Swimmink, because there'll be some sinking.(Matt)

[Matt Davis]

Matt’s face practically beamed when she said that her day was made too. He turned to look at her, offering a wide smile, made wider by his big lips. He laughed some and leaned towards her, pressing his bare side against her while putting an arm around her in a small hug. Hus hand squeezed some as he looked over the water. He hoped that she meant that he made her day...because if she didn’t, he’d feel silly. He knew that she made his though. It was like waking up and having a warm pecan pie for breakfast. It just made you feel better, and energized, and warm inside.

He pulled his arm away from the hug, though the motion pulled them a little closer on the pool side. “Well… I gotta say, I’m lookin’ forward t’doin’ this more, Anthy.” He continued his smile, though it looked a tad bit more shy as he turned to look at the water as his feet stirred it. He looked down at her legs as she rubbed it and reached up instinctively when it looked like she was leaning too far forward. His hand hovered over her shoulder for a second but then retreated when it looked like she’d be fine.

“Wear shorts in the win-.. Hell, is that alright? Y’aint never cought no hypothermia or nothin’ like that? An’ the snow? It don’t bother you none either?”

[Anthy Blacksmith]

She was surprised by how happy Matt seemed to be, but it was a god kind of surprised and as he leaned over and went to giving a her a sideways hug, she ended up giggling some and smiling a bit brighter before giving a bit of a hug back. She was careful about it though, keeping her clumsiness in mind as she didn't want to fall back into the poll right then. When the hug was finished, she kicked her legs in the water slowly, more of stirring the water than kicking it. Then, went back to rubbing at them due to the soreness the stir-kicking had made her aware of.

When Matt told her that he was looking forward to more of these swimming lessons, Anthy smiled at him over her shoulder a little as she was leaning forward at that moment to reach near her ankles. Well, she thought he meant the swimming lessons anyways. Maybe he meant hanging out? Well, of course they would hang out.

A soft laugh came from Anthy, turning into a more of a giggly one in reaction to Mat's reaction to her comment about wearing shorts in the winter and his questions about hypothermia and it not bothering her. She then stopped rubbing her legs again for the moment to sit up a little more properly as she replied.

"Well, it was pretty cold at first, but not by a huge amount seeing how I was a little used to bursts of coolness here and there from the uniform I used to wear at the boarding school. Sure it was just when we had to go outside to get to certain parts of the building faster, but stockings are stockings no matter how thick they are and skirts only do just so much to keep out the draft." She told him with a soft amused chuckle.

"But yeah, that probably helped me on my way to learning how to get used to wearing shorts in the winter when my powers came in. I mean, just because it's cold out it doesn't mean I won't still need to charge up, and I can't just sunbathe in my room all day. I like being outside too much for that." She told him.

[Matt Davis]

Stockings and skirts…? Boarding schools? Matt looked over to Anthy with a raised brow as she explained how she had gotten used to the cold. it was sort of a fantasy for every guy, and Matt was one of those. To think of a girl in a school uniform complete with skirt and stockings. He looked down at her, studying her in silence considering why that was so...awesome. Heck, he was seeing her in less clothes right now, wasn’t he? She wasn’t really wearing any pants, just...frilly things. Still it was exciting.

She had kept talking after the mention of the boarding school uniforms, though he couldn’t imagine what else could be said. It took him a few words before he remembered they were talking about her being cold. Suddenly he nodded a bit more quickly. “Oh! Okay, alright… Umm… Yeah I like bein’ outside too… Aint sure how I’ll deal with all this cold though. Maybe go skiin’ or something? What d’people do in vermont when it gets cold?”

His mind went back to where it was before and he looked over her legs, picturing them with those tanning stockings that made girls legs look smooth...

[Anthy Blacksmith]

"Well, there's all sorts of things people do in the cold of Vermont, actually. And things people do because of it. I'll start with the things in the cold first though." She told him, giving him a smile.

"Well, there's sledding, snowball fights, snowmen and if there's enough snow, snow castles... Hmm... Ice skating when the water's frozen over hard enough. People go skiing too, I think." Anthy said, listing off the things she could think of.

