Author's Note:

Hi guys! Sorry it took so long for an update, I've been REALLY busy this weekend, and then my little boy has been REALLY fussy:( But, I hope this makes up for it, and I should have the next chapter up in a day or so:) So, time for shoutouts!:

orangeporqupine

I know, I like High!Eric, too, lol:) I just like everybody high, lol :)

RisughXD

I know, I'm so excited that we've reached this part of the story, things should be a lot more fun, now! :) Although, with Eric dying and all, things will still be rough around the edges, ya know, never far from the mind, and all:)

EvieLyn

Thank you so much for reviewing! I think they're cute together, too:) And I'm excited for the coming chapters as well, I've got lots of great stuff planned:)

zammy156

I can't make any promises, sorry! :( And I'm glad you're enjoying it, it makes me so happy to know other people enjoy my writing as much as I do, lol :)

JohnnyStormsGirl

I know! I'm glad he's finally talking to people, too:) Lot's of Snarky!Eric, will be coming up soon:)

ElectricBlueReader

Here it is! Thanks for reviewing! :)

Simana

I know, it's about time! Why do people wait to live until it's time to die? Eric even went as far as to wait until Lia pushed him to it! But, he's ready now, huh? :) And yeah, cellophane is actually a phobia I have, I'm always worried it'll get on my face, and I'll suffocate! Agh, seriously, I know it's weird, it's just this thing I've always had, lol :)

Classybird

Sorry for all the angst! Although, there will be a lot more fluff, and fun times, now:) There will still be angst, coz, ya' know, Eric's on his freaking deathbed, basically. But, I can't say anything about the other, because I don't spoil! :)

was1

Welcome! I'm sure you won't see this yet, since you just started reading, but I want to thank you for your review, and I hope you'll continue to enjoy it! And thanks for the originality compliment:) And yeah, by the time you get to this chapter, I'm sure your questions will be answered, but damn, you are right on. Except I got the title from the Disturbed version of The Sound of Silence, lol :)

murmelinchen

Well, yeah, you know me, lol :) Always putting the characters through so much pain and suffering lol :) Yeah, Four is pretty protective, I just don't have the heart to make him the bad guy, ya' know? Although, I have to say, I love how he's the bad guy in Last Resort (Everybody, go read it; it's awesome!). Lot's of bromance coming in the next few chapters:)

NL92

I'm glad you're excited! Here it is!

Once again, thanks to everybody who read and reviewed! If you haven't yet, please fave/follow/review, I absolutely love getting the feedback and thoughts from you guys!

3...2...1...GO!

"So, you play all of these?" Cordelia inquired, as she walked through the young leader's music room, inspecting the many different musical instruments that he had stored there. The dark-haired girl had never learned to play an instrument, but she had always wanted to.

"Y- y- yes," Eric replied, with a slight smirk. "Y- you, you d- don't th- th- think that, think that I- I g- g- get a- all of, all of th- those s- s- sounds f-, sounds from j- just a, just a, just a g- g- guitar, guitar, d- do y- you?"

"No," Lia responded, blushing a bit, as she ran her fingertips along the body of a violin. She admired the beauty of the dark wood, and the flowing curls that showed the hollow inside of the stringed instrument. "I just didn't think about it."

The blonde chuckled a bit, raising his finger to point at the electric equipment in the far left corner, in the back of the large room. "Th- th- that's my, that's my r- r- record- recording e- equip- equipment... I- it, it t- t- took f- f- forever, forever t- to g- g- get it, get it a- all."

"Were you recording that thing on the drums you were finishing up when I knocked?" the former Cander asked, curious as to how the whole process worked. "Is it finished?"

"U- um..." Eric scratched the back of his neck, feeling self-conscious, and he squinted his eyes, more than usual. "I- it's, it's f- finished, it's finished, b- but I- I- I s- st- still h- have to, still have to r- r- record, record th- the l- l- lead o- on, on th- the g- g- guitar an- an- an- an- and s- s- sing l- lead, th- th- though."

"Can I help?" Lia's eyes lit up with hope, as she turned to face the blue-eyed man, who was shifting awkwardly where he stood. "Please? Please? Please? Please? Pl-?"

"Y- y- yes! J- just pl- please, please s- stop, stop d- d- doing th- that, S- s- smart, Smart Mouth," Eric groaned, rubbing his throbbing temples. The young leader seemed to always have a headache, as of late, but nothing really seemed to make it worse, or better. Although, his initiate's persistent form of begging him to get her way did a number on his nerves.

