Crossing Wires

Posted on Sat Mar 4th, 2023 @ 11:18 by Phoebe Hunter & Matteo Beneventi

Chapter: Prologue: Dawn of Avalon
Location: New Cresthill
Timeline: Saturday, 3rd October
8264 words - 16.5 OF Standard Post Measure

It was a grey morning, same as so many others this time of year. The early fog had lingered for once, sluggish to lift and still evident in patches over the loch that sat behind Cresthill Academy. Though the school was closed for the weekend, the grounds were being used for Saturday morning sporting events, which somehow only increased the traffic and created as much noise as if it were lunch break on a weekday. Matt had ridden past just before the first kick-off, one of the many deviations in route that he had taken in his efforts to pretty much circumnavigate the town without actually leaving it. Dodging the remains of overnight puddles had seen him weave through crawling traffic still attempting to find suitable parking and he'd aimed, not for the first time, for the centre of town as a potential conclusion to his aimless ride. Indecision was a treacherous beast and he was doing nobody any favours by draining his fuel tank trying to work up the nerve to settle on a course of action.

He was, by now, half an hour late.

Which was to say, had things progressed normally and had he been confident enough that the time arranged earlier in the week was still suitable, he'd have been half an hour overdue for showing up at the district's other school with a spare helmet and intent to drive off up into the mountains some. That had been what they'd organised, and would have been still what Matt intended to follow through on had the last few days not escalated the situation up at Avalon to a point where he wouldn't have blamed anyone for not feeling much like traipsing through the woods. When it had first occurred to him that perhaps this weekend wasn't going to be the best for her, it had taken him half a day to work up the courage to call the number she'd left. And after all that, he'd only been able to speak to a very officious sounding secretary who had assured him she would pass on his message and have "the professor" call him back. He hadn't heard anything.

This morning, when a more urgent sense of wanting to alleviate pressure saw him spontaneously pick up the phone and call again, the same situation had occurred, only this time the indicate was the Phoebe was 'out for the day' according to the calendar. He'd felt a little stupid then, unsure why he would be so surprised at having been forgotten. As much as the other mutant had seemed rare in her capacity to stay fully engaged when he was standing right beside her, there was something inevitable about the fact that recollection had clearly faded. Disappointment hadn't tasted so bitter for a long while but Matt had spent most of a circular bike ride reminding himself that this was just how things were. It wasn't her fault. He'd spent the rest of the ride resisting the urge to drive up to the school anyway. She was busy, Leo wouldn't appreciate it, it probably wouldn't achieve anything other than making things more awkward.

But he wanted to see her again. Had been ridiculously preoccupied by the prospect.

As he pulled back into the main drag, Matt wove his way down a side street that would eventually bring him around to the back of the pub, where he'd been parking his bike in the small shed out back because it at least had a lock on it of sorts. Stopping on the curb, he propped the motorcycle up on its kickstand and reached up to remove his helmet. Despite having tied his hair back at the nape of his neck, wayward curls that had escaped during transit clung to his forehead. He pulled out the hair tie to lean over and shake out the moisture, ruffling hands through the coils to at least make some show of trying to tame it.

As the man bent over the back door of the pub opened and a slightly older gentleman stepped out and looked at Matt. It was that landlord's son who was scheduled that day instead of Matteo.

“It was your bike I heard. I did not think you were going to be back today but it is good that you have come back. There is a lady in the bar that has been asking after you, she looks quite well…. she does not look best pleased and she looks worried and asking after you for the last 20 minutes since we opened.” He was normally quite relaxed and calm but something about the woman in the bar looking so concerned had him on edge.

There were not many women Matt could say he expected to show up in the bar for any reason that involved him, which gave some indication as to who it might be, but even then he wasn't willing to commit to any assurances on the matter. A wary frown became his first response, followed by an attempt to move his bike so that he could secure it. "Let me just do this and I'll be right in."

By the time the vehicle was locked away, and Matt had pushed his way in through the back door, his expectations for the ensuing conversation were no closer to being set. It took only a matter of seconds to recognise who it was, which at least took some of the confusion away from who else it might have been, but only added a layer of his own consternation and concern as well as a healthy dose of guilt. Wasn't she supposed to be busy today? Had his phone call somehow dragged her away from something important? His dark eyes scanned the room, taking note of the mid-morning crowd, and then he stuck his hands in the back pockets of his jeans as he approached without sitting down. "Hey. Everything okay?"

