Just as the morning seemed to fly by so did that evening. Before the initiates could even realize it, it was already time for dinner. As they all sat at the appropriate tables and started to eat their meal, the Dauntless leaders and their soldiers returned home. They marched in, the sounds of their boots echoing through the dining hall as the initiates fell silent. Some of the soldiers where covered in blood, others had splotches of it on the faces and on their uniforms, while others were fortunate enough to have stayed clean during the massacre.
The initiates watched intently as Max stepped forward, jumping up on one of the empty tables near the front of the dining hall so that all could see him clearly. Eric and Four stood at either side of the man while Angelique was taken to the infirmary to get the wound on her forehead checked out. Isabelle's eyes fell upon the blond leader, noticing that he had not been stained with blood. After a moment of scanning the room, his blue eyes found hers. She couldn't help but give Eric a small smile, glad to see that he was okay, but he didn't return one. A few other Dauntless soldiers followed behind him and placed the bodies of those who had died during the mission, their bodies wrapped in a beige shroud as they were placed before Max.
"Initiates," his voice boomed. He watched the crowd of kids as he spoke, "today some of our brothers and sister fell in the line of duty to protect the people of Abnegation from an attack led on by a group of factionless rioters. Here in Dauntless, when a member of our faction dies there is no such thing as mourning—we do not shed tears for those we have lost. Instead, we celebrate their life and their achievements; we celebrate their sacrifice. Tonight as we acknowledge our fallen friends, we honor their memory with drink and music! You are all encouraged to partake in our celebration, to show respect for those who did not make it back home."
And with that Max jumped off the table as the soldiers and Dauntless born initiates all cheered and applauded, both for their leader's words and for their deceased friends; eventually, the transfers did the same to show respect. While the leaders and their men made their way to their tables to eat for the first time that day, the soldiers who brought the bodies of the fallen Dauntless picked them back up and brought them into the cremation room, as it was tradition in the faction.
"Have you ever been down to ECHO?" Kathryn asked as she leaned in, a smirk was evident on her face.
"That's the nightclub here, right?" Mattie asked.
The blonde girl nodded, "Yeah, have you guys been there yet?"
The group of transfers shook their heads. Isabelle didn't even know there was a nightclub here.
Kathryn sat back in shock, her eyes wide and her jaw had dropped slightly. "Are you guys serious right now? It's almost been seven weeks and none of you have been down there? You guys haven't lived until you partied at ECHO—it's so much fun! There's loud music and strobe lights and laser lights and alcohol. It's probably Dauntless' most exclusive place; I mean anyone who's anyone goes there to have a good time. Even the leaders go there sometimes to let loose."
"So what does the ECHO have to do with the funeral service tonight?" Warsan asked.
Robbie answered as his sister stuffed her face with food, "When we have funerals here, the people who run ECHO bring all their equipment into the Pit and we party there; there's more room for everyone to dance and celebrate than having to try and squeeze everyone into the nightclub."
"You guys will have fun," Kathryn chimed in, "it's always a blast."
The initiates decided to scoff down the remainder of their food before they left the dining hall. They quickly revisited their living quarters in order to freshen up and change into their nightlife attire. Isabelle and Mattie donned tight, black dresses while Nikki opted for a tank top and skirt, all of the girls decided on wearing heels. Isabelle's dress had a plunging neck-line, but was covered in thin mesh as were her cap sleeves; Mattie's outfit wasn't as provocative as she wore a mesh cover over her solid black dress. Warsan wore a black v-neck and slacks. Once they had finished applying their makeup and setting their hair, the group of friends followed the crowd as they made their way down to the Pit where the loud, rave-rap and industrial techno music had already started to play, causing the walls to pulsate from the intense bass.
