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beautifulramblingbrains · 7 years

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Deception - Chapter 2

Fandom: Divergent. Pairing: Eric/OC Rating: M

With a Father in power and a past based on rumors, a story of deception entails.

Find the first chapter here.

A/N: Thank you for such a great response from the first chapter alone. So here’s another. :)

Tags: @murmelinchen @beltz2016 @tak3th3sh0t @singingpeople @frecklefaceb @equalstrashflavoredtrash @pathybo I went through the notes and I’m sorry if I missed people. Let me know if you want in.

With so many sectors, fifteen in all, a patrol was a standard three hours without interruption. Kate and her group took a slow pace, scanning, assessing, and familiarizing themselves with the routine. There weren't enough days in training to fit all the sectors in, but Eric had explained very carefully that once they had done a few, they had done them all, and that they would be more than likely participating in multiple policing missions in one day.

It was crucial that their presence was reinforced and a lot of their efforts were concentrated around Abnegation. Eric had told them that because Abnegation fed and clothed the factionless, crime rates were higher in those sectors; Abnegation brought the trouble on themselves by their own actions.

The small squadron Kate was on had yet to come across any real activity. And they certainly weren't anywhere near ready if they did.

But she found that a lot of the time she was watching Harvey. Today he was much calmer, fitting in with the group, probably having seen sense and taken Eric's words - and threat - to heart. Being scrapped from a position he had applied for was bad news for any other job in the future he wished to pursue. At least he was smart enough to remember that.

They walked in twos, five trainees, and Eric. After walking for almost two hours, a false sense of security was obvious in the way small idle talk was passed between them. Eric puts his hand up as they finally get to the boundary of Abnegation, signaling that it was time for a small break before their last hour, then they would head home.

They break away from each other and Kate pulls a small water flask off of her belt, drinking quickly. Though it is cloudy, the walking had caused a small sweat, her feet hot in her thick boots and a hell of an ache in her neck.

A shadow creeps up behind her slowly which she doesn't notice at first until Eric stands steadfast next to her, still completely alert of their surroundings when all she had done was concentrate on her thirst. Curiously, Kate's attention is drawn to Eric's fingers exposed out of his fingerless gloves that hover loosely over his gun at his chest, then to his squinted eyes gazing out ahead of him. It's almost like he had something to say, but he doesn't.

He glances at her only briefly, before calling over his shoulder, "Let's get going," to the group and signals with his head to move on.

Harvey becomes Kate's partner throughout the patrol in Abnegation. While she stays quiet, he rambles on about things; pointing out the Stiff's hair, how they dress, and how he could never imagine coping under Abnegation's selfless rules.

"Does that make me selfish?" Harvey asks as they trail through a back street, crisscrossing their way through the gray faction.

"What does?" Kate had barely paid any attention, trying to stay alert rather than fall into Harvey's gossip pit. But it was hard to ignore someone so persistent, and someone who would nudge hard with his elbow when he wanted a reply.

"You know, the thought of being in a selfless faction; thinking of others before myself. I don't think I could do it," he explains.

"Well, it's a good thing you're not in that faction." She feels bad being so blunt, sighing as she continues, "You don't have to worry about that. It's not even worth thinking about."

"But can you imagine…" She meets his wide brown eyes, noticing he was only slightly taller than her. "...if you got Abnegation or a faction you didn't want in your aptitude, and having to join them."

"It's genetics and other biological nonsense, Harvey. It's way past us now."

He kicks a rock as they walk. "But it's reality for some." Kate doesn't reply, noticing Eric in front of them stop to talk to an older man from Abnegation. "Then you have two years like, thinking about it, preparing yourself mentally. Then we have choosing day..."

Kate side-eyes him, then pushes past the group to get within hearing distance.

"...this team is finished and on training. It will be another squadron you'll have to address your concerns to," she catches the end of their conversation and Eric looks at her for the briefest of moments.

Her presence seems to distract the Abnegation man and he nods gracefully. "Thank you. And I will." He smiles at her, and Eric doesn't extend any other formal or polite acknowledgment while stepping past.

