This outtake starts way before Visiting Day in Ella's outtake but you'll see it leads up to those scenes and then carries on after it.
I'll have published this outtake the same time as I have published a chapter for GF. This outtake's ending will involve spoilers for the end of the GF chapter but you don't necessarily have to read the chapter first to read this outtake.
Also I've found a great song: Lonely by Nathan Wagner. It's rather sad but I think it represents Eric and his façade quite well, especially in this Outtake. It's a powerful song and I'd definitely recommend you guys listen to it!
Bree's POV
The playroom was finally quiet as the children ran out for their lunchtime. It wasn't that they annoyed her but after a while their loud shouting gave Bree a headache. Her fingers immediately go to the ring on her finger almost subconsciously, twisting it around it thought.
Bree caught on to her actions then and smiled widely until her cheeks hurt. There, glinting in the bright lights of the nursery, was an engagement ring. The band was a dark silver with a small emerald. Perfectly simple without looking cheap. Bree loved it.
It was date night for the couple when Noah proposed. They had a late-night picnic and were laying on several blankets on one of the roofs of Dauntless under the stars. There were lanterns and glass vases filled with fairy lights spread around. It was so beautiful that it had took her breath away. With her eyes wide and her hand over her heart, she turned to her boyfriend and she stopped breathing.
Kneeling down on one knee, Noah looked up at her with a box of dark velvet open in his hands. The soft lights caressed the bottom of his face and sparkled as it passed through the ring's stone. His eyes were flooded with love and adoration that it was almost too much for her. He grinned softly at her. "When I first met you there was always been something about you that struck me and I knew you'd be important to me. Since then you have helped me find love, a family and friends I'm not gonna lose. You have become my everything. My breath, my heartbeat, my reason to get up in the morning… –" Noah glances away for a moment, a blush on his cheeks. "– Frankly, I'd be lost without you. You hold my soul, my heart, in your hands but can I have yours? Will you marry me?"
Of course, Bree had said yes. They were both crying and laughing by the end of his speech and after nodding repeatedly due to the sheer force of emotion stopping her vocal cords from working, he slipped the ring on her finger and picked her up, spinning her around until they collapsed onto the pile of blankets.
They had spent a couple of days keeping their new development to themselves but after work today, Noah would meet her so that they could go find Issy and tell her. Excitement and a small bit of nervousness ran through Bree as she thought about Issy's reaction. Both Noah and Bree know that Issy will be happy for them but as to her exact reaction, they'll have to wait and find out.
As she resurfaced from her memories, Bree walked around the room putting books back onto the shelves and removing toys from the floor so that no one trips up and falls. She was humming something under her breath when there was a knock on her door.
"Come in!" Bree called as she started to rearrange the bookshelf. She heard the door open and close as someone entered the playroom. It was silent for a while and she turned around to face the door in confusion. A bright smile came on her face when she saw Kayden but then it fell into a frown when she noticed his sombre look. "Kayden? Is everything okay?"
He let out a shaky breath and tears welled in his eyes as he took a few steps closer to her. "I, uh, I don't know how much you know but there's been a change with the patrols… Some of the squadrons have been sent out to the barracks at each of the factions to make sure that there aren't any more raids or anything and all factions are protected."
"Uh, not a lot… Only what Issy told me." Bree paused for a moment. "Wasn't Eric and his squad sent to the barracks near Amity?"
"Yeah actually." He sighed but before Kayden could say anymore, Bree cut across him.
"Is Eric okay?"
"Yeah he's fine; got back early this morning."
Bree smiled slightly. "Does Issy know? We have to tell Issy." Kay looked down, a tear slipping down his cheek. "What?"
He took a step closer until they were within arms distance of each other. "I'm sorry to tell you this and I'm sure she'd wanted to tell you herself –" Kayden's voice was thick with sadness and the tears he had yet to shed. "– Issy and Hec's squad, along Uriah's squad are a part of the squadrons that have been sent to the barracks at each of the factions. In a weird, ironic sense, they has been sent to Amity barracks too. They left this morning."
"What?" Bree breathed, her mind refusing to register what he was saying.
"I'm sorry Bree but we don't know how long she'll be gone for."
Bree inhaled sharply and suddenly; the world fell from beneath her feet. Kayden caught her before her knees could hit the ground and she clung to him as her heart broke. A wail broke free from her mouth. She and Noah were meant to tell Issy about their engagement tonight and now they may not have that chance. She daren't think what would happen if Issy or Hec or Uri didn't come back… Too many people would break. Kayden cried silently into her shoulder. He had lost a dear sister just as much as she had. So together, they cried for their sister and they stayed like that until Noah found them hours later.
xXx
Bree had left a teary-eyed Noah and Kayden in their apartment. They were waiting for Cody and the rest of the boys minus Alec from their initiation to tell them about Issy, Hec and Uri's change of job location. Alec had the pleasure of telling Lilah and Flare, and in turn Flare told Kayden. From what they knew, most of their friends and family knew.
Though Bree needed time to herself to come to terms with it all. She promised Noah she'd be back before midnight and she proceeded to wander around the compound aimlessly with her tear stained cheeks.
The sounds of someone violently punching a bag tore her from her numbness. It took Bree a second to realise she was near the training rooms. It was late enough that people normally stayed away from the training rooms at such a time so Bree stopped walking and listened. The heavy impact of skin against the leather of the punching bags were cut a part by angry grunts and deep sobs of sadness. It was soon followed by a roar of pain and the sound of the bag splitting. A moment of silence and then whoever it was had moved onto a new bag.
