*** DISCLAIMER ***
I own NOTHING regarding the divergent series e.g. the books/the movies
The only things I own are my own characters that I've created.
I'm so sorry for the delay in uploading this chapter, I hope everyone is still interested in the story, I've been very busy working on my degree and any free moment I've had has been dedicated to that.
I'm hoping to get back into uploading frequently again for you all but I won't make any promises on that, however I will try my hardest.
Sorry again guys.
xo
After the incident with Tom that morning Eric had kept the group running for almost an hour, he'd looked at each initiate as they passed him but never let his attention linger on any one person for longer than necessary, Four who was stood beside him would give them the occasional 'well done' or 'keep it going', there was a 'pace yourself' thrown at a few individuals' more than once too.
Once Eric had told them to stop he went on to instruct another two initiates to fight in ring, it had been between two girls from candor and erudite, the rest of the group stood around and watched as they slapped, kicked and punched one another.
The fight had gotten more and more vicious as it progress and it ended with the erudite transfer receiving a dislocated shoulder, some of the other candor transfers sent jibes Nix's way about the fight she'd had with Caroline and that it had been pathetic compared to this one, Andie had flipped them off in response.
As the injured transfer was taken swiftly to the infirmary the group were ordered to spar with a partner for a half hour before dedicating themselves to working out until it was time to go to lunch.
The dauntless workout consisted of the use of a jump rope, box jumps, single leg balances, knee dives, push ups, lunge kicks, cross crunches and sit ups, there was a set number of each part that had to be done before the full thing was classed as completed and each part had to be finished before moving on to the next, everyday of training the group had to perform this workout with a twenty five minute warm up run beforehand unless they were instructed otherwise, on this particular day however they were allowed to skip the warm up as they'd already run at least twice as much of that already.
The days when Eric was present during training there had usually been extra sets of their workout added onto their normal routine.
When the group first started training after joining dauntless Nix more than anyone had really struggled with the routine, there were some days she was too fatigued to even complete it which she was reprimanded for, as of late however she'd come to discover that she found it to be not as challenging anymore, it was still very hard but she was able to finish it now without being unable to move her body a certain way afterwards due to it being so painful.
At six o'clock that evening their training was over for the day, the group then like always wasted no time in heading for dinner, Adam and another dauntless member allowed them all to leave rather than stay behind to pack up the weapons on the roof to which no one had complained and left immediately.
As they all filed out of the door that led to the roof from the stairs with some of them talking quietly amongst themselves or others excitedly discussing what might be served for dinner that day, they all simultaneously quietened when they reached the training room.
Tom was still running laps like Eric had ordered, he was drenched in sweat and moving a lot slower than he normally would have, Nix received a scowl from him as she was passing with the group.
Eric was stood beside Four when they arrived in the room and Nix found herself ushered to the back of the group as she slowed down to look at them both.
After a moment of standing still Andie urged her to move, she looked from the men to her friend and noticed that herself, Andie and Tom were the only two transfers now left in the room.
She heard Eric tell Four that he'd be coming back in an hour to make sure Tom was still running and then he left the room without looking back.
Nix told Andie that she'd hung back to talk with Four about something and she'd meet her in the dining hall in a few minutes, Andie had hesitated at first but she must have been hungry because she then gave a nod before leaving the room herself.
Nix waited until Andie was no longer in the room before she headed for the door herself, Four had noticed her lingering and seamed about to head her way to see what it was that she wanted but Tom started to say something that neither of them could understand and Four turned his attention to him to ask what he had said and that's when she took the opportunity to quickly sneak away.
Once she was outside the training room she halted and just stood there, wondering as she did which way Eric might have gone.
After contemplating which way to go along with why she even wanted to speak to him she decided to take a right and when she was about half way down the corridor she heard his voice as she was passing a doorway.
She peaked inside the room to find him talking with another dauntless member about something that she couldn't make out, she then pulled back and glanced around, spotting an alcove across from the doorway she wasted no time in stepping into it and hiding behind a jutted out piece of the wall to wait on him appearing.
As she stood waiting she suddenly thought about what she was doing and how stupid it made her feel, she was waiting on a man that she'd thought despised her...the same man that had took her inside his apartment and kissed her this morning to then tell her that he didn't actually hate her and he'd spoken to her in a way that was pleasant rather than as if she was some parasite that disgusted him, he'd then went on to throw her out of his apartment after she'd expressed that kissing him back shouldn't have happened, she couldn't get involved with someone as high up as him when she herself was so low in status, it had only been a kiss but still...he was a leader and she was an initiate and she knew or rather just assumed that it wasn't allowed, it couldn't be allowed...whatever 'it' was or could potentially be, everyone would think he was helping her through initiation.
