So, I might've lied a bit when I told you last chapter this chapter would get more light-hearted, breezy and fun, but next one definitely will be. You'll see in the end. Things are about to change real soon.
Anyway: Enjoy, keep safe, and lots of love as always.
KPOV
The week that followed their big misunderstanding happened without further troubles. At least between the two of them.
Her new job was... different than expected – to say the least – and something she might need a bit of time for to get used to. She wouldn't complain. Not yet. Not until she'd seen everything there was to see, but she would be lying if she would say she wasn't the least bit of disappointed.
And of course, for some reason, Eric had just known.
Flashback
(Monday, 7:32 pm)
"So, how was it?" Eric asked without lifting his eyes from the book in his lap as she entered his apartment. He always left the door unlocked for her.
"Uhm... Interesting."
"Interesting?" Eric licked his fingers and turned a page, and Keena didn't know how to feel about his indifference.
On the one hand it soothed her, because she didn't want tot talk about it, but on the other hand, she felt that he might at least pretend to be a little bit more interested in her new job. Just to –you know?– humor her.
"Yes. Interesting." She repeated pointedly, walking over to the cabinets to poor herself some liquor.
"I see." And he did. Quirking an eyebrow and glancing briefly up at her worn down face. "I took the liberty of already pouring you a glass." He told her, waving his hand over to the coffee table, where indeed a full glass of red whine was waiting for her.
So he was interested. He just knew she wouldn't want to talk.
"Perfect." She sighed, walking over to him and falling back on the couch next to him.
Eric merely hummed in response, his arm coming out to pull her closer towards him as he continued his reading. She leaned her head on his shoulder for a bit at first, occasionally sipping her whine.
Eventually, when the whine was empty, she found herself in a fetal position, her head resting on his lap. His large warm hand came out to stroke her there, sometimes playing with one of her curls.
And life was good again.
She was just happy to be with him – unwinding in his presence, in his hold, at his touch – after this intense and more than little strange first day at work.
When she'd signed on, she'd expected mastermind criminals, mysteries and intrigue. What she'd gotten were a few feebleminded suspects in mediocre cases. She didn't expect the world just thrown into her lap in her first week on the job, but she was starting to have the feeling they were just trying to bore her into taking a position as a spy instead. Either that, or there really wasn't much to it.
Also, the way they treated their suspects was horrifying. She understood that some of these suspects were though and would never start talking without violence involved, but there was just something morally wrong about beating someone who didn't got the chance to fight back.
She didn't have to fight the suspects herself – thank god for that - but the alternative wasn't much better: She was put on the job to play the 'good cop' so to speak. Her 'charming and cute persona' as her boss (a formidable woman named Lloret Grey) so delicately put it, would serve well to throw some criminals off their game. After all, some had been locked inside the dungeons for months on end. No matter how though they were, they were craving some soft female touch by now.
So basically, Keena was used as bait. Like a boring doll standing in the corner of the room, smiling with sympathy as the men chained to their chairs got beaten up by the 'bad cops'. The more violent interrogators. Torturers.
Although Keena was infinitely glad she wasn't forced to beat them, she just wished she was allowed to do more. She was probably just impatient. Jurisdiction, influence, authority... It all came with time. You needed to start at the bottom, and work your way up. Prove you belonged there. She got that. She really did. But even if she worked her way up, it didn't seem all that satisfying.
These next few weeks – or months, depending on how quick she caught up – were meant for her to shadow Hugo Korboski; the older gentleman that had been questioning her for the case on her siblings murderer. He was terrific. Truly. A great guy. And she honestly couldn't wish for a better mentor. It's just... Shadowing him was so boring. If that was supposed to be her future, she wasn't even sure she wanted it.
And for now, it was just plain dreadful.
She wasn't allowed to talk, walk or even think on her own. Just watch, learn and study. And she got that she had a lot to learn from others. She was new to this business. She would do well to listen to others, and learn from their knowledge as well as mistakes, but at the same time... When her instincts were not in line with the conclusions Hugo would come up with, did it necessarily mean she was wrong and he was right? Or did it mean that maybe they should stick their heads together to come up with all possibilities before anyone jumped to any conclusions?
