Guitar 101 (Anthy)

[Matt Davis]

Matt listened to the story of how Anthy became even more sweet by developing a peanut butter addiction, which aside from a pixie stick addiction, may have been the most childish thing he had heard. Somehow, it fit with the girl though. Matt could’ve made a few jokes if he was a bit more comfortable with her, or if she was a male. He wouldn’t need to be comfortable with a guy, he could just speak freely.

When they reached the door Matt did as Anthy suggested. He moved out of the way of the door and gave a quick nod. “Alright, sounds good. I’ll be waitin’ right here for ya! Jus’ don’ keep me waitin’ too long… Might drool up a river.”

Matt leaned against the wall beside of the door and bobbed his head slowly to a song that was playing in his head. Women moved in and out of the dorm, and the young boy offered each and everyone of them a polite smile and a ‘Good day’. There were a few who looked to have their hands full, or were texting, that Matt leaned near and opened up the door for them.

As the song in hsi head started to take on full form he’d pat his stomach through the pockets of the hoodie like a drum to keep with the rhythm. Perhaps he was delusional, or perhaps accepting Anthy as Anthy rather than as a ‘meta’ was easy. Either way, Matt found himself in a familiar headspace as he thought about the upcoming cookies.

“Welcome back!” When she popped back out of the room Matt shoved off of the door and offered her an impressively wide smile. He held out his hand. “Here, give me the napsack an’ I’ll carry it for ya. Eggs and Margarine should be in th’kitchen. Y’think they’ll have some chocolate chips we can borrow though?”

[Anthy Blacksmith]

As he exclaimed a welcome, Anthy giggled some then looked around as if searching for something on the floor.

"Looks like I'm in time... No river yet." She commented, trying to make a joke on his earlier comment about drooling up one if she took too long.

As he held out his hand, Anthy wondered what the reason was at first. He wasn't a hands holder, was he? She used to have a friend back when she was about nine, that liked to hold hands a lot. But that was something kids did, right? Luckily, she didn't need to be somewhat confused for long as he was speaking up again.

OH! The bag! He wanted to carry it for her. Aww. That was really nice. She did hesitate briefly though before taking the backpack off and handing it to him, obviously not being used to having anyone offer that.

"Thanks." She told him with a shy smile.

"And, I think they should have some? I mean, we can't be the only ones that would want them, right?"

[Matt Davis]

“There was a river...the dang Vermont wind blew it away though, probably off turning into snow somewhere or soemthin’.” He smirked playfully while looking down to her as she stared at his hand expectantly. When she got what he meant he threw it over his shoulder and smiled genuinely.

It was a tight fit as he slid the strap over his wide shoulder. It hugged tightly to him, but it wasn’t too uncomfortable. He didn’t even pay much attention to how girly the bag looked on him. Frills and doilies weren’t Matt’s usual style. It did show a bit of the gentle giants sensitive side though!

He walked beside of her as they moved towards the kitchen. He hadn’t actually done any cooking since he was there. Microwaveable pizza-stuffs and tyson chicken was good enough for the young man.

“I think you’re right. I mean… why wouldn’t they have’m? Makin’ cookies is the best kind of thing you can learn, why not support it at the school, yeah?” He adjusted the strap some until it was nice and comfortable, and actually pressing on a sore spot. The bit of tension a pleasant feeling.

“I’m not too sure the best way to go, Anthy… Hope y’don’ mind leading the blind an’ showing me where we’re going.” He waited for affirmation before continuing forward, letting her lead her whatever way she went.

“So are you an’ your pa’ pretty close then?” The question seemed a little out of the blue, probably, but Matt’s father was never one to bake. They became close through sports, hunting, fishing, and other such things. He figured that if a dad wanted to bond with his daughter, cookin’ was probably a pretty good way, though it seemed more like a mother’s place.

[Anthy Blacksmith]

When he joked about the Vermont wind blowing the river away and turning it into snow, Anthy chuckled a little. He really didn't like the cold, did he? She kind of wondered where he was from now, but didn't think they were quite friends long enough for her to ask and it not make things awkward. Almost as awkward as him trying to fit her backpack when the strap was a little too small. Hopefully it wasn't cutting off circulation or anything like that. He didn't seem too uncomfortable.

