There was really no word to summarize Ari Stevenson. When Paul had first met her, it had been when Topher was showing her how the Imprinting Machine worked. He'd thought it good to introduce himself. "And who's this?" He'd said. The new girl had turned and politely put out her hand. "I'm Ari, I've been recruited to help out Topher and Ivy."
"Another genius?" Paul said to Topher. Who nodded, and gently pushed Ari out of the office to meet the Actives.
That brief meeting was repeated; she would walk past him and smile. Or get Topher off his back, or him off Topher. It was odd the way the two acted, Ari and Topher. Both were geniuses, and clearly knew what they were doing. They were seamless in their process, and Ivy knew it and didn't really seem to care. Ari quickly made herself known as a kind person, as far as Ivy went. Apparently, she'd had a rough internship too. Ivy became more adept and Topher allowed her to help more.
Paul's first truly odd experience was the day Topher took off and Ivy wasn't there. Ari was more than capable of doing imprints by her self. It was the end of the day and all the Actives were asleep. Paul had safely seen Caroline to sleep, been told to relax and go do something fun. He was about to head out when he heard the absurd music coming from the upper floor where the Geniuses presided. It was loud enough to be heard, but not loud enough to be distinguished. He jogged up the stairs and was granted an even more absurd sight.
Ari was sitting in her rotating chair, as per usual, but the music was blasting from the sound system she'd set up one evening when she was "bored". (It could blast, if needed, a sound loud enough to shatter any creature's eardrums. Ari had yet to prove it, of course, but no one had any problems believing her. Volume wise, it was shaking the panes on the windows, and it was at about a three on the control.) Paul could identify the song now, only because she'd told him. One day around the Dollhouse, Ari had gotten in trouble for singing that song loud enough to disturb some Actives. When Paul asked, she'd looked at him like he was crazy. "How old are you?" Ari had demanded. "That's relevant how?" He'd responded incredulously.
"Well, the band is of an era." She'd shot back.
"What band is it?" He'd said, sighing. It was a simple question; she had no reason to avoid it.
"Judas Priest, moron." She'd then gone off to yell at Topher for messing with one of her experiments.
Since then, he'd looked up Judas Priest and had become quite the little fan. What really surprised him were her air guitar skills. Ari would switch between guitar and air drums. The opening chords of the song had just started. "You're in for a surprise, you're in for a shockaaaaaahhh! London town streets, when there's darkness and fog. When you least expect me, when you turn your back I'll attack" She stared air drumming "I smile when I'm sneaking, through shadows on the wall. I laugh when I'm creepin', but you won't hear me at aaall." Eventually she got to the guitar solo, and was rocking out by then. Spinning on her chair, and throwing her head back, shouting the lyrics.
He finally came and grabbed her shoulders, stopping the insistent spinning. She looked awful. There were heavy bags under her eyes, and Ari couldn't stop laughing. Paul may not have been a doctor, but he'd been sleep deprived enough times to figure out that Ari needed a bed. "Oh, hey Paul! Mah buddy!" Even her speaking was off; Ari had an obsession with perfect speech. She'd correct your grammar constantly, now she was slurring her words and calling him her "buddy". "Okay, Ari, let's get you to bed."
"I don't wanna. I wanna stay up with you." He frowned at that, and couldn't help but guiltily take advantage of her talkativeness. "Why's that?" She giggled and attempted to start spinning again. He'd stopped her and asked again, "Why do you want to stay with me?" They weren't particularly close. Ari had always seemed to avoid him. "Silly. Cause you're cute an' I wanna kiss ya." She'd giggled again. The song had ended meanwhile, and another Judas Priest came on while Paul stood stuck. Ari's goofiness had vanished and a hand had slapped over her mouth. "Oh my god, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean that. I'm so sorry." She kept rambling until she realized Paul was frozen in a question. "Ari." He said. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to say that, I just-" He cut her off. "Ari, honestly, was that true?" Her eyes went up above her glasses, biting her lip.
Paul didn't know where the desire came from. Sure, Ari was attractive to him, but he'd never really felt a need to follow that through. In a flash, moments where he'd preciously had the opportunity to chase her came to him. The moments where he'd finally decided she didn't like him at all. One time in the office, she'd fallen off the railing and he'd happened to be there and caught her. He'd helped her up and her hands had fallen on his chest. They'd held that look for a long while, unaware Topher was watching, a small smirk on his face. Eventually, they'd drawn ever so slightly closer and Topher broke them up. Another time, Ari had a panic attack and she'd knocked Topher out, and scared Ivy. Paul came in and trapped her arms against her chest. He'd then pulled her to his chest and hugged her until she'd calmed down. "Please don't let go." Ari had whispered to him, almost silently. "Never." Paul had replied.
He'd never followed through, so he'd avoided her too, Paul supposed. Did she really always want to kiss him? Did their previous encounters leave her that wanting? Ari looked at him, "Yes." That was all the prompting Paul needed.
He swooped in, her face in his hands. Thumb resting on her cheekbones, stopping just short of her mouth. "Really?" He murmured, not wanting to break their vulnerable moment. There was no Topher; no one was there to shatter it. "Yes Paul." His mouth met hers. The smell of her perfume invaded him. His nose hit hers, and Ari's head easily covered the blunder, tilting to avoid it. Her lips were surprisingly dry, but the faint taste of cherry chap stick still was there. The hands on her face moved constantly, he couldn't get enough of her. Her hands grabbed the lapels of his suit, pulling him closer begging for more. His left hand scooted down her back, rubbing as it did. His right grabbed her hair, pulling the soft strands up to ease Ari's reach of his mouth. Both of them felt so alive, it was exhilarating. Her lips caressed his, and she responded to him by placing her hands in his hair, his smile felt.
They broke.
"Whoa, okay that happened." She said. Eyes wide. She'd looked at Paul, and rubbed a spot next to his mouth. "You had chap stick on your mouth." Ari was quiet again. Paul's breathing was heavy, and he felt light headed. It had been intense, for a kiss. He was confident Ari could feel his heart through his shirt. "So what –" She was cut off.
Paul's lips met hers again. He wanted, needed to taste her again. Her mouth didn't take long to respond. She was a tease, he quickly learned. Her tongue nipped out and flicked across his lower lip, and her smile was obvious. She was skilled, more so than he thought. Her nose brushed his, and her long bangs, normally kept in a ponytail, brushed his face. His eyes closed and Paul simply relished in the feeling of knowing this woman, so constantly distracted, was giving the full of her attention to him.
They spent a long time after that in each other's presence. It was odd for both of them to be friendly, let alone romantic with each other, and they made several mistakes along the way. Eventually, hectically, somehow, Ari and Paul found each other. They became islands in the Bermuda Triangle of their lives.
And they'd never been happier.