Elisa I completely agree with the Paintballing, and again in this chapter we get to see just how good Avery is! In terms of Aric, we start of we quite a steamy scene in this chapter…
Dear Charlotte,
I'm so glad the paintballing chapter lived up to your expectations! In terms of Avery's character, I agree, though I've tried humanising her a little more this chapter by showing her impatience with Lily, but (don't tell anyone) it will all turn out fine! There's quite a tense moment with Lily and Eric this chapter actually, since he really went at it with the mean leader thing.
Trust me I'm so grateful for your reviews, they mean so much that I thought it was right! There's another small appearance in this chapter as well for Charlotte, since she's an accomplished shooter in my mind!
Thank you as always,
TheCloakedShadow
As my lips part in surprise, all I get is a smirk from the lounging Eric, book in hand, on the sofa.
Oh yeah, he doesn't have a shirt on.
Oh yeah, he doesn't have any trousers on.
Oh yeah, no don't worry he has underwear on.
"You alright there?" The amused drawl brings me out of my staring as I avert my eyes, a knowing blush on my cheeks as I shrug my thick black jacket of my shoulders.
"Is it alright that I'm here?" I ask him, and I reprimand myself for having such a weak voice. Well, the way he's sitting isn't helping, the defined lines in his chest are really distracting, not to mention his legs spread ope-
"I see no problem, though if you want to sleep, it seems someone has messed up my bedsheets by lying in my bed, so you may want to lie here." The deep, dry, sarcasm he holds in his voice affects me far too much as he indicates the space in front of him, and I shift my jaw as I my eyes dart around. I can feel his smirk from here.
Come on, I'm better than that.
"Maybe once I've changed, I will." I murmur sweetly, and pull my t-shirt over my head as I'm walking past him, quickly followed by my damp sports bra, as I make my way into his room. I feel the lingering stare on my back.
Proud of my small yet significant redemption after my untimely staring at Eric's body, I take a quick step into the shower, getting rid of the built up sweat from Paintballing. After, I steal yet another one of Eric's t-shirts, before going to the guest room for some underwear. I pick up A Tale of Two Cities, before peeking back into the living area, and perching myself on the edge of the sofa.
Too far away from Eric, apparently. Who, may I add, is still more scantily dressed than I.
He hooks a foot around my waist and pulls slightly, before getting up and stuffing some cushions between me and the armrest, the lying down on my lap with his head against the cushions. Once he's settled, he lets out a comforted sigh, and I rest my hand with my book on his chest.
It takes me a little while to stop my eyes darting over his body, and I cringe when my hand twitches atop his pecks, resisting the urge to run my fingers over his oh-so-close abs, and I dare not look any further. But once I do, I read comfortably, taking in the wondrous words before me.
"It's almost nine." I hear Eric's light murmur, and look down to find him gazing up at me.
"But I don't want to leave." I say it without thinking, then feel my cheeks warming and look away. Then in a second, the warm weight on my legs is lifted, and soon enough he's pulled me roughly into his own skin-baring lap. He groans as me lets his hand stroke up my thigh.
"I'm sure we can let it go this once, I am supposed to be sleeping now, and I'm sure you're supposed to be hiding somewhere from Amity." Eric replies, pulling my head into his chest where I relax in his hold.
"Do you think it's weird, that no one calls me Amity? Not even the Dauntless." I ask, curious, and he looks down at me.
"I always forget your even related to flowerland. Did your parents transfer?" He answers, and I bite my lip.
"I think… most people always said I was adopted, though my mum never told me that. She has light blonde hair like most amity, and she's much shorter as well. She's never been with anyone that I can remember either." I tell him.
"At your age… you could've been cast out as a TK-baby, you know, that virus that hit the Erudite children's ward." Eric murmurs, before looking back down at me, threading his fingers through my hair. "Well whoever gave you up was really missing something… You changed your hair."
"Mmhmm, I kind of like the roots darker." I reply, as he shifts, and I brush up against his smooth skin. "Do you always lounge around mostly naked?"
He smirks before he answers. "What, enjoying it?"