Bree crept into the room, Issy's curiosity had rubbed off on her, and her hand flew up to her mouth. Her heart twisted painfully as she watched Eric practically break down as he beat the leather bags until they broke and judging by the line of bags he's gone through, Bree reckoned he'd been at it for a while.
A strangled cry tore through his throat and he fell to his knees, the grunts fading as the sobs got louder as his head fell against the bag. Bree's gaze darted to the corners of the room and she relaxed slightly when she found no red dot to notify them that the cameras were currently off. A small luxury. With quiet steps, she walked up to him until she was right next to Eric. She didn't say a word, knowing that there were no words that could be said to make it better. Instead sat down next to him and Bree started to run soothing circles on his back. At first he tensed, then with a quick glance at her he relaxed and closed his eyes again. The sobs racked through his body but she didn't stop rubbing circles across his back. During the time it took Eric to calm down and his breathing to return to normal Bree noticed that his knuckles were really bloodied but there were also dark circles below his eyes but his jaw was freshly shaven.
"I was there." He said brokenly after a moment of silence. By his voice alone, Bree could tell he was in pain. "This morning I came home and I was so ready to make it up to Issy for the shit I pulled when I first left the compound all those months back and then when I didn't tell her about coming home for Capture. But then when I got out of the truck, I saw her on her bike and ready to leave. I froze and –" Eric sniffled loudly and its then Bree realises how deep his feelings go for Issy, even if he doesn't realise it himself. "– And I didn't know what to do she was leaving before I could make it up to her. I would have begged on my knees if it was necessary. I know it wasn't her choice but it feels like she left me. I have never felt so lost… I don't, I don't know what to do anymore or, or how to act and that's what my mission to Amity helped me to see. I don't know what to do without Issy around. It's like when Declan's around and when he isn't but different and I don't know why…" He cried and Bree lifted an eyebrow slightly. Yeah, ya do, Bree thought to herself. She knew that both Issy and Eric were too damn stubborn to actually realise what's in front of them… A small part of them know it but for whatever reason, they won't acknowledge it. Eric turns and looks at her. "What if Issy doesn't make it make it?"
"Now stop right there!" Bree sat up straight, her voice breaking as she willed herself not to cry. "I will not have you second guessing Issy's ability to take care of herself. If there's a situation, then she'll have her entire squad along with Uri to help her out."
"Uriah?"
"He's in one of the other squads that joined 226 to Amity."
"They've been sent to Amity?!" Eric claps his hands over his face and rubs at his eyes. "That's worse! If anything bad happens, they'll be too far away for back up to get to them!"
Angered, Bree did something she never thought she'd ever do… She raised her hand up and smacked him right across the back of his head. Eric blinked at her in shock and surprise. "Don't you dare Eric Coulter, don't you dare! Issy, Hector and Uriah will make it back home alive. There is nothing that you can do to help them, this is what they do for a living now so trust in their abilities that they know what the fuck they are doing. Do I make myself clear?" Eric simply nods in response, obviously not expecting such an outburst from her. Bree carried on talking in a softer tone. "You're not the only one hurting Eric."
"I'm sorry." He murmurs.
"It's okay."
xXx
Eric and Bree had sat there for a while and longer than either of them realised. It took a little time of prodding from Bree before Eric started openly talking to her rather than giving her short answers. It took even longer before Bree managed to get a smile on Eric's face and him chuckling as Bree told him all about the pranks and devious plans that Issy had pulled Bree into. Bree understood that it wasn't because he was feeling better, but because Bree was providing a distraction and he was too exhausted to feel anything else.
And that's how Noah found them a little past midnight. Eric was laughing, even if the pain was still present in his eyes, as Bree was animatedly telling him about one of the most shittiest yet clever pranks Issy pulled Bree into while Eric was at Amity; the victim being her and Eric's favourite person.
"– And so Issy had completely covered Four's office with crap pranks but because there was just so much of it, it worked so well. Cody allowed us to watch Four's reaction to it all from his tablet. First off there was cling film placed on his door but Issy made it so that it was quite obvious that it was there. He was rather pissed about that but we gathered that he thought Issy was losing her touch so he wasn't expecting anything else."
"His stupidity." Eric smirked.
"Yeah and then he opened his door fully and absolutely shat himself when an air horn went off –" He laughed out loud and a grin came onto her face. "– We had placed an air horn on the other handle but his reaction was perfect and he literally jumped into the air. The next prank was subtle. We moved all of his furniture inside a couple of inches from the original places so Four kept on bumping into everything and he had no idea why. And the last prank was actually my idea because Issy couldn't think of what else to do. It was hot in his office and so we put bags of glitter in his air con. It was hilarious to see his office just suddenly be covered in glitter. I can guarantee you there's still glitter in there."
"It's even on his face if you look for it." They both turned to see Noah walking towards them. Her fiancé grinned at Eric. "And it's still in his hair. He'll scratch his head and glitter will just fall out. Alec's started calling him the glitter fairy 'cause he just keeps on shedding glitter."
Silence fell over the three of them, but thankfully it wasn't awkward but rather comfortable. Bree caught the early signs of Eric building his walls back up but with one stern look from Bree, he stopped. Noah smiled softly down at Bree before he held a hand towards Eric. The Leader looked at it with an odd expression on his face before he took a hold of Noah's forearm. Bree watched as Noah pulled him up to his feet and inclined his head towards Eric respectfully. Eric bowed his head in response.
