Guitar 101 (Anthy)

[Anthy Blacksmith]

He seemed to see the logic in her leaving some of the eggs behind, even telling her that it was a good call seeing how everyone used eggs and neither of them knew how often there was a restocking. Yes, even with how long she had been sneaking into the kitchen for, she didn't really know when exactly they stocked up on everything. But then again, she didn't make the kitchen sneaking a daily habit either, so there was that. Now she did wonder when that happened. Maybe during class hours? Yeah, that was pretty likely.

Anthy giggled some when, after commenting on how he could make some nice barbeque chicken, Matt went on to commenting about her burgers and how he pet he could out-grill her. He had commented on how they should bake something besides cookies sometime but Anthy hadn't answered just yet as she had been reaching for the chips right after and didn't want to talk in that straining stretch voice some people got when reaching for something and talking at the same time.

She didn't get the chance to properly answer, as she was having her moment of clumsiness soon after. Oh she was going to land right on her butt and the bag was going to somehow bust open and get all over the place, wasn't it? Silly thought to have in mid-fall but it did cross her mind. What she met though, wasn't a cool hard floor and the chocolate chips didn't end up everywhere. No, she found herself being caught rather quickly.

He was stronger than he looked. Not that she had consciously measured how strong he might be. She was just surprised that he managed to catch her so easily. Anthy was frozen for a moment out of surprise, her eyes a bit wide and her clutching the bag for a second. She looked up at him before a redness came to her face.

"Th-thanks." She stammered out softly.

[Matt Davis]

Matt’s face had been straight and worried at first, but after a few moments of looking over the girl in his arms it softened some. She looked okay. Nothing twisted or hurt besides maybe a little pride. He sighed out, easing his body slightly. Anthy could almost feel the relaxation wash over him as the clenched muscles relaxed and the tenseness faded away.

When she looked up to him with those big old eyes and the meek little stuttered thanks, he softened even more. He took note of the redness on her cheeks, and for the first time in a while, a redness painted his own. There was something strange about holding her that he wasn’t particularly used to. It felt nice, and enjoyably warm compared to how damned cold Vermont had been the last few days.

“Well...Yeah, of course. I aint gonna let you fall now, am I?” He laughed out while still smirking down to her. He considered saying a cheesy one liner. They were coming pretty quickly. ‘Making cookies made you fall for me?’ or maybe the classic ‘Did it hurt when you fell from heaven?’ line, but for some reason they simply muddled together and confused him more.

“I guess it makes us a bit even, hmm? Y’saved my tabs an’ I gotchya… y’know?” Another shy smile crossed over him and he shrugged, which caused her to lift a bit. 

[Anthy Blacksmith]

He seemed to relax a little but as he looked at her, a redness touched his cheeks which in turn made her blush a bit more in shy embarrassment. She could feel an almost awkwardness building but at the same time it had been nice of him to catch her like that. She was doing it again. Biting her lip. It was a wonder she still had a lip at all with how often she did this. But it was a response to how she was feeling right then. Especially when he commented about how he wouldn't let her fall.

By the time he was commenting about them being even now that he had made up for her saving his tabs that first time the met, little dots of glowing surfaced on her skin kind of like freckles. At first they were like pinpricks but then they grew slightly until they were small speckles. Anthy didn't even notice it this time like she usually noticed the glowing, seeing how it blended in with the warmth of her blush so well.

"Well... you... you made friends with me... so... so that kind of evened us out already." She told him shyly.

[Matt Davis]

Matt continued to look over the girl while still holding her tight against him. He let out another nervous laugh, his version of biting his lip, when he saw her take it between her teeth. She was always cute, but she actually looked really...pretty in here, and in his arms. She was practically glowing.

She had a nice, gentle sheen to that blush that made her skin seem smoother and brighter. Almost angelic. He couldn’t help but appreciate how she looked, or how she felt in his arms. Soft...hell she even smelled good. And that glow… Wait… it was an actual glow.

Matt watched her as the glow started to build up and the blush on him suddenly rose to an all new level. He cleared his throat and moved closer to the counter, setting her bottom down on it before he moved away.

“We-Well, I’m glad...you know, you’re okay. Next time… I can reach up and grab’m for ya...iffin you want.” He took a few steps back to sit against the counter and his eyes darted about looking over some of the other ingredients available.

“So...We, umm… We got everything we need?” He asked before collecting the eggs, margarine, and tossing the small decorative backpack over his shoulder.

[Anthy Blacksmith]

He was suddenly clearing his throat and moving on to quickly putting her down on the counter before he was moving away. It wasn't until then, that she realised the little specks of heat that were mixed in with the normal warmth and she looked down a bit, feeling bad that she had made him uncomfortable again with her lack of control. She'd been told that she should have control over her power, and not the other way around. She wished it was that easy. When Lucas had said it, it seemed like he thought it was... But she didn't have control over it. It had a mind of it's own most of the time.