"The question wasn't of pleasure, but convenience. What if someone knocked on the door to find us here with you naked?" I rebut, and his arms tighten around me.
"We wouldn't answer." He says simply, lowering his lips to mine. I curl my arms round his neck, enjoying the roughness of his lips, before his tongue pushes firmly for entrance. As I grant him, I let my hands trail downwards, dipping into the lines my mind had been wondering to far too often in the past hours. I feel his t-shirt on my body being hiked up, hands trailing up my back, slipping underneath my bra band. I smile and pull back slightly, and open my eyes before kissing him twice more, before pulling away properly.
"I'll never get to training if you carry on." I chide and he smirks, standing up with me in his arms. I wrap my legs tightly around his waist as he carries me to his bedroom.
"Did you figure out a way for me to miss training? Are we carrying on?" I tease, but he just pecks me before putting me down on his bed, then reaches to the closet.
"Despite how much I love it, I don't think wearing my t-shirts all day is a good idea." He says to me, pulling on some trousers before moving back over to me.
"They're just plain t-shirts…" I feel my lip pout as I curl my arms into the large comfy t-shirt, but I stand and go to the guest bedroom to put training gear on anyway. Just the usual black leggings and a strappy workout top.
"Do you have anything interesting to do today?" I ask as I move back into the living area, finding Eric making coffee.
"Planning the matchups for the fights after next. Other than that just paperwork for patrols." He mutters, handing me a cup of black coffee, just how I need it today after no sleep. "Have you eaten anything?"
"No, and do you plan fights this early? I'd assume you'd wait for next fights results first." I reply.
"We do, usually, but Max wants us to try this." Eric replies, reaching up into a cupboard to take down a tin of breakfast biscuits. He offers them to me and I take a few. "Today will be pretty harsh, aim is to make initiates remember this is a game that could end with them factionless, so keep it tight."
With that he moves over to me and kisses me lightly on the nose before grabbing a coat and his tablet and stalking out of the room with my eyes following. And a few minutes afterwards, I leave too.
12321
Training carries on the next few days quite simply. I stick to myself, and Jay partners with me whenever necessary now. Mickey came back into classes, with his broken arm, and I didn't bat an eye as Jay raised his eyebrow at me. I've avoided most contact with Lily, though anything in passing has an undercurrent of disagreement. Ha, disagreement is probably too light a term. I stay out of Eric's apartment, at least while he's there. I did steal a couple of books though, and have been reading them quietly on the roof, behind the air con fans, hiding me from the view of any dauntless in passing.
I'd say it's good for me, only seeing Eric in training actually. It's given me motivation through Lily's glares, and though Jay has offered to hang out a few times, I can't have him and Lily arguing too.
What's real fun, is when they introduce sniping.
12321
"Right, listen up!" Four shouts, just as Eric reaches the gun range leading the dauntless-born onto the roof. We make eye contact, and I realise what's happening.
"We're starting a new discipline today, sniping. We don't often teach sniping, because only a few people are allowed to learn it, if there are jobs open that require it. As it happens, three positions have opened up that require the skill." Four states, pacing in front of us initiates, transfers and dauntless-born alike. "As we have no idea whether the three we teach will make it through the non physical rounds of initiation, we will be teaching six of you, regardless of whether you're a transfer or not."
"A sniper tends to have a spotter with them, to report conditions affecting the shooting. The main condition is obviously weather, more specifically wind, especially over long distances. Eric, Lauren and I will be spotters today, as you take turns at three different targets. Then, we will decide who will continue the skill." Four says, and I nod lightly. Very logical.
I observe carefully as Four shows us the gun and how to assemble and control different parts, before showing us the correct position. He then splits us up into three groups to try out with each of the trainers, and I get Four. Lily, Jay, Ben and Beth are all in different queues, in fact I'm the only transfer in mine, but Mark is right in front of me.
"Avery, good to see ya! I caught something from Jay about a disagreement going on with blondie." He nudges me and I shrug.
"You know her type, can't accept other views. I never apologised by the way, I didn't manage to stop Eric shooting down the flag at paintball." I say and he laughs loudly.