"As for the indoor stuff, there's all those different kinds of hot chocolates that come out for the winter seasons, hot apple cider too oh that's nice. Movies, there's that. Usually it's the festive ones on but if you're not into that kind of things, that's what DVDs are for. Oh! Snow tunnels!.. Sorry, I know that's an outdoor thing but if there's enough snow outside, it's possible to dig these tunnels... and.. well... that's kind of childish isn't it..." She felt her cheeks burn some in embarrassment at how excited she had gotten about something like that.

[Matt Davis]

Matt listened to Anthy describe things that he could do in winter, and it actually didn’t sound that bad. He had gone skiing once up in the Appalachians and ended up twisting his ankle. He was looking forward to the thought of trying it again. The other outdoor activities sounded pretty nice too, though he pictured himself falling on his ass a few times if he was going to learn how to ice skate. “D’ya know how t’do most ‘a that? Like Ice skatin’?”

Matt continued to listen to some of the indoor activities and his mind seemed to grow enraptured with the idea of getting some warm, smooth hot chocolate. He took a deep breath and sighed at the thought, actually starting to look forward to the winter season. “...Yeah, that actually sounds like a great time… Kinda lookin’ forward to it..” He smiled over to her and laughed. She was getting sort of red, and she always looked cute when she reddened. “I really like those old claymation movies? With rudolph and the Bumble and all that stuff? Kinda how I get into the spirit, but I aint never made a snow tunnel or nothin’.”

“You seem t’really like the winter… I’m gonna be staying here or the holiday… We gonna get the chance to hang out? Or are ya headin’ on home?” He continued to kick in the water and looked down to her legs. At first it was to see if she was moving it more freely, but after a few seconds it was just to kind of look over her legs… he quickly pulled himself back up when he realized that’s what he was doing.

[Anthy Blacksmith]

When Matt asked her about ice skating and her knowledge on how to, Anthy gave a bit of a shy smile with a hint of sheepishness to it.

"Well, I knew how to before, but it's been a while, so I might be a bit rusty at it. I wasn't a figure skater or anything like that, but I knew how to have fun without falling over every three seconds. I have nooo idea on how to ski though. As far as snowball fights, I think that mostly has to do with find a good hiding spot and having a good aim. I'm good with hiding spots. Aim? Not so much" She told him with a bit of a smile.

When Matt told her that he was kind of looking forward to winter now, she smiled a bit more. The smile brightened when he brought up the claymation movies. Oh, she liked those. And she actually looked a bit cheery when he didn't seem to think it was silly that she liked snow tunnels so much.

"Well, if you want, and if it snows enough this year, maybe we could make some." She said.

Anthy almost became shy when he brought up how much she seemed to like winter, but her smile didn't falter until he brought up the question of if she was going home. Then, she just kind of looked at the water, biting the corner of her lip while her smile faded slightly. There were mixed feelings there. If this had been last year, she would have been still all smiles, heck if it even had been last month or last week even. But now there were other thoughts factored in, other sides of things.

She stopped rubbing her legs and just sat normally now before taking a breath and speaking.

"Actually, I'm here all of the time, so we'll have plenty of hanging out to do if you want." She told him, trying to just look at the upside of things.

But it wasn't as easy to do that anymore. Not since that talk with Lucas that had opened her thoughts to the other angles of things.

"Matt..?"

Anthy shook her head, changing her mind in the middle of what she had been about to ask him.

"Nevermind." She added with a small smile.

[Matt Davis]

“Well, then maybe when we have a snowball fight I’ll jus’ stand out in the snow iffin’ y’aim aint no good, hmm?” He shifted some and gave her a playful nudge on the shoulder. “It may divulge into a snowball fight iffin’ y’laugh at me fallin’ on my ass on the ice. You’ll have t’give me a hand, unless someone teaches a class or something’. Then maybe we can take it together?”

After Matt had asked about her staying here, she seemed to change. Her eyes dropped down and she bit on her lip again. She had done it enough now for him to learn that it meant she was thinking, or maybe that she was embarrassed. He couldn’t really picture what that would mean for the winter vacation though. Not much to be embarrassed about there. The answer, and the breath that came before it, caught him off guard even more. That seemed like a pretty good thing, right? Hanging out?

He was about to tell her that it was great that he’d see her so much, but then she said his name. She didn’t actually say his name much. Well, there really wasn’t much of a need to say a persons name when you were alone with them, he figured, but it sounded on when she said it. Uncertain. He sat and watched her, ready to hear what she would say. When she shook her head and said nothing his brow knitted together. What was that about?