With a heavy sigh she placed a hand on her forehead and gave it a rub, her head hurt thinking about it all and the more she continued to think about it it almost made her laugh...the whole thing was just so ridiculous and she still couldn't quite believe it had happened, her amusement then disappeared as she thought back to what Tom had done to her...if Eric hadn't been there to stop him, what would have happened? Would she have managed to get him away from her?
He was in the top ten of the score board, she'd not seen him in a fight yet but she had seen him sparring with other initiates...he was vicious.
Eric had stopped him from doing anything further to her yet she wasn't sure he would have done anyway as they had been in a room filled with other people, he wasn't stupid enough to do something out in the open in full view of everybody.
Despite this though the boy had still threatened her which was still playing on her mind, however, today Eric had stopped him and for that she was grateful, she wanted to tell him that.
A couple of minutes went by before Eric and the man he'd been speaking with stepped out of the room, the man went in the direction Nix had come from and Eric was heading past where she was currently hidden.
She said his name before he could disappear out of sight and upon hearing it he halted and turned around.
She stepped into view, glancing over her shoulder as she did, there was no sign of the man he'd been in the room with so she turned back to face him and found he was staring at her, he then trailed his eyes up and down her body slowly and in a brazen way.
She was unable to prevent her face from reddening and it reddened considerably, she began pulling on the hem of her t-shirt whilst swallowing and the reaction seamed to irk him because he sighed impatiently.
"What?" he asked once he'd leaned a hand against the tunnel wall and for a moment she just stared at him, she hadn't actually thought of what she was going to say to him, she knew what she wanted to say but being alone with him again made her feel awkward, eventually she inhaled to prepare herself to speak but as she did he rolled his eyes and pushed off the wall, he turned his back on her and began to walk away, "You stopped me on my way home."
She watched him walk off as she opened her mouth but she quickly closed it again and puffed out her cheeks slightly when she couldn't form the words, her legs then seamed to work on their own as she found that she'd begun to follow him, he must have heard her moving because he briefly glanced over his shoulder before facing forward once more.
"I have something to say." she finally managed to get out as she hurried to keep up with him, "It'll only take a second."
"Did you not hear me when I said you stopped me on my way home?" he replied in an annoyed tone as he continued walking.
"I heard you." she said as she followed him and she noticed that he'd picked up his pace because she was now having to half jog to keep up with him.
"Then spit it out or go away." he snapped and she cringed as his voice echoed throughout the tunnel they were moving through, she glanced around then over her shoulder incase there were other people nearby that could possibly overhear them and she really didn't want anyone questioning why she was running after one of the leaders of dauntless in her free time outside of training, when she faced forward again she was met by his chest and a gasp left her mouth as she bounced off of him to land roughly on her behind.
With an open mouth she stared up at him and he looked even more annoyed than before, gradually she closed her mouth and before she'd even had the chance to even attempt to stand back up his hand clamped around her upper arm and hoisted her back up and onto her feet.
She was once again facing his now heavy breathing chest and when she eventually risked a peak up at him she found that a glare had formed on his face.
"Sorry." she said reluctantly, he released her and she immediately stepped back from him, giving her arm a rub as she did.
"You wouldn't get in so many accidents." he said, adding extra emphasis to the last word, "If you weren't so damn clumsy."
"I thought we'd already established that what happened today wasn't my fault." she replied firmly, almost hissing the word 'wasn't'.
"Watch it." he told her and for a moment she held his gaze before she then looked at her feet in order to not say something she'd regret, there was no point arguing with him as he could easily punish her for it, she looked back up at him and as she did he folded his arms across his chest before rolling his eyes, "You had something to say."
She had to resist the urge to scoff as she replied, "I do."
"Then say it." he retorted, causing her to gasp at the abruptness and he rolled his eyes again before looking away from her, "I don't have all night."
She waited for a beat, thinking hard as she did whether or not she should even say it after him being so rude about her wanting to speak to him, did he deserve it?
Yes...yes he did, she couldn't deny it, he deserved one hundred percent of her gratitude because she was...she really was grateful for his help.
She inhaled deeply and said, "I wanted to say...thank you."
He looked at her with furrowed brows, surprise evident on his face before he said, "Thank you?"
"Yes." she replied.
"For what?" he asked.
"For...you know, helping me out earlier with Tom." she replied and his surprise changed to realisation at the mention of the candor boy, "I know that...that being in dauntless we're supposed to be fearless and the reason that we're training the way we are is so we can protect the city but he...well, I just felt...he-"
"He scared you." he finished for her and a sudden but brief silence fell upon them.
She had initially stared up at him after what he'd said but when he eventually looked her in the eye she suddenly felt ashamed and looked at the ground before giving her head a nod, "I know that I didn't deserve your help...not after what I did, the way I disrespected you infront of everyone."
She heard him scoff at her words in a way that she thought said 'that's right' but when she looked up at him he was shaking his head.
