Divergent One Shots (Eric & Tris)

Sixty-Three-Have I Changed That Much? 19.3

Eric

Monday morning, I get ready for the Choosing Ceremony. I go down to breakfast somewhat early and arrive at the train tracks. I see way more people than what I'm used to here. It's the first day of the next year for some going to school and the Choosing Ceremony for the others. Everyone looks excited. I notice some members with their children. I've never seen these little ones before and there's tons of them—at least twenty or so.
"Mr Eric!" a kid screams.
I look down to see Cole around my leg. I chuckle and pick him up looking for a parent. I observe Tris approach me with the other three. She waves shyly at me.
"This is a pleasant surprise," I grin.
"Yeah, I volunteered to take them today," she tells me. "Their parents have to work."
"That's sweet," I tell her.
She chuckles bashfully. "I honestly don't want to let them go," she says softly.
I smirk. She's so adorable with them.
Ryan joins us and he's hitting on Tris. I smack him in the back of the head.
"Stop it," I whisper harshly. "You're making her uncomfortable and she working with kids."
"Fine," he grumbles rubbing his head.
The train horn blares.
"Remember what I said. We're going to start running and I'll lift you in," Tris tells the kids.
They all nod in understanding.
"Stay with me," she insists. She's holding the hands of two and Cole's beside her.
The crowd starts running. I see parents lifting their kids up and setting them inside the cars after some teens open the doors. I look behind me to check on Tris's progress. The three are with her but the shy girl is standing. I rush back and pick her up. I run to the train and catch the last door. I climb inside with her in my arms. She clings to me and she's trembling.
"It's alright," I tell her comfortingly.
I search through the cars for Tris and the others.
"Did you just have a baby?" Ryan teases.
I wave him away and pass him up searching the cars. I find her in the second to first at the front.
"Avery, there you are," Tris says taking her in her arms. "Thank you, Eric," she tells me softly clutching onto her so tightly. I can tell from the rise and fall of her chest that she was freaking out when she didn't see her.
"No problem. She stopped. I think either the crowd scared her or the train," I whisper quietly to her.
She nods.
"What's the protocol for the train?" I ask her as we surround the kids so they stay put.
She explains that she's going to pass them off to some teachers waiting at the primary school.
"What about from now on?" I ask confused.
"They'll assign all the primary kindergarteners an older buddy but the parents and I will observe their progress for the first week," she explains.
"What about sick days?" I inquire.
"A secondary is assigned. They'll always be together," she elaborates.
I grin and nod. She's just here to make sure their first day goes well—first week actually.
"What about the return?" I ask.
"I'll be waiting at the compound to help them off," she explains.
"What about in between?" I inquire.
"Today I'll be at the Choosing Ceremony," she grins. "After that, I'll get off and catch the next one back."
I smirk. She's joining me today.
We have the kids sit down. She crouches and talks to Avery softly. She's comforting her. The little girl nods at her, then waves to me shyly and mouths thank you.
I grin at her and crouch down, too.
"You're welcome. Do you think you can run next time?" I ask.
She appears to be thinking it over. She looks at Tris and then back at me. She nods.
"You're a brave girl, Avery," I tell her.
She smiles and giggles in reply.
The train shifts a little and the kids laugh but Tris looses her balance.  I catch her. 
"Thanks," she smiles. 
"No problem," I tell her. 
I rise up and she does as well.  She closes the doors nearby. 
More people sit, some stand.  I see some little kids moving around and visiting.  Their parents come with them.  They introduce themselves and they talk together and play.  Tris speaks with the parents.  Ryan makes his way over to me. 
"Did you find her parents?" he asks me. 
"Tris was taking these four and they got separated," I explain quietly.
"Oh," he says surprised. "Are you playing Daddy?" he teases.
"Cut it out," I say elbowing him.
He winces.
Tris glances at us. Yeah, she heard him.