"Okay," Bree said as the two guys pulled away and Noah helped Bree to her feet. "You need to get some sleep big guy." She patted Eric on the shoulder and began to lead the way. She turned around to face them when she noticed that she wasn't being followed and she raised an eyebrow. Eric had raised a hand and opened his mouth to say something. "If you don't follow me willingly, I will make you." Noah started sniggering into his hand as Eric started to follow her.
Bree led the way to Eric's apartment feeling somewhat powerful, even if she knew that Eric was in no mood to argue with her. She was glad on Eric's behalf that they didn't bump into anyone on the way. Bree didn't want him losing his confidence as well as his deterring mental health.
They stopped outside his doorway and Eric unlocked his door. "You know, you guys didn't have to guide me all the way to my apartment?"
"We know –" Noah started.
"– We just wanted to make sure you got home safe." Bree finished.
Eric smiled as he stepped inside and turned to them, holding his door open. He paused, emotions fleeing from his face. "Congratulations on your engagement." The pain returned as his voice broke slightly towards the end. His eyes held a sliver of longing as he started to close his door. Though his eyes weren't on the couple in front of him but rather the door behind them. Bree's eyebrows creased with worry as the young Leader attempted to smile reassuringly and failed miserably. "G'night."
Noah and Bree stepped back as the door closed and on the other side something heavy thumped against it. Probably his forehead or his whole body as he slid to the floor. Bree turned to Noah desperately, and she knew her big brown eyes resembled those of a puppy right now. Her fiancé sighed, looking towards Eric's door and pulled Bree away from it. They were near the lift when Bree stopped Noah and tugged on his sleeve silently.
"Bree…" Noah sighed, knowing just what she was asking.
"I'm worried for him! You saw what he was like! You know as well as I do that he hasn't been eating. Please?"
"It's not even been a day! We can't just –" Noah threw his hands up in frustration as he tried to battle Bree's points with his know. But he couldn't think of any… Noah was saddened to see the ferocious Leader like this and his Amity up-bringing was prodding at him to do something about it. He sighed in defeat, his shoulders sagging, and he watched as his fiancée did a little victory dance. "My condition is that we wait until the end of the week. If he's somewhat better than no, it's not happening but if he isn't…"
Bree wiggled, happy that she had gotten her way and now she had to wait until the end of the week. Thankfully it was only a Thursday so there was only three more days to go.
xXx
A few days had passed and it was looking like Bree was going to get her way. After Thursday night, Bree had enlisted the help of Cody and Blake to keep an eye on Eric when he left his apartment. Neither of them asked why as both of them had noticed how downcast the young Leader was recently. They reported his movements to Bree and she wasn't all that surprised to find out that once he left his apartment in the morning, Eric went straight to his office, only to emerge late at night to go back to his apartment. Also, as Bree had originally stated to Noah, he wasn't eating.
When Sunday finally came around, Bree dropped down to the kitchens to pick up a bag of food that Noah had prepared for her. He had left a small note on the bag, his writing distinctive. Kill 'em with kindness, Noah had written and Bree laughed. With the bag in hand, Bree started humming a tune as she past the cafeteria that was filling up for lunch time and wandered to the Leadership offices. Bree got into the same lift that she and the rest of her initiation class squished into nearly a year ago now and pressed the number of the floor she wanted. As the lift rose, Bree could only think about what Noah had packed for dessert. The doors pinged open and was surprised to see Jason on the other side.
"Bree?" Jason glanced around. "What are you doing here? There hasn't been any meetings recently and Noah hasn't been ordered to bring up food in a while…"
There were times that when meetings dragged on for too long, that they'd sent for a cook to bring them up something fresh to eat. When it was meetings with the Leaders, with or without the Ambassadors included, then Noah was sent up with his grill and oven trolley with a range of ingredients so that he could cook something for them on the spot and their meeting could continue.
She simply smiled at him. "Actually, I'm here to see Eric."
Jason snorted ruefully. "Have fun with that. His Lordship has been angrier than a dragon you've just stolen gold from. I'd advise you to turn back now."
Anger flared from within her as her eyes narrowed at him. "Thank you for the advice Jason but I'm going to neglect to listen to it." Bree lifted her head high and walked around him, towards Eric's office.
"The consequences be on you alone!" He shouted after her but Bree didn't turn around to acknowledge him.
She stood in front of Eric's door moments later and knocked thrice.
"WHAT?" Came his snappy reply from the other side. Bree raised an eyebrow, unimpressed. She pushed his door open, stepping in and closing it behind her. His office was in such a mess. There were piles of paper lying around the room, some of which had fallen into other piles and created an avalanche on the floor. Eric was sat behind his desk with a folder open in front of him. "I DIDN'T SAY YOU COULD –" Eric lifted his gaze from the folder, a burning glare and a snarl on his face and when he recognised who he was talking to, his face simmered down into an angry frown.
"Don't you dare take that tone with me." Bree sassed, slightly amused by how remarkably he looked like a stubborn toddler that wasn't about to get his way. She skipped forward and moved the piles from the visitor's chair and from most of his desk before sitting down. "I couldn't care if you're a Leader of my faction or that you're working. You need to eat." Bree started taking out the fast food containers and placed them on his desk.
"It's not –" Eric started, glancing at his clock but stopped when he realised it had gone past lunch time. He looked back at her and his eyes widened at the amount of food in front of him.