This hierarchy and command structure in this place were just not... logical. But she could hardly tell anyone, lest she sound like the damn Erudite she knew herself to be as well.
Luckily, in that matter, Hugo wasn't the problem. Hell, he seemed actually interested in her ideas. It was their boss that wouldn't let her speak her mind.
Flashback
(Thursday 3:13 pm)
"I don't think he knows, sir." Keena whispered to Hugo as they watched Norman, one of the 'interrogators' aka torturers, beating the crap out of their suspect. Blood was flying everywhere. Luckily, they were in the backroom, behind the mirror-window.
The suspect – some factionless in his mid-fifties that had refused to say his name – was just laughing in this crazy deranged manner as he took every hit with a smile on his face. Unofficially Keena called him Mr. Smiley.
"I ain't gonna tell you no shite, sir!" Mr. Smiley sputtered between breaths, still laughing.
"What makes you say that?" Hugo lifted an eyebrow at her. "Look at his smug face."
"His laugh isn't the arrogance of knowing something we don't know, it's pleasure. He's enjoying the pain, sir, basking it in like it's the best bloody thing in the world."
"He could be enjoying the pain and know what we want to know. One doesn't necessarily exclude the other."
"True, but what do we really have on him? He's a factionless that just happened to be at the wrong place the wrong time. It's not uncommon for a man without a home to stray to more secluded area's in town."
"And that's a gamble your willing to take? What if he is the man that kidnapped the Candor girl?"
"Yeah, I would take that gamble. Think about it. He's a factionless that's enjoying his time in here. I would too, if the alternative was a life of poverty in the city. At least here he gets his food for free, he has a roof over his head, and he is treated like he is important. Yes, a dangerous kind of importance, the kind that get's him beaten up and bloody, but wouldn't you rather be bruised and powerful than hungry and miserable too?"
"Hmm." Hugo seemed to genuinely ponder on this before he spoke again. "None of this eliminates the possibility he knows where this girl is, though."
"If he did know, telling us would set him up for a life in jail. He would be granted a warm bed and three meals a day for years to come. If he's already enjoying his stay here in these crappy dungeons, he would absolutely die for something as fancy as Candor's prison."
Hugo looked at her with a secretive gleam in his eyes, a small smile playing on his lips. But before he could say anything Lloret entered the interrogation room as well.
"Quite the chatty tongue you have there, don't you?" The woman lifted a pierced brow. "Be careful with that. The next time I find out you've been disobeying my orders, I'll cut it out."
"Lloret, don't be so dramatic." Hugo chuckled at the older women, apparently they were friends. "She was actually quite helpful. You see, she –"
"I don't care what she is." The gruff lady interrupted icily. "If I say jump, she jumps. If I say crouch, she crouches. And if I say fucking shadow and stay silent, she will fucking shadow and stay silent. Understood?"
Keena nodded her head quickly. Hugo merely rolled his eyes. Watching the two of them through narrowed down eyes, Lloret pursed her lips in disdain but quickly left after.
"Don't worry." Hugo nudged her as soon as she was gone. "She's got a loud bark but doesn't bite. She's harmless, really. Just a bit cold to those she doesn't know and trusts yet."
When Hugo left the room as well, no two minutes later, Keena was left with the sole other person in the room who had remained silent up until that point.
Hearing his evil laughter as soon as the door fell closed behind Hugo, Keena turned to look at his spiteful person with an unimpressed face.
"Man, man, man." He chuckled wickedly. "Am I gonna enjoy watching you get sacked."
She merely rolled her eyes and turned away.
Which brought her to another less than ideal aspect of her new job: Drake fucking Harrison.
Yes, that's right.
She was put into the same training track as that jackass that had interrogated her like she'd been a suspect for her own sibling's murder. And, believe it or not, he fucking hated her even more for it.