As Isabelle peered over the rail above, she noticed that there was already a large group of people down at the Pit, most of them dancing with each other in the middle while others stood around the sides and drank, taking swigs of their beer as they swayed to the music. Isabelle watched from afar with excitement, pulling down the hem of her dress slightly in anxious anticipation, feeling her skin start to tingle. She had never seen a place so full of energy—it was like electricity in the air. Back at Erudite, funerals were very dry and boring, somber, but this was the exact opposite. Isabelle started to shake with elation, a smile growing on her face. It was amazing how all of the speakers and lights could be set up in such a short amount of time, along with stage and a booth for alcohol.
As the group of friends made their down the pathway and descended down into the Pit, the music became louder, pounding in their ears as they walked past the large speakers that were erected next to a stage where the DJ stood as she listened to the music through her over-sized headphones. Kathryn, who stood over at the side away from the dancers with her brother, waved her arms fervently to gain her friends attention. After a moment, Mattie spotted the duo and the group squeezed through the crowd in order to make it over to their friends who were already drinking.
"Glad you could make it!" Kathryn said loudly, nearly shouting in order to be heard over the loud music.
"You look great, Kathryn!" Nikki exclaimed as she noticed the blonde's tight black dress with the corset top.
"Thanks, the dress makes my boobs look good, so I thought why not?" She laughed, making her brother roll his eyes so hard Isabelle thought they'd pop right out of his skull.
"Where do we get the beers?" Warsan asked, getting straight to the point.
Robbie pointed over his shoulder to a booth, "that guy with the flaming red hair; his name's Novak and he co-owns ECHO—he's got the booze."
"Anyone want one?" The dark-skinned boy asked, pointing at his friends with his long index finger.
"I'll take one," Isabelle said with an excited smile.
Mattie shook her head, "none for me right now—maybe later."
"I'll come with you," Nikki said as she and Warsan made their way through to crowd towards Novak's makeshift booth.
As the two left, Kathryn turned to the other girls, "Are you guys ready to go wild?"
Isabelle couldn't help but contain a laugh, waving her hands frantically, "I don't know about wild, but we'll see how the night goes."
"And you Mattie?"
"I'm with Isabelle on this one."
Kathryn scoffed, twisting her face into a foolish, displeased expression, "You two are boring! I bet Nikki will go wild with me."
"Then be her problem, not ours." Robbie laughed, taking a drink from his beer.
Warsan and Nikki returned a few moments later with three beers, handing Isabelle hers. She twisted the cap off and took a sip, her face immediately contorting at the bitter taste. Kathryn and Robbie laughed hysterically; obviously they were slightly tipsy already. Although she wasn't used to the taste of beer, with every sip it got a little better. Isabelle couldn't say that she'd drink this every occasion she could, but to celebrate and have some fun, it was a good start.
The group of friends stood and talked as they continued to drink their beers, the loud music pulsating around them and filling the air with life. When Robbie left to get two more drinks for him and his sister, Virgil approached the group. Warsan welcomed the red-haired boy with a handshake, pulling the other into a hug before releasing him from the friendly embrace.
"What's up Virgil?"
The redhead shrugged, his sapphire blue eyes glancing over at Mattie momentarily. "Nothing, just came by to say hi. How are you guys?" He asked the group with a nervous smile. They all responded, but found it a little odd that the boy wanted to converse with them, seeing that he usually hung out with Sido and Warsan occasionally. The redhead stood and talked to Warsan's friends for a little bit before the purpose of his friendliness came into light. "Hey Mattie, you want to dance?" He asked, still smiling nervously at the tall girl.
Mattie froze at his words, her eyes slightly wide at the sudden invitation. Slowly, but surely, the ends of her mouth curled up in an anxious grin, a small laugh escaping her lips. "Um, yeah, sure—I'd love to dance."
Virgil's smile grew as he took a hold of Mattie's hand, leading her away from her friends and into the large mass of people who were dancing in the center of the Pit. Kathryn and Nikki wolf-whistled and hollered at their friend who was obviously getting more action than the rest of them. Warsan did that same to his friend. Isabelle simply smiled, happy to find out that her friend had an admirer. The group watched as the two started to dance. Virgil held Mattie close as they swayed to the heavy music, the laser lights creating a futuristic aesthetic to the scene.
