I don't see much change in Dylan's behavior. Like that too. We're talking about a couple of days in Dylan's / Sophia's life. How steep do you want Dylan's learning curve to be? There are a couple of signs that Dylan is actually learning, like the scene when Elli asked for help fixing her computer. There, breaking the eternal cycle of small and large nasties between siblings was actually a step that made Dylan appear more adult. The scene in the park with the hobos, on the other hand, was just showing off the new skills. The Sophia realized that Dylan can actually defend himself and his mother was just a side effect. It's right that Dylan doesn't have to beg anymore to get favors from Sophia, but the scene in the park when Sophia allowed him to "test" her ass had nothing to do with a more mature Dylan.
It's not about the hand on the butt more than the conversation they were having together. When this arc started, it was supposed to be about "Sex-Ed." The learning curve doesn't have to be steep due to the time constants he has in the novel, but there hasn't been a learning curve for "Sex-Ed." with Dylan. It was primarily perverted stuff, which is why I was never a fan of starting with "Sex-Ed" with Dylan, as it is hard to move out of into another theme.
I agree that he has a good conversation and learning with Ellie, but if the reader chooses to follow that path. The path and comparison become viable if the reader unlocks that path with the other path they are playing. If they don't open it, then it just becomes a stand-alone story.
I wouldn't say he was showing off his new skill as it was more about defending Sophia. He talked about what he had learned two days after the fight, which impressed Sophia not only that her reaction was completely different as she described this in her inner thoughts about Dylan.
It's right that Dylan doesn't have to beg anymore to get favors from Sophia, but the scene in the park when Sophia allowed him to "test" her ass had nothing to do with a more mature Dylan.
Her reactions and thoughts after Dylan defended her allowed him to touch or "Test" her ass. All the scenes before that had her set limits on what Dylan could do. When he was in the changing room at the mall and asked if he could touch her breast, the answer was no. In the Viagra incident, when she talked with Liam and Dylan grabbed her butt, she grabbed his hand and pulled it off. During the Bikini event, he had to be careful where he placed his hand above her butt in the lower back region. This scene was different as Dylan was now, in her eyes, a protector instead of the "Sex-Ed" theme, which could fit a romance side of the story in the end, which a strong protector would fit that narrative perfectly. Going from someone was wanking off in 4 different P.D.s, begged, spied, and manipulated to now a defender is a change in character and maturity. Keep in mind, L&P has to develop these characters quickly because of the 30 P.D. window he gave himself to tell the story, and he has 18 P.D.s left. So it will jump around, which is why time-lapse was brought up numerous times to help with the realism part of this.
It's not that Dylan has "grown" in the past few days, it's that Sophia has gotten "smaller". And that's right, because we're supposed to be watching Sophia's corruption process and not Dylan's.
People grow / learn quickly when external circumstances change. What external circumstances have changed for Dylan other than the family moved to another country? Only external pressure will cause Dylan to change quickly. But he has a mother who intercepts everything, really everything, and takes on herself to protect the family. Unless L&P has planned dramatic changes for Dylan in history, we will puzzle and argue about Dylan's behavior until the end (in the year 2035
).
In all the Arcs, you watch both characters as the character that Sophia is courting has a role to play. Although Sophia is the protagonist in most of the arcs, Some POV scenes may vary; with Dylan, she teaches him about women to get a girlfriend and grow as a character. But as you said, we're supposed to see Sophia explore different levels of sexuality, lust, and love. And as I said and you pointed out, there will be a lot of growing and learning quickly because of the amount of P.D. time he has left. So the production time may end in 2035 (that seems a little bit short.
), but that still doesn't change the fact that he has 18 P.D. left to tell the story, which would take many years from a realistic standpoint P.D.s to tell. So again, Characters' growth and corruption will have to develop quickly.