“Hey… Everythin’ alright, Moonbeam?” He asked while lifting a hand and setting it against her back. “Don’t ‘nevermind’ me… I mind alot when it coems t’ya.” He gave her a smirk, though she probably couldn’t see it facing down.

[Anthy Blacksmith]

When Matt spoke about standing out in the snow since her aim wasn't the best, Anthy gave an amused sigh outward then laughed a little. Well, it was more of a giggle than a laugh. The shoulder nudge had been familiar to her. Not from him, but it was something she knew as a playful trademark from someone else. Maybe the two weren't as different as they might have thought. She still was trying to think of a way for the three of them to hang out together some time.

"Oh I wouldn't laugh at you for falling. You should have seen me when I was learning how to skate. I was flopping over everywhere. I might still be rusty but maybe I can still keep up enough to help you stay up? Or, we could take a class like you brought up. I don't know if there's actual classes, but there's a class for everything, right?" She commented with her head tipped a little to the side.

Of course by the time she had chickened out of saying what she had been about to say to Matt, her head wasn't tipped anymore and her eyes were firmly locked on her own knees. Though she almost looked to him again when he asked if everything was alright. Anthy bit her lip again when she felt his hand come to rest on her back and a small swallow followed even as he told her not to nevermind her, him following that up with that really sweet comment about how he minded a lot when it came to her. Slowly she looked at him, meeting his eyes even if only by barely.

"... do you think that there's such a thing as letting someone down gently as far as.... as far as... I don't really know how to say it." She told him softly, giving a sad smile and an apologetic look before looking out at the pool.

"I've been thinking about this for a while now, to be honest. I guess I thought I could figure it out on my own?.. I don't know... I used to think that he didn't say anything, that he didn't do anything to try to find a way to let me stay home because Hammel had more experience with the whole meta thing but... but a little while ago someone made me realise that... he might not have done anything, because he might have been relieved someone could take me away and he wouldn't have to deal with it... I mean, we had a year. We got close in that year too.. but it was like a friendship. But what if it was just like the other friendships I had and it just cut off as soon as something about me changed?.."

She blinked a few times and sighed.

"Sorry.. I'm probably not making much sense..." She said softly.

"Do you think that by sending me those packages... that my father's letting me down gently as far as abandoning me instead of just up and leaving out of nowhere like my mother did? How many people's parents just stop loving them, do you think? I mean, even if they try to keep at it out of obligation or something?" Anthy asked.

She took a breath then shifted some to be sitting so her body was turned more towards him so she could face him better even if her eyes were brimming some.

"Why aren't you going home for the holidays, Matt?" She asked.

She had the feeling she knew why...

[Matt Davis]

Matt’s face lit up a little at the visual of seeing Anthy flopping around on the ice while trying to skate. He gave a soft chuckle, but simply listened as she agreed to the idea of taking a skating class together. They had to offer something like that here, or do something to help keep the people staying for Christmas break entertained, right?

When she started to speak with a sombre tone and looking in the water, Matt’s attitude shifted. He could feel a new chill as if the topic was turning cold right in front of him. It was also just cold sitting beside of the pool, but the metaphorical scene was chilly too. He didn’t understand her at first… Of course it was possible to let someone off easy. Is that what was happening now? It would be cruel to hype him up about winter before breaking off their friendship…

Her explanation wasn’t that great at first. He listened, though he seemed rather confused at first. He wasn’t sure what they were talking about, in truth. Well, who they were talking about. Obviously it was about somebody pulling away from someone else, and he was pretty confident it wasn’t him by this time, but he wasn’t sure how to answer until she elaborated further. When she did, it suddenly became all the more clear. A guy who should’ve protected her from Hammel? It sounded like a father, or maybe older brother though he wouldn’t have any right to fight the system, he figured. When she explained more, though, he understood where the chill was coming from. The packages being little things to keep some official tie while he pulled away. His shoulders slumped forward some and his hand slid a little on her back.


He wanted to give her an answer. A real, comforting answer that could put her troubled mind at ease. Perhaps he took too long to construct the answer, though, as she posed another question soon after. One a bit more powerful to him, and a bit more personal.

