Disclaimer: I do not own the Divergent books, movie franchise or any of the characters from it. I do, however, own the plot and characters you don't recognize.
The world had soft edges, colors and bright lights vividly bleeding into one another. People with blurry faces loomed above her as they whispered in a language she could not remember.
Suddenly, she could understand their indistinct speech.
"Is she a Divergent?" One asked.
Another faceless person shook their head. "No." They replied evenly and she vaguely recognized the jagged tone. "She's our new test subject for the X serum." Then a cool hand cupped the side of her face, in an almost motherly action. "You will be the perfect, Petra. You will be absolutely perfect. You are going to help us achieve great things..."
Spinner stirs awake, sleepily blinking her eyes open to find the back of Eric's head. Pushing herself up, her eyebrows draw together in a frown as she feels something running down her lip. She lifts a hand to touch her nose, pulling away to see blood coating her fingertips. Speedily, she tosses back the blanket then pads into the bathroom, locking the door.
She turns on the faucet and washes away the blood from her face. "I'm nothing but a fucking experiment." Spinner spits some bloody water into the sink before grabbing her towel off the rack. She looks at herself in the mirror while dabbing the water off her face. "What if this X serum is all I am? What if none of it is actually me?"
'Jeanine trained you vigorously before starting you on the serum. Not to mention you already knew how to fight because of Rhino. The X serum is simply enhancing your capabilities.'
"Yeah, and with a shit ton of side effects." Spinner grumbles bitterly, sighing at the blood staining the front her shirt. Shaking her head, she grabs her toothbrush and toothpaste, and then begin brushing her teeth.
'Well, at the meeting with her tomorrow, once everything is out into the open bring that up.' I tell her.
"That should be fun," Spinner mumbles, spitting foam into the sink and rinsing out her mouth again. Shutting off the tap, she drops her toothbrush back into the cup beside Eric's before drying her face. Heaving another sigh, Spinner stares at herself in the mirror. She looks so tired and her hair was mess of waves, now a little past her chin.
Suddenly, the knob jiggles and Eric bangs on the door once. "Red, open the door."
Spinner rolls her eyes. "It's ocupado. Wait your turn."
"I'm not telling you again."
"Or what? You're gonna kick down this door too?"
"If I have to." Eric replies easily.
"Be my guest, your name's on the lease not mine." Spinner snorts as she's picking out something from underneath one of her blue-painted nails.
"I put your name on it last week."
With a blink, Spinner unlocks the door then jerks it open to Eric's impassive expression. "You did what?"
His pierced eyebrow quirks at the blood droplets on the front of her shirt. "You heard me." He answers briskly, shouldering past her and heading for the toilet. "And why is there blood on your shirt?"
Spinner averts her gaze as he begins relieving himself. "Oh, I tend to get nosebleeds when the air is dry." She murmurs, staring down into the sink. "It's been happening since I was a little kid. It's nothing serious." She moves aside to accommodate him, leaning back against the sink as he starts washing his hands.
"I'll get you a humidifier later." Eric says, drying his hands her towel draped around her neck.
She sends him a hard look and he responds with a little smirk. The swelling of his face had abated somewhat, but there's still a lot of bruising around his nose. Hopefully the extra zodrophrine she found in her bag will start kicking in soon.
"Seriously, it's not a big deal. I'm fine. Anyway, speaking of later…" Spinner begins, watching him brush his teeth. "Are we going to Mal-"
Eric bows down to spit some of the foam out of his mouth. "You're joking right?" He deadpans, sending her an expression to match. "Do you really need me to answer that?"
"You could've just said no, asshole." Spinner huffs as he rinses out his mouth.
"I didn't think I needed to." He counters, and much to her dismay, he uses her towel once more.
"You're so fucking sassy in the mornings."
His bare chest rumbles with his chuckle, placing both hands down on the counter on either side of her. "But you wouldn't have me any other way, would you, Kitten?" He murmurs with teasing quirk of his lips and then his head lowers to start nibbling on her neck.