"Sorry." Anthy said softly even if it wasn't a reply to his comment about reaching the chips for her next time or an answer to his question about if they had everything they needed.

He seemed to be trying to move past what had happened, and not make a big deal out of it... But she still didn't like making him feel uncomfortable like that.

"Yeah, I think that's everything." She added after a moment, getting down from the counter.

Luckily, the glowing had stopped by this point.

[Matt Davis]

Matt looked back to her and was pleased to see that the radiant glow had faded away. With all but the chips collected he moved closer to her again and offered a smile. His cheeks hadn’t paled just yet giving the smile a nervous feel.

“Alright then! Let’s go… I migh just eat the raw eggs if it takes too long for us to get these cookies made up.” He motioned for her to come before making his way to the exit. As always he held the door open for her.

He thought back to the little glow on her cheeks. It was pleasant, and while it was only for a moment Matt didn’t feel...much of anything from it. He hadn’t been shocked or burned. Though… She may have been? Matt looked over his shoulder to her and slowed his pace so that they could walk closer together and he peered over her face where he saw the light emit. He looked for any signs of pain or burns, or anything at all that may have been left after the incident.

[Anthy Blacksmith]

He might have managed to look at her again, but the apology hadn't been accepted. Actually, it was like she hadn't even said it at all. He smiled though. With that slight flush in his cheeks still. Anthy took it as embarrassment, seeing how she was probably still blushing a little from it herself.

As he went to commenting about how if they didn't make the cookies in time he might eat the eggs raw, Anthy smiled a little and nodded even if she was a bit distracted with her thoughts.

"We... we wouldn't want that." She replied, trying to get back to where she had been.

"Thank you" She said when he opened the door like he had been doing so far.

Though, she was a little silent as they walked out and on the way to the culinary room. While they were walking though, she couldn't help but the way he seemed to be looking at her, and she turned her face so she could look at him more directly.

"It's... It' not doing it again, am I? I usually can feel when it's coming on but I didn't last time so..."

But he would have likely made more space between them if she had been, wouldn't he? He wasn't like Koty, who was super accepting and calm about everything. He wasn't like Lucas who seemed to get so excited about her glowing with how much he liked it. He wasn't like Piper, who had seemed to think it was pretty cool. Matt wasn't like anyone she'd known, as he was the first and only one to have ever been afraid of her or uncomfortable with her. Even if he was being nice about it.

Was that it? Was he being nice when he said that part about next time and about her not losing him as a friend? Anthy tried not to think about it. Instead, she just shyly looked away again.

[Matt Davis]

As always matt gave a small smile and a tight nod whenever someone thanked him for holding the door. It was always his pleasure, and a natural habit to both open a door and respond with the same nod.

Matt was able to get a better look at her when she turned her attention to him and he continued to scan where the light had been a few minutes prior. When he noticed her eyes, and that she was looking at him rather than towards him, he offered her a small smile.

“Nah, you look great... It’s just-... I’m wonderin’ if it hurts? Y’said you can...feel it, yeah? Is it painful?” He was still walking an arm length away and kept at the pace as they moved toward the classrooms. “I mean… are you alright? Y’mentioned it could burn you some time, so...”

His mind was racing as they marched together. Had he handled that alright? He didn’t run… well, not far. He didn’t drop her like his instinct would’ve had him do. There were certain parts of Matt that simply wanted to leave and go on his way, but a more powerful part of him felt like that wouldn’t be fair to Anthy. She was in a similar boat to Matt. She didn’t seem to want this, and she didn’t have a good handle on it. Her life seemed to be just as difficult as his, and in truth if he had a friend who would stay with him even when his powers acted up, he’d feel a lot better.

[Anthy Blacksmith]

She gave a modest smile when he told her that she looked great. Then listened as he continued. When he asked her on if it was painful, and mentioned that she had spoken about how it could burn her sometimes, she wondered if that was what made her so jumpy around her when she glowed. If he might have thought she might accidentally burn him or something. She didn't have fire powers. Thank god. She would hate to have something so dangerous and with her lack of control on top of that.

He was walking at a distance from her, she noticed that even if she didn't bring attention to it. It made her earlier concerns replay in her mind even if she refused to show it on the outside. Instead, she just smiled softly and shook her head.

"I'm okay... It... it doesn't hurt unless it gets too bright for too long, or I flash too intensely... Not every time I flash though. Like, when I sneeze or something, that flash that comes with it doesn't burn me. It just tires me out if it happens too many times or I haven't gotten enough light before it happened." She told him, even if she spoke a bit more softly than before.

