*** 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.

"Morning Stiffy." Nix heard from behind her and she was just about to turn her head when Sam plopped down on the bench beside her.

"Morning Sam." she replied as she looked at him and found him grinning at her, she then looked to her other side where Andie was sat with a scowl on her face, she sighed and said, "Be nice. Please?"

Andie rolled her eyes at what she said as she focused on eating her yogurt pot.
"I've got some bad news for you." Sam said after he'd helped himself to some scrambled eggs and toast.

"Really?" she asked.

He mhm'd and replied, "Yeah, both groups are back to training separately today."
"No! However will we cope?" Andie said sarcastically and Sam smiled at her.

"Don't tell me you're not disappointed hippie." he said and she opened her mouth to speak but he cut her off, "I know you were hoping to get in the ring with me."

"Well at least we can agree on something." she replied and he chuckled.

"You'll get your chance." he said then turned his attention back to Nix, "So yeah...you won't see me today."

"How disappointing." Nix said.

"I know right?" he replied with a grin, "And hey, I thought sarcasm was her thing?"

He indicated to Andie but was still grinning at Nix, she glanced at him and he raised his brows at her.

"Sorry." she replied then sighed, "I just...didn't have a great sleep."

"It's cool." he said as he nodded his head in understanding, he then grinned again and told her, "And don't worry...I'll still have lunch with you."

"Really? You will?" She gasped dramatically and he mhm'd with another grin, "I wasn't aware we had arranged to eat lunch together."

"I know you're secretly happy about it." he replied with a wink and she rolled her eyes at him, he then added in a lower voice so only she could hear, "Especially after last night."
"Happy about it? Don't flatter yourself." Andie said with a scoff and Nix noticed Sam's grin change to a tight lipped smile.

"Wasn't talking to you." he said with emphasis on the last word and then he looked at Nix and gave her a half smile, "You should go to the infirmary before training...see if they'll give you something."

"Like what exactly?" Andie demanded and Sam inhaled deeply before releasing it, Nix let out a sigh as she said the girl's name, "What Nix? You expect me to forget what he did just because you were so quick to forgive him?"

Sam scoffed then said, "Just like she forgave you?"

"What are you talking about?" Andie said with a glare.
"Last night." Sam replied then nodded as Andie's glare faded and she looked Nix's way with a guilty expression, "Yeah that's right...I heard what you said. You got a nasty streak in you."

"Shut up." Andie snapped at him and there was a silence between the three of them for a moment, "I apologized to her."

"And so did I." Sam retorted and Nix inhaled deeply before she glanced at him, he was glaring at Andie, a beat then passed before he spoke again, "And lucky for us, she accepted that we were sorry...now if you don't mind, I'd appreciate if you stopped rubbing it in my face."
There was another silence before Sam stood up from the table abruptly, Nix looked up at him.
"Sorry Nix." he said without looking at her, he then said before he walked away, "I'm no longer hungry."
Nix watched him walk away briefly then looked at Andie who was sat looking a little embarrassed before she cleared her throat, "Let's be quick so we can go to the infirmary...might be worth looking into."

She said the last part quietly and indicated with her head to the way Sam had gone, Nix simply nodded and began to finish off her breakfast.

o

An anguished scream left Nix's mouth when Tracey kicked her in her injured side, even with the protective vest she was wearing, it hurt like hell.

Tracey smirked at her then glanced at her friends around the ring watching, Nix scowled at her as she held her side whilst leaning on one knee and inhaling deeply.

"Come on Nix, make her pay for that." Andie called out to her where she stood and she managed to give her a weak smile in return.
She then exhaled a deep breath and stood up again, Tracey looked over at her with that smirk still on her face and nodded as one of her friends said something to her.

Nix began to approach her and she stepped forward to meet her halfway, she threw another kick at her side again but Nix grabbed her leg with both hands.

She gasped in surprise but used one of her free hands to punch Nix in the face, hard, the grip Nix had of her leg was almost lost but she managed to hold on, she then drove one of her elbows into Tracey's thigh.

The girl grunted in response but when Nix did it again she let out a yell, of pain or irritance, Nix wasn't sure, whatever it was though Nix elbowed her again, this time in the nose.

The girl exclaimed and moved both hands to cover it.

Nix took that as her opportunity, she grabbed the back of Tracey's neck and yanked her head forward whilst lifting her leg higher and making it bend so she ended up kneeing herself in the face.

She fell onto her back first then rolled onto her side and that's when Nix drove her foot into her back.

Tracy let out a scream that was cut off when she rolled onto her front, Nix then jumped on her back and pulled her upper body up by the hair, Tracey cried out at the pain and tried to pry Nix's hands away but she held on tightly.

