The morning came far too soon, as it did most mornings. Weakly I stood from the bed and stretched out my muscles. I hated these damn beds. Screw sleeping with Eric. I just wanted to sleep in his bed. It was like a marshmallow. But in a matter of months I would have a real Dauntless bed all to myself. As for now, I would merely have to sulk about my stone-like bed.

It would probably be an hour or two before everyone else would be awake. Not that it was surprising. I always rose earlier than the rest of my friends. Of course, if it weren't for training and my constant bundle of nerves I would probably sleep in too. But that wasn't the case. I walked into the showers and let the cold water run over me. My muscles immediately contracted. I hated the water in the stupid dorms. It was freezing. At night, after a long day of sweating and pushing our bodies to the breaking points, it wasn't bad. But first thing in the morning, it was awful. I just took a few minutes to wash off before getting out.

It had been a week since the trip to Amity and I found myself jumpier than I normally was. All of my friends had noticed but I'd done a good job brushing them off. I merely told them that I was just nervous for the end of the first stage of training. It wasn't a lie. But I was more nervous because I felt like at any minute someone would jump from around the corner to shoot me in the head. Whether it would be the mystery Factionless leader or Jeanine Matthews was still to be determined.

Either way, it would be bad. The Factionless were dangerous but they didn't know weapons or fighting. As far as I knew, at least. They would have a hard time getting near me. Jeanine Matthews was another story entirely. It would be easy for her to get near me. All she had to do was say that she wanted to come visit the Dauntless compound. It didn't help that if they did have the scanners that would tell someone whether or not we were Divergent, I was fucked.

Luckily I hadn't heard anything from the leader of Erudite since leaving the night after the Amity trip, but I knew that I would see her at least once more. Despite wanting to snap crude words at her every time that I saw her, I knew that I had to watch my mouth. She was a dangerous enemy to have. Every time that I had spoken out of term that night Eric would stomp on my foot, silently ordering me to rectify my mistake.

When I had finally gotten back that night I had been immediately ambushed by my friends. Even though it had been well after one in the morning by the time that I had gotten back to the dorms, they had all been wide awake, wondering where I had been all day. At Eric's orders, I had been forced to lie to them and tell them that my mother was sick. I'd fed them a story about how I had been visiting the Erudite hospital.

Of course they had then asked all about how my mother was doing and how my family had taken to seeing me once more. I had been forced to alter my story to tell them that I hadn't actually seen my family. I'd told them that I had only gone to the hospital to get my mother's medical records and check to ensure that she was doing alright. The next night I had told Heather the truth about what I had been doing. Excluding the Divergence. She had warned me to stay away from Jeanine. Not that I needed it.

There was no way that I was going to be seeking a conversation with the Erudite woman. Away from my issues with Jeanine Matthews and Divergent were my continuing issues with Eric. Of course there was no way that they were ever going to end at any point. Which was a pain in the ass.

Already expected, Heather still found them absolutely hilarious. Most nights we would sit together and I would regale her with my latest stories of our strange relationship. She was still giving me the same advice, to sleep with Eric. But she wasn't the one that had the risk of Eric putting a tattoo wherever he wanted on her. The problem was that I wanted to cave. He did too. We both knew it. Heather thought that I should just kiss him and get it over with. It wasn't actually a bad idea. She had also made a few jokes about being the maid of honor at our wedding. I had chased her through the compound for nearly an hour after that.

On the other hand, Heather and Cole were officially together. It happened only three days ago, but no one had been surprised. Everyone knew that the two of them were going to get together. The question hadn't been whether or not they would, only when. It was the same thing that Heather thought about Eric and me. Every one of the transfers had been fully supportive of their new relationship, save Hunter, Colt, and Jade. But of course that hadn't been very surprising.

I was actually still under the impression that Jade liked Colt, who wouldn't give her the time of day. Heather had officially let Cole start sleeping in her bed in the meantime. It had, at first, been a little awkward. But to their credit, other than a few chaste kisses, they never showed any affection towards each other. I had a feeling that they had other places to go if they wanted to.

While they were having a sweet and loving relationship, my relationship with Eric had moved forward slightly. But we were currently at a strange stand-still. We had actually managed to be nicer to each other in the past week that we had ever been in the four and a half months that we had known each other. Of course, I had let him see a side of me that he had never seen before during the trip to Amity. I was grateful that he never talked about it.

It wasn't something that I wanted to think about. We still teased and yelled at each other all the time. I would try to keep my distance from him but it never quite worked out in my favor. Nearly every time we spoke I found myself in close quarters with him. Whenever he came to speak to me he was always pressed up against me. He had become more touchy in the past week or so. His hands now found their way to my hips and more than once he had tugged on my hair in passing. He knew that I liked it.

I tried to push thoughts of Eric out of my mind today. It was going to be the last of the fights and I knew that if I wanted to keep my high ranking, I was going to have to win the fight. It would also make me one of the few initiates that were undefeated in training. I was currently ranked number three. Eric had actually told me in some words that he was proud of me. On the other hand, Four had directly told me that he was proud of me. Both meant the world to me.

Only Aaron and Jackson were still above me. I had noticed that they were the only two people whose rankings had never moved. They had both come to congratulate me over the past week and so had Lisa. We had become good friends over the past two weeks since we had all first gotten together during our time on the zip line after Capture the Flag. Serena still didn't like me, but her snide comments had lessened slightly.

It wasn't just the final fight that had me nervous. I was terrified when I thought about tomorrow. It was the day that I had been dreading since coming to Dauntless. Visiting Day. I had no idea what I wanted when it came to seeing my parents again. Did I want them to come? It would be great to see them again. Did I want them not to come? It would at least make their separation from me easier. Either way it was going to be hard.

But, on the bright side, physical initiation ended in two weeks. Then would come the emotional and mental stages. I was more nervous for those than I had ever been for the physical part. I didn't want to know what was going to come up in my fears. I wasn't sure that I wanted to know either. Eric had told me that it was the worst part of Dauntless.

As I washed the grease from yesterday's training out of my hair I thought about what was coming. I would head out of the dorm and straight to the dining room where I knew that Eric would be waiting. He always was. I hadn't returned to his apartment since the Amity trip, but we had fallen back into the routine of having breakfast together. I couldn't help but to wonder if some people thought that we were a couple. We acted like it sometimes.

He was still dating Sarah, much to my annoyance, and I felt my blood boil whenever I saw the two of them together. Especially since he would dangle her in front of me when he knew that I was watching. I did get great pleasure out of the fact that whenever he was with her he looked extremely bored. I could swear that whenever the two of us were together there was more life in his cold gray eyes. But maybe that was my wishful thinking.

Turning off the water, I shivered at the sudden blast of cold air. If there was one thing that I ever missed about Amity, it was the warm air and water that ran through the Faction. Eric had gloated to me once that hot water only ran through Dauntless member apartments. Of course, I had used the shower in Damien's apartment more than once. He had left me a key a few days ago and I had been utilizing his hot water since then.

We weren't really dating but I had a strange feeling that he was going to ask me out once initiation was over. I knew that I would be smart to say yes. But Damien wasn't who I wanted. I walked over my bed, not worried about covering up since no one was awake. I grabbed a pair of black leggings and a tight black short-sleeved shirt, pulling them both on. I grabbed my boots quickly and tied my hair up as well before heading out of the room. As I left, I saw Cole start to stir. He was an early riser too.

Heading towards the dining room, I said hello to a few Dauntless members that were already awake. I even stopped for a quick chat with Zeke. I didn't see him around too much but when I did I liked to talk. He had become something like a friend to me recently. I was starting to learn a few other member's names as well. But there were plenty of people that I didn't know yet. I would meet them in time. Once I was a member I would have more time to make friends. I walked into the dining room and raised my eyebrows. Eric wasn't at the table that we normally sat at. Had he slept in tonight?

"Think fast," Eric's voice called from the corner.

I turned to face him, not quite understanding what he was talking about. Of course, I should have figured that nothing good was going to come from the minute that he said 'think fast.' A bright red spot came flying out from the corner of the room and I had no chance to avoid it. So I merely groaned loudly when it came in contact with my forehead. I stumbled backwards and pressed myself into the wall, covering my eye. Shit that hurt. Did he throw something at me?

Whatever it was, it was heavy. "Too bad. You weren't fast enough," Eric said with a little smirk.

I saw him out of the corner of my eyes, leaning on the wall and tossing a red apple in his hands. My hand dropped from my eye and I growled deep in my throat. He threw a fucking apple at my head. It was times just like this that were was one of the reasons that I still hadn't slept with him. Because he did things like throwing apples at my head while I wasn't paying attention.

"What the fuck, Eric?" I snarled at him.

My head was throbbing from where the apple hit me. He was walking over to the table, still smirking proudly. For a moment I wanted to smack myself for following him. As much as I really did like Eric, it was times like these that I couldn't stand him. He took a seat on the bench and motioned for me to sit next to him. My eye was throbbing and I wanted to cradle it, but I knew that Eric wasn't going to let it go if I did. So I ignored the throbbing pain and took a seat next to him.

"You're such an ass," I muttered.

"Don't be a baby," he shot back.

I turned towards him and glared. "You know, apples are a little bit heavier than you think. Particularly when they're aimed at your fucking eye," I hissed at him.

"Stop whining."

"Good morning to you, too," I muttered under my breath.

He looked up to me and the corners of his lips twitched slightly. "Your last fight is today," he said.

But they had already told us that. I'd already been preparing for the fight. "I know that. But what were you thinking of doing? Blinding me before the fight so that I can't win?" I asked.

I honestly wouldn't have been that shocked. He leaned towards me slightly, placing a hand on my leg. I wanted nothing more than to bat him off, but I didn't. "I don't need to blind you for that." I rolled my eyes at him. "If your reflexes are that slow right now there is no way that you're going to win the fight," he said.

Once more, I rolled my eyes. I yawned softly, dropping my head on my arms. I was exhausted. All of this work over the past few months was more work combined than I had ever done in Amity. Surprising me slightly, Eric handed me a fresh apple and I took it. As much as I wanted to eat it I wanted to get Eric back even more.

So I slowly raised the apple and went to put it to my mouth before reaching around and tossing the apple at Eric. He had clearly known that I was going to do it as he easily deflected it and the apple went flying across the dining room. I turned back briefly and saw that a few workers were glaring at us. Of course, Eric was a leader and no one was going to say anything against him or me. At least not while he was with me.

"Unless the person that I'm fighting has a bag of apples hidden up their sleeves, I'm pretty sure that I'll be alright," I said.

It actually made me smile, the way that he laughed softly. "You never know," he put in.

There was still a small smile on his face. "You look much better with a smile, you know," I said, leaning into him slightly.

