Titles are for squares [p r i v a t e--To Skye]

Matthew Pierce

Matt grinned at the waitress who came to take his order. He requested the Blackened Chipotle Chicken sandwich with an extra side of fries. The fries here were Matt's favorite, so even though the sandwiches all came with fries, he always ordered extra. When a girl sat down at the same table and greeted him, he smiled at her. She was beautiful. But Matt wasn't a forward person with that kind of thing. Instead he just replied to her greeting the best he could. "Hello. So, do ya come here often?" he joked, wiggling his eyebrows and flashing a lopsided grin. He cleared his throat and chuckled at his own humor. "Take that as an actual question and not a pick-up line. Anyways... The name's Matthew, but I go by Matt," he said, reaching his hand across the long table as a friendly, though slightly inconvenient considering how long the table was, gesture. Deciding that it would be too far for her to reach, he pulled his hand back and dismiss the gesture. "Pretend you didn't see that," he requested. He could almost hear Ms. Opal rolling her eyes at him and his insanity.

Matt chuckled and smiled at the girl when she played along, which made him feel a little less awkward. "Jennifer...nice name. But I don't think I'll call you Jen. Jennifer is prettier, it suits you better," he said, flashing an innocent grin. "Stop flirting with her, it's going to get you into some kind of trouble," Ms. Opal chimed in his head. Matt glanced down at the small ball of brown fur curled up beside him. He saw one turquoise eye peak open and dart up at him before closing again. 'I'm not flirting, I'm just making a point,' he insisted through their empathy link. He patted her head, which earned him a smack on the wrist from her paw. Matt laughed and leaned back in the booth. "So Jennifer, tell me... What's your take on Greek Gods?" he asked, arching an eyebrow. He received another smack from Ms. Opal's paw after he let the question slip out. "What's the matter with you?! You're going to get into trouble!" she scolded. Matt turned to the cat and frowned. 'What? It's an innocent question! Mortals know about the Greek gods, they just believe them to be mythological. If she's a mortal, then she'll just be confused. No harm done. If she's not then I'll have made a new friend!' he explained. Ms. Opal was now staring at him directly. Her tail swished with agitation. "Or She could be a monster that's trying to lure you in and you just made it worse. Have you ever even seen her around camp?" she asked. Matt frowned. 'Well...no, but that doesn't mean anything. She could b-' Ms. Opal interrupted him and let out a soft hiss. "It means everything! A demigod her age wouldn't be still out. And a Huntress wouldn't be without her Hunters! What else is there?" Matt turned away from Ms. Opal in defeat, but hoped that she was wrong. Matt, despite being liked by most of the people in camp, did not have close friends. He had friendly people, but no one to actually enjoy being around for long amounts of time. No one but Ms. Opal the cat, and she was more like a motherly figure than a friend.

Matt nodded his head. A vague answer, which could mean a few things. That was actually true and she was mortal, or she was a demigod trying to keep cool and collected. Matt decided to hope for the latter and leaned forward. "I personally believe that the Greek gods are out there somewhere. In fact, I believe it so much that I go to this Camp that's very very big on Greek traditions and mythology," he said. Ms. Opal sat up at his words, silently urging him to turn back now while he was only slightly behind. "Don't do it...don't do it," she scolded. Matt ignored her and flashed a grin. He waited until the waitress who had now brought their food to walk away. She seemed perplexed by how deep in conversation they were, but didn't say anything about it. Matt took a small bite of one of his fries before he continued. "I don't know if you've heard of it or not... It's outside the city. Called Camp Half-Blood," he said. Matt's gaze locked with hers as he awaited her reaction. Worst case scenario: She'd think he was weird because she really is just a mortal and his chances of a new friend are blown. Best case scenario: She's a demigod, they become best friends and live happily ever after. Matt personally liked those odds so much that he ignored Ms. Opal screaming at him in his head. His gaze remained steady, even as he took a bite of another fry. He was determined to get an answer out of this girl, because she certainly seemed like something different.