Phoebe had spent 20 minutes waiting outside for the man to show and had grown more more annoyed that she had agreed and practically forced the man into a date with her. Maybe that had been the issue she had forced the subject, even though she had seen several possibilities where he had been as interested in her. Maybe just like Cameron and his weird sense of doom and gloom that followed him, maybe her interest in Matt was a similar reaction to something off with his future but just the opposite of the spectrum.

It was not until she went back into the castle when she had spotted the secretary and had received an offhand comment about all the messages she took for her this week and the fact her calendar was incorrect that she thought to go looking in her pigeonhole. Picking up five messages she frowned, no wonder the secretary had been a bit annoyed she had two from Matt, one from London, one from her adopted father and the fifth from a former teaching colleague who would help to find more history about the castle. But it was the two messages from Matt that piped her interest.

He been interested enough that he had left messages to leave messages. She realised he had rang to check, and when he had got no response he had thought that she was not as interested as she had been. Typical, she turned and practically ran to her room right at the top of the castle, grabbed her car keys.

The drive into town had taken a lot longer than she thought even with the institute being 20 minutes away with the crowd around for the Saturday morning rush. It had taken nearly an hour after their agreed time to get to town by then the pub just opened luckily and she rushed in wanting to speak to Matt. She frowned when she was to be told that he wasn’t there. She wanted a snap back ‘of course he was not there he meant to be mean to me’ but she stopped herself as Matt would eventually turn back up there so she plopped herself down in the corner.

She did it need to wait long as she saw him coming out from behind the bar and sat up a little straighter brushing a strand behind her ear.

“We were meant to meet but I only got your messages an hour ago. I am so sorry. I… it’s been a busy week.” Phoebe said quickly trying to get all her words out before he got the chance to say anymore.

She wasn't angry. That was the first thing Matt processed. At least, she wasn't angry with him which was a relief because he'd spent the last few minutes wondering if he'd called the wrong number, as ludicrous at that seemed. He'd spoken her name, after all, and he didn't think there were too many Phoebe Hunters in this world. None that looked this way when they were sitting on a wealth of pent-up emotion, at least. Without interrupting, Matt followed the explanation as best he could and arrived at a point of only partially understanding what had happened but also just not needing further clarification. She hadn't got his messages, which meant she hadn't realised he was waiting for her to green-light today's outing. They were both late but she was here now, looking not much worse for wear given the week she'd just had.

He smiled and pulled free a placating hand to hold up.

"I know it has, that's why I called. It's also why I didn't want to drive up there and add to the frenzy if things weren't in a good place. I've spoken to Leo on the phone a couple of times, you've all been dealing with a lot."

“Yeah…” Phoebe slowly let out the breath she had been holding and smiled. It was a kind thought and would have been appreciated if she had not been looking forward to the opportunity to get out of the castle and just be her. “So are we good?” She wondered quietly as she looked at him hopefully.

"Of course." Matt studied her for a moment, slowly succumbing to the slight bewilderment that settled once he got over the first hurdle of understanding the series of events and wound up with the revelation that she hadn't forgotten him at all. A week had passed, her days had been full of varying degrees of bullshit, but she'd still woken up that morning expecting to see him. The sudden realisation left him momentarily dumbfounded.

“Still want to go now?” She offered. “Or I can drive us somewhere different and we can just…” she shrugged not at all sure what they would do but she wanted to offer.

"Uh. Yeah." There was a visible point where Matt seemed to shake himself free of his confusion. "Yeah, we can still go, I kept the day free in case I heard back from you." Bending forward, he peered out of the pub's main windows. "And we can take the bike but I went out already this morning and she's kind of cold out there. If you'd rather take the car, we can do that."

“I have a jacket as long as you have a helmet.” She moved from the table to hold up the leather jacket she had with her. It was not quite bike leather but it would protect her well enough if something happened but she had not seen or felt anything that would cause any issues.

"Okay." Matt nodded slowly, processing as best he could the way his Saturday had just taken a full half turn for the second time. "Well, I just locked her up but I can head upstairs for the spare helmet and pull her out again. We might have to stop for fuel." A hunch of his shoulders was followed by a sheepish grin. "I kind of rode in circles all morning trying to take my mind off things."

“I am sorry there was so much misunderstanding this morning.” She said softly putting hand on her arm and squeezed so he could feel it through his own jacket. “I will try and check my pigeon hole better in future.” It had been a simple thing but it had thrown her whole week off enough.