Bree smirked at him. "Now this is just too much for me to eat by myself." She said slyly, piling food onto her plate. His shoulders slumped as he took the plate that Bree was holding out to him. Noah had outdone himself with this meal but both she and Noah knew that once Eric started eating, he'd realise how hungry he was and probably carry on. Hopefully. Bree watched him pile a few sausages and vegetables onto his plate and casually take a bite. She tried not to watch him as he slowly started eating but she found herself glancing at him to make sure he didn't slide any into the bin and pretend like he's eaten it. They eat in silence and while Bree keeps on refilling her plate, once Eric is finished with his, he just stares at the containers of food like he needs permission. "You can take more Eric. As I said before, I'm not going to eat all of this."
He piles more food onto his plate, a larger amount then last time Bree is pleased to see. Between them, it doesn't take long until they have finished all of it, though it was mostly down to Eric. They lounged about in their chairs, fighting off the food coma that threatened to put them to sleep. A few moments later, Bree started to clear up.
"Thank you." Eric says it so quietly, Bree might have imagined it but when she looked into his eyes, she sees the gratitude there.
"You won't be thanking me thanking me in a few days, but for now you're welcome." His eyebrows furrowed in confusion as her eyes hold a mischievous and determined glint that wouldn't look out of place on Issy. "We have dinner around half six so if you could come before then, maybe six, then that'd be great."
"What?"
Bree walked to his office door, the bag she arrived with full of rubbish. "You're eating dinner with us. E542, just in case you try to use I don't know where you guys live as an excuse. Don't be late." She opened his door and he started fumbling over his words.
"What? I, uh, but –"
She turned her stern gaze on him and he shut up. "Eric you haven't been eating and don't tell me you have 'cause I've had reports from the control room that you haven't! You will be eating dinner with us and god help you if I have to track you down myself!" When he nodded, Bree smiled at him as she shut his door. "Have a nice day!"
When she turns to make her way down to the lift, she freezes. In the hallway stands Max and Jason. Max looked at her with amazement while Jason looked confused.
"Have you just adopted him?" Max asks.
Bree shrugs slightly. "I guess you could call it that…"
"How the hell do you adopt someone six years older than you?!" Jason nearly shouts it, subtly was never his thing.
"How the hell do you make someone that you're not related to, aware that they are family and no matter what you'll take care of them?" She counters back and Jason stutters as he tries to come up with a response.
xXx
Noah was whistling a tune as he moved about the kitchen, cooking dinner for three. Bree was setting the table in preparation for the meal and a small part of her wondered if she should have invited Declan too. But from what Bree knows and from what her friends in the control room having been saying, Declan's been throwing himself into his work. He's only brought out of his own office when Hugo goes looking for him and makes him eat. Boys, Bree sighed as she thought of Eric and Declan, fucking useless. For the some of the oldest guys in this friend group/family, they really were good at being stupid. Thankfully, Declan had Hugo to kick his arse into gear.
From knowing the two oldest Vince brothers and hearing stories about their childhood, Bree thinks she may have got them figured out. Growing up in Erudite meant that the eldest of the siblings was usually the most responsible one, allowing Hugo to fuck around without responsibility while proving to his peers in Erudite that he doesn't belong there. Now the table had turned once they both officially became Dauntless. Declan has the mind of a five-year-old most of the time and is only responsible when it comes to work or something serious. Hugo is the responsible one, keeping his family alive before they accidentally get themselves killed.
"You cannot invite the whole of our friend group to dinner," Noah called from the kitchen, not even turning around. "They wouldn't all fit around the table."
"I wasn't even about to suggest it."
"You were thinking about it."
Bree simply huffed in response, making him laugh. "So what if I want to make sure everyone I care about is okay? These are rough times."
"Bree, darling, you can't look after everyone. This is Dauntless after all."
"I can damn well try!" She called across the room and Noah laughed louder.
He turned around, leaning against the counter with a tea towel flopped over one shoulder and a crooked grin on his face. God, I love that idiot. Bree smiled as he pointed at her with a knife he'd just been cutting up vegetables with. "Well how about we keep to the first duckling you've managed to successfully adopt?"
That made Bree laugh. "Did you just call our ruthless and scary Leader a duckling?"
"Yes. Though I'm not calling him that to his face…" Noah trails off and his eyes spark up. "…Unless I'm really really drunk." He turned back to his chopping.
Bree laughed again, shaking her head and she checked the time. It was just passed six and Bree frowned. "Speaking of my first ducking, he's late."
"Give him a few minutes. As long as he arrives before I start dishing up, he's fine." When Bree inhaled slowly, Noah sighed. "Bree… No, don't you –"
"I'm gonna go find him."
Noah sighed, turning his head to watch her slip her boots on. Just as she reached for her other boot, there was a knock at the door. "See?"
Bree huffed again, plodding over to the door with one boot off and one boot on. She opened the door and there her duckling was. Eric had changed from his harsh Leader outfit and into a pair of dark grey jogging bottoms and a matching thin hoodie with a silhouette of a wolf howling to the moon. The design reminded Bree of something that she had figured out on her own. She smirked at the mere thought of it and how Eric subtly hints at it. It seemed as if he had just come out the shower too as instead of his usually slick back hair, it was curling and unruly. It had to be the most laid-back Bree had ever seen him. He arched an eyebrow, smirking at her style of footwear.
