Author's Note:

Okay, so this one fear I was gonna do, involved worms and maggots, and I just couldn't finish writing it without throwing up. Like literally, throwing up, so I decided not to do it. Anyway, I hope you all enjoy this little chapter:) Thanks to all of my lovely reviewers!

sharonmayes353

I know! It makes me want to cry too! And yeah that song is one of my faves as well:) Thanks for reviewing! Hope to hear more from you:)

mona-rose

Yeah, I just thought that was so... URIAH, lol:) And, I can't say anything about the other;)

interdictum in aeternum

Well, Eric's not really training them so much as simply overseeing the training, lol:) and of course, there isn't much for him to do in stage two, except for oversee the final fear landscapes with the rest of the leaders:) I promise you there's much much more story left to go! And I can't say anything about the other! :) Thanks so much for the review! :)

RisughXD

omg omg omg, I am so so so glad you love this so much! I know, i feel like my heart is breaking sometimes when i write this too:( Thank you so much for all the awesome compliments:) And yes, he is still fussy, but he's feeling much better:)

orangeporqupine

Thank for thinking it was amazing! I hope he lives a long life too! But, only time will tell... :D thanks for the review! :)

Feigningintrest

Awe:( Here, let me get it out *wipes away tear*, thank you so much for the review, and here's more! :)

zammy156

I like happy endings too! I can't make any promises right now though... you know how it is, don't want to spoil anything:) thanks so much for the review! :)

NL92

I hope so too:) Thank you so much for the review, and here's the next! :)

Electric Blue Reader

Thanks for the review! I'm glad you find the amusing parts amusing! :)

Simana

Thank you so much:) I'm glad you like the balance:) Thank you so much for reviewing:)

Once again, thank you so much to all my readers and reviewers! Welcome to new readers, and just so you know, I love to get your guys' feedback! So don't forget to fave/follow/review and stay tuned for more TSOS! :) hope you all like this one:) xoxo

Here it is:)

"Eric."

The young leader pulled away from Lia, reluctantly, and turned to find Max standing right behind him. The reality of what had just happened dawned on him, as he took in the shocked expressions of everyone in the dining hall, and he felt his cheeks burn red.

"A word, please," the dark-skinned man ordered, as he spun on his heel and headed through the exit. Eric watched him go, before turning back to the table again; he needed a moment to compose himself.

The blonde felt like he might be sick; he knew he was going to be in a lot of trouble, and might even face criminal charges.

"The fuck have I done?!"

Cordelia sensed the distress of the blue-eyed man, and placed a comforting hand on his back, rubbing up and down, soothingly. "Eric, it's gonna be okay," she said, attempting to convince her instructor that it would work out alright. "I think Max will understand, given the fact that you only have-... I mean, um... I think Max will understand."

Eric scoffed, and roughly shoved away from the table, as he proceeded to follow his superior. He was Dauntless. He would accept responsibility for his actions.

Lia watched him go with a small frown on her face, before she turned back around and rested her chin on her folded arms on the table. It was then that she noticed that Marc, Sassy, Violet and Uriah were all staring at her, dumbfounded. "What?"

"What do you mean, what?" Marc finally spoke up, incredulously, as he shook his head. "What the hell was that, Lia?"

"Seriously," Uriah cut in, leaning forward to see her better. "I mean, you just made out with a leader!"

"And he didn't stop you!" Sassy exclaimed, using her hands for emphasis. "What is going on?"

Cordelia and Violet remained quiet during the interrogation, calmly waiting for the others to calm down. Once they were all looking to her expectantly, she cleared her throat, and attempted to avoid their gazes. "Yeah, I can't really talk about it," she sighed, sadly, wishing that she was able to share her feelings, and her fears, with her closest friends.

"What do you mean, you can't really talk about it?!" Marc stood, crossing his arms over his chest, and Lia had to admit, the timid, ginger-haired boy from Amity had grown into quite the Dauntless soldier. "Did he hurt you? 'Cause if he did-."

