A week into training, it was obvious i was one of the stronger females who could handle herself. So far we hadn't fought against each other yet, but i was ready for it when the time came. Training was killing me with Adam, but it was obvious i needed it. I walked into the training room at 4, but paused as i heard voices. I moved into the shadows of the wall behind the punching bags and listened.
"I don't know why you're bothering with her" Eric, obviously. "And i don't really care. I've got to go away with Max for a few days and i need someone to take over and help Four with training. It's about Divergent's again, and i gotta keep a close eye on everything to make sure we stay alive" I peered around from the bag and see Adam sigh and rub his face, tiredly, like i tend to do a lot. Eric's a Divergent? No wonder Adam told me to ask him when i first arrived.
"I'm not training anyone. Training you bastards was bad enough" Adam said and Eric chuckled. That's a first. I've seen the man smile dangerously and smirk, but never in a nice or amused way like he just laughed.
"Is this because you're training Mae?" He knows my name? He usually just calls me smart-ass.
"This has nothing to do with the girl. I just don't fancy watching some kids beat the shit out of each other, again"
"Adam, you're the only one i trust. It's just for a few days and all you have to do is make sure they don't kill each other"
"Fine. A few days. No more" Eric nodded before striding out of the room. I waited until the door was shut to walk out of the hiding place. Adam rolled his eyes at me. "Why am i not surprised you heard all that" He muttered to himself.
"What are we doing today?"
"Fighting techniques. You'll be fighting today, as you heard" I nodded and stood opposite Adam on the mat. We'd done this before. We circled each other for a second before he moved to take a jab to my stomach, but i dodged it. "Good" Adam said and we started circling again. I moved to kick him in the stomach, but he grabbed my foot and pulled me forward. I dropped to the floor, causing Adam to tumble as well, and rolled free and stood back up. Adam stood back up with a smirk on his face, "You're learning"
"Obviously" I grinned aiming a jab to his throat which he blocked and managed to punch me in the cheek. I glared at him and stood on his foot, causing him to flag slightly and i managed a jab to the throat. While he was still having partial breathing problems he kicked the back of my knee. I took hold of his leg and punched the back of his knee and he also fell. He managed to trap my hands though and pin me down. This is where we always signalled a fight over. He got back up and offered me a hand. I took it and clicked my jaw. My cheek was going to bruise.
"When i see all the initiates, i'll be able to judge how many you should be able to beat"
"All of the girls, excluding Molly. She uses her fat as an advantage" I muttered. "Some of the boys, i should be able to. I know Will is my friend, but he's a wimp"
"We'll see" Adam nodded. "Go to the bars and i'll grab some food" I nodded and easily jumped up to hold onto the metal bar. I had become an expert on this thing. I could stay here for ages. Adam walked out the room. Since that first day, he'd gone and got me breakfast every morning. It was slightly weird, but i appreciated it none the less.
After a rushed breakfast, of bacon, eggs and pancakes, i ran with Adam for the remaining time before i peed and made my way back to the training rooms. I spotted my friends and smiled, and made my way over.
"You've all been partnered up. You'll be fighting today" Four announced as he walked into the room. "You're lucky as Eric is away for a few days, so the conceding rule still stands. You fight until one can't continue, or one concedes" I walked towards the board and my name wasn't on the board.
"My name isn't on the board" I spoke up and Four frowned.
"Yes it is" Adam said as he walked into the room. Obviously he's made the pairs. I glanced at the list again. I was with Molly. Oh the bastard.
"Why are you here?" Four asked.
"Eric asked me to step in for him. Problem four?" Adam raised his eyebrows and everyone fell silent. The leaders never did anything interesting. Four shook his head. "Good. First pair, Tris and Peter, in the ring" Peter was going to beat the shit out of Tris. Poor girl. I could probably hold my own, but not for long against him. "While these fight, the rest of you are going to train. I'd train hard because you all look pretty scrawny to me" I chose the bag next to the ring and watched as i punched the bag. I watched Four say something to her before she stepped into the ring.
Peter circled Tris, and the girl tried to stay as far away from him as she could. He stepped forward and Tris managed to jab him in the throat. Good move. She forgot to protect herself though, and he managed a kick to the stomach. And another. And another. Tris was barely moving. Poor girl.