Eric leads them along the main street built up with houses of the same consistency either side. That consistency being cubic buildings with matching pathways to the street and completely identical; not an ounce of personality from one to the other. It didn't help with their already weird image which gave Abnegation an old and lost feel to it as they strolled through. It makes Kate briefly think of what Harvey was explaining earlier, and a shiver runs up her spine - it appeared as though time had stood still for this faction.

Groups of people gather together in conversation to the side of houses, children crossing the paths in front of them, karts of what Kate presumed was food, pushed and served evenly through their community. They were nothing like Dauntless at all. Though structured, Dauntless were bold and the people made their own way and decisions, selfishly using points for meals and living quarters and on other greedy items they didn't practically need. It makes her wonder and she addresses Eric when she asks, "How does their society work?"

Her voice breaks his concentration and he looks down to her, eyeing her for a moment until he replies with a shrug, "They are communists. Absent of social classes, common ownership in means of production. Everyone is equal and shit."

"So how do they ever find the urge to, I don't know… advance? Personal growth? Satisfaction in life?"

"A safe society, they believe, is one where everything is interconnected. The safety of fairness is how they find their satisfaction. Putting others before themselves they see as personal growth and exemplary. Need I say more?"

Kate smiles to herself from the formal way he speaks, it's almost rehearsed and he had a great way of sounding bored and unquestionable. "Are you satisfied?" Eric frowns at her. "...With your job? Personal life?" She hadn't particularly meant to ask that, and her outspokenness was beginning to become a nuisance habit.

"Is that something you should be asking me?"

"It's a simple question. You don't seem very happy most of the time."

"Keep your assumptions to yourself," he pauses, his face loosening and he shakes his head. "And I am as happy as I can be."

"Well, that makes two of us. I am as happy as I can be, too," Kate tells him as he slows in pace. "But I won't be satisfied until I have finished this week and had a while in my job; to get a feel for everything. It's all still unknown to me at the moment." She grimaces out in front of her in thought, sensing him still watching her. "Did my dad say anything to you about me not moving out?"

"He is trying to protect you," Eric says candidly and it annoys Kate.

"From what?"

"Do you want me to be conventional, or state the obvious?" He glances behind him to the group, then around him.

"Well, he is never going to be completely honest with me."

"You're his responsibility, he's trying to do what's best. Then we have…" He looks her up and down. "You, being a Leader's daughter with a promising future. You're young, naive…" He trails off.

"Yeah?"

She swears she sees a slight lift in his lip, but other than that he remains passive. "You're not bad on the eyes. Decent."

Kate scoffs between the soft sound of their gear clattering as they walked. "Decent?"

"Pretty." Though it was flattering, the word seems to roll off of his tongue with distaste. "Any man can see that. But it's the acting upon it that your dad is trying to prevent and it seems so far that he is successful. Giving credit where credit is due, of course."

"This is the problem, he can't stop me from meeting guys and other stuff. I have to do that for myself. He was young when he met my mom, probably not much older than I am now."

"And look what happened," Eric mocks, falsely grinning at her and appearing done with this conversation. She see's his point, but she still feels slightly insulted. Kate looks to her boots, thinking over her parents meeting for probably the hundredth time. She had almost romanticized it into a fairy tale, and to dampen such a childhood memory was almost like feeling disappointed and stupid all at once.

Eric doesn't say anything more, perhaps he knew the graveness of his words. He only picks up the pace, leaving her to fall back into line, and leads them back to Dauntless.

After an uneventful afternoon learning how to log in the information of their activity throughout the day, Kate jogs with her friend Laura, taking roads outside of Dauntless but still within a safe perimeter of the compound. It was the usual route they'd been shown as initiates and they would pass groups of people partaking in the same activity every so often.

The two young women had known each other since their education lessons as they grew up, but only really became friends when placed together in initiation. Most of the people Kate had relationships with were more like acquaintances, but for once, she had a best friend off of her own back, and someone who wasn't interested in her family's position.

"You're quiet today," Laura pants through their timed running.