Whatever she'd done to him, he had it out for her. Constantly going out of his way to raise fucking hell, just because he could. He would find something to complain about every five seconds, and 99% of the time it was about her 'incompetence'.
Apparently, if one was to believe Drake, a failing newbie like her, should not be allowed to be trained in the same track as some as advanced as himself – someone with years and years of experience over her.
This was slightly ironic, seeing how he only was half a year older than her, and had only been doing this job for the past three months, but granted: He had been in the old wave of recruits – those who had still been allowed to have their choosing ceremony at age 16 instead of 18 – and he was a Dauntless born. So, yeah. Even though it pained her to admit it; he really had some significant experience over her.
Still. He didn't have to be such a jackass about it.
Flashback
(Tuesday 10:10 am)
"How could you not know that?! It's on page 312 of the guide Hugo gave you!"
"You mean the guide he gave me literally twenty whole minutes ago?!"
"It's not our fault you're an exceptionally slow reader."
"Oh, pardon me. But you know, perhaps I would be quicker, if you'd cut back on the idle insults every now and then! It's a distraction, you know!"
"Yeah? Well. Perhaps if you'd stop making up excuses for your lousy work ethic, you'd actually get some work done fore a change!"
She huffed but didn't respond
She knew engaging him by responding would only make things worse, but he had a way of crawling under her skin.
She'd never met anyone who hated her this much. Sure, she'd had her fair share of people having it out for her since coming here, Eric and Jasper surely the most prominent buggers of them all, but even their worst was nothing compared to Drake's finest.
This guy was just blunt rudeness, but without the cleverness of either Eric's or Jasper's insults. Even back in the day she hadn't liked either of them, she had still been able to admit they were quite intelligent and original in their insults. Especially Eric.
Tinkerbell. Flower-midget. One had to admit, it was a clever find.
But Drake was just constantly bringing up her siblings and 'sad little background story', like... who did he think he was? Who in their right minds would use someone's late family against you? You had to be heartless for that.
So after three days of firing back at him, she'd decided not to respond at all anymore. At work, she would put up her walls of ice around her. She was strictly business. Blocking out all other emotions.
Flashback
(Friday, 11:08 am)
"You're going to fail, you know." He tried to provoke her. But she wouldn't bite. No anymore.
"Hmm." She responded noncommittally. "So you keep telling me."
"Just like you've failed saving your poor little siblings." He tried again, narrowing her eyes at her indifference.
She didn't respond.
So he gave up.
It was better this way. This way her heart wouldn't ache so much as one of the suspects, chained to their chairs, would be forced to take beat after beat after beat. This way, she wouldn't have to care when Drake made some nasty comments about her, her past, or –worst– siblings.
It was working great this way. Lloret had even complimented her for it – her cool levelheadedness – not that her closed off demeanor allowed her to really care, but still. It was something. Especially coming from someone as though as her.
So, yeah. Keena had found her way.
She'd found a way to manage.
She'd found a way to succeed.
The only negative side-effect it seemed to have, was that her icy walls were hard to melt, even after her workday was finished. It was difficult to relax and turn the heat back on. Even in the safe haven that was Eric's apartment. Or arms.
Eric had noticed her shift in demeanor as well. Keena was sure of it. At first he hadn't said anything about it, but she could feel it in her bones. Feel it in his stares. So eventually, she'd snapped at him.
Flashback
(Friday, 7:51 pm)
She could feel his severe stare on her as she chopped the paprika with a – perhaps somewhat – extreme amount of passion. She couldn't help it. She just needed to unload the anger.
She'd wanted to go to the gym and take it out on some poor punching back, or something with knifes if she would know where to find them, but had decided against it last minute. She already saw so little of Eric these days, she just wanted to spend her time of with him.
Surely, once Eric and her became an item for the world to see, she would have more time to spare for the gym. At least then, she wouldn't have to pretend to not see or notice him when she crossed him in busy hallways, or in the Mess Hall during lunch. At least then she could stop by at his office for a quick talk, hug or kiss without his secretary asking her what she was there for. At least then, they could be seen together, which opened up possibilities of where they could go at night.
