Author's Note:
First off, I want to thank everyone that left the lovely reviews:) Classybird, mrsbishop21, interdictum in aeternum, mumelinchen, and RisughXD. I love you guys! Your reviews make me so happy:) I hope you all enjoy! xoxo
"You totally have a handprint on your face," Marc asserted, as he blocked the practice strikes that the Candor girl threw. Lia made a point to not make eye contact with the young Dauntless leader. She didn't even spare a passing glance in his direction, all morning.
"Tell me something that I don't know," Lia replied, increasing the power she put into the punches. She was angry. She was furious. She just couldn't understand what Eric's deal was.
Cordelia was becoming breathless, striking out at the Amity boy's padded hands, again, and again.
Eventually, Four called the break for lunch, and Lia all but dragged Marc down to the cafeteria.
They sat at the table with Sassy, Uriah, Violet, and Todd, again, striking up a conversation almost as soon as they sat down.
"Ya' know," the blue-haired girl announced, speaking through a mouth full of balogna sandwich. "You totally have a handprint on your face."
Lia sighs, heavily, poking at her own sandwich. She doesn't have much of an appetite, today. "I know," she grumbled, touching the tender flesh with her fingertips, and wincing.
"Hey, don't worry about him," Sassy said, attempting to lighten the other girl's mood. "Let's go shopping before dinner, huh? You could use the Dauntless makeover." That brought a smile to the dark-haired girl's face. Lia definitely liked the sound of that.
"Count me in!" she agreed, nodding in excitement.
"Hey, so I've heard some rumours..." Uriah starts, speaking in a hushed tone, and leaning around Sassy to look at Lia.
"About Eric?" Lia inquired, the curiousity practically dripping from her voice. "Well?"
Uriah glanced around the room, before continuing. "I heard there was an attack on his patrol, a little over a year ago. I don't know exactly what happened, but... my brother was on a search and rescue detail, and, he told me that the guy was pretty bad off; said he was in a coma for a while. Apparently, he went into that fight with quite the colorful vocabulary, and then... nothing."
"Wait, seriously?" Lia asked, her eyes going wide. Uriah nodded his head.
"Yeah, I mean, Zeke doesn't have a reason to lie," he stated simply, shrugging. "I wouldn't doubt it, for a second. Maybe the guy has Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, or something."
Lia thought that sounded logical.
"Yeah, Zeke said that Eric ranked first, in both stages of training, and that he's the youngest, full-fledged leader that Dauntless has ever had. According to my brother, he was an asshole."
Everyone at the table laughed at that.
"Yeah, that hasn't changed, anyway," Marc stated, giving the rest of his sandwich to Sassy. The gesture didn't go unnoticed by Lia, and it was all she could do to hold her tongue.
"Their tears are filling up their glasses. No expression, no expression. Hide my head, I wanna drown my sorrow. No tomorrow, no tomorrow..." Violet was singing along with her small CD player, and everyone at the table turned to look at her. She paused the music, and blushed.
"What are you listening too?" Marc asked, finally tearing his gaze away from the blue-haired girl. Violet shrugged a bit.
"It's a song called Mad World, I don't know who sings it..." the purple-haired girl looked thoughtful for a moment. "My dad runs the music shop, and somebody just drops these CDs off in the mailbox every so often. We've never seen who it was, though. We just listen to it, and my dad adds the music to the playlist for the radio. It's the same guy that sings Boulevard of Broken Dreams; the one Sassy likes. They're underground recordings; whoever writes this stuff, records it at home on an eight-track."
"Ooooh, mystery musician!" Lia exclaims, clapping her hands together, excitedly. "Well, now you know I've got to find out who this guy is. I love solving a mystery. It's really sad, though."
Violet smiles at the dark-haired girl, turning the speaker up so they can hear.
And I find it kinda funny
I find it kinda sad
The dreams in which I'm dying
Are the best I've ever had
I find it hard to tell you
I find it hard to take
When people run in circles
It's a very, very mad world, mad world**
XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO
"You're actually kinda good at this," Four watches intently, as Lia lets yet another knife soar, and it sticks close to the center of the target. Lia smiles at him, as she continues to throw the knives, picking up her speed, and hitting dead center, almost every time.
"Hey!"
Lia stops throwing, and turns to see Eric shove Marc, before pointing at the knife that had just clanged to the floor. Marc wasn't very good at throwing knives, yet.
