Eric's POV
"I hadn't counted on you being this badly injured, I thought we'd be training tonight." I said, moving to sit on the chair to the right of the bed.
"Well maybe you shouldn't have paired me with Edward, then." She retorted, glaring at me.
"That was my mistake. I had assumed that, since who appears to be his girlfriend is weak, he'd understand how hard it would be for you and let you win. But I was wrong, and I apologize." I reached up and grazed the bandages wrapped around her head, causing her to wince. I immediately retracted my hand and sent her an apologetic look.
"No, no, don't worry about it. Just, you know, head pain." She said, quietly chuckling. "However, I am a little grateful you paired me with him. If you had paired me with someone weaker and people saw you talking to me, they'd assume you were playing favourites." I nodded to her words. "If you pair me with him again, though, once I get through initiation I'll kick your ass."
I laughed loudly at that and she looked at me strange.
"What're you looking at, Stiff?"
"You actually laughed."
"What do you mean? I laugh all the time."
She shook her head and smiled slightly.
"No, you don't. Not like that." She looked down at her still-bandaged knuckles. "It's normally a mean, cold laugh. I didn't even know you had the capability of actually laughing." She snorted quietly.
"I don't know what you're talking about, Stiff. I don't laugh." I said in a mockingly serious tone. She looked up at me, skeptical, then let out a small laugh as she saw the joking smirk on my face.
"So, obviously, training won't start today." I said after an oddly comfortable silence had settled over the room.
"I think we already covered that."
I rolled my eyes at her. "You can take today and tomorrow to heal up. We start training tomorrow evening."
"I was just out cold for, what, more than four hours? Do you really think I'll be capable of training by tomorrow evening?"
"You're just lucky I'm not making you fight tomorrow. You'll sit out of regular initiate training and work with me after. You should be well enough to throw a couple of punches by then." She opened her mouth to argue, but I stood up and clasped my hands behind my back, giving off the air of finality and authority I've achieved after a couple years of leadership. She realized she couldn't get out of this and nodded, huffing as she did.
"Glad we've reached an agreement. The nurse should let you out soon, so I expect that as soon as she does, you go back to the initiate's dorm and sleep immediately." She nodded again and I stepped out of the room, nodding at the nurses standing in the hallway. I made my way towards the Pit. It was late now, so there weren't any initiates wandering around, just the loud and drunken members of Dauntless. A small girl who clearly had too much to drink stumbled onto me as I walked past.
"Whoopsies!" She giggled, and then hiccuped. "Sorry Eric!"
"Christina!" A boy hissed as he grabbed her arm. He looked up at me and a terrified look crossed his face. "E-Eric! I'm sorry for her, she, uh, snuck out of the dorm and must've gotten into some alcohol with the members. I'll get her back now."
"But why, Will?" The girl, Christina, laughed again. "I don't like the dorm, it's so stuffy and crowded and bor-ing."
It dawned on me that these were two of the initiates, the girl a Candor-born and the boy a Erudite-born. My face immediately hardened and I scowled down at both of them.
"You have two minutes to get back to the bunk, before I make you both factionless on the spot." Their eyes widened and Will began tugging the girl with him towards the bunk. She stumbled after him, looking over her shoulder with a terrified look. I scoffed and continued walking towards the bar, where a familiar figure was sitting, bent over a book with a beer next to him. I sat at a stool a few away from him and ordered a tequila shot. He looked up at me and immediately shut his book.
"Why were you checking on the stiff?" He asked, standing up and walking over to me.
"I already told you, Four, it's part of my job. She was out for more than four hours, I was required to check on her." I sighed, annoyed, and rolled my eyes.
"Every other time someone got knocked out, you let me take care of it." He said with an accusatory glare.
"Yes, but I've never been in charge of overseeing initiate training before." The bartender returned with my shot and I tossed it back. I slammed my glass on the bar and cut a glare to Four. "Now, leave me alone. I have a long day tomorrow, at least let me have a night of peace."
"What do you mean you have a long day tomorrow?"
"Visitation Day, remember?" I grunted and pushed myself away from the bar, tossing a bill on the counter and walking away. I sighed as I made my way to my apartment.
Tomorrow was going to be a long day.
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So I lied. I'm really bad at keeping a constant writing schedule, so just bear with me here, okay? Anyway, here's this chapter, someone requested I do more Eric POV chapters so.
I can't guarantee I'll be updating soon, the marching season has been extended so I barely have any time anymore. But I will update eventually, I promise that.
XOXO,
E