Isabelle and Nikki finished their drinks faster than they thought, so the strawberry blonde offered to grab some more. Robbie, after gaining courage from downing two beers and Virgil's chance on Mattie, decided to go and ask Artemis for a dance. The two remaining girls wished the boy luck as he disappeared into the crowd.
"And then there were four," Nikki exclaimed as she reappeared with Isabelle's beer.
The brunette thanked her friend and opened her drink, taking a large chug from the bottle. Her hazel eyes scanned around the Pit, trying to find any other familiar faces. A few feet away from Virgil and Mattie, she was able to spot Robbie who was successful at encouraging a dance with Artemis. The two looked like they were enjoying themselves as Robbie held the girl close to his own body, dancing chest-to-chest as she had her arms wrapped around his neck and his were around her waist. Besides the two couples, Isabelle didn't recognize many of the people down in the Pit; most of them were members of Dauntless she had never seen, or at least Isabelle didn't remember seeing them.
Looking to the side near the stage where the DJ's table stood, Isabelle could see a group of leaders as they drank and talked to one another, including Eric although he didn't look too social—brooding by himself a foot or two away from the other leaders, leaning against the stage for support. A woman with bright red hair and stitches on her forehead, Angelique, had left the group to dance with Ashur, one of the instructors for the Dauntless borns.
"It looks like the initiates aren't the only ones getting lucky tonight," Is replied with a smirk, taking a swill of beer.
Kathryn looked over to where Isabelle's eyes were locked. As she spotted her leader, Kathryn couldn't help but shout over the crowd, even though she knew Ashur couldn't have possibly heard the girl over the deafening music, no matter how loud she was. "Yeah Ashur! Get some!"
The three transfers erupted in a roar of laughter at their blonde friend's antics, also slightly tipsy now. How could one girl be so crazy, so loud, and have absolutely no such thing as a filter? It didn't matter really, as long as it didn't get her in trouble, Isabelle noted with a grin.
Warsan glanced over to the leaders again, a smile gracing his lips, "Look at Eric," he said, causing Isabelle to comply. The leader was chugging down another beer as the other leaders around him continued to talk and laugh; as he finished that beer, Isabelle could see that he was barely able to stand still, causing her to frown a bit. "How many drinks do you think he's had?"
"I don't know, but he doesn't look too good." She replied honestly, looking over at her friend with sullen eyes. After a moment, Isabelle lost sight of Eric as he disappeared into the crowd; probably to get another drink, Isabelle thought wistfully.
Mattie came back into view, pulling Virgil behind her by the hand as they approached her friends. The two were perspiring slightly, the sweat beads glistening on their faces, but they seemed in an ecstatic daze from the dancing and music. "Hey guys," Mattie said with a large grin on her pretty face.
"How's Virgil's dancing?" Nikki asked, giving the two a sly expression.
"He's fantastic—so much better than me." She laughed.
Virgil also chuckled, wrapping an arm around her waist, "She's not as bad as she thinks she is."
"I don't know about that," Mattei admitted, a blush appearing on her ivory cheeks, "we just came over to let you guys know that we're heading out. We're tired, so we're just going to go back to the living quarters and hang out a bit."
"Are you sure that's all you're gonna do?" Kathryn asked, winking at the two.
The blush on Mattie's cheeks deepened, now they were nearly red. Nikki slapped Kathryn on the arm, "None of that now!"
"I promise all we're going to do is talk, mother." Virgil joked, getting a snort out of Kathryn.
And with that, Mattie and Virgil left the Pit. Robbie and Artemis were no where to be seen, so the gang assumed they had disappeared to spend a little time by themselves, much like Mattie and her new beau. As Warsan, Nikki, and Kathryn got into a lively argument about who would be caught locking lips first—Mattie and Virgil or Robbie and Artemis—Isabelle found herself searching for Eric again.
