Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters from Twilight or Divergent. Those rights are reserved for Stephanie Myer and Veronica Roth.
Writer's note: Thank you deadlyvixen, Goddess, Roxhall, Delia, and Navywife for your reviews! I love a good Bella/Eric pairing. *winks* Hope everyone is having a good Monday! I appreciate all of you! Don't forget to follow, favorite, and review!
The fight to stay out of the red, made others very competitive. Especially the ones that teetered on the edge of failing. Tris struggled so hard, with every aspect of being Dauntless. It concerned Bella that her friend chose a faction that would be hard for her, but she worked hard to try and help Tris out the best she could. Early morning training was a way to build up Tris' physical strength. Bella needed to build strength as well, and she welcomed the workouts.
"Come on Tris, two more sets of twenty." Bella encouraged her. Bella was punching at the bag in front of her, while Tris did more push-ups, which was something Tris struggled with the most when it came to physical fitness. Bella's fist hit the bag with a good amount of force.
"Remember torque." Jasper said and went over to help Tris. "Hey, let's take a water break before we start those last forty push-ups." He said gently. "Hydration also builds muscle. Don't want you to faint out here on the floor."
Tris nodded, getting to her feet with Jasper's help. She retrieved her bottle of water and took a long drink of it. She watched Bella as she hit the bag. Bella had braided her hair back out of her way, it was the only way to keep her long hair out of her face. Bella looked focused and determined, and Tris realized that Bella was built to be Dauntless. She wasn't even sure she would make it.
Bella paused to take a breather. Christina walked over, smiling and hi fived Bella. "It's only been four days here, but I feel a lot stronger. Don't you?" She asked Christina.
"Oh, for sure. I can do ten more pushups than I used to do." Christina said and picked up her own water. "What do you think about Will?"
Bella raised a brow. "The Erudite boy? What about him?"
"He's cute right?" Christina said, a little blush hitting her cheeks.
Bella laughed a little. "I'm not sure. I haven't really noticed any of the guys around here. I suppose. He is charming though, and funny, and he does look at you a lot."
"He does?" Christina said with a wide smile. "I think I'm going to ask him to come work out with us. He's right below me on the board. He could use some help, right?"
Bella nodded. "Sure thing. Making friends here should be a goal. I know we're all in competition, but that doesn't mean we turn into animals, and not care about each other."
Tris set her water down. "Eric has been brutal on us these last few days. I'm starting to think he's trying to make sure I go factionless."
It was true. Eric picked on Tris the most, and so far, Tris had made Bella hold her tongue, because Bella was ready to talk back and defend her friend, but Tris said it would only make things worse, so for now, Bella had been calm. Or at least, she appeared calm.
Jasper spoke up. "Eric doesn't like Abnegation. I overheard some other Dauntless born talking about it. Abnegation just don't transfer to Dauntless. The last time someone transferred from Abnegation was four years ago, when Eric transferred."
"Wait, Eric isn't Dauntless born?" Bella asked.
"Nope. According to Will, Eric transferred in from Erudite four years ago." Jasper explained.
"And he climbed the leadership ladder that fast?" Christina asked, pretty shocked.
Bella thought about it. "Well, it's likely because of his ruthlessness. He's got no heart, which makes sense if he's Erudite."
"Hey, Will, is Erudite." Christina pointed out.
"And a reason why he isn't anymore." Bella said back and smiled. "Eric is just one obstacle. We have Max too, who doesn't seem to be any better than Eric, in fact, he might even be worse."
Jasper looked at his watch. "Alright, let's wash up and try to rest before we get destroyed in a few hours by Eric." He said and the four of them dispersed from the training room, and went back to the sleeping quarters, where Bella just lay on her cot, not even bothering with a shower yet, because she felt the exhaustion in her muscles from working out. She closed her eyes to get a couple hours of sleep before Eric would be in here yelling at all of them to get up.
Eric looked at the board, his arms crossed. "I'm unimpressed with the progress. If you're still in the red, it's likely you're going to stay that way. "
Four sighed. "We have more tasks to get through today, including more sparring. But first, find a bag, work on technique and form." He said and looked at Eric. "We have to check on- "
"I know." Eric said gruffly, and walked out of the training room, Four behind him.