Perhaps they could even blow off some steam together, once in a while.
"What?!" Keena snapped eventually, getting fed up with the unspoken judgement. "Say it. Just fucking say it. Spit it out!"
Eric smirked high-handedly but didn't comment. Stupid ass prat.
"You wan't me to quit my job, right? Is that it?!"
He quirked an eyebrow but kept his silence, watching her from behind that stupid stoic mask of his. Why couldn't he just fucking show his emotions for once?! Why did he have to be such a... a...
"Well, it's only been five days, Eric! I don't care what you think. I'm not a quitter! I won't fail!"
His amusement disappeared.
"Snap the fuck out of it." He ordered, his voice a dangerous low hiss. "You're not mad at me, you're mad at yourself. You hate your fucking job, great! I do too! Because genuinely, it turns you into a fucking bitch."
"What did you just call me?!"
" That is to say, more than usual." Eric continued unbothered, his voice still calm as day. "But I won't join that sad little pity party you have going on. You wanted this job. It's been only five days. Do you really want to give up now?!"
"No." She growled, smashing the knife so hard into the cutting board that it got stuck. "But I hate it, Eric! I hate it so much." She shuddered just thinking about it. With her icy walls, everything was fine. But once they came down, she was forced to deal with the reality of things.
Today, she'd watched how a man's fingers were cut off with a fucking axe, all because he refused to tell them where he'd brought the stolen bread from Amity to. Sure, the theft involved around 230 loaves – the guy had highjacked a baker's trucks to Erudite – but the man had just been hungry! Was it really just the Abnegation or Amity in her that enabled her to feel compassion for the man? Or was it the Erudite in her, making the man's desperate point of view seem almost logical?
He hadn't deserved his fingers chopped off.
Even in the hands of the Special Forces, he'd still been trying to provide for his family.
But the people she'd been working with seemed to have little compassion in their bones. Drake had basked in the gory scene, feeling right at home in the cruelness of it all. Lloret had softly chuckled when the man had pissed his pants, and even Hugo had looked on with a clear indifference at the entire situation.
She'd known most Dauntless weren't exactly the most sympathetic of people – the faction clashed most with Amity for a reason – but the Special Forces seemed to be overdoing it.
Sure, a lot of people thought the same of Eric, but for some reason, Eric had never seemed too cruel to her. Well, that is to say; he was cruel – a ruthless bastard, no doubt – but she'd always understood Eric's logic behind it. At least his ruthlessness found it's roots in logic. At least he had proper reasons to act out as much as he did. Even if it was unfair.
But these people... her bosses, her coworkers, her team. They seemed to have little reasoning apart from the standard 'because we want to know'. Their ways might be quick and efficient, but they were also immoral. It was like a wicked game of power for them. Kill or be killed.
The rest of Dauntless wasn't like that. She'd been here long enough to determine that. No, this type of cruelty was restricted to the Special Forces Department only, it seemed.
Defeated, she let herself sink down against the kitchen counter, until she was seated on the floor. Face in her hands.
"This is not for me, Eric." She breathed out exhausted. "I am not like them. I can't do what they do..."
Should she tell him? Should she tell him about her divergence? Would he understand? Or would he call up Jeanine and tell her she'd been right all along? She doubted he would. No. She knew he wouldn't... And yet, she didn't feel completely at ease in telling him. She was letting him see so much of herself, but he hadn't shown her all that much. Nothing apart form those small few gentle interactions, and no matter how amazing those moments were, no matter how much she adored them treasured them... She couldn't give him all of her, without him giving anything in return.
So, she kept silent.
She kept silent as Eric walked over to her.
She kept silent as he crouched down next to her.
She kept silent as his fingers lifted her chin in that gentle soothing way.
"Hey." He rumbled softly yet sternly, his stare just as severe as before. "You can do anything." He let the words sink in for a bit, his eyes never leaving hers.