She then began smashing Tracey's face into the mat beneath them, she then did it again and again, she continued to do it and made sure each time was harder than the last.

After a long moment had passed she heard Four shouting at her to stop from outside the ring but she ignored him, she'd also become aware that Tracey was no longer struggling beneath her...she'd gone limp.

"Nix." Four said firmly from suddenly behind her, he startled her but that didn't stop her, she continued smashing Tracey's face against the ground.

"I said." he spoke as his arms then came around her body and trapped her own by their sides, "Stop."

She exclaimed at the slight pain his hold caused her then tried to swing her head back into his face.

"You didn't just do that." he practically snarled at her before he yanked her up off of Tracey's back, she was still holding the girl's hair as he did so her upper body was dragged up from the ground too, "Let her go. Now."

She ignored him and kept a firm hold of the girl's hair and a beat passed before one of his hands moved to grab her wrist, she had no choice to let go as he squeezed so hard it hurt.
Tracey's body dropped back down on the map.

Four then dragged Nix backwards and as mad as she was, she was shocked to see Tracey was unconscious with her nose and mouth all bloody.
Adam along with one of the candor transfers moved into the ring quickly and knelt down beside the girl to check her over.

"What the hell was that?" Four demanded in an angry whisper before he added 'I told you to stop', she ignored him and tried to break free from his hold but he only tightened it, "Fight all you want. I'm not letting you go until you calm down."

"I AM calm." she snapped at him and he moved one of his arms up so it was across her throat almost.

"You're anything but." he replied firmly.

"You expect us to win fights do you not? That's what I was doing." she shot back.

"I don't know what it is that's pissed you off, but you better get over it." he replied.

She groaned in annoyance and tried to escape once more but it was impossible, Four was holding her too tightly and it was beginning to really hurt her injured side.

She exhaled an irritated breath and looked to the side, her eyes found Eric where he was stood across the room and he was staring at her with furrowed brows but the girl from last night who was beside him was amused and with a shake of her head she said something to him, he looked from Nix to her and the corner of his mouth lifted in a grin.

Nix looked away then down and closed her mouth tightly as she tried to hold in a frustrated groan but her torso and arms began to shake as she did.

Four turned around with her so she was facing away from everyone else, he then set her on her feet and she felt him rest his chin on her shoulder before he shook his head lightly and said, "Take a breath."

She clenched her fists and began to breathe in and out deeply but it wasn't helping, she felt nothing but rage.

"Calm down." Four said to her and she shook her head no, "Yes, just...relax, take a deep breath. Do it with me."

She felt him inhale deeply then exhale slowly and repeat, gradually as a few moments passed she began to copy him.

"I suggest that you take your anger out on the bags." he told her as he began walking her slowly over to one of them, "But sensibly."

"I'd rather take it out on SOMEONE, not SOMETHING." she said after she glanced over her shoulder in the direction of Eric and that woman, she then turned and tried to break free from Four's hold again but he lifted her off her feet and turned her to face the bags again.

"CALM, Nix." he replied as she winced in pain.

"I don't WANT to be calm." she told him through gritted teeth but she did attempt to take deep breaths again like he'd encouraged and eventually, she wasn't breathing as hard anymore.

"Are all your initiates as psychotic as this one?" a voice asked with a laugh.

Both Four and Nix turned their heads to see Eric approaching with that woman who had a huge smile on her face, Four let out a sigh just as Nix's whole body tensed up, she turned her head to look at the bag once more.

"The stiff's usually checking to see if they're alright after." Eric said.

"Not now, please." Four said to Eric, "Sometimes they need to cool off, you know that...she doesn't need you provoking her."

"Me?" Eric asked in mock surprise.

"Ooh, something you do often is it Eric?" the woman asked, "I might have to come down here and...observe training more often."

The word 'observe' was said with emphasis and Nix turned her head to see the woman rest her hand on one of Eric's folded arms whilst smirking in a flirtatious way.

Eric looked at her hand briefly then her face as she began to move it back and forth where it had been resting.

Nix turned away and began to breathe in and out heavily again, she was that angry she barely managed to get out, "I want back in the ring Four."

"You're not going back in." he told her matter of factly.

"I want to hit someone." she snapped at him and Eric and the woman's attention was now on her, she looked at them and demanded, "What the hell are you looking at?"

Eric frowned and the woman scoffed as she said, "Watch your tone stiff."

Nix then struggled some more to get out of Four's hold as she retorted, "Or what?"

The woman opened her mouth to reply but Eric walked infront of her towards Nix and Four and said, "Pass her to me Four, she clearly needs a time out."