I'd almost forgotten that his hand was on my leg. It tightened around my thigh slightly and he yanked me so that we were facing each other. "Is that so?" he asked teasingly.

Knowing that I shouldn't say anything more, making the conversation even more awkward than it already was, I turned and grabbed the water bottle that he had sitting in front of him. He watched me with a crooked grin as I took a few sips. He watched me for a while before turning and staring straight ahead. As he was no longer watching me, I glanced over to him. His collar was down slightly and I noticed that he had a few dark bruises that were running down the length of his neck. They were not from a fight. Not that I would ever admit it, but I was extremely bothered by the fact that he had them.

It was like he was wearing them as a trophy. "Have a fun night?" I asked, grabbing his collar and yanking it down.

His eyes brightened and I knew without any more prompting that he knew exactly what I was talking about. He smirked and turned towards me, grabbing my hand and peeling it off of his shirt. I yanked my hand away quickly. He reached back over to his shirt and popped his collar so that the bruises were pushed out of my view. He finally glanced over at me and I didn't like the way that the look on his face made my stomach churn. I certainly didn't like the way that he knew how he affected me.

"Jealous, little Amity?" he asked me with a light lilt in his voice.

I rolled my eyes and shook my head at him. "Absolutely not," I hissed, shoving myself back from him. "I'm not jealous of your little friend that you sure as hell don't care about."

It was almost irksome, the way that he didn't even bother to rebut about caring for Sarah. "You are jealous," Eric said bemusedly, the corners of his lips turning upwards.

"I am not!" I hissed.

But he was still smiling at me. "Don't worry, you can leave them if you really want," he said as he leaned into me.

I scoffed and shook my head. "Absolutely not!" I howled at him. He merely continued to smile at me. "And if the day ever did come that I would do something like that, I would at least be smart enough to keep them hidden."

"So you are thinking about it?" he asked.

"No! I'm just smart enough to put them somewhere hidden."

But I knew that it wasn't something that Eric would want. He would want to put them somewhere to show them off. "Or maybe you want someone to do something like that to you?" he asked, seemingly realizing something.

His warm hand landed on my thigh once more and I groaned.

Not this again. Once he had let go of me, I was praying that he would never touch me again. It only sent things through me that were absolutely terrible, things that once more made me want him. His fingers were tight on my thigh and I knew that the way that he was grabbing me was possessive. He knew that I was still seeing Damien and I hoped that it bothered him that someone was touching me other than him. Just the way that it bothered me that someone was touching him, other than me.

His fingers were slowly winding their way up my thighs. They had almost made it up too high before I swatted them away, proud of myself for standing my ground. Not yet. Despite the fact that Heather wanted me to sleep with Eric, I wanted to prove that I was tougher than him. Because I was. He was the one that was going to bend to me first.

"Get off of me," I snarled at him.

He leaned back slightly, looking somewhere between angry and impressed with me. "I'm impressed, initiate," Eric said, leaning away from me a little more.

"I've had it with this, Eric. Say you want to sleep with me or leave me alone. Which one is it?" I asked him.

So maybe that had come out a little snappier than I had meant it to. But I meant it. He was teasing me too much. I wanted to know where he stood on this. I wanted to know whether or not Eric wanted to be with me for more than a night. Not even in a relationship. I just wanted to know that he didn't want to sleep with me once and then forget that I ever existed. I wasn't sure that I wanted to hear his answer though. I feared that he wasn't the type to keep someone like me for more than a night.

"Tell me, would you really want me to leave you alone?" he asked me. I froze in my spot, unable to answer. That confirmed his question. He knew that as much as his bothering was a pain in my ass, I would never want him to stop. "I thought not."

There was a smirk on his face that made me roll my eyes. His stupid pompous attitude was finally getting on my last damned nerve. I had dealt with him for a long time like this, and I was done. There wasn't going to be any more of this. Not after so long of the back and forth. For once I wanted to be the one with the ball in my court.

"You do realize that you're risking your leadership position here in Dauntless by doing this?" I asked him.

He raised a brow. "Come again?" he asked.

"With what you're doing. You're risking your position. Not only yours, but mine too," I snapped at him harshly. If he got me kicked out of Dauntless for this, I was going to come back here and kill him. "I'm sick of denying this so let's bring in a little candor here. I like you."

My stomach gave a pathetic jump as he stared at me. His eyes widened and I shrugged my shoulders. "Excuse me?" Eric asked.

It wasn't for me. I was doing this for Iris. Because this is something that she would have wanted me to do. "I'm done trying to pretend that I don't. I sure as hell don't like your damn attitude and I don't like the way that you treat me, but I am attracted to you. Would I sleep with you? Yes," I said, making him smirk.

"I thought so," he said cockily.

"I'm not done yet, asshole," I continued, speaking over him. "But will I? No. Not now and not ever. You're an ass. I know what would happen if I did. You'd drop me because you would have gotten what you wanted."

His gray eyes darkened for a moment and the previous sneer on my face dropped. He actually looked upset that I had said that. Maybe not upset, but it looked like I had said something unsavory. "You really think that?" Eric asked, completely throwing me.

There wasn't a doubt in my mind that if we ever slept together he would never speak to me again. He would have gotten what he wanted. "What? That you would drop me once you slept with me?" I asked him to clarify.

"Yes," he said, nodding at me.

I took a deep breath. Might as well continue being honest here. "Yes. I do," I said softly.

For a moment I actually wished that I hadn't said it. A strange look that I had never seen on Eric's face before crossed over his features. "Then you clearly don't know me as well as you like to think that you do," he responded.

Another flash of emotion went through his eyes and I sighed. Maybe I had been a little too harsh about it. I actually felt bad for what I had said to him. To be fair, I didn't know Eric that well. Maybe he wouldn't leave if I slept with him. Maybe he would keep me around. After all, I wasn't asking for a relationship with him, maybe just a friendship. Something that told me that he looked at me as more than just a pretty initiate with a loud mouth.

"I think I knew you pretty well," I said softly.

"Not if you mean what you just said," Eric said.

My heart jumped into my stomach. I couldn't believe that he was acting like this. Almost vulnerable. "I..." I started, unsure of where to go from there.

Eric figured it out for me. "Your last fight is today. Be prepared," Eric said, standing and moving to leave the table.

Without bothering to turn back and see if I was going to say something else, he turned to leave. I felt terrible for what I had said to him. It had been uncalled for. To his credit, he hadn't even dropped Sarah. They had been together for about three months now. Maybe Eric really wouldn't drop me. Maybe he cared a little bit more then he let on. I didn't think that he really cared, but I certainly had a feeling that he cared more about me than most of the other people in Dauntless. Fighting back my better intuition, I spoke up once more.

"Eric?" I called out before I could stop myself.

He turned back to me with a cold look on his face. "What?" he asked, a slight growl to his voice.

"Say my name and I'll take back what I said," I told him with a little grin.

His eyes brightened slightly and for a moment I thought that he might actually laugh. But he didn't. His lips turned up slightly and I couldn't help the small smile that came to my lips. I knew that he wasn't going to say my name, I just wanted to make the moment a little lighter hearted.

"Don't be late, Amity," he said and I laughed.

He had certainly accentuated the Amity. "Wouldn't dream of it," I teased.

Giving me a final smile, he turned and left. I wondered if he was ever going to actually say my name. Probably not. As he walked out of the dining room, I followed him with my eyes. A small smile fell over my face. That was the Eric that I had come to like so much over the past few months. If only he was a little easier to deal with.

I sat in silence, draining the water from the water bottle that Eric had left me with. I wasn't alone for long. Just a minute or two after Eric had left, I saw Cameron come in through the doors. He was wearing finer clothing, a suit and dress shoes, so I assumed that he was going to be visiting another Faction today. Over the past week I had said hello to Cameron a few times in passing, stopping for the occasional conversation. But most of the time he was with Eric, and that meant that I tried to avoid him. I actually considered myself close to being friends with Cameron.

"Alex," he greeted with a knowing grin.

"Hi, Cameron."

"I figured you'd be in here," he said.

I raised my eyebrow. How did he know that? Cameron was a late sleeper normally. He never joined Eric and me for our early morning breakfasts. "How did you figure that?" I asked.

"I just saw Eric leaving and he actually looked amused," Cameron explained.

Despite nodding at him, I wasn't really sure what he meant. "Am I really one of the only people that amuses him?" I asked him.

Cameron walked across over and took a seat across from me on the bench. He had no food with him but I wasn't surprised. Most members ate breakfast in their apartments. Unless they had to deal with the initiates. Like Four, Eric, and Lauren. He smirked at me and leaned onto the table. I smiled at him and leaned back slightly. That was how I knew that Cameron was a good friend of Eric's. They shared the same personality traits and quirks. They practically were the same person. Except for the fact that Cameron was much nicer. Although I'd recently found out that Cameron was the same way with women. Not that it came as a shock to me. Most men in Dauntless were that way.

"No. Plenty of people amuse Eric," he said. I found myself slightly disappointed. "But no one amuses him quite like you do."

I couldn't help but to smirk slightly. In some strange way I was glad to hear that. "What does that mean?" I asked.

"I'll let him admit that."

"What a let-down for such a good set-up," I teased.

"So what did you two argue about this time?" he asked, changing the subject.

I cocked my head at him. "What do you mean?" I asked.

"He only gives me that stony silence when it's about you."

Cameron frequently said things that caught me off guard, but that completely threw me. Since when did Eric get bothered by things that I did? Well, always. But he was never that bothered by me. He would get upset and we would fight and then he would get over it. It was the way that we acted. It was the way that we had always acted.

"I'm still not sure that I know what you mean," I said.

He merely smiled at me. It didn't quite reach his eyes. I could tell that he hadn't slept much the night before. It was the reason that I would never want to be an Ambassador. They worked all the time. So did leader's, but it seemed that they had a bit more free time. They were just needed at all times in case of emergencies. But I would take any job that wasn't on the Fence.

"Alex, I've known Eric a long time. Nearly all of our lives. He's always been my friend and I've always been his. I think I'm the only person that he really tells everything to," Cameron admitted.

I smiled softly at him. It was nice to see Eric's real friend. I knew that he had plenty of other friends, but he didn't seem to like, or tolerate, any of them the way that he did with Cameron. "That's sweet," I said softly.

"I've seen him go through a lot of girls. He never waits for them to come to him. He never tries to tease them. He's never done any of this. Not until you," Cameron said.

If I hadn't been confused before, I sure was now. "I don't understand," I muttered softly.

He didn't really like me. He had told me that more than once. He just wanted to sleep with me. And the feeling was mutual. Right? "I'm not saying that he loves you. He doesn't," Cameron said.

