Finding The Courage

Part 10

"I can't believe Peter is first." I heard Tris mutter.

"I don't think he will be for long, the second stage in mental right?" I asked looking at the older members for some sort of confirmation. They all nodded and as the rest of the room cleared out. The day went on with a lot of gloating from Peter. I spent the day with Wayne because he was going back to the wall soon. We had spent the day in his apartment where he and I finally caught up on the topic of mom and dad. It was late when I found Tris in the hallway crying. I could still smell the blood in the room and I decided to join her. We skipped dinner and after convincing her to change into something more comfortable we resumed our position in the hall. That's where Uriah found us.

"Do you guys want to join us for another tradition? It's something that only the full-fledged members are supposed to do but Zeke is going to let us join."

I was game and soon we were sneaking out of the compound and into the city yet again. We followed them into an old building and up to the rooftop where we watched as a few people were strapped into a harness and got sent flying down into the city. Tris was first and went flying through the city, I was not far behind. The feeling of soaring was beginning to become addicting and as I had gotten closer to the X on the wall where the line ended I reluctantly pulled the brake. Finally I pulled it, a risky move with how late I had waited but I wanted to enjoy the feeling for as long as possible. Uriah was not far behind us screaming like a strangled cat.

We made our way back into the compound and I had gone off to sit by the Chasm while Tris and Uriah had headed to bed. I sat down with my legs dangling above the water, I could feel the cold water splash against my legs as they swayed. The roar of the water was too loud for me to have heard someone approach me.

"What are you doing!" I was hoisted up by my waist and carried to the tunnel leading to the dorms. I struggled to get free but only managed to twist around to find my captor. To my surprise it was Eric.

"What were you thinking? Do you want to die?" His eyes were ablaze with something that I could have called concern. I struggled against his body but found his arms were far too strong for me to get out of.

"I was just sitting there thinking, let go of me you giant." I pounded against his arms one last time. Eric set me on my feet but kept me within reach in case I had been lying to him. I huffed at him.

"I'm surprised you would even stop me, considering you hate me." I saw his blue eyes flash again.

"Sorry I'm not soft like Four, but you're strong, brave, and a true Dauntless from what I've seen so far." He grumbled out almost as if it pained him to compliment me.

 I was silent for a minute trying to process the fact that I had just been complimented by Eric of all people. He had turned to look away from my intense gaze. I shook my head to clear my mind while I struggled to realize that Wayne had been right, Eric didn't hate me. 

 "I just needed a place to clear my mind and this is the most quiet place." I muttered, my standoffish persona dropping now that I didn't feel the need to be on guard with him.

"I can show you a better place?"

It was a question. But an offer I had not been expecting so I nodded and allowed Eric to lead me away from the Chasm and into a part of the compound I had yet to memorize. I had taken note of landmarks while Eric had taken my hand to lead me. We passed twisted hallways filled with doors that I could only assume were the rooms of other members. Eric led me up several flights of stairs that seemed to come out of nowhere, when we reached that top I was a little out of breath. Eric was several inches taller than me and his legs were much longer. He pushed open a metal door and I was met with cool air, dark sky, and a hint of stars. I rushed out onto the roof, expecting glass below my feet but was met with cement. I beamed at Eric as I laid down on my back to watch the stars.

 "If you promise to keep up this nice streak I'll show you the constellations and tell you about them." I called over to Eric in a soft voice.

He shifted from the door, propping it open slightly and sat down next to me and eventually got comfortable on his back. I started pointing out all of the ones that I was absolutely sure of before moving on to the harder ones.

"How do you know all of this? I thought Abnegation was all about having no free time." Eric mused, a little sarcasm dripping from his words.

"They are, but I was always curious so I used to borrow books from Erudite students when they weren't looking and astronomy quickly became one of my favorite things to read about." I relinquished the secret.

"I can get you more books about it if you want? I can get you all types of books." I rolled over on my side to meet Eric's gaze. He was still looking at the stars but glazed at me out of the corner of his eye when he had felt me shift. I studied him for a minute.

"Why the sudden change in attitude mister?" I sat up to get a better look at him. I poked his chest as I pulled myself to hover over him, forcing him to look into my eyes. He met my gaze and before I had time to pull away from him one of his hands was tangled in my hair and pulling me to meet his lips. His lips were surprisingly soft but his kiss was different from Four's. His was soft and slow, there wasn't any type of urgency but it was still full of passion. I groaned a little as he pulled me to straddle his lap as he sat up. His other hand wrapped around my waist as I shifted to get more comfortable. We finally pulled away from one another but he didn't let go of the back of my neck, knowing that I would run if he did. I tilted my head up to meet his eyes, part of me screaming that this had to be a trap.