"I've got a lot on my mind. I told you about my dad trying to get me to stay with them, didn't I? In some ways I want to because I know he will be happy if I do. But in others, I don't know if I could stand Lorraine and the twins much longer. It also gives people something to gossip about."

"Maybe for a while, but they don't understand your situation."

"I don't understand my situation," Kate rebukes a little harshly, coming to a stop and bending down to catch her breath.

Laura stretches with her hands cupped behind her head, breathing deeply. "I get it-"

"Do you?" Kate's head whips up. "Because at the moment I'm apparently a full member, but I'm limited. I feel like a child; an unwanted nuisance. And I always will in that household."

"You're not unwanted, otherwise your dad would've karted you to the housing place and demanded your living arrangements the same day."

"He wants me to stay with him because he feels guilty. I spoke to Eric-"

Laura laughs lightly. "Oh, really? You speak a lot with Eric lately?" Her tone is suggestive and Kate snorts, turning away from her.

"We talk a bit, of course. I've known him for years."

"And he's the same Leader who just so happens to be taking your week course in Public Services. Who spends dinner every night with your family. Who has flirted with you-"

"He doesn't flirt with me," Kate interjects.

"Bullshit. You told me about the time he walked you home but didn't need to, and then safely saw you inside before leaving to do some 'work'." Laura seems exasperated, her hands flying up with a shrug. "I mean, hello, it's Eric."

"He's a pawn of my dad," Kate brushes her off with a wave of her hand.

"But you have to admit he's handsome," Laura points out to which Kate scoffs, sitting down on the edge of the curb. "Admit it," Laura continues.

"He's alright."

"Alright?" Laura lands next to her, nudging her friend with a laugh. "Just alright?"

"He said I was pretty today." Kate blushes with a smile and Laura shifts closer. "He said any man can see it."

"That's straight out flattery. He likes you. I've said this from the beginning. He didn't have to say that, at all."

"I'm just... a little girl in his eyes. He has to be nice to me, there is a difference. My dad is his boss." Kate picks at the curb, suddenly standing and tilting her head back towards Dauntless. "And speaking of which, if I don't get back, I'm sure there will be a search party looking for me."

"One that includes Eric," Laura calls, wriggling her eyebrows and laughs as Kate takes off quickly in a sprint to ignore her.

Kate enters the apartment to low rumbling voices that stop as she steps through the archway that parts the open kitchen from the hall. Her dad's familiar eyes soften when he realizes it's her. "My girl finally joins us…" Eric has his back to her, only turning his head over his shoulder, glancing before idling back to Mick.

"Hey." She tries her best to act normal and not take much notice of the young leader her and Laura were gossiping about not that long ago. She wondered whether it was true what they say and perhaps Eric's ears had been burning.

"Where you been?" Mick speaks with his usual rapid-fire irritating interrogation voice. It's only ever slightly more clipped than usual so she knew he was serious, but he also kept it falsely kind, like they would do in small one to one sessions at the beginning of an investigation.

"Went for a run. You always say I should exercise more."

Mick smiles at that. "Who with?"

Kate steps up next to the table, letting her fingers brush across the top. "Oh, you know, five of these really big bodybuilding guys that are way too old for me..." She rolls her eyes, exhaling exaggeratedly.

"That means Laura," Eric speaks up, making Kate look at him and he appears smug, lifting an eyebrow at her. She notices the small whiskey filled glasses on the table, where Eric's hand lingers on the base of one of them.

"You trying to cause trouble, Kate? She is, isn't she?" Mick laughs with a wink and Eric keeps the grin on his face, his eyes holding hers. "Eric tells me it's been another fine day on your patrols. I'm glad to hear it, darling." Mick leans back in his seat, letting his arm hang loosely over the spare chair beside him.

Kate breathes deeply, swallowing and forcing a pleasant smile at her father. "We're learning a lot about the other factions. It's…" She hesitates for a second, realizing that she's the center of attention and her confidence dwindles. But it also doesn't help she's still mentally distracted and still half contemplating Laura saying Eric liked her. "...interesting."

"Good, good." Mick nods.

"Anyway, I'm going to take a shower."

