He waited for the noise to subside before ducking out from under the kitchen table. He slowly moved out of the kitchen and into the living room where his father stood, body language violent and threatening. His mother knelt on the ground sobbing, holding her eye that was sure to be blackened by the morning. Tonight Arthur was lucky; his father's anger was not focused on him. Not that it had made any difference, he still had bruises up and down his body from earlier today, when the neighborhood boys had intercepted him on his way home and beat him up. They never had any good reason for picking on him: he was small, quiet, and his family was always so mysterious. It seemed that one way or another he was always on the losing side.
Ariadne sat quietly. She looked on, bored, as her little sister Maddie played the piano. People said Maddie was a musical prodigy. Everyone wanted something from her, whether it was agents after her talent or girls from their school who wanted to be her friend. But nobody wanted or cared about Ariadne. She was just the older sister who sat still, spoke only when spoken to, and was expected to cater to Maddie's needs and not her own. She was eternally hidden in her sister's shadow.
Arthur stared at the mirror before taking a deep breath and sliding his father's razor blade down his wrist. He grimaced, but it reminded him that he was still in control of some things, like his own pain. It didn't matter that he was rich or the smartest in his class, it didn't matter that all the girls wanted him; he wasn't interested in love anyway. His father hated him and his mother was too spineless to stand up for herself or her only son. It seemed that love never worked out in the end, so why should he want it? Turning the water on and rinsing away the blood, Arthur looked in the mirror. What he saw was not the facade he put on of an indifferent teen; he saw a scared little boy thirsting for real meaning in his life.
She sat on her bed and stared at her cell phone. Her only text message in the last few days read: "I'm done with this. Just pretend it never happened." She grunted as she flung her phone across the room, where it broke against the far wall. Another failed relationship. What was so wrong with her that no guy could even stand to be with her for more than a week? Honestly Ariadne couldn't answer that question. Her sister seemed to have everything she didn't. Maddie's boyfriend of two years had just proposed to her, and they were getting married after graduation. Maddie had her countless friends throwing her party after party, but it took her four days to even remember to tell her own sister the good news. Ariadne buried her face in the pillow, wishing she would die. Then maybe people would notice, maybe somebody would even miss her. But when she thought about it, she couldn't come up with a single person who would. She hated herself; when she looked in the mirror all she could see was the shadow of the person everyone wanted her to be, and she had no way of breaking free.
Arthur ran after Cobb, shooting at anyone who stood in their way, never missing a shot. Cobb always commended him for his impeccable aim and impressive defensive instincts, but Arthur knew it was from years of protecting himself and working his way up in life. His mind was tired. He had been through years of training, when in reality he and Cobb had only met six months ago. His body was exhausted from the pain he often felt while dying inside the dreams. And although he was worn out, he felt more exhilarated than he ever had before. Extraction was the only thing that gave him purpose in life, and being Cobb's point-man was the best job he could ask for.
Whenever Professor Miles said he wanted to speak with Ariadne, she assumed he wanted to congratulate her on a well thought-out paper, praise the elaborate architecture of her projects, or ask her opinion on other students' work. Needless to say, she was flattered that someone finally noticed her and her abilities. When he introduced her to Dominic Cobb, her first reaction was to grab up the job opportunity. After all, people were starting to realize her potential, and she wanted to make sure they didn't soon forget. It didn't matter to her that it wasn't strictly "legal", because of course when she became a famous architect, the ends would justify the means. The first test run, however, showed her that this was going to be more dangerous than she thought. When Mal came at her with the knife, she felt her head pounding, her heart racing, and panic rising up inside her. But the pain that she had expected never came. Instead, she found herself in the warehouse, perfectly safe. She looked up at the comforting face above her, soothing her and telling her it was okay. Arthur seemed to be the most beautiful person right at that moment, after she had been sure she was going to die. But she shook those thoughts away. That sort of thinking had never gotten her anywhere in the past.
The projections stared at them with growing hostility. Arthur had enough experience to know that there was a little while before they would attack the "intruders." But he could sense the his coworker's uneasiness and he wanted to lighten the mood. Suddenly an idea struck him. Remaining as professional as possible, he whispered, "Quick, give me a kiss." It only lasted a brief moment, but when her lips touched his there was a definite spark. Arthur was actually sad when he had to pull away from the beautiful girl, but amused when Ariadne glanced around, expecting the projections to stop looking at them.
She gave him an accusing glare. "They're still looking."
He chuckled. "Yeah, it was worth a shot.
Ariadne silently cursed Cobb for putting them through this. It seemed everywhere they turned they were being faced with certain death. She felt especially panicked when she saw Arthur dodging bullets right and left. She didn't know why she felt this way; she hadn't known him for very long. But he spent a lot of time training her and teaching her the tricks of the trade, making her feel like she was important to the team. Like she was important to him. Ariadne's respect for him grew and grew. But sometimes she saw the hurt look in his eyes when she and Cobb talked privately about what his dreams meant to the team. Cobb had never told anyone about them before and it was natural that Arthur, his best friend, would be hurt when Cobb opened up to somebody he had just met. Arthur probably felt he was being replaced, and Ariadne knew the feeling too well. She knew right away that she didn't want to hurt Arthur. He was too good to her.
Finally it was over. Arthur exchanged relieved glances with the other members of the team, silently celebrating their success. Disembarking the plane and grabbing his luggage, Arthur looked over to where Ariadne stood, waiting to claim her bags. He desperately hoped that she would look over at him, but she didn't. Arthur took that as a sign that the kiss hadn't meant anything to her, and she didn't feel the same way about him as he did about her. With a heavy heart, Arthur headed towards the exit.
The happy buzz from relief that they had all got out of that hellhole alive was quickly wearing off. There was an unspoken agreement that the team shouldn't stay in contact with each other until a new assignment arose. As she searched for her luggage at the baggage claim, she was acutely aware of Arthur's presence down the line a ways. And when she felt eyes on her back, she knew whose they were, but she forced herself not to look. It would just make it too painful not to see him for who knows how long. But she finally gave in. Looking over, she was upset to see that he was gone. Frantically scanning the crowd, her eyes finally rested on him walking towards the exit. Dropping her bag, she ran to catch him before it was too late. Just before he walked out the door, she reached him and grabbed his shoulder, turning him around.
"Ariadne?" He looked at her in confusion.
"You can't just leave," she stated simply.
Arthur wasn't sure he wanted to hear the answer to his next question. "Why not?"
She looked unsure of herself, but sounded determined. "Because I love you, and I know you love me too." Before she could say anything else, Arthur cut her off, pressing his lips to hers. She froze for a second, but quickly warmed up to him, kissing him back. And in that moment Arthur knew that love was worth having.