"You really thought that I'd have just let him-" he began to say, his voice raising angrily in pitch before he cut himself off and looked briefly away, she saw him inhale a deep breath before he then looked back at her and said in a low threatening voice, "I was getting ready to rip, his, spine, out."
Her eyebrows raised at what he said just as the word 'really?' was almost out of her own mouth but she managed to avoid letting that slip by replacing it with another.
"Uh." she said instead and her eyes closed briefly as she mentally did a facepalm.
Why couldn't she have come up with something better to say or instead just say nothing at all? Now he was probably thinking that she was a moron...actually, he'd probably already thought that and she just confirmed it for him.
What he said followed by her response repeated in her head, she looked at her feet as she inwardly cringed, why did she have to open her mouth? She should have just kept it shut and waited until he spoke again, that would have been a less stupid way to reply to what he'd said and as she thought about it again she felt a tingle in her stomach followed by her cheeks becoming warmer.
'I was getting ready to rip his spine out'.
She looked up at him as a surge of extreme gratitude flowed through her, just like it had that afternoon when he'd stepped in to help her and the corner of her mouth was beginning to lift in a smile but it vanished when she saw his expression, he looked extremely irritated now and it made her stomach sink.
Had she...misunderstood what he'd meant by the threat?
Her confused expression must have irritated him some more as he let out an exasperated sigh, she swallowed and was about to cast her eyes elsewhere but waited when she saw him give his head a light shake, her brows were just about to furrow when quicker than a blink of an eye he grabbed her face with both hands and leaned down to capture her lips with his own.
Her eyes widened in surprise, this was not what she expected him to do, he suddenly began to walk her backwards and her hands instinctively grabbed on to his wrists as some means of support.
He kept moving her back until they were no longer stood in the open tunnel but inside another alcove...that's when he removed his lips from hers and he did it in a way as if it had pained him to do so, he then placed his forehead against hers and closed his eyes as he inhaled deeply, she watched him as he did this and saw that his jaw was now tightly clenched.
When he opened his eyes and stared into her own she swallowed, he then inhaled once more and said in a quiet and strained voice, "Damn it."
He straightened up as he exhaled and stared at a spot on the wall above her head, his hands were still holding her face and hers still held his wrists.
A moment what felt like forever passed by before he spoke again and she was surprised to admit that she was disappointed at what he said, "I shouldn't have done that."
"Yeah." she agreed, admittedly reluctantly, once he'd released her and stepped back, she then placed her own now free hands infront of her and began to nervously play with her fingers.
"There are cameras." he said and her fingers stilled, she slowly looked up at him as her heartbeat began to quicken, "In the tunnels."
"Cameras." she said in a quiet voice then let out the breath she'd not realised that she'd been holding.
"I'll take care of it." he told her.
"You'll ta-" she found herself asking but he'd stepped out of the alcove before she could even finish speaking, she quickly began to follow him but hesitated a second before leaving and when she did she noticed that he was already halfway down the corridor of the tunnel, she ran after him and when she reached him she grabbed onto his arm to stop him, she was just in the process of telling him to wait when he yanked his arm out of her grasp as if he'd just been burned.
He spun around with a deep glare on his face and demanded, "What?"
She was initially taken aback but then leaned away from him with a scoff and folded her arms across her chest, his expression didn't falter as he took in her stance and waited on an answer. That annoyed her.
She narrowed her eyes at him then proceeded to give him a hard shove in the chest and even caught off guard by it, he wasn't affected...he barely moved, all that it seamed to do was irritate him more.
"I was only asking you to wait...there's no need to be such a jerk." she muttered under her breath and his nostrils flared.
"You're calling me a jerk when I'm trying to sort this mess out?" he retorted.
"This mess?" she asked after a beat.
"Yes, this mess." he replied and indicated between them both before exhaling in annoyance.
"The mess you caused." she said after scoffing, she hadn't actually meant for him to hear it but he did.
"What?" he asked in a low voice that dared her to repeat it before he began to walk towards her.
"It's not untrue." she replied as she backed away from him, she then lowered her own voice to an almost whisper as she added, "You're the one who kissed me."
She felt her cheeks heat up once she'd said the words out loud and she was sure she saw a grin forming on his face but it quickly disappeared, he continued to move towards her and she away from him until eventually she bumped into the wall, she then swallowed when he reached her.
"You were getting ready to jump me in that training room earlier." he said as they stood toe to toe and she sputtered out a noise that was something between amusement and incredulity, she hoped that she came off as being amused because in reality she was embarrassed.
The look that he'd given her earlier had been what she thought, that he'd known exactly what she'd been thinking.
"Don't be ridiculous." she replied eventually after swallowing and looking down, "I was not."
"You shouldn't lie stiff." he told her instantly and she looked up to find him grinning down at her.
She narrowed her eyes into a glare then pressed her hands against his chest, she started to push him back as she replied, "And this isn't candor."
He huffed out a laugh as he knocked her hands away and stepped back towards her, "So you're allowed to lie?"
