I was happy to get to Thursday, I was prepared to keep Four safe and excited to be in the field. I met him outside the compound at 530 AM. It felt good to have a gun in my hand and a mission on my mind. He had a map of our designated section that I had gone over a million times previously. I was relaxed heading out into the city but as soon as the Dauntless compound was out of sight I was on alert my eyes cutting across every skyline or dark window looking for motion.
"You can relax nothing is going to happen," Four said, after about two hours of walking. We had encountered two different groups of factionless, both groups had 8+ people in them but everyone was friendly so far.
"Aren't you the least bit curious about who shot you and why? And for that matter why are you so positive it won't happen again?"
"Whoever it was wanted to send a message and they accomplished that, if they had wanted to kill me they would have done it, a single shot means they were aiming for a specific spot, a non-fatal way to send a message to Dauntless leadership."
"And what message is that?"
"I have no idea," he said shrugging his shoulders. We continued to walk the area and as the sun went down we had covered the ground in great detail. There were no hostile Factionless that we encountered while the size of groups we found was a bit surprising it was nothing to be hostile about. "Let's get back so I can get the paper work done before the day is out," Four said. We didn't talk most of the day, a lot of quiet time between us; I was starting to believe that he hadn't requested me as a partner but I intended to find out.
"Max told me you requested to have me with you today, why would he have said that if that wasn't the case?" I blurted out after thinking about it all day long. He exhaled a deep breath before looking at me.
"It is a test," he replied. "For Eric, they want to see how he handles adversity when it comes to you. It is no secret this aggravates Eric but to my knowledge he said nothing about it and neither did you so well done."
"What was the point of the test exactly?" I asked confused.
"To make sure Eric's feelings toward you don't impact his leadership skills or your ability to work with leaders. Max can't always be thinking about who your partner is and if that will upset Eric, you have to be able to take orders and work with everyone, it is the same reason Eric and I live next to each other, it is another test to make sure we are putting Dauntless first, not letting our emotions effect our judgment."
"That is stupid," I said, and began walking again. I wanted to get back to the compound as well now. "If they wanted to test that Max should have paired Eric with you."
"We are paired together all the time, and it is not by accident," Four said jogging to catch up with me.
"I guess I just figured you guys were the best that is why you worked together often."
"You have to be able to work well with everyone, you don't have to like them or get along with everyone but an important part of leadership is the skill to take orders while also keeping your feelings outside the door, there is no room for that kind of stuff here, at least in Max's eyes."
"Well that is good to know." We did not speak until we were just outside the compound.
"I will help you train for the tournament," Four said, out of nowhere. I was about to decline quickly but truth be told I needed his help and our talk early made me think it was okay to accept. Feelings aside it was best for me to train with the best and Four was by far the most qualified to help me. I paused and looked at him, he had his smirk on. "Don't make a big deal out of it," he said, his face cracking into a smile.
"I would like that," I agreed. He nodded and led the rest of the way to the compound. We were the first group back. I followed Four to the conference room we were supposed to meet in and he walked me through some of the standard paper work that was required after most missions outside the compound. We had completed the paper work and waited for Max to return. It was only 5pm so everyone had another hour before something was off.
"Was it as exciting as you hoped?" Four asked. I laughed and shook my head.
"It was nice to get out of the compound and explore the city a little. And at least I did my job, you have returned unharmed."
"Yeah you must be exhausted for all the work you did out there, protecting me and everything." It was easy to see why everyone falls for Four, he was such a sweet charming guy without even meaning to be his humor made everyone laugh and he while he could be intimidating at first the moment he decided to let you in even slightly you saw he was just a teddy bear, while he had some control issues everyone has issues, Eric can't open up, I am an emotional mess it is really just picking your poison. Max walked in before I could respond.
"How did it go?" he asked.
"No problems in our sector, Tris finished the paper work, only thing surprising was some larger numbers than I would have expected, it seems they are making communities together but everyone was friendly towards us," Four explained quickly before handing Max the report. Right as Max opened the report Swizz walked in with a huge grin on his face.
"No problems with my area, I will do the paperwork tomorrow," he said, before looking down at me. "Tris are you ready?"
"Ready for what?" I asked.
