Enmeshment

"You left early last night!" Jen pouted at me as we took a shower.

"Oh about that… I was looking for you but couldn't find you anywhere and I end up taking care of Eric."

"What!? Taking care of him?" she opened her mouth.

"He was so drunk and Max told me to bring him to his apartment."

"You went to his apartment!?" She raised her voice and some other initiates were starting to try to listen to our conversation.

"Could you not shouting!?" I whispered as I turned the shower in maximum so the people won't hear us over the water splash.

"Oh man this is getting spicy! Wait until Jack knows about this, he's gonna be furious" She nudged my elbow.

"You can't tell Jack. He won't like the fact I had to help the one who always beat the hell out of him."

"Nah! I don't think it will be the reason." She smirked.

"What do you mean?"

"Oh dear, you're so naïve!" Jen laughed.

We were done showering and I followed Jen back to her bed. Kept asking her about what she was saying earlier but she just laughed and told me to figured it out by myself.

"What are you guys talking about?" Asked Jack as he joined us.

"Just a girl thing, big brother. No need to worry!" She punched Jack's upper chest. "All you need to do is step up your game!" She smirked and Jack looked confused as well. "Make your move!"

"Geez Jen, just shut up ok!" He suddenly yelled at her and she burst into laughter.

"I'm a bit lost here!" I waved at them awkwardly.

"Don't listen to her!" I just shrugged when he gave me an eye. I sighed and rolled over in my bed doing nothing.

"Anyway I heard Four needed you at the control room last night. What is it about?" Asked Jen.

"About that, someone just play a fucking game with me. Thinking maybe it'll be funny for me to go the control room to find Four isn't there and his replacements kicked me out." Jack yelled and he kicked the side of his bed. I didn't say anything to Jack about it. I knew Eric was the one who caused him all the troubled he had last night.

"Hey you guys wanna come?" Suddenly Christina showed up. "We're going to the tattoo parlor!" Invite Christina. "Tris had a rough day. We want to cheer her up!" She nudged Tris elbow.

"Yeah sure!" I got up from my bed and wore on my boots.

"I'll pass." Said Jen. "I have a plan this evening." She winked at me and left the dorm.

Me and the rest of the group went to the Pit, and as soon as we arrive at the tattoo parlor which is located on a narrow path in the Pit, everyone decided to split up and looking for his or hers favorite design. There are books of pictures and artworks on the walls. Jack stick with me and still helping me out to walk. We were wondering around until Jack saw something that fancy him.

"What do you think?" He showed me a dragon with fires coming out from its mouth.

"Looks sick! You want this one?" I asked. He considered his choice for a while and took the picture plate with him.

"Yeah! I'll get this one. Hmm..."

"What?" I asked.

"Why don't we make a matching tattoo? I've got the bigger dragon and you get the smaller one," he pointed to another plate with a same design but in a smaller size. "Two fiery Dauntless dragons!" he made a roar sound and pretended that he was going to bit me. I laughed and he pinched my stomach over and over.

"Stop it Jack! You make yourself like a lizard instead a big bad ass dragon," I teased him.

"Very funny!" He grinned. Jack then tiptoed to took the smaller dragon plate and hand it to me.

"Next!" The guy called the next one who wanted to get a tattoo.

"Okay my turn. You're okay I left you here alone a bit?" I nodded, shush him away and he pinched my cheek before he followed the tattoo artist.

I circled around, checking all these awesome design waiting for my turn to be called. One plate caught my attention. I thought I've seen that design somewhere, but I couldn't recall.

"That lizard will look ugly on you!" I turned around and I saw Eric sitting at the dark corner. "Such a shitty pick!" He added.

"Mocking people again? I could just tell everyone that our super bad-ass leader was such a weakling last night when he was too wasted." I made fun of him back and he clenched his teeth. "So, what do you think I should get?" I asked him quickly to change the subject.

"For a stiff, I suggest you tattoo people dancing hand to hand!" He mocked me again.

"Okay…" I replied quickly. "Thanks a lot sir!" I turned around not bothered with him and I knew he didn't like when people turned their back against him. He immediately grabbed my wrist and pulled me back and then pushed me against the wall, I wasn't expected that he would be that pissed-off. "My apologize, sir!" I said my sorry. I gasped and I couldn't say anything when his hand held my neck and his body was pushed against me.

"What did I say about it yesterday!?" Intensity slipped through his voice as he whispered to my ear and I stuttered not knowing what he meant. "It's Eric for you!"

"Okay sir…" I paused. Then I realized that he was remembering about what happened yesterday night. I thought he was too wasted to recall everything. "I m-mean Eric…" I quickly corrected myself.

He moved his face closer. "Damn! I'll tattoo you instead!" He backed away and pulled my hand to follow him.

"W-what!?" I was shocked.

He didn't go to the rest of the tattoo station but he went to the back of the parlor with him still holding my hand tightly. He stopped at rusty small space and opens the curtain. There was a man with a Mohawk and body full with tattoo and piercings in charge, "can I use your station?" He asked.

"Yo Eric! Yes sure man," he stopped before continue. "You know you can just gave Tori your design and let the new technology do the rest man! My gear is old. The new shit is painless"

"Can you just get out!?" Said Eric impatiently.

The Mohawk guy scoffed and dragged me out of the station with him. "Stop! She's with me!" Eric shouted and the guy looked at me confused. Well I am more confused than he is. I felt like I want to just run away as fast as I could but somehow I didn't afraid with Eric like I used to be.

"Sit!" He told me to and I move forward and sat beside him. He laid my right hand on the board, "you trust me?" He asked.