"No!" the amber-eyed girl snapped, offended that the freckled man had jumped to such a conclusion. "We just-, I mean, I-... It's not my place to tell secrets that aren't my own."

The blue-haired girl pulled Marc back onto the bench beside her, and he rested his chin on her shoulder, in a way so that he could still see Lia. "We are extremely confused, Lia," Sassy admitted, reaching out to grab the dark-haired girl's hand. "We are a pack; we're like brothers and sisters. You can tell us anything, and you know we won't go blabbing."

"I know, just-."

"No," Uriah shook his head, as he slammed his fist down on the table top in agitation. "No, we know just as much about what just happened as everyone else, now! We deserve answers!"

Cordelia felt overwhelmed; she didn't know to do, now. She didn't want to let her friends down, and she didn't want to let Eric down. She struggled to think of how much she should tell them, if she could muster up the courage to tell them anything. She was concerned that Eric would be upset if she revealed too much, and at the same time, she wanted to spill everything to her friends.

Violet noticed the inner battle going through the amber-eyed girl's mind, and leaned over to whisper in Uriah's ear. "Uri," she said, quietly. "Run by Bud's, and get an ounce of Tangerine Dream, then pick up my bong from under the counter in my dad's shop; meet us on the roof."

The darker-skinned boy grinned, from ear to ear, and hurried to comply.

"Lia, why don't we go somewhere more... private," the purple-haired girl suggested, a suspicious smirk on her bright, red lips.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO

"I agreed to let you fool around with an initiate, and this is how you repay me?" Max was seething; he was absolutely furious, and his words were raised to almost a shout.

Eric cringed inwardly, at the angered outburst, and rubbed his face with his hands, in frustration. "L- l- look, i- it's, it's n- not-."

The dark-skinned leaders eyes went wide; he hadn't heard the blonde utter a word since he found out that his stutter was a permanent thing. "Eric," he said, slowly, a confused expression gracing his features. "You are talking."

The young leader looked down at his hands, briefly, before meeting his superior's gaze. "I- I, I kn- kn- know." The blue-eyed instructor felt warm all of a sudden, and his forehead began to perspire, and he wiped his arm across the slick skin to dry it. He was self-conscious.

"This initiate, she's the cause of this?" Max pressed, still unable to wrap his mind around the fact that the reclusive, and silent, man before him was speaking for the first time in almost two years.

"Y- yes."

"Alright," the older man conceded, throwing his hands in the air, and leaning back against his desk, a small smile on his face.

Eric frowned, unsure of what Max was telling him. "A- a- alright, alright wh- what?"

"Alright, you are off the hook. You won't be receiving any punishment, but you better start talking."

The blonde gaped at the older man; he had expected to receive severe punishment, as relations with an initiate was strictly forbidden, and was a crime that brought time in solitary confinement in a cell under the compound. He swallowed, to gather courage, before he launched into his story. He told Max about how Lia had annoyed him at first, and seemed to push all his buttons. The young leader explained that, at some point, he grew to respect the Candor transfer, and then came attraction.

Eric told his leader everything; sparing no details, even when we revealed about his ever-closer death, and the reason for what happened in the cafeteria.

"Son," Max sighed, when the blonde had finished stammering out his story. "I don't really know what to say. I thought you had longer; or it was just wishful thinking. But, I'll make you a deal, alright?"

The blue-eyed instructor cocked his head to the side, nervous, and curious about what the dark-skinned man would offer. "Wh- what, what k- k- kind o-, kind of d- deal?"

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO

The bong passed to Lia again, and she accepted it, greedily. Uriah had packed a small amount of the citrusy green bud in the bowl for her, and she held the small flame from the lighter to the substance, as she placed her lips over the wide, round opening at the top of the long, black neck of the glass.

