Forgetting Ariadne [ON HOLD]

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Ariadne Elaine Rowan

"Good morning, gorgeous. The usual?" Benny flashed a toothy grin at her, already beginning to scribble her order onto a cup. 

Aria rolled her eyes playfully, "Thank you, Benny boo." 

The barista clutched the empty cup to his chest, exaggerating a swooning sigh, "Be still my heart. I will tell our children of the fated day I finally got their mother to entertain the thought of us finally going on a date."

As she scanned the QR code from her phone to pay, she chuckled, "Hopefully it will be the same day you don't burn my breakfast."

"Hey, that's the oven's fault, not mine." He pulled out the slightly burnt sandwich before inserting it into a paper sleeve, waving the tongs at her as she left.

The woman seated herself just outside the cafe, ignoring the knowing stare from her best friend. As she bit into her sandwich, she groaned a bit, "What? Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Why is it that everywhere we go, you have some little thing going on with someone there?" Reid wiggled a finger at her, "Are you being a hussy and sneaking people out before I wake up in the morning?"

"Oh yes, because so much can be hidden in a 700 square foot apartment on the 12th floor." Aria flicked crumbs at him, "I've just been here forever, you know that. I know a lot of people."

"Mhmm." He leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms, "I'm on to you, Rowan."

They bantered back and forth as they ate their breakfast, the sun steadily rising. This was their routine every weekend, getting coffee and a sandwich at the cafe on the first floor of their apartment building before running errands, taking a nap on the couch, and then ordering food to be delivered for an early dinner. It had been that way for the three months they had lived together. It was becoming familiar. It was becoming normal.

"Look, it's the guy who was staring at you last weekend." Reid lowered his voice, green eyes darting back and forth between Ariadne and inside the coffee shop. She casually turned to the side, scratching the back of her head so she could look into the window without being obvious. But she quickly looked away, catching the stranger's eyes almost immediately. A bit of a chill goosebumped the skin of her arms, looking straight again with a slight gasp.

Reid laughed, "Looks like he was hoping to run into you again. Is this another person you 'know'?" He put up two peace signs and curled the fingers down, adding quotations to the last word.

She shook her head, "I don't think so."

The stranger turned away to pay for his coffee, looking down at the credit card machine as he inserted the chip. Aria took the opportunity to look at him again, trying to see if she recognized him. But her mind was completely blank as she took in his tall, lanky frame, hair bleached and spiked up, a blanket of colorful tattoos peeking up from his collar and at the ends of the sleeves of his jacket. He certainly wasn't anyone she would normally associate with.

Her eyes wandered to Benny, who looked up and waved at her with that grin of his. Benny was tanned and built, his arms straining the crisp fabric of the white collared shirt he wore under his apron. His stubble was shaven close to his face, connected from his immaculately-trimmed fade. He was a true treat to the eyes - it made flirting with him easy. Aria opened her palm in greeting to him, smiling back softly. But she froze as the stranger turned, catching her eye again. His iced blue eyes seemed to pierce into her soul and she instantly clammed up, turning away quickly as a blush rose to her cheeks.

"Ugh can you imagine being sandwiched between those two?" Reid groaned, having seen the entire exchange. His eyes lit up as he fanned himself dramatically with his hand, "I'm melting just thinking about it."

"Reid, oh my God." Aria laughed, crumpling up her trash and tossing it towards the can nearby. It teetered at the edge, stopping and mocking her from afar. She groaned as she got up to push it in, stretching her arms over her head after doing so, "Ready?"

Reid got up with a nod, throwing his own trash before they headed down the street.

Though she couldn't see him, Aria felt the burn of the stranger's stare at her back. She fought the urge to turn around and confront him. She had always been the bold type, never shying away when guys crossed unspoken boundaries with her. But this time, she wanted to get away as quickly as possible. Something about him didn't sit right in her soul and a thought crept into the back of her mind, What if he's someone I-

But she cut herself off. No, she had clear instructions from five years ago. She was able to follow them all up until now and the appearance of some random weirdo wasn't going to deter her. Taking Reid's arm, they walked briskly towards the grocery store. Ariadne would hold on to her normal, even if it killed her.