"Like anyone expected you too! The only person probably in the whole of Dauntless who could even try is Four, and he was shot. This is Charlotte by the way, our team, she was on the far side, survived too." Mark tells me and I nod in recognition. She's tall and lithe with gorgeous chocolate brown hair, and I remember her vaguely from the paintballing.
"It's nice to meet you, Mark and Leon talk about you quite a lot." She says politely with a smile.
"I'm flattered. Go on Mark, you're up." I say to him, before keeping a light conversation with Charlotte. But before long, it's my turn.
"Why do I feel like you're going to do well." Four mutters to me as I move to my knees, examining the gun before lifting it into a supported position. It's heavier than I realised, but I flatten myself to the roof and let the gun lean lightly on its stands.
"Winds light, to the South West. First target on the left of the office building roof, eleven o'clock." Four says.
"How good is this gun?" I murmur lightly.
"… a little old." He mutters in return.
Age insinuates outdated, which means it probably is slightly less powerful than the ones they use now. With that in mind, I locate the target, a person just where Four said it would be, and my body stills.
Tilting the gun ever so slightly higher than my desired point of impact, I take a breath in.
Then out.
The gun shot is muffled by the built-in silencer, and as I keep my eye at the scope, a smile reaches my face. I didn't add enough height, and didn't compensate for the wind enough, but the shorter distance meant instead of my intended target of the centre of the head, my bullet went straight through the neck.
"This is fun." I murmur to Four, who I hear chuckle. "Next?"
"Further away, same direction, the window of the old apartment building, two storeys from the top."
I locate the next person, with only it's upper body exposed. This time, the extra distance lets me add just an extra few millimetres to his hairline, and shift slightly eastwards, before I exhale.
And headshot.
"Perfect!" I hear Four exclaim, and look up with a raised eyebrow and a smirk.
"Why thank you." I say dryly, and he rolls his eyes.
"Last one's 2 o'clock, sharper angle. The winds strengthened ever so slightly.
We're facing north, so the wind at two o'clock is basically blowing into my face, so will only affect the height of the bullet. I pull up another few millimetres above the targets head, and this time it only takes one note of confirmation before I take the shot.
Four sighs from beside me.
"I think I chose myself a good group." He tells me and I smile, carefully disabling the gun before I stand and move back to stand with the other initiates in silence, as not to disturb the shooters.
And after some patient waiting, everyone is whispering as all the initiates finish the trial.
"I think I got all three." Four boasts as he walks over to Lauren.
"Really? I had both Leon and El hit all three. Did you get any bullseye?" Lauren replies, the light glinting off her multiple ear piercings.
"Two." Four replies, just as Eric walks over.
"Well you gave me the shitty group." He grumbles. Lily and Ben were in that group.
"So you have no one you want to put forward. I've got two." Lauren says, supposedly indicating their profile's on Eric's tablet.
"Yeah I've got him, and these two." Four says following suit, and Eric scoffs.
"You chose yourself all three," Eric mutters to Four, "we just need some deadweight now."
"You got any?" Lauren carries on, and though they speak in hushed voices, everyone is listening.
"Yeah, Amity can be the extra." Eric says.
"The blondie?" Lauren questions.
"She's second last, she won't even make it past physical."
I don't bother looking round to join the other initiates staring at Lily, at Eric's words. I don't need to look to see the hurt and helplessness on her face. Ugh, honestly, after the past few days it may be a little evil but she kind of needs to feel the hurry. Less than two months of physical and she'll be factionless.
"So," Eric starts, completely aware everyone heard his blunt words, and also completely uncaring. "Leon, El, Mark, Avery, Charlotte and Lily will be continuing the sniping discipline. For now, everyone except these six are dismissed for lunch, usual afternoon training."
I line up next to Mark and Charlotte, ignoring the glances I'm getting from Lily on the end.
"Yours sniping training will be whenever the rest of your initiate class is on the shooting range. However it will be one on one, and each of you will be assigned a tutor. Charlotte, you're with Lauren, Mark with Axel, Leon with PC, El you've got Lynel. Four you take amity, I'll take Avery." Eric surveys us intently, and as he finishes holds Four's gaze, the challenge in them to dare to say otherwise.
