"He's so well behaved!"

I grunt as Sabre tugs on the leash, his forefeet in the air as he strains towards the edge of the stone cut-out walkway. "Really?" Sometimes, I honestly think that the main purpose of my two years of physical preparation was to be able to not fall over when a 65-pound hound pulls me in one direction.

Skylar is practically skipping ahead of me, Hawk's tail wagging exaggeratedly beside her. "Yeah! Aren't you boy?" she turns to the fawn-colored pup, petting his head.

Of course, Hawk is well-behaved, he's too entranced by showers of cooing and pets Skylar is giving him – compared to Sabre who finds the lack of railings interesting. "That's," I grunt as Sabre jots towards the edge again, "nice."

It is midday at Dauntless, and I can't be more grateful for that fact. There weren't many people around as most were either working or at school. So far, we had a few run-ins with a couple of Dauntless, most of which froze in shock the moment they saw the four-legged creatures. Skylar has been pretty helpful when this happens, her cheery demeanor is so palpable that almost all who froze eventually loosened up to talk to us and occasionally give Hawk a pat.

Gunner seems uncomfortable in the situation we're in, despite not viciously showing it, I tell by how he tenses and presses to my side. Sabre and Hawk, on the other hand, seem utterly delighted by all the new smells and people they get to meet.

"So, what are you going to do for the rest of the day?" Skylar starts up after we introduced the dogs to yet another curious member.

My hand slips down to Gunner's head unconsciously. "Unpack I guess. I'll have to bring them outside in the evening and at night too to visit the places." The faster they familiarize themselves with their surroundings, the faster they can get off the leash.

"Are you bringing them to the mess hall?"

My thoughts come to an abrupt stop. Crap, the mess hall. Bringing the dogs to the dining hall isn't a good idea, especially with how cramped it is and the number of new people there. I don't want to ruin people's meals either, mainly those who have a fear of dogs. "Eventually," I reply slowly.

"Oh. So what about dinner?"

It honestly isn't a good idea to bring the dogs to a restaurant yet, since I haven't asked if dogs can be brought in. I toy with the idea of leaving them in the apartment but ultimately decided against it. "I'll just stay at the apartment, no worries."

"Sure."

There are boxes upon boxes stacked up beside my door. Liam had somewhat volunteered to bring them up for me while Skylar and I took the longer route home. I gaze upon the mountain of work before me and let out a long sigh. Why do the dogs have more stuff than I do?

"Hey, do you want to stay over for a bit? I'm sure the dogs would enjoy your company."

Skylar looks back to me, face visibly brightened. "Really?"

I don't tell her that the main reason is to keep my dogs distracted. "Yeah, Hawk and Gunner seem to enjoy your presence. I'm sure Sabre will too." Well, Gunner will get used to her, eventually. "You have plans today?"

She moves over to give me space to key in the passcode on the door. "Well, Zack is taking me out on a date tonight, but I can stay till evening."

"No no, it's fine. Where is he? Figured you would've brought him with you earlier." I was legitimately surprised when I only saw Skylar anticipating the dogs' arrival, I thought she would've run her mouth and spread the news.

"Oh, I didn't know if I was supposed to keep it a secret, so I didn't tell anyone. Zack thinks I'm at the daycare. Maybe I'll tell him later if that's all right."

"Daycare?"

"Yep! I'll be starting work there soon." I conceal my shock by slipping off my shoes and walking into my apartment. Skylar? Children? As a job?

I suppose I never did ask about her interests. "That's nice."

I'm not sure what else to say after that.

"I always liked children. Getting a job at the daycare was the only job I considered. You should come visit sometime, you could bring your dogs too! It would be good to expose the kids to animals." Then she turns to Hawk and coos at the doorway, "Is it, boy? You wanna meet some little humans? They are super cute. Well… until one of them cries or poops themselves."

That's a horrible idea. "I'll think about it." Squashing down the spark of annoyance that flares through me, I quickly change the topic. "Slip off your boots and place them here. You can hang out at the couches with the dogs, while I unpack." I unleash Sabre and slip off his vest and muzzle.