Matt grinned proudly. He could hear Ms. Opal mumbling about how it could have been dangerous or it might have been risky, but lately Matthew was in to taking those chances. Matt took a bite of his fries and noticed that she was extremely lacking in fries while he had plenty, due to the fact that he ordered extra. He pushed the fries out towards her and offered a friendly grin before he spoke. "Khione is mine. Snow and ice and all that jazz," he said, wiggling his fingers around for dramatic effect and to simply be silly. The waitress walked up to the table and smiled, glancing between the two of them. "Is everything going okay?" she asked in that perky, happy waitress voice. Matt glanced up at the girl who was dressed like she was from the 50's for this old-time diner and flashed a smile. "Everything is going wonderfully for me, Jennifer?" he asked, looking over at who he hoped was a new friend. He could almost hear Ms. Opal rolling her eyes, showing that she was obviously still irritated with him for being so careless, but Matt didn't care. Nothing happened.

Matt grinned at Jennifer. He gave a nod of his head after he felt the strength of the gust of wind. "Not bad, not bad. It seems like you're having the same problem I was, though. Do you mind if I make a suggestion?" he asked. Matt arched an eyebrow and examined her a moment. However, he did not wait for a response. He reached out and gently placed his hand over hers. "I learned this while I was doing the same concept with snow. I kept having all of these problems with how tense I was getting. I learned that being tense weakens the strength of your attack," he said. Matt guided her hand with his. He gently spread her fingers apart a bit more and rubbed tiny circles on the back of her hand to relax her a bit. "So concentrate, but don't tense up. Tensing up takes some of your concentration away from your hand and your powers. Just relax, and now go," he said in a gentle tone. Ms. Opal rolled her eyes and smacked him in the leg with her paw, but Matt ignored her. He wanted to help Jennifer to strengthen her powers. And if guiding her hand was what it took, then so be it.

Matthew grinned and gave her hand a gentle squeeze of congratulations. "Hey, good job! I'd show you my snowy abilities, but I have a feeling if snow started falling in the middle of a diner people would notice," he said, flashing a grin. Matt was still gently caressing her hand with his thumb. It wasn't until Ms. Opal pointed it out that he even noticed. "You're still holding her hand you know."
'What?'
"Her hand. You're still holding it."
Matt looked down at their now intertwined fingers and blushed a deep shade of scarlet. He cleared his throat and gently released her hand. He shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "Smooth," Ms. Opal said with mild amusement. Matt scowled at the cat and took a sheepish bite of his french fry. After snapping himself out of his embarrassment, Matthew sat up in his seat. He saw that people were still looking around and trying to figure out where that wind came from. Matt gently nudged Jennifer in the shoulder. "Maybe we should go," he said. Matt pulled out his wallet and placed a $20 bill on the table. That would be enough to pay for his bill, her bill and a large tip for allowing the cat into the restaurant. Matthew rose from his seat and bent down to tie his shoe. While he pulled the loop through the laced strings he looked up at Jennifer with a wide grin. "If you're interested I have this great place that I think you'd like a lot. You up for a trip?" he asked, straightening up and smoothing out his clothing. Ms. Opal jumped from the booth and looked up at Matthew. "You're taking her to the meadow, aren't you?" the cat asked. Matt grinned down at his companion and gave a big nod.

Matt smiled at Jennifer. He gently took both her hands and lead her out of the diner. He walked backwards out of the building, making sure to glance back over his shoulder a few times. His eyes glistened with wonder as he spoke. He looked like a small child that found fascination in everything, which was a quality lost on most people. "There's this meadow that I love to go to. It's in the woods surrounding camp. It's secluded and I always play about with my snow abilities there. I was thinking that maybe with your wind we could make ourselves a little snow storm. Maybe build a snow man, have some winter fun, grab a cup of hot chocolate afterwards. You know. The usual kind of hang out," he said with a shrug of his shoulders. Matthew watched Jennifer's face for reactions. He could hear Ms. Opal grumbling about how childish he was, but he ignored her and waited with growing anticipation for Jennifer's response. This girl seemed..well amazing. He couldn't explain the fascination he had with her, but he was enthralled. It was like she was this beautiful sculpture and he was just a little boy wanting to be an artist that could make something so wondrously amazing. He clasped her hands in his and gave them a squeeze. "So what do you say?" he asked, flashing a wide, happy grin at his new friend.

