Amicable ➵ Eric Coulter

Conversation

That same day, Aurora sat down at her usual lunch spot. Enjoying the small amount of private conversation with Eric before her friends arrived.

"Hey," Aurora greeted with a small smile, though her mind was racing with memories of the simulation. She tried not to think about it so much, but the vividness of her family sitting dead at the dining table was too much.

"Hey," Eric responded back, his eyes meeting hers as she sat down. Aurora picked at her salad, her appetite abandoning her. "Are you alright?" He asked suddenly, which made her jump slightly, "Four said you were kind of shaken by the simulation."

Aurora nervously began to tap her fingernails on the vinyl tabletop. "Why? Did he say anything about it?" She asked, hoping Michael or Jackson would swoop in to save her. She frowned at the thought of Four telling him.

Eric's eyes narrowed. Something was obviously wrong, he wasn't stupid, "No, he just said that you were pretty upset." That caused Aurora to relax a bit, yet her fingers still fiddled in front of her. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Aurora shook her head, not knowing if she should tell him or not. She'd have to get advice from Michael, he seemed way better at this kind of stuff. "Jesus- would you stop!" Eric chided, grabbing her wrist to stop her nails from tapping. Aurora froze, shocked by the sudden contact. His grip loosened, but he didn't let go. He moved his hand down to hold Aurora's and sighed. She felt her heart leap, "I'm sorry, it's okay if you don't want to tell me, but you can tell me any-"

"Woah, PDA," Michael cut him off with a harsh whisper and the clattering of his tray. "Cool it you two. Isn't this," he used a fork to gesture between the two of them, "prohibited?"

Aurora slipped her hand from Eric's and used it to shove Michael's shoulder, "Why do I put up with you?"

Michael chuckled before shoving her back, "I ask myself that exact question every day."

Jackson sat down beside Eric, he had been sitting with them for the past few days. His snarky side comments added so much to the conversation and annoyed Eric a bit, which made them even more funny, "Okay kiddos, knock it off."

"Yes, dad." Aurora said before rolling her eyes and taking a sip of her water.

"Hey," Michael faked a frown, "only I get to call him that."

Nearly choking on her water, Aurora began to giggle uncontrollably. Jackson, first being concerned about Aurora, turned back to Michael, "I hate you." Eric had an amused look on his face, and he looked down at his food to hide it.

Aurora took a deep breath before asking Micheal a question, "So what was in your simulation?"

Michael took a bite of his sandwich, and paused to swallow before he started talking, "You know the basic stuff, being alone in the pitch black, everyone hating me- by the way you can be a bitch when you want to, let me tell you," He pointed at Aurora before continuing, "But the worst, oh god, the moths." Aurora saw him visibly cringe as he remembered, "They were all over me, in my ears, my hair- I can still feel their wings against my back." He gagged at this, shuddering before changing the topic. "What about yours?"

Aurora looked down to her half-eaten salad before she spoke, "I'll just give you the gist of it," she looked back up towards the group, "I'm afraid of falling since I fell from a really tall cherry tree when I was younger, dragging myself down with self-doubt," she paused a moment thinking how she should word the last one, "Seeing my loved ones die and killing them."

"Woah," Michael grabbed her shoulder, his voice full of concern, "That's some heavy stuff, are you okay?"

Aurora shook her head, "I'll be fine, it's all fake anyway."

"Yeah, but it feels real," Michael's eyes narrowed, "Are you sure you're okay?"

"I'm fine!" Aurora snapped, causing her to sigh when she realized what she'd done, "I'm sorry, I just don't want to talk about it."

"It's okay," Michael raised his hands in defense, "I understand, we don't have to talk about it. We don't have training today, right? Do you want to go get drinks?" Michael asked her, "Maybe it can distract you."

Aurora snorted, "We know what happened last time I drank."

Michael laughed, "Well then we won't drink that much."

"I could use a drink myself," Eric shrugged, "Mind if I join?"

"As long as you two don't try anything." Michael glanced between Eric and Aurora before laughing and getting up to throw his trash away.

-
Fun Fact: I'm terrified of moths. They're Satan's butterflies.

I'm thinking about remaking the cover as well. Since it's one of the first covers I made it's not as good as my other ones.

Q: What books do you think Eric would read?

(I personally think he would actually love to read in his spare time. I can imagine him trying to squeeze in a few chapters before going to bed, sometimes not even sleeping at all.)