Previously...

I obey and walk past Eric but, before I can get away, he grabs my wrist to stop me. I turn back towards him, feeling slightly controlled. "Eddi, I will never hurt you, I promise," he says softly, with a smile on his lips.

"Okay," I smile unconfidently back. He lets my arm go and I walk back towards my friends in the center of the room. Now I feel just like I did last night: unsure. Though now I think I'm a little more sure but still unsure, if that makes any sense. I can get why Eric is treating us all unfairly, now that he's explained his reasons. But why is he taking a special interest in me? He seems to hate me more than any of the others, but he also seems to like me more as well. He makes me want to cry but he also makes me want to smile. That makes me really unsure. He just told me that the Dauntless lie, which is to be expected, but it also tells me a few things about himself. However, it's all questions. He could be lying about everything he just told me or is he lying about how he acts to me. The second option is very complicated in itself. He could be lying when he's mean to me when he actually likes me or he could be lying when he's nice to me when he actually hates me. It's hard to tell which is the truth. Though I have left Candor, I feel that I want to learn the truth about this man and the truth about how he feels towards me.

Chapter 4

Fight

It's been four days since the choosing ceremony and the training scheme has already become boring. All it is, is a jog in the morning, rifle training before lunch and the after lunch, hand-to-hand combat training. At the moment it's hand-to-hand combat and I'm practicing with Al. I'm the quicker one, but it's obvious that Al would be able to land a harder punch.

Yesterday, Eric seemed to ignore me, which means that he actually listened to me, something I did not expect would happen. Today, he's ignoring me again, but it seems that he is being harsher to my friends, especially Tris. I don't like what he's doing to them but he gave me a good reason for his actions so I'll just have to bite the bullet and ignore what he's doing to my friends. If only there was a way to get Eric to leave everyone alone.

Speak of the Devil, I see Eric walk up beside Four, who is watching us closely. Eric watches us too, for a bit; I look away when Eric's eyes skim over Al and I. For some reason, his gaze seems to linger on me longer than the others, but it's probably just my imagination. Eric's eyes leave me and I am able to look back. He murmurs a few words to Four, before setting his eyes on the central mat. "First jumper, in the ring. Last jumper, time to fight."

I look over at Tris, who was training with Chris. She looks terrified at the aspect of fighting and I don't blame her. The last jumper is Molly, a brutish girl from my old faction. At school, she used to purposefully pick on the weaker kids because she thought it was fun. It's obvious that this tank of a girl is going to win.

We gather around as the two face each other in the center of the ring. "How long do we fight for?" Molly asks.

"Till one of you can't continue," Eric says. I sigh, knowing that was exactly what he was going to say and now my friend is doomed.

Quickly, Four adds, "Or if one of you concedes." Thank you, Four, for preventing Molly from breaking my friend.

"According to the old rules. The new rules: no one concedes." Eric states back. Seriously! I'm beginning to doubt Eric's reasons for doing this; he seems to be doing this out of hatred for me and my friends.

"You really want to lose them in their first fight." Four argues quietly, hoping that we don't hear, but we all do. Eric keeps his eyes forward, but it's easy to spot the anger burning in them.

"A brave man never surrenders," Eric argues back. I guess that is a good reason, but surely in training, it's best to not let your initiates hurt each other until they can't continue. I don't like it anyways. Four quietly tells Eric something and in response to that Eric begins the match.

Both Molly and Tris put their hands up in the defensive position we've been instructed. They pause, unsure what to do. "Go," Eric tells them, boredom dripping from his tone.

Molly shifts towards Tris, who instantly backs away. Oh, come on, Tris! Tris continues to back up until she is out of the ring. She looks around at us with wide, scared eyes. "Don't be scared, Stiff," Peter calls across the ring. Chris glares at him, but I continue to keep my eyes on the match. Tris steps back into the ring and repositions herself. I look over at Eric, who is watching with a bored expression. He notices me looking and smirks, telling me that he'd planned this so that my friend would get hurt. I look back at the fight just as Molly punches at Tris. The abnegation transfer manages to dodge the throw. Chris and I cheer a little but no one else does, so we silence quickly. They circle each other again. Tris tries to throw a punch at Molly but pathetically fails. Molly is able to quickly send a blow to the side of Tris' face, throwing the blonde backward. Tris clutches the side of her face, her eyes slightly shut. She tries to block Molly's next punch but cannot, resulting in her opponent grabbing her in a headlock and punching her repeatedly in the stomach. I wince, hoping that my friend is okay. Tris manages to get free and is able to reposition herself. However, that's not enough. Molly sends a strong punch into Tris' causing her to collapse. Molly hesitates now that Tris is on the floor. Eric, who seems to be the ref of this fight, motions for Molly to continue to attack Tris. Molly completes Eric's order by punching Tris with full force in the face. She hits the floor with a smack, signaling that the fight is over. Chris and I run over to Tris, hoping that she's okay.