"No harm done." It was impossible to claim any hardship given everything she'd been through, and that was before Matt even tried to take into account a fairly willing acceptance that forgetting him was normal. It wouldn't have been easy to blame her even without extenuating circumstances. He slipped his arm free in such a way as to allow a brief squeeze of her hand, meant as a reassurance, and then turned to climb the stairs leading up to the rooms overhead two at a time.

The helmet, once he re-emerged with his hair tied back properly, was slightly smaller than the one he'd left with his bike in his haste to get inside. He didn't take Leo for rides very often, the kid typically wasn't all that interested in the outdoors, and so there were barely any blemishes on the outer shell as he handed it over and the rapped against it with his knuckles for good measure. "Checked for spiders, should be good to go."

The touch on her hand only confirmed the strange pull he had on her. What was it with her and men who had interesting timelines. It was going to kill her one day she was sure of it. She watched him leave and just shook her head in a daze. “I won’t tell Leo.” She grinned taking the helmet as he returned. “Places like this have lots of spiders like the castle.” It was not something to was enjoying getting used to but it was natural and none of them could hurt her. “Lead the way.” She requested and followed him out to where the bike was locked up.

There was a certain amount of training and experience that went into successfully riding pillion on a motorcycle. When he'd first anticipated the day's events, and their hopes of disappearing up towards the woodlands to escape the urban sprawl, Matt had already realised that they might need to spend a preliminary amount of time making sure Phoebe understood how to keep balance. Having backed out the bike from its shed, he swung his leg over to mount it and then shuffled his own weight until he found a place comfortable enough with room to spare behind. "Hop on. You done this before? It's okay if you haven't," he added in a hurry. "I can walk you through it."

Phoebe nodded and stuffed her head into the helmet and grinned as she pushed the visor up. She hopped over the bike and glanced down as the top toes she was on. The bike was a long bigger than the ones she was used to but the concept was the same and she had been on bikes in worst circumstances. “Sometimes bike taxi’s are the only way to get through traffic in London.” She explained. “Let’s go… I won’t wiggle. Promise.”

It went without saying that there was something initially very distracting about having a pair of arms snaked around his middle. On the few times he'd been riding with Leo, he'd always sat the kid up front, sheltered as best as possible against his brother's bulk. Now, despite the fact that a deviation for fuel didn't really allow them to reach optimal speed, there was something remarkably intimate about another's heat pressed against his back. Pulling into the service station had interrupted the sensation long enough for Matt to chastise himself into getting a grip but the eventual turn onto the road that would lead them upwards towards the hills and endless woodlands that dotted them already had him anticipating the way the bike handled as Phoebe leaned her weight in concert with him. It was an odd way to dance, probably the only way he'd ever be any good at it, but the similarities were there. Despite the chill, and the tendrils of persistent fog, they hit open road without a snag and then there was a chance to open up the throttle. Intuition told him she wasn't a woman who balked at a bit of speed.

It had been such an enjoyable ride so far the red head had been reluctant to let him go and hop off the bike. She argued her way into paying some of the money for the fuel despite his protests. The woman was more stubborn than he was likely used to she decided as they started back onto the road. Phoebe closed her eyes at the sensation of sudden speed and just enjoyed the sensation of it and squeezed him just a little hard to compensate for it. When she opened them again they were moving past the fog into a road dotted with trees that was getting thicker and thicker by the foot.

By many definitions, the combination of misty fog and dense woodlands were a perfect ambience for setting one's nerves on edge. Anyone who had watched any horror movie in existence knew the familiarity of the setting as a portent of bad things to come and Matt had certainly consumed his fair share of the genre over time. But there was a lazy peek of sunshine through the cloud cover and a strong scent of pine and sodden undergrowth that was far too comforting to pose a threat to Matt's way of thinking. After he'd got over the distraction of having someone pressed against him, he'd realised that there was something altogether soothing about a physical reminder that he wasn't alone. He'd originally planned to only go a few miles up the hillside but she had proved such a natural at moving with him and the bike, and the sense of freedom and exhilaration from riding in the first place was so potent, that they had gone half hour before he finally pulled into a small rest area at the start of a marked walking track. Throttling down, he kept the bike upright and waited for her to dismount before easing himself off and flipping down the kickstand.

By the time Phoebe jumped down from the bike she was slightly frozen and had to stomp her feet a couple of times but pulled off the helmet grinning. “That was amazing.” She said happily not having felt that free in a long time. “Are you good?” She asked putting the helmet down for a moment as she righted herself and just took the time to look around.

