A week into the apprenticeship, Eric and Tris had formed a real, true, genuine friendship.
Tris was pleasantly surprised. This was, obviously, not her predicted outcome of the apprenticeship. She found herself thoroughly shocked when reflecting on the differences between the colder version of Eric, and the slightly friendlier, kinder version. Along with his sudden ability to make and take a joke, she was surprised by how he could not be a jackass all the time. He still had his moments – they were unavoidable, after all. In her head, she secretly thought of him as two different people; Eric, the unfeeling leader, and Eric, her friend. She knew that she hadn't uncovered all of Eric, her friend yet; a sweet, kind boy that she decided must be hiding somewhere behind his façade of snarky discontent.
While it was still a stretch to call his treatment of her 'sweet' and 'kind', it was still a great improvement. Now, instead of the awkward silence of before, she found herself comfortably discussing various subjects while completing paperwork at his tiny desk.
While they still avoid many topics, they could hold conversations – or, the inevitable argument – on everything from fighting techniques to the food in the dining hall to even the occasional spiteful comment about Four from Eric. Although she would never admit it, Tris was somewhat pleased that Eric was on her side. To have another person to hate on four with, even though they never had, made her feel like they were co-conspirators. Even if they had nothing else in common, they still had a shared hatred for Four. They hadn't talked about the situation with Four or the hallway incident yet; Tris was grateful he hadn't brought it up. It was enough awkward enough to relive it in her head – but with Eric too? She could never prepare herself for that conversation.
The past was in the past, she decided.
Tris was over it. Over him.
Surprisingly, when she thought of the immediate future for her, it held the apprenticeship, working, Dauntless … and Eric. It was hard to admit that to herself, no matter how true it was. Of course, it was only because they still had the second half of the apprenticeship to complete, not anything else like … that.
Eric was surprisingly a good friend if she ignored his erratic moods, the rare mean comment, and his somewhat condescending nature that often slipped out. It was nothing like her close friendship to Christina. The two relationships were very different. Christina was like her sister – someone she was totally comfortable with. Eric was her friend, but almost something more, as well.
A partner, she thought once, then immediately scolded herself; that was far too intimate!
Although the friendship was very new and unsteady, Tris knew she could depend on him. Two weeks put their trust in each other just a little bit more. While Tris knew she could never trust him fully this early on in their friendship – his relationship with Jeanine and all he was hiding from her was a roadblock – she knew he had her back and vice versa.
One thing that shouldn't have surprised her, yet did, was his listening ability. He was an Erudite, she reckoned, thus, very observant. Alas, she had still felt shock when, after a near hour of ranting to him about how irritating Christina and Will could be with their lovey-dovey PDA, instead of him rolling his eyes at her (he did at Christina, which she knew was inevitable), he merely offered stilted words of comfort.
Their friendship was still in the early stages though. She couldn't forget that or get too comfortable, she reminded herself.
There were topics of conversations that neither would approach. Both were still slightly wary of each other, as well. Still testing the waters on as to what behavior was acceptable and what was off limits.
The most startling revelation of all to Tris was that Eric seemed like he was actually putting effort into their relationship. She had anticipated a one-sided friendship ever since that day so long ago when she had approached him in The Pit. She figured it would take more time, convincing and getting to know each other before he truly warmed up to the idea of being friends. She had genuinely thought that he wanted to keep his status as a loner intact – not that they had gone public with their friendship.
When Tris first noticed the signs of him actually caring, she thought to herself, what is he playing at?
There was no way Eric was just being kind, right?
But the evidence was all there; the first sign had been around a week ago when he asked her how her day had been. It wasn't foreign in her circle of friends to inquire about each other's day, but it had stunned Tris when she saw the genuine curiosity and caring in his eyes.
On that note, when did she begin to be able to read him more easily?
The next clue was when he would remember and bring up small, little things that she had mentioned a while ago; things that most of her friends – if not all – would not have even noticed or thought to mention. Like when she had told him in passing what her favourite food was once, and a week of silence about it later, he was teasing her mercilessly for how boring and predictable her choice was. Cake was a very common favourite food, thank you very much. What was so wrong with it?
Watching Eric comfortable and joking made her wonder why he didn't have more friends. She knew it was because he didn't open up to anybody – but why was that? Of course, he could be sadistic and brutal, to her friends, and previously, to her. She didn't, and couldn't forget what he had done in the past, but she found herself more and more willing to look past it every day.
After a particularly enlightening day in Eric's company – his sarcastic muttered comments were the perfect form of entertainment needed to make boring Dauntless meetings bearable – she admitted to herself that she liked his company very, very much. They made a great pair. And strangely enough, she knew that he thought that too. Don't ask her to explain it – she just knew.
The two of them kept their relationship confined to his office. Usually, a nod or the rare smile would suffice enough as a greeting in public. It's not like we're dating, we don't need to announce it to everyone or whatever, she thought to herself.
Tris had more selfish reasons for not wanting to tell everyone. Of course, she was aware of the backlash it might cause against her, as well as the speculation about their relationship and unrelenting questioning or attention. She especially wanted to avoid the hate and anger from her friends; they wouldn't understand. She didn't want to tell anyone because … it was hers. It was her and Eric's. No one could taint it or provide their opinion. Their friendship was just between the two of them. It felt more special that way. It was their private secret from everyone else. Again, she couldn't really describe it. It was just a feeling.