That was nice to hear. "Thanks for that," I said, laughing softly.

Cameron tried to rectify his mistake quickly. "He doesn't love anyone. He won't let himself. He can love. But he doesn't. He just needs the right person to show him how," he said.

This conversation was getting a little too strange for my liking. Was Cameron telling me that I was the person that should try and show Eric how to love? We were both too hot-headed. We were bad people to try and mellow the other out. We only riled each other up.

"I think that I'm a little lost here, Cameron. I like you. I like Eric. But he doesn't seem the type to ever want a real relationship," I said.

"He never has."

"So why bring it up?"

"Because I think that he can. He just has to find the right person," Cameron said, giving me a very pointed look.

He was staring at me, looking more serious than I had seen him in a long time. "Are you telling me that I should be with him? It's against Dauntless rules," I said.

Lately I had found myself with fewer and fewer reasons that I shouldn't be with Eric. I was losing the fight with myself and I knew that he was too. Only one question still remained. Who bends first? "I know that. So does he. But he doesn't care. What Eric wants, Eric gets. And you're what he wants," he told me.

I shook my head and rolled my eyes. I knew that he wanted me. We had both tried to push it down for long enough and now it didn't matter anymore. We both wanted the other. "Yeah. Trust me. I knew that," I said.

"Don't be like that. That isn't what I meant. He won't ever admit it, so I'll do it for him. Eric likes you. He likes you a lot."

Had I been drinking something I was sure that I would have spit it out. He wasn't serious. "I'm not so sure that it's me that he likes. I think that he likes the idea of me," I tried to argue.

"He likes more than that. I don't know if he wants to date you or whatever, but he certainly takes more shit from you than anyone else. You should see him come storming into my apartment, spending nearly an hour on a rant about you. I don't think he sees it, but I do. He has this little spark in his eyes. He likes that you challenge him. He likes that you are the only one that doesn't just give in. He respects you," Cameron said.

There was no way that Eric really respected me. "I definitely don't think that he respects me," I said.

He wanted to get in my pants. That was it. We weren't the types of people to be in relationships. And we certainly wouldn't be good together. People across the Dauntless compound could hear us screaming at each other on a regular basis. That wasn't what made for a respectful and loving relationship.

"He does."

"And did he tell you about the bet that we made?" I asked Cameron, placing my hands under my chin.

It was what would show Cameron that Eric wanted nothing more than to sleep with me. Cameron smirked at me and nodded. "He mentioned it," he said.

Of course he knew. "I'm not letting him tattoo something on me. He's going to stamp Amity across my forehead or something," I complained.

Actually he would probably make it much worse than that. Cameron smirked at me and I couldn't help but to smile back. I did enjoy seeing the way that he looked out for Eric. Not that Eric wanted it. "I'm not so convinced that he'd do something like that," he told me.

"I am."

We both smiled at each other. "Don't worry about the tattoo. I somehow think that if - when," I rolled my eyes, "anything happens between you two, the last thing on your minds is going to be a stupid tattoo."

Why was it that everyone wanted Eric and I to sleep together? "Maybe not on mine. But it'll be on his," I argued.

People began to trickle into the dining room slowly, my indication that our conversation was coming to an end. "Think about what I said Alex. I'm determined to see the two of you together at least once. Eric deserves a nice girl," Cameron said.

"Oh?"

"Well, not too nice." Once more, we both laughed. "And I think you deserve a nice guy too. Nicer than Roberts," he continued.

For a moment I was floored. Damn him. "I -"

I opened my mouth to defend myself but one sharp glare from Cameron shut me up. It practically mirrored the one that Eric would give me. "If it's the last thing that I do, it's going to be to see the two of you together. Have a good day, Alex. Good luck in the last fight," he said.

Maybe Eric and I really were meant to be together. I mean, we were similar enough. But could I really tolerate his attitude? "Thanks, Cameron," I smiled at the older man.

He laughed and leaned down to give me a quick kiss on the cheek. I blushed and waved him off. I wouldn't want to get him in trouble for an inappropriate relationship that wasn't even real. He didn't need a second motion to leave as he went tearing through the dining room and back towards the apartments. Probably to go give Eric the same speech. Heather entered the dining room with our friends in tow and I waved them over.

"Hey guys!" I yelled out.

Heather and Cole took their usual spots on my left, Heather giving me a quick grin. She knew why I was always out here so early. Dante took the open spot on my right and Jax, Draven, Buck, and Jet were across from us. Skylar was sitting with Jet but, as usual, she was silent.

"Everyone ready for the last fight today?" I asked as I stole the orange off of Buck's plate.

He glared at me for a moment but I simply smiled back at him. We usually split the fruit anyways. I tore it in half and handed Buck the piece in my right hand before digging into the other half.

"Absolutely!" Heather yelled through a mouthful of eggs, spraying them everywhere. I grimaced and shoved a napkin into her hands. As much as I loved Heather, her table manners left much to be desired. "I mean my ranking went up a lot after Capture the Flag." I cleared my throat. "Thank you, Alex!"

"You're welcome, Heather," I said, smiling at her with a little nod.

She was still the one to sacrifice herself to get shot and had been the one to grab the flag while I'd been busy with Eric. She had done well without me. "But once, just once, I want to win a damned fight," she hissed.

Everyone laughed at her. I wanted her to win the fight. She would probably be safe even if she lost the fight but I knew that she wanted to at least win one. "You'll win," I told her brightly.

Cole wrapped his arm around Heather and I smiled at the two of them. At least someone was having a nice relationship. "You're going to win this fight," he told her and she smiled.

"You've improved a lot since the last fights anyways," I added.

"And maybe you'll fight Raven or Skylar," Cole continued.

Heather and I scowled at him. Clearly he had missed the hidden insult in his words. She wanted to win a fight against the higher ranked initiates, not against a bottom ranked one. Skylar dropped her head into her dish and I sighed. Grabbing the rind of the orange I chucked it at Cole and shook my head. He had probably thought that Skylar couldn't hear him or wasn't listening. Heather was staring with a blank face ahead of her. Cole looked like he wanted to say something but neither seemed to know exactly what to say.

Wanting to diffuse the awkward tension that had suddenly formed, I stepped in to brighten the mood slightly. "Hey maybe you'll get Jade. Personally that's who I want to fight. I'm so sick of her trying to make me look like a fool during training," I growled.

Everyone knew that Jade had been out for me since the beginning. Heather suddenly stepped back into the conversation. "You know, you're right. A fight against Jade would be awesome!" she yelled.

I smiled at her. Jade suddenly looked up at the call of her name and we all dropped into our plates. A fight now would get us nothing but a mile run sprint around the City from Four. He had given us one a few weeks ago when half of the transfers had been late to training. They had all been locked out of the dorms that night. Thankfully I hadn't been one. Buck and Dante had though. It didn't matter. One day I'd gone on a little run with Eric after telling him that his fat head should have weighed him down. I could still see him bringing us by the Factionless district and telling me to say hello to my future family.

"God I'd love to knock her damn teeth in," Heather said, bringing me back to our previous conversation.

She had plenty of reason to hate Jade these days. She and Cole had recently become the victims of Jade's relentless teasing. We were all silent for a moment and I quickly ate the rest of my orange. I wished that I was more of a breakfast person, like Heather, but I wasn't. I would throw it up if I ate a full breakfast. I had made that mistake last week. Too bad I hadn't thrown up on Eric.

"Well I'll tell you what, if I get Jade I'll beat her face in for you," Dante said, breaking the silence.

Everyone laughed loudly and clanked their water bottles together. We all hated Jade and Colt. "Hear, hear!" I cheered.

Hunter wasn't as bad. He didn't act like the two. He kept silent for the most part, only speaking when they spoke to him. Once more the group plunged into silence while we all ate quickly. I knew that everyone was focused on the fights today. For some of us today was a make or break day to get into Dauntless. In the next two weeks there was really only the potential to move up a spot or two. Fights and Capture the Flag were the only way to make your ranking jump.

"Who do you think that you'll fight, Alex?" Jet asked me.

"Huh?" I asked, not quite catching the question.

"I mean they made you fight Colt, someone you hate, and Heather, someone that you love. You won both," he said and I nodded.

He was right. My fights seemed to be the only ones that were actually made to fit. Everyone else seemed to get fights that were randomly assigned. "You know, I was thinking about that this morning. I'm not really sure what they're going to do with me. I thought that I might get to sit out this fight but Eric said something to me this morning about me being ready for the fights so I think that I am fighting today," I said with a shrug.

I had actually been hoping that I might be able to sit out today and keep my ranking safe but Eric had made it clear that I was fighting. "Well you're high enough to keep you safe," Heather said.

"That's true. Maybe you or Dante?" I suggested to Jet. "Draven, maybe. Someone stronger."

Everyone at the table nodded, clearly agreeing with me. "I agree," Buck said.

I glanced over at him. He was digging his knife into the table and I smiled at him. It had become a habit of his lately. I wondered if he was getting nervous for Visiting Day. He certainly wouldn't be the only person. "Really?" I asked, curious for another opinion.

"They know that you're strong. They like watching you fight. I doubt that they're going to give you a lower ranked initiate. Someone up near the top. Probably Draven or Dante," Buck continued.

Both boys seemed to agree with our theories as well. Taking in a deep breath, I blew out a puff of air and swiped my hair to the side. Four and Zeke entered the dining room and I knew that it meant that we were going to have to leave at any minute. Four was a fast eater. Zeke sent me a quick smile and I gave him a small one back.

"God, you guys, there's only two more weeks before physical training is over. I mean, I'm kind of ready for it to be over. I think my body will give me some serious thanks," I said, making everyone smile.

"You can say that again," Cole said, rubbing his back where Jet had kicked him a few days ago.

"But I don't know if I want to face my deepest fears," I said, softer this time.

Once more, everyone nodded. "No one does," Jax said softly.

Everyone was nervous for the mental part of initiation. No one wanted to face their own fears in their minds, the one place that we couldn't run. "I don't even know what I'm afraid of. What about you guys?" I asked.

It was true, I had no idea what I was afraid of. "How do you not know what you're afraid of?" Heather asked me and I shrugged.

There was nothing that I could really think that I feared. No animals creeped me out and I wasn't afraid of heights, falling, or needles. All common fears. Anything that I was afraid of was buried deep in the back of my mind. Maybe my parents hating me or them dying. But those were just unsavory. I wasn't sure if I was actually afraid of anything.

"I mean I'm terrified of drowning," Heather said.

That sounded totally reasonable to me. Drowning was probably slow and painful. "Any reason?" I asked her.

It wasn't something that I would want. But I wasn't afraid of it happening to me. "I don't know how to swim," she admitted.