Pulling free his own helmet revealed a matted mess of curls, mostly managed by the hair-tie but several had escaped to hang in his eyes. Dealing with it by scruffing the tie and pulling it out, Matt hid the excuse to keep his hands busy behind a smile and tried not to look as out of his depths as he felt. The ride had been easy and fluid, a natural synergy that didn't require a lot of thought beyond where he was pointing them. Now that they'd actually arrived, he was forced to confront the reality that he didn't really know what to expect. She'd thrown him, going an entire week and still finding no issue with holding onto their plans. It still worried the mutant that they were now out in a far quieter part of the country and if, for some reason, they got separated and Phoebe became confused as to why she was even there...

Dark eyes studied her face for signs of vagueness.

"Yeah, I'm great." Turning, he glanced around the small area. "I can, uh, probably leave the bike here if you want to explore some. Or we can just sit here. Or..." What? His entire plan had revolved around maybe getting a pretty woman to remember him. Now that he'd seemed to manage that, Matt wasn't entirely sure what she was interested in when it came to their location. From his own recollection, the only stipulation had been somewhere quieter.

Phoebe watched him watching her and grinned at him. “We can explore and keep the bike in sight if you want to keep close. Would hate to lose your ride outta of here but I cannot imagined anyone coming up here for a while.” She walked between two trees and turned around. “Unless you are hungry. I brought some snack in my bag for when we get hungry.” It was not much but it was at least something.

"My ride out of here? Are you planning on taking a different route?" Though he aimed for a teasing tone, Matt found himself striving to hide a glimmer of uncertainty. He didn't, after all, know what her mutation involved and couldn't rule out the possibility that traveling with him had been a concession or an attempt to humour him, rather than out of any sort of necessity. Following now that both helmets were tucked against the back wheel where they couldn't drop and roll down any embankments, Matt caught himself rubbing his hands nervously against his thighs a little too late to stop it being obvious. "Completely open to suggestions."

“Our ride. It’s just your bike.” She assured quickly turned around to him from from her looking around. He looked nervous which surprised her a little but she said nothing just watched him intrigued by what was special about him enough. He was handsome but looks alone did not intrigue her. “Come on. Let’s go for a little walk and then we can eat.” She held out a hand to him.

Staring at her hand wasn't going to help shuffle things past the momentary awkwardness, but Matt was immediately taken by how rare that simple gesture was. Very few people in his life had ever reached towards him in such a cognizant, unhindered way. There was something unnerving about Phoebe's ability to retain him, an awareness he wasn't used to mitigating because even Leo had been forced to develop strategies to keep his brother prominent when the older mutant wasn't around to be a physical reminder. Hesitation was brief but palpable, though eventual resolved by the reserved man's consent to take her slender hand in his.

They walked into the trees that way for several minutes before he attempted to chip away at the silence. It wasn't exactly uncomfortable but it felt loaded, which created much the same kind of tension.

"So, any idea what we're actually doing here yet?" His tone, quiet and reflective, nevertheless carried gentle humour. Glancing across at her, he added, "I get the feeling you probably don't usually wander off into the woods with guys you just met."

She could feel the tension but was not exactly sure of why it was there. “No but I do go on dates to try and escape the chaos of the last couple of weeks.” She said climbing up onto a log letting go of his hand. “You are not a serial killer. People know where we both are so I think it is logical to assume it is safe.”

"I guess, if I'm honest, I'm just not used to being this guy." There was something endearing about the fact that he considered himself out of an imagined league, if only because there was nothing about his physical appearance that warranted too much insecurity. He was built like a man who put effort into it, but now seemed somewhat baffled that the effort had worked. Matt stayed where he was, poised to assist if she stumbled, and just gazed up at the perplexing woman who was wrecking merry havoc on his sense of how things were. "Not a complaint, just wondering if I should take out a lottery ticket."

Phoebe glanced down at him putting one foot in front of the other on the log and smiled down at him. “Why ever not?” She wondered softly trying to not tease him too much. “Would it be too forward if I warned you to get used to it? You intrigue me.” She said quietly as she jumped down on the other side and watched his reactions.

"Guess I'm just not usually this lucky."

There was a toying element to the way she navigated the terrain, having already set a pace that warranted a degree of chase, for all it was slightly easier for Matt to nearly step over the log without having to mount it first. Finding himself already tangled in her tail-feathers, the pensive man followed without complaint, though he did take a moment to continue his thoughts. "There's got to be so many things, so many people, out there would give anything to hold your attention for even a few minutes. I guess you could say I got kind of used to those guys beating me to it, that's all."