"We've got some stuff to do, darling, so you might miss us. I'll see you in the morning in case." He grasps her hand and squeezes, then leans back onto the table. "So, I spoke to them at Erudite. It's been a while…"

Kate switches off, heading to her bedroom and knowing Eric could see her the entire way down the hallway. The hallway was long and wide and all the rooms petered off from it, her room being at the end, opposite the bathroom.

Throwing her phone on the bed, she takes off her gym shoes, placing them by the door and heading to the mirror. She looked sticky, her face shiny, also a little tired from working and then pushing herself physically. At the moment her body was in good shape and she wanted to try and keep it that way. Though, she ate what she wanted regardless.

While locking herself away to the confines of the bathroom and taking a rather long and warm shower, she tries to tell her mind it was time to switch off; to stop thinking of things she didn't know the answers to just yet. It was practically impossible.

She shaves her legs, washes her hair, feeling satisfied and fresh again, though her mind was muddy. Whatever decision she made would affect her. But could she really disappoint her father? The one person who believed in her, who loved her?

Towel drying her hair in front of the mirror, she wraps a spare around her body, then dumps her old clothes in the wash bin. She hums as she unlocks the door, letting steam into the hallway as she opens it. She instinctively looks to her right, to the place where the end of the dining table could still be seen, and she is surprised to find Eric still sitting in the place he was before.

She pauses, holding the towel tightly and watching him sit back in the chair with a hand on the table drumming as he seems to be waiting for her father. His face is solemn but appearing in deep concentration over something, and for some reason, she felt a warped sense of sympathy for him.

He notices her suddenly, the drumming ceasing as he slowly sits up, readjusting in his seat.

It was like a spring uncoiling in her stomach. A slow, slippery, warm sensation brushing her skin for the first time as he looked at her. But this time it was different. He was seeing her, and not the appointed image from over the years.

Just when their eyes meet, a door opens in the middle of the hallway and Lorraine steps out too quickly for her to dart into her room. She smiles weakly at Lorraine, dropping her eyes to the floor and entering her bedroom without a word.

Lorraine peers down the hallway to Eric but he's already turned away. A smirk begins to form on her face instead of the assessing frown she once adorned. Casually she strolls in her highest heels towards the dining table and pulls out a chair opposite Eric, placing herself neatly into it. "Where's my husband?"

Lorraine sees the shift in Eric's eyes from reserved to skeptical before he answers, "He had to make a call."

"So, he just left you here? He trusts you very much, doesn't he." Eric looks from her heavy makeup to the long nails on her hands, resisting the urge to grimace openly while she talks. "Look, sweetie. Mick tells me everything. All those little talks you have… All your little adventures with Jeanine." She smiles at him before continuing on in the too pleasant tone, edging on condescending, "Then we have Kate, don't we? What a little problem we've got ourselves in."

Eric doesn't say a word.

"She's got an adorable soft spot for you. I've seen it." She leans further on the table until her breasts are presented to him, and she lowers her voice. "But Mick warned you, didn't he? Touch his baby girl and you have one hell of a rainstorm down on your little career life."

"What makes you think I want to touch her?" Eric hisses through his teeth. It was taking a lot of effort to remain passive in front of this annoyingly sounding woman and the clanking of her earrings.

"You got that look, like Kate's father did after he found out what's her face had died; knowing you shouldn't but you want to. I mean…" She taps her long nails on the table, glancing at them for a second. "What's so special about this girl? I have spent eighteen years with her and she sure as hell ain't one of mine. It's in her blood, couldn't help her."

"Maybe she's special because she knows when to keep her mouth shut."

Lorraine smiles all teeth. "There we go. There he is. I've been waiting."

Eric juts his chin out, looking past her down the hall then sternly back to her. Of all people, he was not about to back away from the likes of Lorraine. "Wherever you are going with this, or whatever is happening here, forget it. Don't bother."

"Look, I'll get straight to the point. Kate's a big no-no." She chuckles suddenly. "Though, it is strange to be saying this to you after such a long time. I never saw it coming…" she trails of purposefully, still appearing pretty smug with herself. "So… I have a proposition that might interest you. You know all the lardy-da expectations of idolism and a structured community that is futile in an extreme society like Dauntless..." Eric's frown only grows deeper, the annoyance swelling in his gut, and the urge to throw her halfway across the room was overbearing. "For example we got Mick married at eighteen. How old are you now?"