This was exactly what she'd been talking about. These little moments in which he would allow her to see his softer and more gentle sides. It was a bliss. Truly amazing.
But it also wouldn't last very long.
As if on cue, he dropped his fingers away from her chin, instantly making her miss that little reassuring touch, and got up... looming all tall and superior above her now.
"Just don't let them take the best of you." He snarled, his anger shining through. "If you don't like what you see, change it. Either by taking on a different job, or by changing the system from within. But whatever you do, don't go hiding behind those fucking walls of ice of yours. You're Dauntless now, not a coward. Understood?"
Keena nodded but stubbornly averted her eyes away from him. He was right, she knew that. Confronting, but true. His words were exactly what she'd been needing to hear... But that didn't mean she suddenly had to like them.
"C'mon." Eric's outstretched hand appeared in front of her face when she kept avoiding looking his way. "Let's order something instead."
She tried to look at him annoyed but a particular resolute smile was pushing it's way onto her face. Little bugger. "Eric, I've already started diner."
"No. You've slaughtered a sole paprika." His eyes were challenging her. "And honestly, with such a dark and gloomy look on your face, I don't really trust you with my precious kitchen knives."
"You're an arse." She muttered under her breath. But she took his hand anyway and quickly forgot all about her dreadful job as his lips caught hers in a stolen kiss.
Keena had tried to follow his advice, but – as a newbie who was supposed to shadow and keep her mouth shut – changing things was easier said than done.
She hadn't wanted to put her icy walls back in place, though. She knew Eric was afraid of losing her when she did and she couldn't really blame him for that. Too long had she frozen over her emotions. Too long had she pretended that everything was alright when it really wasn't.
The emotional drama that had followed it all: The revelation of finding out, remembering, seeing flashes of truth in her fear-landscape... it had left her quite the wrack. She'd been a zombie for weeks on end. No one had been able to get through to her. She didn't want that anymore. She didn't want to bottle things up until they exploded, and she wasn't in control anymore.
Not in control of when and where she became messy.
Not in control of what and how much came out.
And not in control of who could see.
So, no.
She hadn't wanted to put those walss back up. That haze. That mist. That glass fucking castle she'd build so well. But it had made watching the torture so much worse. So awful. So unbearable. It made her entire job unbearable... She could only see the hurting. And for what? Some stupid ass knowledge? It almost seemed like an Erudite thing to do. So cold. So heartless. And all in the name of intel.
So, no matter how awful it was and no matter how much she'd tried to hide it from Eric. Keena hadn't been able to stop it. She couldn't help it. At work, she needed those walls to survive.
"Sir!" Both Hugo and Drake perked up as someone entered the room, and Keena was once again reminded of that awful place she found herself in.
She didn't turn to look at the new addition to their party. She didn't need to. She knew it was him. All of her senses knew it was him.
"I didn't expect you until tomorrow." Hugo admitted sheepishly, thinking he'd clearly made the mistake.
Anyone would. Eric was a punctual and precise man, and even if he'd been the one in the wrong, he surely wasn't the kind of men that would appreciate being told so.
"I know." Eric's voice betrayed no emotion, but the authority made even Keena shiver. "But I had time to spare now."
She could feel his eyes on the side of her face. Pins and needles prickling her cheek.
She made a point of not looking at him.
"Oh, of course." Hugo nodded. "Drake, go and fetch the files for me in my office. Take Keena with you to show her where they are, for next time."
Keena tried so hard not to look at Eric as she passed him, torn between the safety of her icy walls or letting his gaze crumble them down. Eventually, she pushed through and chose for safety. She was at work anyway, no one could know about her and Eric. Not for another 5 days.
Preparing for a whole new load of insults coming from Drake, Keena pushed her way through the door with squared shoulders, but oddly enough, Drake didn't say a word. Hell, he barely seemed to be aware she was right there behind him. Out in the open. Just waiting for his verbal attack.
