*** 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 heard the dauntless born talking about you before they left." Andie told her as they headed to the mess hall once they'd finished training for the day, "They were really impressed by your throwing, they reckon you're the best at it."
Nix looked at her and saw she was wearing an enthusiastic expression but Nix just wasn't feeling it, she faced forward with a scowl.
"What? It's...a compliment." Andie said when she looked at her.
"It doesn't matter if I'm good at throwing a knife Andie." Nix said in a sharp tone, "We're supposed to be good at it all and I'm not, I'm currently one of the WORST initiates here and I'm not going to get any better when I have to fucking sit out of everything!"
Andie's eyes were wide and her mouth was open at Nix's outburst that had gotten louder with each word she said and had echoed slightly in the tunnel, some initiates that were ahead of them turned to look at them briefly.
"Wow." Andie said after a long moment had passed, "You just dropped the F-bomb."
"That's all you got from that?" Nix demanded before she let out a deep sigh and walked off ahead of her.
"Nix." Andie said in an amused tone before she rushed to catch up with her, "Come on, don't be like that, I heard what you said and I get it...I totally understand why you're pissed, you've every right to be...but you've got to try and be positive and-"
"Please." Nix said in a firm voice as she halted and Andie stopped with her, "Don't start sprouting amity bullshit to me, okay?"
Andie gasped and her eyes widened again but this time...she looked offended, Nix then swallowed as a sudden feeling of guilt welled up inside her.
"Well excuse you." she said after a long moment of silence and then before she stormed off she added, "Stiff."
Nix's mouth opened at that and she watched her leave as she continued to stand there, some other initiates passed by her a few seconds later, giving her an amused look as they did...they must have overheard.
Nix looked at the ground for a moment before she swallowed, she'd felt bad about what she'd said and she really hadn't meant it, she was just so angry.
She was angry that she couldn't train properly because she was injured, she was angry at SAM for giving her the injury and she was especially angry at Eric, Eric and his bizarre mood swings who got her in the mess in the first place.
She inhaled deeply at the thought of him and shook her head, it was exhausting just thinking about him.
She began to walk again and as she did she thought about what Andie had said...she'd called Nix a stiff, Andie who was supposed to be her best friend...called her a stiff, she was used to everyone else calling her it, but not Andie.
She halted with a sigh just as some more initiates passed her and beat passed before she was suddenly joined by someone.
"Stiffy." the person said.
"Not now." she said as she groaned in annoyance and began to walk away but he caught up to her instantly and draped his arm around her shoulders.
He laughed as he walked beside her and said, "You're not still mad at me are you?"
"I said not now." she replied and tried to shrug him off.
"You're a grumpy little thing aren't you?" he asked with a grin and tightened his hold on her.
"Sam." she said through gritted teeth.
"Oh come on Stiff." he said with a sigh and moved to stand infront of her, "I said I was sorry."
"That was yesterday." she shot back as she tried to step around him but he moved with her.
"Are you saying I'm going to have to say it everyday?" he asked wide eyed then smirked, "Okay then."
He got down on his knees infront of her and grabbed one of her hands, "What are you doing?"
"Please!" he practically shouted and it echoed through the tunnel, "Please forgive me, I'm sorry!"
"Sam." she began to say as she felt her cheeks heat up.
"I'm sorry!" he shouted and she gasped then couldn't help the chuckle that escaped her lips, he smirked at her reaction and shouted again, "Am I forgiven?!"
"Shut up!" she said back loudly then shook her head as she smiled, "Yes, you're forgiven...now get up."
He grinned and stood back up infront of her, he then gave her a wink and she sighed in exasperation.
"You're a dork." she told him before she stepped around him and began walking through the tunnel again.
"But you like that." he said as he appeared at her side and then he gave her a playful nudge, "Huh? Admit it."
"No." she replied with a smirk and shook her head.
"Don't lie." he said with a laugh then moved infront of her again.
"Excuse me." she said but he shook his head, "Yes Sam."
"No stiff." he countered and she groaned, he laughed again, "Let's hang out."
"No." she replied and he nodded, "You're the last person I'd hang out with."