Matt's expression brightened instantly at her acceptance of his invitation. For one reason or another, he felt his heart flutter inside of his broad chest. He squeezed her hands and smiled. "Really?" he questioned in a hopeful tone. It was as if he couldn't believe she agreed. With an excited flourish, Matt released her hands and scampered out of the diner. He put his fingers to his lips and whistled for a cab. A few moments later, a yellow cab pulled up to the side of the road. Matt opened the door and turned to face Jennifer. He flashed her a happy grin and gestured to the open seat of the cab with a smooth motion of his arm. "After you, m'lady."
The cab ride wasn't a long one, but it seemed long. Time seemed to stand still. But perhaps that was because Matt was entranced by the features of Jennifer's face. He registered that she was talking, and he knew he gave some sort of response, but he was just to hypnotized by her he couldn't pull his mind away. He was in a trance. He was in a state of catatonic hypnosis where the only thing he could focus on was her. The way her lips formed words, the sound of her voice, the way her eyes lit up when she talked. It was amazing how someone you just met could have you totally and completely enthralled. Matt opened his mouth to compliment her. To tell her how wonderfully the light reflected in her eyes. Or how her hair was like a river of golden curls. But he was interrupted by a harsh voice. "That'll be $29.75.." the voice said. Matt was forcefully pulled back to reality. He turned his stunned expression to the impatient looking driver. "Didn't you hear me buddy? $29.75," the scruffy man repeated. Matt registered what he was referring to. "Oh! Right.." he said as he rummaged through his pocket. He pulled out a twenty and a ten and placed it in the man's hands. "Keep the quarter," Matt said. The man grumbled his thanks and Matt rolled his eyes. Ms. Opal hopped out of the car first and Matt soon followed. He offered Jennifer a hand to help her out of the vehicle. "I'm surprised you didn't start drooling in there," Ms. Opal commented. Matt's cheeks flushed slightly and he glared at the feline. 'Shut up,' he retorted dumbly.

Matt grinned when she took his hand. His heart seemed to soar with happiness. He gave her hand a light squeeze and didn't notice when the cab driver said a rude comment before driving off. Matt heard the screeching of tires and it drew him out of his daze. "Uhh..Oh! We're here!" he said. He turned to see tall, towering trees. They were dark and they loomed over the grass below. "It's not a long walk from here," Matt turned to look at Jennifer and he smiled, "So let's go!"
The forest was very peaceful. Birds chirped from high in the trees and streams of sunlight barely peaked through the canopy of leaves. Moss grew on almost every open surface, so the surrounding world was green. It was like they stepped in to some enchanted movie. The forest seemed to have that awe-inspiring, calming effect, which is why Matt loved it so much.
Matt stopped at a curtain of leaves. He turned to Jennifer, whose hand he was still holding, and smiled warmly at her. "The place I am about to show you is somewhere special. I have never taken another person here before... The only other living thing that knows about this clearing is my cat, Ms. Opal," Matt gestured down to the Main Coon before he continued, "So I guess you're pretty special," he finished. He then moved aside the leaves. The light from the sun was blinding at firs,t but as Matt's eyes adjusted he saw the clearing he loved so dearly. The grass was tall and would brush the tops of your ankle bone. It looked soft and inviting and was bright green in color. Delicate white flowers spotted the grass in patches. Gnarled trees loomed around the clearing and created a frame of sorts. Matt smiled and stepped inside. The sun was bright in the open space, as the trees were not blocking it anymore. He turned to Jennifer and gestured around him with a sweeping motion of his arm. "What do you think?"

Matthew grinned, happy to see her approval of his favorite place. The calm breeze, the fresh smell, the warm sun streaming through the tops of the trees. It was a simply beautiful place. It was far away from the city, far away from camp. Isolation was a wonderful thing sometimes, and this was just the place to get it. "I come here all the time. Me and Opal sometimes just to play around in the snow," he explained. As he spoke, gray clouds began to billow around the top of the trees. Flakes of snow began to fall around them all. Matthew smiled and turned to Jennifer. "So, what do you say we try and make our old snow storm? My snow, your wind? We could build snow men, have a snow ball fight, you know, winter fun!" he said with an enthusiastic grin. Matthew waved his hand and more snow began to fall. It had left a light dusting on the ground. Mrs. Opal rolled her eyes and curled into a ball of a bed of moss. Matthew smiled at her before he reached out and took Jennifer's hand. "Come on, let's get to that snow storm!" she said enthusiastically.