"That, and cookies make the world a better place." She added when Matt commented about how it cookies were the best kind of thing someone could learn.

When he commented about not being sure of the best way to get to the kitchen, Anthy smiled and picked up the pace a little to tell him without actually telling him that she would lead the way. Anyways, he was speaking up again soon enough so it would have to be enough as the topic he had brought up had been a bit of a tricky one.

"Well... We're close... but not at the same time. I mean, he loves me, and I love him, but.... But we didn't really get to know each other as well as some people know their parents, and then there's the fact that he... he didn't really have much to say when someone came to take me away... He sends me those ingredients to bake with though." She told him with a small smile.

"What about you? Are you close with your parents?" She asked, trying to move the spotlight onto him and off of herself.

[Matt Davis]

“Cookies do make the world a better place don’t they? Can’t think a’ anyone who denies the splendor of cookies. Aside from my aunt Renee. Diabetic.”

Matt smiled to himself when Anthy started to pick up the pace a little. It didn’t take much for him to keep pace, being that he was walking slower than normal originally. As Anthy spoke about her father Matt listened intently. He was a little confused to what she had said. It sounded like she had a picture of what a father and daughter should be. In fairness, Matt had no idea what they should be.

What truly concerned Matt the most, though, was the concept that her father didn’t have much to say. Didn’t have much to say on the matter? That was… strange. How could her dad not have much to say with his child being taken? Let alone Anthy… Matt could take care of himself, he hoped. Anthy was just so… Small and sweet. When the question was diverted expertly to Matt, he took to it with an almost nervous smile.

“Well, yeah I guess. As close as most, y’know. My Pa and I worked a lot together. He was kinda a hardass, but I had a few years where I was a bit of a loser an’ just cared about friends and m’circle… He didn’ let me keep that long.” His smile remained as he thought back to the time his dad and he had to fix a post and secure a fence. When they finished, Burt started actin’ crazy and broke the one beside of it. That chore ended up taking them into the night.

“The Homestead came ‘fore my own social life an’ such, so… The work an’ him was all I had a lot of the time. An’ my ma is an angel. So.. Yeah, I love her to death.” His face shifted some to a less joyful expression. A wave of homesick washed over his entire body and his hands dug in a little deeper to his pockets.

[Anthy Blacksmith]

She gave him a somewhat sheepish look when, after he had spoke about how he couldn't think of anyone who denied the splendor of cookies, he mentioned his diabetic aunt who was the exception. Alright, so maybe they weren't so good for diabetics and the like.

As Matt went to answering her questions about his closeness with his parents, she was surprised to hear that his father hadn't let him keep his circle of friends. Friends were important to have, weren't they? Yes, she could see family coming first, but to cut them all out? Maybe she was misunderstanding him. Anthy continued to listen as he spoke.

What he described seemed a little lonely. It was nice that he had his father and all, but to just have it be the two of them a lot of the time? When he mentioned his mother and how he loved her to death, Anthy smiled some. It sounded like he had a nice solid family. As she saw his expression shift though, she bit her lip for a moment as she tried to think of something to say.... But she was having trouble coming up with anything. So Anthy ended up just gently placing her hand on his shoulder to try to comfort him, forgetting about his earlier jumpiness right then.

[Matt Davis]

Matt considered some of the last few moments with his father. They were far from what he had just painted: The good that he remembered. Screamin and crying, but not on his father’s part of course. He was a hard man, devoid of tears or any signs of weakness. They were just Matt’s and his mothers. Pats on the back and the laughs they shared were pushed aside and the barks of disappointment took their place. Would they ever return? If Hammel could find a way to get rid of his powers… he’d be welcomed home again. Matt was sure of it. If they couldn’t, though? If he was just stuck mutated… Could he work on the farm again? Could he ride by the fields, or fix fences, or cook supper with his mother? Maybe there would only be screaming and disappointment…

When Matt felt a new hand on his back he lifted his head up. It wasn’t the pat on the back of his father, and it didn’t have the pressure to really do anything, but he still felt the gentle touch. His lips arched. First one side into a small smirk, and then the other followed as he let out a single laugh.

“You’re so small.” He laughed a little louder and reached over, setting his hand onto hers on his shoulder. “Thanks though… Just sorta miss it, y’know? Can’t wait to get back t’it.”