"Taking off shoes?", she asks in bewilderment. "Never knew that was an Amity thing."

I reached for the damp cloth on the rack and squat down wiped his paws. "Not really, it's a family thing I guess."

"Huh." Skylar strolls into my apartment while I took over Hawk's leash and repeated the same procedure. Sabre's busy sniffing around the apartment, how his nose has yet to tire amazes me.

Gunner is the last to be released. By the time I straighten up my back and stand, Skylar has only been done scanning my living room. Her mouth is open, almost like she's never seen an apartment before. Deciding that she wasn't going to say anything until I do it first, I say almost unkindly, "What?"

She only replies when I carry the cooler and a box in. "Your apartment is huge! You live by yourself?"

If mine is huge, Eric's must be colossal. "Yeah, kinda. Isn't your apartment just as huge since you're sharing with Zach?"

"I'm pretty sure ours is smaller. My family's apartment bigger, but still."

"Right," I say, continuing to unload the week's worth of dog feed that consisted of the tubed meat, raw bones, fresh produce, and some small supplements.

We lapse into a comfortable silence with Skylar on the couch with Hawk and Gunner by my side as I unpack the various boxes. The dogs have a ton of stuff; bedding, toys, gear, more bedding, bathing items, vacuum for their shedding, grooming tools, training equipment, snacks; the list goes on.

I'm relieved that the dogs are finally here; with little trouble too. Skylar's presence has definitely reduced my stress, for I don't think I'll be able to hold onto three dogs that could simultaneously tug me towards one direction – not that they have done it before.

At one point, Sabre had Pinky beside him, curling up with it on the couch. Skylar squealed when she saw the pink fluff, but I was quick to warn her not to disturb him. Eventually, all the dogs fell asleep and Skylar dutifully gets up to leave me in peace.

But right when she just finished lacing her boots, the doorbell rings.

"Hi, Eric."

"Hi, Anna."

From behind the door I just opened, Skylar is soundlessly squealing at us, making exaggerated hand gestures of things I'm not sure of.

"Sorry, I was caught up in Erudite; Jeanine wanted to show me something."

I somehow manage to successfully muster a smile despite the news. "No, no, it's fine." Looking over my shoulder, Gunner has his head perked in curiosity. "Skylar actually, was just about to leave."

The shock on her face was the funniest thing I've seen today. Her jaw's unhinged and she staring at me like she just witnessed an animal being run over. "You traitor!" she whisper-yells. I only shrug in response as I pull the door wider. She then straightens her spine as she exits from her hiding place. "Good afternoon," is her most likely rehearsed greeting to leaders. "Thanks for letting me play with the dogs, Anna." Even with her back to me, I can tell she's scowling for being kicked out, despite supposedly leaving before Eric came.

'No worries', is what I'm trying to say, but it probably came out as muffles since Eric snaked his arms around my body and squashed me to him. Just like that, I lost my entire train of thought and what's going on. There wasn't exactly a word I could use to describe the smell that is Eric. For there is nothing in this small world I've experienced that's come close to the warm, comforting and masculine scent of him.

"Anna?"

"Yes, Eric?" I mumbled to his jacket.

He pauses. For a moment, trepidation fills me when he didn't immediately say what's on his mind, making me guess he had bad news to deliver – for example, my dogs being kicked out. Though for what, I'm not quite sure.

So, when all he said was 'hi', I can't help but stare up at him like he had grown two heads. "Hi Eric. What is it?" I ask, apprehensive.

Another long pause. "Nothing." Though his delays in replying should make me uneasy, his warm tone makes me think that there really wasn't anything wrong.

Yet, I couldn't help but be sure. "What is it?" I ask again, eyebrow quirked.

He merely shrugs. "Just wanted to say hi. Hi Anna."

My nostrils flare in amusement and I have the urge to laugh at his child-like behavior. "Hi Eric. You've done that three times already."

"I know," is all he says. No 'sorry' or 'really?', just an 'I know'. I think I'm kind of liking this Eric; this odd cuddly one.