The last time she saw him, he didn't look very well. But as she thought about it, she didn't know why she felt so concerned. He was a big boy would could take care of himself, so why did feel obligated to know that he was okay? He could be in the public bathroom puking his brains out, or back at his apartment sleeping the booze off, or he could be hooking up, so why did it irk Isabelle not knowing where he was? If she knew, at least she'd have some peace to mind, even if it was something she didn't like.
Kathryn had spotted the boy with short dreads as he sauntered through the dancing crowd, a beer in hand. She glanced over at Isabelle before nodding in his direction, "It looks like Is might be the next to leave the group."
The brunette felt a tap on her shoulder and turned to see Durro standing before her, his eyes glossy and his stance wobbly. "Hey Is-Isabelle," he said, slightly slurring his words.
"Durro," she smiled, but it quickly fell as the strong scent of alcohol surrounded him, invading her nostrils. As she took a closer look at the boy, she noticed that he couldn't help but sway as he tried to steady himself, trying not to tip over. "Are you alright?"
"Me?" he asked with a cheeky grin, "I couldn't be better."
"You don't look well, Durro."
"I said—I said I'm fine! I-I just came over to ask if you wanted to dance—with me? Do you wanna dance?"
It was then that Isabelle knew that Durro had way too much to drink. Politely, the girl shook her head, "I don't know how to dance to this kind of music."
"It's all good... I can teach you!"
"No, Durro, it's okay. Maybe next time."
"Next time?" He persisted, "what if there's not a next time?"
"There's always a next time."
Warsan stepped forward, pulling Isabelle to his side protectively, "Is isn't interested in dancing, Durro. Go find someone else."
At the flip of a switch Durro pushed Warsan harshly, causing the boy to stumble back, "I'm not fucking talking to you asshole!" Oh yeah, Isabelle thought as a pang of panic rang through her suddenly, he was definitely drunk. "I'm not fucking talking to you!" He then grabbed Isabelle by the arm and pulled her close, squeezing it tight enough that Isabelle knew he'd leave a bruise, "I said let's dance."
Isabelle jerked her arm hard enough to be able to get out of the boy's grip, "Get out of here, Durro, you're fucking drunk."
Durro huffed at the girl's comment and reached out to grab her again, but this time he was stopped by a large man who stepped in front of Isabelle suddenly. She glanced up, Isabelle was surprised to see Eric standing before her; she had to blink a few times to realize that he really was there and it wasn't the alcohol that was affecting her vision. Eric reached his left arm out behind him, instinctually sheathing the girl from any harm Durro might inflict.
"She said to get out of here, initiate." Eric's voice was dark and low, barely above a growl, "I suggest you listen to her." The leader didn't appear as inebriated as he was earlier that night, to which Isabelle was grateful.
"This is between me and the girl, not you muscle-head." Durro had to be drunk in order to speak to Eric the way he did.
"You better leave before I beat your skull into the cement, initiate." It was staggering how well Eric was taking Durro's shit, but the other initiates could hear the irritation and aggravation growing in his voice; by this time, the surrounding people had stopped their own conversation to watch as the Dauntless born had picked a fight with Eric—they were all just watching for the leader to knock the kid out.
Something in Durro's demeanor changed as his brown eyes turned dark with anger, "I said this was between me and the girl!"
The boy swung the beer bottle that was still in his hand, but Eric was able to grab his wrist before head butting the initiate, hitting Durro right in the nose with his forehead. The boy stumbled back, landing on his ass as he cradled his now throbbing head and bleeding nose. Eric turned to Warsan and Kathryn nodding over at the drunk boy. "Get him out of my sight, now!"
The two didn't hesitate as they rushed over to Durro's side, grabbing him by the arms and quickly dragging him away as he tried to squirm under their grasp, yelling and shouting, but mostly cussing at Eric and Isabelle—using a slew of profanities towards the girl. The rest of the people who had stopped to watch the spectacle went back to their conversations, not wanting to get on Eric's bad side if he caught them staring. Nikki had excused herself, running out of the Pit to find Mattie and tell her what had happened.