Eric stares blankly, not answering.

"Ah, I remember now, twenty-one in two weeks. Which is perfect really because I have two beautiful daughters about to go through initiation in the coming months. Mick and I would be absolutely all for it if you chose one of our girls. And your rep will be squeaky. Whatcha think?"

Lorraine looks so hopeful, he can't help himself. He breathes deeply in, leaning towards her and returns her smile. "What do they plan on doing after initiation?"

"Rose wants to do hairdressing and I think Regina wants to work in the canteen, cooking or baking or something…" Lorraine rubs her lips together, smudging her bright red lipstick.

"Right…" He nods his head, keeping the smirk on his face. "It's almost insulting that you expect me to be taken by their lack of ambition, that I must be so desperate to agree with something like this, that I'm gullible. You may be Mick's wife, Lorraine. You may have been the daughter of an old leader yourself, but I don't take orders from you."

"But…" Lorraine hesitates, pouting as she does so. "You might want to start considering it. It's expected of you and needed to keep your position. Did Mick ever tell you that? Think that's why he married me so young, he was serious about his career and what other people thought. I suppose some people don't think like he does..." she insinuates him with a quick glance.

"Your marriage was a sentence of convenience," he states coldly.

"My sentence was learning to become a mother of a child I couldn't love and knowing every single day this child represented something Mick strayed for."

Eric scoffs to himself. "So you'd be willing to let one of your precious girls get involved in a loveless set-up?"

"I'm just presenting an easy option between all the other aspiring Dauntless girls you're considering."

"I'm not considering anybody," he almost growls, trying disastrously to keep his cool.

"At the end of the day, you got a job to do. And we all know that's a lie."

"What's a lie?" Mick demands, slamming the front door shut. Pushing his phone back in his pocket, he runs a hand across the top of his graying hair, looking strained from whatever conversation he was just having.

Lorraine smiles up at him. "We were just having an interesting chat," she tilts her head at Eric, him daring her to speak further. "He's been thinking about his duties, what girls he has been considering."

"Oh damn, that old band wagon. When I was a lad I actually enjoyed that part - until Lorraine strutted her stuff past me in the canteen one day of course, and the rest was history. Who we got on your list? I can help, you know. I have a heavy and incredibly persuasive hand in this business." He halts Eric when he tries to speak. "Discreet, too."

Mick was anything other than discreet.

"I haven't -" Eric begins and Kate appears from the hall, dressed in loose clothing and this time doesn't meet his eyes. Though he watches her as she casually passes, heading for the kitchen.

Lorraine looks over her shoulder and back. "One of our girls, one of the twins," she states in the advantage of his falter.

Mick takes a seat next to Eric and clouts him on the back. "You been keeping this from me, boy?"

"Lorraine suggested-"

"We'll discuss this on the walk to security. But I'm delighted, I really am. I might not look it right now but this is just a passive form of work mode, and because we only got five minutes and Max and Harry are waiting for us..." Mick tips his head to his wife, "sweetheart."

Eric can't register anything other than anger as he stands up. Automatically he catches Kate's curious face in the darkness of the kitchen while she sips on a juice, propped back against the counter. He starts walking towards the door with Mick, getting a better view of the casual sweater she'd thrown on and the high bun of washed, messy hair on her head. And then, silently he curses himself as he almost bumps into Mick who had paused to hold the door open for him.

Kate had used the same locker that had been provided to her on the first day for the last three days that she'd been on the introduction course. It wasn't a permanent one because eventually there would be placements among Amity or on the wall and someone else would need to use it. But for now, it was hers, and it was the place she kept the picture of her mother while she was out for the day.

Touching her mother's smiling face briefly before she slams the metal locker door shut, she is the first one dressed. She jumps in fright when she notices Eric standing right behind her, feeling the prickling of embarrassment at being caught doing something so personal.

