Hi all, it's been some time since I updated my stories, don't worry I am working on all of them and I have some more ideas for other stories :) Meanwhile enjoy this chapter and tell me what you think!
I do not own Divergent or its characters.
"Come on, Tris!" Christina dragged her friend along into the pit, "You have to dance!" Tris fumbled with the hem of her skirt which Christina had insisted she should wear, "Chris, I'm not in the mood!" she argued and rolled her eyes. Christina swatted her hands away and chuckled when the other girl glared at her, "No, this is not too short! If you don't plan on getting back with Four you should show what you got!" She thought for a moment before she added, "Well, you should always go for short, even in a relationship, but if you're single it is even more important. Sometimes love comes from where you'd least expect it!"
Christina winked at her before an absolute reluctant Tris was dragged on and into the crowd. They danced together for a while before Will joined them and the couple got so lost in each other that Tris was able to sneak off. She sat down at the bar at the side furthest away from the dance floor as not to get caught bailing out.
Her friend had forced her to get out of her apartment, she wouldn't have done so if not for her friend. She had been brooding over the fact that she finally had thought she could open her heart again, only to witness her own childish thoughts being crushed so violently.
After she ordered a mild drink her eyes scanned the room, she didn't know what she was looking for but then her eyes caught Eric. He was just entering the pit and Lauren was at his side.
Tris quickly looked away, not ready to see him yet after the events from yesterday. The scenes kept repeating in her head, the closeness with Eric, it had almost seemed natural to be so intimate with him. Her thoughts went back to the moment where she was so foolish to believe that he was going to kiss her. She would have loved to just let it happen, it had been on her mind for such a long time now. Why did he stop himself, why did he say he didn't want them to do anything they could regret? She didn't understand.
Seeing Lauren at his apartment already hurt and seeing them now together was even worse. She wondered briefly what would have happened if she had stayed just a few minutes longer, if Lauren would have knocked while she was still there. Would Eric have kicked her out in anticipation of a booty call?
Tris looked up and her heart started racing when she saw them coming over to the bar. Holding her breath she prayed that they wouldn't see her. They didn't pay her any attention and Tris sighed in relief watching them sit down at the opposite side of the bar. Eric was looking out into the crowd as if he was looking for someone while Lauren ordered their drinks.
Her stomach twisted when he turned back to Lauren and laid an arm around her shoulders with a smirk when he saw his drink already in front of him. He seemed distracted somehow though and Tris couldn't keep her eyes off of him. She hadn't been able to sleep well, her thoughts were drifting back to Eric and how she longed to kiss those lips that were now drawn into a tight smile now.
Her heart missed a beat when Eric's eyes wandered to her and spotted her finally. Lauren was talking to him but his eyes remained fixated on Tris and he removed his arm from around her shoulders immediately. A small smile tugged at his lips as their eyes met, one others could have missed but she knew him enough already to know that this was the best Eric was willing to offer in public. She returned the smile without thinking about it and her stomach fluttered at the very private moment between them. It was as if he would only have eyes for her.
Suddenly his face twisted into his usual scowl and Tris could feel her palms start sweating. But before she could even begin to delve into thinking about what she might have done wrong, she felt a heavy hand on her shoulder. She turned to be face to face with Four. "Hi Tris," he slurred out, obviously intoxicated by the way his head wobbled and he was unable to steady himself, "It's nice to see you here!"
His voice was too loud and before she could protest his arm was around her waist and he placed a wet kiss on her cheek, she had turned her head just in time to prevent a kiss on the mouth. "Four, what are you doing?" she exclaimed in surprise.
Four slammed down a bottle right next to her glass and she cringed, almost expecting it to shatter into pieces from the force. "I would like to spend some time with you," he forced out and snarled at her, "After all you said we could still be friends, right?"
She didn't know where she took the courage from but she pushed him away with a hand on his chest, "Four, you're wasted!" For a second she thought she would succeed but he was much stronger than her and pushed her hand away to get closer again. "Come on, Tris, we've been so good together! Don't you think I deserve another chance?"
He tried to kiss her again and Tris was horrified of him suddenly but only managed to hold him at arm's length. She turned her head away, her eyes flickered over to Eric in hope that he'd see and help but he was gone. Lauren was alone staring at Four in disgust. She smelled the alcohol on his breath and the sweat transpiring off his body, she was scared beyond belief.
And thankfully Four was yanked away from her all of a sudden. She tried to catch her breath she didn't notice she was holding. Eric shoved Four against the counter by his shoulder and glared at him. Four was so surprised that he was too dumbfounded to protest.
At first Tris thought that Eric's attitude alone could drive Four away but then he regained his composure and snorted, "What do you want, oh ruthless mister Eric, leader of Dauntless? Can't you see I'm talking to my friend here?"
Except for the flare of his nostrils Eric's face was expressionless and cold, much like Tris remembered him during initiation. He took his time to answer but when he did his voice was deadly low, "Go to bed, Four. You're way past your limit."