Spinner emits a noise that is a combination between a groan and a sigh. "That's debatable." He nips her skin hard and she giggles out a breathless moan. "Fine, I'll keep you, then." She purrs, reaching up to lightly drag her fingernails down his nape.
"How gracious of you, Princess." He lets out a sarcastic snort, kissing her neck again.
She releases a happy little sigh, arching into his body with another tiny giggle. "Don't take my kindness for weakness, soldier."
Eric slightly pulls back to roll his eyes.
Steadily holding his gaze, Spinner smiles. "I love you, Tank."
"Spin-"
She presses her finger to his lips to silence him and his eyes are thriving with a magnificent blend of emotions. "Just because I say it, doesn't mean you have to." Her face softens. "I know you do. But I also know this is way out of your element."
Eric scoffs. "What gave you that idea?"
She gives him a deadpan look and he rolls his eyes again with a slight huff.
"Alright, fine, I'll bite the bullet. I've never felt this way about a woman before. Happy?"
A loving smile flitters across her face. "More than you'll ever know."
"So, you're not doing this out of pity? Because of my mother?" His features are tense, staring at her with a fixed and steady look.
Spinner knows what he's doing. He trying to reassure himself because he's in too deep. They're now promised to each other, their futures intertwined by a dying wish.
She smiles gently, reaching up to run her fingers through his mussed hair. Edging closer, she plants a feathery kiss just by his ear. "No, baby, never." She nuzzles his cheek affectionately. "It's because I want to."
"Don't make me regret trusting you."
Pulling back, Spinner offers him a delicate smile and nods. "Well, c'mon, you and Broody have a meeting with Max to get to."
"Don't remind me."
An hour later, Spinner meets up with Lauren, Hayden, and Zim. The four of them trek up the rocky pathway towards the Dauntless Housing Department.
"So, my pipes burst again." Hayden mutters, running a hand through his dark hair.
"Seriously, they need to fire Marc. He sucks." Spinner exclaims with a funny look. "I keep telling the board this and they won't believe me. Their rep Camille Gordon was all like we need proof, Ms. McCall. Without some form of evidence there's nothing we can do about it." She imitates in a mock prissy tone and the others laugh. She rolls her eyes. "Stupid crooked-nose bitch. I'm personally requesting Anthony, he's a fixing beast."
"He's a God." Hayden hypes further with a bright grin. "Good looking out, Pyro. I'm gonna do the same. Because if my pipes burst again, I will kick Marc's ass."
"Hayden, you can stay at my place for the time being." Zim says and Hayden gives him a watery-eyed smile.
"I love you."
"Well, that went gay rather quickly." Spinner snorts and a laughing Lauren nudges her with her elbow.
"It's called friendship, Tiny."
"Translation: It's not gay if we have socks on." The leaders shoot her a bewildered look as she clutches her sides and shakes with laughter. "Somebody get me a comedy show, 'cause I'm a fucking riot!"
Lauren, Hayden, and Zim all roll their eyes, sharing a brief chuckle as they walk into the little center.
Spinner grabs a work order sheet and a black clipboard out of the tray. She takes a seat in the waiting area before grabbing her pen from behind her ear. As she's filling out the paperwork, Lauren sits down next to her. "So, guess what I found out this morning?"
"What?"
"Eric apparently put my name on the lease." She answers as she signs her name at the bottom and dates the sheet.
Lauren looks stunned. "Really? He had planned to do that with Olivia."
Spinner's face snaps down in a frown. "Wait, him and Olivia used to live together?"
"Well, it was supposed to be their apartment after he was made a leader. But as you know she was… cheating." Lauren shakes her head in mild irritation. "And unfortunately when he found out, he'd already signed the two-year lease."
"That's so fucked up. It's no wonder Eric's the way he is." She growls angrily.
Lauren nods quietly. "I told her the exact same thing. That was the stupidest decision she ever made. But," she smiles at Spinner, "he has you to liven up the place. Even though he doesn't show it, Spin, he's really happy with you."