She inhaled deeply, watching the smoke enter the transparent tube, swirling up to the top, before she held the harmful smoke in her lungs. She exhaled deeply, a large cloud escaping her lips, and enhanced by the dazzling sunlight that curved around the dense wisps.

"So then, we found out he only has a month left," she informed her friends, as she passed the bong back to Uriah for him to pack, before handing it off to Sassy. "And, I knew he wrote that song for me! Did you hear it? It was so beautiful!"

"Yeah, we heard it," Uriah said, with a small frown on his face, that was quickly replaced by a sparkling, white grin. "Damn, Lia, this is all really messed up!"

"So that's why he never says anything?" Marc inquired, accepting the large, glass pipe from the blue-haired girl. He inhaled deeply, and attempted to speak while he still held the smoke in his lungs, making his words sound strained, and slightly squeaky. "I tried to tell you a while ago that there could've been another reason. I tried to tell you about the boy I knew in Amity; he had a stutter."

Cordelia couldn't help but giggle at her ginger-haired friend, as he coughed harshly, the smoke floating up into the sky before disapating. She was glad she had confided in her friends, but at the same time, she was worried what would happen if Eric found out. Unfortunately, that was to happen sooner than she had hoped.

Uriah had the bong, now, and nearly choked when he inhaled too deeply, the disgusting, soured bong water entering his mouth. The unpleasant taste was nearly as unpleasant as the expression on the dark-haired girl's face when he pointed behind her.

Lia snapped her head around, to find Eric glaring down at her, while she stared up at him, with her mouth open. The two didn't speak, or waver in their gaze, though the blonde's features softened, ever so slightly, when he saw the fear in Cordelia's amber orbs.

"Want a hit?" Uriah asked, forcing a goofy grin, as he attempted to break the awkward tension permeating from the unconventional couple.

The blonde raised an eyebrow at Zeke's brother, before scowling, and snatching the bong out of his hands. He could tell from the looks he was currently receiving, that Lia's friends thought he would throw it over the side of the roof. Instead, he sat down beside the dark-haired girl, and inspected the glass pipe, with a curious expression.

He had seen Zeke use a bong before, and Four and Lauryn were regular stoners. So, he felt pretty confident that he knew what to do with it. He decided that he wasn't holding back anymore; that stopped, now. Max had requested several things of him, in order for him to continue his relationship with Lia, since it was out in the open. One of those things, was to let loose, and do "whatever the hell you want", to quote the dark-skinned leader.

So, with that on his mind, he hesitantly lit the small bundle of green, inhaling slowly. His eyes went wide at first, and he quickly handed the bong back to Uriah, before he felt his eyes droop, and the corners of his mouth turn up into a goofy, lopsided grin.

He started to laugh, but quickly clamped a hand over his mouth, shifting his eyes to look at Lia, who was apparently also trying not to laugh. They both failed miserably, and the young leader fell backwards from laughing so hard, while Cordelia took to clutching her stomach, and rolling around on the floor.

This started a chorus of laughter from Uriah, Sassy, Marc and Violet, even though the purple-haired girl wasn't partaking in the smoke, and only received a light, contact buzz.

"Wh- wh- whoa..." the blonde drawled, lazily, his blue orbs taking on a dreamy haze, as he held his hands up, staring at the light that beamed between his fingers from the sun. "L- l- look, look a- at th- the l- l- light..."

"Eric!" Cordelia stopped laughing, and stared at the blue-eyed man in shock. There was no way that he realized what he had just done. Was there? She giggled, when Eric turned his head to look at her, with a smile on his face, but he quickly got to his feet, his eyes going wide with child-like wonder.

The young leader pulled Lia to her feet, as he gazed into her wide, amber orbs, and it felt like he was gazing into her soul. "L- l- look at, look at y- your ey- ey- eyes..." he said, and even he could hear the amazement that dripped from his voice. Eric grabbed her hands in his, gently, his gaze falling momentarily to her lips, before he went back to staring at the gold flecks in her amber eyes.