"When ready, arm yourself and go wait outside."

Kate doesn't say anything, walking straight past him to the rack of standard rifles by the door. Picking one up, she checks the clip before putting the support strap over her head. In her peripheral she can see Eric strolling over towards the door as he waits, coming up beside her again.

"What's happened, Kate?" he whispers as if the act alone was against protocol.

She looks at him as if he was stupid. "Nothing."

"You're the very last person I would expect to be in a bad mood."

"I'm good at disappointing people, Eric," she mumbles gravely as she remembers hearing Lorraine outside the twins room that was next to hers, giving a brief insight into the conversation she had with Eric. The twins reactions were mild acts of exaggerated inward screaming and hyperventilating. And Kate knew for a fact Lorraine had spoken far louder than necessary so she could overhear them.

She had placed Eric highly on a pedestal in her mind; she respected him and thought he knew better than to play ball with Lorraine over such things. The image was now somewhat marred, and altogether disheartening.

"Hey…" He grabs her arm as she tries to pass, her breathing coming out raggedly and she all but stares at his hand rather than up at him. "You're doing well on this course, you're not disappointing-"

"I'm fine." Right now, she didn't need a psych analysis or pep talk, and luckily her outburst stops whatever advice he was going to serve.

Eric narrows his eyes at her, twisting a piece of the strap over so it laid flat on her shoulder. "Okay. I can work with that." He exaggeratedly holds a hand out to the door, watching her storm through it.

Kate can barely breathe. It doesn't help that her uniform feels heavy, the gun swinging precariously on her back as she climbs. She's almost to the top, her arms aching and around her she could see the roofs of other buildings, some even below her now.

They scale an old fire escape, a rusted, was once black ladder of an abandoned building. The rain is pouring down, making it almost impossible to look up and the bars slippery, taking her breath away every time her boots squeak on the tread. Below her, she spots the other female trainee clinging on and talking to herself. Kate doesn't want to have that image imprinted onto her if anyone saw, so she pushes herself to carry on - though, in fact, she wanted to join her.

Between the crumbled but highly built up area around Candor, Eric shows them tactical movements, strategies they would use, and utilizing the help from their surroundings. This is nothing like they have done so far. Eric has taken their training to a whole new level and she wonders if it is because of her attitude earlier.

Either way, Kate would be happy to never have to climb another ladder in her lifetime.

Her hand reaches the top, the taste of safety causing her to move faster, slinging herself over the small wall and to the graveled rooftop. Catching her breath, she wipes the water out of her eyes and face, getting to her feet on unsteady legs.

Eric's standing, waiting with an impatient look on his face. "Glad you could join us," he snaps over the constant downpour of rain and Harvey grins next to him, looking absolutely pleased with himself.

She waits for the girl that was below her, helping her over the wall. The girl's hands tremble and feel cold, her face is pale as if she was going to hurl. "Not too good with heights?" she asks and the girl shakes her head. "I'm not a fan either." The two guys that make up the rest of their group gracefully pull themselves up without a word, watching Eric expectantly.

Kate fears the worst when Eric smiles. "If we are in pursuit, we need to conquer every obstacle without hesitation. Be that on the ground, or above," Eric states over the rain, running a hand over his face as if it would somehow help. He turns suddenly, walking directly to a ledge and steps up. With his tall frame, he makes his grounded jump look effortless as he disappears from sight.

The group all jog to the ledge and look over to him flicking his wrist from a neighboring building for the next person to follow, and that's Harvey. It's a good six feet across and five feet lower than the building they were currently on and Kate whispers under her breath, "You've got to be kidding me." The last thing she was expecting was Eric trying to intentionally kill one of them.

Harvey tries to copy Eric and fails, hitting the intended building and just getting his arm over it, clambering himself up the side while only the others gasp. The next guy to tribute himself lands on the ledge and his knees buckle.

Even though Kate fears the obvious fact of falling to her death, she still doesn't want to be the last. She backs up, puts all her energy into the run-up, and propels with all her strength off the side, landing with a thud on the adjacent roof with a painful groan. The gravel digs into her palms and she's sure she has a hole in the knee of her pants, but she looks back to the higher building with triumphant.

