Thanks to Damn You Kylie for your kind reviews. I hope this doesn't disappoint you.
oooo
Drop your feelings at the door, Tris told herself, arriving early once more to her physical training session.
The last few days hadn't been terrible as she'd first imagined. Mostly he just worked her harder whenever she made a snarky comment or if she accidentally found herself rolling her eyes. He especially seemed to hate that and she couldn't count the laps he'd had her run in retribution.
In all, Tris thought Eric was not letting her off easy after the first day, and she could only hope it was because he wanted to make her strong- but could it be likely that he wanted to give himself some time to recuperate after that painful first training session? They had both left covered in blood and sweat and scratches, and Eric was even limping slightly after a few accidental knees to the groin out of reflex.
She had given it her all, but she suspected he hadn't been trying his hardest, which made her victory bittersweet.
Now, three days into training, Eric seemed reluctant to come near her again, but it could have been imagination. She was sure he had a perfectly good reason to make her run laps and lift weights for three days straight.
Her muscles, while growing stronger, were cramping often and she was in near constant pain. Through it all, she kept stony faced and silent as she could with Eric constantly shooting off his mouth about one thing or another.
Perhaps that was the most difficult; remaining silent while Eric goaded her into losing her temper so he could leisurely watch her run more laps.
It wasn't fair, but Tris was in no position to complain. She was Dauntless and she was going to be a leader.
She stretched her legs first, as she enjoyed the privacy before Eric arrived. The Dauntless sexualized everything. Tris had never felt more exposed in her life, while she had grown used to wearing the tight fitting exercise clothes around the others. She still had her reservations about bending over in front of other people and she would never be the type to walk around in a sports bra and tights as Christina did in the gym.
Moving on to her arms, Tris sighed as she waited for the clock to strike noon. Eric was never early, he would be here exactly on time, a quality that Tris found oddly annoying. Not that she was in any hurry to see him, but she almost looked forward to her training. It kept her too busy to realize that she was lacking a social life of any kind.
In fact, it had been four days now since she had talked to anyone besides for Eric and the woman serving dinner in the cafeteria. Surprisingly, she found that she hadn't even had the time or energy to miss her friends, and she certainly wasn't upset about that. It was a relatively small price to pay for aching muscles.
"Stretch out your hamstrings and take ten laps to warm up," Eric barked, sneaking up behind her once again.
"I already have," Tris shot back, narrowing her eyes at the man. His professionalism was slipping with every passing day.
"Fifteen laps. Go."
She snorted, but set off at a jog to bring her heart rate up to speed as she wondered what had Eric so miffed. His temper seemed unusually sour as he watched his tablet rather than his trainee as she began to run.
With nothing but time, Tris watched Eric as long as she thought she could get away with it.
He seemed to be scrolling through something, reading and not writing. Tris had noticed he was prone to answering his emails while she ran, but he had yet to show her that aspect of leadership yet.
Every once in a while he would look up to check on her progress, his blank look replaced with a scowl almost the moment he saw her watching him. She quickly learned he was not on the mood to mess around today.
When the desired laps had been completed, Tris came to a stop beside Eric, only slightly out of breath as she waited for further instructions.
"We're going back to the mats today, Stiff. No hits below the belt or I'll send you to the infirmary myself."
She just stopped herself from rolling her eyes at the implied threat. That would have been another ten laps.
Still, a part of her felt nervous because she knew Eric could overpower her, and he knew it too. She couldn't understand his poor temper when a Dauntless like him was usually ecstatic for the chance to show up someone else in competition.
Unless he was worried about losing, Tris thought idly, not letting herself get her hopes up.
Whatever the reason for his distraction, Tris planned in using it to her advantage. She would show him that she wasn't the Stiff he still called her. It would take quick thinking, the right opportunity. But she was determined to meet him as an equal.
"Done staring?" He chastised. "Go tape your knuckles, don't just stand there."
Obediently, she turned to carry out his demand, but inside she was smiling. Yes, Eric was off his game today and Tris would be extremely happy to show him his mistake.
They met in the middle of the mat, Eric looking a little wary if she read the creases between his brows right and Tris felt hope stirring within.
He struck first, leading with his left, leaving the right wide open for attack.
He looked startled for a moment when Tris ducked under his arm and landed a blow to his chin.
She smiled at him then, taking the opportunity to drive forward and land another blow to his temple. She was forced away, dancing around a flurry of blows he dished out in response.
He got her in the ribs as she was almost clear and back to her position, forcing the air from her lungs. She nearly doubled over, gasping for air as she tried to keep her guard up simultaneously.
As expected, Eric took the advantage and dove forward, grabbing her waist and throwing her to the ground, easily taking the punches she threw before her back hit the ground.
"Concede," he hissed, his breath in her face as Tris came to realize her predicament.
He had taken her down and held her wrists over her head, pinned to the mat, so that there was very little chance for escape. His full weight was prone above her this time, a leg on either side of her waist- preventive measures to see to it that she would not hit him in the groin this time.
It had taken less than two minutes and Tris groaned at her quick submission. It was probably a new personal best for him.
"You cow, get off me!" Tris exclaimed, wriggling under his weight.
"Do you concede?"
She tested his grip on her arms, bucked her hips to see how much leverage she had, before she was forced to admit defeat. He was solid as a rock above her, hulking muscles tensed and not leaving her an inch of wiggle room.
"Fine," she hissed. "You won."
Only then did he release her, jumping up with a speed she hadn't thought a man his size was capable of.
"That was pathetic," he drawled, facing away from her still. After a moment he moved towards the chair where he had sat his tablet, as if determined not to look at her. "Ten more laps. I guess you weren't warmed up enough."
"Eric-" She stopped herself, realizing she was coming awfully close to complaining. Though she had landed more hits on him than he had on her, hadn't she? It wasn't her fault that he was probably twice her size and strength. If he had her pinned, Tris didn't see how she was supposed to become free. But how to explain that to an angry Dauntless leader?
She huffed and took off at a run, determined to keep her complaints to herself for the time being. He would probably ramble on with the same nonsense about winning being the only thing that mattered. Which she understood to a point. But she wouldn't have called her performance 'pathetic'.
She ran hard, more than a little out of breath after her laps, but she felt good and she felt strong. Maybe it was only the endorphins, but Tris was sure she would come to beat Eric at his own game, in time.