"Have you eaten then?" I ask. Surely he had, considering that it had been well over an hour since he last texted me and also because now it's two.

His voice lowers into concern, "have you?"

"No." The last time I've eaten anything was probably a good seven hours ago. Who was I kidding? I'm famished.

A smile breaks out on his face at my response. "Me neither." Then he releases me and tugs my hand. "Let's go."

Now, I would've happily agreed and trot off to the land of food with him, but then I remembered my three canines. I couldn't just abandon my dogs within the first hour of bringing them here. "But the dogs are-"

He glances past me briefly and cuts me off, "asleep."

Sure enough, when I look over my shoulder, Gunner's head has disappeared, probably because he didn't sense anything wrong – well, I hope that's the reason. I feel a tad bit betrayed by the fact that they are already asleep after just reuniting with me; mainly because they weren't the ones who spent the last hour unpacking their stuff, that was all me.

Hence, with literally nothing holding me back, I disgruntledly said, "Fine."

Lunch with Eric was nice. We had an unsaid mutual agreement that getting food into our bellies immediately was more important than sitting down at a restaurant. He mostly asked about my day and how the members were reacting towards the dogs. It felt oddly comfortable, despite talking to the most dangerous man in-

"May I speak with you?"

The sudden vicinity of the voice practically made my jump out of my skin, and I had no trouble conveying that to the speaker, considering that the only word I shrieked was one from the four-letter variety.

Mother would be disappointed.

My pupils narrow into slits as I scowled, a headache forming from my pounding heart.

The figure in the shadows shuffles into the daylight the hastily, a – I could be seeing things – sheepish look on his face. "I apologize."

"Have you been waiting for me to pass through this whole time?!" I screech, irritated. We are at the beginning of the hallways that lead to the apartments. How long has Four been waiting here? Was it really necessary for him to creep me out like that? What's he doing here anyway, after what he said about me and Eric.

The honey-skinned man only clenches his jaw at my question and looks away. "No."

He definitely did.

I narrow my eyes and interrogate him. "How did you know that I was going to pass through here?", hands wrung together as I attempt to calm myself.

He barely hesitates. "I work in intelligence."

His responses are not helping the situation. "Which means?"

Then he sighs and averts his gaze far above me before snapping back to my glare. "Can we speak elsewhere? Please?"

I think about the three beasts that are currently in my apartment and how bringing Four there is a horrible idea – for him. Gauging the situation now, I'm pretty sure things will escalate. And as much as I would like to get him back for scaring me, I don't need my pups to be kicked out on day one. So instead of saying 'sure' like the decent personI'd like to think I am, I brattily say, "I didn't even agree."

As predicted, he sighs heavily and pinches the bridge of his nose. "Look, I just wanted to say that-"

My voice cuts his off, "we can do it in the training room." There is no way to explain it other than my mind deciding to be independent of me, agreeing to him without my consent.

He brightens considerably at my response, unaware that I willingly agreed. "Thank you."

A heavy sigh escapes between my teeth the second Four turns on his heels towards his initiate torture room.

"So backtrack, what do you mean by 'I work in intelligence'?" is the first thing I say after entering the vacant initiate training room. The walk here was silent, mainly because I was mulling over my thoughts of planning out the rest of the days before work starts.

This time, he hesitates, and he hesitates a lot. "It means... that I work in the control room." He hesitates a while longer while I blankly wait for him to elaborate. "I'm in charge of the cameras around the compound." He finishes tersely.

Much to his benefit, his hesitation prepared me for the worse. So, much to his surprise, I didn't explode as any normal person would've. "So you've been stalking me." My eyebrow lifts.

Four's eyes widen; whether due to my lack of outburst or my accusation I'm not sure. "Of course not, I wouldn't invade your privacy!" For some reason, he seems shocked at my logically drawn conclusions.

My eyebrows flatten into a straight line. "And yet, here you are."

"I had to talk to you."

"About?"

"What I said the other day. I'm sorry."