Eric turned around to see if Isabelle was alright, finding her watching him, her lips parted slightly. "You're bleeding," Isabelle said, her eyes fixated on the oozing blood that was dripping down the side of Eric's face.
The leader shook his head, avoiding her gaze as he wiped the blood with the back of his hand, "It's nothing… I've been injured worse."
"Let me clean it for you."
"I said it's nothing, you have other things to worry about."
"Just let me clean it before it gets infected, to say thank you for helping me out with Durro."
"You could've handled that yourself."
Isabelle raised a brow, glancing up into Eric's blue eyes with a slight tilt of her head, "Then why did you step in?"
Her question made Eric stop and think for a moment as his eyes bore into hers, the laser lights above flashing over the two as the blue, purple, and red streaks flickered intensely, illuminating Isabelle's delicate features. Why did he step in? He knew that she was perfectly capable to take out the boy; yeah he was of higher rank than her and one of the best fighters among the initiates, top in his group, but Durro was drunk and sloppy in his attack so she could've easily defended herself against him.
Eric clenched his jaw, reluctantly agreeing with Isabelle. He led the girl out of the Pit and away from the blaring music as he walked down a dark corridor, turning right into another hallway. He guided her into a part of the compound she had never ventured into before as they took a metal staircase up a few levels; it seemed that the compound was much larger than she thought it was with all of its secret passageways and rooms.
After a good tour through a few more corridors, Eric had finally steered Isabelle into a private bathroom—one used only by the leaders. When she stepped in, she couldn't help but squint as everything in the bathroom was white, giving it a pretentious appeal to it. It was rather large and cozy with a single stall, a long mirror against the wall above the sink, and two tall cabinets on either side of the sink.
"There's a retractable chair behind the cabinet where you'll find medical supplies," Eric said as he pointed to the nearest cabinet.
Isabelle nodded and reached behind the cabinet first, feeling the cold metal of the chair. She pulled it out and handing it over to Eric where he opened it up and locked it before taking a seat in front of the sink a few inches back. With him sitting quietly, Isabelle moved in front of the cabinet and pulled open the door, revealing the copious amount of medical supplies; most of it was simple things you'd find in anyone's home: hydrogen peroxide, cotton balls, band-aids, gauze, aspirin, and small paper cups.
The girl grabbed everything except for the gauze, thinking she wouldn't need it, and placed them on the sink behind her. She turned on the faucet and placed the cup underneath it, getting some cold water for Eric. She handed him the cup and offered him some aspirin. Silently, he opened his palm as the girl poured two into his hand. As she turned around, Eric popped the small tablets into his mouth before swallowing them with a drink of water. Isabelle reached behind her as Eric handed the cup back to the brunette. She poured the remanding water down the sink and disposed of the cup into the trash can.
Once that was done with, Isabelle took another paper cup and filled it about one-third of the way with hydrogen peroxide. She took a few cotton balls in her hand and turned to Eric, kneeling in front of him so that they were both nearly at the same level as the other. She took one of the cotton balls and removed the blood off his face, starting at the bottom of his chin and wiping upwards gently before disposing of it in the trash bin. Isabelle took another one, but this time she dipped a part of the cotton ball into the peroxide, wiping excess liquid on the inside of the cup. Tenderly, she began to clean the wound on his temple, moving the cotton ball in a circular motion. It stung slightly, but Eric didn't allow himself to flinch at her touch.
As she cleaned his small wound, Eric's eyes studied Isabelle's soft features. Her eyes were ardent as she watched her own fingers nimbly work to both disinfect the cut on Eric's head and to stop the bleeding. Her hazel eyes appeared more green underneath the fluorescent lighting above, unlike the dark brown they seemed to be when they were under the dim lighting in the Pit.
"You're surprisingly quite good at this," Eric finally said, his eyes never leaving Isabelle.
"Really?" She asked, taken back a bit, "I've never done this before, but my mother did this quite often so I must've learned it from her."