We try to wake her up but she's out cold. "Take her to the Infirmary," Eric says flatly. I glare at him but he seems to ignore me. He is responsible for this, hurting my friend. He told me his reasons yesterday, but they don't give an excuse for this. There is no excuse and no reason to why he has done this. He is officially a dick-bag in my books, and there is no way I am training with him anymore. I'm never going near him again. Al and Will run over, helping us to lift the unconscious girl up. She's quite heavy, despite her small size.

I slowly walk down the steps into the sleeping quarters. After we took Tris to the infirmary, the nurse was able to wake her up and I was tasked with reporting Tris' safety to our instructors. Luckily I was able to find Four first, meaning that I wouldn't have to talk to Eric. When I told Four that Tris was okay, he genuinely looked relieved, something that I don't think Eric would be able to achieve. Especially when it was he himself who got Tris knocked out in the first place.

So, anyway, I'm walking down the stairs into the sleeping quarters. I can hear my friends talking in a quiet tone. Huh, that's a bit odd. Then I hear my name. I stop. "I can't believe Eddi would do that." I can hear Chris' voice hiss.

"If you piece it together it's perfectly reasonable." I hear Will argue. I bite my lip; what have I done?

"But it's just rumors." Chris states. I suck in the breath, hoping my friends don't notice me.

"But you said that she told you that Eric has been specifically targeting her. Lynn said that she saw Eric talking to Eddi in the pit and you said that she said that what Lynn said is true. And Uriah said that one of his friends saw Eric pinning Eddi up against a wall. They definitely have been talking to each other, that's for sure."

"But Eddi would never ask Eric to purposely beat up Tris!" Chris spits. Oh. Crap. People have seen me talking to Eric. Now they think that I'm plotting against Tris. I'd never do that. I decide to listen a bit more.

"I don't think Eddi would do that," Tris says, hopefully convincing people of my innocence.

"You were Abnegation, you're used to people being mean to you. We can't let someone purposely set it up with a leader to have you beat up. You were knocked out, Tris."

"Because of Molly-"

"She only knocked you out because Eric paired you together. And why did Eric pair you together?"

"Because he's an asshole," Chris butts in.

"No, because Eddi asked him to."

"Why?"

"Because of what I've just said."

There is a long, tense pause. I don't dare move, in case one of them hears me in this silence. "Okay, I'm not sure." Chris sighs, breaking the quiet.

"So you agree with me?" Will asks.

"I'm not sure," Chris repeats.

That's it, I've had enough. I slowly climb back up the stairs and out into the corridor. I lean against the wall opposite the doorway to the stairs. No. I run my fingers through my hair. No, my best friend cannot be losing trust in me. We grew up together, she knows I'd never lie. Why? I feel tears well and quickly slash my hand across my eyes to get rid of them. I take several deep breaths and put my hands on my knees. I should just forget what I heard and continue on as normal. My friends will soon find out that I didn't set Tris up to fight Molly as I'm going to stay away from Eric. If people don't see me around him then they'll not associate me with him and then his actions will be seen as his own, meaning I won't be blamed for them. I wipe my eyes to make sure they look okay and then walk back down the stairs. "Guys, are you down there?" I call so that they know I'm coming and I don't walk into an awkward conversation.

"Yeah!" I hear Chris call back. I run down into the room to see them sitting on their beds.

"Hey!" I smile, trying to seem as if I didn't just hear their conversation. They all smile greeting back, also pretending that they weren't just talking about me. Everything feels a little awkward for a second but then Chris starts off by telling me, "We've decided to get tattoos. You wanna come?"

I nod and then turn to Tris, "How are you feeling?"

She nods, "Good."

I smile, noticing the hesitation in everyone around me. I've just come to the conclusion that now in Dauntless I can trust nobody, not even my own friends, to tell the truth.