"Yes." she replied immediately and a smirk formed on his face as he raised his brows, her cheeks then began to heat up, "I mean no, no I mean...no, I'm not lying."
He folded his huge arms across his chest then lowered his head towards her a little as he said, "That's a lie right there."
She shook her head to which he countered with a nod, "No. I was not...going to-"
"Jump me?" he cut her off and she inhaled deeply, he let out a low chuckle at her reaction, "You were totally gonna jump me."
She swallowed as he dropped his arms and leaned one against the wall beside her head, when he grinned she looked down but looking down meant she was looking down his body and he'd probably make a comment about that, her cheeks betrayed her at the thought and caused her blush to intensify, when she looked back at his face he was trying not to laugh which indicated that he yet again knew what she was thinking about, not that it was difficult to work out...her face alone would be enough to convince him, her cheeks were now flaming.
She closed her eyes briefly then opened them with an exhale to find him smirking at her and she felt her heartbeat quicken when his tongue darted out and moved slowly along his bottom lip, she looked away from him then waited a beat before she asked, "Weren't you going to take care of something?"
His smirk suddenly disappeared and a scowl formed in it's place as he said in an accusatory tone, "You stopped me."
She scoffed and shook her head at how quickly his mood had changed, "There you go again, being...erratic."
"Erratic." he repeated in a deadpan like way.
"Yes, you're really starting to make my head spin with all these...hot and cold mood swings." she replied with a frustrated sigh and he'd made a face at the 'hot and cold' reference.
"Am I?" he then demanded and she thought she saw the hint of redness forming on his cheeks, she found that both bizarre and hilarious, she had to refrain from smiling.
"Yes." she said after a beat, "How can you be so angry with me one second and then like the flick of switch you're-"
She stopped mid sentence and he narrowed his eyes at her as he asked, "What stiff?"
"Flirting." She replied and a noise of irritation almost escaped her lips when she felt her cheeks reddening once again.
He obviously hadn't been expecting her to say that because his annoyed expression changed to entertained, "Flirting?"
"Yes." she replied without looking at him but when she saw him move closer to her she looked up, she then swallowed as she added, "And then you switch to being a grump again."
"Don't pretend you don't enjoy it." he said, ignoring the second part of what she'd said.
She stared up at him as a grin formed on his face and then she shook her head before saying in a slightly frustrated voice, "I don't."
He nodded his head at her response and she shook hers, a beat then passed by before she practically growled at him, "This isn't fair...it really isn't, it's NOT fair."
"What isn't?" he asked with slightly furrowed brows.
"It's so confusing." she said quietly and cast her eyes down.
"WHAT is?" he asked, his tone no longer amused but impatient.
"You." she replied with a sigh, "One minute you treat me like I'm...trash and the next...you're kissing me?"
A frown formed on his face and he cleared his throat before he said, "I've kissed you twice now."
"I'm aware." she replied immediately and his eyes narrowed.
"And both times you wanted me too." he said and her mouth opened in shock.
"Excuse me?" she asked with wide eyes and he scoffed.
"Don't deny it." he replied then reached a hand up to her face, he began to run his knuckles down her cheek but she knocked his hand away which made him grin, "How can you say that you wanting me to kiss you...is me not being fair?"
"I didn't want it and both those times for your information...were against my will." she said as she crossed her arms over her chest and he looked down briefly as he began to chuckle and she was sure she heard him say 'shut up'.
"They weren't stiff." he told her matter of factly then chuckled some more as he shook his head, "And you know it."
"I've said what I came to." she said firmly and made a move to walk away from him but he stepped with her and blocked her path.
"Please excuse me." she said to his chest.
"Are you seriously trying to tell me that you didn't want it?" he asked with a grin, "Both times."
"I didn't." she answered, still not looking at him.
"Stiff." he then said and in a tone that demanded her attention, she waited a beat then looked up at him to find him looking back at her with an amused expression, "Don't lie."
"I'm not lying." she emphasised each word whilst glaring at him.
"And again...you lie." he said with a shake of his head and a sigh before he shoved her backwards.
It hadn't been rough but it hadn't been gentle either, she bumped into the wall with a gasp just as he leaned one of his hands against it at the side of her head again.
A beat passed before he then reached his other hand up to her face to gently tuck a piece of loose hair behind her ear and then he smiled at her...a real genuine and beautiful smile.
"Andie will be wondering where I am." she said after what felt like forever had passed by but in reality it had only been around a minute, it had been a very long minute though, of him just staring at her with that smile on his face and it was making her stomach flutter uncontrollably.
"Do you live in each other's back pockets?" he asked after rolling his eyes.
"She's worried that I might run into you when I'm alone." she replied.
"Is that right." he said with a grin, "And yet, you voluntarily came to look for me."
"Because I wanted to thank you." she said.