The blonde approached the complex set-up, flipping switches, and pressing several buttons, before pushing up a few small sliders on the large sound board. "J- j- just, just p- push th- th- this g- green, green b- but- button, h- here wh- when I- I, when I t- tell y- y- you, o- okay?"

Lia nodded, enthusiastically, grinning as she sat behind the desk, scrutinizing the complicated mess of wires, and sound equipment. She watched as Eric picked out a smaller, white guitar, and plugged a black cable into it, before standing behind the microphone at her left, and flipped a switch on the small, black sound amplifier.

Eric was nervous, to say the least, but he swallowed down his nerves, and gave the go ahead for Lia to start the loop and record. There was going to be a five second delay, so that he would know when to start, and he placed his fingers over the frets in the position he would need as the countdown began.

At the end of five small tics, the young leader slid his pick down the neck of the guitar, all the way up to the pick ups, in a slow, grinding grit, and began to sing quietly into the mic.

"I'm cold and broken..."

The blonde picked up the speed, and pressure, of the slide, before breaking out into a dark, heavy riff. He slid his fingers up, and down, the fretboard, forcing out angry, and slightly menacing, minor chords. Eric always lost himself to the music, and quickly forgot that Lia was even in the same room with him, as he let go completely.

"It's over I didn't want to see it come to this

I wonder if I will ever see your face again

And I know that I will find a way to shed my skin

It's simple I know that I will suffer in the end!"

Cordelia watched the blue-eyed man, in wonder; she had only seen Eric sing and play very slow, very emotional songs. And, while this song was clearly emotional, and the lyrics directly related to his ever-approaching death, it was the first time that the dark-haired girl had seen this side of his music.

"Fast I fade away

It's almost over

Hold on

Slow I suffocate

I'm cold and broken

Alone."

Once again, she watched the blonde lose himself in the music, eyes closed, and when he wasn't singing, and simply playing the electric guitar, he played passionately, and moved his head side to side, and forward and backwards. Lia loved watching him, even though the lyrics made her heart beat faster, and a sense of despair washed over her.

"It's hopeless, the end will come and wash it all away

Forsaken, I love for those I lost along the way

And I can't remember how it all began to break

We suffer, I live to fight and die another day!"

It was official; as far as Eric knew, he was completely alone in his apartment, taking out his stress on the electric instrument cradled in his arms. A simple, black strap held the guitar in place over his shoulder, enabling him to play with ease, as his body involuntarily moved with the melancholy riff.

"Fast I fade away

It's almost over

Hold on

Slow I suffocate

I'm cold and broken

Alone."

The amber-eyed girl was mesmerized at the young leader; there was so much to take in. Several instruments, and back ground vocals had been pre-recorded, and anyone else would have thought that there was an entire band playing in this room. There was the lyrics, which were sad, and angry, and Cordelia felt they were very honest. She guessed that if Eric had kept his music a secret, as far as his identity went, then he wouldn't feel so pressured, and it made sense to make honest lyrics. Lia supposed honesty wasn't just for the Candor.

Eric stepped back from the mic, leaning forward as he played a solo for an instrumental bridge. Sweat dripped down his forehead from his hairline, and the heavy chords sent vibrations from the guitar to his body, and he could feel the music. He slid across the fret, performing slides, push ups, and pull downs, among several other decorative techniques that he had learned over the years, before falling back in place in front of the mic for the final lyrics, after a slight pause.

"Fast I fade away

It's almost over
Hold on

Slow I suffocate

I'm cold and broken

Alone

I'm cold and broken..."**

As Eric let the last notes fade out, Lia pressed the green button again to stop the recording, and sat back in the seat, still amazed at the talent that the young leader possessed.

Eric threw the dark-haired girl a sheepish glance, from under his dripping, blonde hair, and moved to set the guitar back in it's stand. When he turned back around, Cordelia was standing right behind him, and quickly threw her arms around his waist. The blonde was still getting used to the affectionate actions of the former Candor, as he had not been exposed to such things in a very long time.

"That was fucking awesome!" she exclaimed, though her voice was muffled in the blue-eyed man's dark, leather jacket. He chuckled a bit, and pushed her back, with a pierced eyebrow raised, willing Lia to repeat herself so he could tell what she had said.

"I said, that was fucking awesome," the dark-haired girl reiterated, with a grin, and a giggle. "That made me hungry, want go to lunch?"