Four apologizing was not something I would've ever imagined – other than him frightening me. In all honestly, I thought that he would've just avoided the subject and pretend it never happened. But hearing it now… it is kind of nice.

My mouth is dry and I'm not sure what to say now that he had completely thrown me off course. "Okay." I'm not particularly mad at Four anymore – if you excuse the part where he frightened me. In fact, I'm not sure why I was mad in the first place. Four is Four, and Four will always be the uncalled, righteous friend. It was foolish of me to expect otherwise really.

He probably interpreted my curt response as me brushing him off, because the next thing he does is try to persuade me of his genuineness. "I'm serious. I know what I said is harsh and I'm sorry that I hurt your feelings. I shouldn't have said what I said."

"I know. It's fine really, I forgive you. You were just looking out for me and I appreciate that. I'm sorry I blew up too." Not that I'll admit to anyone – except to myself in my mind – but Amity's forgiving nature has rubbed off me more than I wished it did.

"It's alright. I deserved it anyway." A small smile appears on his lips. "Thank you."

I smile back far less gratefully. "Thanks for looking out for me."

The moment we lapse into silence, I suddenly remember my dogs. I hope they haven't ruined anything or ransacked the fridge. Feeling a slight panic arising, I say "I need to head back, I think I left my dogs alone too long."

Four's face considerably brightened. "I saw them on the cameras. Technically, Zeke saw them, and it was quite the event. Can I meet them?"

Never took Four as one to like dogs. "Sure." He seemed surprised at how quickly I was walking out of the training room. Trapping the dogs alone in a new place is a recipe for disaster, especially if you have three who are too smart for their own good. "What did they think about them?" I ask absentmindedly.

"Mixed reactions I guess? But most were wondering how you've been permitted to bring them over. So, how did you do it?"

I shrug as hastily we pass the chasm. "I just asked Max and gave him the details on how everything would work. Just needed to convince him how they would be a helpful set of paws to have around here." Looking back, I'm genuinely shocked that Max agreed to it, even after telling him that they make excellent messengers. I know, I know, it was slightly mean of me to assume Max was a lazy sloth; however, judging by how he agreed to my proposal, I'm not wrong. Then there's the possibility that perhaps Jeanine said a few words to help him finalized the decision. Who knows how close those two are.

Four seems pretty perplexed by the whole situation. "But don't the rest of Dauntless leadership have to agree as well?"

"They do. I guess it helps that they kinda saw them in the fear landscape? They do know what the dogs look like, so it wasn't like they agreed blindly I guess. And also-" I stop myself, thoughts shifting.

There is another factor that played in which resulted in that agreement. But should I tell Four though? Especially if it's about the person he hates the most?

"And what?" he asks.

I suppose it would put Eric in a better light. "I think Eric… might have… advocated for me."

He gives me a skeptical side glance. "What makes you think that?"

Good question. Eric never mentioned that he promoted my cause like the salesmen at the Hub, only breaking the news to me the other day. Then again, Eric tends to do things without wanting recognition. "Just a gut feeling." I highly doubt that Max was the only one who brought the case up, considering that he would've looked like a fool in front of four other people.

"When did he get to know of the dogs?" he asks.

Another good question. I'm not sure when he starting watching us at the fence. It could be a day, months, or even a year.

If I tell Four a lie by saying he learn about them during initiation through my word of mouth, there's no doubt he will give me his judgemental look. So I reply with, "He met them in person, actually."

Though he doesn't show it, I can tell he's in disbelief when he splutters: "When?"

"One of the days during stage 2. He brought me back to Amity, something about a deal with Johanna." An embarrassing day, that was; specifically, the part where I freaked out and attacked him.

He only stares at me skeptically again. "And he agreed to the deal."

We are almost at my apartment now. "I guess he was desperate for her to agree on something."

Four doesn't say anything in reply, but I'm pretty sure we are thinking of the same thing: Eric's never desperate.

Sabre offered Pinky to Four.