Heat radiates in Spinner's cheeks as love dances around inside of her and makes her feel giddy. Her lips pull back in a white-teeth smile, twirling her pen between her fingers. "I know. It's a nice feeling." She grabs Lauren's hand and pulls her to her feet with her.
Walking over to the receptionist area, a Hispanic girl glances up from her computer screen. She grins at her toothily, drawing attention to the snake bites on her bottom lip. Millie is an open and proud lesbian with an obsession of dyeing her hair a different color every day. Today it's pink and twisted into two perfect little buns on the top of her head.
"Tipsy, how's it hanging? Hey, guys." She greets all of them and they return the gesture.
"Mill, please, I'm begging you. Have Anthony work on me and Hayden's shit. 'Cause I will kill Marc if he steps foot into my apartment." Spinner warns, her eyes fierce with promise.
Millie giggles, taking their clipboards and making a note at the top their pages with a sparkly-purple pen that has a fuzzy little creature on the end. "Gotcha. And don't worry guys, the board is finally taking your complaints seriously and are doing a full review on him."
"Thank God." Hayden releases a relieved sigh. "Seriously, Millie, I was gonna kick his ass."
"You are not the only one, my friend." Millie leans back in her seat and chuckles.
"Alright, now if that's all settled, I'd like to go to the cafeteria. I'm starving." Zim moans, tossing his arm around Lauren's shoulders.
Lauren rolls her eyes good-humoredly. "Babe, you have the appetite of a black hole."
"Hey, I'm growing boy." Zim drops a kiss to the top of her head.
Giggling, Lauren glances at Spinner still standing by Millie's receptionist desk. "You coming?"
"I'll meet you guys there." She responds and her friends nod before walking out of the center. Spinner turns back to Millie. "Hey, Mill, can I see the lease to Eric's apartment? He wanted me to find out when it's up." She lies.
Millie frowns slightly. "That's strange. He was just here a week ago. Oh!" She abruptly jumps out of her chair and scoops her up in a bear hug. "Congratulations, Tipsy! Eric's a little rough around the edges, but you two work." She grins once she sets her back on her feet.
"What are you talking about?" Spinner shoots her a fake confounded expression.
Millie moves over to a cabinet and unlocks it with the keys around her wrist before pulling a folder with Eric's apartment number labelled on the front. She flips it open then hands her the lease agreement, and when Spinner reads it, her eyes widen and her chest fills with emotion.
Right at the bottom of the page, Eric had written down her name as Spinner McCall-Coulter.
Eric doesn't show up for lunch and vanishes for the rest of the afternoon. He wasn't in his office, or back at the apartment, and she even checked the leader's gym upstairs.
He must've wanted space again.
Jogging down the tunnel, Spinner skids to halt and raises her fist to rap against the metal door.
"Who is it?"
"Broody, it's me..."
After another moment of silence, Four pulls open the door looking bruised and miserable. "Yeah?"
Spinner holds out her hand with six zodrophrine tablets sitting in her palm. He stares down at them skeptically and she heaves a sigh. "I promise they're not poison." She says, offering him a half-smile. "It'll help heal that lip faster. Me and Tank take them all the time."
Four tentatively accepts the tablets from her, and then gives her a small nod in appreciation. "Thanks… do you want to come inside? I was just, uh, making some hot chocolate."
"Oh, s-sure." Spinner returns just as awkwardly and he opens the door wider, allowing her to step inside.
Four disappears into the kitchen and she edges deeper into the apartment. She sinks into one of the chairs facing the snowy window, and then she releases a great sigh. A few minutes later, Four returns with two steaming cups of hot chocolate, and her mouth stretches into a fond smile as he hands her a mug. "So, what's your punishment?"
"Nothing. Max let Eric and I go with a warning."
"That double-standardering bastard." She mutters under her breath. "And yes, I know that's not a word."