"I think that there's a pool somewhere in Dauntless. I could teach you," I offered Heather.

"Thanks," she said, smiling weakly at me.

Wrapping his arms around his girlfriend, who had clearly made herself nervous, Cole gave her a quick hug. "I can't blame you for that," he told her. Everyone was watching him closely to see if he was going to tell us what he was afraid of. We all leaned forward, silently edging him on to tell us what he was afraid of. He finally groaned and pushed the palms of his hands into his eyes. "Don't you dare laugh," he snapped.

We all nodded and leaned into him. "Yeah, yeah, tell us," I goaded.

"So I was reading this book one time and I read about this animal. It was called a scorpion. It's terrifying!"

"What is it?" Jet asked.

I had no idea what a scorpion was. Probably something that had existed before the war. "They have like armor around their bodies and this weird antennae thing that stings you. And they're poisonous!" Cole yelled fearfully.

Cole had gone slightly white and I smiled at him. It certainly didn't sound like a savory character but if it was gone I didn't see the point in being afraid of it. Every man to his own, I supposed. "Yeah, dude. It sounds terrifying. We aren't judging you," Dante said.

Everyone snorted softly, knowing that he was lying. Dante probably thought that Cole was being a baby. Cole merely scoffed and went back to his water. Heather smiled at her boyfriend and I saw that she was fighting back a laugh too. But that was how it was. Everyone's fears would sound silly to each other.

"I mean I'm afraid of enclosed spaces. I don't like the thought of not being able to get out of somewhere. I don't like the thought of being outnumbered in a small space where I can't run if need be," Dante told us.

That sounded like a totally reasonable fear to me. Had I not been raised in Amity, where people were constantly crowded around you, I might have been afraid of that as well. "I'm actually afraid of bridges," Jax said.

That was a strange fear. "Really?" I asked.

"Yeah. It's a good thing that there's only one in the City. I avoid it at all costs," he said and I smiled.

It was hard to imagine Jax being afraid of something that stood completely still and never moved. "Why are you afraid of them?" I asked.

"The train went over the bridge and I always hated it. I mean what if it collapses? You die. You're crushed," he said.

A sudden shiver shot up my spine and I shook my head. He was certainly right about that. I would have never thought of it that way. If the bridge collapsed and we were trapped under it we would die. We would either suffocate to death or something much worse. Now there was a bone-chilling thought.

"I suppose that makes sense. Being crushed to death would suck. Or suffocating," Draven said. I was extremely curious to see what he was afraid of. He didn't seem like the type to be afraid of anything. "I'm with you, Alex. I don't really know what I'm afraid of." I was glad to see that I wasn't the only one who wasn't sure what they were afraid of. "I mean I guess I'd be afraid to lose you guys."

Leaning over to Draven I grabbed him in a hug and he smiled down on me. "How sweet," I joked, nudging him.

I probably should have said something like that. Whatever. They all knew that I loved them. "Well, I mean, of course you'd be afraid of losing us! Who else is this fun?" Buck asked.

We all laughed and shook our heads at his antics. It was a good thing to lift the somber mood that had fallen over our table. "Who else will tolerate us?" I corrected.

More laughs were exchanged over the table. "You know, when I was a kid I was burned on the hand. Put it over an open flame. Burned the skin off of my hand," Buck said.

The image that came to mine was horrible. I had seen the scars on his hand but had never said anything. I had thought that they might have been a birth defect or something. It was interesting to know where they came from. I couldn't help but to wonder what had actually happened and what his family had done about it.

"I've been afraid of extreme heat and fire since then," Buck admitted.

We all nodded. Buck's fear was something that was completely reasonable. Everyone else's seemed to be things that weren't going to actually happen to them. "Well if there's ever been a good reason to have a fear of something, that's it," Jet said.

He was right about that. I noticed Buck pulling the sleeves over his hand now that we were all looking at them."Absolutely," Heather agreed, patting Buck on the arm.

I immediately looked away from his hand and turned to look at Jet. "I guess I'd be afraid of being buried alive," he said.

We all stared sidelong at him. That seemed to be a strange fear. Especially for someone that could overpower anyone that would try to bury him alive. "Why?" I asked.

"When I was a kid my siblings all locked me in a closet and my parents didn't even realize that something was wrong. It took them almost a full day to find me. I thought they never would. I thought that they would suffocate me or I would starve. It was terrible," he told us.

Damn. It made me glad that I was the only child in my family. I would have hated for something like that to happen to me. I couldn't help but to wonder if Jet had ever forgiven his siblings for something like that. It seemed like something that would stick with you long after it happened.

"What a bright discussion we're all having," I said, trying to lighten the mood.

It worked as we all began to laugh. Of course, it didn't last very long. Four was standing in the corner of the dining room. "Get in the training room," he shouted.

"Come on, Four's yelling at us to get in the training room," I said.

Everyone groaned but stood anyways and headed into the training room. I dropped the bottle of water into the trash before heading into the training room. Heather was standing next to me and I waited for Four to let us know who we were all going to be fighting. I saw my ranking standing proud at the number three spot and I smiled. I'd be number one soon. Just so that I could throw it in Eric and Colt's faces. And maybe do just a little bit of gloating to Aaron. But in good spirits.

"Last fights today! Go see who you're going to be up against," Four yelled, uncovering the fighting board.

Colt vs. Dante

Skylar vs. Buck

Jade vs Heather

Draven vs. Cole

Raven vs. Jet

Alex vs. Hunter

So that meant that Jax would be sitting out in the fights. I let my eyes run over my fight once more and let out a deep breath. Just what I wanted. To have my ass beaten into the ground and lose my first fight. There was no way that I was going to win this fight. I believed that I had a good chance at winning any fight. Except for a fight with Hunter. He had never taken it easy on anyone and I knew that he wasn't going to take it easy on me. He would probably make it even harder on me since I hated Colt and Jade. The only thing that I could hope was that I could hold my own for a while. I just couldn't get up there and lose in the first minute or two. I had to show that I could at least manage to defend myself, even against someone much stronger.

The rest of the fights were pretty evenly mixed. The fight between Colt and Dante would be a good one. They were both strong and fast. I had a feeling that the fight wasn't going to be pretty. I wasn't sure who would win. I hoped that Dante would. Skylar and Buck was going to be easy. Skylar would lose, and it would push her back below the red line. After Capture the Flag she had come up above the red line. This would push her back below.

Jade and Heather's, I was seriously looking forward to. Heather was going to win her first fight. I was positive of that. And I was going to be cheering her on the entire way. Draven and Cole would probably be a good fight. But Draven was going to win. He was stronger and faster than Cole. Raven and Jet was going to be another fast one. Jet would win and Raven would stay below the red line. I was glad that at least she and Skylar were good friends. They could support each other, no matter what.

Sighing deeply, I shook my head and had to suppress the sudden urge to yank my boots off of my feet and throw them at Four and Eric. They were the ones that had done this. All of my friends were staring at me and I groaned. It seemed that whenever the fights were posted, I was always the one that everyone had to watch their words around.

Probably because I was always getting the strangest fights. "I guess I should have seen that one coming," I said with a little shrug. My friends looked concerned but I brushed them off. What was done was done. "Hey, don't worry. I might not win this fight but there really isn't any way that they can push me down below the red line. I'll be alright."

They all nodded. "Just move fast. Hunter's good but he's slow," Jax advised.

I nodded and turned to Heather, giving her a wicked grin. "But hey, Heather, you got Jade! Beat her fucking face in for me, will you?" I chirped.

The worried look on Heather's face fell and was replaced with a grin mirroring my own. We were both excited for her fight. "Sweetie I'll do it for you, for me, and for everyone!" Heather exclaimed loudly.

We all laughed with her. I calmed down and glanced over to the side of the room where Jade and Colt were speaking to each other, motioning to me. I knew that they were trying to edge Hunter on. Probably about ripping my head off or breaking my neck. Hunter didn't smile or laugh with them, but he did nod at them. I found that it unnerved me even more than it would have if he'd laughed. All I could imagine right now was that he was taking their words seriously and making up fifteen different ways to kill me. It stunned me the way that he always stayed silent. I was pretty sure that I had only heard Hunter speak once.

We were all shifting on our feet and thinking about our fights when I heard a call from across the room. "Amity!" Eric yelled.

I shook my head but walked over to him anyways. It wouldn't end well if I didn't. "That's not my name," I hissed.

Just once I wanted to hear him call me by my name. He had called every other initiate by their names but he had made them sound like insults. I was so pissed with him as I walked over to him. He was the one that had set me up to fight Hunter. At least he would finally see me get my ass handed to me by someone else other than himself.

"I don't care," he snapped.

"You've made that clear."

"You think you have a chance to win this fight?" he asked me with his signature smirk on his face. Asshole.

He knew that I wasn't going to win this fight just as well as I did. "You're gonna rub it in?" I asked him with my hands on my hips.

So much for feeling sorry for him this morning. "Answer me," Eric said.

And so much for Cameron's theory that Eric really liked me. He didn't like me. He just wanted to make my life as annoying as possible. And he was already very good at it. "Yeah, Eric. I know that Hunter is stronger than me. I know that. I'm not expecting to win this fight. I just want to hold my own for as long as I can. So thanks for this. When he breaks me in half I'll be sure to thank you," I snapped at him.

He was smirking at me and I rolled my eyes once more. He was going to enjoy my fight far more than any sane person should. Eric's signature smirk was on his face and I wanted nothing more than to wipe it off. He always looked like he thought that he was so much better than me. I was determined to prove to him that he wasn't.

"Tell you what, Amity, I'll make you a little deal," he told me.

I cocked my head to the side, motioning for him to continue. "Go on," I purred.

If it was something like the last bet that we made I wanted nothing to do with it. That only made my life harder. "You go out there and win that fight with him, I'll lose the bet. Give you exactly what you want," Eric said.

At his words all rational thought and word processing flew out of my mind. My throat went dry and I was sure that my eyes had widened to the size of saucers. What the hell had he just told me? He was going to lose the bet as long as I won my fight. No way. He wasn't really going to do that. Was he?

"Huh?" I asked stupidly.

There was no way that he was willing to lose the bet. It was probably just one of his tricks to make me fight harder and then make me look like a fool later. Eric was laughing at me but I was too stunned to do anything. He leaned into me but I didn't bother backing off. My mind was reeling at his latest antic. Why was it that he always did this to me? Why couldn't he have just bothered the Dauntless born?

"Win the fight, little Amity," he told me with a teasing tone.

