Bite Me || Eric Coulter Fanfic - Divergent

7. Maybe - Eric's POV

She infuriates me.

There's no other way to explain it.

From the moment she started training, I've been seeing red.

Not only is she mysteriously good at everything so far, but she doesn't even have the attitude to go with her skills. I swear she fights like she's Dauntless born but acts like she's no better than the rest of the initiates. Despite everything though, when we fought I respected her. We were almost equals in the ring; speed and strength clashing. Anyone could tell she doesn't have much experience with fighting, but she knows enough to be dangerously good. She fights smart and sometimes, that's what can win a fight.

But her attitude is unbearable. Nothing seems to faze her. Not the possibility of being cut from training and ending up factionless, not Peter's pitiful trash talk, not me giving her a hard time with the punching bag or in the ring. It's maddening. She might fight well, but I swear I will find her weakness and exploit the shit out of it. There must be something that ticks her off and I aim to discover it.

We head to the infirmary and let Nancy, the horrified nurse, take care of our injuries. I smirk, satisfied when I see her injuries. At least that fight wasn't as easy as with Peter. Immediately after though, I wince at my own injuries, frustrated that she actually managed to do some damage.

I was lost in my thoughts for a bit and focus on the nurse once again. She must have just said something to Iris, because the girl is sweeping her hair on one side of her neck, leaning slightly to the right, so that the nurse has better access to a cut on her shoulder. For a moment, I'm transfixed, seeing her hands move her hair gingerly, like a waterfall cascading down her shoulder, lips slightly parted and wincing as Nancy applies some kind of ointment on her skin.

I shake my head and clear my throat, as her eyes meet mine. Damn, do I have a concussion or something?

I snap my attention back to Nancy, who asks me to remove my shirt so that she can examine the cuts and bruises on my chest.

As the nurse is taking care of the cuts, I lift my gaze and catch Iris staring at my chest. I don't suppress my smirk as her eyes finally meet mine. She, however, doesn't look particularly affected.

"See something you like, initiate?" I say, trying to rattle her.

"Maybe" she says, half playfully and half nonchalantly; her eyes shining with mischief. I gulp.

"That piece of Dauntless cake, it looks devine" she says, gesturing to a plate of cake placed on the counter behind me. I inwardly groan.

"Oh! That's for you Iris, dear" exclaims Nancy happily. "A lovely red-headed girl stopped by while you were cleaning up. She said that dinner was almost over and she thought you might want to eat something. What a sweetheart!"

I scoff. There's no place for sweetness or whatever she called it here in Dauntless.

Iris throws me a glare.

"That must have been Chloe" she remarks. "I should probably join her anyway. Am I free to go?" she asks, smiling at Nancy. It's as if smiling like that comes easy to her.

"Yes, of course dear. Do let me know if you need me to look at those cuts again" she says "Oh, sit still Eric, I'm not done with you yet" she says sternly.

I hadn't even realized I had started to move towards her. Damn, whatever is affecting me needs to stop. Now.

Iris thanks Nancy, takes her cake and leaves the infirmary, not sparing me a glance. The audacity of that girl!

Like I said, she's infuriating.