Phoebe chuckled slightly and stopped allowing him to catch up. “Well sometimes people just pop up to surprise.” She said not at all hinting if it was him or her or both. But in her head it was starting to sound like he was just as surprised by her appearance in his life as she was his. “Well… I don’t just do any of this.” She said with a shrug.

"This?"

It wasn't that Matt was a stupid man. His formal education had an interesting track record, and there were certain areas where it could be valid to suggest that he was more a product of self-exploration and experience than academic fortitude. He knew enough to get by, had plenty of intelligence left for plugging the gaps elsewhere, but this intentional pursuit of understanding wasn't the result of being slow on the uptake. He just didn't want to assume anything, didn't want to try to guess at things he had limited experience with. Most of his encounters of a semi-romantic nature were fleeting by nature, a natural preservation of sanity on his part because it was hard enough cultivating relationships with the people in his life who belonged there. Trying to date someone who could forget him in the blink of an eye had heartache written all over it. Phoebe was proving different but he didn't understand why. Understanding her motivation seemed important.

“Go in a random date in a random place.” The woman explained. “It is not something I am prone to do. You intrigue me and I cannot for the life of me figure out why but I wanna find out why.” It was simple in her mind. She did not date often as it was hard to date when you could see how the future went.

A moment of silence was promptly followed by a low chuckle. "I can deal with being a random fascination, I think." He couldn't say for sure, being wholly inexperienced with the concept, but though there was still plenty of time to realise this entire situation was unwise, Matt didn't feel compelled to resist. Not right away. Quite apart from anything else, he didn't know what being someone's personal intrigue actually consisted of. More scrutiny than he was used to probably, which would be a problem for another day if he had anything to say in regards to his current mood.

“Good.” Well at least that was decided.

Pushing aside a branch to duck beneath it, Matt paused to hold it for Phoebe and then fell back into step beside her. "So, how are things? I mean, it's been a hell of a week. I wanted to ride up and see if I could help but I figured it wouldn't really be appreciated by at least one 13-year-old."

Phoebe just smiled and wrapped an arm through the man’s and nodded as they escaped the branches and came out in a circle of trees. It felt almost magical in the forest. “Hell of a week indeed. But classes have started and it has been nice to have some routine.” She admitted keeping it light. He was still a guardian of one of her students. He needed to see the place almost as positive as she felt about it all.

One of things about being a mutant guardian of a fellow mutant was that situations like the current upheaval were as much directed at you as the kid and, though Matt had been tempted by a sense of responsibility to remove Leo and go into hiding, he'd known almost immediately that it wouldn't have worked. His brother wanted to learn, needed kids his own age and a proper education to help focus that amazing mind of his, and there was no where that Matt could take him that would escape prejudice forever. He smiled faintly at the upbeat attitude Phoebe's response intended to instil but wasn't entirely fooled by it. "Been a long week of wondering whether I could have done anything to help. I don't know that I'd have been any use but being this close and not even trying doesn't sit right. I, uh, you know, if anything happens in future and you think I can pitch in..." He wasn't a hero, not like this group of hers. Technically speaking, his entire strategy was to hide but that didn't sit right. Not when it was kids being targeted.

“There was nothing you or anyone else could have done. It was out of all of ours control but if there is a way for you to help in the future I will certainly let you know.” Phoebe was sure that there would never be a need for him to get involved and allowed her new worlds to stay separate but sometimes things shifted. “The future is unwritten a lot of the time.”

It was an odd statement, since Matt operated as most of the populace did under the assumption that most of the future was unwritten, but he didn't comment. Instead, instilled with an element of boldness from her assurances, he slid the arm linked with hers around her back to settle at her waist. It was meant as a comfort, a gentle squeeze to acknowledge what she'd been through, but it became altogether too easy to just leave it there as they wandered on.

"You probably came up here to forget about it," he conceded after a moment, "I'm sure you've had enough of trying to explain things to worried parents."

“I do not have a lot of dealing with parents but let me assure this one. We are doing all can to find out what is going on.” That was all anyone could expect at that stage of the situation. It was frustrating but it was a situation that was bigger than anyone expected or foreseen. “If anything changes I will let you know.”