"Going somewhere?" He said, grinning knowingly.
She smiled at him. Despite not looking like himself, Eric certainly sounded like himself. "Not anymore." Bree stepped aside and opened the door wider for him to enter. "How was the rest of you day?"
"Relatively boring." He wrinkled his nose as he stepped inside and took off his trainers. Bree shut the door behind him and slipped off the one boot. "Except Max came into my office around an hour ago and threatened to lock me out of my own office if I didn't come to this meal."
Noah chuckled from his place in the kitchen. "He threatened you with days off?" Her fiancé mocked lightly, gasping. "The horror!"
"I know." Eric gasped back. Both men grinned stupidly at each other like the twelve-year-olds they secretly were. "The nerve of him!" He walked up to the kitchen counter and placed a bottle of red and a bottle of white wine down. Noah's eyes went wide, Bree raised an eyebrow and Eric shrugged. "I didn't know what you would be cooking so I brought both."
"Thank you –" Bree had to stop herself… She nearly said duckling…
"It was the least I could do."
Noah was still staring at both bottles with wide eyes, his jaw seemly lowering in slow motion. Eric smirked. "These are really expensive bottles of wine." He whimpered. "Only the best restaurants in Erudite and Candor sells them to customers." Noah looked up at Eric in amazement. "How the hell did you manage to get your hands on two bottles?!"
"Perks of being a Leader?"
Noah made a whimpering sound again.
Clearly these bottles of wine were more important than Bree realised. "Okaaay. Noah focus on the food before it burns." Bree lightly smacked Eric on the shoulder as he snorted. "You, go sit down and relax."
"Is there anything I can do?" Eric asked instead as Noah placed the white wine in the fridge and left the red out.
Bree pointed to the sofa. "Go sit down."
"Fine." Eric did as she said and Noah mumbled something, Bree already knew it was duckling.
It wasn't long before Noah started dishing up spaghetti Bolognese. Before Bree could even say a word, Eric was already standing up and had his own and Bree's plate in his hands and carried them over to the table. Bree tried to order him to leave it and just sit at the table but Eric simply smirked at her and raised the plates above her head. She had half a mind to kick him in the nuts but then the food would go everywhere… Noah didn't help her either, all they could hear from him was laughter as he took the garlic bread out of the oven and placed it in a low wicker basket on the table. With the plates on the table and everyone seated, they started eating.
Bree noticed that Noah had also piled Eric's plate up a little more than their own. Eric didn't comment on it but rather dug in like he hadn't eaten in a while. The silence trudged on when Bree realised something.
"Hey Eric?" She asks as he takes a piece of garlic bread. "So we know that you and Dec were in Erudite together and best friends by the end of initiation, but what made you guys become friends?"
Eric raised his eyebrow and even Noah stopped eating, glancing between Bree and Eric. "Hm." He leans back in his chair slightly. "Out of all the questions people have asked me about our initiation, that never comes up."
"You actually grace them with a response?" Noah asks, sarcasm lightly dripping from his words. "Or do you just glare at them until they go away." Had Noah taken that tone with Eric less than a year earlier, the young Leader would have had Noah running laps until his feet bled. If anyone else took that tone with Eric now, he'd still have them running laps until their feet bled. Instead Eric's lips twitched into a lopsided smirk.
"You know that answer." Eric leans forward and carries on eating. He took his time before he finally answered Bree's question. "I actually knew of Declan before the transfer but we weren't friends, not even acquaintances really. He was in most of my classes but we didn't really run in the same circles. My family had been born and bred Erudite for generations and they never really went out of their way to associate with members that transferred in, no matter how brilliant their work is."
"So the Vince family was a no go?" Bree questioned.
"It would have destroyed your family standing, wouldn't it?" Noah said, pausing as he took a sip of the wine. "It would have been like a rich family making friends with an outlaw."
"Very much so. I wasn't until I transferred out, did I get to know him. I had been training for my transfer in secret for years by that point but Declan pulled me onto the train." Eric took a few bites. "We got chatting on the train ride over and from then we just seemed to follow each other. We become friends pretty quickly, our competitiveness compelling us to push each other to our best and the highest ranking we could achieve." Eric smiled. "I don't think either of us realised how strong our friendship was until our Visiting Day. I avoided everyone, knowing that my family wouldn't come and Declan found me by the Chasm. He said that I was just as much his family as those were by blood."
"And now you guys are as close as you are today." Bree commented, smiling brightly.
"It's strange thinking its nearly been seven years since we became Dauntless."
Noah snorts. "Yeah well, at least you never wake up in the mornings still expecting either you or Four waking us up hitting metal against metal."
That had all three of them laughing and they carried on eating as they threw teasing jabs at each other.
xXx
Days slowly shift into weeks and both Bree and Noah saw a lot of Eric, more so than the rest of their friends. Either Bree or Noah would join him for lunch in his office and occasionally Eric would allow them to pull him down to the cafeteria to eat with the rest of their friends. No one mentioned the three that were missing from the group. The Vince family, Zeke and Lynn all held the same pain in their eyes as Eric did and so they banded together easily. Declan and Zeke's smiles didn't reach their eyes, Lynn's insults didn't have any of her characteristic snarkiness to it and Eric's glower didn't feel as powerful… It all seemed rather forceful – dead, even.
