*

Ana shot up with a gasp, clutching her chest as she did. Beads of sweat ran down her forehead, leaving her skin clammy and wet. Four stood beside her, watching her with calculating eyes.

They had been doing fear landscapes for nearly two weeks now. Each one was worse than the last, including the one she just came out of. Ana never thought she was afraid of water until she was stranded in the middle of the ocean. She shivered.

So far, she had experienced eleven fears. Being trapped in a box, stranded at sea, and being kicked out of Dauntless were the worst ones so far. That didn't mean her other eight fears didn't affect her. Sometimes she woke from flashbacks of the simulations.

"You're getting better." Four said. "It only took you thirty minutes for that fear."

It was progress. The first few days of training, Ana was stuck in her simulation for a least an hour each time. Ana shook her head. "I can't wait until this is over."

Four chuckled. "It will be before you know it."

He dismissed her and she exited the room, moving to find one of her friends. She found Al by the scoreboard and joined him. She found her name immediately. Now, instead of sixth, she sat in tenth spot. It made her nervous, considering she had fallen. Al was still near the line, though he managed to stay a few spots above it.

Tris was first.

"This sucks." Ana sighed, turning to head to Al. "But at least we're still in, right?"

Al scoffed. "I'm barely in. One mistake and I'm factionless."

"Don't talk like that. We're all going to make it." She shot him a grin. "It doesn't matter where we fall on the board. We're Dauntless."

His lips rose briefly. The smile was gone when Tris approached. Tris smiled at the both of them and they all moved to sit down. Christina and Will had disappeared together after their landscapes were over, and Al left the others soon after Tris joined them, leaving just the two girls.

"Visiting Day is tomorrow." Ana mentioned. "Do you know if your family is coming?"

"I'm not sure." Tris said. "I hope they will."

"Me too." Ana knew there was a chance her family would come. She had asked her father to the last time she saw him and she desperately missed her mother and Chandler. Everyone was anxious to see their families, to see if they would even come.

Ana and Tris said their goodbyes once they entered the Pit. Ana wanted to go through the shops, hoping to make the day pass a little quicker. Her eyes lingered on the tattoo shop as she walked past. She wanted another tattoo, but she wasn't quite sure what else she wanted. None of the designs on the wall caught her eye, causing her to sigh. She'd wait until she thought of another design she liked.

Before she turned away, a large hand wrapped around her upper arm. She snapped her head to the right, narrowing her eyes at Eric as he smirked at her. "Another tattoo, Amity?"

Ana scowled, ripping her arm out of his grasp. "No. I was just looking."

Eric hummed, glancing down at the tattoo on her arm. "Are you ever going to tell me what that means?"

"Why should I?" She asked, crossing her arms over her chest.

He shrugged. "Maybe I'm curious."

His gray eyes were full of amusement and Ana narrowed her own at him. Things felt different between them since the night on the roof. She felt more comfortable around him and he seemed to be more comfortable around her.

Ana smirked at him, letting her arms fall to her side as she moved to pass him. She turned her head to the side, allowing her shoulder to brush against his. "You'll have to try a bit harder than that if you really want to know."

She walked off, not waiting for a response.

Ana couldn't sleep that night. Every time she dozed off, the excitement of the next day woke her up again. Christina was laughing at her by the time they finished dressing the next morning. "What happens if your family doesn't come and you got all excited for no reason?"

"Shut up, Christina." She told her with a smile.

The group of friends walked to the Pit together. Ana could tell Christina and Will were excited as well, though Tris and Al seemed nervous. Christina found her family first, pulling Will behind her as she ran to them.

Tris disappeared next, leaving Ana and Al standing together. Ana twisted her fingers together, her green eyes scanning the crowd for any flash of bright color. A flash of yellow invaded her vision and she broke into a wide grin at the sight of her mother.

She broke into a run, crashing against her mother as she embraced her. Her mom held her tightly, pressing her head into Ana's neck. Ana smiled. "I've missed you so much."

"I've missed you, too." Her mom pulled away first, flashing her daughter a bright smile. She took in Ana's appearance, so different than how she was in Amity. She looked stronger, brighter than she had before.

Small arms wrapped around Ana's middle, pulling her away from her mom. Ana's smile grew at the sight of Chandler and she kneeled down to hug him properly. Ana's dad smiled down at the two of them, placing a hand on Ana's shoulder, briefly.

"I miss you, Ana." Chandler's voice was muffled into Ana's shirt and her heart clenched.

"I miss you, too. All of you." She stood, keeping Chandler's hand in hers. Her eyes flicked behind her parents, locking stares with Eric. He stood against the wall, arms crossed, eyes locked on her. She looked away quickly. "How is everything at hom- in Amity?"

It wasn't her home anymore. Dauntless was her home.

"Everything is good. It's all taken care of." Her mom told her. "Everyone misses you."