His steps were hurried and full of purpose, but not in the terrified way one might imagine with Eric waiting on you. Instead, there was a certain rush to it, like he couldn't wait to get back. She swore she saw a slight jump in his steps as well.
"You idolize him."
The words fell from her mouth as the thought first came to her, but it made sense. The proud way he'd spoken about Eric the first time they'd met, the perking up, the useless cruelness in all of his words. He was a copycat. A bad deduction of the original. Smaller, less powerful, less intelligent, less everything. But a deduction nonetheless.
Oh, the irony.
This boy who made her feel as crappy as possible, craved to be the person who made her feel like she was soaring. The idea of it had her laughing out loud for a split second before Drake's fist connected with her jaw.
"You don't know what the fuck your talking about!" He yelled in her face, before another fist collided with her nose.
Keena stumbled backwards on her feet, her head pounding because of the unexpected blows. The blood in her ears was rushing loudly, like an all-consuming buzz.
It didn't take long for her to fight back, though. To be honest, she hadn't been keeping up much with her fighting skills as much as she ought, but luckily Drake seemed to have the same problem. They writhed and struggled and trashed around. Bumping up to the metal lockers in this dark and gloomy hallway.
The conversation that had started the fight was long since forgotten, and instead they put all of their pined up frustration over one another into every smack of their fists. He bashed her head against the wall, and she bit his upper arm. They were evenly matched, even if he had several inches over her. Both in length and width. But she had speed. They fought and yelled and fought some more, until they were suddenly rudely pulled apart.
She knew it was Eric. There was no way she could ever mistake those big warm hands as they rested against her midriff, pulling her trashing body away from the lad currently being restrained by Hugo.
"There you are." Eric chuckled in her ear, so the others couldn't hear. Not over the loud yells and insults Drake drake was still shouting her way. "There's my little hellcat. I was wondering when your claws would come out."
He was enjoying this. Enjoying how her icy walls had crumbled down with the least bit of provocation.
Well, she wasn't.
She'd lost her temper, once again. Everything was falling apart. She used to be so sharp, so determined, so focussed, but these days... These days she had no control. Over nothing. It made her feel small and useless and downright lost.
Eric seemed to notice her shift in demeanor as well. God. Was there ever anything this man didn't notice?!
"Take that boy to cool off!" He ordered Hugo. An annoyed snarl lacing his voice. "I'll bring this one to your office."
This seemed to only set Drake further off and Keena watched him trash against Hugo's hold until Eric forcefully pushed her into the direction of Hugo's office.
Once he'd closed the door behind them with a loud bang, he swiftly turned around and looked her over.
"Are you alright?" He asked, assessing her from head to toe. She had a bleeding nose, but it wasn't broken, and a nasty split lip. Other than that she was good. Although there would definitely be bruises tomorrow.
"Don't fucking baby me, Eric." She snapped, shrugging him off as he caught a drop of blood - falling from her lip - with his thumb. "What are you doing here anyway?"
He didn't respond. Or at least, he didn't answer her question when he eventually did speak. "When I told you to change things you didn't like, I didn't mean you fucking remodel the face of the other trainee!"
"Not?!" Keena retorted sarcastically. "You could've made that more clear. I'm sure."
Eric was looking white with rage, but instead of snapping – like he always did – he really seemed to make an effort at keeping it in check.
"You put them back up, didn't you?" It wasn't a question. Not really. The accusation was shining through clearly.
And just like that all of her remaining fury left her system, and all that was left was that godawful feeling of guilt. Fuck. She had put them up, and kept them up. Even with him standing in front of her. She'd just snapped at him - and had been distant and cold – all because she wasn't able to get her fucking emotions under control. She was either too much or too little.
It was so hard to fit in. To be just one thing when she was, in fact, all five of them.
Her mouth fell open, wanting to come up with anything to say, but the words failed her.
"Yeah. That's what I thought." Eric snarled.
And without another word he walked out the room.
Leaving her and her stupid ass tears alone.
EPOV
"Eric!" Lloret jumped in her seat as he stormed into her office.