"We always drink after missions, everyone who participated has to, right Four?" he asked glancing at Four. Max shot a look at Four that I didn't understand. And Four nodded though he did not look very enthused about it.
"We talking about drinks?!" Blake said as he entered the room. Four had explained that Blake was the guy who pissed Eric off in the meeting when he made a comment about me.
"Yeah man come on Tris was just telling me how thirsty she was," Swizz joked. I glanced at the clock and it was almost 540 now. Eric should be back soon.
"Come on little girl we will take good care of you," Blake pulled me under his arm and Swizz and Four followed behind us. "Wouldn't want to break tradition now would you?" I rolled my eyes before agreeing and walking out with the guys, I did want to fit in and if we celebrated after a successful mission then that is what I would do. Eric would join us shortly so I didn't see a problem with it. We made it to the pit before I was finally able to free myself from Blake.
"What sounds good?" Swizz asked.
"A long island," I said. It was the only drink I could remember that wasn't a shot, and I do remember it being not terrible. I was mostly happy I came up with something fast enough to not look like a newbie.
"Damn Tris you came to play," Blake said in approval. I glanced at Four and he didn't seem real happy to be here but I did see him get a beer from the bar. I glanced at the clock and it was 615, he should be back by now. "Here you go," Blake said handing me the glass. I was hesitant to drink it after being drugged and I could tell Blake knew something was off. "Something wrong? Isn't that what you wanted?"
I wasn't sure what to say, I didn't want to explain the whole story as it was embarrassing and I wanted these guys to see me as an equal. "Last time I drank I got hurt," I said, simply.
"What did you do fall down?" Swizz asked.
"No someone took advantage of my state and hurt me," I admitted. Swizz and Blake looked at me for a long moment.
"Were not gonna let anything happen to you, it's our jobs to watch each other's back right?" I smirked and agreed. "You kept Four safe, we will keep you safe, that is how it works, next time I can count on you right?" Blake asked.
"Of course," I agreed.
"Cheers," Swizz added. We all clinked glasses and even Four joined in with a smile on his face. I realized half way through my long island that I hadn't eaten in hours and that was a bad combination with drinking, none of the guys could have eaten much today but maybe that was the point as they drank beer after beer. The later it got the more concerned I was that Eric had not joined us.
"Come dance with me Tris," Blake said, pulling me towards the dance floor. It was still pretty early only about 9pm so there wasn't a ton of people but that didn't seem to matter to Blake.
"Dude no way," Swizz said yanking me back. I almost fell from the sudden jolt. Blake looked at Swizz confused. "Eric would murder you," Swizz reminded him. I couldn't help the laugh that escaped, they were scared of Eric and he wasn't even here.
"I am not scared of him," he grinned.
"You sure looked like a pussy in that meeting on Tuesday when he started up with you," Four said. I couldn't help the laugh that escaped me, the more time passed the more Four was loosening up, which I knew was due to the amount of alcohol he had consumed.
"I don't see you standing up to him," Blake challenged.
"Shut up bro, Four is the only one who could even scratch Eric," Swizz answered.
"Tris gave him that black eye a few days back," Four said. I felt my face get hot as they all looked at me for confirmation.
"He trains with you?" Blake asked in disbelief. "He never trains with anyone. Always thinking he is too good, that everyone is below him." The jealousy was clear in his voice, it was obvious he had asked or tried to train with Eric but he declined.
"That's because he is too good for you," Four laughed.
"Is that how you got the bruises on your back?" Swizz asked looking at me. I looked at Four furious he was talking about me with these guys behind my back. He almost spit out his beer with laughter but held his hands up in the air indicating he was innocent. I knew Eric wasn't talking about me with anyone so it had to be Four.
"Why don't you tell her how you saw those bruises," Four added. This time Swizz's face turned bright red, it was funny to see a large man so uncomfortable.
"Yeah did Four tell you?" I asked, keeping my tone light, the alcohol affecting my mood.
"Go on and tell her," Four pressed.
"You run at the same time every day," Swizz said. I didn't understand what that had to do with anything we were talking about. "And you run with your shirt off…" he added. I still didn't understand what that had to do with anything.