Bella went to a bag, and started hitting it, like she had earlier that morning. Her hits were powerful, and her form was good. She knew there were areas to improve, because she wasn't Dauntless born, so she had to work harder to maintain her distance from the red line.
Eric checked the palm pilot and nodded, once they got to the pit. "We have work orders to complete after lunch today. Before that, I want to see how far I can wear them down."
"Do you have to torture the recruits?"
"I'm sorry, did you not get the memo from Max?" Eric said, challenging Four.
Four looked away. "I did."
"Good, so shut up, and stay out of my way." Eric said and brushed past Four and went back to the training room. He stayed in the shadows a little, judging everyone silently. He noted Tris was still lacking in muscle, and strength. Her punches were weak on the bag, but her form wasn't terrible. Bella was the other Abnegation transfer, and she was amusing. She was stronger, faster, and her punches were exact, and it made him wonder where she learned any of this prior to coming to Dauntless.
After he had seen enough, he walked into the room fully. "Alright, we're going to spar some more. The point is to knock your opponent out. If you try to tap, you lose points. Someone will be unconscious at the end of the round." He said and crossed his arms. "Let's start with Tris and Lukas." He said, looking at the board.
It was an insane pairing. Lukas was number 3 and Tris was 31st. That was a large gap, and Bella couldn't contain herself for this one. Her mouth opened before she could think.
"Is the point to murder? What's the point of pairing two people you know wouldn't last long?" Bella retorted. Her mouth would certainly get her in trouble.
Eric glared at Bella, his steely gaze intimidating, but Bella wouldn't back down. "Alright, if you think you're better, than you hop up there and fight him."
Tris interrupted. "That's not necessary. I can fight my own battles." She said, not looking at Bella.
Eric made a 'hmph' sound. "Fine. Get up there, Tris. See if you can last thirty seconds." He said, but he looked back at Bella, who was staring him down. Her temper and flare made his own temper stir inside.
Tris got up on the stage and faced off with Lukas. It was less than thirty seconds in, when Tris hit the mat, out cold. Lukas just smiled and jumped off the stage, while Christina and Bella went forward to help gather Tris off the stage, but Four took her from them, and carried her off to the infirmary to get checked out.
Bella's anger boiled as she turned and faced Eric. "You're a monster."
"Sweetheart, that's nothing new. You're gonna learn either the way I have laid out, or the hard way. You choose." Eric said, not wavering.
Bella was standing close to him now. She looked up into his steel eyes, and she wanted nothing more than to just punch him in the face and lay him out on the floor but she refrained. "I'm not afraid of you."
"Good." Eric said. "Christina and Al." He said, his eyes not leaving hers. "Was there anything else sweetheart."
Bella narrowed her eyes, but she walked away from Eric, walking towards Jasper, who looked at her with a concerned look. "Don't." She said sharply, under her breath, and he just nodded.
The day ended with working with the trucks. Unloading bags of whatever it was that Dauntless needed and putting them in piles. Bella thought it was just a mindless task that they gave the recruits to keep them busy so they wouldn't have any downtime.
"Do you have a death wish?" Christina asked once they were back in the sleeping quarters.
Bella looked to Christina, while she gathered her clothes for a shower. "I hate him."
"I think we all do. If we didn't, he wouldn't be doing his job, right?" Christina asked.
Bella groaned. "But does that mean he has to be an asshole?"
"Eric is a cold-hearted son of a bitch." Tris agreed. Her head was still hurting from her encounter with Lukas. She got a busted lip this time, but she was okay otherwise.
"Agreed." Bella said, and then grabbed her towel from the hook on the post next to her cot. "I'm taking a shower. I just want the day to be over." She grumbled and left to go into the shower. She got undressed quickly, before stepping into the spray of water overhead. It was hot water, and it kissed her muscles and it made her relax. She spent a few extra minutes just enjoying the soothing affects of the water, before she shut it off and got dressed.