Four laughed in his face and snorted, "Don't tell me about limits. We both know that limits are mere guidelines for you-" Four moved to break free from Eric's vice-like grip but was slammed back into the counter with so much force that the glasses behind him trembled. Tris dared a look around only to see that no one really took notice of the scene except for Lauren. That alone made her cringe and she averted her eyes quickly.
A chill ran down her spine when Eric spoke again, "I'm not asking politely anymore," he raised his eyebrow and got closer to Four's face, "Fucking remove yourself, or you'll regret it!"
Four looked over at Tris whose eyes were wide and he clicked his tongue. He looked back at Eric whose eyes never left the other man, "It seems Eric here knows what's best for us, Tris. Don't you think he should leave us alone? Don't you want to say something?" His eyes went to her and they were almost pleading with her, "You would like to be with me, don't you?"
Eric stepped away from Four and crossed his arms over his chest. She noticed his eyes flicker briefly to her almost apologetically but otherwise kept watching Four carefully.
"No, Four, please leave me alone," she answered at last.
She felt pity when Four looked at her with hurt in his eyes but she stood her ground and raised an eyebrow in expectation. Four complied at last and forcefully pushed past Eric who let out a long sigh.
When he had made sure that Four really had left Eric turned to Tris. "Thank you," she mumbled and he only nodded in response. Sitting down on the bar stool next to her Eric brushed his hand through his hair, almost nervously. She caught a glimpse of his eyes lingering on her bare thighs for a moment too long and as soon as she tugged at the hem of her skirt in an attempt to cover herself his eyes snapped away. He pinched the bridge of his nose which was a gesture she had noticed he made when something annoyed him, "So, Four still bothers you?"
Tris rolled her eyes, "Yes, he wants to get back with me." Eric raised an eyebrow but didn't comment on it so she continued, "But I won't, especially not after this episode." She tried a weak smile and Eric's face softened a bit. He gestured to the dance floor, "Why aren't you dancing with your friends?"
It didn't slip her attention that he distracted her from her encounter with Four and was thankful for it. She shrugged looking over to her friends having a good time, "I'm not in the mood," she offered half-heartedly. He only nodded and regarded her calmly. Tris gestured to Lauren, "What about your date?" She looked over to see Lauren all over a tall guy with tattoos all over his body and wondered what kind of an open relationship her and Eric shared. Eric watched the two and chuckled low in his throat, "My date? Lauren's a big girl, she can take care of herself obviously."
Tris raised an eyebrow and he looked back at her, a smirk forming on his lips, "Is the Stiff jealous? I can't have my attention on you all the time, you know?" She rolled her eyes, "I'm not jealous, Eric. Why would I be?"
The laugh that escaped him made her cringe, even she wouldn't have bought the lie. His smirk grew even wider when she blushed furiously, but she hoped he didn't see it in the dim light of the pit. He turned towards her fully and laughed at her fidgeting hands and teased her, "Admit it!"
She rolled her eyes again trying to cover how uncomfortable he made her feel about his playful accusation. She had to force herself to calm down, the proximity to him made her hyper aware of her feelings towards him, made her aware of how attracted she actually was to him. "Look Eric, I have other things to worry about than being jealous," she exclaimed in a feeble attempt to escape his curious eyes. "I see, then let's elaborate these other things," he laughed throatily, he was obviously amused by the way he made her squirm.
Trying to get up Tris was stopped by Eric's hand around her wrist, it was a soft touch and she had to suppress a sigh when he pulled her to him. "Stay," he mumbled, his face was serious and she felt her chest heave with the sincerity in his voice. But in a blink of an eye a smirk lit up his face again, "That's an order, Stiff!"
When Tris spoke her voice was a lot firmer than she thought, "I have a day off, you can order me around any other day." He let go off her wrist and leaned towards her, his eyes boring into hers and his voice lowered to a husky tone that sent shivers up and down her spine, "Is that a promise?"
Before she was able to retort anything his head snapped to the side, a small hand was on his shoulder. It was Shauna who whispered something in his ear, she seemed to try to go for seductive but it didn't seem to have any effect on Eric. The only thing Tris could make out was "it's important" and before he left he growled in her direction, "I'll be right back."
She saw Lauren watching Eric's retreating back with a frown and wondered again how she could have ever thought that she might have a chance with Eric. Lauren was so much stronger and more confident in everything she did. She was also much for more beautiful than Tris could ever imagine to be.
It made her so sad that she decided not to wait for Eric's return and left the bar. She was just around the corner when she saw Eric and Shauna standing in a corner. Apparently they were having a heated argument, at least Shauna was almost in his face snarling at him while he glared back at her with his arms crossed over his chest. He seemed to have enough of it and grabbed her shoulders, before Tris could blink Shauna's lips locked with Eric's. Her stomach dropped and she felt tears prick at the corners of her eyes.
Unable to watch on she turned so quickly that her shoes squeaked but she didn't look back. Brushing away the first tears from her cheek she suddenly felt a strong hand on her shoulder, "Wait, Tris!" It was Eric and when she turned she saw a fuming Shauna far behind over his shoulder.