Eric laughed, that slightly high-pitched laugh of his, as the amber-eyed girl didn't give him time to answer, and simply grabbed his hand and pulled him out of the music room, and through the front door of his apartment.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO

All of Lia's friends were at her table, as usual, and the blonde still felt slightly awkward sitting with them. He was tired of being alone, though, and even though her friends were initiates as well, they seemed okay. Not to mention, Cordelia had spilled his secrets to them; he couldn't stay mad at her, though.

He vaguely registered several pairs of eyes trained on him, as he sat at the far end of the table, with his arm around Lia's waist, on his left. Eric couldn't be bothered to care, though, as he had received permission to be open with the dark-haired girl, and he was tired of hiding.

"Oh my god, the worst one today was I was walking around in the Pit, and my clothes just disappeared!" Uriah announced, rather loudly, seemingly uncaring of the stares that their table was currently receiving. "What about you Lia? What was the worst one for you, today?"

"Failure; I was the worst-ranked initiate, and everybody was laughing at me," the amber-eyed girl sighed, sadly, receiving a one-armed squeeze from the young leader, who could empathize. "What about you, Eric? What was your worst fear at this point in stage two?"

The blonde swallowed, audibly, as all eyes at the table switched their attention to him, eagerly awaiting his answer. "U- um... f- f- fall-, falling. I- I- I, I h- had t- t- to, had to h- hit th- th- the g- ground r- r- relaxed t- to, to m- m- move o- on."

"Well, at least you weren't naked in the Pit," the darker-skinned boy asserted, grinning, as he pushed mushy carrots around on his plate. "I honestly didn't know that would bother me; maybe I should face it right now!"

"No!" Violet, Sassy, Cordelia and Marc shouted, with wide eyes, as Eric threw in his own, 'N- n- no!', in horror.

"Fine!" Uriah grumbled, slumping his shoulders in defeat, as his idea was shot down. "Guess I'll just save it for a future game of Candor or Dauntless, then."

"I will personally make sure that dare doesn't go to you," Marc promised, a deep blush crossing his freckled features, as he continued. "Maybe I'll dare Sassy..."

The former Amity boy's comment caused the blue-haired girl to blush, and avert her eyes to the table, as the rest of her friends snickered, knowingly.

"So, Eric," Violet began, pushing her empty plate away. "I play bass guitar... if you ever decide to, ya' know, do the show."

"Oh! Hey, I play the drums!" Uriah cut in, grinning with excitement, the prospect sitting perfectly well with him.

"I play guitar..." Marc mumbled, causing everyone to turn their heads to the ginger-haired boy in surprise. "What? Amity, remember? All we do is sing, dance, and get high when we're not working in the fields!"

"I know how to work a sound board! And the lights in the Pit!" Sassy threw in, bouncing in her seat. "We could be a band!"

"Uh..." Eric felt slightly uncomfortable, and shifted nervously in his seat. "N- n- not, not th- that I- I- I d- d- don't, don't a- ap- appreciate, appreciate i- it, b- b- but-."

"Hey!"

The young leader turned around in his seat, anxiously, as Lia, and all of her friends, turned their heads to see who had spoken. One of his former friends, from before he quit speaking, was stood there with an evil smile on his face. Trevor was about the same size as Eric, with a deep tan, and slightly longer, black hair, that fell into his non-pierced face.

"No wonder you quit talkin'!" the other man announced, loudly, gaining the attention of the majority of the Dauntless that were enjoying their lunches in the dining hall.

Eric remained silent, and stared at his former friend, in shock. Trevor had been almost as much of an asshole as he himself had been, and the young leader was currently regretting his decision to speak in public. But, what Max wants, Max gets, and Eric was required to speak when spoken to.

"What?" Trevor continued, feigning an innocent expression, with a sarcastic tone. "Afraid we'd make f- f- f- f- f- f- f- f- fun of y- y- y- y- you?"

The rest of the cafeteria had gone silent, as the scene played out, intently staring at the young leader, and the black-haired man addressing him.

"P- p- please, please d- don't d- d- do th- this, T- t- trev-, Trevor," the blue-eyed man said quietly, willing his former friend to step down. Eric did not want the entirety of Dauntless to know about his stutter, but the black-haired man clearly did, and Trevor was going to milk it, for all it was worth.

