Ariadne was sitting across from Dom who seemed more engrossed in playing with his food than having a conversation with her. He had come home about an hour ago with takeout, set the table, and now they were in the middle of the most awkward dinner experience of her life. He wasn't entirely silent, he did make the effort to ask her questions, but it felt more like an attempt at small talk rather than genuine concern on his part.

"How are classes going?" Dom asked, glancing up at her.

She shrugged her shoulders. "They're not. I'm taking a year off."

"Any particular reason?"

Yes. You. She shook her head 'no'. "Let's just say it wasn't entirely my choice."

"Meaning?"

She was surprised by his curiosity; it was the first time he actually expressed any interest in her. "The University suggested I take a year off."

"And why would they do that?"

"Because the committee found out I was dating my Algebra professor."

He quirked his eyebrow. "I see."

The heat rose in her cheeks and, for the first time in a long while, she actually felt a seed of regret for her actions – a feat still unaccomplished by her grandparents.

Another bout of awkward pause followed, and Ariadne found herself unable to look at Dom. She really didn't want to be confronted with the disappointment she was sure to find in his eyes - the same look her grandpa always gave her after she was caught pulling one of her stunts. She knew Dom would eventually share the same discontented attitude as her grandparents had, but for the time being she still wanted him to hold her in high regard.

"We weren't really dating," she lied. "He was helping me after hours because I was having trouble with the material. One thing led to another and some of the other students found out, they weren't too happy about it... and it all sort of spiralled out of control."

If the expression of relief on his face was any indication, he actually believed her. iFuck/i. Now she had to make sure her grandpa wouldn't reveal the truth.

"I'm surprised you didn't fight the suspension."

"Honestly, I needed a break."

Thankfully, he seemed satisfied with her flimsy response and didn't broach the topic any further.

"I'm a little busy this week," Dom said a short while later, guilt laced in his voice.

"It's okay. I can keep myself busy."

"I hope you don't mind I asked Arthur to show you around L.A."

Oh. That she definitely didn't mind – even though she had a sneaking suspicion Arthur wasn't too happy about it. "Are you sure he doesn't?"

"He hasn't said anything."

And even if he had, Dom was probably oblivious to it. Oh well, not her problem.

"He gave you a tour of the house when he dropped you off?"

"Yes."

She'd invited Arthur to test out her bed with her but he'd simply ignored her suggestion and dropped her suitcase on the ground. He seemed really irritated with her flirting which only made her want to do it more.

Dom stood up, and picked her empty plate up along with his.

"I can do the dishes," she offered.

"It's alright. I'm just going to use the dishwasher."

She contemplated following him into the kitchen and helping him anyway but she worried about crowding him. The last thing she wanted was for him to get sick of her and send her back.

"I know you've had a long day," Dom continued. "Don't let me keep you up. I have to finish some work anyway."

Although disappointed, she was also relieved. As much as she wanted to spend more time with her father, it was exhausting to keep up the front of a good girl.

"See you tomorrow. If you need anything, just knock on my door."

She helped clean the table, and before heading off to her room, she stopped by the kitchen. "Thanks for letting me stay with you, Dom."

And then he offered her his first genuine smile, his eyes shining with affection without any hint of doubt or uncertainty in them. "I'm glad you're here."

She practically skipped to her room, her heart filled with joy and hope for the future.

888888

Ariadne was sitting on the front steps leading up to Dom's house when Arthur pulled up in his Carrera. A flirtatious smile spread across her face at the sight of him. He simply ignored it, crooked his index finger and gestured her to get in.

"I've been looking forward to our date," Ariadne said suggestively, sliding in next to him.

"This isn't a date."

"You should know, I only put out if you splurge on very expensive wine."

"Well, at least you have high standards," he deadpanned. "Where do you want to go?"

"To my bedroom. We can take advantage of my very comfortable bed."

He levelled her with an irritated look. "Stop. You're embarrassing yourself."

She rolled her eyes. "What do you have against harmless fun?"

"You're not my type."

"And what is your type?"

"Women. Not girls."

"That's very insulting," she huffed. "I can't help the way I look."

"I was referring to your attitude, not appearance." Then he grinned, beaming with pride at the insult he just delivered.

Ariadne sat transfixed at his sudden transformation from somber to joyous, almost childish glee, and the unexpected change set her heart racing. At first she didn't find him all that attractive but that had definitely changed after spending those first few hours with him. He intrigued her yet she wasn't entirely sure why – and that in itself was a refreshing change from the usual.

"Things are going to go a lot more smoothly today if you stop throwing yourself at me."

"What if I made you a deal?" she asked.

"What kind of a deal?"

"I'll stop the flirting if you stop treating me like a child."

He cocked his eyebrow. "How do I know you'll stick to it?"

"Guess you'll just have to trust me."

Arthur sat back and studied her for a few seconds; she looked away and focused her attention straight ahead. The intensity of his gaze was disconcerting to her.

"Okay," he said finally. "So, where do you want to go?"

"To the Mall."

"Seriously? There are all these beautiful places here and you want to go shopping."

"I need a change in wardrobe. Most of my clothes aren't exactly appropriate for the good girl image I need."

"I'm assuming this is for Cobb?"

"Yes."