Cordelia lost herself in Eric's eyes, as well, gazing lovingly into the crystal, blue depths flecked with silver. His eyes appeared to have small amounts of glitter, and once again, she thought they resembled the twinkling stars in the night sky. She sighed, dreamily, as she held the young leader's intense gaze.

The blonde leaned in slowly, tilting his head down so Lia wouldn't have to stand on her toes, and tenderly pressed his lips to hers. She returned the kiss, eagerly, and Eric smiled as he continued to move his mouth against the dark-haired girl's full, pink lips. He bit down, ever so gently, on her bottom lip, earning a pleased moan from Cordelia, before sliding his tongue along her bottom lip, begging entrance.

Lia happily allowed her instructor to explore her mouth, sliding and swirling her tongue together with his, as the blonde deepened the kiss. She whimpered when he pulled back, only to have him grab her silky, dark-brown hair, and yank her head to the side with a growl, as he pressed feather light kisses along her fair jawline.

Eric trailed his tongue up to the lobe of her left ear, earning several, small moans of pleasure from the dark-haired girl, as he sucked and nipped at the sensitive skin. He licked up to the crest of Lia's small, round ear, before blowing a soft breath of hot air inside her air, causing the smaller girl to shiver.

Several throats cleared, and when Eric turned to look at Lia's friends, with the dark-haired girl peaking around his large form, they were all grinning wickedly. The young leader grabbed Cordelia's small, thin hand in his own larger, calloused ones, and led her to sit back down with the group.

"Man, I can't believe a fucking celebrity is smoking with a bunch of dumb-ass initiates!" Uriah exclaimed, his dark, brown eyes crinkling at the corners, as he slapped his leg, shaking his head. "Smoking my strain, too!"

"Uri, you did this?" Marc inquired, with wide eyes, the sun glinting off of his bright, ginger hair in the early morning light. "You would have fit in so well at Amity."

"Yeah, my big bro runs Bud's, ya' know?" Uriah informed the group. Somehow, they had all ended up in a circle, with Lia to Eric's right, Marc to Eric's left, Sassy to Marc's left, then Uriah, then Violet, who sat to Cordelia's right. They continued to pass the bong around the circle, and it made it's way back into the darker-skinned boy's hands. "It was just a matter of cross-hybridation, and it only takes about sixty-five days to bud!"

It was the young leader's turn to widen his eyes at Zeke's brother's comment. "Y- y- you w- would-, you would've d- done w- w- well a- at, at E- e- erudite, Erudite, a- as w- w- well."

Uriah grinned madly, flashing his pearly whites, as he nodded. "Divergent, you see!" he explained, gesturing to himself as if he was showing off a very fine specimen, indeed. "Would ya' believe it; I got an aptitude for Dauntless, Amity, and Erudite!"

"Wh- wh- what?" the blonde frowned; he had heard of a few people in the factions who tested for more than one faction, but he had never met a Divergent to his knowledge, until now. "Wh- wh- what's, what's it, what's it, what's it l- like?"

"Fucking awesome!" Uriah announced, leaning over to pass the bong in front of Violet, to Cordelia. "Damn, and said celebrity is talking to me!"

"I- I- I'm not, I'm not a, a, a c- cel- celebrity, celebrity," Eric responded, tilting his head to the side, with a small frown, in confusion. Everyone gaped at the young leader, and he tried very hard to force down the blush caused by their stares.

"Yes, you are!" Sassy retorted, pausing momentarily to have a fit of giggles. "Everyone in Dauntless has your CDs! Everybody is baffled as to your identity! You are all anybody talks about; the great mystery musician of Dauntless."

"Oh my god!" Uriah exclaimed, clapping his hands excitedly, as he bounced around on the floor of the roof. "You should totally do a revealing!"

"A what?" Lia inquired, quizically, as she passed the bong over to Eric, releasing a steady stream of white smoke as she did so.