“Anty….” Matt said softly and shook his head some. He slid closer to her, pressing the side of his wet leg against hers before setting his arm around her back. “...If someone got to know you, truly, as a friend for a year? They’d never be able to let you go… I just gotchya for a few...weeks? An’ I can’t picture lettin’ y’go for nothin’...’Specially if they saw y’as a little girl.” He let out a little laugh and his arm moved further around her to hug her tighter. “You had t’have been adorable, with your little big cheeks’n bows all up in your hair.”

He smiled at her, and while part of it was genuine the down turn of his brows hinted at something a bit painful. “...As far as...why I aint goin’, it’s…” he wasn’t sure really what to say that wouldn’t counter how sure he was that someone could stop loving her. “It aint that important... I aint that cute with bows in my hair, I guess. I’ll go back next year, though.” He silently prayed that would be true just about every night, but his lack of hopefulness probably shined through a bit there. 

[Anthy Blacksmith]

Those tears were barely being held in when Matt said her name and they collected at her lashes when he ended up sliding closer to her and putting his arm around her back so to be holding her in a way. Anthy was trembling from the effort to keep from breaking right then and there. She even held her breath, scared that she might slip and fall and become a sobbing flashing mess or something. She felt tired. Hurt, and tired. Like all the light had been drained out of her even if she knew that wasn't the case.

As he went to telling her about how he didn't think that anyone who truly got to know her as a friend for a year wouldn't ever be able to let her go, she had mixed feelings. What if it hadn't been truly? What if her father had just been trying that hard to give her a normal life? What if he had just been trying to be nice to her after her mother had just left them? What if...?

The what ifs were hurting her head and her chest. But she tried to offer a small smile when he told her that he couldn't picture letting her go even if they had only been friends a couple of weeks. As he hugged her a bit tighter, she brought her arm up so she could hug him a bit too even if she was still only barely containing herself. A soft sniff came even of she let out a sadness touched amused sigh at the added comment about big cheeks and hair bows.

There was a silent moment, and even if he was smiling, she could see the hurt there too on his face and she regretted bringing this up. She shouldn't have said anything. Why had she done it? Anthy didn't usually do things like this. Usually she was the one being talked to about things. She bit her lip as he went to saying something only to cut himself off with silence. When he continued after a moment, it was heartbreaking even if he seemed to be trying to gentle things down.

When he said he was going to go back next year, she wondered what made him know. Then, she felt horrible for wondering that. Something wasn't right with her. Something was wrong. She needed to stop thinking like this, stop feeling like she was.

"I'll make sure to make some cookies for you to take with you then." She offered, trying to think of things in her usual positive way rather than the way she had been doing the last few minutes.

"And I think you would look adorable with bows. It'd go with your k-pop outfit if you got creative enough." She said, trying to lighten the mood.

Anthy was bottling again, but that was alright.

[Matt Davis]

His face turned up into a wider smile when he felt her arm moving and as it slipped around his back, but it faded just as quickly as it came. That soft, weak sniffle when she took hold broke the jock’s heart. He wasn’t sure what to do from that point, and he let the words and silence roll over them as it did, not trying to force anything as he considered what to say next.

Once she mentioned that she would make cookies for him, he couldn’t help but laugh. It was a strange one, though. A mix of nervousness, worry, and genuine laughter. It was funny and it was sweet, but the words didn’t belong with this mood. Cookies were too happy of a subject.

“Well if-...When I go back, an’ if you want maybe I can getchya t’bring me the cookies… An’ we can take a road trip back up on m’bike or somethin’.” It was a goal of his, to head back down to the house, see his mom and maybe his father for a few hours, and then hop on his ride and head on up when he was old enough.

The quip about K-pop made him chuckle again, though this one was a bit more genuine. He hadn’t thought about it since last they spoke, so it hit him in the humourous… or whatever was the funny bone. He took a deep breath when he relaxed and turned to look down at her golden hair as she remained in his arm, with her own around his back. He finally realized what he needed to do.

He shifted more than and moved closer, putting both arms around her to try and pull her into an even tighter hug, almost onto his lap. Maybe it wouldn’t help, but whenever Matt had sniffled while thinking about his family or...any form of rejection he would’ve appreciate an embrace. He couldn’t think of the words to illustrate what he wanted to say, especially with the thoughts that his own experience proved what she feared. Instead he’d just let his arms do the communicating until his tongue could step up it’s game.