It was easier then to just walk in silence for a bit, revelling in the fact that she hadn't tried to escape his comfort, even if it did feel a little presumptuous now that he'd locked himself into it. Several more fallen logs eventually separated them, Matt jumping up first as they approached to then reach down and offer Phoebe both hands. "So, why history?" He'd been wracking his brains for a better topic, one that didn't just keep circling around a traumatic experience he wasn't a huge fan of forcing her to rehash over and over again.

“Always loved the subject and thought studying history would turned me into an archaeologist or something super heroic but I took a turn into teaching and well pardoning my pun the rest is his…” her foot slipped as she pulled herself up and she fell back on her butt on the log. “Tory…” she finished and laughed. “It was going to happen. Let’s just sit here for a moment.”

An attempt to catch her had only made Matt wobble himself as his foot found the same patch of damp lichen. Moving carefully to her other side, he eased himself down until his legs hung over the edge of the fallen trunk and leaned his weight back on his hands. "It's not as if you're at the end of your career," he pointed out. "Still plenty of time to go out and dig around in the dirt if you really wanted." Craning his head around, Matt added, "Plenty of it around here, we should have brought you a shovel."

“Next time.” She grinned wiggling her feet to check for any injuries but there was nothing. “I know. I have a friend who is an archaeologist and it makes me really jealous all the adventures he has had.” Tom was the kind of person who made everyone jealous. He got a lot of the universe's luck.

Another conversational cul-de-sac, because unlike her friend, Matt didn't have a lot he could add to a conversation about archaeology. When he'd been a young kid, an invariable fascination with dinosaurs had lead him to believe he'd be a palaeontologist for all of the first grade but that seemed a long time ago now. "So any particular period in history spark your interest more than others?" Perhaps he could opt for learning something from her instead.

“I love the medieval period.” She admitted thoughtfully. There was many reasons for her love of different time periods but living in a castle had stirred up her love for a certain period again. “I find the dynamics interesting between countries but also love how a lot of the buildings are still usable and liveable. I thought it was the Tudors period until I started living in a castle. What about you?” Everyone had a favourite part of history in her experience.

"Uh." Had he ever really paid attention in any history class? How many had he actually attended? So much of his high school education had felt like it had fallen into the category of 'when am I ever going to need this?' and, subsequently, Matteo had never really tried all that hard. He wasn't proud of it now, even less so in the presence of a clearly educated woman who was likely to discover fairly quickly that he hadn't even really finished mandatory schooling properly. Unable to meet her eyes, he settled on flicking a piece of damp bark onto the track below and hunched a shoulder. "Is dinosaurs an acceptable answer?"

The woman glanced at him as he looked everywhere but at her. She was not sure what had change properly but hand touched his before he spoke up. “Dinosaurs? Completely everyone has a favourite dinosaur and as an adult I am sometimes disappointed that people do not ask me more what my favourite is. Personally I love triceratops, annoy it enough and it gives you the horns.” She said lightly and jumped down in front of him.

"Used to be obsessed with them when I was a kid." Caught up in the memory for a moment, because it was something he hadn't thought about for a long time, Matt realised a little late that he'd been left on his own and pushed off to land not far from where she'd wandered. "I guess you could consider that a theme," he admitted quietly. "Could probably tell you twice as much about a bunch of extinct lizards as I could anything to do with humanity's progress over the years." He cast his eyes downwards, watching a trail of ants meander across the track just in front of them. "I remember thinking the Roman Empire was pretty whack."

Phoebe leant over and lifted his chin to look at her. “Extinct lizards are cool and I for one would love to hear you tell me all about it. The Roman Empire was pretty whack but the mythology is amazing. We should visit Hadrians Wall one day.” She said thoughtfully trying to think on how long it would take but it was to much to stare at him and to think on a Road trip.

A rueful smile rewarded her efforts. "I probably would have paid a lot more attention if I'd had a History professor like you." Dark eyes studied her face for a moment before a slight adjustment in his expression sought to correct that sentiment. "Well, I'd have paid attention to something at least." The twitch of his smile threatened to become a fully-fledged grin, at his own expense at least.

“Oh really. Should I be worried for my students?” She laughed and nudged his shoulder with her finger as she pulled back. “You look a lot happier when you smile.” She added looking around the forest.

"Oh, you're definitely going to earn yourself some young admirers," Matt warned, recalling that time of life with far too much clarity to let her off the hook. It was a tease, an attempt to navigate around the observation he wasn't sure what to make of. He looked unhappy otherwise? It had been a long time since anyone had paid close enough attention to him to notice mood shifts. "Well, smiling's a lot easier when there's good reason to." His eyes hadn't left her face, curiosity drinking in the way she immersed herself in her surroundings, so much the polar opposite to him that Matt was starting to fear the emergence of an unbridged chasm. Smart, beautiful, entirely present... If he had a league, she was fast moving out of it.

