Daunting Fires (Completed)

21- Beauty and the Dauntless

Eric heads towards the doors and looks outside. "We'll jump off at the next landing so we don't go the whole 20 minutes around and back." I nod. He won't look at me, and I feel uneasy.

"My favorite color is purple." He says nothing. "Eric?"

"Look, I apologize. I don't know what the hell I'm doing." He clenches his fists. I don't know why I feel the sudden desire for him to like me back. I mean like me. Not that I would in return. Although I probably would. Probably do. Unless he doesn't like me.

What?

"Ok, can you clarify what you feel then?" I cross my arms impatiently. Eric gives me a confused stare. "Well, at the bar a while ago, we made out, if you can't recall. Yeah... And then, I woke up next to you the next morning. Yep. Oh! And you took me to the janitor's closet to make out with me." I shake my head. Why do I even care?

"Look, you're not my first one-night, or one week, or half-a-month chick. And you're probably not the last either. Ok?" His tone makes me shiver.

"Then what am I?" He turns to look at me.

"You're an innocent, initiate who should just stay as far away as possible from a f*cked up guy like me." He looks angry now. "Cliche as hell, right? Well, deal with it." This is what I'm scared of. Liking him even when I know I shouldn't, when I know he's like this.

But just like the roller coaster in my fear landscape, I can't control it.

"You're not," I try to comfort him. Eric immediately snorts.

"I sleep with girls left and right, I love being in charge, and I love hurting people," his straightforwardness surprises me. He points to my shoulder. "I did that, and I thought it was a bit funny... What's wrong with me?" Eric sighs. "Get ready to jump."

"I do like you," I say but he's already jumped out of the train. I feel aggravated.

I jump out of the train and get up after I roll on the grass. I have to jog to catch up to Eric. "Look, you're a douche-" he snickers- "but you admit it, so you can change yourself."

"I don't need your encouragement and I don't want it either." Eric's gray eyes land on mine. Why is he like this? He's less confident than he seems.

"Why are you like this?" I say, letting my thoughts out. He looks up at the sky, annoyed and frustrated.

"You don't like me? Then f*ck off. I'm not changing for you." I see the dauntless compound better now. I dread having to go to fear landscape testing but at least I'm late so I'm not first.

Fear landscape.

"Did she become factionless? Did she pass away or something?" Eric halts in his tracks and furiously turns towards me. "Did she leave you for someone else?" I know I'm invading his personal life but I can't help it. I know there was someone before me. That would only explain the empty and worn roller coaster seat in front of me in my fear landscape.

"What? What're you talking about?" he hisses. And then he looks deep in thought. Seconds later, it looks like recollection hits him in the face. He turns red like he's steaming.

"Never mind." I try to talk but it comes out a whisper. He grabs my wrist when I try to walk away.

"Who told you?" he nearly yells. I have to swallow to hydrate my dry throat. I'm not sure why I decided to be nosy.

Oh, right. Because I like him, damn it.

"Nobody told me anything," I say truthfully. He looks unconvinced and raises his pierced eyebrow.

"I don't have time for lies, initiate." If I tell Eric it was apart of my fear landscape, he'll know I'm divergent. Divergents sometimes have history mixed in their fear landscapes. I read it in How to Catch a Threat. Jeanine Matthews gave the whole school a copy of her book. Although it was free, I felt upset I couldn't refund it. It's weird how I acted like a divergent before I knew I was one. It makes total sense but it's still strange.

"A guy at a party told me," I lie. I was never meant to be a Candor.

I know it would be hard to pinpoint a specific guy at a party so the answer seemed best.

"What guy?" he furrows his eyebrows more. I shrug.

"I was drunk," I say. That was the truth. That was the only time I went to the bar, too.

Eric looks like he's trying to remember something. He must've drank that night and forgot everything like I did. And the next morning...

"Darren. It was Darren wasn't it." My heart starts pumping faster. How does he remember?! Maybe he wasn't drunk...

"What the hell? So you weren't drunk when I happened to slip into your apartment!" I push his chest. He looks taken off guard. "You took advantage of me!"

"So it was Darren." Ugh, I can't believe him right now!

"No, it wasn't. I lied, and I'm never going to tell you how I know." He steps closer and looks down at me. "Why does it even matter?" I try my to sound nervous but he looks... nice up close.

"Tell. Me." It's like his pupils are lit on fire. "Cause if you don't, Darren's going to have a problem with his leg." My eyes widen.

"Why does it matter if I know?! I'll just leave you alone from now on and that's it!" As soon as I said that, I knew it was a promise I wasn't willing to make. He apparently knew that too because he scoffs.

"Well, that's a good idea," he declares as he looks toward the compound. He grabs my arm and pulls me towards the door entrance. I stop and pull his arm with my free hand. Now he's facing me.

"I'll tell you how I know when I'm ready," it sounds ridiculous to say that. "Just don't hurt Darren, he's not apart of this." Eric scoffs for about the hundredth time today and still looks tense and flustered.

"Whatever." I smile at his words but realize whatever could mean anything.

"Promise you won't hurt him," I hold out my pinkie. He stares at it like I'm crazy.

"You're such a kid," he rolls his eyes as his pinkie connects with mine. The simple touch has sparks flying through me. I hope he doesn't notice.

But he did take advantage of me.

We walk inside the dauntless compound and says, "if I don't hurt that boy for this, then it'll be for another reason."
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A/N
Finally, right?! I'm having more fun writing this!