It is odd, seeing Sabre hand out his toy like it's a freebie, as he doesn't bond with people at all – except me and my family. The silver coat Belgian Malinois is rarely seen to voluntarily socialize unless he's delivering messages – he gets a treat for that. I did some research during the early days of the dogs, trying to figure out why Sabre and Hawk were so different in personalities despite being the same breed. Dad suggested that it was because Sabre is twenty percent Eurasian wolf, whose personalities are a far cry from domesticated dogs. However, while Gunner is mildly aloof, Sabre is not. He's friendlier towards new people than the German Shepherd; though, Sabre is more likely to snap whenever he feels any of his family or pack – Dad describes it as a wolfdog tendency – is even slightly threatened.

Raising them at Amity has its perks, their early years were spent meeting new harmless people to socially gain exposure. But of course, you can never fully 'eradicate' a dog's trait.

Which is why today is such an odd experience for me, despite my decent job of getting them socialized. I'm assuming that Sabre offering Pinky is a sign of acceptance into his friend circle, hopefully not so much his 'pack'. It took me a while to grasp the 'pack mentality' Dad was explaining to me, as I didn't notice his tendencies about it until I watched a few videos about it a year back and saw the similarities.

A snout squeezes it way under my arm as the dog of subject peers up curiously to me, neck wedged between my side and bicep. "Hello. Are you done sniffing around already?"

The dog only whines and pushes into me more, making the hand holding my wrist slip off as my shoulder forcefully lifts. Then he edges his snout to my face and I immediately reel back. "Okay, okay, I'm up. Gosh."

Sabre pants in excitement as I sluggishly drag myself off the forest floor. He begins trotting off to the trees with his tail up in the air, looking over his shoulder to make sure I was following him.

We were just a small walk from the loading bay earlier. Four did recommend me another exit which has a denser and slightly larger forest, but I decided to bring the dogs back here so they can quickly familiarize the route and come independently to do their business. Veronica reassured me that the entrance of the transport place will always be left open till eight at night, which is after the last shipments and trucks arrive back. I can work with that.

Traveling four hours just to bring the dogs here and entertaining my friends has zapped the energy out of me. If I was back in the Amity fields, I would've passed out the moment I reached the vast grassland. However, with the forest filled with insects, leaves, and dirt, all I can do is sit and wait for my canines.

Sabre didn't have a valid reason as to why he dragged me out of my passive resting mode. I suspected that he didn't want to keep me out of his line of sight as he explored the small area of trees.

Hawk and surprisingly, Gunner, have left my side the moment I slipped off their gear, leaving me behind as they inspect their new play area.

Though Gunner did come back every few minutes to check if I was still alive and well, it was Sabre who never left my line of sight.

My phone pings as I watch Sabre taking a crap next to a tree. Eric is texting me again.

Where are you? Still stuck in the office.

A small smile spreads across my face. Out with my dogs. Why?

Gunner trots up to me, he seems to be in a very good mood now. Good enough to do zoomies – of which they sprint around for no reason – with Sabre, apparently.

Any plans tonight?

Hawk appears beside me, demanding for pets. I think I'll take them out to the Pit later, introduce them to a bigger crowd. I did think about just screwing it and calling it a day, but I figured getting this out of the way would make tomorrow much easier once I introduce them to different areas around Dauntless.

Hawk nudges me impatiently again while I'm petting his head. He's pointing at the frisbee with his snout and I give him a flat look. Dinner?

Not sure yet, probably make something simple, but it'll be late. Dinner hadn't crossed my mind at all since Skylar mentioned it earlier. I'll just stop by the grocer alone later. I'm not too keen on leaving my dogs for long periods just yet to have a meal outside like earlier.

The other two dogs knock poor Hawk off course the moment they saw the flying soft frisbee. Sabre gets to it first and hightails towards me, fur flopping in the air with the rest chasing after him.

When Eric doesn't reply to me, I continue a few more rounds with the dogs. At one point, Hawk does manage to snag the frisbee, but that's only because Sabre grew bored and found the ground around me more interesting.