Unable to speak, I nodded stupidly. I still couldn't quite believe that what he said was true. But if he really actually meant it then it was amazing. It meant that I could finally cave without having to worry about him putting a tattoo on me. And even better, I got to put a tattoo on him! Maybe a really huge Amity symbol over his chest or something. Maybe my name stamped across his ass with a little heart. I'd pick something perfect.

"You know where my apartment is," he told me with a little smirk. Once more I nodded dumbly. "Now go and get ready for your fight."

His smirk and teasing tone had dropped and I knew that he was back in full leader mode. Tough and uncaring. But there was still something in the back of his eyes. I nodded and walked away from Eric. hoping that I wouldn't stumble over something. It did shock me when his teasing demeanor returned long enough to push me back towards my friends, placing his hands right on my ass and shoving me forward. I looked back long enough to shoot him a nasty glare, receiving a playful smirk in return. My skin was tingling. Hopefully I'd know the feeling even better later on tonight.

Heather shot me a concerned glance and I gave her a bright smile, trying to push Eric's proposition out of my mind. "All right!" Four called out, startling me. "First fighters in the ring. Now!"

We were all clearly moving too slow for him. I took my usual seat near Heather at the edge of the ring while Cole took a spot next to Buck and Jax, who were sitting behind us. Colt and Dante walked into the ring, the former looking excited and the latter looking like he could care less. As I stared at them I couldn't decide who I thought would win. Both were good fighters, but very different. As long as it was Dante, I wouldn't mind.

They circled each other for a few moments, shocking me. Colt was always the type to attack without thinking. He had learned something since his loss against me a few months back. Finally, he made the first move. Colt went rushing at Dante, but Dante saw it coming. He stepped out of the way and delivered a hard punch to Colt's chest. I yelped in glee but it didn't last long. Colt had sacrificed that move to make a better one. While Dante was recovering his hands back to his front, Colt threw a hand directly under Dante's chin and drove his fist into his face. Dante stumbled back. His lips was bleeding but he seemed unfazed.

Their fight was good. They ran back and forth and their movements were well calculated. It shocked me that Colt was behaving like a real fighter this time. He didn't like that he was now in the tenth spot. Whether or not he lost, I had a feeling that Colt's ranking would go up. There went the hope that he might get kicked out of Dauntless. Finally Colt's sideswiped Dante. It smacked him in the side of the head, making everyone grimace at the loud crack, before Dante fell to the ground.

Colt and Dante both looked like they wanted to continue the fight but Four was smarter than that. "Stop!" he yelled, Colt backing off at the order. "Good. Dante, you alright?" Four asked as he grabbed Dante and lifted him from the mats.

His lips was dripping blood on the floor and Four handed him a small towel. "I'm alright," Dante muttered, still sounding dazed.

"Need to go to the infirmary?" Four asked.

Dante shook his head. "I'm alright," he said.

He came to sit back down with us and I made room for him to plop next to me. "Next fight! Skylar versus Buck!" Four yelled, stunning everyone back into action.

I had figured that Dante wouldn't go to the infirmary. He never did. But he still looked a little woozy. "You alright?" I asked.

Dante nodded and shook his head. Heather walked over to give him a glass of water and he thanked her. "I'm fine," he said.

I wasn't sure that I completely believed him but I didn't want to embarrass him and tell him that he needed to get himself looked over. For all I knew he was just a little tired. "Let me see," I said, taking the rag and wiping off the blood.

"Jackass doesn't play by the rules though," Dante growled. The haziness in his eyes was gone. I knew exactly what he meant.

Skylar and Buck were standing on opposite ends of the mat. Both looked hesitant to move. Eric was now tapping his foot against the floor. It wouldn't be long before he ordered them to fight. And no one wanted to wait that long. Everyone knew what would happen if we made Eric wait too long. After what seemed like a few minutes too long Buck ran to Skylar, bowling her over. The fight was fast, just the way that everyone expected. To her credit, Skylar did manage to get back up a few times, but every time it was only a matter of minutes before Buck got her back down again. I could tell that Buck was taking it easy on her.

Every time that Buck and I had sparred he had left deep purple bruises all over me. I knew that he hit me as hard as possible. But that was because he knew that I could take it. And I hit him back just as hard. His hits to Skylar were just enough to make her stumble or squeak in pain. She lost when Buck punched her once in the stomach before slamming his foot down on her chest. Her eyes rolled back in her head as she fought for breath and Buck backed off a little, looking extremely guilty for what he had done. But he just wanted the fight over. Buck gave her his hand and helped her up. He gave her a bashful smile and she shook him off, somehow still smiling.

Both initiates made their way off of the mats, Skylar moving slower. She was swaying slightly as she walked past Four. "Skylar, you good?" Four asked.

She nodded with a sad smile back at him. "I'm okay," she said softly.

A little pang went through my chest at the thoughts that must have been going through her head right now. She knew that she had no chance in Dauntless now. This fight was her last chance to stay and she had lost. As cruel as it was, I was glad that it wasn't me.

"Alright. Next fighters! Jade and Heather," Four called.

Everyone in my group whooped loudly as Heather went to stand at the near side of the mat. Jade wore a grin that screamed that she had already won as she walked up to the far side. I yelled out Heather's name a few times. Even though she wasn't facing me, I knew that she was smiling. Four called for the girls to start and everyone went silent. Jade attacked first. Heather knew that she would. She spun out of her way but didn't hit Jade. We all began screaming for Heather. Hits were flying everywhere and they ranged from punches to the chest to ripping out her hair to knocking teeth in.

Colt looked furious at our jeers but Jade remained unfazed. Long after the fight had begun, we still hadn't quieted down. Both girls were bleeding with nail wounds from each other, but neither looked like they were about ready to back down. It made my heart swell with pride. Heather had this. It was the longest she'd ever lasted in a fight. Even her fight with me had ended faster. And we had had to take a time out for Eric to rake me over the coals. I panicked as Jade grabbed Heather's arm and pulled it behind her. There was a loud pop and an excruciating wail of pain from Heather.

Cole looked like he was beside himself with a mix of fury and fear. I grabbed his hand and yelled for Heather to keep moving. My chest twisted with fear as Heather stumbled to the side and fell. My fear was short-lived. Heather tripped Jade, who went sprawling to the mats, clearly not having expected the sudden movement from Heather. My friend jumped up from the ground quickly and, before Jade got the chance to move, Heather drove a booted foot into Jade's face, effectively knocking her out.

For a moment no one seemed to believe it. Not even Heather. But I quickly broke the stunned silence. "Yes, Heather!" I yelled.

The cheers flew up after my slightly awkward yell and Cole began to howl loudly at his girlfriend's first win. Heather was standing on the mat, bleeding slightly and her shoulder definitely looked popped out of place. She was staggering where she stood but she looked much better than Jade, who was still yet to move. Not that anyone was rushing to her aid. Heather had a small smile on her face and I grinned at her.

She let out a few disbelieving laughs before moving slowly off of the mat. Both Four and Eric were wearing small smirks on their faces. Clearly they had both been rooting for Heather during the fight. Even though Eric didn't like any initiate, with me apparently being the exception, he certainly hated Jade more than Heather. She made her way off of the mat and Cole caught her in a hug. I smiled and let the two of them have their moment. Jade was currently forgotten about, being carried off to the infirmary by Hunter and Colt.

"Good fight. Heather, get to the infirmary. Have someone reset that shoulder," he ordered and Heather nodded. "Draven and Cole, get up here!"

Draven patted Heather on her uninjured shoulder before heading up onto the mats for his fight. "Oh, I've never been so proud of you!" I yelled as Cole let go of Heather and made room for me to meet her.

She still looked a little dizzy as I grabbed her for a hug, careful not to put any pressure on her dislocated shoulder. "Thanks," she said, still sounding woozy.

I couldn't help but to laugh in her ear. She was definitely staying in Dauntless. "You alright," I asked, looking in her eyes.

They seemed to be rolling around in her skull. But Cole had clearly realized the same thing that I just had. Our best friend and girlfriend would be staying in Dauntless. I could only imagine how ecstatic he was, knowing that she was going to be staying in Dauntless for sure now. I was thrilled enough for her.

"That's my girl!" Cole yelled, laughing as he grabbed her in for another hug.

One quick shout from Eric to stop our celebrating and Cole went tearing off to the mats, completely forgetting about us. We all laughed and I watched with a small as everyone else began to hug Heather happily. Of course, it wasn't just that Heather was staying. It was the fact that we had finally watched Jade get cut down to size. And someone that Jade had thought would be no match for her. I could only imagine how horrified she would be when she really came to. Heather wore a small blush on her face at all of the attention being placed on her and I smiled softly. She had earned it. That was a fight well done.

"Thanks guys. Man I wish Four wasn't paying so close of attention. I could have used a few more good kicks," she said with a little laugh.

Everyone joined in and people began to take their seats at the edge of the ring once more. Four was standing off to the side of us, watching the fight, but I did notice his lips twitch in amusement. Heather waved a quick goodbye to us before disappearing out the door and heading to have her shoulder reset.

Cole and Draven had already been fighting for a while when we all finally got to watching their fight. And it went long after our attention had gone to the new fight. They were fighting fair and their movements were clean, but it was easy to see that Draven was the stronger. They were friends, and both had high enough rankings that they were safe no matter what. It still didn't stop the fact that both wanted to win.

It was the same way that I imagined I would feel once I got to my fight later. But I had a damn good reason to win. Eric had made sure of it. I was startled back to reality when Draven threw a fist at Cole's stomach, chest, and head, one after the other. Needless to say, it knocked Cole back. Draven swept out his legs before sending another punch to his stomach, effectively ending the fight. But everyone knew that Draven would win. He was too good.

On the bright side, he really didn't do much damage to Cole. He was able to stand back up once he finished wheezing and headed back to us. Draven helped him stay upright for a minute before he finally shrugged his friend off. He already looked ten times better.

"Not bad guys," Four said. We all nodded. Not that I had fought yet. My heart began to beat rapidly when I thought that my fight was only about an hour and a half away. "Alright we're going to break for lunch. Everyone get some food and water in you. When we come back we'll finish with the final two fights."

As I made my way out of the room, I noticed that Four's eyes held a little pity in them when they ran over me. Thankfully lunch was a mostly silent affair. I noticed that at the Dauntless born table it was the same way. People were only chatting just for the sake of it not being a silent meal. I wondered if they were finally realizing that after living here for sixteen years, some of them were going to be Factionless. I could only imagine what that was like. Aaron caught my eyes, along with Jackson and Lisa, all three of them smiling at me. I smiled back before going back to my lunch. I had to keep my head in it.