"Oh! The cruel, heartless leader is begging?" the other man continued to raise his voice, determined to embarrass the blonde after Eric had dropped him, and his posse, after the accident. Now that he knew why, he couldn't pass up the opportunity to return a few, long-overdue favors.

Eric cringed, inwardly, at the cruel laugh that followed Trevor's words, but remained silent, keeping his glare trained on the man before him. He briefly wondered if this was how Tobias felt when he used to make fun of him.

"A- a- a- a- a- are you embarrased, E- e- e- e- e- e- eric?" the black-haired man continued, mocking the blonde at every opportune moment, now. "Or are you just af- f- f- f- fraid?"

"Sh- sh- shut, shut u- up!" Eric yelled, in anger, shrugging off the hand that Lia had placed on his arm, as he stood almost nose to nose, with his former follower.

"S- s- s- s- s- stut- stuttering fool gonna do about it?" Trevor continued, crossing his arms over his chest, unfazed by the usually intimidating young leader. "What you gonna hit me? I can take a hit! Bring it on, f- f- f- f- f- f- fucker!"

The blonde was breathing heavily, and he could feel the stares that bore down on him; he wished that he could just die, right now, and be spared the shame. Eric glanced past the black-haired man, and saw that everyone was, indeed, staring intently. He felt like he might faint, and before anyone could stop him, he ran past Trevor, and out of the dining hall.

"Something I s- s- s- s- said?" the black-haired man smirked, evily, as he watched the blonde retreat. When he turned his face back forward, however, he was met with five fuming initiates, glaring daggers at him.

"What the hell is wrong with you?!" Uriah was the first to speak, standing up, and screaming at the slightly older man.

"Was that really necessary?!" Violet growled, as she too stood from her seat, her fists clenched by her sides.

"Your face!" Sassy screamed, moving to punch the other man, but Marc held her back by placing an arm in front of her.

"Don't you have a heart?" the ginger-haired boy said, much quieter than his friends, with a deep frown on his freckled features.

"I would kill you, right now, if I didn't need to go!" Cordelia finally yelled, shoving her shoulder into the taller man, as she ran after the young leader.

"What the fuck right do you have to do that?!" the darker-skinned Dauntless-born spoke again, the rage rolling off of him in tangible waves of fury. "What fucking right?!"

"What? I think it's hilarious!" Trevor laughed at their reactions, throwing his head back as he did so. "Fucker had it comin'! He was a real dick, back in the day, way I figure, he deserves it!"

"Leave now, before I sic my girlfriend on you!" Marc finally shouted, everyone slightly shocked that the previously timid, Amity boy, would even raise his voice.

The blue-haired girl started struggling in Marc's grip, thrashing to get to the black-haired man that had humiliated her best friend's boyfriend. She growled, as the black-haired man backed away, slowly, before he turned around and went back to his own table, ducking his head, as his friends laughed at him.

"Man," an orange-haired man began, laughing loudly. "If Eric was funny, you were fucking hilarious! Scared of a fuckin' initiate!"

"Sh- shut up!" Trevor stammered, burning red, and embarrassed at how quickly he had backed down from a bunch of rookies.

His friends laughed even louder, at his demand, slapping the table, and clutching their sides. "Fuck, now who's s- s- s- s- stuttering?!" a girl with platinum blonde hair asserted, forcing out her words through her laughter.

"Eric?!"

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO

"F- f- f- f- fuck..." Eric groaned, as he held his head in his hands, willing the pain to go away. The blonde had dropped to his knees in the corridor, the episode incapacitating him. It seemed that stress brought these fits on, quicker than anything else.

"Eric?!"

The young leader knew that that was Cordelia's voice, but he couldn't move; he couldn't see straight, as white, and red, dots spotted his vision. "No, no, no, no..."

Lia was terrified; she had exited the dining hall, intending to have to track down the blonde. She didn't expect to find him on his knees in the hall. The sight of Eric like... that, was utterly horrifying to the dark-haired girl. "Eric, please don't go! Please don't go!" she cried, as she dropped down beside the blue-eyed him, noticing the blood that began to drip from his nose, and his ears.

"Lia! What's wr-?!"

"We hea-!"

"What's goi-?!"

"Is some-?!

The dark-haired girl turned a tear-streaked face to find her friends standing in the corridor with them, all of their faces showing different mixtures of shock, and concern. Marc dropped down beside Lia, as Uriah dropped down on the young leader's right side, assessing the severity of the situation.