"You think that's good?" Chris asks Will, holding up the glass with the design on it. Noticing the chemistry brewing between the two, I decide to move over to look at some designs for myself. I really want a tattoo to be different and now is the chance to get one. I'm not sure on a design, but I know that I want it big. I've noticed that most of the Dauntless have smaller tattoos, so if I go big then I'll stand out. The only problem with getting a large tattoo now is that it gives me the chance to think about what I heard my friends talking about. Hopefully, the tattoo artist will talk to me so I don't have to think.

I look at the designs, picking several that I think I might like. My favorites are the Candor symbol, a Celtic knot pattern, five interlinked circles (to represent the factions I think), and some large black flames. I have them spread out in front of me, on a table in the corner of the shop. The decision is hard, as I will be having my chosen design drawn permanently onto my skin, so I must like it. The Candor symbol would be good as it represents my old faction, but I left Candor for a reason, so I should not get a tattoo to remember the faction. I like the interlinked circles and they have a nice meaning; however, they are slightly boring compared to the other designs. The Celtic pattern is beau- "I like that one." I snap my head up to see the person I wanted most to avoid looking down at the designs in front of me, pointing at the one with the flames. "What do you want?" I say quickly, hoping that I can get away from him, fast.

His gaze darkens, but stays on the designs, "Do not talk to me like that initiate. Just because I'm giving you private lessons, it does not give you the right to question me."

Oh, so he's going to be tricky. "Sorry, Eric, I just thought that maybe I could because I'm not coming to your training lessons anymore. You're a crappy teacher and an asshole and you got my friend beaten up. Why would I wanna train with you?" I spit, confident that my insults will get him to leave me alone. For good.

I am wrong, very wrong. He grabs me by my ponytail and thrusts my head down onto the table, throwing the designs everywhere. "If you try to insult me again, you're out, you little bitch," he growls with furious malice in his words. Fear shoots through me. I've never seen Eric this angry before, and that's saying something. Now I realize that all his shouting and all his harsh words are fake. This is real, this is the real Eric, the real feelings of the closed off leader. I shouldn't have said anything. But I must now. And I must tell the truth. "I'm sorry," I plead, "I didn't mean it. I only said it because of the things my friends have been saying." He doesn't let go but he lessens his grip a little. I close my eyes in the silence that has quickly drawn between us. "What did they say?"

"They said that I'd asked you to get Tris knocked out and that there are rumors. And people have seen us together."

"So what?"

"I might lose my friends. They don't trust me anymore."

"You've only known them for four days."

"Yeah, most of them. But even Christina doubts me, and we've been friends since we were kids. I don't wanna lose her and I don't want her to hate me."

"But why did you insult me?"

"Because I'd thought you'd leave me alone so that I can keep my friends."

Suddenly he lets go and pulls me up to face him. "Eddi, when you chose to come to Dauntless you knew that you would lose everything that you love. Did you realize that you'd lose the friends that came with you as well?" A slightly sad look passes across his face for a second but then disappears into the blank expression that usually dons his face. "If people don't trust you or spread rumors about you then fuck them."

I look up at him, "But I don't wanna lose my friends and I don't want them thinking that I have something with you. You purposely put Tris against Molly so that she would get knocked out and now they think I asked for it to happen."

Eric sighs, "Is that what this is really about? You complaining about how I train you and your friends. I've already told you my reasons but because that wasn't enough for you, I'll tell you this. When I joined Dauntless, my trainer put me against Four. It was clear that Four was the best out of all of us even though it was the first week. I was pretty good, but Four was way better. It was also obvious that he didn't like me. I didn't last very long and when I was down, Four didn't stop. My trainer just stood there and watched. I pleaded to concede but no one stopped Four, they just let him beat me until I was almost unconscious. I want my initiates to know what it's like to be beaten like that in a fight, so that if it happens in real life, they can recover quicker. Remember that, Eddi."

I stand there, unsure about what to do. Eric, who had just had me pushed into a table, is now telling me about something personal to him. I don't know if this can excuse him, but the fact that he's telling this to me, the person who just dared to insult him, is quite astounding. "Will you be coming tomorrow, then, initiate? Or did you really mean that you're not coming?"

"No, I think it would be better if I didn't come. I really don't want more rumors to be spread around."

"Really? Did you just ignore what I just told you? Fuck all the crap that people say and the people who say it."

"But I don't wanna lose my friends to the rumors."

Eric sighs exasperatedly, "You'll make new friends."

"I don't like that people are talking about me behind my back."

"You said that the rumors were about me too; does it look like I care about it? You shouldn't care about it either."