All their friends and family congratulate them on Bree and Noah's engagement. It feels like it's the only time that everyone acts like themselves again. Declan and Zeke grin at the prospect of a stag night but Cody and Alec demand control of that night. Lynn makes a gruelling comment about lovey dovey couples but the happy smile on her face betrays the snarky tone. Eric genuinely smiles as the people around him get excited about their wedding.
Bree still worried though. Nobody mentioned it but they all hoped that their three missing family members would be home by then.
xXx
Bree found Eric a few days later in the hidden alcove by the Chasm. He was sat with his back to the farthest wall and his legs were stretched out in front of him. Despite the fact that he was sat there, his mind wasn't in this world but somewhere far from here. Eric was running a finger up and down a leather band around his neck that slipped below the neckline of his t-shirt.
She hadn't actually been looking for Eric. Bree had simply wanted to get away from the crowds and the people, and the alcove was the first thing that popped into Bree's mind. At first, she had hesitated, the memory of Beta showing her the alcove for the first time floated up behind her eyes. Bree had shaken it off and made her way over anyway.
Not wanting to disturb him from his thoughts, she quietly made her way towards the back wall and sat down mirroring him. Bree leaned her head back and closed her eyes. He was too unfocused that he didn't even realise Bree had sat down next to him until a few moments after. She heard the ruffle of clothing as he tense up as he realised there was someone next to him and then there was an exhale of breath as he relaxed.
"Looking for me?" Eric asked, his voice barely a whisper but still managed to sound so loud.
"Nah, just wanted to get away from the crowds and this was the first place I thought of."
"Want me to leave?"
Bree paused. No, she didn't want him to leave, he was here first after all. But there was something in his voice that told her that he didn't want to leave either. His voice almost sounded desperate… "Stay."
They were silent for a long time. Bree still had her eyes closed and she hadn't heard Eric move at all. The tone of his voice from before had told her that Eric wanted to get something of his chest and so Bree waited. She didn't know how long they sat there in silence but Bree waited until Eric was ready to talk. His breathing got louder and there were several intakes of breath like he was about to start talking but thought better of it just in case it revealed too much.
"I know all about Issy's past."
He exhaled. "You know about her uncle?
"Everything." Bree opened her eyes and pointedly stared at Eric, who was watching her with cautious eyes, before pointedly looking at the leather band. "I know about that too. I figured it out."
"When Declan first told me about what happened or at least what they knew had happened, all I felt was pain for my brother." She could see the pain in his eyes even as his lips twitched up into a smile. "I first saw Issy a few weeks before my Leadership Ceremony. I was still in training and I had joined Max and Harrison on a trip to Erudite to meet with one of the professors there. She was standing there with Professor Douglas talking about some kind of project. As I told you and Noah, her and my family don't run in the same circles and I actually hadn't seen her properly before that time. She wasn't what I expected. Dec had said how perfectly she'd fit into Dauntless but at that moment she was totally Erudite." A grin slid onto Eric's face when he glanced at Bree. "So it was like a punch in the face when I spotted her on the rooftop at the start of initiation." Bree laughed lightly at Eric's wide eyes as his grin widened. Eric's expression dropped slowly and he pulled his legs up to his chest, his arms looping around them loosely. "I looked into their uncle after that. Dauntless born, a few years older than their dad. He's rather successfully in his career path too; sometimes working with Jeanine on changes to the faction. I found a lot of locked files the deeper I looked. Some of them had Issy's name on but were dated only a few weeks before that." Bree watched him snarl silently and he stopped playing with the necklace. "One of the first things as Leader I did was send my most trusted soldiers to keep an eye on Issy. I wanted to make sure she was safe and Jeremy didn't get his hands on her again. Sometimes I went myself when I was free."
Bree realised this – whatever this was between Eric and Issy – ran deeply and for years. She knew that Issy had admired her anonymous crush for years and it seemed like Eric had too. What had started off as protecting his brother from the pain that Declan would undeniably get if something happened to his sister again, slowly evolved into caring for Issy, only then to be amplified during initiation. Bree would say that Issy's completely oblivious but she's not, not in the way people expect of her at least. She's not oblivious to his feelings per se, just how deep his feelings run. without her best friends and sister saying anything, Bree also knows that Issy's scared that when they finally get together Eric will either decide that she's no longer good enough for him or he'll somehow die… Dramatic, Bree knows… It seems to run in the family…
As Eric's gaze blurs as he loses himself in his thoughts again, Bree sighs, wondering what the hell she's going to do with the lost Leader in front of her and the soldier, skilled in recklessness and overthinking, who was faraway…
xXx
It was days before Bree saw Eric again. He'd become a hard person to find. Her helpers in the control room could never pinpoint his location as he was always on the move. When asked, Max shrugged, saying that Eric always turned up for work but was gone the moment his required hours had finished. Her friends hadn't seen him in a while, not even Dec.
Through pure sneakiness, Bree managed to get a hold of Eric's apartment key from Dec, have it copied and return the original without the eldest Vince noticing. Armed with the key, Bree unlocked Eric's apartment door and strode in, shutting the door quietly behind her. Bree's surprised to see his layout is almost the mirror image of Issy's. A few steps in and she stops in shock. Bree gasps. "You look like shit."
Eric was sat shirtless on the sofa facing the door, eyebrows raised in surprise at her intrusion. He had a black eye, the dark skin making his eyes look lighter, bruising along one side of his and a split lip. The bruising from his jaw carried on down along his neck and across one of his shoulders. Bree suspects his ribs are also bruised as Eric holds an ice pack there. His knuckles were battered and bloodied beyond belief. He looked worse than shit.
