Ordinary Acts of Bravery [A Divergent Fanfic]

Chapter 33 - A part of dauntless

"He's annoying, he's hilarious, he makes me yell, he drives me crazy, he's out of his mind, but he's everything that I want."

I tossed myself onto the bed with a satisfied groan. Luke and I had lifted Roxy's bed off of mine before pushing them up against his. Elijah had all but disappeared, even Roxy and Luke couldn't understand what had become of him in the dining hall. I thought I had known Elijah better, but it turned out I had no idea who he really was.

Roxy climbed over me and placed herself down on her own bed between mine and Luke's. She had insisted on being in the middle. I had just warned her of no funny business while we slept. Roxy had laughed nervously at those words but promised me that there would be no funny business between her and Luke.

My warning had only brought up my fighting with Eric and how it had almost turned into something else, had that damned man not been so full of restraint—ugh. It annoyed me and relieved me all the same. I was really torn between the two feelings.

When Luke laid down on Roxy's other side, he scooted closer to her and wrapped an arm around her waist before he folded the other beneath his head. Luke was positioned so he could look at me as well from behind Roxy. "O, there's just still one thing I don't fully get. Why Eric?" Roxy spoke carefully despite the fact there were no one else in the room. Everyone else seemed to be out celebrating.

Luke looked eagerly at me, also waiting for my reply. He had remained quiet for most the evening, just listening to me speak with Roxy. But when I didn't reply he was the one to break the silence. "It's a bit hard to understand why you chose him of all people." Luke sighed and nuzzled his nose into Roxy's hair. His voice was low and not judgmental at all. He just wanted to understand.

I shrugged and turned to lie on my back, eyes moving to the ceiling above us. "I don't know. I honestly don't know." I whispered and covered my face with my hands. I could hear Roxy muffle beside me before she rested her head on my chest. "After he saved me from Isaac the first time—I just—well I kept returning, wanting to be around him—you remember what you asked once? Why he was always a part of the tale?" I asked and Roxy nodded. "Well I realized myself and since he saved me from Isaac twice, I just haven't been able to stay away."

"He really saved you twice?" Roxy asked and raised her head to catch my eyes. I nodded and felt the tears swell. "Then he's already better than many others. What he did was truly selfless." Roxy exhaled deeply, returning her head to my chest.

"After he told me all that about Georgiana—and after all that with Gabriel. He kissed me first." I whispered. "It just skyrocketed from there. Eric was genuinely interested, and I was drawn to him, drawn to the person he was underneath those walls. I saw the real him on multiple occasions." I turned my head to look at Luke as he pulled Roxy back to him.

"Octavia, you don't have to explain yourself. We understand most of it—it was just a bit hard to wrap our heads around it, with it being Eric and all." Luke yawned as Roxy returned to her previous position against him. "But as Roxy said, from the moment he saved you, he already proved better than the rumors." Luke yawned again and closed his eyes.