip when the fire alarm went off and I'm curious why you went in with me if you are." She said, still staring up. She could hear him sigh behind her.

"Yes, I am." He confessed. "But it didn't stop me because that's what the fear simulation is for, to train you to ignore the fear and do your job."

That made sense, she guessed. Four had said Eric had twelve fears and now she knew one of them. If only she could find out the rest, maybe she'd understand him better.

"Will you show me your other fears?" She asked, wanting to keep the conversation going since he was actually talking to her instead of ordering her around.

"No. My fears are none of your business." He replied.

She turned over and looked at him. "But you've seen all of mine."

"What are we, boyfriend and girlfriend? That's the beauty of being a trainer. I see yours, you don't see mine. Now, I've had a long day between you and Four, stupid kids setting shit on fire and my errand earlier, I just want to go to sleep. So close your mouth, close your eyes and go to sleep."

Fine. She grumbled in her head and got comfortable, waiting for sleep to overtake her excited mind.

What did you guys think? Let me know! Thanks for everyone's reviews, they keep me going!