"He watches you run," Four finally clarified. I coughed up a laugh, part of me embarrassed, part flattered, and part of me thought that was just really funny.
"Don't make it sound creepy!" Swizz yelled. "I am usually in the back part of the compound when you jog by in the mornings."
"It's okay," I told him.
"Dude is that why you started taking the morning shifts?" Blake boomed. Everyone broke out into a fit of laughter as Swizz's face turned purple.
"So what you gave Eric a black eye and he slammed you down and it bruised your back," Blake asked returning to the original topic. It was my turn to become purple.
"Those bruises aren't from fighting," Four said, "Tris likes it rough."
"Shut up Four!" I yelled.
"Oh damn girl marry me now," Swizz asked. I rolled my eyes and pushed him in the chest.
"How do you know so much about her personal life?" Blake asked, turning the spot light on Four. He thought for a moment.
"We train together, were friends." He smiled at me and it was a good feeling. If there was any way to build back my friendship with Four I was going to do it. I never meant to hurt him and I valued him as a friend.
"Damn girl, maybe you are more vicious than you look, if you can keep up with the two of them then you can probably do some major damage," Blake said.
"Okay no more talking let's get shots!" I declared wanting this conversation to end. Everyone cheered and we headed to the bar. Eventually I did end up dancing with all the guys, nothing too aggressive, I did allow Swizz to put his hands on my hips but that was about it, I may have been drunk but that didn't mean I was stupid. The night went by in a blur, lots of laughing and drinking and I felt like I fit in, as it got later our group grew and I met a bunch of older Dauntless members. As it approached midnight though I knew I needed to find Eric; it wasn't like him to not come find me or give any indication as to his location.
It wasn't too long before Keke found her way over to our group, my eyes narrowed in on her as she started chatting up some of the older male Dauntless members. Suddenly I had an idea. "Swizz can you help me with something?" I asked.
"Anything you want," he agreed.
"See that girl over there?" I asked pointing in Keke's direction. He rolled his eyes and nodded. "What's with the face?"
"That girl is annoying, she is always bouncing from one big shot to the next, and she tried talking to me last week but as soon as Four showed up she was practically in his lap, I hate girls like that," he explained. I couldn't help but smile. I got the feeling Swizz and I were going to be good friends.
"Are you a big shot?" I asked, giving him a look.
"Duh Tris," he mocked. I made sure to exaggerate my eye roll at him. I whispered the plan to him and his grin grew as I finished talking, he nodded eagerly and headed off. I made my way close enough to hear without being obvious, luckily Keke was oblivious to everyone that wasn't a male. I watched as Swizz approached her.
"Hey, gorgeous where have you been all night?" He asked putting his arm around her. She spun around with the biggest grin I had ever seen on her face. "Oh sorry, I thought you were Tris," he said taking his arm off of her. The disappointment followed by fury was so instantaneous it was actually hilarious.
"What do you want with her; don't you know she is dating Eric?" Keke spat.
"I just prefer to keep the company around me classy."
"I'm as classy as they get and I can still show you a good time," she said, turning the charm right back on. I don't know how I was ever friends with her, she was actually the most annoying person I had ever met, if she wasn't so mean I would feel bad for her.
"Why would I want a girl who has been with everyone?" That was my que.
"Hey Swizz!" I called. I could almost feel the daggers being shot from Keke's eyes. "I thought you were getting us drinks?" I asked. He pulled me under his arm and smiled. "Oh hi Keke, I didn't see you there how is the fence treating you?" I asked, in my most genuine voice possible." I saw her bubbling up inside.
"You think I don't have friends Tris, just because you are with Eric you think you can't be touched? Just wait, you think it was bad before, that was a harmless prank but now you have taken it way too far, better watch out," she threatened.
"It's a good thing I have friends to watch my back isn't that right?" I asked looking up at Swizz. He tightened his arm around me.
"That's right, I can't imagine anything getting past me or Blake or Four. We got each other's backs."
"Four doesn't care about you anymore," she said.
"Four never cared about you," I replied.
"What are we doing over here?" Blake asked oblivious to what he had interrupted.
"Hey Blake, want to come dance with me?" Keke asked, her sweetest voice returning.