"He doesn't care how you dress."

"Yeah well, it'll be much easier for him to accept a perfect, well-behaved daughter than a troublemaker."

"You can't possibly believe that."

"Will you just drive?" she snapped.

Arthur let out an exasperated sigh, and started his car.

88888

Much later that afternoon, Ariadne sat across from him and observed him silently as he finished off his steak. She couldn't remember the last time she had enjoyed herself this much without being hammered out of her mind. Not that she would admit that to him.

Taking advantage of his occupied state, she picked up his glass of wine.

"That's my drink."

She took a sip, closed her eyes, not swallowing the liquid right away and instead letting it roll in her mouth, allowing her senses and taste buds to absorb it all. He wasn't kidding. This stuff really was amazing.

Licking her lips, she opened her eyes. And found his gaze fixated on her mouth.

Her throat suddenly felt dry, and her chest tightened.

"Would you like to see the dessert menu?"

Startled, she stared up at the waitress blankly for a few seconds; Ariadne hadn't even noticed her. "Uh, no, I'm fine. Thank you."

When she glanced at Arthur next, he was leaning back in his chair. His attention shifted from his plate to the waitress to the glass of wine she was holding – everywhere except her.

"You do realize dressing like a sister-wife isn't automatically going to result in the perfect relationship with your father," he remarked shortly after.

"Yeah well, it can't hurt."

"Instead of doing all this, how about just being honest with him? Try having an actual conversation with the man."

"I've been here for four days and I've barely even seen him."

"I think he's afraid of you."

She snickered. "Yeah, because I'm so terrifying."

"More than you realize."

There it was again. That hint of something dark in his tone, hidden in the depth of his eyes that made her feel exposed, naked, like he could see right through to her very core. She didn't like being in a position where the other person held more insight into her; it made her feel vulnerable, out of control.

The men she was used to dealing with were significantly uncomplicated compared to Arthur; their motivations, desires, weaknesses were easy to understand and use against them. With Arthur, however, her usual bag of tricks was proving to be useless. She had yet to determine why he was helping her with Dom in the first place. What did he have to gain from it? There must be something. In her experience, people didn't go out of their way to be kind to her without reason. Initially she assumed she could use sex to manipulate him, but he wasn't interested in her – he made that very clear. Her second thought was that Arthur was trying to get into Dom's good side, but after witnessing their interactions it was evident Arthur didn't care about pleasing Dom.

Their waitress returned to the table with the bill and flashed a sultry smile at Arthur. Ariadne smirked, shaking her head. Apparently she wasn't the only one charmed by him.

As she started pulling out her wallet, Arthur snatched the bill from her.

"I got this," he said firmly.

"Now I feel like I have to put out."

She regretted her words instantly – especially when he refused to look at her and simply paid the bill.

"Let's go," he ordered a minute later.

Ariadne followed silently behind him.

88888

They were sitting in his parked car, staring blankly out the window, listening to the sound of heavy rain drops hitting the roof of his convertible.

"I thought it didn't rain here!" Ariadne exclaimed.

"Doesn't usually. But when it rains, it pours."

He wasn't wrong.

Even though they were only a few feet away from the door, she was sure she'd be soaked in the downfall. Plus, from the grumpy expression on Arthur's face, she doubted he would help her with her bags which meant another trip back to his car.

"Alright," she sighed. "I'll make a run for it. Thanks for putting up with me today."

She didn't wait for his response and jumped out of the car. By the time she had retrieved her bags and reached the front door, she was already wet. As was Arthur when he joined her with the remainder of her bags.

"Fuck!" he vented.

"Hey, I didn't ask you to help me."

"Shut up and open the door."

Grinning, she stepped inside. He followed her in.

"Ugh, I hate rain," he complained, dropping her bags on the floor.

"Get over it. It's just a little water." His childish glare only made her laugh more. "Go change your shirt. I'm sure Dom won't mind if you borrow something from him."

"I wouldn't be caught dead in his wardrobe."

"Are you kidding me? You'll catch a cold if you don't take that off."

Grumbling, he sauntered off to Dom's room.

It occurred to her he would need a towel but she wasn't sure if there were any clean ones in Dom's room. Grabbing a fresh one from the linen closet, she headed to the bedroom and found the door wide open with Arthur standing in the middle of the room.

He was removing his shirt, his back turned to her, and she found herself frozen in place. There were scars all over his skin, as if wounds branded on to his body. From where she was standing they didn't appear to be fresh marks but deep and dark enough that they were etched on to his back permanently.

There were so many questions running through her mind but she remained silent as he dropped the wet piece of clothing to the floor. She felt numb and confused one minute, absolutely terrified and angry the next. Someone hurt him. Badly. But who? Why? How could someone do that to another human being let alone Arthur? Her heart was pounding in her chest, so loudly she felt it would jump out of her body.

All of a sudden he whirled around to face her.

And her gaze dropped down to his chest. There were scars there as well.

Her heart ached at the devastation he must have suffered. She wanted to say something, do anything, to make it better but she realized how ridiculous that sounded. There was nothing she could do for him.

"I thought you could use a towel," she said, locking eyes with him.

He stared at her with a blank expression.

Realising she would have to go to him, she approached Arthur hesitantly.

To be continued...