"What, you want me to go out there to get it?" Marc inquires, giving the young leader an incredulous expression. Eric nods slowly, like it should be obvious.
"What, while they're still throwing?"
"Everybody stop!" Four hollers out, from beside Lia. She felt like she was about to jump out of her skin.
Eric shoved the Amity boy towards the target, glaring daggers the whole time, before turning around, and walking back to Marc's station. He picked up a knife from off the table, turning it over, the overhead lights glinting off the shiny metal.
"You're gonna stand there while he throws those knives at you. If you flinch, you're out."
Lia was suprised at the cold tone in Four's voice. She couldn't believe they were about to do this. There was no way Marc would make it through this. Eric took a deep breath, and raised his arm.
"Stop!"
Everyone in the training room turned to look at the Candor girl. Lia swallowed when she made eye contact with the intimidating leader, but she held her head high, anyway.
"Anyone can stand in front of a target. It doesn't prove anything," her voice was surprisingly more confident than she felt. On the inside, fear was eating her alive; clawing at her stomach.
Eric raised an eyebrow at her, before nodding at Four. The brown-haired instructor raised his hand, waving Marc away from the target. Then the blonde leader gestured for Lia to step up.
The dark-haired girl took a deep breath as she took her friend's place in front of the board. She prayed that Eric wouldn't kill her.
"Same rules apply," Four called, from the sidelines, crossing his arms as he moved to stand beside the daunting, blue-eyed leader.
Eric smirked at Lia, before drawing his arm back. He let the sharp blade fly, and Lia heard a SMACK when it landed by her head. She tried to control her breathing, and focused on her anger at the blonde. She glared right back at him, never breaking eye contact again, as he let loose knife, after knife.
She didn't move at all, until she felt a small sting at the crest of her ear. She raised her hand to feel the wound, pulling it back down to see the crimson blood, staining her fingertips.
She looked back up, to meet Eric's gaze, again, although this time, his expression was bordering on amusement.
"Well, you asked for it."
She stalked towards him, the rage beyond her control. "You cut me, you fucking asshole!" she screamed in his face, her anger only growing when he grinned at her.
Eric raised his right hand up, and gently touched Lia's cheek, feeling a sort of satisfaction when he realized that the mark on her face fit his hand perfectly. He withdrew his fingers from her face, and nodded in agreement, before turning, and walking away.
"Hey, wait!"
"What the fuck does Candor want, now?"
"I'm not done talking to you!" Lia screams, running in front of him, and blocking his path. Eric moves to walk around her, but she blocks him, again. The blonde leader crosses his arms over his chest, and glares down at her, raising an eyebrow. He was daring her to continue.
"Why? I just want to know, why?" Lia asks, attempting to lower her voice, and calm down a bit. She was asking why he cut her, but, she was really asking two different questions.
Eric could sense the change in her tone, and it irritated him beyond reason. He took a step closer to her, and Lia could feel his breath blowing her eyelashes, gently, as she looked up into his icy-blue orbs. She felt so small this close to him. He was so eerily quiet, and it terrified her.
Slowly, he touched a finger to her lips, as if to shush her, before stepping to the side and walking away, exiting the training room.
XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO
"Hey, why are you so quiet? You don't like shopping?" Violet inquired, as they browsed through rack, after rack of dark clothing. Lia sighed, and offered a small smile. She just couldn't stop thinking about Eric. She was scared of him, to be sure. She didn't understand why she just couldn't keep her mouth closed around him.
"No," she said, quietly, grabbing a deep, ruby red blouse off the rack. "I like shopping. I was just thinking." She inspected the shirt for a moment, before putting it back down.
"About what?" Sassy piped up, holding a black mini dress to herself. "About Eric?"
Lia sighed again, and shook her head. "Hey, let's go pay for this shit, and get out of here. I wanna get a lip ring."
The girls payed for their new clothes, and accessories, and made their way down to the tattoo parlor. There were a few people getting tattoos, and there was a large, burly man waiting at an empty station. He stood to greet the initiates when they entered.
"Getting a tattoo?" he asked, as he led Lia over to his chair. She shook her head, glancing around at the different templates lining the walls. The dim lighting was multicolored, and gave the parlor a cozy feeling. It was very relaxing, and hypnotic.
"I just want to get a lip ring, right here," she replied, pointing to the right side of her full, bottom lip.