"May I request continuing Avery's tutorship after today?" Four says, his voice tight, and Eric smiles leeringly.
"No. You weren't the only one watching her shoot." Eric says bluntly, taking a step closer to Four. Four's lowers his head slightly, and then Eric turns back to us.
"Dauntless-born, you have shooting this afternoon, transfers, tomorrow afternoon. Get going."
As we walk down the stairs, I brush past Lily to hurry down and grab some lunch, but Mark grabs my arm before I get far.
"Hey, come eat with us, it's been a while." He says, and I nod in agreement reluctantly. Our conversation is quiet as we queue up, but as soon as we've sat down far away from Lily, they start.
"What the hell's been happening? We've barely seen you, and then Jay told us you and Lily fought before we went paintballing!" Leon says outraged, and I motion for him to keep him voice down.
"Don't worry about it. She's just cracking out of her idealist shell that's all." I mutter, but Mark gives me some serious side-eye and I relent. "She's an alright fighter, but she holds back in every fight, supposedly because she doesn't want to hurt anyone. That's the whole point of fights, I've been trying to get her to actually fight so she can pass… but then she called me out on holding back against one of my opponents and drawing out the fight, said it was cowardly or something."
"Damn, that's harsh." Leon chuckles.
"She's got it backwards. You hold back when your better than your opponent to stoop them getting hurt, not the other way around." Mark says, his brow creased.
"My point exactly. I just hope she gets around it before physicals are over, it's a bit irritating at the moment though." I admit.
"So you've been avoiding her, the usual?" Leon asks and I shrug.
"And Beth seems to have something against me at the moment, Ben's acting weird, Jay's the only sane one at the moment." I mutter.
"Ben? Acting weird? How so?" Leon asks the question, but his voice is telling.
"You know he likes me?"
"So you know? We overheard him and Jay talking a couple of days ago!" Leon says, eyebrows raised overexcited.
"Tsch, of course I know, I was in Amity, not abnegation." I murmur.
"So… are his… advances welcomed?" Leon asks slyly, whilst Mark just rolls his eyes.
"Definitely not. It would just be a hassle, Beth likes him, he at least used to like Beth, I have no idea what he's doing." I answer easily, and Mark starts laughing.
"Poor guy, he just likes you, he didn't commit a crime!" Mark laughs, and I raise my hands in surrender.
"So you don't like him, at all?" Leon asks again, leaning closer as if to try and tell whether I'm lying.
"No. There are no feelings returned on my part."
"Jay was telling him to back off, said it was a bad idea, but Ben was determined to pursue it…" Mark tells me apologetically, and I groan.
"I'm going to have to tell him face to face aren't I. Bloody Candors." I mutter.
"Candor? I'd say Amity's way worse!" And then the conversation moved on, but I was glad for the social interaction, I wouldn't say I missed it, just that it was a nice change.
12321
At the end of the day, I'm walking myself to the training bloc to some drills. We did knifework in the afternoon and as much as I loved it, I don't want to have a day where I'm low on actual exercise. Eric has been busy with work since Paintball, so I've quite literally only seen him in official training.
As I reach the top of the stairs, and open my usual room, a smile spreads on my face.
"How often do you intend to gift me with this view?"
Another chapter passed! I know I've been a little late with this one, but I was hard pressed with workload over the weekend and didn't manage to write. I'm also unsure how much I'll be able to write this week, so sorry in advance if its also late. This chapter's probably one of my shortest, I know, but the next scene is going to be quite a long one, and I thought I'd upload this much now, instead of making you wait longer for me to finish the next scene. Sniping has finally started! Despite how excited I was, I am slightly disappointed by how much of it I can put into words, but since it's so stationary, it was hard to get much dramatic detail in, so I hope it was alright. Not to mention the basically naked Eric at the beginning of the chapter… that was VERY fun to write ! Anyway, read and review as always, I hope everyone enjoyed the chapter!