"Okay." She returns to her meal and Declan relaxes. It's not long before they're laughing with each other at all the crazy shit that Declan's been making the other ambassadors suffer with.

After Issy and Dec parted ways with a hug, she found herself wandering around waiting for Cody to respond to her message. Her phone pinged and she opens her phone. It appears to be a common thing for the lads working in the control room to be asked to track down people while their working. Issy can hear the mock resentment in the tone and Issy laughs, making her way through Dauntless.

Issy pushes a door open quietly and just as Cody had reported, Eric lies in the net with one arm supporting his head. She smiles at the sight of him. Lying on the net, if slightly uncomfortable, is peaceful. If she forgot about the chance that someone might decide to use the entrance while she was lying on it then Issy would say it's the most peaceful place within Dauntless, especially when its night and the stars are out.

She padded over and pulled herself on the net without a word. Eric turned his head slightly to watch her climb up and slowly flung his free arm out in silent invitation. Issy smiled, shifting closer to his warmth and curling into him, her head on his shoulder and a hand on his chest. His arm wrapped around her waist and he sighed. What she and Declan discussed over lunch still lingers in her mind and she shuffles closer, burrowing her head into the side of his own. They stay like that for a while before Issy speaks up.

"How's work been?" Her voice is quiet, and she traces patterns on his chest with her fingers.

"It's busy." Eric admits with a sigh. "Initiation is close to finishing and there's a lot that needs doing before the final rankings."

Issy frowns. "Isn't that in Max's department?"

"Technically it's in mine since I oversee initiation but because initiation is such an important thing, every Leader chips in with it. Max has made the decision that while Leadership will still be an option, its most likely that they'll be moved into an assisting job or something. That doesn't normally take that long as the system is always updated regularly so we can sift through it quickly. Reports of every place in Dauntless that needs more staff need to be gathered and sorted through to see what jobs need to be added to the list for initiates to see and choose from. We're also trying to aim for at least two ambassadors for each faction, so it takes the pressure off. Then there's the fact that we have to sort out apartments for the new members…" Eric trails off with a sigh. His arm tightens slightly, and he tilts his head against hers. "Though what's been taking up the most time is that it's been decided by Harrison, and approved by Max, to change the training of squad members." Issy's interest catches at that and she turns her head to look at him. His face is pulled down into a frown and his eyes are closed, though it's quite obvious that Eric's irritated by the how idea. "The idea is that if members – new and current – apply for patrolling, they will all be trained in the basics together and then towards the end of it, they are all told about what squadrons are available and they get to select which captain they would like to work under. After that it's down to the captains to train them and then choose one to join the squad."

Issy bites her lip. "That sounds simple enough…"

"It does but it also means that Harrison and myself have to gather information about each squadron no matter if they need a new member or not. Our faction has over two hundred squadrons and we have to make each sound relatively interesting and after the first ten it gets repetitive."

"Sounds exciting." Eric snorts and he opens his eyes. His fingers thread through her hair as he stares up at her. "Is there anything I can do to help?"

The corners of Eric's eyes crinkle slightly as he smiles. His hand moves down to cup the back of her neck. "You're helping me now."

A blush darkens her face and she settles back against Eric. "Eric? Can I ask you something?"

His body tenses just the tiniest bit. Issy wouldn't have noticed it if she wasn't pressed against his side. "Sure." His voice is careful. Eric doesn't want to push what he wants onto you and force you away so he's waiting for you to say something. Declan's voice invades her mind and she snaps her eyes shut.

"What happened with the girl that caught Dec's eye in your initiation?" Issy blurted, wincing as her inner voice hissed at her. Coward.

Eric sighs, shifting slightly. "I'm guessing Dec mentioned it?"

"Yeah, he said that she was in his initiation but that's it."

"There was this girl –"

"No shit." Issy couldn't help herself. Eric leaned back to look at her. His eyebrow was raised until his piercing nearly disappeared into his hairline. Issy grinned sheepishly at the unimpressed look he was giving her. "What? I thought it was quite obvious they were female so starting with there was this girl like it's such a mystical concept is unness –" Eric's fingers found her ribs and Issy gasped, trying to move away from him. "No, stop!"

Eric moved to lean over her as he tickled her sides, an amused grin on his face and she was laughing so hard that she was gasping for breath. "Are you going to behave so I can tell you?"

"YES!" She gasps, trying to grab his hands. "Just, please, stop."

His fingers moved away from her sides and instead found her hips. Eric pulled her up as well as he could on a surface that moved with their every movement. He moved them so they were sort of sitting up with the curve of the net against their backs. Issy settled into his side again. His arm lays across her shoulders and brings her in closer.

"She was a transfer like us but from Amity and anyone could tell that they were both interested in each other and the feelings were mutual. She was ranked kinda high in stage one, in stage two she became kind of destructive. Drinking all night, hooking up with random blokes in the Pit but Declan only had eyes for her. We, being myself and Four, tried to warn Dec. I could see it in his eyes that with every new bloke she went home with, he more his heart broke. And yet, every time she came back to him, he accepted her excuses. On and on it went until the final test." Eric breathed in sharply, a scowl on his face as protectiveness of his – their – brother surfaced. "She kept on promising that she'd be there for him after and that they'll see where the relationship goes but straight after the job choosing, she disappeared. Quite literally. She's in the faction still and she's going about her life, but she disappeared from Declan's life without a word and took a part of his heart with her. It took weeks, months even, for Declan to get over it all but even now, I don't think he's properly let go."

Issy didn't know what to think… That's definitely not what she was expecting. She thought it'd be like some love story or she was forced to choose between her guy and her job or something… Not her messing with Declan's feelings and screwing him over. Now Issy understands his reaction and her heart clenches.

"How dare she." Issy mumbles angrily into Eric's shoulder and he nods his head against her in silent agreement.

xXx

Issy and Eric leave the net not long after as Eric has a meeting to get to. Despite that, he seemed rather reluctant to let her go after helping her off the net. Instead his hands move from her hips and Eric guides her out of the room. Before they can part ways though, Issy turns to him and presses her lips to the underside of his jaw and then to his mouth before walking in the opposite direction with a weak later thrown over her shoulder.

It was sometime during their silence on the net together that she realised Eric initiates most, if not all, of the quick kisses they've shared since her crash. Issy wonders if Eric caught onto the small, hidden message she tried to convey just then or if it wasn't clear enough.

When Issy turns around a corner at the end of the corridor, she is surprised to see Eric still standing where she left him. His mouth was open slightly and he was staring after her with a light in his eyes she hasn't seen for a while. His eyes hold the same message and Issy flashes him a smile as she turns the corner.

Soon.

xXx

Issy was walking through the Pit when someone bumped into her shoulder, pulling her from her thoughts.

"Ah! Beta! Just the person I was looking for!"

Issy blinks repeatedly until she sees Captain standing a few paces from her. He looked weird out of squad uniform and in a dark leather jacket and jeans. It looks really strange. "Hey Captain."

"Issy I want to ask you something." He became serious and Issy instantly become wary. "Do you have any recommendations for a new squad member?"

Issy blinks again. "Wha – Uh, possibly?"

Captain nods his head and stares at her with the same unknown glint that puzzles her. "Good. Seek them out will you? We'll be needing a new member soon."

"Will we be getting a new truck?" Issy shouts after him as he walks into the crowd, before he can answer. Ominous fucker.