[Anthy Blacksmith]

It had only been after Anthy had put her hand on his shoulder, that she had remembered about the incident in his room earlier. But he drowned out the worries that threatened to rise up, when he smiled instead of cringing or moving away. Really, it was a big relief. And she ended up smiling too before blushing a little when he laughed, then commented on how small she was and laughed louder after that.

"Maybe a little." She replied.

His hand came up, moving to be over hers and then he went to thanking her before explaining that he was homesick, even if not in those exact words.

"I... I can understand that. I mean, I really miss my old school. Well, the school before last, that is. I used to live there all semester and I've known most of everyone attending it for a good part of my life. It was like I had a whole school of sisters in a way." She told him while slipping her hand naturally from his shoulder and out from under his as letting it linger too long would be potentially awkward.

"I might have found out that they didn't feel the way I thought they did about me, but it was nice while it lasted. I guess I'm more of time-sick than home-sick. If I could go back to four years ago..."

She shook her head then smiled.

"But then again, if things hadn't ended up the way they had, I wouldn't be here, and I wouldn't have met the people I have. I've made friends here. Real friends, rather than people who'd just drop me like I never even mattered to them the way they matter to me."

That.... had been less than cheery. Actually, it had turned a little dark. Anthy shook her head again before smiling and giving a soft gasp.

"Ooh! We're almost there. I can't wait to get those ingredients so we can get those cookies done." She said in a cheery tone, distracting herself and thinking about nicer things.

[Matt Davis]

While it may have been a less cheery topic for Anthy, for some reason Matt needed to hear it as well. He understood the concept of being time-sick. If he went home right now, his friends would look at him like a creature and his family would be on eggshells. Aside from his dad, who would just be cracking them with both feet.

It was possibly the biggest highlight of all of this, and it made the small list of positives when it came to his powers. If he wasn’t a mutant freak… He wouldn’t have met the sweetest other mutant freak out there. His smile only grew wider when she spoke about friends dropping her like she was last seasons weather almanac.

“I betchya those friends you worry about miss you more than y’think Anthy. You’re one to leave an impression, and I bet not many people could drop ya… You’re like a little chick. Warm, Yellow haired, small, and made t’be heartmeltin’. People don’t drop chicks.” He said it with a small nod before his smile faded away. “... That...didn’t make a lick of sense, did it? Still, I’d bet the next batch of ingrediants that your friends miss ya.”

Mmmm...Cookies. Matt’s face beamed bright as he turned forward. “Yeah! You have enough dry ingrediants to make us fat, don’tchya? I don’ wanna skimp on the cookies.”

[Anthy Blacksmith]

When he commented about her friends worrying about her and missing her more than she might have thought, Anthy wasn't so sure. She really wasn't. He was distracting her from thinking about it too much at that second, as he went on to comparing her to a chick, which made her giggle a little as she imagined herself chick-sized and in a feathery little yellow outfit. When he told her that he bet the next batch of ingrediants that her friends missed her, she bit her lip a little.

She giggled a little at his enthusiasm for the cookies though, wondering to herself how many they might make. On one hand... cookies. But on the other, they had to make sure not to take too much so not to inconvenience anyone were they to need eggs and margarine.

"It's... It's okay, Matt." She found herself saying.

Well, she needed to clarify what she was talking about now, didn't she? Or she would just confuse him.

"The girls that used to be my friends? It's okay... Sure it still stings a little, but they weren't ever really my friends if something like social class made them stop answering my calls and not having anything to do with me. I'd rather be friends with people who are being real, rather than people who are just friends with me because they feel like I'm on the same level as them." She told him, giving him a bit of a smile.

They were entering the kitchen now and she looked around before going to the fridge and beginning to search for the things they would need.

"So how many cookies should be baked?" She asked in a more cheery manner.

[Matt Davis]

Matt listened to her explain the situation with her friends and he nodded while she spoke. It made sense… tiers and such. He himself had been on multiple tiers in his career at school. Fortunately though he was at the higher rung as far as popularity and ability for the majority of his time. Unfortunately, like Goliath, the ones sanding the highest fall the furthest. That landing hurt and the sores were still all over his ass.