We approach the primary school and Tris talks with the kids prior to getting off. They all nod. She takes Avery first this time. Tris steps out and Avery jumps into her arms, then... Tommy, Liza, and Cole. The teachers take the kids and Tris runs back and jumps on. She's a little winded but she watches as the kids are escorted inside the school before it's out of view.  We pass the middle school and then the high school with dependents jumping off at each.  All that's left on the train is those of us going to the Hub for the Choosing Ceremony. 
I look to Tris and she's staring out the window. 
"Did you get the day off?" I ask. 
"Sort of like a half day.  Whoever volunteers gets the privilege to join in," she tells me. 
"Do you want to go to the roof with us?" I offer her. 
She looks over her shoulder at me and her surprised expression turns into a smile.  "Alright," she agrees. 
"Almost there!" someone shouts enthusiastically. 
I meet Tris's eyes again and we smile at each other. She's starting to get excited about this once more. 
"Get ready," another says. 
The first car begins to jump.  Tris and I move closer to the door.  She jumps off first and starts running.  I follow.  I surpass her and then we run together.  There's an Abnegation man opening the door when he sees the Dauntless herd coming his way.  He holds it open for us. 
"Thanks," Tris says to him. 
He nods to us.  I head straight for the staircase, taking them two at a time.  We round the twenty levels and I shove the door open roughly—each person passing through doing the same.  I usher Tris with me to the front row. 
"Is it alright if I sit here?" she asks confused. 
"You're with me.  It's fine," I tell her.  Only Ryan and I came this year.  I'll be welcoming the initiates this time instead of Max.  I motion to the third seat.  She sits but I've got to do some obligatory socializing.  Johanna is here and she's waving to me.  I approach her and shake her hand before she tries to hug me. 
"Just you this year, Eric?" she asks me surprised. 
I look over my shoulder.  Ryan's on his way but he's mixed in with crowd. 
"Ryan's coming.  I don't know what happened there," I smirk. 
She smiles, too. 
"There you are.  We were wondering what took you so long," she teases. 
Ryan chuckles.  "Eric bailed on me for a girl.  I got stuck with the families."
"Oh?" Johanna asks surprised.  "I adore hearing about love.  And who has young Eric's attention?"
"Tris Prior," Ryan answers motioning to her. 
"She's Andrew's daughter, isn't she?" she asks. 
I nod. 
"She's grown into quite a beauty," she points out. 
"She has," I agree. 
"What are we talking about?" Jack Kang asks us grinning. 
"Ah, man.  Now everybody is going to know," Ryan whispers jokingly to me. 
"We were just commenting on how lovely young Miss Prior is becoming," Johanna mentions smoothly. 
Jack looks around for her while Johanna winks at me.  I grin at her for saving face for me. 
"Which faction did she transfer to?" Jack asks. 
"Dauntless, front row," Johanna tells him. 
Jack whistles in surprise.  "You weren't kidding," he agrees. 
I see Abnegation begin to trickle in the door.  They move slowly and methodically. I notice her father arrive and I look to her. She's talking with Uriah in the second row. I didn't realize he came. I know he and Marlene are serious so I'm not worried. I'm wondering if she's curious to see her father. I decide to take a moment and ask.
"Hey, your dad's here," I mention.
"Oh, is he?" she grins. She glances over to the Abnegation side and sees him. He's talking to Robert Black who looks over Dauntless and nods to me. I nod back.
"Do you want to go talk to him with me?" I ask.
"Sure," she shrugs.
She rises and waves to Uriah. I escort her over there.
"Hi, sweetheart," her father nods to her but he's grinning. "Eric," he nods to me.
"Mr Prior," I nod in reply.
"How's mom?" she asks.
"She's feeling better today," he tells her.
"Good. I was afraid she was coming down with something," Tris responds.
She glances at me and sees my confusion.
"She had a sore throat yesterday and couldn't make it to church," she explains.
"Oh," I say surprised. I hadn't realized it was a family thing.
"How's everything in Dauntless?" Andrew asks me.
"Good. I'm looking forward to initiation," I tell him.
"So are we," he grins.