"You and your mother are from Erudite, so why did she clean wounds often?"
Isabelle was silent for a moment, debating if she wanted to tell Eric the truth about her family. She was a very private person, but being here alone with him, she didn't think he'd tell anyone. "My dad used to get in a lot of fights—he drank heavily and caused a bit trouble back home, so my mom had to clean up after his messes."
"Did he cause trouble often?"
Isabelle nodded, avoiding the leader's eyes, "yeah, when he got drunk he got really rowdy; it seemed like every other night he got into a fight."
"Sounds like you," Eric mused, a smirk appearing on his handsome face.
"Shut up," the girl mumbled, but her tone was dark, as if he struck a nerve which caused Eric to furrow his brows at the girl. Once his wound was clean, she grabbed a new cotton ball and applied pressure onto the wound, causing the leader to cringe slightly at the sudden force exerted onto his wound. Isabelle didn't apologize, to be honest she didn't even realize that she had applied more pressure as she continued to clean his cut.
"When you said he caused trouble back home, did you mean back at Erudite or in your own house?" Isabelle froze in place—she knew she should've just kept her mouth shut. But her silence was all Eric needed to answer his question. "So he used to hit you?"
Slowly, Isabelle nodded, still eluding Eric's gaze. "Sometimes," was all she was able to breath out. After a long pause Isabelle continued, "but my mom got the worst of it."
"It figures as much," Eric retorted with a quiet sigh.
Isabelle almost looked offended by his words as she furrowed her brows, "What is that supposed to mean?"
"You tend to stick up for people and help them out—more so than other people in your situation; I just figured you liked to protect people for a reason."
"Yeah well, I couldn't protect my mom from my father's outbursts, so I thought whenever the moment presented itself I would help anyone who needed it, no matter what."
"Is that why you spent so much time at the Archives with her? Because your father couldn't hurt her there?"
Isabelle glanced up at Eric finally, narrowing her eyes at the leader as her lips parted in surprise. "How did you know that?"
Eric was silent for a moment, debating if he wanted to reveal such information to Isabelle or if he wanted to keep if from her for a little bit longer. He watched her quietly, blinking slowly but never turning his attention away from the girl before him. "Our mothers worked together at the Archives before I came to Dauntless for my initiation. Every time I came by to see her, I noticed you were never far—always with a book in hand."
And then it clicked in Isabelle's head—that's why Eric seemed so familiar to her. "You're Eric Lowenthall, Lotte and Sebastian's son."
Eric nodded slowly, his eyes still on Isabelle.
Isabelle took a moment to examine Eric's features. Eric Lowenthall, back when he was still an Erudite, had dark brown hair that hung just past his shoulders; he must've cut and dyed his hair upon initiation or shortly after it, Isabelle noted. With the addition of the tattoos, piercings, and being a few years older also made it harder for the girl to recognize him. Isabelle was used to seeing the Eric she knew with radically different features, so when she saw this Eric—the Dauntless leader—it flew completely over her head. They weren't friends back home, nothing even remotely close to it since he was two years older than her and he had left the Erudite compound before she could realize it, but she did know of the boy.
"So this entire time you've known who I was and you didn't bother telling me, or at least decide to drop a hint?"
Eric shrugged nonchalantly, finally breaking eye contact as he smirked playfully at Isabelle. "I didn't know the entire time; it wasn't until about two weeks after initiation started that I realized who you were. But I knew you were smart—that you'd figure it out eventually."
"You're an ass," Isabelle smiled, letting out a small laugh.
The two fell silent as the bleeding had finally stopped, so Isabelle removed the cotton ball from Eric's cut and thew it in the trash. She playfully asked if he wanted a band-aid, to which he told her to fuck off, eliciting a quiet chuckle from the girl. Still kneeling on the ground, Isabelle reached up and gently examined Eric's wound with her fingers, feeling for any bumps that might've risen while she performed care on the leader.