For most of the hour that I had, I tried to think of ways that I could beat Hunter. But no matter what I thought of, I knew that it wasn't going to be good enough. He was stronger than me. One hit of his would be like five of my own. He was faster too. Surprisingly fast for someone so large. It almost wasn't fair. He was probably smarter than me too. He would know what I was thinking before I did it. That was the benefit of not speaking. I had no idea how he thought or really acted. There was very little chance that I would win this. But I had also felt that way before fighting Colt. Maybe I would surprise myself.

Fat chance. Heather came back towards the end of lunch with her arm in a sling. She had regaled us of how painful it was to have a shoulder reset and I tuned out. I wasn't a fan of anything having to do with healing the human body. Blood and guts didn't scare me, but I wasn't overly fond of them.

So, instead, I went to thinking about Eric's proposition. If there was ever a time to win a fight, it would be now. I could do what I wanted with him and I wouldn't have to be afraid of what he would tattoo on me, and where. It was certainly worth it. And I could rub it in his face that I had won all three of my fights. But I couldn't deny that I wanted him anymore. I did. I wanted him more than anything.

And every time I saw the little hints of affection between Heather and Cole, it just became even harder not to hunt Eric down. Like he had said earlier, I knew where his apartment was. And as much as I wanted to like Damien more, I just didn't. He was nice and he was good to me, but he wasn't the guy that I wanted. On more than one occasion I had woken up from a dream, starring Eric, and I had forced myself to take one of the Dauntless initiate dorms famous icy showers.

I was slowly munching on my piece of chicken when I heard the call that I had been dreading. "Initiates! Back in the training room!" Four yelled.

I walked slowly and partially numb. Heather stood at my side, knowing that I was nervous. As bad as I felt for it, I hoped that Jet would get his and Raven's fight over with fast. I didn't want to wait this stupid fight out anymore. I wanted it over with. As we walked into the room I was not surprised to see that Eric was watching at Four's side. Taking a seat at the front of the mats, Heather sat at my side, her hands on my knee.

"Raven and Jet, get up here," Four called.

He looked tired as Jet and Raven walked onto the mat. I saw that Raven was shaking and Jet looked more than a little uncomfortable. Not that I blamed him. Jet had feelings for Raven and vice versa. It was the same look that I had seen when Cole had been forced to fight Heather. I couldn't help but to remember when I had fought with Eric. Well, the multiple times I had fought Eric. We had actually been violent, each of us trying to hurt the other. But part of me liked that. The raw passion wasn't something that I was used to. But it was something that I liked. What the hell was wrong with me? Maybe this fight with Hunter would be good for me. He could knock my head right. I probably needed it.

Their fight was the shortest out of any of the other ones. Even Skylar and Buck had been up on the mats for longer. I assumed that Jet just wanted the fight over with as fast as possible. He didn't want to do any more damage to her than he had to. Jet had made the fight last just under five minutes. Jet roughly shoved Raven's shoulders back and she stumbled over herself. Before she could recover, Jet raised his leg and did a sweep to Raven's head. She clearly saw it coming, but before she could move away, his foot connected with the side of her head. She made no noise as she fell to the ground but her head snapped back roughly. Jet ran over to her and I sighed. I knew that he felt terrible.

Four walked up onto the mat and helped raise Raven back to her feet. They tried a few times to get her to come to, but nothing was working. She was completely out of it. "Bring her to the infirmary and have them check her head," Four ordered.

Jet nodded and scooped Raven into his arms. I could see the defeat in his eyes. Like her friend, Raven was not going to be staying in Dauntless. Not with another loss. Jet ran through the doors and I watched him go before my heart gave a little skip. It was my turn now.

"Last fight! Hunter and Alex," Four said. My friends all patted me on the back and whispered encouraging words to which I blankly nodded. I wasn't sure what to say.

My foot hit the mat but before I could walk up, Four caught my arm. "What?" I asked, shaking slightly.

"Be careful up there, alright? I've heard Colt and Jade talking," Four warned me.

"Thanks."

If I wasn't nervous before, I sure as hell was now. Hunter was Jade and Colt's lackey. He did what they said. And if they said to kill me, I had no doubt in my mind that he wouldn't. Hunter was already in his spot as I took mine on the other end of the mat. I had never really been close to Hunter and on even ground before. Now that I was, I realized just how much taller than me he was. He was huge. I took my stance and waited for Hunter to rush at me. Just like Colt, Hunter always made the first move. But Hunter was more careful about it. His moves were much more calculated.

Like I had expected, Hunter made the first move. He rushed at me and I moved out of the way. But he had known that I was going to do it. It was the way that everyone started. He was already turning and easily grabbed my shirt. I panicked and sent my foot backwards, stomping on Hunter's. It probably didn't hurt but it did startle him enough that he let go of me. My relief was short-lived. Hunter turned to me once more and grabbed my shoulder. He yanked on it roughly before shoving me forward. During my fall to the ground he shoved me onto his knee. I felt bile rise in my throat but I pushed it down. Hunter came to grab me once more but I rolled over myself and straightened out, sending a foot into his gut.

His muscles contracted under my foot and he grabbed it before I could get it back. I yelped as he dragged me underneath him, kicking me in the face as I went. I howled in pain as blood began to run down my nose. I wiggled it and was relieved when I realized that it wasn't broken. At least my fight was going better than I had thought that it would. After five minutes I was still fighting. Hunter brought down a fist but I was quick enough to block it.

Skin on my forearms was breaking at the continuous hits, but I was not giving up. The bad part was that, despite being able to hold my own against Hunter, I wasn't doing any damage to him. It was like surviving but not living. Hunter took my momentary lapse of attention to send a heavy hit to my eye and I yelled as I fell to the ground. Before he could get at me again I kicked over myself, making sure that my booted foot hit him in the neck.

He sputtered for a moment and I smiled. Hopefully I had closed off his windpipe. As I tried to stand, Hunter recovered from my kick and he sent a kick of his own at my ribs. I went flying back against the mats and nearly slid onto the concrete. I was gasping for air, having had the air knocked out of my lungs. I had fallen right underneath Eric and a quick glare from him forced me to stand back up. I had to win this.

Hunter came storming up to me but I slid out of the way at the last minute. I turned on my knee and sent a hard kick to the side of Hunter's. For the first time he yelled out and fell to the ground awkwardly. I smiled gratefully. Maybe I really could win this thing. As I grabbed his hair to flip over him and close my legs around his neck, Hunter managed to wrap a hand around my thigh. He yanked me to the ground, forcing me to rip out some of his own hair.

Although I knew that he could care less about his hair. He punched me in the face once and I pushed past the stars. I began to grasp at straws. As Hunter lifted me from the ground, I grabbed onto his back and plunged my hands under his shirt. He was slick with sweat. I dug my nails into his back and under his skin, grimacing as flesh stuck under them. He was bleeding from my nails. I could feel it seeping into his shirt. I managed to squirm my way out of his awkward hold and begin the fight once more on even ground. But even though I was back to fighting, I could feel myself getting weaker by the moment. I wasn't going to be lasting much longer at this point. One of us had to end this thing.

Probably as eager to end the fight as I was, Hunter sent a direct punch to my cheek and I fell as the world began to spin. I was about the lose the fight. I could tell. As he advanced on me, I spun over myself once more. But Hunter was faster than me. He lifted me up by the shirt and wrapped his fist in my hair. I was struggling against him but my movements were getting weaker by the second. I was too tired to keep fighting.

To my shock, instead of hitting me and ending the fight, Hunter wrapped a hand around my neck, reminding me of the way that Eric had once choked me. I couldn't breathe. Just like with Eric. But Hunter didn't let go like Eric had. His grip just got stronger and stronger. I could hear my friends calling for the fight to end and I heard both Eric and Four's voice yelling for Hunter to stop. But he never did. My vision was going black with spots as Hunter hit me three times in the head. His grip became strangling as I fought to breathe. I could feel my windpipe and vocal chords cracking and the voices in the distance were getting farther and farther away. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, the world went black.

Eric's P.O.V.

It didn't take much to make Eric angry. In fact, it was extremely easy to make Eric angry. Everyone knew that. Now Hunter knew exactly what it took to make Eric see red. Eric had never been so angry. He was stewing in his own fury. He was currently in the infirmary, a place that he hadn't been in a long time. Not since his own initiation. But he felt that he had to be here. Because he was the one that put her with him. He was the one that thought that the look on her face would be priceless.

He had never expected Hunter to try and kill her. He had had a feeling that she might be injured from the fight but he hadn't expected her to have nearly had her windpipe cut off. He was pacing angrily at the front of her bed, resisting the urge to finish off her opponent. But he had done enough. Hunter was currently splayed out in the bed next to her and Eric smirked.

It felt good to get his anger out on someone. He hadn't gotten to beat someone senseless in a long time. It was always about shooting people. While faster, it was much less fun. There wasn't as much satisfaction as getting to knock someone's nose out of place. Eric had excused his behavior towards on explaining that initiates were supposed to fight each other, not kill each other. He was furious that someone had broken the rules of Dauntless initiation, and that someone had dared to hurt her other than him. Four had excused Eric's behavior, the one thing that Eric could thank him for. Eric had immediately rushed her to the infirmary as Four had gone to speak with Max about the incident. It was obvious that Four was steaming over the Amity's condition as well. It was the one thing that Eric saw eye-to-eye with Four on.

She wasn't doing well. She definitely had come out the worst of anyone's fights today. People had been injured worse during the matches, but this was the worst that Eric had seen someone come out during the fights this year. Unsurprisingly, she had come in with a collapsed windpipe. Eric had been told that it had blocked off her air flow. She was apparently breathing just fine now. But he could still hear the rattling in her breaths. She had one cracked rib and a few bruised ones as well. They would get better with time. She also had plenty of other minor injuries. Scrapes and cuts and bruises. It had only been two hours since the fight but she was finally stirring. He took that as a good sign.

Her friends were all outside and waiting for word that they could come into her room to check on her. But no non-members were allowed in until the doctor came to clear her for visitors. The door to her room opened but Eric didn't bother looking back. He figured that it was either Four or the doctor. But as the figure stopped behind him, Eric figured that it was neither of them. He looked down at the floor and saw the familiar dress shoes. It was Cameron. Somehow he must have heard about the fight.

"How's she doing?" he asked.

Cameron was a little quieter than he normally was. Not that it really surprised Eric. He knew that Cameron had grown fond of her over the past few weeks. He liked her. He didn't want to see her injured. Eric didn't want to see her injured either. Not like this. But what was done was done. There was nothing that could be changed now. And he wouldn't apologize for putting her with him. He had thought that it would be funny. He was wrong. It was enough to admit it to himself.

"She'll be fine. Collapsed windpipe is the worst. She might be hoarse for a day or two," Eric said, shrugging. She'd be fine. There was no need to worry. "She has a cracked rib too and some bruising to the others but that's the only internal damage she has."

