Danger is Near

Chapter 31

The next day of training we worked on knife throwing. Eric wasn't there. I assumed it was because of what him and Four talked about yesterday. 

Around ten o'clock we moved onto using the knives on targets. We all paired up and stood in front of one. They were all on the same wall about a metre apart. There was a bullseye on the head of the target and there was another bullseye around the chest of the target. Four told us to try and aim for these points. 

I paired off with Emma. We had become quite close throughout training. I felt like I could trust her with almost anything. She was a really honest and trustworthy person, and she was someone who was really understanding as well. Which was good because I really felt like I needed someone else to spill my problems to. Matisse and Amy and Elise, Liv and Ruby knew about everything, from my home life to my crushes but I really needed someone new to talk to. 

We each were given five knives and we were then told to begin throwing. 

I went first, for Emma didn't want to. She didn't feel confident at this whole knife throwing business. 

I threw my five knives at our target. Only three of them hit the target and stayed in. I was pretty proud of that but then I realised they weren't even close to the bullseyes. I frowned. 

Emma then went up and she was surprisingly good at it. 

"Wow, you've really got the hang of this" I said.

"Yeah, I guess" she pondered, "but I can't seem to hit the bullseyes". 

Once everyone had thrown their knives Four stopped us and told us to go and retrieve five knives. 

Then we started up again. I threw my first two knives and they hit the stomach area of the target. I wasn't too happy with that. As I went to throw my third knife I felt someone come extremely close to me. I froze. 

"You aren't doing it properly".

Instantly, I knew who it was. Eric. 

I looked up at him.

"May I" he said while holding out a hand, signalling for me to hand over a knife. 

I then handed one to him and stepped away. He then began to explain where to put my fingers. Then he stopped, looking around at everyone else.

Everything had gone quiet, everyone was watching him. 

"Did anyone say you could stop?" he spoke up. And as soon as he said this everyone went back to work. 

Eric finished explaining how I could make my throws more precise and he did a little demonstration. 

He quickly threw it at the target and hit it straight in the middle bullseye. It was a perfect throw. 

"Wow" I said, amazed. 

"Here, now you try" he offered. Grabbing another knife from the table and handing it to me. 

I did exactly what he told me to do, then I took a deep breath in and threw it. 

I watched the knife fly threw the air, flipping and flipping around. Then...

it hit the bullseye. Not straight in the middle like his did but it was very close. 

I turned around to him and noticed him slowly walking away, still facing me. Smiling. 

I then smiled to myself and practised again and again with my left over knives. Then Emma had her second go. She must've heard Eric's words of advice because her throws were almost perfect. I cheered her on. 

For the rest of the day we moved on from target to target. Each target was different and harder to work with. But I stuck to what Eric had taught me and I realised how much better I was getting. I was so proud of myself, even Four was. 

I watched everyone else throw while Emma had her turns. I definitely wasn't the best at this, but I wasn't the worst. Emma was probably up there with the people who were acing this, like Peter, Edward, Matisse and some other girl I didn't know. 

Training ended up finishing early, which was unusual. 

We headed back to the dorm, got changed then decided to head down for dinner early. 

Our 'group' got our usual table and we ate happily. Today's training session was really good. It had put everyone in a good mood, because by the end we had all pretty much mastered the basics of knife throwing. 

I asked everyone whether Eric was the one that helped them but he seemed to have only helped me out. Apparently Four handled everyone else. This surprised me. Why would he only help me? I questioned myself. Then I questioned everyone else, "Why would he only help me then?"

"Because he loves you" Emma then teased. Everyone seemed to agree with her. 

"What!? No way guys!" I said back. I was so startled as to how these guys could 'tell', and I couldn't. 

"Oh c'mon Lize! We know you like him too" Tess chimed, smirking at me and everybody else. 

They all agreed as well. But the harassment didn't stop there. After a while Edward noticed how uncomfortable I was getting so he shut everyone up by changing the subject. I looked at him and nodded in thanks. He nodded back and smiled sweetly. 

After a while of talking about training and what we wanted to become after initiation, Eric approached our table and asked to talk to me. Everyone went quiet and looked at the two of us. They were all trying to hold in giggles. I then frowned at them as I stood up. 

I followed Eric down a few hallways into a very narrow hallway where no one seemed to be. 

"What's up?" I chirped. 

"Listen, Eliza. I know you heard what Four and I spoke about yesterday" he confessed. 

I just looked at him, not really sure what to say. Finally I decided to take a leap of faith. 

"Is it true? Do you like me?"

Eric took a deep breath in, as if he was going to say something life changing. 

"Look, your just different from all the other girls here. There's something about you I just can't get my head around" he revealed. 

I gazed up at him, then I asked another question. 

"What about that girl from the piercing shop you were flirting with?" I asked innocently and curiously. I didn't make a big deal about it though, because it wasn't like he was 'mine'. I guess I was just curious. 

"What? Marissa? She's just a friend" Eric confirmed, although it looked like he was trying to cover something up. 

"Just a friend?" I smirked cheekily. "Didn't look like it". 

Eric didn't speak. He just looked down at the ground. I laughed sweetly, because all of a sudden he seemed really shy. 

Then I thought it would be best if we changed the subject. 

"Hey, Eric" he looked up from the ground, "thanks for helping me with the knife throwing today. It actually helped" I thanked him gratefully. 

"No problem" he then replied. 

His whole persona seemed to have changed. He wasn't cruel anymore. He appeared genuine. 

"Anyway. You should probably get back to your friends" he concluded. 

I began to walk off, back to the Hall. 

But before I was out of ears reach he did something miraculous. 

"Oh and Eliza... I'm sorry about what I said yesterday. It was un called for."

He apologised. He actually apologised!