When she got back to her cot, the others were already laying down, and sleeping. The day had been exhausting, and they had another early start to the day, because they all got up to train. This time, Christina was bringing in Will, who she figured could use the help, especially after losing his spar to Peter. She laid down on her cot and draped her arm over her face as she closed her eyes and waited for sleep to take her.
[7 Days Later]
Bella squared off with Peter on the stage. She was waiting for this moment. The last week, she trained with Jasper, Tris, Christina, and Will, and they all agreed that Peter was the worse bully in the sleeping quarters. He boasted all the time on how amazing he was, and since his spar with Will, he hadn't been defeated in their sparring routines. Even Tris went up against Peter, and that naturally ended in disaster, so it was now Bella's turn.
"Once a stiff, always a stiff." Peter goaded Bella before they started their match. Peter took the first punch, but Bella was faster. She hadn't been defeated in any of her spars either, but granted Eric was toying with her, pitting her against people in the red all week.
Peter was confident, cocky even, and he needed to be knocked down to show that he wasn't really the best, and Bella was going to do that. He danced around her and then struck out at her again, and she dodged the hit, her knee coming up into his side, and nailing him hard in what was the start of his kidney. He flinched from the hit, but he grabbed for her, getting his arms around her, like he was hugging her tight. He grinned, staring her directly in the face. "No where to go now."
Bella didn't give him any satisfaction of a premature victory, when she headbutted him, busting his nose. He released her, and then she went in on the offensive. She spun, a crescent kick catching him in the face again, and when she spun around the second time, her roundhouse kick knocked him to the ground. He spat blood onto the stage and growled, before getting to his feet and charged her, grabbing her around her waist, his head down at her stomach now. She took her elbow and elbowed him in the back of the neck, and he yowled in pain, and released her. She twisted, hooking an arm up under his chin, and pulled him back to her, getting him into a headlock. With her other hand she nailed him in his bruised side, on that same kidney. She punched as hard as she could, four times before he gasped and fought harder to get out of her grasp. She let him go, and he stumbled backwards onto the stage, landing on his ass. He looked up at her panting, but he growled and tried to come at her again, but she kicked out, a front kick, snapping his head back with the kick, and he fell backwards onto the stage, unconscious.
Silence enveloped the stage, the only sound could be heard by Bella's hard breathing, from the exertion of her fight.
Eric finally spoke. "Four, take him to infirmary." He said, before dismissing everyone for dinner chow.
"That… was amazing." Will said. His dark hair was shaggy, his blue eyes endearing. He was sweet on Christina, and it was cute to see the two together.
Bella smiled at Will. "Nah, Peter was overconfident, he didn't expect me to fight back as hard. When you fight him Will, you have to be pushy, or else, he'll walk all over you." She pointed out.
Jasper smirked. "Bella is a bonified hero." He said and grabbed her hand to inspect it. "Looks like you might have damaged some of your knuckles."
Bella looked down at her hand in his. "It's fine. Just bruised." She said and pulled her hand from his and they walked towards the dining hall.
The nights seemed to drag on here in Dauntless, or that is how it felt to Bella. She found herself sitting in the pit. There was a large chasm that opened below from the bridge that went over it to the other side of the pit that led into the training room. She sat there in her thoughts. She was 12th on the board now. She overtook Christina now, but Christina didn't mind. Bella felt like it was a slow climb. The only thing that was bringing Tris out of the red depths was the fact that she passed the physical fitness test that they all had to go through, and they pushed her to 28th. It was improvement, but it still worried Bella.
When she got tired of sitting with her own thoughts, she got up, and walked back to the sleeping quarters where, she would get some rest, but she didn't have time to step foot into the sleeping quarters before she was attacked by Peter. He pushed her against the wall.
"You think you're better than me!" Peter growled at her. He was strong. He pinned her, her face pushed into the rough concrete wall.
"You're just a coward." Bella taunted back as she struggled against him, but he pushed against her with his entire body.
Peter growled again. "I'm the coward?" He spat and ripped at her shirt.
That's when panic filled Bella. No. When she panicked, it made her harder to focus on what she needed to do.