We make a little small talk and Marcus Eaton joins us. Tris seems a bit uneasy in his presence. I chat with a few more Abnegation when I see Jeanine exit the elevator.
She sees me and smiles. She walks straight over to me.
"Ready for another interesting year?" she asks.
"Always," I agree.
She scans the room.
"Is that... Beatrice Prior speaking with her father?" she asks me surprised.
"It is," I nod.
"Well," she guffaws. "She has certainly blossomed in the last year."
"She has," I agree. I still see the same Tris... but she does look a little different.
"Ah, I see," Jeanine says. I focus my attention on her. She's grinning at me. "You have an interest in Miss Prior."
"I do," I admit. She knows me well enough that anything but the truth would give it away regardless.
"Good," she nods. "Her intellect may suit you well. What does she do in Dauntless now?"
"She sculpts young minds," I admit.
"You mean the nursery?" she questions shocked.
I nod.
"What a waste. She could be doing so much better," she scoffs. "Don't you have a more suitable position for her than that?"
"It's what she chose," I explain. "She's good at what she does."
"If she were in Erudite, I would've assigned her a proper position to compliment her abilities," she tuts at me.
"Yeah," I say softly.
"Why don't you find a position more appropriate for her?" she suggests.
"I can offer but I doubt she'll move," I tell her.
"That's the difference between us. You offer, I don't give a choice," she tells me.
I purse my lips and nod.
I see Jack take the stage and I say goodbye to Jeanine—me being the only person she spoke to.
I stride over to the Dauntless area once more and take my seat between Ryan and Tris.  He's trying to hit on her again. 
"Jack's about to start," I tell him interrupting his lame pickup line.
He stops and Tris leans over closer to me.  "What did Ms Matthews have to say?" she asks softly. 
I look to her.  "The usual," I shrug.  "You talked to your father, I spoke to my aunt."
She appears shocked.  "Oh," she replies. 
"Welcome everyone to the Choosing Ceremony," Jack Kang begins.  "Today is a monumental day for our dependents.  Their choices from this moment forth with shape the direction of their lives, their future.  We celebrate their selection on which faction they will choose—where they sincerely wish to be.  They will decide what their true self desires to become, revealing what's in their hearts to mould their future.  We honor their honest choice for their lives and accept what they will become—whether it's their faction of origin or to make a life change to a different faction.  It is their day and we thank them for their honesty."
Everyone claps. 
I'm surprised it was short but he got to the truth if it quickly.  He always does.  Tris glances at me and I smirk at her.  She's remembering hers. 
I see Wyatt—Jack's second in line—join him.  He's helping with the knives. 
They begin calling out names—this year in alphabetical order.  The ceremony goes quickly.  Most of our Dauntless dependents stay with few transfers.  We receive several transfers from other factions—even a few from Amity and two from Abnegation.  I'm looking forward to supervising their training. 
The ceremony concludes and Ryan and I are on our feet.  We begin to run for the exit and all Dauntless follows.  I descend the staircase taking three at a time down.  We exit the front doors and I see that Tris has kept in step with me.  I look further behind to see the myriad of colors mixed in with Dauntless and I'm pleased.  We run to the tracks and we've got a few minutes until the next one arrives.  I hear the blare of the oncoming train and check again to see the stragglers are all here. 
"Get ready!" Tris calls out beside me. 
I meet her eyes and she smiles at me.  She's having fun.  We begin to run as the train comes into sight.  I grasp the first handle and reach out for Tris.  She takes my offered hand and I pull her up.  She climbs in first, then me.  Ryan joins us and I see our car rapidly filling in. We ride together in silence. I look to Tris and notice she's no longer beside me—not even in this car.
"She left a while ago," Ryan tells me.
I frown at that. I didn't even notice. We begin the incline and I see our destination coming into view. I open the door to get ready. I watch and wait.