[Anthy Blacksmith]

He laughed some when she mentioned the cookies. It wasn't the happiest of laughs, but it was a start. And it had him talking again, though she didn't miss his slip in words between if and when. Though, she was a little surprised when he spoke about possibly getting her to bring him the cookies and a road trip on his bike. He... he wanted her to come for a visit with him? She had all kinds of emotions surging through her right then.

Then, he was hugging her. Not just with the one arm, but turning so he could hug her with both arms and pulling her closer. For a moment, Anthy hugged him tightly. That was until she felt something else surging through her besides emotion. Heat. It just kind of exploded to live under her skin. More in some parts than the others but it was there and it was intense and it was not going to take no for an answer.

A sharp gasp came from Anthy and she tried pushing him away. Fortunately for both of them, Matt happened to pull away to try to figure out what was going on. Almost in time to the flash going off, she managed to dump herself into the water. There was a soft hiss along with the splash and the majority of the flash was done beneath the surface.

Anthy came up glowing brightly, coughing, choking and sputtering but quickly went to grabbing onto the side of the pool more worried about him than herself despite the fact she was red all over with deeper red blotches over her body.

"Oh God! Matt! Are you alright!?" She almost cried out, unable to see the damage due to the light filling her eyes at the moment.

[Matt Davis]

Matt held onto her firmly and smiled some when he felt her own hands pulling tightly against him. He seemed to have chosen the proper expression. After a few seconds of holding her he started to feel a little warm...hot even. He wasn’t sure where it was coming from, but it was pretty sudden. It was almost unbearable, but it didn’t seem to click with Matt until Anthy pushed off of him with a sharp gasp. He winced some at an almost...sizzling feeling on his chest as her hands pushed against him.

He watched her with wide eyes as she jumped into the water, though those eyes were quickly shut. The blaring light came first, and the heat seemed to follow. Perhaps only his body registered it as such. His skin felt like it was on fire for a second, but what troubled him the most was the searing pain in his eyes. He rolled away from her at first instinctively and drew his hands up to his eyes.

When the world seemed to stop spinning, he could tell he could...see? Though it was all blurry and there were numerous bright flashes of colors, even as he closed his lids. The light having stained the sensitive eye.

“Fuck!” He barked while trying to get a hold of the senses before he turned towards the sound of Anthy’s worried voice. “Ah, shit...are you-ahh...okay?” His upper chest and face were turned a light reddish hue while the burns from her hands on his chest looked a deal worse. His hands were clasped against his eyes, though he tried to look up from time to time.

[Anthy Blacksmith]

She had heard the shout as she broke the surface of the water and she was nearly in a panic which just made her glow all the brighter. Her heart was pounding so hard in her chest that it felt like it was about to punch a hole through it. She had hurt him, hadn't she? Oh God she hurt him. She hurt Matt. The thought repeated in her head over and over again in rapid succession and her knees almost buckled when she heard him as he asked if she was alright. He sounded like he was in pain. Her worries were more than confirmed now and the guilt hit her like a truck driven by the driver named panic.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to! I-I-I didn't mean to! You were right to be afraid of me before. I'm dangerous.... Oh God, I'm so sorry, Matt! Can you see? Please tell me you can see. Are you okay? It doesn't matter what I am as long as you are." She almost wailed.

It did burn. Oh how it burned, especially with the chlorine. But the coolness of the water helped at the same time. That, and she was having trouble worrying about what was going on with her when she was worrying so much about what she might have done to Matt.

[Matt Davis]

Man did it hurt. It was like he had been woken up with a flashbang grenade, the sudden burn of his eyes seemed to stain of Anthy jumping into the pool as a negative on his eyes. Flashing and colors dancing across his eyes while he tried to focus on his surroundings, though they just seemed to explode into color. It was fading and he could start to see hings...he was confident that he wasn’t blind.

“Yeah I-...I’m fine.” He stammered out while still rubbing at his eyes. He assumed he was fine, but as the hard stng in his eyes started to fade a new one emerged on his chest, and on most of his upper body now that he thought about it. A lingering sting...sudden though, what happened? He let out another little 'fuck' as he felt another hit of the persistent sting.

“No, no.” It had taken him a few seconds to realize what Anthy had spewed out, about how she was dangerous and he should’ve kept his distance. “Don’t-...I’m fine, I’ll be fine… are you okay, Moonbeam?” He asked, truly worried about her state. He couldn’t really see her, each time he looked she’d explode into a pulsing green and yellow flash on his eyes.