"Don't you touch me." Nix shot back in a venomous tone which clearly surprised him and Four, he then narrowed his eyes at her and grabbed her upper arms.

"Eric." Four said in a warning tone which he ignored.

"Don't ever speak to me like that again." he said in a low and threatening voice.

"Get your hands off me." she replied then kicked out at him, he stumbled backwards slightly with a grunt but recovered quickly, she then attempted to kick him again as he stepped back towards her but his hands moved like a flash and grabbed her ankles, she cried out as he squeezed and tried to hit him which was hard to do considering Four still had her arms trapped by her sides.
"Don't kick me again." Eric told her with emphasis on the word 'don't' and a beat passed before he shoved her feet away from him and it was a good thing Four had a hold of her because they hit the ground clumsily, she'd probably have fallen over if he wasn't holding onto her.

Eric stepped backwards with a glare on his face then looked at that woman who was grinning, "Wait a second, I know you."

Nix stared at her as she nodded her head then looked at Eric before she pointed Nix's way.
"She's the girl from last night." she said then let out a short chuckle.

"Last night?" Four asked and Eric looked from the woman to him with an expressionless face.

"Eric and I were hanging out last night." the woman said with a grin and Four rolled his eyes in response, "And then this little mouse appears."

Four tightened his hold on Nix as she tried to take a step forward and the woman laughed at her.

"Like night and day." she said then scoffed, "Try and not get LOST next time...haven't you been here long enough by now?"

Four jerked forward as Nix moved but he managed to hold her back and said her name firmly.

"Either put me back in the ring or let go of me so I can hit these damn bags." she snapped at Four and he started to guide her towards where the water machine was as she moaned his name in frustration.

"What the hell has gotten you so worked up?" he demanded when they were out of earshot of Eric and that woman, he then moved around so he was stood beside her but still holding her.

"Do you tell me YOUR business?" she shot back which earned her a glare but in that moment it didn't phase her.

"I think you should come with me stiff." a voice said from behind them, Four then turned to reveal Eric walking towards them, the woman was with him still.
"For what?" Four asked.

"Like I said before, she needs a time out." Eric replied firmly.

"I can handle it." Four said.

"Barely." Eric replied with a roll of his eyes, "It's best if I deal with this."

"I'm RIGHT here." Nix shot at them both, more Eric than Four, Eric glared at her then took a step towards her.

"Careful now...that mouth has gotten you in trouble already." he said in a low voice and with a shake of her head she looked down briefly.

"Really?" the woman said with a laugh as she appeared a Eric's side, "The stiff?"

Eric mhm'd as he stared at Nix and then he smiled as he turned to face the woman beside him.

"Hey Four, Eric." Andie said as she suddenly appeared, "I was thinking, maybe Nix and I should work out together whilst the next fight takes place."

"Sounds like a plan." Four replied as he turned with Nix and handed her over to Andie, "Try and keep her calm."

"I will." Andie replied then began to lead Nix away.

"Hold on Amity." Eric began to say but Four cut him off.

"I'm about to put Tom in the ring, why don't you pick his opponent?" Four said.

"Oh can I, Eric?" The woman said to Eric, "Come and show me who Tom is and I'll pick the opponent."

Nix couldn't hear anymore as Andie guided her towards the bags away from them.

"Jesus Nix." she said in a whisper before she let out a short laugh, "You kicked her ass! I think you even scared some of her friends!"

Nix looked at Andie's fist that she held towards her, she then looked up at her before she was encouraged to bump it with her own and she did it with a small smile.

"Well done!" Andie said before she moved to hold a punching bag, "Now come on, show me more of that rage!"

oOo

"Tomorrow is visiting day." Eric announced to the group before they left the training room that evening and almost everyone was silent at first before some murmuring began, "Training as normal once it's concluded."

He then swiftly walked away and Four instructed them to go for food, noone hesitated.

"Our families Nix!" Andie exclaimed excitedly as they walked to the mess hall, "I'll never be able to sleep tonight!"

"Yeah." Nix replied and forced a smile on her face, deep down she was feeling nervous.

"I forgot about the visit." Andie went on to say, "I'm glad they didn't tell us sooner, it would have been torture having to wait more than a day!"

"Yeah." Nix said with a nod then cleared her throat.

"Hey." Andie said a beat later and touched her arm, "You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm good." Nix replied with a nod, "Just hungry."

Andie seamed as if she wanted to question her further but didn't, instead she guided Nix to a table so they could get some food.

o

"Yo!" A voice shouted loudly behind Nix and made her jump, she stopped walking and turned around to find Tom walking quickly towards her, "Impressive stuff today stiff."