He stared at her for a beat as if he was contemplating what she'd said and then a smirk gradually appeared on his face, "I bet she wishes she'd run into me...alone."
"SHE along with everyone else believes that you're planning on killing me." she said with narrowed eyes after he waggled his eyebrows at her, what he'd said annoyed her and when his smirk turned into a wide smile she knew that he'd noticed, she inhaled deeply and looked away briefly as she said, "Like I said already...I've said what I came to."
"I don't believe that you only came to find me so you could thank me." he said and she stared at him.
"I did." she replied slowly with a frown and he shook his head, "What else would I have to say?"
"Not say...do." he said.
She stared up at him for a long moment, her frown gradually turning into a glare at his implication, who did he think he was?!
"You're right." she said and he made a face as if to say 'of course I am', "Partially."
"Partially?" he asked with a brow raised.
"About the do part...it's actually another thing I have to SAY." she answered.
"Then say it." he said instantly.
"You misused your position of authority." she told him as she folded her arms across her chest.
His brows pulled together momentarily before he said, "I misused my position."
She 'mhm'd' with a nod then replied, "Twice today."
She briefly held two fingers up infront of his face and he looked from then to her face and grinned when she dropped her hand.
"Stiff." he said a beat later, that grin still on his face, "The only thing that was wrong about what I did...was that I didn't finish what I started."
Her mouth popped open at his words and he quickly added that he was talking about the first kiss...not that she needed the clarification.
"Don't you agree?" he asked in an almost apprehensive way and his grin was replaced by a sombre expression.
"You...threw me out." she replied after a long moment of silence passed between them, her tone was a mixture of confusion and what she hated to admit...dejection.
"Because you were being an irritating little prude." he retorted and crossed his arms over his chest.
She stared up at him in disbelief, more so that he looked like a child that was in a huff because he wasn't getting his own way than the fact he'd called her something that she, in her opinion, thought was worse than a 'stiff'.
She suddenly had a reminder that he'd actually called her that once before too, when she first arrived in dauntless, that only made her more annoyed.
"You had no right." she eventually said, her tone clipped, she then began to explain that she was talking about the kiss and not the throwing her out part, it was his apartment and he could throw out who he liked and when.
Prude.
"No, that little douche Tom had no right to do what he did." he shot back over her flustering and for a beat they stared at each other before he inhaled deeply and continued with, "Now if I'd done that...that would have been misusing my position."
Prude.
What he said was true, it was, she wasn't going to admit it to him though.
Prude.
She mentally chastised herself for letting that word get to her, she hated it and after what had happened with Tom earlier today...it was beginning to let bad memories into her head.
Prude.
She gave her head a firm shake...Eric wasn't like him.
What HE had actually called her, was a goody-goody, not prude but it technically meant the same thing...why did Eric have to say that to her.
A long moment of silence passed by before she finally said in a slightly cracked voice, "I am NOT a prude...how dare you say I am."
She made a move to walk away from him but he grabbed her upper arm and pulled her back towards him, "Oh are you not? The way that you reacted you'd think I had bent you over the damn kitchen counter!"
At his words she blushed, the image of him doing just that to her flashed in her mind and she shook her head to rid it from her thoughts then looked anywhere but him.
"Or maybe that's what you want." he said in a tone that told her he was surprised and amused, she looked up at him and he raised his brows in a suggestive way.
"Let me go." she said through gritted teeth and tried to pull away from him, he did release her but only so he could grip tightly onto her waist, he then pulled her into him so she was flush against his chest.
"I don't think you want that." he replied with a smirk.
"I'll report you." she said as she tried to push against his chest, she then let out a surprised squeak when he grabbed her under arms and lifted her feet off the ground, within a second or two he'd carried her into an alcove and set her on her feet once more so he could back her against the wall; he then placed his hands on her waist once more.
"Now why would you want to do that? Hmm?" he asked, not a grin or a smirk but another genuine smile.
She stared up at him as he moved one of his hands up her flank then back down again slowly, he then pulled himself into her so they were chest to chest, she closed her eyes briefly before opening them once more.
"Your heart is beating fast." he mused after a beat and she found herself nodding, his eyes them roamed her face as he asked, "You're not...scared?"
He asked the question in what she thought was a strained way which surprised her, she'd expected he'd be delighted if she was scared.
She wasn't scared.
"No." she answered in a breathless way which grabbed his attention, his eyes shot to her own and she inhaled deeply, "Why did you do it?"
He didn't react to the question, he just stared at her, he stared for the longest moment and then he finally replied, "Because I wanted to."
She didn't reply to what he said, she just stared at him and a moment passed before he spoke again, "I did it because I REALLY wanted to."
Another moment then passed and she tried to reply but she wasn't sure what she'd say, instead she just stared up at him some more, she stared until he pressed his lips gently against hers and held them there, he didn't move his mouth in any way, he just kept it pressed against hers and for a long moment they stayed that way.
