8. More than expected
Author note:
I AM SO SORRY PEOPLE! I'm sorry to keep you waiting for a month but the past couple of weeks was jam-packed with exams and assignments and all that. So here is finally Chapter 8. I AM SO BEHIND! I promise you though, over holidays, I will try to update everyday during then so it will be 14 chapters uploaded during then. Woo! Well, enjoy!
Everything felt like off balance now. As soon as Tom shook Cobb's hand, it was official that the network of the group was going to possibly be messed up with the new addition. Arthur truly preferred the group with the normal members and now, Tom (In his opinion) was now intruding. Everyone gathered around Tom to welcome him into the group and Ariadne kept close by Tom in self achievement and success. Arthur was still not that happy with allowing Tom into the group so he disappeared from the happy atmosphere back to his office.
Tom had started settling into the work environment for the next 3 days. All the others offered to assist him especially Ariadne so it was a light and happy tone around work. Arthur kept distance from this though as he sat alone in his office. He wanted things to go back to normal because things have changed on a big scale. As much as everyone was content and satisfied at the moment, he knew it was just a distraction phase. He felt like the only one with real sense but he had to remain silent to try and not cause commotion as he had already done so with Ariadne during that session and embarrassingly enough in front of Cobb. Arthur tried to not judge and jump to conclusions about Tom but there was just something about him that bothered Arthur. Could it have been his proclaimed skills as an architect? His possible past? His selection as the new and attention grabbing member? Or was it simply how he was in connection with Ariadne?
He continued to work on files and research to keep his mind off things but had to leave to visit Cobb in his office. He walked along the hallway skim-reading the file until he looked up to what thought was like a paralleling mirror. Tom was marching along the hallway as well and he looked up to see Arthur as well. "Oh hi" Tom greeted. Arthur stopped in his tracks while Tom walked up to him. Tom was gleefully grinning and gathered from the conversation that Ariadne and Tom had on his first interview; he had given up the fake 'suits-wearing' image. Now, Tom's hair wasn't pushed back with gel and he was wearing a simple brown jumper vest with a plain long shirt underneath and pants. It was now questionable to Arthur if Tom's facial features were still similar. Tom just couldn't stop smiling while Arthur remained straight faced by nature. "Hi, I know you know my name because I'm the newbie here but I'm Tom again. I…wasn't able to catch your name though" Tom extended his hand towards Arthur. He glanced down at his hand then back up to Tom. Tom's grin had softened to a half smile as he was in slight panic of awkwardness at Arthur not shaking it. He was about to retrieve his hand but Arthur grabbed it in time. "I'm…Arthur" He half smiled as Tom went back to a wide grin in relief. "That's cool. Uh, what's your position or job here?" Tom asked. "I'm the pointman and I basically just research things" Arthur replied. Tom nodded and nervously chuckled. Arthur raised an eyebrow wondering if Tom generally had trouble in social communication. Tom had looked down at the floor still grinning but kept silent for a while. "Um, I'll be going…to Cobb's office now" Arthur remarked. "O-oh I'm sorry. I'm sorry for getting in your way" Tom put his back against the wall to provide a path for Arthur while he took a last glance at Tom. He walked past him heading to the end of the hallway. He finally realized that he may have possibly intimidated Tom. He found it quite pleasing considering that it made him have higher order. Also, in comparison to Tom, Arthur felt much superior to him through status, possibly dress code and maybe job matters. It was all judged already that Tom was just a weak, awkward new recruit but there was one thing Arthur didn't have that Tom had.
He went to Cobb's office to drop off the document then walked back up the hallway to the warehouse opening. There he immediately saw Tom and Ariadne at a table nearby the briefcase that had been set up. They were sitting facing each other on opposite sides and it looked like Ariadne was explaining and helping Tom with some instructions. Arthur walked brusquely yet quietly in hope to sneak past the two of them but Tom's cheerfulness got the better of him. "Oh hey Arthur" Tom called. Arthur froze in his tracks and bit his lip and cringed before turning towards the two of them. "Hey…" Arthur faintly let out. Ariadne turned towards him and they held a gaze as he walked closer towards them. Arthur wasn't sure what to read from Ariadne's face. Her emotions had been everywhere that it was hard to tell what her exact feeling was. It was the same for Ariadne. She didn't even know what to feel towards Arthur now since knowing her personal situation with him and her personal involvement with Tom. It was a blank stare being exchanged between them which got interrupted by the oblivious Tom. "Are you doing much at the moment?" Tom asked. Ariadne looked back towards the table as Arthur cleared his throat and shifted his vision to Tom. "Not really. I was just going back to working in my office" Arthur answered. "Okay" Tom nodded.