"What do you think of these?" I point at the chilled oxtail then gesture to Hawk with a nod of my head. We are at the grocers currently. I had decided earlier that I was only going to bring Hawk out to the Pit with me, seeing that he would make the best first impression among the members. "Or do you prefer chicken?" My dog tilts his head and juts his nose towards where I'm pointing. It's awfully quiet today at the grocery store, that or no one comes here since there's always free food at the mess hall.

Barely a second passes when all of a sudden, he stops sniffing and pivots to the left, causing me to look down at him in confusion. Much to my uttermost dismay, the confusion doesn't last long.

"So, what did you do to get them here? Suck his cock?" an unwelcomed male's voice enters my ears. My entire body tenses momentarily as I recognize the voice. The lewd wimpy initiate has been non-existent to me until now.

My hand unknowingly clenches onto Hawk's leash and his left ear flickers in response. "Don't you have other things to do?" I don't turn to him as I speak, choosing to ignore him and continue comparing the prices and quality of the meats.

Gone is the curious puppy moments ago, the trained canine has his tail up and ears perked. He looks between us as we speak and walks backward to stay pressed by my side while I move down the aisle.

"Got a problem with me asking a question everyone has been dying to know? You should know that word spreads quickly when you're whoring around with your instructor."

When I don't say anything, he continues. "What? Did you honestly think that anyone would believe that you haven't done anything sexual with him? Because we all know that's a lie." I should defend myself, yet I don't see how it would change anything. Honestly, I'm more exhausted by the day's events than anything. However, I am worried things might escalate if Mark tries anything.

Forcing myself to relax despite the pounding blood in my head, I peer at the accuser with the fakest smile on my face. "Honestly, I don't care what you think. What I'm more interested in though, is whether you'll have enough guts to say it when my other two dogs are here." From my peripheral, I recognize one of his goon friends a few aisles away angle himself to me. "Are you afraid of them? Is that why you only stepped out of the shadows when there's only one?" I turn to Hawk and coo, "isn't that right boy? Aren't you all very scary for the big bad Dauntless?"

Hawk, hearing my change in voice, wags his tail and gives me a lick on my face when I bend down. But that moment of affection in him drops the second I straighten back up. We probably look menacing towards the wimpy new Dauntless graduate, seeing that he hasn't moved a muscle since Hawk detected him.

Satisfied that I've managed to discombobulated Mark and run him to a loss for words, I resume back to my leisurely grocery trip. Hawk doesn't keep his eyes off the man even after I plop a few chicken carcasses into the basket.

I almost thought he left us alone until I heard: "Listen here you little-"

"Mark Stain," Eric's rich booming voice abruptly cuts him off. "Second last ranked initiate of the batch and on fence duty," he mocks cruelly. I crane my neck towards Mark and sure enough, Eric Coulter is standing right behind him. The accuser has paled considerably from his fuming red face a minute ago. "Is there a problem here?"

The man only cowers and shrinks into himself, shaking his head with a bit too much enthusiasm. "No sir."

A moment of silence passes and I swear I can see the beads of sweat forming on Mark's head. When the Dauntless leader suddenly speaks up again, Mark winces. "Alright then. Carry on." Confused, the man looks up to his superior, which only earned him a raised eyebrow. Mark takes it as his lucky day and doesn't waste another second scurrying past me, earning a growl from Hawk.

For Mark to think he was let off unscathed, he must be pretty dense, because before he could turn off, Eric speaks again. "Oh, and by the way, your shift starts first thing in the morning." Mark pauses ever so slightly at the news. "Get packing."

Unlike when he snapped like a whip earlier, Eric takes his time to close the distance between us, the not-so-imminent threat gone. "Anna," he greets professionally.

"Eric."

He then proceeds to do a one-eighty, his entire demeanor changing. "Hi Hawk. Taking care of my girl I see?" his white teeth visible as he gives the wagging dog a grateful pat.

My brows knit together, thrown off. "Since when were you friends with my dogs?"

He scoffs at me and shoots me a smug smirk. "What? Too unbelievable? Who do you think makes trips to Amity around here?"

I can only gape at him like a fish as he unhooks the shopping basket from my arm. He's been befriending my dogs throughout initiation?