Nix, suddenly feeling vulnerable, glanced around the tunnel to see if anyone else was around but there was no one.

Andie had been told by someone to deliver a message to Max as she and Nix were heading back to the dorm after dinner, when Nix had tried to go with her she was told no and 'it doesn't take two people to carry a letter initiate, get moving', she had no choice to head off on her own.

"Really." Tom continued and held his arms out as he got closer to her, "I was surprised because I didn't think that you were capable of it, at all."

"I don't want any trouble Tom." she replied and then swallowed.

"Trouble? Who said there was going to be trouble?" he asked with a grin as he stepped more towards her, she took a step back as he did but didn't get very far as his hands shot out and grabbed her by the neck, she groaned in pain when he shoved her up against the hard wall.

"Tom." she choked out as he squeezed her neck but that only made him tighten his hold, she tried to pull his hands away but he slammed her into the wall.

She gasped at the pain that shot up her back and then she coughed loudly as he loosed the hold he had on her neck, he then brought his face close to hers so their noses were touching and he spoke in a chilling voice, "You got lucky in the ring today stiff."

She tried to push him away from her but he punched her hard in the stomach and she groaned then began to double over at the pain but he slammed her back up against the wall and she cried out.

She was no longer wearing the vest she had been during training and so she felt the full force of that punch.

"It wasn't supposed to be Tracey. It was supposed to be me, I owe you a fight for what you did." he spat at her with venom in his voice, "Even more so since you made me look like a fool yesterday."

Nix gritted her teeth then replied whilst wincing, "Everyone already knows you're a fool Tom."

That was the wrong thing to say, his lips curled in a sneer before he literally threw her away from him, she landed on her back at the side of him and before she could get up he was straddling her and pinning her down.

"You'll pay for that." he snapped at her, his fist then connected with her face.

She gasped in pain just as he gripped her face and moved her head so she was once again looking up at him above her, he then punched her again on the opposite side of her face.

She had thought about screaming but she couldn't psychically bring herself to do it, any sound she tried to form was stuck in her throat and she was unable to release it.

The first punch had stunned her but the second had caused her vision to blur and her ears to ring, she was also finding it hard to breath as the weight of him kept pushing down on her and her injured side was burning in an unbearable pain.

He'd stared down at her for a beat before he picked up something by his side, she realized when he raised it above him that it was a rock and her eyes widened, she tried to shove him off of her but her hands were pinned by his legs so it was impossible.

She somehow managed to find her voice and croaked out a whimper in a desperate attempt to alert anyone that might be nearby to help her but she knew it was useless, she was already weak from the day's training and he'd hit her hard enough to make her feel dizzy.

"Bitch." he snarled at her and she stared up at him as his hand began to move.

She waited for the blow but it never came, instead the weight of Tom on her was no longer, he was gone and she could breathe again.

She could hear the sound of fists pounding on flesh followed by groaning as she slowly rolled over onto her side where she was then met by the familiar face of Adam.

"Are you okay?" he asked and she stared ahead then tried to sit up, she managed to lean on her elbows, "Nix?"

Upon hearing her name she looked at Adam and he looked concerned, she nodded her head and said, "I'm alright."

"Four saw him on the cameras from the control room." Adam explained as he took a hold of one of her elbows, "Can you stand?"

"I think so." she replied and tried to stand up, it made her feel even more dizzy so she stopped moving and just sat for a moment.

"Let me help you." Adam said and she was about to let him when she heard a familiar voice.

"Get that out of my sight." Eric snapped at Adam as he appeared beside Nix, he spat out the word 'that' with displeasure, "Put him in one of the cell's."

"He's going to need the infirmary." Adam said.

"SHE is going to the infirmary." Eric replied matter of factly.

"You got it." Adam replied with a sigh and he stood up and moved away from them.

"It's you." she heard herself whisper and he looked at her.

"Put your arm around me." he said.

"You stopped him." she said with furrowed brows, "You stopped him from, hurting me."

She then placed her fingertips gently on his face and dragged them slowly down his cheek to his mouth, she began to trace her finger over his bottom lip and he allowed her to do it for a moment before he grabbed her hand in his.

Her eyes shot to his and he stared at her for a beat until he smirked and moved her arm of the hand he held up and around his neck, he placed his other hand around her back and stood up where he then pulled her into his side.

Her head spun once she was on her feet and she blew out a breath.

"You might have a concussion stiff." he said and she turned her head to look at him.