The blonde vaguely registered more voices, but he couldn't concentrate on anything other than the excruciating pain in his head, releasing an agonized cry of anguish.

"Eric. Eric. Just breathe, wait it out," the darker-skinned boy spoke calmly, realizing that his other friends were panicking at the state of the blue-eyed man. "Just breathe... You too, Lia."

Marc held onto the dark-haired girl, rubbing circles over her back, in an attempt to soothe her, as she cried into his chest. "Shhhhh, it's okay. It's gonna be okay. Shhhhhh."

Eric felt himself falling over, before hands were assisting his trip to the stone floor, easing him down gently, and he felt like something soft might have been placed under his head, though he couldn't really be sure. Another sharp stab of pain pierced his brain, and he cried out again, in a strangled scream of pure agony, as his limbs began to twitch, involuntarily.

"What's happening?!" Lia, Violet, and Sassy screamed in unison, as the young leader's body convulsed on the floor, twisting and contorting at odd angles.

"He's having a seizure; it shouldn't last long, everybody just hang in there, okay?" Uriah continued to take the initiative of calming everyone down, even though he himself was frightened. The darker-skinned boy had read about these epileptic fits, but had never witnessed one.

The fear in the corridor was palpable, and the group jumped when a feminine voice broke the silence.

"Eric?! No!" Lauryn dropped to the floor, in an instant, staring at her blonde friend with wide eyes. "Is this it?" she thought, as she watched the horrifying scene. A cool hand on her shoulder seemed to calm her down, but she couldn't tear her gaze away from Eric.

"What the fuck is happening to me?! Is this it?"

The blonde could barely comprehend his own internal dialogue, the pain was so intense. This was the longest episode he had ever had, and it was not pleasant, to say the least.

Eventually, the convulsions ceased, and the pain receded, allowing the young leader to open his eyes. His chest heaved, as he struggled to regulate his breathing, and fatigue weighed heavily on him. The blonde had to fight to retain his consciousness, which was a difficult feat, considering his current level of exhaustion.

"Is it over?" Cordelia whispered, crawling to the blue-eyed man's side, and leaning over him to look at his face. The flow of blood had stopped, but the sticky, red substance still stained his nose, chin, and the area around his ears, and had left trails where it had dripped from the affected orafaces.

"Eric? Eric? Please, tell me it's over," the dark-haired girl begged for her instructor's attention, breathing a sigh of relief when crystal blue eyes met her own. "I lo-, I'm so glad you're okay," she breathed, laying her head on Eric's chest, momentarily, before moving up to place a gentle kiss to his sweaty forehead.

Uriah and Marc helped the young leader to his feet, holding tightly to his arms when Eric swayed a bit from the dizziness. The darker-skinned boy used his jacket, which had acted as a makeshift pillow for the blonde, to wipe up the remainder of the blood off of the floor.

"Th- th- thanks," the young leader mumbled, embarrassed that so many people had witnessed him at his most vulnerable of moments. Though, he was grateful for the concern, in a way; he was pleasantly surprised that this crazy group of initiates cared whether he died, or not. "Um... d- d- do y- you, do you g- g- guys w- wanna, wanna h- hang at m- m- my p- place, my place?"

"Yeah!"
"Definitely!"
"Sure!"
"Can I bring weed?!" Uriah.

The young leader chuckled, shaking his head at the crazy antics of Zeke's little brother. "Y- y- yeah, I- I- I, I g- guess. G- g- get a l- l- lot, th- th- though; j- just ch- ch- charge it, charge it t- to m- m- my a- ac- account, my account."

"Since when do you smoke, Mr. Straight Edge?" the red-headed woman inquired, with a raised eyebrow, and an incredulous expression.

"S- s- since wh- when- whene- ever, L- l- lauryn. G- g- go a- away, go away, I- I- I d- don't w- want t- to s- s- see y- you, see you, r- right n- n- now," Eric responded, darkly, glaring at the green-eyed, Dauntless-born instructor, feeling only slightly guilty at the pained expression on her face, as she turned and continued on her way to the dining hall. The blonde was well-known for holding a grudge, and Lauryn's previous words from less than a week prior, still hurt him.

"I'm so glad that's over," Lia whispered, throwing her arms around the blonde's waist, in a tight embrace. "I was so scared, Eric!"

"M- m- me t- to," the blue-eyed instructor admitted, as he watched the red-head disappear through the double doors that led into the cafeteria, regretting his harsh words.

** Fade Away - Breaking Benjamin