"Lauren told me what you said," he blurts out.
Spinner lets out another harsh sigh. "Broody, please don't make this harder than it already is." She mutters, blowing away the steam of her hot chocolate before taking a sip.
"You don't have to do this." Four regrettably continues, staring down into the dark liquid. "You're a good person-"
She snorts. "I'm far from being one of those."
His dark-blue eyes snap to hers. "Evelyn told me everything you've done for the factionless. What your family did for Booker-"
"And where are they now?" Spinner counters sharply and he frowns in guilt. "Yeah, dead. I buried my brother under a tree and I don't even know where my parents' bodies are. Did Evelyn also tell you the amount of people I've killed since I was fifteen years old? Hm?" She prompts him with a look.
"Yeah, but you did that to protect the people you cared about."
"And what do you think I'm doing now?"
Four stares at her intently. "Working for the wrong side. Most of those factionless people you've helped are-"
Spinner cuts him off with a quick shake of her head. Standing up, she places her barely touched hot chocolate down on her chair. "I know what you're doing, Four, and it's not gonna work." She snaps at him. "I will not be guilt tripped by you, alright? I'm doing what I need to do to ensure peace."
"By killing innocent people?"
She releases a bitter laugh. "I told you, I'm not a good fucking person. And you should appreciate the fact that I've never once pretended to be." She says and Four's eyes fall. Spinner takes a deep breath. "Eric and I will eventually be getting married."
"I thought you said it was a rumor." He mutters back without looking up.
"I lied."
Four scoffs. "So, you're okay with marrying a murderer? Did he tell you what happened to our old instructor?" He glances up and holds her gaze firmly.
Spinner's face remains impassive. "Yeah, but he didn't do it."
"How do you know?"
"He said he didn't do it and I believed him." She retorts in a simple tone. "And hello, ex-Candor with ex-Erudite parents." She slightly waves her hand in the air. "I would know if he was lying, and he wasn't."
Four clenches his jaw. "You love Eric that much?"
Spinner glances out into the world blanketed in white. "More than I can put into words." She murmurs quietly, tracing a small pattern in the condensation on the window. "Just know I'll protect all of you for the time being." She draws the Hebrew word for friendship before looking back at him. "But after that… I don't know what the future holds."
"Another war…" He answers with a deep sigh.
She feels someone shaking her awake. Squinting, she sees Eric crouched down by the couch in front of her. His steely-gray eyes look a little edgy and she reaches out to stroke away the hardness from his face.
"Babe, you're so cold, c'mere." She scoots back and pulls him to lie down beside her. Curling up against his side, she rests her cheek on his shoulder. "You okay?"
"I'm fine," he grunts, folding his arms behind and head and closing his eyes.
"You went to Erudite, didn't you?"
He doesn't answer immediately and his jaw clenches and unclenches. Another beat passes before he mutters, "Yeah."
"I had a feeling." She sighs as her fingers play with one of his zippers. "Why did you lie to me?"
"Look, I don't want you anywhere near my brother, alright?" Eric grits, his features twisting up into a scowl. "I went over there to tell him to fuck off. So, it's over and done with. Now drop it."
Spinner leans up to place a delicate kiss at the corner of his mouth. His eyes slowly open and she gives Eric a soft smile, lifting a finger to trace the bruise along the bridge of his nose. "Does it still hurt?"
A scoff leaves Eric's throat. "Please, Princess. This is nothing."
She rolls her eyes with a tiny chuckle. "Hey, Tank?"
"What?"
"Thank you."
Eric stares at her with an impassive expression. "For?"
"For letting me keep my mother's name," she whispers. "I loved my dad, I really did. But… Booker and I were always more attached to my mom. She was big 'ol softie. We used to be able to get away with practically anything with her." Spinner chuckles warmly. "So, thank you for allowing me to keep that."
He doesn't say anything. Instead, he unfolds one of his arms and wraps it around her body, tugging her closer to his side.
Feels all around :')
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