[Matt Davis]

Matt took a few more steps closer to her as she spoke in her soft voice. He leaned his head in some so that he could hear and nodded when he grasped what she said. Well, most of what she said. What was that about sneezing? When she sneezed she ‘flashed’ and it made her tired? Matt blinked and looked over her, a small smirk actually spread across his lips. He could imagine her sneezing and her pulsing brightly like some sort of lightning bug. It was freaky, but the idea of it was sort of adorable.

“So...What does it feel like?” Matt wasn’t a big fan of asking about these kind of mutations or really...talking to mutants at all. Matt made a decision that he would look beyond what issues Anthy had, however. If he was going to...deal with it or put up with it, he should know how to handle it.

Matt found himself staring at her again as they walked. He was focusing on her skin, wondering what exactly...made her glow. He figured that his own mutation was based off of some stupidly wired brain or something. Where was the light coming from? Was her skin… thinner? He looked carefully as they walked, trusting Anthy’s movements and mirroring them. If he wasn’t too careful, and if Anthy was a slightly worse person, he would probably have walked right into a pole if she moved near one.

He almost jumped out of reflex when he saw the building housing the classrooms. He opened the door to the main building before taking a few steps ahead. He lead her through and towards the culinary room, in case she wasn’t aware of where it was.

When inside Matt moved to the stobe and leaned against it, watching Anthy move about the room.

“Alright. So… Lead me through your steps… Y’do some sorta magic dance ‘r somethin’ to prepare the room f’r it?”

[Anthy Blacksmith]

She was a little surprised when he asked her what it felt like. What did which part feel like? The flashing like a strobe-light? The glowing? She didn't want to make him too uncomfortable by over-talking when he obviously was having some trouble. But at the same time she didn't want him to feel like she was with-holding things on purpose too. Not that this was some kind of interrogation or anything like that. No, not at all.

"Well, I feel this heat building up, and it's different than the usual kind of heat that the body gives off. It's more like...."

She thought for a moment, trying to figure out the best way to describe it.

"You know how it feels when the sun comes down on you during the summer? It's... It's kind of like that, but from the inside. More in the areas that are glowing, than the rest of the body though." She finished, thinking that that might be a decent answer.

As they got to the building, she smiled and looked around once they made their way in. Anthy followed him as he led the way to the culinary room, still managing to stay beside him, but him having a slight lead. Once they got there, Matt was speaking again.

"Oh, I usually take out all of the things I'll be needing. In this case, I'll be needing two mixing bowls, and three cookie sheets. Most people use a mixer but I'm kind of old fashioned and mix the batter up with a fork."

[Matt Davis]

Matt considered what she said about her powers in relative silence for a while. It wasn’t until he pushed his tuckus off of the stove and started to move about the culinary room that he’d bring it up again.

“Okay… Mixing bowls, cookie sheets, and a fork… Why do you do it with a fork?” He knew where most of those things were. He used cookie sheets for his chicken and pizza rolls, and once when he was -really- hungry he filled up an entire mixing bowl of Captain Crunch. His mouth felt ripped up for a week, but it was a day he’d gladly repeat. He grabbed two of the mixing bowls off of one of the cupboard and sat them down beside of her.

“So… does it feel good? And are-... Are the burns you said you felt, are they like…. internal burns?” He took off of the backpack and started to unload it’s contents next to each other on the large island near the stove.

[Anthy Blacksmith]

He was moving, collecting the different things she had verbally listed off for him. But it wasn't in silence. No, he was asking her about why she preferred the fork. He was setting the bowls beside her while going on to getting the other things. That was nice of him, to get the tools and such she needed. Anthy didn't usually get help, seeing how she usually was doing this alone.

She was about to tell him the answer, but remained silent as he was speaking up again. It looked like he wasn't going to try to avoid it. Her powers, that was. It seemed he was ready to talk about it right now. She would take his lead. Well, Anthy usually took someone else's lead so it wouldn't be anything out of the ordinary.

"I'm usually too nervous or shy or embarrassed or..... well... panicked... to really think on if it feels good or not. I don't want it to happen, so I guess I never wondered, you know? But..."

She made a soft hmm sound as she thought over his question.

"I've had someone else tell me it felt nice before, the warmth that is. But I was all kinds of nervous and I was scared of burning him or something and I just wanted to find a way to stop him from touching me so I wouldn't glow any brighter, so I couldn't take the time to feel if the warmth was as nice as he said it was."

Not the best answer, but it wasn't like she ever let herself light up to see how nice and cuddly it felt either.

"The burns are on the outside, where the light collects at. The light might come from deeper in, but it makes it's way to the surface. I get hot, but most of the heat collects at the skin and it's different layers." Anthy added even as she went to helping set everything up.

