Chapter 11

I saw him immediately once I entered the room, standing next to one of the punching bags. I made my way towards him, taking my time and studying him. What did I know about Eric? I knew that he was muscular, I could see his arms right now without his jacket, though he still wore pants. In fact, I had never seen him in shorts unlike many of the other members. He was a good fighter, I watched my brother and him fight a couple times for display. They both over fought each other and we got a little extra demonstration. He was smart and ambitious I would assume from his position in the faction on top of what I have seen. He could be cruel. Christina, Al, and even Tris could attest to that first hand. But I know he has also been nice and given useful tips to every one during training. Tris mentioned it yesterday, and he had helped me in the morning before. He was some sort of living dichotomy helpful but so brutal, to the point you might not see it. Dauntless was different than Abnegation, this was accepted here.

He turned towards me when I got close and smiled. It wasn't a happy smile. It was a smile a predator would give a prey before they killed them. I did not have a good feeling about this. I stood a couple feet away and crossed my arms. "Why am I here?" I asked.

He took a drink of his water before replying. "You have told me multiple times that you are capable to pass this training. I'd like to see if you really are or not." He tilted his head and then continued, "I'm surprised your friends aren't here with you. Tris is advancing similarly to you."

I shrugged, "She didn't feel like getting beat up twice every day this week." I said casually.

He rolled his eyes. "If you get beaten up, then you don't deserve to be here." He stated. So black and white for him.

"Fighting you isn't a fair challenge. You are bigger, stronger, older, more experienced." Was I making a last ditch effort to not do this? Yes, I think I was. I couldn't even blame myself.

He could, "If you don't want to then all you have to do is leave." By 'leave' I knew he meant leave the faction. I stayed where I was. "Ok then, follow me."

He led me out of the room and down a couple hallways. I followed silently, there wasn't anything I could do anyways. Besides, if he wanted to hurt me he could do it in the middle of the pit and no one would stop him. We passed the room that held the net and a few feet down the hallway he stopped next to a door. The blue balls of light on either side stopped just short of it and had he not stopped there to open it I would never have seen it. He opened the door, stepped to the side and looked at me. He wants me to go first.

I step through the frame and immediately start heading up a dark stairwell, I hear the click of the latch behind me when the door shuts. Glancing back, I see him following me up the stairs. I get to the top and have to stop when the door there is locked. Eric is right behind me, I tense when his chest hits my shoulder as he leans around me to enter a code on the padlock, 6564178. The door opens and cold air rushes towards me, I gratefully step farther out onto what I can now see to be the roof. The roof I jumped off of my first day in fact, I see now why we were so close to the net room. The air is crisp and cold, the sky dark and speckled with stars behind the clouds. I can't see the moon but I can see its glow faintly through some clouds. Closing my eyes, I smile as a large burst of wind hits me. Truly, being outside was one of life's finer moments.

"Why are we up here?" I ask when I open my eyes and see him standing in front of me.

"You can train in the same room every day and still be surprised by elements around you. I brought you here to see how you fair in a different scenario." He says. I am almost surprised by his logic but I know that he transferred from Erudite. He must be as logical and calculative as I am self-less. Sometimes anyways. He is pure Dauntless when he takes position in front of me, arms up, knees bent, his body angled as he faces me. His muscles are taut and he stands still, completely balanced. He looks as rigid as a stature, though I know he is relaxed and ready. Quickly I mirror his stance, once I do he wastes no time in attacking. His blows are tempered; I can feel that right off the bat. I'm glad because I know I would not last long if he was going full force. It also validates my idea that he is not all cruel and vicious.

I block a couple before I lunge in and try to land my own attack. He is poised and controlled. He blocks them and while I am moving as fast as I can I know that he is holding back, he could have knocked me over by now if that was his intention. We dance back and forth a bit, the wind is blowing my hair out of its braid and into my face. I don't try to swipe it away knowing that would be a dangerous move. I stumble when my feet cross an uneven patch of gravel on the rooftop, he steps back as I regain my balance instead of striking at me.