“I will take the warning to heart.” Phoebe was already reconsidering all her outfit choices for the week now. It was one of the things she prided herself on was organising her clothes for the week so she had no issues with getting ready in the morning. “Will have to keep finding reasons then.” She replied glancing back.

It was a nice sentiment but, even in the face of all current evidence, Matt found it hard to hope that it would stick. There was resistance, no matter how tempted he was to push through it, no matter how baffled he was that he would even consider trying, to the idea that there would be anything beyond this walk in the woods. This wasn't just a mutant thing, plenty of them forgot him. His own brother could get a little vague at times. Unless her powers were somehow conveniently 'inability to forget anything' then it seemed just a matter of time. It weighed on him.

Because this was nice.

"You might want to make sure you enjoy this time first," he joked back, nearly making the tone stick.

Phoebe could have left the joke settle, and ignored the tone under the surface. But she had never been one to ignore an issue. "I am very much enjoying this time. Are you not? Do we need to head back?" She wondered.

"No, no." The hasty response would have stood as such regardless of Matt's actual opinion. He hadn't meant to insinuate though, he just had no basis of reference for how to process her permanent presence, finding it easier to just assume it would eventually dissipate to a more temporary and fleeting fancy. He'd enjoyed those before, though, and at the very least he owed it to Leo not to insult his history professor in the first week. "No," he reiterated, "I'm not... I'm having fun. I'd rather we stayed," came the far softer admission.

The woman's face went through many different reactions to his words as she stepped across the space and touched both hands. "I would rather we stayed too... but only if you are good." She whispered.

"I'm good," came the gentle reassurance, along with the fresh resolve to ensure that it remained the truth. Drawing in a deep breath, Matt accepted the slip of her hands into his and tried to relax his features into a rueful smile that conveyed at least a partial explanation of his nerves. "I just don't do this very often, I think part of me is still back in the bar last week wondering what he did right." His dark eyes studied her features. "And doesn't matter how many ways he tries to look at it, he keeps coming back to the part where he doesn't really think he did anything much."

Phoebe squeezed his hands and smiled. "You did not do anything." She explained softly. "You were just you and you fascinated me." It was as simple as that but maybe that was not enough for him. "My abilities are interested in you and that does not happen often." She tried to explain. It would take time for her to trust anyone outside of the institute to reveal her abilities but a small hint was fair.

It was the second time she'd mentioned being drawn to him through her powers. He'd said he didn't mind being a fascination, and had mostly meant it up to the point where it involved close scrutiny and what felt like the inevitable fear that came from dealing with anyone who could manipulate the mind. Her apparent immunity so far felt too good to be true but there was something about the mutant's own wariness that made Matt wonder if they were more similar than he'd encountered before. At the very least, he recognised the look of trepidation that came from expecting backlash when revealing one's true nature. Despite his own anxiousness, he took the time to study her furtiveness and smiled faintly, one hand extracting itself to lightly draw the back of its index finger across her cheek, shifting a strand of auburn hair in the process. From there, it moved to bop her on the nose.

"Sounds like neither of us know what the hell's going on then." His features relaxed into a grin far more reminiscent of the mischief he'd already demonstrated in small glimpses.

She smiled at him as he shifted the piece of hair that kept annoying her and then bopped her on her nose. Neither might know what was going on but Phoebe at the very least had a certainty in the pit of her stomach that told her he was going to be important and she needed to not let him go even if she was scared. "Nope but I am very much going with the flow." She whispered and leant up pressing her lips to his, taking advantage of the closeness and the attraction between them.

There was a split second where Matt had no response other than stunned acceptance. She had initiated the contact, however, and if there was an area where he felt a little more at ease, it was the realm of physical intimacy. In the past, it had been the only source of connection he'd really pursued, the fleeting moments of pleasure that still reflected degrees of respect and appreciation without the expectation of continued affection. They never remembered him and he had learned to leave whilst they were asleep to avoid the chaos of a morning where finding an unfamiliar man in their bed created issues. This was already different and, from that point of view, Matt had very little idea of how to navigate forward successfully, but he could cup his hand against her cheek and return her kiss with a genuine desire to reciprocate. The other arm settled around her waist, anchoring her with the reassurance that her boldness was something he had no qualms encouraging.