She collected the chocolate chips and opened them up before pouring them into one of the mixing bowls.

"Do you like your cookies extra chippy?"

[Matt Davis]

Matt moved about the culinary room picking up the fork and the cookie sheets before setting them there for her to work. When it was collected he moved to a closet off to the side and started looking over the aprons, trying to find one that wouldn’t look too bad or girly on him, and one that was short enough for his co-cookie-creator. When she started to answer the questions he looked over his shoulder to her and listened.

Nerves, shyness, and embarrassment set her off? That explained the freckled glow that she had when he caught her. That was a pretty embarrassing situation to be in, even if it was actually pretty pleasant for him. When she mentioned ‘I never want it to happen, y’know?’ he stuck his head from behind the door and gave her a quick nod before finding one. Solid dark green and tall. He threw the wraps around him and tied it behind his back while listening.

At first, it didn’t seem too out of place… Even her saying she was nervous wasn’t anything to take note of. She was always nervous. That was shot to hell though, when she said that she wanted him to stop touching her. He tried to break down what she said...maybe he didn’t understand. No...No that didn’t sound like he misunderstood it. Matt’s attention was sort of diverted as he thought about it, and as he contemplated this strange development, he missed some of what she was saying about the burns.

Should he...ask? It sounded… it sounded like she had been… the big R’d. Matt shifted some and peered at the sweet little girl as she started to work and continued to talk. That was… a sore subject. One that you didn’t bring up until she did. Though, she did bring it up. Wait! What if she had a boyfriend… He hadn’t even asked her that yet. Dunce. Though… even if she had a boyfriend, he shouldn’t touch her to a point that she has to ‘find a way to stop him’. Anthy was so sweet and… meek and… she shied away. Like a puppy about to smack her. Or a guy… He’d seen a few girls who acted -sort- of like that. They were seldom as happy and tender as her, though…

By now Matt had just been staring at the girl from the closet. Finally he shook his head and broke his own thoughts, coming to the conclusion. This needed to be addressed… as did something about chippiness?

“Wha-...Oh.. Umm… Yeah, sure. Moderately chippy… Whatever you think is best.” He plucked one of the aprons out, it wasn’t perfect but he was a little distracted now. He moved over to Anthy and offered it to her, holding up the strap to help put it on her if she wanted.

“So...Umm, you said… Do ya mind if I ask somethin’... personal?” He looked over her a little nervously. It only grew more nervous when she tilted her head to the side and gave permission.

“What….uh… wha’ was that y’said about…. tryin’ to get someone to...stop touchin’ ya, Anthy?” And with that, the can of awkwardness may have been opened.

[Anthy Blacksmith]

Moderately chippy. Got it. Anthy hadn't even thought about grabbing aprons, having gotten used to going without, but as she saw Matt wearing one now, she felt a little silly that she hadn't done the same. Still, it wasn't like she got it all over her or anything. She was almost like a cookie professional by this point, she thought jokingly.

Then, she realised she had forgotten to answer his question about the fork. Anthy was about to tell him the answer, but he was already speaking after offering an apron to her. So, she remained silent as she went to accepting the apron and putting it on. Her head tipped a bit to the side out of curiosity when he asked her if he could ask her something personal. Something personal? Maybe he wanted to know more about her family or something?

"Um... sure, you can ask me." She replied.

He looked a little nervous. Alright, he had already looked a little nervous before, but now he looked more like it. And she was starting to get a little concerned.

“What….uh… wha’ was that y’said about…. tryin’ to get someone to...stop touchin’ ya, Anthy?”

Oh, that. Anthy didn't really know how that was personal... Unless he felt like he was butting in with it having happened between her and another person and he hadn't been involved. maybe he felt like he was snooping in on her or something.

"Oh.. Well..."

She flushed a little as she relived the memory a little and found herself feeling those feelings again. Anthy went to pouring in the powders as she bought a moment to calm down.

"I... I don't think he really meant it. I mean, we did talk about comfort zones and how we didn't know each other well and all but I started glowing when we started talking about kissing and stuff. He really seems to like that and went to grabbing me before I could say anything. And I started feeling more shy, but I didn't really want to do anything to hurt his feelings, but at the same time I didn't want to burn him either so I was trying to think of what to say or do. I've never been that close to someone I've known for less than a day and all, so you can imagine how nervous I felt." She said, beginning on the next mixing bowl.

She always made sure the dry ingredients were all set up before adding the moist ones.

"I... I get really shy about a lot of touching when it comes to people I haven't quite gotten comfortable with in a friendship... but when he went to touching my cheek, I started getting brighter and told him that I really didn't want to burn him. Lucas stopped touching me this time, so I think he's getting better at it. And once he let go, and I managed to calm down enough, I dimmed back to normal." She added.