He tried to force her legs apart, but she fought against him, until she was able to slip her elbow up and nail him in his already fractured nose. He stumbled back in pain, and she turned and then kicked him as hard as she could between the legs, and he crumbled to the ground. She moved away from him, going back to the chasm in the pit. Her heart was racing hard in her chest, and she felt her lungs burn from her trying to hold back her own fear.
Her shirt was ripped, her face was cut up a little. She felt the trickle of blood ease down her face. She looked behind her as she rushed across the bridge to make sure Peter hadn't followed her and she ran into someone's hard chest. Hands steadied her, but she fought them off, pushing against the impediment in her way.
"Stop." Eric's voice was harsh, as he held her still from fighting. "Stop." He repeated.
Bella blinked a few times, her breathing heavy. "What?" she snapped.
"What is wrong with you?"
"What's wrong with me?" Bella's voice was agitated. "What the fuck is wrong with you? Unhand me."
Eric didn't listen. "Why are you bleeding?"
"Maybe this is how I naturally am." She retorted.
"Shut up." Eric barked. "What happened?"
"None of your business."
Eric looked her over. Her shirt was torn, and she was bleeding from her head, and there were scrapes on her face, and her lip was bleeding. "You were assaulted."
"I get assaulted every day, but you just smile and watch."
"This isn't sparring. Did someone try to- "
"He can't really try now, laying on the ground rethinking his life choices."
Eric was silent a moment. "Are you going to calm down if I let go of you?"
"No promises."
"Bella." Eric said sternly.
"Fine." Bella gave in.
Eric hesitated, but he released her. He looked her over again. Her knuckles were bruised from the spar earlier before dinner chow. "What happened?"
Bella studied Eric. "Why does it matter to you? Isn't it the goal to knock each other down on the board?"
"I'm not on the clock." Eric said, his tone clipped. "Either way, come on. I'll fix you up."
"No thanks."
"That wasn't a request." He said, his voice still cold.
Bella sighed, and then followed him. He took her to another room, it was just a simple room, that had cabinets that she assumed was full of different supplies. Eric opened a cabinet and pulled out some first aide supplies, and then set them on the counter. He then dabbed at the wound on her head, cleaning it up. She winced a little when he used the alcohol swab.
"Sorry." Eric muttered and continued cleaning her head, before applying a bandage. He used his hand to grab her chin, and he moved her head from side to side, to inspect the rest of her face.
Bella could smell a slight scent of some sort of aftershave or deodorant. She wasn't sure what it was, but Eric did smell nice. His body was close to hers as he examined her. She stayed quiet, mostly because now she was just tired.
He lifted her hand next and looked at it, checking on her knuckles. "You fractured one." He said when he moved his thumb over one of the knuckles and felt the creak and indent. "Does it hurt?"
"Not really. It's sort of numb now." Bella said, her voice void of the anger she held earlier.
Eric nodded and then went to another cabinet and pulled something out of it. It was a small bag looking thing, that he shook up suddenly. It came with a strap, and it was small enough to wrap over her knuckles on her right hand. He lifted her hand again and fastened the pack to her hand. It was an ice pack that would help with the swelling in her hand. He wrapped it to her hand so it wouldn't slip or fall off.
"Why are you doing this?" Bella suddenly asked.
"Just because I yell a lot, doesn't mean I have to ignore my duties. You were bleeding. It looked serious, so I have to administer first aide. We're all trained to do so." Eric said.
"Your job. Right." Bella muttered and looked down at her hand.
Eric just nodded. "Are you dizzy at all?" He asked.
"No, just tired." Bella admitted and then looked back up at Eric and his steely eyes. He was staring at her, studying her intently. She wasn't sure why he was studying her so hard. "What?"
"Nothing." Eric said, and then moved away from her. "I'll bring you back to the sleeping quarters. Get rest." He said and then opened the door and she followed him out of the room, and they went back to the sleeping quarters. Peter wasn't in the floor anymore, so Bella assumed he got up and went inside. Eric paused outside the entrance. "You're not going to tell me who it was?"
"No." Bella said and then moved away from him and went inside the sleeping quarters and headed to her cot. Eric's behavior was confusing and she wasn't sure what to make of it.