"I concede" She choked out and Peter stepped back. I rushed forward and helped the blonde up. She willingly leant on me, and i put her arm around my shoulder.
"Come on, you need to sit down and have some water" I muttered sitting her on the bench. Four walked out the room with a word to Adam. "She needs an ice pack" I said to Adam as he approached.
"Four's gone to get her one. You're on"
"You put me with Molly on purpose" I said with one last look to Tris. Adam smirked. I walked towards the ring.
"Of course i did. If you don't win then you're not as good as i thought"
"You think i'm good, huh?" I smirked. Adam rolled his eyes. I got into the ring and faced Molly. She liked to kick, which was easier for me. I circled with her slightly before she aimed a punch at me, i grabbed her fist and twisted her arm, causing her to back off. I smiled slightly and blocked another punch, aiming one of my own to her throat. She choked and i punched her in the stomach, but she didn't fall. She aimed a kick and i grabbed her foot, causing her to lose balance. She dragged me down with her and punched my, already bruised, cheek. That hurt. I punched her in the stomach and she gagged, almost like she was going to throw up. I punched her again and she didn't bother fighting back.
"I concede" She muttered and i grinned. I stood back up and smirked as Adam circled my name. I felt rather good with myself. I took a deep breath and winced as i tried to click my jaw. Two hits to the same spot was painful.
"How many ice packs is Four getting?" I asked sitting down beside Tris.
"Got" Four corrected, handing me one. I put it to my cheek and he walked away.
"You alright?" Adam asked. I nodded.
"Is Molly?"
"She was sick" I raised my eyebrows. "Good fight"
"Thank you" After three hours of everyone fighting, we were told to suit up and meet at the train tracks. We put on our vests and then made our way there. On our way, we saw many people stood around with guns. The security was tight here. Very tight.
"Why is she here?" Will asked and i looked up to see Aunt Jeanine walked down the hallway. She stopped beside us and smiled.
"Prior, Andrew Prior's daughter, Beatrice" She said holding that file to her stomach. She forever had that file.
"It's just Tris, now" Tris smiled.
"You made an impressive choice. Despite your parents, and your test results" Tris visible paled at this. I frowned. Why was she so worried on having someone look upon her test results?
"You've seen my test results"
"Of course" Jeanine smiled. She then turned to me and tucked a piece of hair behind my ear. My hair was in a pony tail, but i usually wore it down now a days. Tucking hair behind my ear, was Aunt Jeanine showing affection. "Your test results and choice came as no surprise" I smiled.
"I always have favoured a fight over studying" I chuckled slightly, immediately putting my guard up. Aunt Jeanine was smart and conniving, she could connive the best of us.
"Let's have a quick word" I nodded and followed her around the corner. "Tell me what you know of Beatrice?"
"Not a lot. She hasn't shared much. I know just as much as anyone else, she's a Stiff and she's rather weak. She lost her fight today. That's all i know" No, i also know that she's rather close with Four and that she had been doing some extra training. But i refuse to share information no one should know, especially after last time.
"Okay. Thank you, anyway"
"Why are you here today?" I asked, curiosity getting the better of me.
"I had some things to talk with Max and Eric about" I nodded. "Whether there are any Divergent's or not. They tell me it's too early to tell. Have you seen any signs of Divergence?"
"No" I lied. "But i'll keep an eye out for you when we enter stage two" Aunt Jeanine smiled and nodded.
"You better get going. You'll be late. I'll see you soon"
"See you soon Aunt Jeanine" I smiled once more before walking back round the corner. The group had gone but Adam was stood there smirking at me. I ignored him and continued walking towards the tracks.
"I knew there was something about you" He laughed. No one knew i was Aunt Jeanine's niece. "Jeanine Mathews niece" He whistled.
"Faction before blood" I muttered, not meaning it. I would save Aunt Jeanine over any bastard here any day of the week.
"She's hunting down Divergent's, and her own niece is one herself" I looked sideways at him and glared. I picked up my pace and reached the tracks. He wouldn't say anything with everyone else around. I stopped beside the group.
"What did Jeanine want?" Christina asked.
"To talk" I said calmly. "It was nothing important. She just asked me about my results and whether i liked it here" I lied. That's why i could never be Candor, i still had a tendency to lie.
"And do you like it here?" Tris asked with a laugh.
"I love getting bruised and shouted at. Love it" We all laughed. The train approached and we all jumped on. I leant against the wall, along with everyone else.