Without realizing it, Isabelle allowed her fingers to gently caress the side of Eric's face, dancing lightly over his cheekbones, mesmerized by his the softness of his skin underneath her fingertips. Maybe it was the lingering alcohol in her system that made her so brash, but she truly didn't know. Eric watched her intently, not protesting her light touch as it left a trail of warmth on his face, amazed by her. He was simply amazed by Isabelle. Almost as if spell-bound, unable to control herself, Isabelle cupped the leader's face and leaned in. Her lips were so close to Eric's that she swore she could already feel them upon hers, but then suddenly in an instant it was as if the spell on Isabelle was broken and she realized what she was about to do. She pulled back in horror, her eyes wide and her breathing labored, like a deer caught in headlights.
"I'm sorry," she whispered innocuously as she tried to scoot back a bit, "I'm sorry."
Eric didn't say anything as he leaned in, this time he was able to capture Isabelle in a passionate kiss. His kiss wasn't gentle or soft like the girl might've thought, but instead it was much more fervent and consuming, opening his mouth as he slid his tongue over her bottom lip. Surprised, but not taken back entirely, Isabelle parted her lips, allowing Eric to seize her mouth fervidly. The leader wrapped his strong arms around Isabelle's waist, pulling her up from the ground to straddle his hips. She gasped against his lips at the sudden closeness between the two of them, especially as the hem of her dress rose slightly, causing her to shiver in his arms, but Eric pulled her back in for another heated kiss.
After a moment, Eric broke the kiss; his breathing was labored slightly as he looked upon the girl with avid eyes, "you've been on my mind for the the past few weeks, do you know that? Ever since the incident with Avicus, you'd just keep popping into my mind; it's driving me crazy."
"You're drunk, Eric." Isabelle whispered, nearly against his lips.
"I'm not," he whispered breathlessly, placing a few kisses on Isabelle's neck, trailing up to her jawline as he nibbled on the skin seductively. Isabelle couldn't suppress the whimper that escaped her lips at the sensation of his teeth against her flesh.
Enjoying the sound she made, Eric grabbed a hold of Isabelle's hips, pressing her against him; the girl closed her eyes as she bit down on her lower lip, careful of her lip piercing, "You had a lot to drink tonight; I saw you."
"That's why I left the Pit. I went outside for some fresh air, but I'm fine now. Why—are you concerned about my consent?" He asked, arching a brow playfully.
"I just didn't want to do anything you'd regret in the morning—I am still an initiate after all."
"That's very considerate of you," he whispered against her neck, resuming the esurient bites on her soft skin.
But Isabelle resisted, shaking her head her head as she tried to pry away from his enticing antics, "I should be heading back to my living quarters anyway. It's late and I have to train tomorrow."
"I can excuse you."
"Eric," her tone was inure, trying to get the leader to understand what she wanted as she slowly eased her way off of Eric. Reluctantly, he allowed the girl escape from his arms as she stood up and straightened out her dress before she started to put the medical supplies away in the cabinet. Eric recollected himself and stood as well, closing the retractable chair. He handed it back to Isabelle before she slid it back behind the cabinet where it belonged.
The duo left the private bathroom, leaving behind their passionate rendezvous as Isabelle shut the door behind her. Eric then led the girl back to her living quarters, their walk was silent but Isabelle didn't mind; words would only ruin the moment. Once Isabelle knew where she was, she offered to walk back to the living quarters alone, not wanted to raise any suspicions—especially since they left the Pit together after Eric had slugged Durro. The blond agreed and left without another word. Normally, Isabelle would have thought it rude, but she knew he didn't want to risk anyone seeing them together this late at night.
In a radiant daze, Isabelle wandered back to the living quarters a few minutes after parting from Eric. Quietly she slipped into the bathroom and washed her face and brushed her teeth before going to her cot where she peeled off her dress. She slid on her black pajama pants and tank top before slipping underneath the covers of her bed, resting her head gently on the pillow. It didn't take long before sleep crept over the girl, sending her into a peaceful slumber.