"That's good," Cameron said softly.

Eric was happier than he cared to admit that there was minimal internal damage to her. If someone was made unfit for Dauntless service they would become Factionless. For the first time in his life, Eric would have felt terrible if he had gotten her kick out of Dauntless. He had joked with her about it, but he wouldn't want her gone. He was just starting to enjoy their banter. And he was still yet to sleep with her.

"How long ago was the fight?" Cameron asked.

"About two or three hours."

"She woken up since?"

She'd been completely out of it since Eric had body-slammed Hunter, forcing him to drop her. "She's been out since the fight. She's stirred a little bit, but nothing more than that," Eric said.

"She doesn't look too good," Cameron said and Eric nodded. She had a dark ring around the sides of her neck and bruising and swelling all over her face. "Too bad tomorrow is Visiting Day. If she has anyone coming to visit her, they're probably going to lose their minds."

Suddenly Eric began to wonder whether or not her parents would come to see her tomorrow. She never really spoke of them but Eric knew that she had hurt them when she transferred. She loved them. He had seen that in the way that she had looked at the pictures when they had gone to Amity. And they certainly loved her. He had been able to tell by the mountains of pictures they had of her all over their home.

"I'm not sure if her parents are going to come. You know as well as I do. Most transfer's parents don't show up. Sometimes old friends do," Eric said. None of their friends had come. Not that Eric cared.

"I remember how freaked out my parents were when they saw what I looked like after my fight," Cameron said.

"You looked pretty damn bad."

Eric couldn't help but to laugh. He had fought Cameron the day before Visiting Day and had left a lot of damage. It hadn't affected their friendship but Cameron's parents had certainly looked at Eric differently. At least Cameron's parents had come. His own probably hadn't even thought of him since leaving Erudite over four years ago.

They were both silent as Eric listened to her heartbeat on the monitor. It was steady and strong. "I knew she'd lose the fight," he admitted.

If Cameron was surprised by his confession he didn't show it. He merely nodded and moved to sit in the chair by her bed. Eric continued standing at the base of her bed. "So why did you put her up against him?" he asked.

Eric couldn't help the sudden rush of anger that shot through him. "Why the hell do you think that I put her up against him?" he snapped.

Cameron wasn't fazed by Eric's attitude. They had known each other forever. He had spent his entire life dealing with Eric's nasty attitude. He merely shrugged. Eric could tell that Cameron honestly didn't know. As funny as Eric had thought that it would be to watch her lose a fight, there had been another reason too.

"Why did you put her with him?" Cameron repeated.

"Can't make it look like I'm taking it easy on her. I put her up against Colt the first time. Thought that it might be funny," he admitted. The same reason that he had put her up against Hunter today. "But I gave her the tip about his knee. She won the fight by doing that. Then I put her up against her friend. I knew she'd win that fight." It was true. He knew that she would win against her friend. "Couldn't do it again."

"Man, stop denying it," Cameron snapped. Eric opened his mouth to snap back at Cameron, hating ever looking weak, but Cameron was able to beat him to the punch. "Eric I've put up with a lot of your shit over the years. I never said anything about the girls that you fucked over. I never said anything about your stupid two-bit vendetta against Four." Eric scowled. Cameron knew that Eric's vendetta against Four was well deserved. "I never said a damn thing when you were pulled to join Jeanine. But this is where I draw the line. She cares about you. And be damned what you say! You care about her."

Cameron was wrong. Eric didn't care about her. He didn't care about anyone. Not even himself. "I don't," Eric snarled.

To Cameron's credit he never once faltered against Eric's glare. Cameron knew Eric better than anyone, which was exactly why he should have known that Eric didn't care for her. Just because he tolerated her more than anyone else didn't mean that he liked her. He liked her. But he didn't like her that much.

"You do, Eric. I've known you since we were kids. You look at her differently from the way that you look at anyone else. Do something about it," Cameron prodded.

Eric shook his head. There was nothing to do. He would eventually sleep with her and then it would be over. "Do what with her? I want nothing from her," Eric snarled.

"Why are you with Sarah?" Cameron suddenly asked.

Once more Eric was thrown by something that Cameron had said. He wasn't really sure why he was with Sarah. She was a good person to go to when he was bored. She was good for taking out his frustrations, mostly from the Amity. But he had no real reason why he was with her. He never had a reason why he was with any girls that he was with.

"She's a good lay," Eric finally answered.

"Wrong," Cameron immediately interjected.

Cameron looked somewhere in between sad and angry. "Excuse me?" Eric asked.

"I used to think that. When I first met Sarah, that's what I thought. But you know what I realized recently?" Cameron asked.

"I don't think that's a question," Eric said, trying to force a smirk.

"That's not why. You're with her so you can forget about her. And look at her Eric!" he yelled.

Eric's eyebrows knitted. He had no idea what Cameron had meant by look at her. He wasn't sure if there was something hidden in his words. "I have looked at her, in case you've forgotten," Eric said snottily.

"You picked the one person in Dauntless that probably looks the most like Alex. You're hoping that Sarah will make you forget about her. She won't," Cameron told him.

Did she really look like the Amity? She had the same long blonde hair. The same strong body. But Sarah was taller. She had green eyes too but they weren't as striking as hers. Sarah did look rather similar to the Amity but Eric brushed it off. It was a coincidence. A lot of girls had blonde hair and green eyes.

"It's none of your damned business which girl I decide to take back to my apartment," Eric snapped, sick of this. "Thanks for trying to help, but I don't give a damn. I don't like her. She's just another initiate."

Eric was sick of having to think about her. He wished that she had stayed in Amity. It would have made his life easier. "No she isn't. Grow up, Eric. You know that you care about her."

"I don't."

"I know it too. So get the hell over yourself! Tell her, when she wakes up. Tell her that you want her," Cameron said and Eric laughed. She already knew that. He didn't have to tell her. But Cameron knew what Eric was thinking. "And not just to take back to your apartment."

Eric's face broke into a small grin and he shook his head. "You think that I want anything more than to take her back to my apartment?" Eric asked.

"I do," Cameron said.

Eric let out a humorless laugh. Eric didn't like anyone. There was no one that knew anything about him other than Cameron. He intended to keep it that way. "Then you don't know me as well as you think you do."

Shaking his head, Eric stood from the side of her bed. She was moving a little bit but her eyes were still closed. "Wrong again, Eric. I know you better than you think I do." Eric didn't want to bother telling Cameron that he was right. "She's waking up. I'm going to go and I'm going to give you two weeks," Cameron said as he walked to the door.

Eric raised his pierced brow, wondering what the hell he was talking about. "Two weeks for what?" Eric asked.

"You have two weeks, Eric. Tell her how you feel, or I will," Cameron threatened.

Eric couldn't help it. He let out a loud laugh. "You will not. There's nothing to tell," Eric said.

Cameron's face hardened. "I'm not kidding. She deserves to know and you deserve to be happy. I think that she's the one that's going to make you happy. Hope she feels better soon," he said before taking his leave.

As the door shut, Eric took a seat in the chair that Cameron had just vacated. She was stirring in her bed, clearly about to wake up. She would be awake within a minute or two. Eric couldn't help but to let his mind wander with the things that Cameron had said. He had never thought that Sarah actually did look a little bit like her. It had never occurred to him. Could it have been a subconscious thing that he had done?

Eric watched her chest rise and fall a few times and lets his eyebrows furrow. For the first time since meeting someone he has no idea what to think about her. She had him completely confused. He knew that he was physically attracted to her. But was there any way that he could like her too? He couldn't tell. It bothered him that he might actually like her. He didn't know how to handle a real relationship. He had never been in one. The relationship with Sarah wasn't real. The only thing that Eric knew for sure was that he liked her more than he had ever liked a women. And that bugged him.

Finally she began to stir, rolling to her side slightly. He smirked down at her, trying to wipe all the thought from his previous conversation. Her eyes finally opened and he saw how hazy they were. He nearly laughed at her. She looked drunk. He could only imagine how confused she was. The doctor said that she wasn't even sure how much the Amity would remember.

"Initiate," Eric greeted. Her head lolled over to look at him. "Honestly, you did better than I was expecting. You lasted a whole, maybe two minutes."

She would never see the side of him that even Cameron rarely saw. She rolled her eyes at him. "Oh good, just who I wanted to see first thing after having my ass handed to me," she said.

Her voice was extremely hoarse and Eric almost grimaced. That was his fault. She recoiled for a moment too, but he noticed that her smile never faltered. It almost made him feel better that she was smiling. Almost. But it partially made him angrier. He wanted to hate her. To not care. Her eyes dropped after a minute and Eric assumed that she was thinking about how she had lost the fight. It had been her first loss.

"I lost the fight?" she asked for confirmation.

Eric nodded. "You did."

"Damn. If there was ever a good time to win a fight," she joked.

Eric laughed and leaned back in the chair. "I was rooting for you," he told her, making her laugh again.

He hated that he liked her laugh. Thankfully it faded quickly and she looked back at him. Her green eyes looked dull. "How bad was it? Try not to soften the blow or anything," she said with a little laugh. Eric found himself laughing with her.

But they quickly sobered. Eric knew that he had to tell her what had happened during the fight. "It was bad. But I was expecting it. You lasted about ten or so minutes. Took a hell of a beating out there. Bruised a few ribs and cracked one. You have a collapsed windpipe too. Just give it a day or two. Your voice will go back to normal," he told her.

She nodded, looking down at the sheets. She was twisting it in her fingers. "Good. I didn't want to sound like a chain smoker for the rest of my life," she said, forcing a smile.

He knew that she was disappointed in herself. He knew what it was like to lose a fight after being on top for nearly the entire time of training. And he knew what it was like to have no one say something to pride you for trying. "You didn't do half bad, Amity," he told her. She didn't look up but he did catch the grin on her face. "Besides, your little fighting buddy can keep you company for a while."

This time she did look up. He motioned to the bed next to hers that was hidden by an opaque glass. It was soundproof. Eric didn't need to worry about anyone hearing them. She looked over and he noticed her eyes widening. He wondered if she understood what had happened.

"I didn't think that I really did anything to him," she said softly before looking back to Eric. He smirked. She hadn't caught on yet. "It wasn't me. It was you."

"I did."

"What did you do to him?" she asked.

He shrugged his shoulders. It didn't really matter what he had done to him. But he'd tell her. "He has a broken rib, jaw, and cheekbone," he said carelessly.

Not that it mattered. He would be fine after a few days. He was lucky that Eric didn't shoot him where he stood. "Oh," she muttered.

"Nothing compared to what it could have been. He got off easy as far as I'm concerned," Eric sneered.