"Good." Eric nods once they are all over what probably was a simple task to him, and turns his back on them. "To get down, we take the stairs."

"...in the fear stage, it wasn't just the bugs, it was like slimy things I've never seen before. So I put two and two together and it must have been an experience I had as a child with a slug…" Kate walks in last to the locker room, overhearing Harvey's run down to one of the fellow trainees. He catches Kate as she passes, "Kate! What did you get in your fears?"

Kate scrunches up her nose, shaking her head. "That's stuff you shouldn't share with other people." She rubs her neck after opening her locker, ignoring Harvey taking off his shirt and putting on a spare beside her.

Her clothes are soaked through and she could think of nothing better than slumming it in her pajamas later; jogging was not on the menu, she decided. On that thought she pulls out her stashed phone, bringing up her messages and texts Laura.

The slamming of Harvey's locker makes her almost drop the phone and she frowns at him as he says his goodbyes, skimming past Eric in the doorway. Eric didn't fare any better than the rest of them, his usually gelled hair sat flat against his head and he'd already thrown off his jacket somewhere, showing the damp patches on his black shirt across his shoulders and back.

The other female trainee shivers, pulling on her pants and clumsily steps into her boots. It gives Kate the fleeting feeling of initiation, their shared dorm, and bathroom. It was way too late for her to start becoming shy over her body in situations like this, but it doesn't mean she wished that she'd rushed like the others and got here first to change. Because when the last trainee leaves, it's just her Eric left.

He's sitting on the wooden bench between them, but she doesn't turn around, trying to contain her modesty as she strips off the sopping, heavy jacket and unbuttons her pants. The material sticks to her legs and they are halfway to her feet when she hears Eric's voice from behind her.

"I know why you are annoyed and I know for a fact Lorraine can't keep her gob shut."

Kate steps out of her pants and folds them slowly while mulling over his words, the picture of her mother just grabbing her eye. "It's none of my business."

She peers over her shoulder but he's not looking. She's only greeted by an intricate tattoo mainly to one side of his back which she's never seen before.

"Nah," he says breezily, "it's no one's business. But it doesn't mean people don't want to get in on it."

Kate frowns to herself, lifting up the hem of her shirt and pulls it over her head, covering her chest with it even though she was still facing towards the locker. "Well, not me." Her reply is snarky and he snorts to himself. He had guts if he thought for a second she was bothered by what or who he does, even if that possibly meant one of her pathetic half-sisters. "Which one you got your eye on? I'm going to go with a hairdresser for that do of yours. Or maybe the cook, she would keep you well fed," she scoffs, unclipping her bra to put it inside the locker and fetches her spare shirt.

"I thought you said you didn't want in on my business?"

"I don't," she snaps quickly. "But you were the one who told me you didn't abide by traditions or some other … thing." In her annoyance, she glances over at him and pauses. His mouth is fractionally open, his eyes having already strayed from her face, down her bare side to the curvature of her hip. She swallows, quickly turning away and pulling the clean shirt over her head. "And... do you mind…"

"You're not disappointing, Kate."

Confused with his behavior and the way he never seemed to be bothered by anything irks her. "Go tell Lorraine… Maybe… maybe you can sort it out between the two of you-" She jumps when the locker door slams shut in front of her; she hadn't even heard Eric move.

"Is that what you think?" he mumbles as Kate backs up into the lockers behind her, the cold steel brushing against the back of her legs. "You'll see," he says with a condescending grin, yanking the door open and grabbing her phone.

"What are you doing?"

"How do you unlock this?" he demands, his face is set, not bothering to acknowledge her defiant scowl.

Kate crosses her arms. "All sevens," she huffs and watches as he cycles through her phone, before joyfully handing it back.

"We'll talk later." Eric leaves her there, grabbing his clean shirt off the bench and storming out of the room.

If he wanted her number, all he had to do was ask.

