Ferd don’t act too suspiciously

"Ehem", my dad cleared his throat at the dinner table causing all of our eyes to dart over to him.

Mom, dad, Ari, Celeste, Victor and I were sat at the dinner table in silence up to this point.

"So Ariadne, how's school?", He continued.

Celeste shot him a glare which had me sinking back into my chair praying that this dinner would soon be over with.

Oh my God! Could this get any more awkward.

Ariadne's eyes met mine and the second they did I remembered our kiss and I had to duck my head down to hide the blush that I could feel burning my cheeks.

I've officially reached a new location of pathetic.

Victor looked between me, Celeste and Ariadne but didn't say anything. He just cleared his throat and carried on with his food.

"School is going great Mr. Solace", Ari replied politely and looked away from my dad before she could see him stiffen at the mention of that name.

A snicker escaped my lips at my dad's reaction. One thing he hated was when people from my life here call him Mr. Solace, and yet he was the one that picked out that lame surname for me.

Hypocrite, he criticized me for not liking the name when he too hated it.

His eyes narrowed at me as I bit my lips to stifle my laughter, "Are you alright Ferdinand?", he rose an eyebrow as he used the other name he knew I hated. I stopped laughing immediately and he smirked at me.

"So, when are you coming back to school Solace?", Ari voice sounded around the room and I paused my actions. There was no way I couldn't not look at her now and risk acting rudely in front of my parents.

I chewed on the food in my mouth a little longer than necessary, then slowly swallowed. Trying not to seem suspicious.

I looked up and said, "Soon", briefly before stuffing a huge chunk of beef in my mouth and began to pay so much attention to my food you'd think I was watching the latest episode of Supernatural.

Celeste snorted but said nothing. She and Ari had been subtly glaring at each other across the table. Each girl tearing into their food as if it had somehow betrayed their trust. I had no idea what rivalry these two had already when they barely knew each other and I wasn't planning on finding out tonight.

***********

Thirty long awkward minutes dragged on before dinner was finished. Celeste had huffed and went up to her room, dad left to take a business call and Mom was busy chatting up with Ari and it gave me an opportunity to drag Victor aside.

"Why didn't you tell me that dad fired Jason", I whisper yelled the moment we were away from the others.

His eyes widened and he began to look at me cautiously.

After a second his expression reverted back to one of indifference, "Do you even remember Jason anyway?", His question stunned me into silence and my anger waned as I thought about it.

He scoffed at me obviously already knowing the reply, "That's what I thought Julian. You didn't even like him anyways so just let it go".

My eyebrows scrunched in confusion to his behavior, "Why are you acting like you don't care what happens to him, he was with me when the accident happened h-".

"Which is exactly why he was dismissed!", Victor fired back and for the first time since I knew him he seemed genuinely angry at me.

Did I do something wrong?

I took a step back from him and crossed my arms over my chest, "What exactly is your problem?".

He looked like he was about to say something but my mom showed up just then and he just clamped his mouth shut and walked away.

"Julian I need you to take Ariadne home", mom instructed. "The car's out front".

I really didn't think she was serious about that; we literally had a driver for that specific purpose.

Not that I didn't want to do it. But I know my mom means well, she just wants me to escort her home instead of sending her back alone with the driver.

I was hesitant at first and I swear my back started sweating at the thought of being in a car alone with her. Especially after what we did together earlier.

I felt a hand on my shoulder and my mother rose a perfectly done eyebrow at me, "Are you alright Julian? Do you want me to send Victor instead?".

No!

"No that's fine I'm perfectly fine taking her home", she nodded and left while I went out to meet Ari in the hallway.

Just a while ago I lowkey hated her guts and now the thought of being alone with her was making me extremely nervous

She smiled at me and I gulped. Oh crap! That damn smile of hers is going to ruin me.

You can do this just smile back. Be strong!

I tried to smile back but it might've come off as a grimace. I'm not sure.

"Are you okay?", She asked bit concerned.

I quickly walked past her with a quick nod and headed for the door with her following in tow. I held the door as we both left the house then headed for the garage.

As we approached the car I held the back door open for her and she slid inside then I too slid inside beside her and closed the door.

She spun around to face me suddenly as if I'd done the most unexpected thing.

"Don't you have to be behind the steering to drive the car?", She laughed wryly and I finally realized why I had startled her.

The awkward tension that had been lingering around us all night finally let up as I laughed along with her.

Her question was answered a few moments later when one of the drivers opened the front door and got in putting the car into drive and takes us out the long winding driveway.

"I don't actually drive", I finally say to Ariadne and I looked over at her to find her already staring at me with an emotion unknown to me in her eyes.

A small coy smile made its way unto my face as her gaze only seemed to intensify on me.

Was there something on my face?

Eventually I looked away from her, the sudden intensity replaces the awkwardness with untethered desires. Neither of us had brought up the kiss from before, I was going crazy inside my head trying to figure out what everything meant. I really needed to get my memories back to make sense of everything that's happening. My head leaned against the cool glass window as I peered outside. We had lapsed into a comfortable silence with no more tense emotions to stifle us as we embarked on our journey to her house.

We must've been driving for ten minutes now I had been so caught up in the fascination that accompanied nightfall that I'd nearly forgotten where I was until I felt small fingers envelope around mine on my lap and Ari nuzzling into the crook of my neck. Her actions took me by surprise and I fought against the muscles in my body that wanted to freeze up at the sudden contact. Even though a part of my brain told me to pull away, to not allow her to get close to me until she's told me the complete truth, I couldn't find it in myself to let go.

Feelings that I'd previously mistaken as hatred blossomed inside me warming me from my chest and spreading to the rest of my body as I relaxed against her touch.

"Julian", she whispered my name but I was so too caught up in the bliss spreading throughout my body to even realize she had used my real name.

In seconds she was on me, before I could even register what was happening she was on my lap and her lips were on mine. Our mouths collided in a clash of fervor and want as if we were both intended to do nothing else but this. As she kissed me I couldn't shake the feeling that she was trying to tell me something through her kiss. Without the need for actual words.

When her lips finally pulled away, my eyes were still closed. I was still too stunned to notice the driver opening the door on her side. Before I could stop her she was already outside and the car door had closed behind her as she walked up to her driveway.

My eyes widened at the realization of what happened. I rushed to the door she had left through and was about to open it to go after her when I noticed another car in the driveway.

My hands froze on the door and I watched the car that I knew belonged to Mario open and the devil himself got out as Ari approached him. He pulled her into his arms and a bitter feeling coursed through my entire body. They both walked up to her house together without sparing a glance behind them. I sat there in a world of confusion as they both disappeared inside her house.

I let go of the door and sat back in my seat telling the driver to take me home. Leaving with a heavier heart than I had come with. My mind was racing with wild scenarios of complete irrelevance. Because if she had unmistakably and intentionally called me by my real name then why wasn't I thinking about how she knew that?

Instead, my mind was preoccupied with what was going on between the two of them inside and why she had kissed me again.