I step back as well and circle with him. He wants me to learn to attack in different scenarios. The training room is level, consistent and bland compared to where we are now. I see pipes, poles, and even crumbled ledges all around us. Perhaps I can use something to my advantage. Directly behind him is a half broken wooden pole that has collapsed onto itself. I spring forward towards him to try and make him step back. The idea could have worked, if he backed up at all. Instead he came forward and met me in my attack. I tried again in different places. When my back was to the wooden pole I had seen the first time I let him come at me. I blocked his fists and stepped back, block his fist and stepped back. I thought my positioning was correct so I tried to jab at him, and instead of blocking his oncoming fist I leapt backward over the pole. The momentum of his swing brought his body forward and he almost, almost, stumbled into it but he caught himself quickly and leaped over it. He smirked at me as he stood there. I groaned in frustration. My legs are aching and my arms are sagging. It is late, the sky is dark and the moon is high above us. I don't want to give in and quit but I want this to end, unfortunately Eric does not acknowledge surrendering and for some reason my stamina is being tested more than anything.

We move in a little dance for a few more minutes. I am backing up more than I had at first, my arms are not taking this pounding well and I want to avoid the hits as much as I can. Suddenly he moves in very close to me, pulling my body against his hip, and then grabbing my arm and thigh he propels me over his shoulder. I take in a deep breath as I prepare the hit the ground but the air continues to rush past me. He didn't throw me onto the roof. He threw me off of the roof. He threw me off of the roof.

I couldn't think, I couldn't breathe, I couldn't even scream in my sudden panic. I was completely frozen staring up at the sky above me as I sailed to what would inevitably be my death. Obviously I had failed his test, whatever that fight had been. Seconds past and my body hit something, all the air flew out of my already burning lungs. The net. That bastard threw me onto the net.

I gasped. I was relieved and angry all at once. I felt heat rush through my body, followed by an icy cold when I realized that he would be jumping down after. Sluggishly I tried to make my limbs coordinate to get me toward the edge and off. My body felt tingly, and my muscles felt as sturdy as jelly. I did not get very far when his body hit the net and as I had the night before I bounced opposite him a few times before I finally rested half against him on the center of the net.

Propping myself up on my elbow I looked down at Eric. "You threw me off the roof!" I snarled at him, impressing myself with the strength I heard in my voice. I did not feel that strength anywhere in my body.

He laughed. He actually laughed at me, and I am not sure if it was mocking or genuine laughter.

"What is so funny!" I demanded, still angry.

"Nothing," He said but still he laughed again.

I huffed and I think it sounded more like a growl. I put my opposite hand on his chest to try and push off before the arm holding my weight gave out completely. I could feel his heartbeat under my hand, I could feel his body heat. I was still hovering over him as I looked at his face and made eye contact, he was no longer laughing but his eyes were bright and he looked happier then I had seen him. He was Eric, but he was different. Not the Eric I had seen every day in training, he had more animation in his face then I had seen before.

My body felt heavy, the aching intensified as the adrenaline left me. I could feel my head lowering and didn't realize what I was doing until I had done it. My lips brushed against his for a short second before I pulled back just slightly. One of his hands came up trailing along my hip and up my back. The touch was so light, so unlike what I had expected. As if reading my thoughts his other hand gripped around the back of my neck putting a small pressure there encouraging me to dip my head again. This time the kiss lasted a little bit longer and when I pulled back we were still so close that our noses were touching. I would have pulled back even more but his hand was still heavy on the back of my neck and it was easier to lower my head for a third time instead.

My arm had folded under me and I was laying on him again. I could feel every inch where we were touching. Our legs twined together and my shoulder dipped into the net under his. The hand on my back continued to move, still gently, and I felt calmer with every trip up and down it made. I let out a small sigh and he shifted our bodies so we were both on our sides, and then he was hovering over me. There was another kiss and I brought my hand up to grip his arm, right below his shoulder, pulling him closer. I couldn't think about much else until his weight started to press down on me. My mind flew elsewhere in that moment, somewhere danker and full of jeering voices. I panicked. I drew in a sharp breath and tried to twist away, pushing him away with the hand that seconds ago had pulled him closer.

He pulled away instantly and was sitting half foot from me, watching me intently, as I took in a shaky breath and maneuvered my way towards the edge of the net. I rolled off and again was surprised with how quickly he managed to get to the edge. "Eric, I-"

"It's late," He interpreted me. "You should go back to your dorm room." And he turned and left. That was that. So easily leader Eric switched back on, as if nothing had happened. If only I could do that too.

A/N: I'm just thinking that I probably should have put in dreams or something explaining her situation but the original plan was to explain during fear landscapes so that is what's happening. It will make sense come then!