"We train you like we do, because we have to protect everyone within the wall" Four started.
"Everyone relies on Dauntless to feel safe. If Dauntless can't handle themselves in a fight, then how can they protect four other factions?" Adam added, sitting down on a box.
"Why was the wall built?" Peter asked.
"To protect us from the dangers that might be lurking out in the places that haven't recovered from the war" I replied. That was the exact line from a book i read about the wall.
"Exactly" Four nodded.
"It also keeps us in" Adam said. I guess that's true. If we didn't have the wall then how was Dauntless supposed to help everyone if they were spread out across the world? It would be too hard. Everyone fell silent before starting their own conversation. I moved towards the door and looked out. "Your tattoos showing"
"What? No it-" I cut myself off as i saw the smirk. Of course my tattoo wasn't showing, i fell into that one.
"So you've got a tattoo"
"No" I lied. "I was going to say, What? I don't have a tattoo"
"Alright sweetheart" He smirked. "What is it?"
"Something i had done a few years ago when i visited Dauntless" He raised his eyebrows. "It's nothing"
"You've got a tattoo?" Tris asked shocked.
"It's nothing" I shrugged.
"It's obviously something" Christina laughed.
"It's just something i had in memory of someone" It was just a silhouette of a young girl. Obviously it was in memory of my sister. I was 13, and it had just happened, and i shouldn't have done it. I don't regret it, but i don't like it. It's a constant reminder.
"Where is it?" Mia asked.
"Somewhere only a select few get to see" I smirked. It was on my side, but hidden by my bra, well most of it was hidden, you could see the feet.
"It's on your ass?" Al laughed.
"No, it's not on my ass" I laughed.
"Will you get another?" Tris asked.
"I don't know. I might do" I shrugged. "Depends if i like any designs"
"Most have a tattoo to represent their family" Will spoke up.
"Not really my thing. My parents don't like me and my Aunt uses me" I chuckled slightly. "I might get a piercing"
"I want my nose pierced! We should go after training!" Christina grinned.
"I- sure" I muttered. I was planning to go to the control rooms to see what i could find out about Aunt Jeanine's plans. She was obviously planning something. I know as leader of Erudite she consulted with the other leaders, including Max, but not in the middle of initiation. That was weird. Usually she over saw Erudite initiation. Just like here you were tested, but with an actually pen to paper test.
"You don't sound too excited" Mia laughed.
"No, i am. I was just thinking about A- Jeanine and why she was here" I muttered, almost slipping up. Adam smirked behind them all and i glared at him.
"Do you know?"
"No" I lied. "But i'd like to know"
"Enough" Adam said, serious now. "What Jeanine is doing here is none of your business. Am i clear?" I nodded slowly. "She's still a superior, despite your personal relations. Remember that" I frowned at him before turning back to look outside, and putting my back to him. Well fuck you too Mr fucking moody shit. I know what my aunts up to, kind of, well i know part of it, she was hunting Divergent's, i just didn't know what she would be doing with them. Most likely killing them. That question that's been haunting me for years could be answered, why did Aunt Jeanine want to know where Cameron was? Why would she just randomly kill an Erudite born, it was weird but maybe Cameron was Divergent? He was one of her most loyal workers, and she killed him.
"Personal relations? Do you know Jeanine?" Christina asked.
"My last name was Mathews" I muttered and they all stared, shocked. "I'm her niece. If any of you have a problem with that, then shoot" I actually preferred Aunt Jeanine over my own mother, she treated me better than my Mother, anyhow.
"You know she's trying to overthrow Abnegation, right" Al spoke up. She's already done that. Erudite would run the factions better than Marcus Eaton anyway, at least Aunt Jeanine didn't beat her kids.
"Good. Aunt Jeanine would make a better leader than the likes of Marcus Eaton" I saw Four stiffen, and my suspicions were confirmed. He was Tobias Eaton. I better watch what i say then. "Erudite are the smartest faction anyway, so isn't it common sense to give them control because they'll make the logical decision?"
"No, because the logical decision isn't always the most helpful decision" Adam argued.
"But things will get done, and they'll get done with logic. Rather than be done by Abnegation, who only try to help others when shit is going on behind closed doors, that is anything but caring" I said, not backing down.