Eventually he began to loosen the pressure he was applying until it was almost non existent and when he was about to pull back she reached up and wrapped her arms around his neck.
She felt him freeze as she did this and a beat passed before he even properly reacted and what he did was dip his head slightly for her and move his hands to wrap his arms tightly around her body.
Another beat then passed before he pulled his mouth from hers and said, "We can't do this here."
"Yeah." she found herself saying as they disentangled from one another.
"My office isn't far from here." he told her and indicated with his head for her to follow him but she didn't move.
"We...shouldn't." she said with a light shake of her head.
"But we're gonna." he replied as he took her hand and began to pull her towards him, when they were out in the corridor once more she pulled her hand out of his.
"We can't do this." she said and she could tell he wasn't happy, his jaw had clenched and he inhaled deeply, "You said so yourself."
"Here...I said we can't do it here." he corrected.
She then blurted out, "Do what exactly?"
A grin appeared on his face at her reaction and he stepped towards her, "Use your imagination stiff."
She glanced at her feet as her cheeks began to heat up again and she thought she heard him begin to chuckle but when she looked up the amusement was gone from his face and he was now looking to the side frowning.
"What is it?" she asked and he held a hand up to silence her.
"Do you hear that?" he asked and she looked in the direction he was and tried to listen for whatever he could hear, at first she heard nothing but after another moment passed by her ears picked up the faintest sound of footsteps and they were coming in her and Eric's direction.
Her eyes began to widen when she saw a shadow beginning to form on the wall at the end of the tunnel a second later but before she could fully react to it Eric had spun her around so her back was to whoever was approaching, she stared up at him where he now stood infront of her with his gaze focused on the shadow, he then began to shrug out of his jacket and placed it over her shoulders.
"What are-" she began to ask but her words cut off with an exclaim as he grabbed her ponytail and all but yanked her hair tie out, his hand clamped over her mouth as he did to keep her quiet and she glared at him.
"Put your arms in the sleeves." he said without looking at her still.
Deciding in that moment not to argue, she did as she was told and she did it just as he began to, in a surprisingly gentle way, move her hair so it was hanging down her back and about her shoulders and face.
The footsteps began to grow louder followed by some chattering and that's when he looked down at her, a smile formed on his face as he reached his hands up to cup hers and she found herself unable to prevent herself from smiling back.
"Is that Eric?" Nix heard a male voice ask just as the man in question lifted her face upwards and pressed his lips to hers.
She thought he would just give her a peck until whoever was heading their way had passed by but she was mistaken because almost immediately he was exploring her mouth with his tongue.
She heard another male voice respond to the first with a comment she couldn't quite make out, whatever it was it made his companion laugh and then they were both wolf whistling.
The whole thing should have made her blush but she was surprised to find that she didn't really care in that moment to be caught engaging in such a heavily intimate way in a public place, instead she found herself gripping onto one of his wrists along with the hem of his t-shirt whilst willingly kissing him back.
She was briefly aware of the footsteps drawing closer and then she felt Eric shift her slightly, so her back was still to the people that were passing by, one of his hands left her face briefly and she felt his body shake a little, she opened her eyes in time to see him giving a hand gesture that received a hearty laugh from both of them before he was once again looking at her and she could see and feel him smirk as he continued to kiss her.
When she could no longer hear the people who passed she began to pull back from him and when she did he said, "Where do you think you're going?"
His lips were once more on hers and he was backing her along the tunnel as he kissed her some more, every few seconds she tried to pull back and speak but he shook his head and grabbed the back of her own to hold her there and she wasn't strong enough to resist.
"Interesting turn of events stiff." he said through kisses as he continued to back her down the tunnel, she was about to try and pull back to ask what he meant when he wrapped one arm around her back and lifted her off her feet, she placed an arm around his shoulders as he began to stride down the rest of the tunnel quickly, she had to move her legs to the sides to keep them from banging with his.
Before she knew it he had slammed a door closed and they were alone inside a small room, he let go of her and she landed on her feet clumsily but before she could say anything he spun her and slammed her against the door roughly, mild pain shot through her body but it was instantly forgotten about when his lips were once again on hers and this time there were no frenzied mouth movements, there wasn't even any pressure...he just held them there ever so softly.
When he pulled back from her she found that she was holding onto his waist, or rather, holding him by the waist against her whilst he had one arm resting above her head and the other against his hip, he was also wearing a smirk.
"As I was saying." he began a beat later, "It's interesting how you went from threatening to report me to...removing my clothes."
His eyes flicked to his jacket that she was wearing then back to her face and her mouth opened in a gasp at the insinuation, she let go of his waist and shoved him away from her to which he stumbled back whilst chuckling.
"YOU put this on me." she retorted and indicated to the jacket.
"And you're still wearing it." he said immediately.
