Only Annie | Eric Coulter

8 - If Only

* * *

"You were being you

and I was being too human

But who was I fooling?"

* * *

|| A N N I E

The words travel out of his mouth, and they sail and reach my ears and make them ring.

I choke, coughing up the food I'd previously placed in my mouth. The thing was supposed to dwell in my stomach, but it rejected the visitor at Eric's declaration.

Right. I most definitely did not expect that to happen.

I've known Eric since we were in diapers, ever since we could only pronounce one syllable words. Eric was my Eric, the boy who spent most of his time making mud cakes with me.

But Eric, fast forward to at least three years ago, has changed. He is no longer Eric, my friend. Since the summer of 3056, Eric was classified under "Friend or More " category. Damn it, I was hoping the confusion would soon wear away. I was hoping that one day, I'd see the light and come into conclusion that Eric, my Eric, will never be the one for me.

Fuck all those thoughts away. Those four words trigger a flashback of all my encounters with him, and instead of being platonic, they are now laced with a sweet and romantic atmosphere.

Fuck.

"Eric," I start, my wide eyes searching his face for signs of jokes or pranks, "Are you trying to bullshit me or something? Are you waiting for some kind of reaction from me? Eric, I—"

"No, I'm not." He stands from his seat and walks over to my side, his eyes never leaving mine, "Anika, I'm serious. I'm asking for you to be mine. Officially. Exclusively. Only."

I'm not sure if I'm still breathing. The way his eyes stared deep into mine is making all my walls crumble, and all my wishes and dreams and fantasies are waiting for the door to open, for me to make them come true.

I lean in, and I kiss him on the lips.

It was short, just a peck really, but it was all it took to seal the deal.

"Yes. I agree to be yours, and yours alone, Mr. Coulter."

...  

|| F O U R

Eric's less bitchier than usual. Hmm.

"You got a good fuck, didn't you?" I mutter lowly, arranging the initiates' stat sheets, "You're in an awfully good mood."

Not even a second later, a blade missed my head about two centimeters, and instead buried itself on the wall behind me, "Don't fucking test me, Eaton. I will not miss a second time."

I roll my eyes, swinging my chair over to the window of our 'office'. It wasn't an office really, just basically a storage room where we kept initiation business. It's shitty, too, despite Eric being a leader and me having a top rank in Intelligence. Dauntless is just cheap.

"Anika finally said yes to your sorry ass?"

I'm Four, the silent sarcastic instructor. I have a reputation to uphold, and I will not crumble on Eric, "Success, yeah? After so many years of longing looks, you finally got the balls to say you—"

"Do you want me to throw you out that fucking window?" He snarled, stalking to me with a murderous expression, "I will not hesitate, Eaton. I'll wear your blood proudly on my hands."

Eric was always one with drama.

"I don't need empty threats, Coulter." I say blankly, returning to my spot behind the huge desk, "I've been hearing some things, and they're not particularly nice."

At that, his eyebrow arched, and I feel slightly jealous at how his piercings reflect the low lights around us, "What things?"

"They say you're a father."

He scoffed, "You know better than that shit, Four. Anika and I—"

"I'm not talking about Anika," I say, and his eyes go back to being furrowed, "I'm talking about Lyanne."

At the mention of his ex-bed buddy, Eric's eyes grew wider, "Lyanne? What the fuck?"

...  

A/N

Cliffhanger bc im a lil bitch.

 And can you believe it,

Eric and Four gossiping lmfao