My head drags out of its dazed state when I spot Eric tossing in a pack of instant coffee. I face Hawk and grumble in a voice that only the dog hears, "how dare you withheld such information from me? I thought you guys hated him." The fawn dog only tilts his head in response.

Next, I turn to the stalker. For all I know, he and the dog could be secretly conspiring together. "And you! How do you know I'm here?" I stroll up to him with accusing eyes while he indifferently reads the label on some pasta.

He shrugs and tosses the pasta into the basket, "I didn't. Just ran low on groceries."

My pupils narrow. "Then get your own basket." Not the best thing to say to your rescuer, but it wasn't like I needed rescuing in the first place. I would like to believe I did a pretty good job back there.

"I did."

I throw my hands up in disbelief. "That's mine."

He thinks about it for a moment, eyes darting to the side before returning to me with a cheeky smile. "Not anymore."

Unbelievable. "I have points!"

"And I have more," he points out monotonously.

I groan and give up, walking ahead to the baking section. Maybe I could make some peanut butter treats for the pups. After all, my apartment does have some beautiful kitchen appliances.

"A thank you gift?" Eric asks as I transfer the goods into the almost-full basket.

My hands go to my hips as I stare at the ton of food in the basket. Since when did one man need this much food to survive? "No. I'm baking for the dogs."

Eric double-takes and blinks at me incredulously. "Are you being sarcastic?"

"No…?" The idea of me making things for my dogs isn't that far-fetched... doesn't Erudite have dogs too?

He stares at me for a few more seconds before settling with a 'hmm'.

The cashier gapes at us with wide eyes. So, Mark had been lying when he said 'everyone' knew about us. It's an amusing sight, with her both eyes having a cycle of jumping between me, Eric and Hawk while still being able to effectively scan the items.

"Should I dock off half of his points for three months, six months, or a year?"

My brows knit together and I face him, "Who?"

"Mark," he pauses to think and rubs his jaw thoughtfully, "and maybe his sidekick. He was there as a backup."

"What!" The cashier jolts at my relatively calm outburst. "You're already cutting short his break."

"You didn't deserve to be treated like that," he replies simply.

"You were there the entire time?" I question.

He glares at the nosy cashier, forcing her to snap her attention back to the computer. "No, but I have an idea of what he said. Forget our relationship, you're still a leader-in-training. So you do demand a higher level of respect than normal." He then proceeds to mumble incoherently to himself.

"Two weeks," I say, grabbing ahold onto some of the paper bags on the counter. "That's a good enough warning."

"That's nothing!" he argues, pulling the remaining bags into his broad arms while scowling

"Well, he earns nothing." I point out. Fence duty must be the lowest-ranked jobs around here.

Then he does something I've never seen before; Eric rolls his eyes. "That's beside the point." He contemplates for a moment. "Six months," he bargains.

That's insane. I highly doubt he and his friend would be able to afford food, much less, clothing. "Two weeks."

"Three months."

And this is why Eric is too brutal in the eyes of many. "Two weeks."

"Two months. Two weeks is honestly too short. He'll only be coming back to the compound… what? Three times during that period."

I blink twice at him. Even without the point dock, it already sounds pretty horrid to be in his place. "Three weeks."

"One month."

I stare at him long. I know I shouldn't be pushing my luck, especially since he's making an effort to compromise. Plus, this decision doesn't affect me at all, so I don't know why I'm squabbling over it.

The moment I say 'fine', he sighs like he's been holding his breath a long time. "Goodness woman!" he exclaims grumpily.

I shoot him a weird look.

"One month. One short fucking month," he grumbles to himself.

"Thank you." It must be incredibly hard for him to agree to such a menial request. But I'll admit, it's kind of funny watching him be 'lenient' - he resembles like a child who just ate a lemon when he does. "I appreciate it."

Eric grunts in response.

A/N

This chapter was funny to write. Hope you guys had as much fun reading it!

Was supposed to upload this chapter last night. But was caught up watching The Phantom of the Opera. Least to say, it was good - really good.