"Ouch." he said then chuckled, "That hurts stiff."
"I'm sure it does." she replied sarcastically then sighed.
He smiled at her for a long moment before it faded away and he asked, "You okay? I...overheard."
Nix swallowed and looked at the ground briefly then shrugged before she faced him again, "I'm fine."
"She didn't mean it you know." he told her and she shook her head.
"I don't want to talk about it." she replied.
"Okay." he said immediately, "Well let's talk about something else, like...how frustrated you are."
"YOU are the reason I'm frustrated." she retorted and he he huffed out a brief laugh before he nodded.
"Yep...I agree with that." he said then a beat passed before he said, "So it seams only fitting that I should be the one to help you RELIEVE that frustration."
She stared at him for a moment and when she saw the smirk forming on his face a disgusted expression formed on her own, "Ew."
He openly laugh at her reaction then placed a hand over his heart and pretended to be wounded, "You really don't hang back do you stiff?"
"With you? Never." she told him instantly and he laughed again.
"Okay well if you're not interested in what I was...suggesting." he replied and she quickly said 'I'm not' before he could continue, "We could just have sex."
Her eyes widened at what he said and he was smirking at her, she then couldn't stop the blush forming on her face as she cleared her throat.
"Wait." he said with a hand held up, that smirk still on his face also feigned a shocked expression, "You thought that's what I meant before? Jeez Stiffy! Get your mind out of the gutter."
He stared at her for a long moment before he winked at her and she gasped before she laughed herself then punched him in the arm, "You're such an, asshole!"
He laughed at her before he hooked his arm around her neck and pulled her into his side as he said, "I'm only messing with you!"
"You mess too much." she replied as she let him pull her along the tunnel beside him.
"Come on stiff...let's go do something." he said as she wrapped an arm around his back followed by the other around his stomach and he looked down at her in surprise.
"What? Like...tripping you up?" she asked him and he barely had time to register what she'd said before she stuck her leg out infront of him.
He let out a surprised yell as he fell forward and she ducked from underneath his arm and let him fall, he landed on his stomach infront of her and she let out a laugh.
"Clumsy." she said followed by a 'tsk tsk'.
He rolled onto his back with a grin and said, "That was sneaky stiff."
She shrugged her shoulders in response then smiled at him, "Did that hurt?"
"Not really." he told her, still lying there.
"Damn." she said with a wave of her hand and he laughed at her.
A beat then passed before he spoke again, "Now that you've had yourself a nice long giggle at my expense...any chance you could give me a hand up?"
She stared at him where he lay for a beat before he asked 'well?' and she replied, "In a minute...I'm not done."
He let out a sigh but continued smiling and after a moment had passed she said 'okay' then stepped towards him.
"I'd rather leave you there but like you said...it was sneaky." she said then held her hand out to him, he grinned as he took it and before she could pull he did, she let out a squeal of surprise and fright at the suddenness of it but it immediately died away as she landed on him.
He then sat up and wrapped his arm around her back and cupped her face with his other hand, before she could react he kissed her.
Her eyes widened at that and he fell backwards with her so he was once again on his back and she was the one straddling him.
A loud throat clearing caused him to release his hold on her face and she looked over her shoulder and he to the side of them.
Eric was stood a few feet away from them and boy, if looks could kill.
"What the hell are you two doing?" he demanded.
Sam almost laughed but thankfully managed to not, he sat up with her and said, "She just jumped me."
Nix turned to him with a glare and instinctively slapped his upper arm, to which he said 'ow' but laughed at her, she then tried to get up but he tightened his hold on her and somehow managed to stand up with her wrapped around his waist still.
"Ow!" she practically roared and he set her down on her feet infront of him, she pushed him in the chest hard and again said with emphasis, "Ow!"
He stumbled back a little with a grin on his face, "Sorry! Forgot."
She held her injured side whilst glaring at him then looked at Eric, he was still fuming and he looked like he was getting ready to punch Sam.
"We'll just be going." Sam said and grabbed Nix's hand, she opened her mouth to speak but Sam pulled her away before she could and after a couple of steps he started to run, she had no choice but to copy his actions.
