Stumble Across the Fire (Divergent Eric fanfic)

Arielle's Fears

Masked figures.

The dark.

Spiders.

Drowning.

Being hated by everyone I loved.

My five fears. Only five! I couldn't believe it, and neither could Tobias. I almost beat his record, but not quite. Tobias also mentioned I did well handling my fears the 'Dauntless way'. Now all my friends are calling me Five. I can say Tobias and I are siblings, even though no one in Dauntless would believe us. Good thing to trick the transfers with next year.

After I finished, I went straight to Eric's apartment. I knocked only twice before Eric opened the door. He smiled softly at me, and let me in. I hobbled over to the couch, and we sat down together. Instead of getting right to reading, we begin talking about stage three of initiation, and how well I'm doing.

"Five fears." Eric repeats, and he looks at me like I'm the most amazing person in the world. "That's incredible, Arielle. Four and Five, I don't know how much I like that." Eric teases, and I punch him in the shoulder.

"He's like my brother, you ass. You know that." I retort, and he lifts his arms up in mock surrender.

"True, you win." He tells me, and with that, I lie against his body, awaiting for him to begin reading.

"What were they?" Eric asks, and we're silent for a few moments.

"You'll see in a few days." I taunt, and Eric stands up, leaving me lying on the couch.

"Fine, two can play that game." Eric says, walking away from me, book in hand.

"Hey, I'm injured! You said so yourself! I should be getting pity points!" I shout after him, and all I hear is him laugh. I crack a smile, and follow him to the kitchen. He leans against the counter, and faces me, holding the book at his chest.

"Come and get it." Eric challenges, and instead of lunging for the book, I decide to play my own game. I slip my hoodie off, revealing me in a tight black tank top, leaving little to Eric's imagination.

Eric gulps, taking in my body, before shedding his own sweater, revealing him in a black muscle tank. He pecs and toned stomach are pushing the shirt to its limit, and it's taking everything in me not to pounce across the breakfast bar in front of me and run my fingers over his upper body.

"I guess we both play dirty." I mutter, and Eric smiles deviously.

"Mhmm."

I glance at the clock, and see it's time for supper.

"Well, gotta go. I'll catch you tomorrow at training. Goodnight." I say, teasing him, and I walk out the door, leaving Eric cursing at me.

I get down to dinner, and find Tobias, Zeke, Lynn, Uriah, Sterling, and Hayley seated at a table. I make my way over to them, and I sit in between Tobias and Uriah.

"How you feeling, Ari?" Uriah asks, and he engulfs me in a brotherly hug.

"I'm sore, but I'll be alright. How are you?" I ask him, poking him in the ribs.

"Good, good. You ready to get that final test over with, Five?" Uriah asks, and I roll my eyes. That name has spread everywhere.

"Shut up, Uriah. Did you tell everyone, Four?" I punch him, and he clutches his shoulder, laughing.

"Don't be discouraged, Arielle. That's huge for you. Keep it up." Zeke encourages, and I nod.

"Thank you Zeke, for not being a total jackass." I emphasize the jackass, making Tobias and Uriah die laughing.

As we talk and laugh, I see Eric and a couple other leaders enter the dining hall, and his eyes automatically land on mine. I nod, and he nods in return. He walks to the leaders table, where he has his supper.

"He seems to be in a way better mood today. He also was MIA all day yesterday. Didn't even show up for any leadership stuff." Zeke informs us, and Tobias and I make brief eye contact.

"Probably busy fucking a couple girls. That's usually why he skips out on leadership shit." Hayley speaks up, and I look at her incredulously. she notices my look, so she explains further. "I'm Max's daughter, he says some things at home that shouldn't be repeated." She says, and we all nod.

"Yeah, I guess that did him some good. Sheesh, I hate it when he's cranky all the time. Mum always comes home complaining about it." Uriah speaks up, and I bite my tongue to keep myself from defending him. As far as everyone knows, besides Tobias, we hate each other and always butt heads.

After supper, Tobias accompanies me back to the dorms.

"How did it go with him yesterday?" Tobias asks, and I know he's referring to Eric.

"It was a quiet day. Relaxing to say the least." I tell him, and he nods, satisfied with my answer.

"Don't let him hurt you, Arielle. He has his ways, you of all people should know that." Tobias points out, and I nod, deep in thought.

I've seen him with different girls, but he was only fucking them and leaving. He makes me feel different, but what if that is his gig? Making each girl feel special, get what he wants from them, and leaves them the next morning. God, I hope not. I don't think I could take it.

I know it sounds cliché, but that is seriously how I feel. I want him, all of him, but what if he just wants my body, and everything that has happened between us was an act? That would tear me apart.

How does he do it all the time? Does he not develop any emotional connection to the girls he sleeps with? I don't know if I could do a one-night stand without developing feelings. That just seems so against human nature, but then again, humans are greedy animals that just want, want, want.

"Arielle, did you hear me?" Tobias asks, and all I do is nod. I hug Tobias goodnight, and I pack it in for the night. It feels weird sleeping without Eric beside me, but I need time to think. Evaluating all my options sounds really good right now. 

Double update, woohoo! I love you guys so much, so I decided to give you guys two chapters until tomorrow. Enjoy, lovelies!