Her cheeriness seemed to push all of that away and he smiled again. He even laughed to himself when he considered what sort of emotional whiplash he was feeling from the shift in moods. It’s like he wanted to be sad, but Anthy would have -none- of that. It was a good way to be.

“I’d say...all of them.” Matt nodded. “We should make all of the cookies. Then we should eat’m all… Though if we aint going with ‘all’ and you need an actual measurement? I’d say at least… like… a bucket full.” He smirked down to her, knowing that he’d be difficult… though he really, really wanted some sweets.

[Anthy Blacksmith]

Her eyes widened in playful surprise when Matt said that bit about making all of them, and she stood straight and looked at him.

"All of them?" She chuckled during the small gap in his speech out before bending again to grab up a carton of eggs out of the few there were.

Oh she hoped that she didn't put too much of a dent in there. She grabbed two sticks of margarine as well even as Matt continued on with saying he would at least say a bucket full.

"Well, maybe a bucket. I think we could make about seventy with a full carton... That'd last us for a while, but I don't think we should eat them in one sitting. We'd explode." She said jokingly.

"How about half, then we might have about thirty five or thirty six and if we split that down the middle, we'd have eighteen each."

[Matt Davis]

“If cookies is one of the best words in the world… Half has to be one of the worst…” He smirked while moving beside of her to look at where she was plucking the ingredients out of. He nodded, committing it to memory before taking in a deep breath.

He let out a loud, exaggerated sigh. “I guess I could go off of eighteen...Eighteen large cookies, though… But still you should take the ingredients so that we can make’m whenever we want, yeah?”

He sat down against the counted while she gathered the rest of the stuff. “See any chocolate chips…? An’ you said we were gonna make some Peanut-butter chocolate chip, right? Man...I bet that’d be good…” He tilted his head while watching her move about. “What else do you make? Like… main courses an’ such?”

[Anthy Blacksmith]

She giggled when he made that comment about half being the worst things in the world and was about to tell him that they could make the whole batch if he wanted to, but he was speaking up again, telling her that he guessed eighteen would be good enough as long as they were large. When he mentioned that she should take the ingredients though, she spoke up.

"I was tempted to, but I don't want to put too much of a dent into the stash here. There's a chaaance that they might not miss a half a carton of eggs, but I'm pretty sure they'd miss a whole one." She told him in amused tones.

"Oh! Of course! The chocolate chips!" She exclaimed, though without raising her voice too loud.

Placing the egg carton and the stick of margarine on the counter, she tapped the side of her chin as she tried to remember where she had seen the chocolate chips before.

"Oh, I make a few things here and there. Like spaghetti, and tuna casserole, baked chicken, holiday turkey, burgers." She replied to his question about main courses she could make.

Anthy moved over to one of the counters that had the cabinets above it and seeing how she wasn't exactly the tallest person in the world. she pulled herself up into a kneel onto the edge of it so she could reach the top of the cabinet as that was where the chocolate had been as far as she remembered. Grabbing the bag that she could reach, she closed the cabinet up again but as she was about to get down, one of her knees slipped causing her to lose her balance.

[Matt Davis]

“Well that’s fair… don’t want to deprive noone else. Aint sure how often they restock up in here, either…An’ everyone uses eggs, so.. Tha’s a good call.” When she exclaimed about the chocolate chips he grinned brightly. He was glad he brought that up. He’d be upset if he didn’t get is peanut-swirl-cookies.

“Mmm… That all sounds so good. I can make some nice barbeque chicken y’bake, you know… an’ you may be able to make a mean Anthy burger… But I betchya I can out grill a patty.” He smiled confidently. “We should make somethin’ ‘sides cookies sometimes, y’think?”

Matt watched her as she moved to the counter. His smile shifted into a smirk as the little thing clamoured up. Matt could’ve reached all of these shelves, but she was probably just used to grabbing things herself. He stepped closer to her and watched to see if she could reach it easily. He’d pluck them out if she had any issues. Surprisingly she was able to snatch them up, and they were right where she had planned! It was a good plan, until the fall of course.

Matt had always had good reflexes. His sport of choice had fine tuned them specifically for catching things too. When she started to fall it kicked in. He jerked forward and reached under her catching her before she could fall. One hand had slipped under the bend of the knee that had slipped, while the other grabbed at her back. When he had a hold of her he lifted her against his chest, almost as if he was tucking her in tight.