"I agree, Abnegation shouldn't be the leaders"
"So you think Candor or Amity should?" Candor may tell the truth, but they're dumb. That's why they tell the truth and Amity can never decide on anything because they're all for peace and crap.
"No. I don't think we should have one leader that dominates the factions. Why not have separate leaders, like we do anyway, and they make a joint decision" Everyone around the train had fallen silent. You weren't supposed to talk back to your leaders.
"Would a decision ever be made though? Having my Aunt Jeanine, Max, Mary from Amity, Stuart from Candor and Marcus, all they'd do is debate on what the best decision would be, nothing would ever get done"
"Maybe you just think if Auntie Jeanine is leader, you'll get special treatment" He smirked. He was baiting me.
"She may be my aunt but she lives, breaths, welcomes, Faction before blood. If i was Erudite, yeah, she would have made sure i had people kissing my ass, but i'm in Dauntless now. Don't think because she's my family that makes me want her in leadership, i want her in leadership because she'd be the best one there" I ranted not bothering to hide my distaste. How dare he treat my views like they're biast and childish. Adam didn't reply. I turned my back to him again and saw the wall coming closer.
"Why didn't you stay in Erudite?" Tris asked.
"When you don't fit, you don't stay" I shrugged. "I love my Aunt and everything she's done for me, but not even she can convince me to stay in Erudite"
"She seemed to welcome your move, when she spoke to you earlier" Mia smiled.
"She isn't this evil robot people make her out to be" I shrugged. We were close to the wall now.
"Alright, get ready" Four said and then jumped off. I quickly followed and managed to land on my feet again, i was getting good at this. Everyone followed after, with Adam taking up the back. I was pissed at Adam. He was acting like a twat for no reason at all. It wasn't needed. "Half will follow me, while half go with Adam. Choose who you want to go with" I immediately followed the group to Four's side. I didn't want to be near Adam at the moment. "At least one of you will have to go with Adam" Four smirked slightly.
"I'm not that bad" Adam laughed. Still no one moved. Fuck sake. I moved over towards Adam's side, and he smirked. I glared at him.
"Don't think this means i'm not pissed at you" I muttered lowly so only he could hear. "Is no one else coming with?" I asked and they shook their heads. Great.
"Alright then. Join us at the train in an hour" Four said and already continued up the ladder to the top of the fence. When they were out of sight, I turned to Adam.
"I'm only doing this because i felt sorry for you"
"Just admit you prefer me over four, and we can go"
"I don't like either of you" I said folding my arms.
"Well you just chose me over him. I think that say everything" He smirked. "Come on, i have to show you the fence" I reluctantly walked beside him.
"What's to see? It's a big metal fence that protects the city"
"Exactly what i said on my first visit. As it's only me and you, i can show you the best part. The control centre"
"How fun" I muttered rubbing my arms against the cold. It was chilly out here. "Why did you offer to help me?" I asked, curiosity getting the better of me. He didn't need to do it for the sake of Divergents, he could just let me learn myself and get beat the shit out of.
"Do you want the honest answer?"
"Yes" I narrowed my eyes.
"I saw up your skirt" I punched his arm and he laughed.
"You did not see up my skirt. It wasn't that short!" I protested. "You did not!"
"It's a room of mirrors"
"You're a pedo bastard" I laughed, my current annoyance gone. "Serious this time, why did you offer?"
"You looked lost" He said simply and i frowned.
"Go on"
"I saw into your head to judge your results, right? I also sensed your emotions. You desperately didn't want to be Erudite. You didn't want to be Abnegation because you knew of the Marcus Eaton story. You wanted adventure, so that ruled out Amity, you liked to lie, goodbye Candor" He explained, running a hand through his hair. "But you also wanted safety, so that lined out Dauntless. You were lost and it made me want to help you" I swallowed slightly. That was actually nice. "Don't let this make you think i'm any less scary"
"Way to ruin it your jerk" I laughed. "You were actually being nice, your Amity was showing"
"What?" He frowned.
"You're from Amity right?" I smirked. He looked shocked. "Oh come on, it's not hard to tell... I saw your tattoo as well"
"How'd you see my tattoo?"
"When you jumped onto the train" I laughed.
"It's alright, you're not the first to check me out" I rolled my eyes. "So what's your tattoo?"
"A silhouette of a girl" I muttered.