As soon as we arrive at the building, I immediately jump first landing gracefully, followed instantaneously by Ryan without fail. We stride over to the members' entrance to wait for the rest. As we walk, many jump... and fall. I can see scratches, scrapes, and a little blood in my peripheral vision. We continue on and turn around at the ledge. I observe the initiates checking over the damage while the members stand off to the side unscathed for the most part. Many are still jumping. I notice a few transfers but not many yet. The last car approaches and I see the rest. They begin leaping onto the roof—several getting a running start. I observe Tris and she's holding the hands of two female transfers as they jump—an Amity and Abnegation. Yeah, that's her. I don't see anyone remaining on the train cars as they barrel on. I blink in surprise. She coached them all to jump. I know it.
"Did you see that?" I ask Ryan quietly.
"No man. What?" he questions.
"Not a single transfer stayed on the train," I tell him.
"That's unheard of," he gapes.
I nod. It is.
We give them a moment to stand and assess the damage while Ryan calls the janitorial staff to set up more beds. He hangs up and nods to me.
"Everyone gather around!" I shout.
They surround us quickly.
"Welcome to Dauntless," I say. Several smile, especially the transfers. "I'm Eric and this is Ryan. We are two of the five leaders of Dauntless. Behind us is the members' entrance," I tell them motioning to the hole. "If you want to join our initiation, you have to jump. Now, who's first?"
Many smiles disappear as realization passes over them of what I expect them to do. Several of the transfers look to Tris who's standing off to the side with the other members. Uriah is with her. She nods to the transfers and they whisper among themselves. The Abnegation boy raises his hand first.
"Alright, we have a volunteer," Ryan says calling him forward.
We step aside to let him stand at the optimal spot. He looks down, gulps, and climbs the ledge. He turns around and falls backward without a word. A moment later I hear Lauren's voice yell, "First jumper, Ray!"
Shouts, claps, and whistling follows.
"Alright. Who's next?" I question.
We have them line up and the transfers are mixed in with the Dauntless-born. I see some of the members sneaking around to the exit, others are waiting until we're done to jump. I give the signal for the Dauntless-born to jump and motion for Ryan to take over.
"Tris?" I call out in a whisper.
She looks over at me from the middle of her line. She steps aside and lets them pass walking towards me.
"What did you say to them?" I ask.
"I don't know. I just... told them to follow and do what everyone else did. I told them to trust their leadership and do what they're asked without question," she shrugs.
"That's all?" I question surprised.
"The couple girls that jumped with me... they were scared when they saw everyone else jumping. They weren't going to do it. I reminded them that they chose the faction of the brave for a reason and I offered my hands to them both," she divulges.
I gape at her for a moment. She didn't give anything away. She just reminded them of what they ought to do and what they chose, to think about why it was worth it to them.
"Thanks," I nod to her and motion to the door.
"Anytime," she smiles.
I return to Ryan's side for the third—a Candor boy.
"She's totally hot. I'm asking her out," he tells his friend behind him. I see him checking Tris out as she leaves.
I glare at him and he keeps his eyes forward.
"Next," Ryan tells the Candor.
He jumps... but he does scream like a little girl.
"Thanks man," I tell him.
"No problem. What'd you say?" he questions.
"I'll tell leadership at lunch," I reply.
"Okay," he nods grinning.
The fourth Candor boy smiles at Ryan. Ryan looks daggers at him and he diverts his attention away. Yeah, they fear us. He jumps and I smirk.
They all leap in succession and it takes a while.  We've got a substantial group.  I lost count but they're keeping track of names and former factions.  Plus, I don't know many of these Dauntless-born.  The last one climbs the ledge.  She's the Amity that was with Tris.  She might have a heights problem.  She takes a moment, tells herself to be brave and jumps. 
I grin.  She's incredible with them... and her approach is gentle—just like with the children.  My heart clenches at the thought of her. 
Ryan jumps and I follow a minute later.  I land on the net and see Tris reach her hand out for me.  I smirk at her and take it but I mostly pull myself out even though she helps. 
"What?  You'll take hers and not mine?" Four comments. 
"If I saw you offered, I would've slapped you," I tell him easily as I stand up. 
Ryan chuckles. 
"Can you stay after?" I whisper to Tris. 
She meets my eyes and nods. 