"No thanks, I owe Tris a drink anyway," he said looking at me. "Right?" he asked, catching onto the tension and becoming confused. This couldn't have gone better, it was clear Keke was as humiliated as I had been the night she and Al drugged me.
"Right Blake," I agreed. "So good running into you," I said to Keke as the three of us turned to heads toward the bar. I knew it was petty and I should be above it but damn it felt so good to put her in her place, and it was even better knowing these guys had my back, I proved I could cover them even though nothing happened they respected me and I knew they would do anything to keep me safe, just as I would do for them, this is what being Dauntless is all about, building comradery and becoming stronger as a unit. After we took a shot I was hammered and suddenly in a dire need to find Eric.
"I am going to go look for Eric," I told Swizz.
"Okay I will come with you," he slurred out.
"No, no you stay and have fun," I insisted.
"I got your back Tris, come on let me help you," he said. I thought about it, I was definitely drunk and it wasn't the worst idea in the world to have someone with me, though he was way more impaired than I was.
"Okay, let's just go see if he is in his apartment," I agreed. I grabbed his hand and dragged him out of the pit. We got half way to Eric's apartment when Swizz dragged me to a stop.
"I need a break," he said, sliding onto the floor. I could see he needed some water and looking at him I suddenly felt the same way. I fell to the floor next to him resting my head on his shoulder. "You know Tris you are a pretty cool girl," he said.
"I just need to stop drinking so much," I mumbled. I closed my eyes and tried to make the feeling of vomiting go away.
"You need to be careful," Swizz said. I pulled my eyes open to look at him. "You are being tested more than you may think, just stay smart okay?" I couldn't comprehend what he was saying; I was barely able to stay conscious. "TRIS" he yelled. I snapped my head up and looked at him. "Do you have a key to Eric's apartment?" he asked.
"No," it was barley auditable.
"Go to your apartment and lock the door, don't let anyone in. Make sense?" he said.
"I can't get up," I said. He looked at me for a long moment. He shoved himself off the floor and then grabbed both of my hands and yanked me up. "Come on I got your back." I tried to walk but it was a mess. "I am going to pick you up," he told me. I nodded and he lifted me in his arms, his balance swayed for a moment before he was ready to move. I got my arms around his neck and held on. I tried to keep my eyes open but failed. I felt myself bobbing and knew we were headed up the stairs. "Okay go inside and lock the door," Swizz said putting me on my feet. I heard him but couldn't open my eyes and couldn't stand. "You are killing me," he mumbled. He shook me hard until I was awake. "Go inside and lock the door."
We were outside of my apartment, it was unlocked I didn't understand why he didn't just walk us in there. "You can sleep on the couch," I told him, knowing there was no way he was going to make it very far. He opened my door and shoved me inside.
"Lock the door, and go to bed," he told me. He was very stern about it. I watched as he slid to the ground and passed out. I tried to think of a way to get him inside but I was in no condition to move him. I sprinted to the bedroom and grabbed one of my blankets, I threw it on him and then slammed the door closed and flipped the lock. I managed to get to the couch and then unconsciousness took me.
Eric's POV
"How did it go?" Max asked, as I returned to his office. I had been waiting here since 530; I didn't understand why we didn't all meet up in a conference room and go over our findings like usual.
"I encountered some hostiles and large groups; it is all here in the report. Did everyone make it back?" It was just past 6pm.
"Everyone is back and reported similarly to you, they went off to celebrate. We are short staffed in the control room, I need you to go up there and help out for a few hours, and I need to get this paper work in the system."
I wanted to roll my eyes but I couldn't do that at Max. I wanted to see how Tris was doing, how she handled her first outing. I was not overly concerned as Four was with her and he wouldn't let anything bad happen to her. Besides that she was more than capable of taking care of herself. I knew the only reason Max had put Tris with Four was to piss me off, and now he was keeping me from her to make sure I followed orders.
"I will head up there then," I said simply. He smirked and nodded. I walked out and headed to the control room. Seth didn't seem surprised to see me when I walked in; he was one of the leaders in the control room.
"You are all set up on the last computer," he told me. "I gave you the compound footage because it is usually the most interesting."