"In memory of your sister" He stated and i nodded. "Where is it?"
"Like i said, somewhere not many get to see"
"And where's that?" I sighed and i ran my finger down where it was under my shirt. "Nice" He nodded.
"It's not. I shouldn't have had it done" I shrugged. "Anyway, shouldn't you be telling me about the fence?"
"Should be, but i don't tend to listen to the rules. I heard you wanna get a piercing?"
"I do. I don't fancy getting any more tattoo's yet, so piercing's it is"
"What piercings?"
"I've already got my ears, and back pierced, so i'm thinking of getting another ear piercing" I shrugged. In Erudite you were aloud piercings, only on the ears, but i'd got one of the guns and me and my friend had pierced our backs. It hurt like a bitch.
"Back piercing, eh?" He smirked. "Wanna show me said back piercing?"
"You're still my trainer, kind of, in secret, so the answer is no" I smirked. Flirting with Adam maybe wasn't the best idea, but he was good looking and he was doing something amazingly nice for me. It was kind of inevitable. "And i'm freezing my tits off, so getting my back out wouldn't be the best decision"
"It isn't that cold" He scoffed.
"Says the bloody guy in a jacket and coat" I glared. The sun was darkening slightly now as well, which didn't help at all. He stopped suddenly and took off the coat. I frowned as he offered it out to me.
"Take the coat will you" I accepted it and put my arms in and zipped it up. It was plain black, and too big on me, but it was so warm. I zipped it all the way up, so it ended around my nose. I rolled the sleeves up.
"Thanks" I smiled. "I need a coat like this"
"You look like a mole, poking out of the bloody ground" He laughed.
"A mole? Thanks for that comparison" I grumbled as we reached a pair of boys stood around, what looked to be a box room. Adam grinned at the males and they all clapped backs, you know that manly Dauntless greeting. I smiled slightly.
"Guys, this is Mae. She's one of the initiates" Adam introduced. The boy closest to me, held out his hand. I shook it.
"Lovely to meet you girl, can't say Ad here has introduced us to many girls" He joked. "I'm Stuart"
"Nice to meet you too" I chuckled.
"I'm Damion. Single by any chance?" Adam rolled his eyes and i smiled.
"I'm more focused on getting a place in Dauntless then what happens downstairs at the moment" I said and they all laughed. "I'm guessing you work here?" I said looking at Adam.
"Week on week off" I nodded slightly. He opened the door and i walked into the small room. Inside a lone boy sat back, with his feet up, watching the screens. When the door opened his feet dropped and he turned to see who it was. When he spotted Adam he smirked slightly and put his feet back up.
"It's your two weeks off, i thought dude?" He asked. That made sense how he knew everyone and had his time off. He was obviously taking some time off.
"Yeah it is, i'm just here to show Mae around" The boy spun the chair around and grinned at me.
"You're gorgeous" I blushed slightly, but luckily it was dark in the room so they couldn't see. "Initiate?"
"Yeah" I smiled slightly.
"You think you've got a place?"
"I don't know yet" I said honestly. I was good, but that could all change in stage two.
"She's got a place" Adam said and the boy nodded. "I wouldn't be bothering else"
"You were almost nice there again, i'd watch it" I muttered laughing, and the boy laughed as well.
"Oh i like you. I'm Harry" He stuck out his hand and i shook it. His tattoo's poked out the bottom of his sleeves, they looked almost tribal like.
"So what do you do here?" I asked. Harry kicked out a chair and i sat down. It was warmer in here, but i didn't want to take the coat off.
"Here we watch some Amity farms, for supposed danger" Harry said, obviously finding the job boring.
"Have you ever found any danger?" I asked, looking at the computer screens, of the Amity farms.
"Not since we've worked here, no" Harry shrugged. "We get free coffee though and a week off every other week. It's easy" He chuckled. "What job do you think you'd fit when you get in?"
"I haven't thought about it" I mused. "Maybe a job like this would be good. It sounds easy"
"Well we'd want take you onto our team, wouldn't we Ad?" We both looked behind us at Adam, who was sat behind a computer, reading a file. He looked up and raised his eyebrows.
"What?"
"I said, we'd take Mae onto our team, wouldn't we?"
"Yeah, yeah" He was obviously distracted with whatever was written on that file.