She shook her head as she began to remove the jacket and once it was off she threw it at him, he looked away with a smirk as he caught it then looked back at her, she folded her arms across her chest and looked away from him and all of a sudden she became aware of the room they were in, there was a sofa against one of the walls, a large filing cabinet against another and a desk with a computer and a lamp in the middle.
This was his office.
A glare formed on her face as she realised that whilst she was distracted he'd brought her to his office, the place she said she didn't want to go...well...she didn't say 'didn't want to, she'd said that she 'couldn't', she looked over at him and found he was still smirking.
"This is your office." she said eventually.
"Keen eye you have." he replied dryly with a roll of his eyes as he tossed his jacket over the arm of the sofa.
"I told you we-" she began to speak but he cut her off.
"Shouldn't come here, yeah." he said and she stared at him, he began to walk towards her slowly, "You didn't say that you didn't want to."
"That's what I meant." she replied.
"There you go again." he said once he was stood infront of her, "Lying."
For what felt like the longest time she just stared up at him and when she opened her mouth to speak she was surprised to hear herself say, "This isn't candor."
Her words made smile, not smirk...smile.
She didn't wait for him to kiss her as he moved his head towards hers, this time she met him in the middle and they both seamed to simultaneously inhale as their mouths connected.
After a beat she opened her mouth for him and for a moment they just kissed one another deeply, he then gently placed his hands on her waist and slid them around to her back where he then proceeded to run them slowly down, he ducked slightly as they moved over her bottom to rest behind her thighs and then he picked her up.
She removed her lips from his when she was up on his waist and they stared at one another, he then glanced over at the sofa then back at her...a silent question.
When she slowly nodded he swiftly moved with her over there then set her down gently before he lay down with her.
He began to place slow delicate kisses all over her throat and collar bone whilst he took her hands and held them above her head, "I want you to lie here and stay still whilst I...slowly...taste...as much of your skin as possible."
"Oh." was all she managed to say and it was in a breathless voice, she then felt his grin against her neck, "Please, don't...you can't do that."
"Oh but, I'm going to." he replied and then he began to kiss up her neck to her jaw, keeping his eyes on hers as he did which made what he was doing all the more intense.
"Eric you can't...I can't, we were doing team work in weapons training I...I'm sweaty." she said reluctantly and took a deep breath when she could feel her cheeks heating up.
He let out a laugh at what she said and she stared at him, what a nice sound...a really nice sound, he had a lovely laugh...he should let people hear it more often.
"I have a comment I'd love to make about that statement but I'm not sure those delicate little stiff ears would be able to handle it." he said with a wink.
She was sure she probably resembled a tomato because right now she was on fire, she really wished she could hide her face but he had her arms pinned and her reaction seamed to amuse him greatly as he laughed again and attempted to kiss her once more.
She had to bit her lip to stop herself from placing her mouth on his again and turned her head to the side so she wasn't looking at him anymore, he moved his head in her direction and planted his lips firmly against hers.
"You're only torturing yourself." he whispered against her mouth and she pulled her head away from him.
"What makes you say that?" she asked and he smiled at her.
"You don't want me to stop." he replied before placing an oh so gentle kiss on her lips, one that made her stomach flutter and then he let her arms go.
She stared at him briefly then said, "Why don't YOU want to stop? I mean, you had every intention of killing me today."
He made a face at her words as if to say 'you are correct' but he said instead, "Why would I?"
"Because before...you threw me out of your place." she replied.
He let out a sigh then said, "You pushed my buttons."
At his replication of her words from that morning she smiled then placed a palm against his cheek as she said in a soft voice, "They are easily pushed."
He half smiled then leaned into her touch briefly before he lifted his head to roam his eyes all over her face and then he said, "You're trouble...do you know that?"
"Am I really?" she asked quietly.
"For me." he stated and at what he said a silence suddenly fell upon them.
Eventually he sighed in what she believed was a mixture of frustration and contentedness before he kissed her delicately on the corner of her mouth, he then proceeded to bury his face in the crook of her neck and wrap his arms tightly around her body.
At first she was a little caught off guard at his actions but that didn't stop her from wrapping her own arms around his neck so she could hold him back and after a beat she placed one of her hands on top of his head to cup it and she felt his body relax.
A couple of minutes passed by before either of them did anything and it was her that moved first, pushing aside the weight of the words he had just spoken moments ago and what they meant she placed a hand on his shoulder and the other on the back of his head and said, "I should go."
Her voice seamed to startle him, as if he'd forgotten where they were, he lifted his head up and looked down at her to admit in what was obviously a reluctant voice, "Yeah."
She tried to sit up but he gave her a look that halted her and then he leaned into her very slowly before he placed his lips gently against hers and then he kissed her...REALLY kissed her.
He kissed her in a way that almost felt like a goodbye...if it could be called that.
She knew it was his way of telling her that this couldn't happen a third time which she already knew and agreed with yet she still couldn't shake the deep sadness that she suddenly felt because of it.