I walked over and took a seat and began watching the rotating footage. A major part of working in the control room was watching footage. It went through on rotation and you were supposed to pull footage that was suspect otherwise you just monitored the city and made sure there were no threats. As the footage flipped through I found Tris in the Pit with Blake, Swizz and Four and they were laughing and drinking. A few moments later the footage rotated. It is against protocol to pull footage so I did not, I waited for it to rotate back around. It was about a 20 minute loop before I was back looking at the Pit. They were all still just talking. As the night went on I watched as they went from talking to dancing. I watched Tris become intoxicated, started noticing her fix her balance or grab someone's arm to stabilize herself. As it got later Swizz put his hands around her, trying to pull her closer to him, I watched her push away from him, but he tried again putting his hands on her hips, this time she allowed it and began dancing with him. The footage changed. I was enraged, I knew I couldn't pull the footage, it would show a record of it and I would have to explain what I saw.
Another 20 minutes passed and when I found Tris again she was dancing with some of the older Dauntless girls. I tried to relax myself and get the image of Swizz's hands on Tris out of my head. I wasn't stupid, if Max thought he was being subtle he wasn't. I knew this was a test for me, to make sure I was doing my job without interference. I tried and tried to get my mind off of it but every 20 minutes I found my eyes scanning Tris, making sure she was okay making sure no one was going to hurt her. She danced with Four and it took all my strength to stay in my seat. She was more dancing around them than with them, Swizz was the only guy I saw she allowed to put his hands on her, there was a lot I didn't see though.
She was stumbling as time passed I saw she had drank way too much and soon she would need help. I saw Tris put her hands on Swizz's shoulders and she was talking close to him. They talked and then she pulled him out of the Pit. The footage changed and couldn't take it anymore. I typed the code to bring back the footage and found Tris again. She led him stumbling through the hallways; I pulled all the footage to keep track of them. It appeared they were headed to the apartments, but before they reached the stair case Swizz stopped her and slid to the ground. She talked to him for a moment before sliding down and leaning on him for support. They sat there for a while before Swizz woke her up. He dragged himself up and then yanked her off the ground… if he so much as touched her the wrong way I was going to murder him; throw him over the chasm without a second thought.
Tris wasn't walking well and Swizz eventually picked her up off the ground. I watched as he passed his floor and took her up to the seventh. He tried to open my door but it was locked. He put her down in front of her door and tried talking to her but I could see she was not listening. He shook her aggressively to get her attention but she still didn't seem to be responding well. He opened her door and shoved her inside; I was surprised she managed to stay on her feet. I watched her walk back out to him, he fell to the floor right outside her door. Just go inside Tris, that's all I wanted her to do, don't make a bad choice. She left but didn't close her door, she returned a few moments later and put a blanket over Swizz, before closing the door. I waited 5 minutes before deciding she was not coming back outside. I put the footage back in rotation, and exhaled a deep breath I didn't realize I was holding.
"We are all good now, thanks for covering," Seth said, around 1230. I nodded and stood up to leave immediately. I went straight to Tris's when I got there Swizz was still passed out on the floor, I considered kicking him for putting his hands on her but decided Tris wouldn't like that very much, and he had managed to get her home safe, and stayed outside. I tried to open her door but it was locked. I needed to get a key to her place or more importantly she needed a key to my apartment so she could always stay there. I shoved Swizz over and his blood shot eyes opened. He looked alarmed when he saw me standing over him.
"I just put her inside," he said immediately, stumbling to get to his feet.
"If you ever put your hands on her again, I will break your neck," I told him. He had taken care of her but I didn't care. "Get out of here." He didn't say anything, he walked past me in a hurry and left. I headed across the hall and let myself in. Tris had done well today, she was nothing to worry about, I needed to watch my feelings, seeing another man put his hands on her even just to help her infuriated me more than anything else ever had by a long shot… I cared more about her than I have ever cared about anyone. I wanted to break down her door an get to her but I couldn't, I needed to trust her and go to bed, Swizz wasn't a bad choice in a friend, he was always a good solider and never caused problems.
A/N The climax is coming up! The ending is near. Stay tuned and watch it all unfold. Thanks for all the reviews, you guys are the best.