Pain In The Ass (Eric Divergent Fanfic)

Body In The Water

Elizabeth

Eric walks with me to the cafeteria later that day. He stays silent as we walk in, and all eyes turn to us. I step away from him to stand in the food line.

"You're one of the Candor transfers, right?" A Dauntless-Born initiate who stands in line in front of me asks. "Eric's favorite? Eli, isn't it?"

"Yes. I wouldn't say I'm Eric's favorite." I reply.

"You must not have seen the real Eric yet. He hates just about everyone here, and he doesn't like people talking back. He lets you talk back, and he stands closer to you than anyone else. Hell, he came in the cafeteria with you. He's even staring at us right now to see if I'm going to hurt you."

I look over my shoulder, and the boy is right. I can see Eric from where I stand. He sits with Four, Tris, and a handful of others at one of the many tables in the cafeteria, and his eyes are on me.

"I don't think I'm his favorite. I think he likes me." I say.

The boy pays for his food, and I do the same. I walk with him to the table for initiates, and I sit down so I can still see Eric from I was.

"Has anybody seen Paul?" Someone asks.

"Last I saw of him, he was in bed this morning."

"I saw him in the Pit."

"He was staring into the Chasm, wasn't he?"

An eerie silence falls over the initiate tables as we all remember Four's words during the compound tour days ago.

"Don't let it be surprising if someone dies. You don't know how many people have thrown themselves into the Chasm instead of going factionless."

We all jump up in a rush, gaining the attention of everyone else in the cafeteria, and we run in a herd to the doors. I come to a forced stop when someone grabs my arm.

"What the hell is going on? Where are all of you going?" Eric asks, Four and Tris behind him.

"One of the initiates, Paul, is missing." I breathe, brushing his hand off and running after the others.

The staircase down into the Pit is blocked by initiates and unaware Dauntless members. Some of the male initiates take the daring leap over the edge of the raised walls of the Pit, and I follow behind them. We each tumble to the ground and roll to our feet before running to the railing that runs along the section of the Chasm that goes through the Pit. A girl makes it to the railings first and lets out a horrific scream.

I stand at the railings and will myself to look at the bottom of the Chasm. A boy lays in a shallow place of the rushing waters, and the water around him and further down the currents is stained red. His eyes are open, and his body is disfigured from falling and landing on the sharp rocks that line the bottom of the Chasm.

"Paul!" The girl yells, breaking into a sob.

"Someone get the ropes. Move the initiates away." Someone older orders when he looks over the Chasm rails.

A hand grips my shoulder, and I take a deep breath.

"You okay?" Eric's voice is quiet so he doesn't attract attention.

"I know him." I whisper. "I knew him."

I turn my back on the Chasm and walk away. Eric follows me as I head down one of the many halls within the compound. He slips ahead of me and leads me in a different direction. He slides into one of the unmarked rooms and pulls me in behind him. Inside is a bed, a small kitchen like area, and a bathroom off the side of the kitchen area.

"Is this-?" I look around.

"My room." He clarifies.

I nod slowly, and he makes me sit on the bed. He sits beside me, our arms brushing together.

"Tell me about him. It'll make you feel a little better." He says.

"Paul was in Candor like me. I didn't talk much when I went to school, but everyone in Candor knew who Paul was. He was loud, and he laughed a lot. I think the girl who screamed was his girlfriend who followed him into Dauntless." I mutter, squinting my eyes as I think.

"I'll have someone keep an eye on her." Eric moves his arm and wraps it around me. "Anything else you want to say?"

"He asked me out once."

"And?"

"I turned him down. I didn't want to be with anyone before I chose where I was going to be the rest of my life. I didn't want a guy dictating where I go just so I can stay with him."

"Wise choice."

"But I think he followed me."

Eric runs his hand up and down my arm. "Why do you say that?"

"Paul wasn't a fighter. He hated violence. Back in school, I always thought he'd stay in Candor or go to Abnegation. I didn't even realize he came to Dauntless until I saw his body at the bottom of the Chasm."

"Then he didn't belong here. He knew that. That's why he chose to take the cowardly route instead of being factionless. He could've lived a long life, but he chose to end it because he couldn't be with you."

"He ended it because he knew you like me, and I like you back."

I look at Eric, and the tough man shell is gone. He has a look of sympathy and uncertainty, and his blue green eyes shine with an overwhelming amount of love and selflessness. I look away as tears roll down my face.

"Maybe if I had said something to him before the Choosing Ceremony, he wouldn't have been here. Maybe he would've been at Candor, laughing and speaking without care. Now he's just....... He's just a coward. That's how everyone will see him now. Just another body in the water."

Eric sighs, and I freeze when he presses his lips to the top of my head.