Tris POV

Dazed and confused, I head to the cafeteria to grab lunch. Its only 2, so I have a solid 2 hours before I have to head back to Eric's office. What was up with him anyway? One second he was complimenting me, looking at me like...like... I don't know how. Nobody has ever looked at me that way before, but it made my insides burn. Then I hugged him and he goes back to the artic leader I knew him as before. I swear his moods will give me whiplash by the time my training is over.

As I walk into the cafeteria, I see Will and Christina sitting at our usual table. I grab food and before I can even panic about where I'm gonna sit and if Christina has gotten over herself enough to talk to me yet, Uriah and Veronica, the faction ambassador training him, wave me over. I remember how close she was to Eric up on the stage and, even though the thought twists my insides, I know its unfair to judge her based on that unknown feeling. With that in mind, I sit down and smile at them both.

"Hey Tris! This is Veronica, the head Faction Ambassador. She's training me. Veronica, this is Tris. She's one of my best friends." Uriah introduces us, though I already knew who she was.

I smile at her and nod, "Nice to meet you, Veronica."

She smirks a little, with a mischievous glint in her eye, "You too. What's it like training with Eric?"

I guess I show my shock on my face cause she laughs, then says, "I've known Eric since he was an initiate and I was training the Dauntless Borns. I've been waiting for him to have to train someone just so I could see how the newbie deals with him and his attitude problem."

I laugh a little, "Its definitely a challenge. We had physical training this morning and he pushes hard. It's gonna be...interesting."

I leave out the part where him pushing me makes me feel warm inside. How it makes me feel like he thinks I'm capable of something...amazing. And how everytime he slammed me against the mat, I imagined him on top of me..

My God, Tris! Get ahold of yourself.

She laughs again, "Yeah, Eric is an acquired taste. I'm sure you'll get used to it."

Something about how she said it rubs me the wrong way. Like she's expecting Eric to break me. Like he's an acquired taste that she's already learned how to handle.

I'm not used to the burning feeling that shoots down my spine and settles in my stomach. I don't think I've ever felt this way before; I want to inform her that I've already become accustomed to Eric and his "attitude problem" and that it is in no way a problem to me. She hasn't seen anything yet.

Instead, I laugh and make eye contact, "Yeah, but I'm not afraid of a challenge. I'm having a lot of fun training with Eric so far."

I think she was surprised by my response, but I swear I could see a little bit of respect in her gaze before she looks away. We spend the rest of lunch talking about Uriah's training and the goings on around the compound. I had a pretty good time. Despite my reservations about Veronica, she seems cool. She has a healthy sense of humor and I can see why Eric and Uriah would want her as a friend. Maybe I want her as a friend too. I can't stomach the thought of spending the rest of my life without any other female friends because I don't have Christina anymore. If I don't have Christina anymore.

I'm still not sure what's going on with us. I wasn't expecting the level of resentment I got from her and the fact that Will seems to be just going along with it hurts. We survived Initiation together; I thought that would be the hard part. Apparently the hard part is growing and changing into new people. People they don't like anymore. But I'm Fine. I'll be okay without them, even if it hurts.

Soon lunch ends and I excuse myself to return to Eric's office. I grab him a hamburger, fries and a slice of cake. I didn't see him in the cafeteria and I want to make sure he ate lunch too. I know there are retail restaurants in the Pit, but I would hate for him to be hungry while I'm sitting there well fed like a fat cat. I knock on his door and wait for his soft, "Come in," before I open the door and head for his desk. He's not looking up yet, but he does when I place the container full of a burger with all the fixings, fries and a Dauntless Chocolate Cake.

I smile as I sit down across from him, "I wanted to make sure you got lunch; I didn't see you in the cafeteria."

He seems surprised, like he's not used to people caring about him and his wellbeing. I can feel his change in demeanor before I see his face change. He glares at me and I'm not even surprised. I feel like he uses the angry persona to keep people at a distance and to prove he doesn't need anyone. I can understand that. I've always valued being self-sufficient, but that doesn't mean being alone.

"Its not your responsibility to feed me, Stiff."

I just level him with a blank stare. I try not to take his glare to heart and I want him to know this "Angry Leader" facade isn't going to work on me. He can fake anger all he wants, but I saw the gratitude before he put on that mask. I won't let him push me away when I'm not even that close yet. There is so much more I want to learn about him and, though it is a terrifying thought I'm not sure I was ready for, I'd be damned if anyone stopped me. Even if that someone was Eric.

"You know," I say while leaning over to grab a fry to pop into my mouth, "normal people say thank you when a friend brings them food."

He stares at me for a long minute before sneering, "Who said we were friends?"

I roll my eyes. He really is gonna try to keep this up. Funny how that same sneer used to scare the shit out of me, but now I want see underneath it, to see the real him.

"I did, just now. Now eat your lunch and tell me what next on our training agenda."

He rolls his eyes, but I can see his attitude shift slightly. As he takes a bite of his burger, he smiles for a second before resuming that prickly look he had before.

Nice try, Eric, but its going to take more than that to push me away.