Bree sighed, placing one hand on her hip and pinched the ridge of her nose. Originally Bree had been thinking that Eric was trying to pull away from his friends and family before he did something very stupid and very reckless. Though, it turns out he's already done that very stupid and very reckless thing and is now trying to hide it from everyone else.
"You've been fighting in the underworld rings, haven't you?"
Eric sat up straight but then slouched as he winced subtly. "How do you know about them?" He grumbles. Bree notices the exact moment when Eric brings up his cold façade to hide how really injured he was. "They're not common knowledge. More than half of the faction doesn't know they exist."
"Give me a little credit Eric." Bree sighed deeper, both hands on her hip now. "I may not have grown up in Erudite but I can still figure shit out faster than most of the blockheads here. The fighting rings in the Pit have too many rules if people want to beat the shit outta something other than a punching bag so I figured there'd be places within Dauntless to do that." She shrugged, enjoying the aghast look on Eric's face. "I also figured that either Jason or Josh has to work at one of them; I'm leaning towards Josh though. Jason seems to be everywhere all the time whereas Josh is free whenever he's not in the tattoo shop during the days. During the night, when the shop is closed, he's busy on all but Sunday."
Eric doesn't say anything for a long time. Instead he stares at Bree like he's never met her before. "Did you get an Erudite aptitude?"
"Nope. Issy's a good influence." Eric shot Bree a look like it was actually the opposite. Her sister was a good and a bad influence, it just depended on the situation.
"Well, now you've found me, you can leave." His cold attitude was back and Bree nearly flinched. He hadn't taken that tone in a while.
"What? No. Eric you need to go to the infirmary."
"No! I can make my own decisions Bree; I don't need a babysitter!" Eric snaps, a snarl on his face.
"I'm only trying to help!" Bree bites back. Something within her snaps and she starts ranting. Bree shakes her head ruefully. "You two are really as bad as each other. Neither of you think you're good enough for the other so you both avoid each other like the plague! Then you both mope around like why won't he talk to me? Why does she ignore me when I'm with the group? It's getting pathetic and you've only got yourselves to blame!" Bree purses her lips at Eric furious but hurt expression. "I'm only trying to help because I know Issy doesn't want to be coming home and seeing the man she adores nothing more than a shell of who he was! Get yourself into gear Eric, this isn't who you are." And with that, before Eric can even utter a word, she storms out and leaves him to lick his wounds in the privacy of his apartment.
xXx
Bree didn't have a destination in mind when she stormed through Dauntless and somehow she ended up joining Alec and Lilah in one of the bars. They sat in one of the booths lining the edge of the cavern the bar fills. Bree hadn't wanted to intrude their moment but the couple said Bree was fine; Cody and Kayden would be joining them soon anyway. Bree soon found herself telling the couple what she had said to Eric earlier and Alec grimaced.
"I think you were too hard on him."
Bree's jaw dropped slightly. She thought she was being perfectly reasonable. "But he's treating it like she's dead!"
"What you don't understand Bree is that she could be." Lilah fidgeted in her seat, lifting a hand to stop whatever Bree was about to say. "It's got nothing to do with her skills or anything, its just how Dauntless is. We don't allow ourselves to hope that our friends and family will return due to the risk that they won't. It's more painful to build up hope that they'll come home only to find that actually, they're not and the world breaks from beneath your feet then to prepare yourself for the worse and find that they will be coming home after all. You and Noah have the luxury of having safe jobs within the faction. Issy and Eric don't have that. It's the risk of having jobs on the front lines, that's all and all Eric is doing is preparing himself for the worst."
Bree slumps back in her chair. Lilah was right. Noah and Bree did have safe careers by Dauntless standards so it was easy to forget the risks that came with Issy and Eric's careers. She hadn't thought of it all in that perspective before…
xXx
As Visiting Day begins to creep up on them, Bree notices that Eric is avoiding her.
Bree's fucked up. She knows she has, and once again, Bree has got her friends up in the control room looking for the young Leader. Blake reports that he keeps on seeing Eric walk down corridors that don't lead to the places that he pops out from. Sneaky bugger. Cody lends her a headset, which is easier than holding a phone to her ear and having to switch when her arm begins to ache. Even though Eric seems keen on avoiding her, its helping Bree plot her internal map of Dauntless.
It's clear to the rest of the faction that there's something serious going on within the city if Max and Harrison are sending out squadrons to barracks in the factions. A lot of members are preparing themselves for the worst, like Lilah said, as the days bled into weeks and they weren't hoping that their family won't return when the Leaders call the squadrons back home. It's also clear to the whole faction that Eric's not been himself for a while. It seems to be the most exciting thing that's happened in the midst of the grief. His glares don't freeze people like they used too. His disinterested looks hold more pain than arrogance. People have been saying that his family must have died to pull such a reaction from him and if Bree went by what Lilah said, they're not far from the truth.
"– Right. Coming up on your left is a corridor. Take that and you should be able to cut Eric off." Cody's voice pulls her from her thoughts. Bree had been following his directions as he and Zeke track Eric's movements. Zeke watched where Eric went so that Cody could relay what directions Bree should take to catch up to the Leader.
"SHIT!" Bree heard Zeke swear. "He's done it again!"
"What?"