"But I wanna keep my friends!"

Eric growls something inaudible and begins to walk away. However, he stops and turns back, "If you want to keep your friends then fine. But if you value your place in Dauntless then you better come tomorrow and the rest of training. It's your choice, Eddi."

He leaves me standing there, like many times before this week. I sigh, the emotions I am feeling right now a mess in my mind. I turn back to the designs, tossing the thoughts around. I don't know what I should do, except for one thing. Eric's right, I should get the flame tattoo.

We gather around Four, who had told us that he will reveal the fighting arrangements for today. It seems that after yesterday's fight between Tris and Molly meant that now all of us can fight each other. Great. That definitely spoils my good mood.

I've been feeling quite happy after getting my tattoo as everyone is noticing it as it is different from other people's tattoos. It does stand out; large black flames licking up the side of my arm from my wrist to my shoulder. A lot of people (mostly Dauntless-borns) have been stopping to say that they like it. That makes me really happy as it makes me feel that I am getting closer to achieving my dream of being different that everyone else. But the fact that I have to fight one of my fellow transfers has burst my bubble. Even though I have been training with Eric, who surprisingly didn't comment on my tattoo this morning, I think that it will be quite hard to beat whoever I am fighting.

Four coughs to bring our full attention to him. "Okay, initiates, today you will be fighting each other for the first time. After yesterday's fight, Eric has decided to keep the no conceding rule," Four purposely emphasizes Eric's name as if to tell us that he was not involved in the decision. "You will be fighting another initiate in this group which we think is almost equal to your skill level, which means that you could be fighting some of your friends. The fights today will be Peter and Edward first, then Will and Al," I look over at my two friends, who both look slightly worried at the aspect of fighting each other, "Molly and Drew after them and then Christina and Eddi." My brain stops after that, only focusing on the fact that I will be fighting my childhood friend until one of us is unable to continue. I cannot purely blame Eric for this, though I want to. Four said that we are fighting people close to our skill level, which basically means people who are next to us in the rankings. I am just under Chris, meaning that it is inevitable that we will fight. Though I do really wanna think that Eric purposely did this to get back at me for 'trying to' insult him. I look over at Chris, who looks equally worried.

Unfortunately, time goes quite quickly leading up to my fight with Chris. There is a giant pit in my stomach, though not as big as when I get insecure about myself. I don't know how to fill it, though, unlike my insecurity, which I have begun to fill by getting my tattoo. I watch the other fights nervously, Edward beats Peter in their fight and Al beats Will, causing the large ex-Candor to get upset. Molly beats Drew, though she doesn't seem to care that she's knocked out her friend. Now, it's me and Chris.

Four calls us into the ring and we get into position. Just as we get ready, Eric walks into the training room. Oh great, now he'll be watching us too. He smirks as he walks up to the ring and then commands in his usual cold, unrelenting tone: "Fight!"

Thanks for reading! Please follow, favourite, and review. Again sorry it's two weeks late. I did say that I was going on holiday for two weeks but I had hoped to be able to get some wifi to post this whilst I was away but I couldn't find any :( . Hopefully, I'll be able to update this every week in the future. If not, I'll let you know.

You can visit me on instagram at either (or both) totallynotalivenow or totallynotdeadyet for some pretty cool content - you can now see some pictures of Eddi with her new tattoo! I was able to use the Sims 4 (and some custom content) to be able to get a pretty good image of Eddi. I thought using the Sims 4 was a good idea instead of saying that she looks like a particular celebrity as then you can see her as her and not a celebrity.

Thank you to everyone who has followed and favourited me, it really helps me to write this. But y'know what inspires me more to write? Reviews!

mmelody6: Thanks for another smiley face! I'm very grateful for the time it took you to press shift+: then shift+) and press the review button. ;D

Oncer15: I'm so happy that you love it! You get a huge, big virtual hug from me. It's a bit like in The Big Bang Theory when Steven Hawking says that he likes Sheldon and Leonard's paper. It just makes me so ecstatic that you love my story. Again. please go read Oncer15's stories, they are some of the best Eric/OC fics on this site.

gurpreet: Thanks so much! I will try to make the chapters longer but the max I will do is around 4,000 words as I don't want to put people off with overly long chapters. Also, chapters of around 2,500 words take me a week to write and so I'd rather post something every week so that I don't keep everyone waiting. Sorry. But now my chapters seem to be averaging at around 3,500 words so you get an extra 1,000 words!

Buh-bye!