"The new girl. Hyde. I want her gone."
"What?" Lloret asked confused. "Hugo says she's showing tremendous potential –"
"I don't care. I want her from this team. Sack her for all I care, but she'll be able to do more bad than good in here."
"I don't want her in here any more than you do, Eric. I want her as a spy."
"Fire her, Lloret." Eric bellowed. "Today. That's an order."
And with that, he strode out of her office, ignoring all her pleas of closing the door behind him on his way out.
From that moment on, Eric had been waiting. Waiting for the onslaught he was sure to come.
But it hadn't.
Not yet.
She hadn't come storming into his office.
She hadn't come storming into his apartment.
She hadn't come at all.
So, he'd went looking for her instead.
He'd went to her apartment. But she hadn't been there.
He'd went to the Mess Hall. But she wasn't there either.
Two of her friends had been – that annoying piece of clinginess Gale, and his sidekick Maximus – but Keena hadn't been with them. So, he'd looked on.
He'd went to the chasm and even climbed down. Not there either.
He'd went to the roof and every training room he could think of, only to find them empty.
She seemed to have disappeared.
Until suddenly, she was in front of him.
Just a small bumble of blonde curls in the middle of the hallway, staring up at him with an unreadable expression on her face. Her body language spoke volumes though: Withdrawn. Insecure. Exhausted. It left Eric confused as to the lack in anger.
"You got me fired." She stated matter of factly. There was no hint of emotion in her voice.
There was no point in lying. "I know." Eric stated just as calm. His toneless voice a perfect match to her own.
"Do you regret it?"
Eric trailed his eyes over her face until he'd found her green orbs. They used to sparkle with emotion. So bright. So full of life. But they didn't now. They hadn't done so for days. Not since she'd started that dreadful job.
Eight days, he'd watched it through.
Eight days, he'd waited for her to quit on her own.
Eight days, had been more than enough.
What was the point of being a leader – to be in a position of absolute authority – when you didn't use it for your own benefit at times? He'd been losing her again. She'd been losing herself. She was a chameleon: She would make herself invisible just to suit the rest and fit in, even if that meant taking on colors that didn't suit her at all.
"No." He told her honestly. "No, I don't regret it one bit."
She looked at him with furrowed brows and Eric expected her to yell at him any second now. To shout and tell him just what a cruel piece of shit, entitled jerk and conceited jackass he was. But she surprised him like she always did... like she always had.
Every time he thought he'd finally done it and figured her out – every time he was sure he knew her tells at last – she would flip over the table, and make him start all over again.
Just like now.
Because instead of getting angry – instead of shouting, fighting or even storming off – she rushed over to him instead, throwing her arms around him in a tight embrace, hanging onto him for dear life.
"Thank you." She sobbed, surprising him with this strange turn of events. "I never would've been able to quit on my own."
Eric's shock was quick to make way for relief as his own arms enveloped her, hugging her back just as tightly. He had been preparing for war, but the appeasement of not having to fight her was overwhelming.
He knew he was a controlling dick, and it was sure to get him into trouble with her someday. But for now he was just glad that someday wasn't today. At least for now, his selfish behavior and her needs had aligned.
Kissing the top of her head gently, he was about to suggest to go back to his place, when a loud gasp behind him disrupted their little bubble of privacy. Or at least their unjust feeling of it.
Keena stiffened in his hold, while Eric was quick to scowl his face back into an angry sneer before slightly turning his head around.
"See! It is him!" The toffee-colored girl hissed to her friend, before both girls quickly ran of, giggling loudly as they went. Great. Two teenage girls of tops 14-years-old. This was sure to get round.
Keena was groaning in embarrassment, hiding her face in his shirt, but for some reason Eric couldn't find it in him to care. With a smirk that couldn't be contained, he swung her over her shoulder and walked them back to his apartment. Not even caring if anybody saw them together right now.
So, that's it for now.
Next up: A lot of pestering by their friends.
Make sure to review if you find the time! Get's me smiling every time.