They were both breathless when he pulled back from her and once he had she couldn't bare to look at him, the emotions of the last three weeks were suddenly very pronounced and she was feeling them all at once...the choosing ceremony, leaving her family, joining a faction that was totally different from what she had known, jumping on and from trains and buildings, being thrown into intense training, Eric being very scary and less than friendly since day one, Eric grabbing her and kissing her when she thought he was going to kill her, Eric having an almost unbelievable sweet side...a side to him that she never would have imagined even existed.
What Tom did.
All of those things including the fact that she knew nothing else with him could happen again or ever at all which she didn't realise until now that that thought was devastating to her...when she came to him after training she had every intention of telling him off for kissing her that first time and then leaving, but, why didn't she just ignore it?
Was it because deep down she knew or...maybe even hoped that once she met with him he'd indeed finish what he'd started that morning?
No...that can't have been it, it had to be because she wanted to hear him say it, to say that it meant nothing and that it was a mistake and that he'd already forgotten about it.
She was an initiate and he was an instructor and a leader too and never in her wildest dreams could she have imagined this would ever happen...she always thought of him as an attractive man there was no denying that but she hadn't liked his personality and so the thought of this scenario even being imagined by her, never mind actually happening, it was too bizarre.
She knew one thing for sure...there was going to be no forgetting this day.
She wrapped her arms tightly around his neck and hugged him fiercely, he didn't stop her...he held her against him with one strong arm tightly around her lower back and his other hand cradled her head.
She'd never been a big hugger or been hugged often when she was in abnegation, she didn't expect to experience it here in dauntless but where Andie came from it was a thing and she brought it with her when she joined, Mark had hugged her after she'd jumped into the net from atop that building on her first day then Andie had shown her amity side and hugged her too; Nix hadn't really been sure how to feel about it but Andie was her friend and hugging was a way of expressing friendship with another person...that was something Nix wasn't used to.
She wasn't sure how Eric felt about hugging, yeah he didn't shove her away but that didn't mean he was fond of it, she wasn't really herself but she liked it with him...really liked it.
As brief as this moment with him was there was no denying that it would go down as one of her best moments ever...just the knowing nothing could come of it made her heart hurt, in a different and much more intense way than when her brother left for candor or when she left her parents and faction for dauntless.
They stayed that way for around another minute before they began to loosen their holds on one another and then he helped her sit up on his sofa so they were sat facing each other.
She stared at him and he at her for a beat before she smiled at him and reached a hand towards
him to touch the tattoos on his throat, she traced her fingertips up and down them for a moment causing him to swallow as she did before she pulled her hand back to rest it in her lap and then she stood up from the sofa, he watched her as she rose and as she passed by him to head for the door he too stood up.
She walked deliberately slowly, not wanting to leave and when she reached the door she placed her hand on the handle and stared down at it, she felt him come up behind her as she did this and then she made a move to pull the door handle down but his hand covering hers stopped her.
He pulled her hand gently back and then wrapped his arms around her torso and pulled her into him so he was hugging her from behind, he then turned his head ever so slightly and pressed his lips against her cheek.
They stayed that way briefly before she reached forward and pulled the handle down, he released her and she opened the door, she looked out into the hallway to see if anyone was around before she turned around to face him and found that he looked angry but when her eyes met his the expression changed to something else, was he sad?
"I told Andie I had to speak to Four about something and that I would only be five minutes."
"You should just forget Andie." he replied, his tone a little firmer.
"No...I can't." she said with a shake of her head and started to walk away but he grabbed her wrist, she turned to look at him.
"Do you really want to leave?" he asked after a beat and his hold on her wrist moved to lightly grab her fingers.
"What." she said as she looked down, it wasn't a question, it was something to say so she could think of a better answer.
"You heard me." he replied and she glanced up at him, he was staring at her in a way that implored her to say what she was really thinking.
"I can't do this." she finally said but her voice was quiet, when he began to shake his head she continued, "I can't, WE can't...you know that."
"We can...you're just choosing not to." he said as he pulled his hand from hers, his tone told her he wasn't pleased with her answer and a moment passed before he placed his hands on his hips then looked away from her, "Go."
"Go?" she found herself asking.
"Go!" he shot back suddenly and she gasped, "You don't want this so go."
She stared at him for a long moment, didn't she want this?
This...whatever it was, whatever he meant it as.
She wanted to say something to him, to not ruin such a nice moment they'd shared by having him disappointed at her but what could she say?
After another beat he opened his own mouth to speak but shook his head, "Screw this."
She was certain he was going to say 'screw you' but changed his mind, he then swiftly passed her.
She gasped when his shoulder bumped roughly into hers as he left the office, she turned and saw him storming down the tunnel.
When he was out of sight she stepped out of his office, pulled the door closed behind her and leaned against the wall, letting out a heavy sigh as she did.