"He looked pissed, best not to linger." he told her with laugh when they could no longer see Eric.
o
"I think we're far enough away now to stop." Sam said with a grin as he halted them, Nix was breathing hard and trying to steady it, her side burned like crazy, Sam noticed and his grin disappeared, "Sorry babe I didn't think, I-"
"Stop." Nix told him firmly and held her palm up infront of him, "Don't, call me that."
"Would you prefer something else?" he asked, the grin back on his face and he rested his arms over her shoulders lazily, she shook her head as she brought both her own arms up to knock his away and it caused him to chuckle.
She turned and began to walk away as he called after her, 'hold up' but she continued to walk, he was at her side immediately and gave her a nudge with his elbow.
"Stiffy." he said with a grin but she continued to focus ahead of her, "Don't tell me you're pissed because of that kiss?"
"Why did you do that?" she demanded without looking at him.
He laughed, "Wow! You are."
"Why?" she repeated firmly.
"Uh, well, let me see...because you're hot." he replied with a shrug and a smirk.
Nix scoffed, "Don't-"
"You are!" he cut her off to say and then he chuckled, "Even more since you managed to hold your own against me."
"I didn't." she replied then waved at her side.
"You did...and, I'm into that." he said then waggled his eyebrows suggestively, she rolled her eyes at him.
"I'm going for food now Sam. Goodbye." she told him before she walked off but again he was by her side instantly.
"I'm going for food too." he said with a grin then gasped dramatically, "We should go together."
She looked at him and couldn't help the smile that formed on her face, his expression and the way he'd said it had been funny.
"It'll be like a date." he said with a wink and her smile disappeared immediately.
"No." she said and he nodded, "No it's not-"
"Come on Stiffy." he cut her off to say with a grin, "Let's go get fed."
He put a hand on her lower back and began to guide her through the tunnel, deciding not to argue she let out a deep exhale and walked with him.
"And if you're lucky." he continued a beat later, "I might even let you kiss me again."
"What?!" she exclaimed and before she could turn around he wrapped his arm around her neck gently and pulled her into him as he laughed.
"Food stiff." he replied as he continued to pull her along with him, shushing her anytime she tried to protest to what he'd said.
o
Nix sat with Sam and his friends in the mess hall for dinner and it wasn't totally unbearable, she had to tell him around four times to keep his hands to himself and each time he was more amused than the last at her reaction.
Despite that however, it was good to have company as she ate, especially since Andie wasn't talking to her.
Nix had seen her as she entered the mess hall sitting at a table with some people, she'd looked in Nix's direction then got up from where she was sat and left the hall.
Nix felt hurt that she was the reason the girl left but Sam had ushered her to sit down before she could dwell on it.
Throughout the dinner Nix had glanced around the hall to see if she could see Eric but he was nowhere to be seen, she wanted to find him and explain what happened with Sam...she HAD to.
She never saw him until after dinner when she was on her way back to the dormitory, he was with a group of people in the pit, Sam had asked her to hang out but she told him she was tired and needed to visit the infirmary, he offered to go with her but she told him she just wanted to get it over with then go to sleep and he'd left her to it with the promise of seeing her tomorrow, she'd rolled her eyes at that cause he'd given her a wink too.
She had lingered away from view for a moment before swallowing then approaching Eric, she'd then cleared her throat and said his name.
He looked over his shoulder at her and the group he was with looked her way too, he then said something to them before fully turning to face at her.
"What?" he asked as he stepped lightly away from the group.
"Can I talk to you for a second?" she asked as she began to back away, hoping he'd follow her so they were out of earshot of the others.
He rolled his eyes but followed her anyway, "Talk."
"About earlier." she began to say but he cut her off.
"If this isn't about your training then I'm not interested." he said then attempted to walk away from her.
"Wait." she said in a slightly raised voice, luckily no one except him heard her, he turned back to look at her again, "It wasn't what it looked like."
"What wasn't?" he asked with a tilt of his head.
She stared at him for a long moment, "What you saw."
"Eric." One of the men from the group he'd been with said and he watched Nix for a moment before he looked over his shoulder to the man, "Max needs to see us."