Cody sighs. "Eric's gone down one corridor, the one that juts out onto the one you're heading down now and has popped out somewhere completely different… Lemme call Four. He should know how Eric's doing this." Bree stops walking as Cody yells out his superior's name and its another moment before she hears Four's voice as he comes over to Zeke and Cody.
"What is it? I've got paperwork to do."
Bree sighs. "Eric keeps on glitching apparently."
"Is that Bree?" Four questions and she rolls her eyes.
"Yes Number Boy, it is I," She says dramatically. "Now answer my fucking question."
There's some sniggers on the other end as Four huffs and there's a shuffle. "There's a possibility that he's using the secret corridors that run through Dauntless." His voice is clearer so she assumes Cody passed his headset over to Four. "Only the Leaders have access to them and only a few souls know about their existence so don't go telling anyone. You guys too." There's some tapping of a keyboard. "Now, follow the corridor that you're on –" Bree starts jogging and notices the cameras follow her movements. "– Cody can you bring up Cameras 19 and 21, Eric should pop out at either of those exits. Zeke bring up Cameras 32 and 33, He'll most likely go through those entrances." There's more tapping on the keyboards before Four speaks again. "Bree, you're coming up to a junction, take the left and then take the first right." Bree does as he says, taking a left and then the right. She comes out near the Pit. "Okay Bree, do you see that rock that's on the edge of the hallway?" Bree hums, walking up to it. "There should be an alcove somewhere near there that leads to a corridor. You got it?"
Bree finds the alcove by running her hands along the walls and when she nearly falls forward, she grins. "Found it! Is this one of the secret corridors?"
"No, it's just not as well-known. Follow that corridor and you should come to a ledge that sits under the Pit. If I'm right, Eric will come out there."
"Thanks Four!"
"No problem." The connection cuts and Bree turns the headset off.
She leans against the wall and waits. It's not long until there's faint footsteps, followed by the sound of rock grating against rock and louder footsteps walking towards her. Eric had his head down, his gaze on the floor and didn't actually notice Bree was there until he was within arms distance. When he looked up, Eric froze.
"I'm sorry." Bree said with a slight smile. His bruising had gone down on his face. "I didn't realise how things like this are dealt with until Lilah explained it better. I forget sometimes how dangerous Dauntless could be as I and Noah have safe careers here, but neither you nor Issy do." Eric swallows but doesn't say anything. "I'm not taking back what I said about you or my sister because as harsh as it came out, it's true."
Eric slowly began nodding his head, his grey eyes unfocused. "We really are a mess."
Bree didn't disagree. "You guys could use some work and perhaps start communicating with each other instead of thinking you know what each other wants." Bree paused as she noticed the dark circles under his eyes, blurring into his bruises. "I'll have a chat with her about it too." They stood there quietly before Bree remembered something. "You know Visiting Day is coming up? Please come and join the family?" Bree had decided to stop referring to the group as friends slash family. They had all chosen family within each other in some way so that was what they are. Eric didn't say anything and his gaze found the floor again. "Please? Everyone is worried about you too and I know that Ella and Richard would want to see you." Eric nodded slowly. "Promise?"
He looked up then, a small smile slid onto his face. "I promise."
xXx
A few weeks had passed after Visiting Day and as depressed as Eric was, there was small bits of him that were slowly coming back. Bree stopped mothering Eric and in turn, Eric stopped snapping. Bree and Noah stopped turning up at his office at lunch times, instead he joined them in the cafeteria and ignored the whispers around him. Though on Sundays, Bree would more or less herd Eric to the couple's flat for dinner with them and it got to a point where Eric was arriving on his own accord with a bottle of that expensive wine – much to Noah's delight.
Bree meets up with Eric now and then, mostly at the Chasm to catch up and how he's doing. Eric's not great but he's dealing with it. Bree's depressed little duckling. He's still not aware of the nickname she and Noah have given them but she'll tell him one day.
She and Eric were sat on the walkway across the Chasm, their legs dangling off the edge. Bree had been describing how work was going for her before she turned the conversation onto him.
"So how's work on your end?"
Eric sighs and frowns. "I'd say good but I'm not that sure. Everything thing is fine within my department but when it comes to discussing the problem with the Factionless, it's beginning to feel like I'm being left out of the loop about a few things…"
"Isn't this whole rioting kinda fall in your department though?"
"Yeah. That's my problem. I'm not getting told things about my own department and I can't think why." Eric starts to stand up and pulls Bree to her feet. He's still frowning and he opens his mouth to say something when thundering footsteps stop him.
Blake's hair was a mess when he reached them. It was like he had repeatedly ran his fingers through it in frustration. His eyes were wide and his skin ghostly pale. Bree immediately had a bad feeling. "There's been an ambush!" Bree's stomach drops out her arse in fright. "The squadrons caught one of them but –" Black runs a hand through his hair. Don't say it say it. Don't say it. Bree starts chanting in her head and she grabs Eric's hand and squeezes it tightly. "I don't know all of the details but Issy's been rushed to the infirmary. She's alive but the condition is critical." Eric seems to completely stop breathing next to her and Bree's not far off.
"Where is she?" Eric breathes.
"Those of us that were in the control room have been rounding up family and –"
Eric cuts across him. "Where is she?"
"In the operating room currently –"
Blake doesn't get to finish his sentence because Eric is running off in the direction of the infirmary. Bree takes off not long after him and Blake makes a noise of surprise before following after them. As Eric charges in front with more cold determination then Bree's seen from him in the last few weeks, she prays that her sister makes it out of this alive and well.