"We'll have to see if i pass first" I chuckled, glancing once more at Adam before turning back to the computer. Harry gave me a look and i frowned. Why was he giving me that look? "Can you see the city beyond the farms?"
"Yeah, we got cameras all over it. Wanna see?"
"Yes" I grinned. I'd never gone outside of the fence, never even glimpsed at it, so my eyes grew wide when Harry typed a few things and the city popped up. It was like the ancient horror movies i'd seen once. Everything was dusty and abandoned. It was almost saddening to think our elders had done this. They'd killed thousands of people and look what was left, hardly anything. Empty buildings and skelentons. Harry passed me the mouse, with a grin, and let me explore the once full city.
Before i knew it, it was late. I'd basically toured the whole city. I sat back, and Harry was asleep. I chuckled slightly and sipped the coffee someone had gotten me earlier. It was nice to see the city where our ancestors had lived. To see all the different buildings and empty spaces. I stood up and wrapped Adam's coat tighter around me.
"Done looking now?" Adam asked, amused.
"How late is it?"
"Past dinner time"
"I've missed training"
"I'll say it was my fault" Adam smirked. "Interested in a job here, are you?"
"Hell yes" I laughed.
"Well we'll see when you pass then. Come on, we better get back" I nodded slightly and he smacked the back of Harry's head. The boy bolted upright and blinked at Adam. "We're leaving"
"Alright, it was lovely to meet you Mae. Come back whenever you want, with or without Ad" I smiled slightly.
"I'll be back, don't you worry" I chuckled waving once more and following Adam out. The two guys who were there earlier, were gone now and it was dark, so the dim lights on the fence were the only light we had to walk down the steps. I slipped slightly and Adam easily caught me. I laughed slightly as he threw me over his shoulder as continued down. "Alright muscle man, you've showed yourself off. You can put me down" I laughed.
"Where's this back piercing then?" He asked lifting the back of the coat up. I laughed and tried to bat his hand away, but i felt the cold air hit my lower back. "Oh it's two studs. Nice. I've never seen a girl with that before"
"Well consider me your first" I muttered falling limp against his shoulder. If he insisted on carrying me, then fine, he could carry me. "What was training supposed to be tonight?"
"Fuck knows"
"Aren't you a great help" I sighed. "You know everyone's going to either think you've killed me, i've killed myself or we're having sex"
"They'll probably think we just snuck away to shag"
"I'd rather people think you've killed me" He suddenly dropped me onto the floor and i groaned. "You wanker" I complained.
"You'd rather i kill you, than shag you?" He asked looking down at me. I laughed slightly.
"You're doing neither, so why does it matter?" I rubbed my back as i stood back up. That really hurt my back.
"Why do you think i'm doing neither?"
"Because you're not going to kill me, unless i have your character completley wrong, and you're not going to shag me, because you're my trainer" I shrugged.
"That doesn't mean you don't want me to" He stepped closer and i raised my eyebrows.
"It doesn't matter what i want" I said lowly and he smirked. "It doesn't matter whether i want you to take me right here, right now. We can't and you know that, which makes you want me more" I grinned, moving closer to him. I grinned at him and pulled the coat tighter around myself.
"We better get back to Dauntless before i do decide to take you right here, right now" He cleared his throat slightly and i laughed as i followed him to the tracks.
"So what was in that file you were reading earlier?" I asked, as we walked side by side to the tracks.
"A file on my parents" He said, trying to be casual. I frowned.
"What was on the file?"
"Nothing special" Obviously Adam didn't like speaking about his parents. I nodded slightly and we both fell silent. I put my hands in the pocket of the coat and frowned when i felt something. I pulled it out and laughed.
"You literally have a packet of condoms in your coat pocket?" I asked. I know he didn't just have them in there for today because he wouldn't have known it would just be us two. "You are actually a whore"
"You can never be too prepared" Adam laughed.
"I'm keeping your coat by the way" I said matter of factly. "Until i decide to buy my own"
"Whatever"
"You don't understand how cold it is in that bloody room"
"You're just too skinny, that's why"
"Fuck you" I said without any hate behind it. We reached the tracks and i easily jumped onto the train. I sat down at the doors and Adam sat down beside me, our feet dangling out. "You really pissed me off earlier" I muttered.
"Good" He smirked. "That was the point"
"I know, you were baiting me"
"And you took the bite" He chuckled. I smiled slightly but didn't comment.