It remained silent after the brief exchange between Arthur and Tom. While Tom was staring towards the table, Arthur caught sight of Ariadne slightly fidgeting with his hands and keeping her head down. He had never felt this uncomfortable between people. Arthur couldn't stand the silence. "I'll let you two be then. I'm going back" Arthur started towards the hallway. "Alright, see you later" Tom returned. As Arthur was walking back, he heard Tom utter "What's wrong?" At that moment, Arthur turned his face towards them and saw Tom had grabbed Ariadne's hand. He picked up the pace and entered the hallway disappearing from them. As he sat down, he cleared his throat which had tensed up oddly enough while he was walking back. A particular idea and thought about Ariadne and Tom had entered his mind but he shook it off trying to get back to work. He started experiencing this every time for the entire week to follow.
From a hand touch to a smile, a gaze to a simple side by side stance, Arthur's body and mind randomly reacted. His hand balled into a fist or gripped something hard or his face twitched or immediately looked away. It was a wide variation but his mind kept having the same recurring thoughts and implication about the two of them. Why did they have to act so close and rub it in everyone's face? What exactly was close? Arthur convinced himself that he was just getting annoyed and it proved his argument about how Tom is a distraction for Ariadne and the work. Tom must be a mediocre architect due to all the "touchy-feely" business he's been continuously doing. Plus, why was he still trying to make conversation with Arthur when they both knew that they didn't exactly get along? It was what drove Arthur to isolate himself more than often from everyone and try to contain his thoughts in that small room of his.
One day, Arthur was heading to his office again from a meeting with Yusuf and Eames to complete more paperwork. Yet, along the way at the warehouse space, he spotted Ariadne and Tom sedated next to the briefcase. Arthur peered around him hoping no one else would see that he was about to do. Arthur placed his papers on a table and pulled up a chair. He pulled a cord out and connected it to his wrist. It was driving him mad to continuously question everything about Tom. He wanted to see Tom's ability in the dream world but deep down inside, he just wanted and needed to see what personally was going on between Ariadne and Tom.
As soon as he was under, he was dazzled by the vivid and beautiful sight of a big city. Arthur couldn't stop himself from muttering 'Whoa' under his breath. He strolled through the city seeing it with great features and bright colours. There were even actual sites showing that the city was under construction which was to correspond with Tom's training progress but past all of that, Tom's architectural ability surpassed Arthur's expectations. Arthur was completely incorrect.
After what felt like 20 minutes of going through the city, he finally found Ariadne and Tom sitting on a green bench on a hill. He quietly moved towards them hiding behind a tree to pry on them again. "You know, all the guys seem to be real friendly" Tom commented. "Well that's good. It'd be bad if you were on a bad start with one of them" Ariadne responded. Tom paused wondering whether to confess a particular something. "Actually, I think I made a bad impression on one of the guys but it was only because I was trying to be friendly but it was so awkward between us" Tom admitted. Ariadne completely turned towards him in concern. "Were they mean or something?" Ariadne interrogated. "Well…they weren't mean. They just seemed really serious and dark and it kind of scared the crap out of me. I tried to remain cool but it was hard. They're not bullying me. I swear" Tom answered. "Are you just saying that to not sound pathetic or weak? Poor Tom can't make friends. Don't cry" Ariadne mocked. "Yea, whatever. Kind of bad coming from you but were you not crying over some guy before? Also, I still have no idea which guy was the one you were crying over" Tom mentioned. "I wasn't crying over them!" Ariadne tried to correct. "Yes you were! But then, ahem, I came to the rescue, you crybaby" Tom proudly proclaimed. Ariadne smiled. "Don't push it though" Ariadne stated.
Arthur started to think for a moment that maybe they just had a platonic relationship. Their conversation was just about minor things and they kept laughing. He was thinking about leaving the dream now until he heard the ultimate line that grabbed his attention. "So, are we not allowed to…show ourselves during work hours?" Tom asked. "What are you talking about?" Ariadne looked back at Tom. "I mean… about us…together" Tom simplified. That's all that Arthur needed to hear to know the truth that Tom and Ariadne were more than friends. "I mean, personally I'm not that much into displaying… be together in public and I don't want them to think of a bad impression of you so…probably we should keep us on a low scale" Ariadne explained. Tom nodded. "That sucks" He added. "Why?" Ariadne inquired. "I don't think I could control myself from not making a display. It'll be too hard" Tom used a low, gruff voice while saying that to Ariadne. "Really? Well fine. You can…make a display. Just, don't do it around the other guys" she laughed. "Try and stop me" Tom was leaning in towards Ariadne and their lips met. That was definitely all that Arthur needed to see. He didn't understand why he was still watching them up to that point. He instantaneously walked away which led to a run then exited the dream.
He opened his eyes and raised his head to look at the still sleeping Ariadne and Tom. He pulled the cord from his wrist and let it go back inside the case. He grabbed his papers and headed into his office. Before he could do anything, he stayed facing the wall taking in that Ariadne was truly happy with another man. He found it…good. It was the same for the fact that Tom exceeded many expectations or assumptions. Arthur swiveled his chair back to his desk and looked at the papers. Yet, he couldn't get the image of Tom and Ariadne out of his head. He simply kept trying to do work ignoring that he was in actual fact not feeling good about it. That he was: jealous.