"I think I can help you with that," he answered, with a grin. Lia chatted with Violet, and Sassy, while the big man prepared a piercing gun with a plain, silver ball.
"You'll need to wait about a week before you change the ring, and you need to clean it twice a day, got it?" he asked, holding the gun up by his head. The dark-haired girl nodded, and he pulled out her lip, stretching it, and quickly pulled the trigger. It happened so fast, she wasn't even sure if he had even pierced it yet.
"Am I done, already?" Lia asked, raising her eyebrow, in confusion. The man laughed, and slapped her on the back. He introduced himself as Paul, and explained that if it got irritated, or caused her too much pain, that she needed to come back, immediately.
"And try not to get punched in the mouth," Paul remarked, as the girls exited the parlor.
Sassy and Violet helped carry Lia's purchases to the dorm room, before they hugged, and parted ways.
Lia was really not looking forward to going back in to training the next morning.
XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO
"Candor smart mouth... Stupid bitch... Can't keep her damn lips shut..."
Eric paced back and forth in his apartment, trying, unsuccessfully, to get his anger under control. He had been fuming about Lia before he fell asleep, and he was still fuming when he woke up.
"She just doesn't know when to shut up! What the fuck does she ask so many goddamn questions for?"
The young leader growled, in frustion, when the alarm on his watch beeped. He exhaled loudly, as he exited the room, heading down the stairs, and to the training room.
Eric really did not want to go in there, but if he didn't... He wasn't about to let a Candor transfer win. He was the winner.
He stormed into the training room, with a scowl on his face, and even Four seemed to try and avoid the seething blonde.
Eric caught Lia's gaze, and he glared at her. She glared right back.
The blue-eyed man couldn't believe how bold the dark-haired girl was. She must have a death wish.
Four called out for the first jumper, and the last jumper, to enter the ring. That brought a grin to the young leader's face. The Erudite boy would do the job for him.
Lia nervously shifted her gaze to the ring, before she slowly approached the elevated mat. She pulled off her boots, and tied her hair up in a messy bun on top of her head, before she stepped up into the ring.
The large Erudite boy climbed up only seconds after Lia, glancing between Lia's smaller frame, and Four.
"How long do we fight for?" he asked, nervously. Lia couldn't tell if he was nervous he might lose, or if he was nervous he might accidentally kill her.
"Until one of you can't continue," Four answered plainly, folding his arms, and gesturing for the two initiates to begin.
Lia swallowed nervously, glancing at Marc briefly, before her eyes found Eric. He was smirking at her.
She almost scoffed at him, but a hard blow to her ribs made her drop to the mat, clutching her side.
She rolled away, just in time, as the Erudite boy raised his foot to perform an axe kick. She got to her feet, quickly, drawing her hands up in front of her face, ready for the next attack. The large boy attempted a cross, but Lia was watching his shoulders; she knew he was going to fake that jab. She dropped low, and kicked his knees with both of her feet, and when he fell back, she jumped on top of him, swinging for the fences.
She didn't hear her name being called, all she saw was red. She continued her assault on the Erudite boy, until she felt a pair of arms lifting her off the unconscious form below her.
Her eyes went wide when she saw the mess that she had made, and she ran and dropped to her knees beside the Erudite boy.
"Oh, shit," she said, quietly, touching a large bruise forming on the side of the boy's bloody face. "Oh, shit, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry!"
Four, and one of the Candor boys, hurried to cart him off to the infirmary, after announcing that she had won the fight. Lia watched as they left with him, and felt a tear slide down her face.
She turned around to find Eric standing right behind her.
"Why do you keep doing that?!" she said, angrily. She was surprised, when he reached out to brush the tear off of her cheek with his thumb, and was shocked at how gentle he was. She swallowed nervously.
"Will he wake up?" Lia asked, quietly, barely above a whisper. Eric nodded in response, and gestured for her to exit the ring. Marc threw his arm around her, and congratulated her, but she couldn't be consoled. She had beaten the boy to a pulp.
Eric watched her curiously. The Candor girl kept surprising him. She was unpredictable. She talked back to him, demanded answers to questions that weren't any of her business, wins a fight fair and square, and cries about hurting her opponent.
He shook his head, in confusion, stealing another glance at the dark-haired girl. She was shrugging off the Amity boy's shoulder, and then she punched him, lightly, giggling.
"Is that a lip ring?"
Eric shook his head at the thought, scowling.
"What the fuck do I care?"
**Mad World - Gary Jules