FicWad

I watched everyone get ready from the shadow of my bunk. Their faces were radiant from the thoughts of their parents waiting in the Pit as they climbed into their black clothes and chattered noisily. I was alone for the day, nobody to meet me. I had spent my life in a Candor oprhanage, my parents long dead. They left for breakfast and I sighed loudly.

"Keep it down. I'm trying to sleep here," someone groaned. I frowned and walked over to the bunk opposite the room. The owner of the voice was still wrapped up in his blanket.

"Eric? Aren't you meeting you're parents?," I asked, perching on the end of his bed.
"Eleanor? Shouldn't I be asking you that question?," he asked, turning over in bed. His dark blonde hair was tousled and his eyes were still closed.
"Nah, parents long gone," I said quietly, playing with a strand of my hair.

His eyes shot open. "Oh my god! I'm so sorry. Didn't know."
"Doesn't matter," I smiled.
"Well, my parents HATED Dauntless. They aren't coming. It leaves us alone. Want to hang out together?," he asked, sitting up in bed.
"Sure. Why not?," I shrugged.
"Awesome! Let me get bathed," he jumped out of bed and straight to the bathroom.

Ten minutes later, I was chewing on a muffin and was trailing behind an excited Eric to clear the crumbs of my shirt.

"Hurry up!," he said, grabbing my hand.
"Okay, slow down, boy," I laughed. Eric reminded me of an excited puppy.

We stopped in front of a tattoo parlor and Eric studied the designs from outside the store.

"Eric? Do you want to get a tattoo?," I asked.
"Do you?," he asked me.
"Naw, I'm not so into tattoos," I shook my head. "You can get one, if you want. My treat."
"Really?"

I nodded and Eric dragged me into the store. He picked a design of the Dauntless seal and brought it over to the lady bent over a table.

"Hey there. Want a tattoo?," she asked.
"Yeah, this one," Eric answere excitedly.
"Where?"
He rolled up the left sleeve of his shirt. "Here."

She nodded and pointed at the chair. Eric sat in it and I looked at her. Peroxide blonde hair, blue-green eyes, tattoo of a ring of fire running around her right arm. This was the Dauntless that handled my aptitude test.

"You're here," she said, looking at me.
"Yeah, I am," I nodded.
"Keeping cautious?," she asked quietly.
I nodded.
"Good. Tonight, when everyone's asleep, meet me in the dining hall. I have to tell you something. I'm Leigh, by the way," she whispered.
"Eleanor," I nodded and walked with her over to Eric.

"I'm so excited! Thanks, Eleanor, I swear I'll pay you back," Eric said.
"You don't have to," I smiled, squeezing his hand.
"Are you guys, like, a thing?," Leigh asked.
"What? N-no," Eric said. He was blushing, as was I. She chuckled and started with the tattoo. The buzz of the machine made me sleepy, so I rested my head on Eric's right arm and slowly fell asleep.
---
I woke up with a start. I was on a sofa in the tattoo parlor. Leigh was tattooing a girl and looked up at me.

"What happened? Where's Eric?," I asked frantically.
"Well, you fell alseep on Eric. On his arm, yeah. Anyways, he slipped out and I brought you to that sofa. He told me he'd be gone for a while, gift hunting," Leigh said, concentrating on the tattoo. I inhaled sharply as Eric waltzed into the tattoo parlor, a rectangular box in his hand. He sat next to me and put the box in my lap.

"Where were you? I was worried," I pouted.
"Aww, don't be. I bought you that," he pointed at the box and put his head on my shoulder. "Open it."
I opened the box and gasped. In the box was a knife. The handle was a metallic black and the blade was sharp. It was beautiful.

"Told you I'd make it up," he said.
"Its beautiful, Eric," I said.
"Really? Wow, I'm a good friend," Eric laughed. I balanced the knife in my hands.
"If I didn't know better, I'd sworn you two were in love," Leigh laughed. She had finished up with the girl.
"We're just friends, Leigh. Friends," I said slowly, narrowing my eyes at her. I couldn't help it; I laughed at the face she made. Mock surprise.

We said our goodbyes and headed out. While we were walking aimlessly around the Pit, we bumped into Ruby, who was bringing her parents around on a tour. Her parents had similarly coloured hair and eyes as her and were clad in grey.

"Mom, Dad, this is Eleanor. And that's Eric. They're great people," she said. We shook hands with them.
"Glad to know there's people looking out for our daughter," her father, James said. I nodded and her mother, Sara excused themselves so they could continue their tour. I watched them until they disappeared, feeling in twinge in my heart ever since Ruby called me her best pal.

"Hey, what are you looking at?," Eric asked.
"Nah, nothing," I answered quietly.
"Was it cause she called us nice people? I was quite touched too," he said. I nodded at him and we walked towards the transfers' dorm. We passed over the Chasm, and I remembered hearing about the countless lives it had taken. Especially Divergents.

"Eleanor? Are you okay?," Eric asked. I hadn't realized that I had stopped in the middle of the bridge. I was staring down at the water, feeling as if I was going to die. Eric touched my hand and I turned to look at him. His grey eyes were soft, unlike the steely shade they were whenever he was in the ring with Four.

"Look, if you got any problems, you can tell me, kay? I'm your best pal. You can tell Ruby if you want to. I don't mind," he said.
"I'm okay," I said quietly.
"Really? Remember, you can tell me anything," he nodded. I smiled at him.
"Thanks."
"No problem."

When we reached the dorm, it was empty since the parents were still here.

"Hey, El, can you come over for a moment?," Eric suddenly shouted. I rushed over to him in case he was injured. He was holding his plastic sheet up.

I hesitated for a moment and climbed in. I was tired anyways. A few moments later, I drifted off.