“That was nice.” Phoebe whispered as she pulled back and settled back on her feet instead of on her tip toes. “I liked that and I liked that I made it happen.” She teased just a little.

Several blinks later, Matt smiled. It was an expression that strengthened the more he considered her own, an appreciation for the candour of her honesty coupled with the sheer relentless tenacity of her humour. "Well, I like that you liked it. Stealing credit for it is probably fair enough." There was a slight pause before, "This time, anyway."

The woman smiled and touch his hand on her cheek. “I look forward to it. Come on let’s walk back.” She announced taking his hand that had been on her hip in her own.

The walk back was oddly calmer, at least in terms of Matt's internal monologue, which didn't make a lot of sense given that he definitely had far more to overthink now than when he'd first started. He had reached the point, however, hand-in-hand, where speculation about the future kept reaching the same cul-de-sac before forcing him to turn around and repeat the loop. Far easier, even if it did mean an element of wilful obliviousness, to simply enjoy the moment for its own sake. With that relaxation came elements of silliness; catching her by the elbow when a patch of leaves proved slipperier than first glance might suggest, which lead to the subsequent attempt to pick her up and dangle her over his shoulder under the guise of 'crossing the puddle safely'. It was ridiculous and frivolous but he was laughing, which was a step up from smiling and all the more unusual.

The woman was stunned for a moment as she was flung over his shoulder and he started to walk. She could not see her thing with her hair upside down. “No… put me down!” She cried laughing as her wits came back to her.

It was a short-lived chivalry but it had lightened the mood enough that the wariness behind Matt's eyes had finally consented to budge a little. Returning her to her feet, he held up both hands in immediate supplication. "Just as long as you don't fall on your butt again, your friends are formidable and I'd rather stay on their better side."

“Not them you need to worry about.” She warned him grinning still. That had been a welcome unexpected surprise which she liked. It felt positive. “I am not as meek or as weak as I look.” She added quickly. She was way tougher than she looked.

"Are you threatening me, Ms. Hunter?" As far as goading anyone went, it was a mild attempt thwarted somewhat by the grin Matt wore. He wasn't a fighter, had never really been required to build that into his repertoire. At a pinch, if forced, he might have been able to square up to a drunk patron but other mutants were unlikely to leave him with much chance. To that end, Matt placed his hands on the back of his head, elbows swung outwards, as an expression of both nonchalance and implied retreat. "I don't remember suggesting that you look weak or meek."

“Oh completely threatening.” She assured poking his chest. “Good cause I am very much not that.” It was the one thing she had going for her most of the time that people underestimated her much to their disappointment when they realised. “I am very tough.” She assured stepping away to continue the walk through the forest back to where the bike was.

The hands on his head became outstretched monuments of supplication. "I am not inclined to argue in the slightest." Quite apart from having been broadsided multiple times already by her boldness, the history teacher had just been part of a group that had brought down a massive threat. Even if he'd been inclined to spar in the first place, Matt wouldn't have liked his chances against her. Since she insisted on take the lead, he fell into step with a mind to simply enjoy the unhindered view of her, not entirely an excuse to admire certain attributes but also just an opportunity to reflect and recover his wits.

“Are you hungry?” She he woman wondered thinking on the snacks she had in her bag. It was not much more than crisps and chocolate but it would be something to keep them going after the wander around. It seemed like they had stepped back into real life now that they had appeared by the bike.

"A bit." As they stepped into the clearing, still devoid of other signs of humans, Matt was kicking himself for not thinking ahead and bringing a substantial meal. "Why don't we just jump on the bike and go find a place for lunch? If you have time," he added, realising that the miscommunication had pushed their timeline out of whack. "Might even be able to find something a bit more upmarket than Greggs."

“I have a bit of time.” She said looking at the watch she had on. It was just after 2 so she had three more hours before she was due back which was nice. “Ohh the 2nd Greggs.” She grinned. “Okay… let’s do this then. You have time too right? Not due at the pub or anything?”

"I bet I can find something even better than the second Greggs," Matt laughed, handing her up her helmet before securing his in place. "And yes, I took the day off." He otherwise worked all the time, sometimes pulling extra hours without expectation of overtime. The publican had seemed almost relieved when he wanted to take off for the day. Pushing the bike around, Matt got it up to the road before swinging himself onto it, adjusting his stance before patting the seat behind. "Your chariot, m'lady."