"How many?" I ask Lauren. 
"Thirty-eight," she grins.  "Twenty-one Dauntless-born and seventeen transfers."
Ryan whistles in awe, "Look at all those girls.  I'm definitely getting one this year.  Don't throw them out."
I chuckle.  "Wait until they're members," I insist. 
"No doubt," he nods taking the list.  He heads to the offices to add their points and print cards for the transfers. 
I stride in front of the group.  Four and Lauren join me.  Most of the members have trickled out probably heading to lunch.  I see Tris speaking with Uriah and he nods before running off. 
"Initiates.  Congratulations on passing your first tests.  As I stated before, I'm Eric.  I will be overseeing your initiation.  This is Lauren and Four.  They will be your instructors.  I want to make it clear that you understand our fraternization policy.  There will be no relationships between initiates and members.  When you become a member, that will be an option but not until then," I explain staring down the Candor that was gawking at Tris. 
I look around and Four of all people glances at me.  A Candor transfer raises his hand—not the one wanting to hit on Tris, though. 
"Yes," I call on him. 
"Can initiates date initiates?" he asks. 
"Yes," I reply.  "Lauren?" I question. 
"Dauntless-born, unless you want a tour, go home and pack your things.  Take them to your dorm and meet for lunch.  Any questions?  No?  Good.  Off you go," she tells them without waiting. 
I try to hold back the chuckle.  But I let it out.  Four glares at me and I laugh harder. 
"Four?" I question. 
"Transfers.  We're taking a tour.  Any questions?" he asks. 
The same Candor who asked me about dating raises his hand. 
"Yes?" I call on him once more. 
"Why is your name a number?" he asks confused. 
Lauren and I both crack up at that. 
Some of the transfers laugh, too.  Four stares them down and they clear their throats and cough trying to play it off. 
"You'll find out the answer to that question in stage three," I answer. 
He nods trying to hold back the smile. 
"I think we're good, Four.  Show them the infirmary while you're at it," I tell him. 
He nods and takes them off. 
Lauren leaves and it's just Tris and me remaining. 
I approach her. 
"What did you need to talk to me about?" she asks curiously. 
"Can we just take a minute to appreciate that Candor's question?" I joke. 
She chuckles.  "Christina got in trouble last year for that," she tells me. 
"I love telling transfers his name," I grin. 
"Do you always pick on him like that?" she asks. 
I purse my lips thinking about it.  I nod, "We're always messing with each other."
She smiles in reply. 
"So... I'm impressed with how you handled the transfers," I admit. 
"Thank you," she says softly. 
"I'll have to clear it with the rest of leadership... but I want you training them," I tell her. 
"What?" she asks confused. 
"You made sure nobody was left behind this year.  I think you have what it takes to motivate them," I divulge my thoughts. 
She blushes in the dim light and looks away bashfully. 
"What do you say?" I ask. 
She meets my eyes. 
"I already have a job," she replies. 
"I think they can spare you for a month," I tell her.  She goes to protest but I point out, "They handled things fine last year without you."
"They need me," she frowns. 
"So do I," I admit. 
She meets my eyes and sees I'm serious. 
"Will you hire another nursery worker from the group?" she questions. 
"Deal.  I'll add it to my list for the new members," I nod. 
"I still have to take the kids in the mornings," she points out.  
"They'll just jog then anyway," I explain. 
"I don't really want to work with Four," she admits. 
"I'll be with you," I explain. 
She wavers. 
"Any other requests?" I say tauntingly. 
She looks at me and squares her shoulders. 
"Yes.  I want the males and females separated in the dorms and I want you to rank based on the old point system," she tells me. 
Now, I waver. 
"Those are my terms," she says crossing her arms. 
I sigh in surprise. 
"I'll have to speak to leadership about it," I admit. 
"I have to work after lunch.  You can let me know later," she shrugs. 
"Alright," I nod.  "I'll take you out to lunch."
"You mean we'll go together?  As friends," she confirms. 
"Yes, of course," I agree... but I place my hand at her waist as I escort her.