Hi guys! I re-wrote this chapter because I felt like the first version was out of character, and to comply with a review asking for Eric's Pov. I hope this one is better. It's short, but I'm having a hard time focusing right now, as I'm currently obsessed with a character in another fandom. Does anyone else like the Witcher?
He was seeing red as he dragged Tris through the Dauntless compound. Never before could he recall being so frustrated, so angry.
His fingers flexed around her arm, likely leaving bruises, but Tris didn't say anything. She hadn't spoken since they arrived back at Dauntless and Eric was glad. He didn't need an audience to witness his loss of control.
They had barely cleared the threshold of Eric's apartment when his phone rang.
It was, of course, Jeanine. She had left no time for Eric to cool down, but he knew he must appear calm and collected- Tris' very life depended on it.
He shot Tris a glare before answering the call. Luckily, the girl took the hint and sat down on his couch, where he would deal with her soon enough.
"Yes?"
His voice was clear of emotion, though maybe a bit frosty. His rage was suppressed, for now. He had a part to play.
Jeanine, in that annoyingly superior tone of hers, immediately expressed her surprise that Eric was discussing divergents with trainees, nevermind that she had intended to do just that. She sounded disappointed, which would have bothered him any other time, but now he had other worries.
All too aware of Tris sitting on the couch in front of him, he began defending his ficticious decision to involve her in his hunt for divergents.
He praised her, though in an offhand way, careful not to cross the line and draw suspicion.
He managed to sound annoyed, as though it wasn't normal for Jeanine to question every decision he made without her guidance.
He even went so far as to say the girl would be important to the goal someday, that she was exactly what Jeanine was looking for.
Jeanine would never know how true it was.
By the end of the conversation, Tris was pale and as still as a statue, but Jeanine was mollified. The Erudite woman was even asking for Eric to bring Tris to their next private meeting. Eric agreed, silently thinking that it was never going to happen. He'd break her ankle to keep her from leaving Dauntless if he had to. No way was his trainee going anywhere near Jeanine Matthews.
"Happy?" He snapped at Tris, dropping his cellphone on the coffee table in front of her. "Now, if you get caught, we both go down."
She seemed to have lost the ability to speak. She was just staring at him with wide, glassy eyes.
Waiting for her answer seemed to take an eternity and it was not at all what he had expected.
"Thank you," she managed in a small voice. His face must have shown his surprise, because she didn't stop there. "You... you could have turned me in and you didn't."
Maybe that's what she thought, but it was never an option. Jeanine would have his job if she ever found out the truth about Tris. Not only had he had let a divergent slip through Dauntless initiation undetected, he had been training her for a leadership position for some months now and he still hadn't known. To Jeanine, he would be worse than useless.
Eric didn't know how to express this without losing his temper, so he grunted his response. It didn't satisfy her.
"Why would you do that? I seem to remember you saying that you wouldn't risk your position for me."
She was right, of course. He had said that, but he had never imagined a situation like this. He had thought she was just some little girl who was had a special affinity for Dauntless, he never would have guessed she could be divergent. Now, he was directly responsible for her fate.
"This is different," he forced out, unable to distinguish exactly how it was different in words.
Tris placed her hand on his shoulder, making him finally focus on her. She had a strange look on her face, one he wasn't used to seeing directed at him. Gratitude.
"Thank you," she said softly, squeezing his arm. "For keeping my secret. I was wrong about you."
He thought he would have liked to hear her say she had been wrong, but it gave him no pleasure. In all honesty, he didn't deserve her thanks. He probably would have turned her in had he discovered her divergence during initiation. He hadn't been particularly close to Tris then, not when her crush on Four had been so blaringly obvious. He'd had no reason to lie for her and every reason to expose her. Divergents were dangerous, after all.
Of this, he'd had no doubt.
Now, he wasn't so sure. Tris was annoyingly suited to the Dauntless lifestyle. She was strong, smart, and fearless and he was willing to bet she'd be a competent leader, divergence be damned.
Looking at her now, standing there with that serious look on her face, her hand resting on his arm, Eric felt his anger ebb.
"You saved me," she whispered, sounding like she really believed it. He didn't correct her, not even when she embraced him.
He made no move to hug her back, but Tris didn't seem to mind. She pressed her cheek to his chest and wrapped her arms around his waist. It felt good. Better than it had any right to feel.
She didn't let go until he cleared his throat more than a minute later.
Her cheeks were pink. It was endearing to him. He so rarely saw her blush. Eric brushed a strand of her hair behind her ear before he knew what he was doing.
The way she smiled at him made him instantly sorry he had done it.
What was she doing to him?
This wasn't him, he wasn't some soft hearted, self sacrificing pawn. He was cold, calculating, and sometimes even cruel. Always looking out for himself above others, because no one else gave a damn about him. And that was fine. He knew that you could only depend on yourself in the end.
"What's wrong?" Tris asked, reading his sudden shift in mood.
"Nothing," he lied, wondering if he shouldn't just kick her out of his apartment right now.
He considered it, but the sudden idea of her running away from Dauntless crossed his mind. He couldn't have that. What would he tell Jeanine? No, it was safer if she stayed with him until he could be sure she wasn't about to break faction.
"You'll stay here tonight," he told her with a glare, daring her to argue.
"You want me to stay with you?" She sounded surprised. His face remained deadpan.
"Can't risk you running off," he explained. "You were ready to bolt back in Erudite, do you really think I'm stupid enough to let you run away and fuck me over?"
"I wouldn't do that to you, Eric."
"Let's just play it safe," he drawled, rolling his eyes. Like he believed that for a second.