Mick isn't particularly happy at the dinner table. He's barely said a word and him and Lorraine glare at each other from time to time. To top it all off, Eric hasn't joined them tonight. In a way she's grateful, not having to stomach sitting across from him after her stupid outburst earlier. But on the other hand, she's curious. And more than one time tonight she had found herself daydreaming over the meaning of his tattoos that she never had the chance of seeing until now.

With this weird feeling in the air, her appetite dwindles. In fact, she isn't that hungry anymore. Lorraine's the first to stand up haughtily and Kate is thankful it's finally over. It wasn't like dinner was obligatory but her father insisted for all of them to have dinner together; something to do with keeping the family close. So if she wanted out of it, she always had to have a good reason. It seemed Eric now was a part of that deal.

"Dad?" Kate whispers across to him, glancing to the idle seat next to him. "Where's-"

He shakes his head. "You don't want to know." He still appears as though he wants to say something, though she watches him calculating whether the twins would hear between their bickering or whether Lorraine was listening. He sits up further, twisting his wedding ring on his finger. "Eric's refused…" He motions towards the twins. "Lorraine isn't too pleased. Thought it was best he didn't show his face tonight, though, he'll have hell tomorrow. I think she was expecting him."

"You can't force people into something they don't want to do."

"Yeah, darling, but sometimes it's out of love we oblige these things. He's my boy. I treat him as such to an extent. Would've been good for him. Now he'll have others to go through, like Harry's girl, what's her face, Joslin... Johanna..."

"Close," Kate scoffs. "Jolene." They both pause as the twins get up, paying them no attention at all.

Suddenly she feels her father's hands on hers, the strength of them, though aged, still evident as he squeezes. "You're my girl, you know that."

"You tell me most days."

"I only ever try and do what's best." His words are heartfelt, but Kate can't help but feel thwarted because she was never seen as equal to the twins. "You thought more on…" he trails off while watching a resting-bitch-faced Lorraine toddle off to the bedroom. "...what we said before?"

"I don't know. I don't think staying here is a good idea. I need to go out and find myself, like everybody does."

"I think you know who you are. And you know what you mean to me."

"Is that why I should stay, though?" Kate asks sincerely, trying to stop her voice from breaking. She was never good with moments like this. "Why..." Her mouth suddenly runs dry at what she was about to ask. "Why would you not consider opting me, like the twins, to someone like Eric?"

Instantly his hands let go and he leans back in his seat, looking down at her with his eyes wide. "Is that a serious question? Is... have you... you and Eric got something going on I don't know about?"

"No," Kate shakes her head, beginning to frown in confusion. "I just want to know why. You seem fine with Rose or Regina-"

"It's different, darl'. It's different."

"How?" Kate demands. "What if I want to start dating? Doing the things all the other girls are doing."

"Because, that ain't you."

"That isn't a good enough reason," Kate speaks with a sense of urgency, hoping to get something from the old man. "All I have ever done is follow and do as you say. I need to do something for myself. I can't keep being left in neutral all the damn time. Have I not proved that there is a brain on my shoulders? Have I not passed initiation to prove myself at Dauntless? Let me be Dauntless, dad."

The whole while Mick shakes his head, and on her last words, his fist hits the table. "I can't!" His mouth drops open in mortification at his outburst, scratching his short beard in agitation. "I can't because you are all I have left." He trails off and sighs before standing. "I know I can't keep you here forever, but I'm not ready to lose you just yet."

"You're not losing me-"

"So you're staying," he cuts her off and grins despite his anger. "We can talk about this when things are more settled. When you're thinking clearer, sweetpea. Right now, I know you got a lot going on, I've been there myself, and this is when we make irrational decisions." But now it seems like he's talking to himself, like he was comforting his own messy thoughts and all she can do is stare up at him from the table.

With a sigh he moves round to her side, kissing her head for a long moment. "Goodnight, darl'." And then he's gone, his bedroom door clicking softly behind him and she hears an onslaught of Lorraine's muffled, grating voice through the wall.

Kate slides back her chair calmly, huffing to herself as she passes through the hallway to her bedroom. She drops on the bed, pulling her pillow under her chin and reaches instinctively for her phone. Her eyes widen, reading one received message.

"I bet dinner was hell."

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