Tris was contemplating Eric and their newfound relationship while walking down the wall of The Pit to get to the dining hall for lunch.
Too distracted to see the small rock on the path in front of her, she stumbled on it, arms flailing. Her heart lurched suddenly. She thought that she was falling towards her demise. After what felt like a minute of panicky searching for something to hold onto, she caught herself, immediately holding on to a small outcrop on the rock wall of The Pit. She shouldn't be thinking about Eric while on the wall of The Pit. It was too dangerous to be distracted. She may be Dauntless but she wasn't stupid. She looked over the edge, grimacing as she imagined tumbling through the air to the bottom. It wouldn't be the first time someone had. Her cheeks burned at her embarrassing blunder. Had anyone seen?
She took a steadying breath, continuing on her way with her hand firmly touching the wall. No, there were no railings for the Dauntless. She didn't want anyone to see her cowardice by gripping the wall of The Pit, but she wasn't going to push her luck today. She cursed her distracted mind. It was only because she had been having a terrible day.
This morning, she had been late to Eric's office. Of course she had slept in a little bit later than usual, causing her to rush around, throwing on the first shirt she could find on her floor – a super thin, almost threadbare black tee shirt. Even though she was wary of the hot drink sloshing over the edge of the cup onto her hand, she still practically ran to get there on time. She had, predictably, spilt her scalding tea all over her shirt in her rush. Having no time to change and already almost at her destination, she went to Eric's office with hot tea running down her body, soaking her shirt. Yes, she showed up in a near see-through shirt to work.
Eric, as anyone could guess, was not impressed. After a minute of staring down the tee shirt that had practically molded to her body with a look she couldn't quite place in his wide eyes, he cleared his throat, looking anywhere but her eyes as he addressed her.
After a light warning to not be late or show up at his office like this again, she slid into her seat, cheeks ablaze. Was she ashamed, embarrassed or simply annoyed?
Most likely all.
No more words were spoken between them this morning. It felt terrible, like they were back to square one in terms of their friendship.
Awkward, tense silence.
Her day hadn't gone much better since Eric had left an hour before lunch. He told her he had a meeting with Max, but she was suspicious. What was he hiding? His only instructions were to finish a pile of paperwork before leaving for her hour-long lunch break. He was supposed to return by the time she was back after lunch.
She wasted no time; the minute he left, she was at his desk. Riffling through the papers on his desk, sifting through drawers, trying and failing at picking the locked ones and the like. She knew it wasn't behavior you would do to a friend, but couldn't bring herself to feel guilty. She wanted to know what he was doing with Jeanine; it was a simple curiosity. She might even be able to help him.
She startled when she realized that she was finally at the dining hall. She shook her head, trying to dispel any lingering thoughts about Eric. She took a place in line, paying no attention to the people in the cafeteria as always.
Once Tris finished getting her food and holding her tray, she looked around the dining space. She scoured it for the telltale rowdiness that marked her friends table. Which wasn't saying much – all of the tables were rowdy. Except one in the back, which she paid no attention to; there was only one person there in the partial darkness. Tris felt something akin to slight panic in her stomach when she couldn't find her friends. They were at least five or six of her friends she could think of off the top of her head that would always be at a table in the cafeteria every day at lunch. Where were they?
Overriding her thoughts about where her friends were was the fact that she needed to find a place to sit. Of course, this wasn't the first time she had to sit alone at a table. Most tables were groups of friends, laughing raucously. She couldn't very well invite herself into their group, could she? Finally, her gaze zeroed in on that table with the seldom person in the corner after five minutes of standing helplessly at the edge of the tables. She couldn't make out who it is; she only hoped they were friendly.
She made her way over to them. Seriously though, why weren't there any free tables? Just when she thought that this was the worst day of the year, there was a glimmer of hope. Narrowing her eyes, she recognized the person at the table she was currently striding to. Although she knew them, she couldn't force the wariness down. Would he let her sit with him?
She approached silently, dropping her tray cautiously on the table. Sitting down opposite Eric, she sighed. She really didn't know where their friendship stood after this morning. She tensed when his troubled eyes met hers, preparing for the worst. He was terribly unpredictable. Would he make a joke? Smile? Publicly humiliate her? Leave? Maybe she should leave before she caused any trouble. She didn't need it after the day she was having.
No, she would not run away.
She was Dauntless, for fricks' sake!
She held his gaze defiantly, until he broke it to look down at his plate again.
Oh. She wasn't expecting that. Was that non-verbal communication for her to leave?
Wait. She was overthinking this, wasn't she?
Trying to calm her nerves, she took a couple of breathes before picking up her fork. It was nearly to her mouth when he spoke again.
"No cake today?"
She nearly gasped, looking to see the teasing glint in his eyes, which were no longer troubled. Her relief was almost palpable; she practically sunk into the hard bench of the table. She raised her chin, prepared to make a comeback when she saw his eyes flicker to her chest. She looked down. Was there a stain on her shirt? Her shirt had dried, but was stuck to her chest just as much as it did when it was soaked through. She pulled at it self-consciously, trying to get it to unstick to her body. When it only settled back, just as tight, she gave a sigh of defeat and looked up at Eric.
Before she could say anything, her eye caught on someone familiar across the dining hall.
Four.
With Shauna.