"It's not what it looks like!" he defended himself but it only made her more furious. She didn't know where that damn jealousy came from all of a sudden, she had seen him with others girls before, she had seen him make out with girls before. But since she had realized that she was somewhat attracted to him she couldn't stand the sight of any other girl with him.
Still she tried to hide her real feelings and snapped at him, "Look, I don't care what you usually do but that was so wrong! You should be ashamed of yourself!" The confusion on his face seemed to be legitimate but Tris ignored it. "What do you mean?" he exclaimed with his eyebrows furrowed. Tris gaped at him, was this really normal for him, going around making out with every girl? Did her Abnegation upbringing show through too much now? Should she be okay with all of this only because she was now Dauntless?
"Well, I mean that you're kissing Shauna behind Lauren's back!"
His eyes widened and then his face broke out into a mixture between a glare and confusion, "What? I- Shauna- Wait, what does this have to do with Lauren?" Tris rolled her eyes at him and rambled, "It's okay, Eric, I know it's none of my business and I shouldn't even care about what you're doing with all those girls. But I thought you'd be better than that!" He contemplated her words for a moment, staring at her in disbelief. She already wanted to turn away from him, run away from all of this and just hide in her apartment again. But something made her stay and stare right back into his grey eyes she had come to admire so much over the past weeks.
A smirk slowly spread across his face and he took a step towards her, "So you admit it?" She backed away and he stepped closer until she was backed up against the wall behind her, "You want a piece of Eric as well?"
She immediately tried to push him away, "Cut it out, Eric! I'm not that kind of girl and I won't do anything which could hurt Lauren!"
He huffed in annoyance, "Why are you constantly talking about Lauren?" Tris gulped and crossed her arms defensively, "Well, you're a thing, right?" Eric raised an eyebrow in question and Tris blurted out, "Why else would she be at your place so often?"
His face remained serious and he regarded her as if he didn't understand what she was talking about. He gestured with his thumb towards the pit, "You think we are-" and broke off when Tris tried to break free from him. He sighed in exasperation and grabbed her arm to push her back against the wall. She was too dumbfounded by how rough and gentle at the same time he was and wasn't able to fight back.
The tears she had successfully suppressed moments before threatened to flow freely again. Pressing her sweaty hands flat on the wall behind her she stared up at him. She couldn't breathe, she couldn't think with him so close to her, it was unbearable how she longed to touch his face and run away at the same time.
She could feel his thumb caressing her arm slightly and it felt like eternity that he stared down at her, his eyes bore into hers and she was unable to form any intelligible sentence. His dark voice finally cut through the lingering silence, "We're not." Confusion washed through her features, "What?"
"We're not a thing," he said as if this could defuse the entire situation. She eyed him suspiciously and he shrugged, "Just because she comes to my apartment doesn't mean I'm in her pants."
"So you're with Shauna?" He scrunched his nose as if she had just insulted him, "No, I'm not with Shauna either!" Her heart skipped a beat at his unspoken confession about being with neither woman, she could feel heat crawl all over her skin. He laughed suddenly, "Shauna had been after my pants for quite a while now, though. She tried to kiss me, the drunk woman is crazy, I'm telling you."
Placing his hands on both sides of her head he grinned down at her. She felt reminded of her dream all of a sudden, the way he looked at her and licked his lips made her skin tingle in anticipation. "Why are you so interested in the status of my love life all of a sudden?"
Tris felt her cheeks warm up, she hadn't realized that it was so obvious and she mentally slapped herself that she had let herself ramble. She could have just acted as though she didn't care, but no, she had to let her feelings take over and make a complete fool out of herself.
The tears she had so bravely held back seconds ago stung her eyes again and she blinked as the tears slipped past her eyelids involuntarily. She couldn't hold eye contact anymore and looked down which was almost impossible because he was so close.
Eric frowned and lifted her chin so she had to look at him again, "Are you crying, Tris?"
She cleared her throat and brushed away the tears quickly. Still not able to say anything she just stared right back at him.
"Why do I have the feeling that this is not about Lauren? Or Shauna for that matter?"
His thumb caressed her cheek and his fingertips grazed her throat gently. Tris leaned into the touch and wasn't sure on what to do now. He had stopped them from kissing the first time around, now he didn't make a move to kiss her, he just gazed at her with an unreadable expression.
"Tris?!"
Before she could blink Eric stepped away from her and Christina's voice rang across the hallway. "Are you okay?"
Her friend jogged over and she wiped her face with the back of her sleeve, "I'm fine, Chris!" She smiled at her approaching friend and looked at Eric who wore his usual scowl. Christina eyed him suspiciously but addressed Tris, "I saw Four running after you and after what I saw at the bar, I thought I'd check on you."
Tris raised her eyebrows and looked over to Eric who was rubbing the back of his neck, "Well, he didn't come this way." Christina shrugged and took Tris' hand, grinning she tried to pull her back to the pit, "Then let's go dancing again!"
Eric turned to leave much to Tris' disappointment, "See you in the office, Stiff!" he called and waved, "No sparring tomorrow and don't drink too much, I need your brains for a change!"