I wanted to shout no of course but "y-yes..." and I could see him made a little smile that I wasn't sure if he smiled because I said I trusted him or he thinks maybe this is the time to humiliate me with a very weird hand to hand dancing people tattoo he thought before.

"You design your own tattoo? I think I saw a drawing at the glass panel outside similar to a drawing on your sketchbook? It's yours right?"

"You talk too much!"

I zipped my mouth and he started to tattoo me and I was nervous and curious at the same time. My hand shake from the pain that I got when the needle strikes my skin, but he hold my hand with his left hand as he kept continue doing his work. I sometimes squeezed his hand the pain was too much to take. I didn't complain yet it was oddly dazzling to see him put so much concentration while tattooing me.

"Have you tattooed anyone else?"

"No, just you!"

"Oh…"

We were there for almost two hours straight and I started wondering Jack must be looking for me since the new tattoo machine just need about five minutes to be done.

"Ok it's done!"

I look at my forearm. He tattooed me right under the elbow. With black blocks same to the tattoo he had on his neck but this one circled my arm like a band.

"Turned around!" He demanded. I moved and back him. He swiped away my hair to the side and made me shivered when he touch the back of my neck before he started to tattoo another one in the lower part of the back of my neck. It was small but I couldn't figure out what he made.

"You weren't drunk last night, did you?" He stopped doing what he was doing before continue again. "What you said to me… on our way to your apartment…" I gulped. "You mean it?" He still didn't say anything and I could feel his hand is started to tense but I couldn't see his face so I didn't know his expression.

He inhaled and exhaled slowly before he whispered, "I do." And my heart started to race after I heard his respond. I couldn't talk and Eric definitely in silent mode afterward. A few minutes later he stopped and I knew he finished tattooing me. He moved away and busied himself tidying up the equipment, still not making any conversation with me.

I got up from my seat and looked at the mirror to see the tattoo behind my neck. It was a small arrow pointed up straight. I was staring at the mirror when I saw Eric walked closer and he stood behind me. We were staring at each other through the mirror before he made me turned around to face him. He leaned closer to me…

"Yo Eric sorry I have to close the shop!" The Mohawk guy suddenly opened the curtain and burst inside. Eric swiftly moved back and he glared at him. "Uhm… Did I interrupting something?" The guy asked clueless.

Eric pulled my hand and we walked pass him as he tossed the guy something. I recognized it was a bottle of painkiller he took from the infirmary a few days ago. He took me back to the front shop area. "I need to run an errand." He told me and I nodded before he left me alone at the tattoo parlor.

I went to the dining hall and joined the group for dinner. Jack was a bit angry that he couldn't find me anywhere and he had to back and forth from the tattoo parlor to our dorm a couple of time. Even he came to Four asking for his help to find me, but he refused to do so since Jack said that I was only gone for two hours.

"Where were you?"

"Emm... I tried the old tattoo gears and it took a while for it to finished. So yeah…"

"And you didn't get the small dragon I picked for you," he pointed my new tattoo.

"O-oh... Yeah sorry… I'm uh… Sorry, I don't feel like it. It's ok right?"

"I thought we're going to have a same pair." He said disappointed.

We continued eating and sometimes Jack played with his food and then tried to shove a spoon full of meat into my mouth. I refused politely and told him to stop. He kept cracking jokes and everything like he always did. Tris, Christina, Will and Al joined us while Jen still nowhere to be found.

"Your new tattoo similar like Eric's neck tattoo," noticed Tris.

"Oh uhm yeah… Sorta..." I smiled a little. "Should I start acting like him?" I cracked a joke and imitated Eric with my arms crossed in front of my chest. Everyone was laughing and then I saw Eric sat alone at the end of the long table. I got up and approached him but Jack held my hand.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"Asking him to join us." I let my hand off of Jack. My other friends were looking at me like I was asking for a death wish. "Care to join us?" I asked standing behind him and my friends were horrified. Jack looked pissed off but he sit still.

Eric didn't turn around to see me but instead he slammed the table and got up. He was standing in front of me with his piercing twitching above his eyebrow. "What makes you think you can talk to me, stiff!"

"Sorry!" I yelled.

"Back off, stiff!" He then pushed me a little bit and got out from the dining hall. Other Dauntless members laughed at me. I went back to my group. I was so pissed-off.

"The hell is wrong with him? Is he has a dual personality or what!?"

"What do you mean?" Asked Will.

"He is such a jerk!" I replied.

"Well he always has been a jerk with us. No surprised at all," stated Jack. "What on Earth that made you think that he want to eat with us?"

"I don't know. I am just being nice to him. I thought maybe after what he did…"

"What he did? Did he do something to you?" asked Jack curiously.

"What? No! No, I mean… Nah whatever!"

I took my metal plate and walked to the counter to shove the plate into the bin. My friends just shrugged when I left. I went back to my dorm still couldn't even understand anything about Eric. I almost reached my dorm when I saw Eric standing at the end of the alley. I kept up my pace and ignored him while I passed by him. He grabbed my hand and I shook him off and left him behind.

"Stop!" He yelled while I kept walking forward. "I said stop!"

I stopped and stomped my feet back to him. "I don't get it! If you think you can play nice and then be a fucking jerk with me. You're wrong!" I pushed him away but he grabbed my arm and I pushed him again.

"Hey!"

I turned around and saw Jack was coming from the end of the alley. Eric let go of my arm and I took a step back. He looked at me but then silently walked away from the alley back to the Pit.


"You okay?" Asked Jack. "Did he hurt you?"

"No, I'm fine…"