Ana missed Amity more than she cared to admit.

"But how are you? Is everyone treating you okay?" Ana's mom looked over her again, almost as if she was looking for a sign that her daughter was being mistreated. "You look good."

"I am good." Ana's eyes were bright as she spoke. "It was hard getting use to Dauntless at first, but I love it here. I'm happy here."

The family spoke for what felt like ages. Chandler told her all about his friends and what they had been doing back in Amity. Her mother and father updated her on the rest of their family and friends. It was a great day and Ana wished she could see them more often.

She asked how Naomi's family was. Apparently, Naomi's parents were so upset that she had left them. Ana's mother didn't think they went to visit her.

Before Ana knew it, it was almost time for family to leave. Ana's father went to hug her, and as he pulled away he shot her a look. "Who was the man from the other day?"

Ana frowned, almost forgetting that Eric had confronted her when she saw her father the day they unloaded trucks. "Oh. Eric? He's a leader here."

"He's been glaring at us since the minute we got here." He raised a brow, his lips pulled up in a grin.

She turned, trying to see where the leader was. When she caught sight of him again, she saw that her father was right. Eric's eyes were still on them and Ana glared back at him. A lazy grin spread on his lips and he pushed himself off the wall, heading in their direction.

Ana cursed to herself, shooting an apologetic look to her family as Eric joined them. He nodded at her. "Amity."

She scowled at him. "What do you want now?"

"I figured it'd be nice to meet the family of one of our best initiates." His grin grew as she rolled her eyes. He turned his attention to the Beckett family. "I'm Eric, one of the leaders here."

Ana's mother shot him a kind smile. "Annabella is one of the best here?"

"She is." He nodded. "She ranked sixth place in the first stage of initiation."

"Which was?" Her father asked, curiously.

"Physical." He turned back to her. "You know, fighting, knife throwing."

"Knife throwing?" Ana's mom looked shocked, looking at Ana with wide eyes. "You throw knives?"

"I'm not very good at it." She mumbled, wishing she was anywhere else right now.

"She's being modest."

"Don't you have anything better to do?" She asked him, annoyed that he was still with them.

Eric made a face, shaking his head. "I don't have a very busy day today."

Ana's parents shared a look, both amused by the banter their daughter and the leader were sharing. Meanwhile, Chandler was staring at Eric's arms, his eyes following the tribal patterns. He reached a finger up to them. "What are these?"

Eric turned to the boy, glancing between his arm and him. "They're tattoos."

"Do they come off?"

Ana smiled at her brother, knowing that he hadn't seen a tattoo up close before. She knelt down beside him, raising her arm as she did. Ana rubbed her thumb across the birds before looking back to Chandler. "They'll be in our skin forever."

"What's it stand for?" Ana's father asked, looking from her arm to her face.

Ana's mother smiled, running her hand over her daughter's head. "She's free."

*

Ana watched her family leave the compound, her heart feeling heavy as they disappeared through the doors. Eric stood beside her, studying her as her smile fell. It was silent between the two of them for a moment as Ana thought.

She had a great time with her family, though she was sad to see them go. She missed being with them everyday.

Eric and her began to walk, side by side, their shoulders brushing together. "What did your mom mean, Annabella?"

Ana rolled her eyes at him, knowing he would use the name to get under her skin. "When?"

He gave her a pointed stare before motioning to her tattoo. Ana's face flushed and she turned away from him. The two passed over the chasm and Ana stopped. Eric turned to her, confused for a moment as she sat down, leaving her legs to dangle in the air. She motioned for him to sit next to her.

She looked towards the water as she spoke. "I never really belonged in Amity. I didn't like their rules, I wasn't always kind and I wasn't happy as much as everyone else. I felt like I was trapped."

It was like her first fear. She was trapped in Amity just like she was trapped in that box.

"I longed to be a part of Dauntless. They always seemed so fearless and careless and I wanted to be just like that." She paused, smiling to herself as she played with a thread on her shirt. "When I took my Aptitude test, I was terrified that it would place me back in Amity. But it didn't."

She looked at Eric now, his eyes locked on her as she spoke. Ana shrugged. "I left. I was free. That's what the birds mean."

"You flew away." He told her, his voice surprisingly soft as he spoke. As Ana looked towards him, she felt a shiver go down her spine. She flew away from Amity, away from the life that was slowly suffocating her.

Eric's eyes flickered down to her mouth, and Ana's breath caught in her throat. He leaned toward her, his forehead brushing against her own, lips only centimeters away. Ana held her breath, waiting for Eric to make his move.

Her eyes fluttered shut as his lips brushed against her own. He paused, almost as if waiting for Ana to give him permission.

"Eric?" Ana's voice was only a whisper as she spoke.

"Yeah?" His voice was hoarse.

"Kiss me."

And he did.

***

pleuvoirx <3