Disclaimer: Inception does not belong to me.

Arthur marched along the corridor, furious and embarrassed. He could hear the ringing, jeering tones of the class, and immediately promised he would write up every single one of them. They were rude, insolent-

"Arthur!"

He stopped. Ariadne was coming out of the Art room. Her face was flushed, and she was clearly upset. She hurried after him. "Arthur, wait!"

He frowned. Too familiar. He turned to her, mustering all the dignity he could. "What is it, Ms Henderson?"

She flinched at the formality of his tone. "Arthur - Mr Ogilvie - please, come back inside!"

"Why they're all laughing at me?" he said, sourly. He suddenly realised he sounded like one of the students, and reddened.

She looked at him, slightly exasperated.

"Arthur. They're teenagers. They find things like that funny!" She looked at him. "They don't mean anything by it!"

"But-" he swallowed. He realised he was beginning to sound petty, and blushed. She looked at him, and smiled, placatingly.

"Come on," she said, quietly. "They will think more of you if you go back in."

He blinked. "Excuse me?"

"Your feeling embarrassed, and if you keep running, you'll never be able to pass one of those kids again without feeling it!" There was a steely edge to her voice. "Arthur, please, you're the Vice Principal - you have to show them you're bigger than that!"

He went scarlet. She, a rookie art teacher, was lecturing him, a VP with nearly seven years' experience? He glared at her. She merely matched it, which caused his jaw to sag slightly.

"Ms Henderson. I will show them." His tone was clipped. "Please lead the way."

She nodded, a smile ghosting her lips. "Of course."

She re-entered the room. The students had lost focus and were chatting amongst themselves, but they fell silent when they saw the two teachers returning. As they saw Arthur, they lapsed into an awkward silence.

"OK," Ariadne said, in an easy, friendly manner. "Can anyone remind us what we were going to be studying this morning, what our objective is?"

A hand was tentatively raised. "Portraits!"

"Correct!" Ariadne smiled. "Portraits - or silhouettes! What I'm going to be demonstrating is how you have to sketch out an effective profile in order to build a good protrait. And for that, I need a model. Mr Ogilvie, would you please move to the centre?"

There was a sudden shifting amongst the students. Arthur blinked.

"Oh, but I'm here to observe-"

"The best way to observe is to become involved in the lesson," Ariadne insisted. "If you just move to the front here...?"

Arthur got up, hotly aware of the students' eyes upon him. She gestured to a wooden stool.

"If you could sit here, please?"

He did so.

"OK, now, just turn a little."

He swallowed.

"Now, if you look, everyone, you can see Mr Ogilvie's profile."

Arthur blinked. He was hearing murmurs from the students.

"If you notice, he has a very good jawline, and high cheekbones. A good bone structure is wonderful to paint!"

Arthur stiffened. He wasn't used to people being so complimentary. Especially in a work setting. He tried to hold himself erect, and then realised that Ariadne was moving over him. He swallowed - he could smell her perfume, a spicy, woody scent. To his surprise, he liked it. Most of the women he dated wore heavy, expensive scents - this was a light, earthy smell.

"OK, so if we just sketch out here-" she commented, lightly running a pencil over her flip chart. "And another one here-"

Murmurs were beginning to erupt from the class. He wondered what Ariadne was drawing.

"And if you just lightly shade here-" her tone was authorative, and he could tell the class was now hanging on her every word. He swallowed - there was something very attractive about this young woman who had tamed a group of unruly students, and done so without resorting to threats. He blushed, suddenly aware that if thoughts were visible, he would be the laughing stock of the school. He could almost here the crude whispers in the student locker rooms - "Hey, heard the news? Ogilvie wants to date the new Art teacher! But she's so nice, and he's such a-"

He shook his head. He heard Ariadne click her tongue.

"Don't move."

He blinked. Was she giving him order? He sat up, prepared to berate her - and then suddenly realised. Him being put in his place was actually pretty -

"So, you need to find a good subject," Ariadne continued, her voice calm. "And you could come up with something like this!"

She turned the picture round, and Arthur heard several appreciative gasps.

He blinked. She'd drawn him - a portrait of him in pencil. The proportions were right, and he looked natural - relaxed, almost happy. He swallowed.

"That is- wonderful," he breathed. "Can I have it for my office?"

She smiled. "Of course!"

Suddenly, he heard whisperings, and nudgings. Ariadne rescued the situation by walking forward and clapping her hands.

"OK!" She said, that steely tone back in her voice. "Find a partner!"

There was a sudden sound of scraping metal, as students moved chairs to partner up. Arthur swallowed, and turned to Ariadne.

"Thank you," he breathed.

She smiled. "Not a problem. They're not so bad, are they?"

Arthur blinked. Suddenly, he felt the warm glow he'd had dissipate. He suddenly fet that she was almost talkng down to him, and he felt unnerved.

"They are." The words came out slightly abruptly, and she blinked. "Listen, I'll see you at lunch, Ms Henderson. I have some paperwork to do."

She nodded, and he could have sworn she looked almost hurt. "OK."

Arthur turned and hurried out. She bit her lip, trying to conceal her upset at the abandoned portrait sitting on the easel.

Thank you for reading - please review!