He hated thinking that someone else had laid a hand on her because of something that Eric had done in the first place. She nodded but never looked back over to Hunter. "Will he be alright?" she asked.

Eric was thrown. Of anything that she could have asked, Eric hadn't thought that it would be whether or not Hunter would be alright. He had nearly killed her. Why the hell did she care whether or not he was going to be alright? It was one of the many ways that she and Eric were different. He couldn't care less what was going to happen to him. Eric merely shrugged his shoulders and handed her the water bottle on the side of her table. She took it from him and began to drain the water. He had figured that she would want that.

"Don't worry about him. He'll be fine in a few days," Eric said. She nodded blankly. "We encourage people to take care of their opponents. That doesn't mean that we want them to kill each other. Hunter took it a step too far. Someone had to make sure that he knew what we were all about."

After a moment she began to smile brightly. Eric stared at her. He was always curious how she managed to be positive so much. Even after he spoke to her like she was less than nothing. "Defending my honor, huh?" she asked with a teasing grin.

Some life had come back to her eyes. He merely scoffed at her. He wasn't sure. "Defending Dauntless rules," Eric said.

"Well, thank you anyways," she said softly. Eric grinned at her. "Did you do it?" she asked after a few beats of silence.

Eric raised a brow at her, not understanding the question. "What?" he asked.

"Put me with Hunter?"

His stomach curled slightly. "Yes," he admitted.

"Why?"

He hated that she had to ask why he had done it. He didn't want to tell her, but he also didn't want to lie to her. "I thought that it would be funny," he finally said honestly.

She was silent for a long time, merely staring at him. She nodded, glancing down towards the bed before looking back up. "Thank you for admitting it," she said softly, looking back at him.

Something in her voice actually made him feel almost guilty. He didn't like the feeling in the slightest. "I didn't think that he would try and do that. I would never have put you with him if I'd known that was going to happen," Eric told her, trying to justify what he had done.

She nodded at him. "I believe you. But you knew that I would lose the fight."

"Yes."

To his surprise, she began to laugh. Every day she surprised him more and more. "So I guess you didn't want me that badly?" she asked, smirking at him.

He shook his head, almost tempted to touch her. "That's what you think," he said, smirking back.

Her face went bright red. There was a long stretch of silence in between the two of them. "So when can I get out of here? And where are my friends?" she asked him.

He rolled his eyes. He had been waiting for her to ask about her friends and when she could leave. "Once I leave the doctor will come in and check on you. As long as she gives you the all clear you can leave," he told her. She nodded, looking happy. Her injuries weren't serious enough to keep her overnight. "You're friends are waiting outside. They haven't shut up about seeing you since the fight. Doctor wants to see you before they're allowed in. You should be proud of your friend Heather. I thought that she might have attacked Hunter had I not. She looked about ready to."

The grin on her face had dropped and she was now scowling at Eric. "So you'll say her name and not mine?" she asked.

Eric shook his head and laughed. "I could care less about the Candor transfer," he snarled.

She almost smiled and he realized too late what he had said. He had essentially admitted that he had feelings for her. But he did mean what he'd said. She meant nothing. The Candor transfer was only another face in the crowd. For whatever reason, the Amity wasn't.

"Good. I'm glad to see that she's coming into her own," she finally said.

They were silent for a moment. He was sitting at her bedside and watching her as she drank her water. She said nothing. He noticed that she wasn't trying to order him to leave for once and Eric almost smiled. Perhaps they were making some ground. Before Eric could stop himself, Cameron's words took over his mind once more and Eric's tongue moved faster than his brain.

"Have you gone back to him?" he asked, wanting to slap himself after.

Her head cocked to the side in confusion. "What?" she asked.

"Since that night. At the Chasm," Eric said. The last part of his statement was quiet.

She visibly tensed on the bed. He didn't like the thought of someone else touching something that he had claimed for himself. "Just a few times." He was shocked that she had actually admitted it. "Why?" she asked, her voice suddenly taking a defensive tone.

His answer came out faster and snappier than he had meant it to. "Don't go back there," he hissed at her.

She recoiled slightly but not out of fear. The sudden surge of jealousy had taken over him. Eric was always the jealous type. "And why is that?" she snapped. Her voice had been soft and hoarse. It suddenly seemed to get much stronger. "You'll kick me out of Dauntless? You said it before. You don't have any solid evidence. And you won't. You won't kick me out."

She had too much faith in him. If he ever had due reason, including catching her with Roberts, he would kick her out. It would make his dilemma easier. "I will kick you out," he snarled.

"You won't. Not until you get what you want. Which, by the way, I am not going to give to you," she added haughtily.

She would. She just wouldn't admit it. So he would. Like her, he had grown sick of these games. "Because. You're mine," he snarled the last part, leaning over her.

He decided, just this once, to appease Cameron and make a move. Her eyes had finally regained their life but they were darker than they normally were. And the shock was evident. He was leaning over the bed and towering over her small figure. She was wearing just a think hospital gown and he grinned.

"You didn't win the fight but that doesn't matter. Not anymore. Do you still want me?" he asked her.

He didn't need to hear her answer. He already knew it. But she nodded anyways. "Yes," she said, her voice once more hoarse.

"Good. Then say it," he told her.

All he wanted to hear her say anymore was that she wanted him. He didn't give a damn about the tattoo. His hands were on her thigh and slowly traveling upwards. Her skin was boiling hot. "Say my name," she rasped.

The hoarseness in her voice made it sound even darker. But Eric hadn't been expecting that. He leaned away from her slightly, withdrawing his hand at her sudden movement. He almost growled. He had been so close to touching what he so desperately wanted to touch.

"Say my name, and I'll give in. We both want something. But who caves first?" she asked.

Not him. Never him. Women came to him. Not the other way around. "Certainly not me, initiate," he sneered the last word at her.

That was exactly why he couldn't admit anything to her. She wasn't as desperate as the other women in Dauntless were. It was something that bothered him and turned him on at the same time. She wasn't afraid of him and she didn't back down. It was something that he had never known that he wanted. But he did want it. He wanted it and he wanted her.

Suddenly he grabbed the roots of her hair and she hissed as he pulled her into him. He knew that she liked it. Their chests were touching and he grinned as the gown slipped off of her shoulder, leaving it bare. He leaned his mouth down and kissed her bare shoulder. He felt her shiver beneath him and he laughed. He loved knowing that he could do that to her.

"Who has the strongest resolve?" he asked her as he moved away.

They both ungracefully snorted. Each one of them knew that they were getting to the end of their ropes. It wouldn't be long before one caved. But Eric wanted so desperately for her to break. He refused to break first. He wanted to see how long that he could go without saying her name. He heard the soft clicking of heels and he backed away from her.

"The doctor is coming," he said softly.

He backed away from her and she nodded. "Good timing," she said.

They both smirked as she raised a hand to his face. She let her nails tap the skin on his cheek and softly pull their way down his face and neck. He fought back a shiver as her fingers hooked in to the front of his shirt and pulled him closer to her. She pressed a hot kiss against the side of his neck, just barely feeling her teeth graze over him, and he stared down at her, his eyes black. He wanted her more than anything. He wanted nothing more than to lock the doors and do away with her. They never once broke eye contact through the entire confrontation.

"Well?" she asked. Eric found himself at a loss for words. She was being braver than he had ever credited her for. And he had no idea what she meant. "Leave. No one can be in here with the doctor. See you tomorrow, Eric."

She was smiling brightly at him. He backed off once more and laughed softly. He knew all of her buttons to push and she knew all of his. "Try not to get your ass handed to you again in the next few hours," he told her.

She laughed softly as he stood by the door and watched the doctor come in. As he walked out, he turned to close the door but noticed that she was slowly undressing. He stopped and watched her. She slid off the hospital gown and kept her eyes locked on his. She reached around her back and unhooked the bra that she was wearing. It slipped just slightly off of her body and he watched with dark eyes before she clutched it to her chest and stared at him with a quirked lip. Of course she wouldn't show him.

"Goodnight Eric," she practically sang to him.

He smirked at her and winked before leaving, catching the glare that the doctor was giving him. As he left and walked through the halls back towards the apartment, he noticed that his pants had grown uncomfortably tight. As they so frequently did whenever he was around her. He wanted desperately to go and find Sarah to take care of his little problem but he knew that she wouldn't be enough. She hadn't been in a while.

Walking into his apartment and past the kitchen, he noticed that the photo of her in the red dress was still on his counter. He smirked and let his mind wander, wishing that she had brought the red dress with her. Once his mind had gone too far he shook his head and walked into the shower, making it as cold as possible. He needed it. For a fleeting moment he wished that when he walked back into the room she would be there, waiting for him in his bed. A thought that bothered him to his core. If he did find her in his bed he would never let her leave. He would never want to let her leave. And for the first time in his entire life, he wondered if it was because of more than just her body.

A/N: Well this version of the chapter is much better than the original. It's very cleaned up and a lot easier to read. I hope that you guys are liking the edited story. Drop me a review if you feel the need! Until next time -A

Derbygirl63: Thanks for your opinion on the M rating :) And thanks so much! I'm glad that you like the story!

mmelody6: Hope you liked this chapter!

Talia: Of course not! Not yet. They have to have a few interruptions first! Just makes for a better build up ;) I'm so glad that you liked the last chapter and Eric's P.O.V. They're both stubborn but someone has to bend first! Or maybe not... We'll see! Hope you liked this update and as for the Jeanine thing, she'll come back into prevalence in a few chapters.

NiNa5: Thanks so much! Hope you liked this chapter.

Guest: Thanks so much! Thanks also for your opinion on an M rated story. How do you like the idea of an outtakes separate story? Best of both worlds?

.353: I try to make the tension between them bubble just a little more in every chapter! Thanks for your opinion on the M rating. What do you think of the separate story idea?

Gummienummie: Thanks for your opinion on the M rating! What do you think about the idea of a separate story?

Hailing Fire: That was totally enough loves! Maybe just one more though :p Wow I'm so thrilled that you liked it that much! I'm so glad that you like the way I've written my take on Eric and I'm glad that you like Alex! I work very hard on them both. Honestly, I hate the war in Divergent. That's not the way that I plan on going. Everything Veronica Roth wrote after Divergent I was not a fan of. So I have my own ideas! Eric and Alex are getting there, slowly but surely! Thank you so much!

Catharina: No I really appreciate the honesty! I know that Alex was a little annoying at the beginning. But I deliberately wrote her that way. I wanted to show a girl who has been oppressed for so many years that finally gets to be the person that she thinks she is, and she takes it a little too far at first. I'm glad that you like the speed that their relationship has been progressing and I'm glad that Alex has grown on you! Hope you liked this chapter!