"Ya' know," the darker-skinned boy replied, with a shrug, as if it should be obvious. "A revealing. Like a coming out. You should do a show!" he directed the last bit at the blonde leader, with a hopeful expression.

"I- I- I d- don't, I don't th- th- think s- so," Eric mumbled, sheepishly, not used to conversation, or attention. He wasn't sure how to take the news that he was the talk of Dauntless because of his music. His silent, intimidating and cruel nature, maybe, but his music... He didn't understand it; Eric didn't think he was that good, it was his release.

"I think it's a good idea," Cordelia stated, matter-of-factly, scooting closer so her knee touched the blue-eyed man's. "Leave a legacy, remember?"

The young leader had to mull that one over; he distinctly remembered his new, tenth fear. But, they weren't asking him to make a speech, they were asking him to do something well in his comfort zone.

"M- m- maybe... w- we, we n- need t- t- to g- get, get d- down- downstairs; y- you guys, you guys h- have f- f- fear s- sims."

Five faces fell, in spite of their marijuana-induced sense of joy; the uneasy anticipation of the second day of simulations, now weighing heavily on their minds.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO

Cordelia opened her eyes to find that she was lying on a metal table, in a cold room. She blinked several times, trying to adjust her eyes to the bright lights, overhead. When the dark-haired girl attempted to sit up, she found that she couldn't move; her limbs were paralyzed.

Lia bit back a scream of terror, as the realization that she could only move her head, hit her like a ton of bricks. Her body felt heavy, like lead, and her breathing picked up at the idea of being immobile. She fought down the oncoming panic attack, and forced her breathing back to normal.

SWITCH-SWITCH-SWITCH

There were shimmering sheets of something clear, billowing around the Candor transfer. She inspected it, and saw that it was some type of plastic, or something. Lia tentatively reached out to touch it, and when she did, the sheet wrapped itself around her body, covering every inch of her. It had attached itself as if she were a vaccum, latching onto her skin, her face, and her hands.

Cordelia couldn't breathe, and her struggles and attempts to claw at the plastic only increased the panic in her gut. Her eyes had gone wide, with fear, and her face turned blue, as she suffocated.

SWITCH-SWITCH-SWITCH

"Cuts for stage two are as follows!"

The dark-haired girl looked across the elongated cafeteria, to see Four standing on a table at the end. He was stood in front of the board, as he bellowed out who had failed, and would now become factionless.

"Stacy, Dillon, Angela, Tony, and the initiate with the fucking absolute worst time, Lia!"

She had failed initiation.

Cordelia was going to be factionless.

All of her friends were laughing at her, and Eric was glaring at her with disgust, and disdain. The amber-eyed girl felt a single tear fall from her eye, before she brushed it away with the back of her hand. Forcing down the hysterics that threatened to take over her body.

"Cellophane, that's a new one," Four asserted, when Lia woke up, breathing heavily, and sweating. "You're getting better at this. It only took you four minutes, today."

The Candor transfer supposed that she should be happy, but right now, her worst fears were still fresh in her mind, and she simply wanted to get away. She stood to leave, but the brown-haired instructor stopped her, before she could reach the door.

"Lia, can I talk to you, for a minute?"

"Sure," Cordelia replied, feeling slightly nervous at what the intimidating man wanted. "What's up?"

"Look, I don't know you, okay?" Tobias started, attempting to remain calm, and get his point across. "But, I'm warning you, now. Do not hurt him. We were really competitive during initiation, but we became friends when we were forced to be on the same patrol. He's basically my brother, now. Do not hurt him, or I will kill you. Understand?"

The former Candor had no intentions of hurting Eric, she planned to stay with him until the end. Nevertheless, the serious tone led her to believe that Four's threat was not an empty one, and it sent a chill through her body. She pushed away the fear, and offered the brown-haired man a smile. "I promise; I won't. He's lucky to have a friend like you, looking out for him."

With that said, she nodded towards him once in farewell, and exited the fear training area, heading towards the young leader's apartment.