She liked being close to him and she was close enough to kiss him, she kind of really wanted to until an unpleasant memory of him kissing that woman from earlier popped into her head and with it an irritance, he cleared his throat after a moment of her continued staring and it brought her out of her thoughts, she then took a deep breath and said, "Maybe."

"I could carry you." he offered once they began to walk, or rather after he began to walk whilst he practically dragged her along with him.

"No, I can walk." she said after shaking her head then reluctantly added, "Thanks."

He must have picked up on her tone as when she tried to remove her arm from around his neck he didn't let her and hunched down to her height to walk with her.

"Leave it." he told her as he gave her wrist a brief tug and tightened his hold around her body.

"Please." she said with a sharp inhale as she halted, "Don't touch my side."

He immediately moved his hand from resting on her waist to place it against her hip and she looked at him.

"Keep moving." he told her as he began to walk with her again.

o

"No concussion." Susie told her as she handed her two pills and a glass of water, "But you will have a bitching headache."

"Bitching?" Eric asked with a scoff after Nix took the pills and water, she swallowed them immediately and handed Susie the glass back.

"Yeah." Susie said then looked at both Nix and Eric, "You know, like, she's gonna wish those pills will knock her out till the morning kind of thing."

"I don't think that's what it means." Eric replied.

"Like you'd know, you're telling me you've even heard of it?" Susie said then rolled her eyes.

"No and I don't really care." he replied with a roll of his own eyes, "She's staying here tonight."

Susie nodded and said, "Yep."

"Is that really necessary?" Nix asked and both of them looked at her, "Can't I go back to the dorm?"

"No." Eric told her instantly.

"Why?" she asked and he sighed in exasperation, "Well?"

"I can't guarantee he will be contained all night, if it was completely upto me then yeah he would be." Eric replied and he was suddenly irritated, "I'm not putting you back in that dorm if there's a chance he'll go back too."

"These beds are comfier than the beds you guys have anyway, Nix." Susie added with a shrug and a grin.

"Yeah." Eric agreed then a beat passed before he pointed at Nix's bed, "Those mattresses are bitching."

Susie and Nix stared at him after he'd spoken and his expression formed in a glare, he then demanded 'what?'.

Susie shook her head in a 'nothing' kind of way then said, "Thought you didn't care?"

"I don't." he retorted and Susie nodded as she tried to stifle a grin, he looked over at Nix who was smiling but she stopped when their eyes met and shrugged.

"He's right though, they are. Right about what it means too I think." Susie said then nodded, "Yeah, it sounds like something positive."

Eric scoffed then said in an impatient tone, "Whatever."

Susie snorted a laugh then said, "Nix, I have some stuff to do before my shift ends. I'll let Star know when she starts that you're staying here and to wake you through the night to give you another couple pills."

"Okay." Nix replied with a nod, "Thanks."

Susie smiled at her then looked at Eric and said his name before she walked off, he watched her go briefly then looked at Nix, "How's it feel?"

"What?" she asked.

"Any of it." he replied and she shrugged.

"Nothing a good sleep won't solve." she told him and he stared at her, "You don't agree?"

He shook his head, "I'll leave you to sleep."

"Wait." she called out to him after he turned and began waking away, he halted but didn't turn to face her.

"What?" he said, still with his back to her, she opened her mouth to speak but he cut her off, "Is there something you need?"

She narrowed her eyes at the tone, it was slightly sarcastic.

"I wanted to-" she began to say but stopped when he spun around to face her, she swallowed at the look on his face, he looked angry.

"You wanted to what?" he demanded then walked slowly towards her, "Go and get one of your two boyfriends and bring them here? Bring them here so they can TUCK you in?"

Nix gasped at what he said then scowled as she asked, "And did your girlfriend tuck you in last night?"

A beat passed before he narrowed his eyes at her and then she inhaled a deep breath as she looked down, "I wanted to say...thank you. For helping me."

"Did you expect me to just let him kill you?" he asked after a long moment had passed.

"No." she replied immediately with a shake of her head as she looked up at him and then her breathing stopped as those words sunk in.

Tom HAD been about to kill her, he had tried to hit her in the head with a rock and he would have done it if Eric hadn't come along when he did.

"He." she began to say but swallowed unable to finish and that was the moment Eric came over to stand beside her.

"He won't get away with this. Understand me?" he said, his voice firm.

She inhaled and exhaled deeply until he said 'hey' which snapped her out of her thoughts, he then asked 'understand?', she hesitated a beat before nodding.

"Get some sleep." he said in a surprisingly soft voice, "You're worn out."

"Yeah." she said, more to herself than him.

"You've got nothing to worry about." he told her and when she looked at him he added, "I won't let him hurt you again."