Eric didn't reply to the man, he looked back at Nix and for a beat he just stared at her before he said, "In one hour. My office."
He didn't wait for her to respond he just turned and walked towards the group where he joined them as they wandered off down a tunnel.
o
Nix had been slightly nervous as she waited until she was to go to Eric's office but even more so as she walked there, she'd almost talked herself out of going but she really wanted to see him and explain what had happened, also they'd almost kissed again in his apartment earlier that day until he was called away and she had to admit...it had disappointed her.
She stopped outside his office and exhaled a deep breath before she raised her hand to knock but she hesitated, he'd probably roll his eyes and reprimand her for it.
With a light scoff she decided to not and instead opened the door, when she did she felt her blood run cold.
There was a woman straddling Eric's waist on the sofa in his office, her back was to the door but Nix could see underneath her long hair that her torso was completely bare.
She had one arm around Eric's neck and her other hand was reaching down between them, Nix could hear her fiddling with his belt buckle and she was suddenly feeling as if she'd been punched in the abdomen because of it.
As she began to back away her eyes met Eric's, the woman was kissing him and he was kissing her back, very intensely, Nix could see her tongue thrusting into his mouth when she'd pulled back slightly to turn her head.
One of his hands was on her back underneath her hair and the other reached down and down until it disappeared inside the waistband of her tight trousers, his hand was now on her behind, not over clothing...on skin.
A involuntary whimper left Nix's lips and she quickly covered her mouth but the sound had alerted the woman to her presence, she pulled her lips from Eric's and looked over her shoulder.
A smirk began to form on Eric's mouth and the woman looked annoyed, "What the hell?!"
"I-I'm sorry." Nix stuttered out.
"Get out!" the woman shouted at her and Nix bumped into the door frame as she tried to do just that.
"Oh!" she said as she bounced off of it and looked at it briefly then back at them, "I just...I got, l-lost."
"Fuck off!" the woman shot back at her.
Nix nodded and quickly turned, she pulled the door closed behind her as she did, hard enough that it slammed, she then hurried away.
As she half speed walked half jogged she thought about what she'd just walked in on, she felt sick to her stomach and had to stop, she placed one hand against the wall infront of her and hunched over slightly with the other on her stomach.
Sobs then began to bubble out of her mouth after she tried inhaling and exhaling deeply to prevent them but it had been no use, she pulled the hand from her stomach and covered her mouth with it.
She tried to be quiet but she couldn't, crying like she was took effort and that effort caused her breathing to roughen and it hurt her injured ribs.
Eric had done that deliberately, there was no doubt about it, he'd told her to come to his office and he'd brought a woman there knowing she would be on her way to see him...why would he do that?
Some people began to walk through the tunnel and were looking at her, with a deep inhale to try and prevent the crying she looked down and headed away from them.
She banged into someone as she stepped around a corner, they both exclaimed at the contact and Nix looked up as she said, "I'm sorry I-"
She cut herself off when she saw Andie with a shocked face stood infront of her and before she could say anything, Nix threw her arms around her and hugged her tightly.
"Oh Andie, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry for what I said to you." she said through sobs.
"Nix." Andie said but Nix continued to apologize, a beat then passed before the girl wrapped her own arms around Nix in return and shushed her gently, "It's okay."
"It's not." Nix replied with a sniff, "I'm so sorry, I was just so angry, please forgive me."
"Nix...I'm sorry too, I was a bitch to you." Andie said as she continued to hug her back.
"You were right to say what you did, I was horrible." Nix said.
"No you weren't, I was, I'm sorry for what I said." Andie replied and Nix shook her head as the girl asked, "Why are you so upset?"
Nix hesitated before she said, "I'm just...annoyed, because I can't train properly and because we had a falling out and...I miss my family."
The last part was added as an excuse but saying it out loud...hurt, and in the moment, she realised it couldn't have been more true.
She started to sob harder, wishing nothing more than to be back with her mother and father right now.
"Oh Nix." Andie said and hugged her tighter, for a long moment they stayed that way before Andie pulled back slightly, "Come on honey...let's go to the dorm, I think an early night will make you feel better, we can talk till we fall asleep."