Backdated Log: Matt & Hope go rollerskating

[x-daredevil.livejournal.com]

Concerned about Hope, Matt tries to take her out to have some fun. There is some moderate success, even if she doesn't open up to him.



Matt heard a lot around school. It was hard for him not to with his powers, outside of his room and a few other places, the school wasn't sound proofed. That said, he also intentionally did not comment on what he overheard. Mostly because it wasn't all that interesting to him and he wasn't much for gossip. So much of what he heard was processed as 'filler noise' that he instantly forgot it upon hearing it anyways. Except that it was hard not to notice something off with Hope and everyone's concern for her, too. And it seemed to be getting worse, not better. Therefore, Matt felt he should at least try to cheer her up even if he couldn't solve her problems.

Finding Hope in the library after classes wasn't a problem and Matt sat down not even trying to be sneaky or quiet. "Yo, Hope," he stated, grinning like the Cheshire cat. "C'mon, I got something for you," he had worked hard to pull this off, too, trying to find the right balance of 'fun' and 'ladylike,' but he figured if nuns could do it in their habits, then Hope could do it in her skirts. And it wasn't like he could look up them.

"Um..." Hope looked up from her math homework, confusion shining in her eyes. "What do you mean, Matt? Something to do? I have my math and quite a bit of other homework that I need to finish..."

"Yeah, that can wait," Matt stated. His was waiting, too in his room. "This is more important."

"I also still need to practice my violin and calligraphy. I am sorry, but I really do not have the time." Hope protested, twirling her pen nervously in her fingers.

"All the more reason to make time," Matt countered. He had a counseling session later, too. He understood being busy. "This won't take long, but it's imperative you come!" He took her hand and tugged lightly.

"Alright. I will come briefly." Hope still had no idea what Matt was planning, but she started to pack up her math homework, tucking it neatly in her tote bag. "Should I bring my bag to my room or can I take it with me?"

Matt considered that for a moment,"You can bring it," he allowed. She didn't need it, but stopping by her room would give her more opportunity to back out. "You'll like this, really," he assured her. He couldn't see Hope's expression, but he assumed it was fairly dubious.

Hope's face only became more confused and baffled as Matt guided her outside. "Matt, I am really not sure what we are doing here. Where are we going? The weather is not quite nice enough to study out side or something like that."

Taking her to the garage, he grinned, " Roller skating," he announced pulling a bunch of pairs out. He hadn't been roller skating in years.

She had been trying to figure out what Matt was planning and she had considered many options and discarded them, but this was one that never crossed her mind. "Roller skating?" Disbelief could be easily heard in her voice. "We are going roller skating?"

What was a little self respect to get her smiling? "Yup. Find your size," Matt sat down on the concrete and pulled his sneakers off, hands running lightly over the boots so he had a clearer idea of how to put them on. "I promise not to look up your skirt when you put them on."

"Matt, I really cannot. I have far too much to do something like this. I need to practice..." And if she fell and hurt her hands, it would cause problems because she could not progress fast enough with her violin, embroidery and calligraphy... And that would mean more phone calls and lectures... and...

"No," Matt's voice was firm. "You need to spend a few minutes relaxing. And what could be funnier than me on roller skates?"

"I really can't... It's not proper... nothing a lady would do!" Hope voice trailed of a little, knowing Matt would not really understand that part."

"You can and you will. If nuns can skate in their habits then you can, too," that seemed like a very reasonable argument to him.

"Matt..." Hope fell silent as she registered what he said. "Nuns in habits? What are you talking about?"

"Catholic nuns," Matt clarified. "They sometimes roller skate. Go bowling too. If they can, you can," he'd been in the church youth group for a while, though that was years ago.

"So because nuns roller skate sometimes, I also should roller skate now?" Hope was still blinking. First the sudden roller skates, now nuns? "But it's still not for a lady."

"Well....yeah," okay, this wasn't quite going how Matt had planned. "I don't mean join roller derby or anything like that. But out front on the driveway is okay. I just thought that anything a nun did would be okay for a lady like you," he laced his skates up as he explained, determined that they would do this, "and you just seem really depressed and stuff. So I want you to have some fun. I'm not talking all day or anything, but....a few minutes. The responsibilities and all that will still be there when you're done."

Hope truly paused at that. He was trying to be her friend... Trying to do something nice for her... And he had even taken the trouble to come up with something that he thought what a lady could do. And a true lady didn't just focus on her mind or studies, but she also cared about her friends. And that was even more important.

So she carefully put her bag the side and looked through the skates, trying to find a pair that matched her size. When she had found a pair, she took them over the bench, quickly starting to pull them. Luckily she had worn boots today, with socks and not the flats with hose she often favored. "I have never done this before, Matt." She confessed rather shyly.

"It's not that hard," Matt assured her, "I've been years ago, but not very much. They'd take us when I was in the group home and I'd get pulled around usually. You just need a little balance," he stood carefully, "I've never done it alone, though. I mean, without someone helping."

"I can certainly give it a try." Hope tightened the laces till they felt comfortably, but securely. Leaning against the wall, carefully she stood up, attempting to find her balance. "This feels very strange... A little like ice skating? But not quite..."

"Yeah, sorta," Matt agreed, offering her his arm. They could lean on each other. "Having the wheels two and two they're a little more stable at least," he'd been ice skating, too and that had never gone all that well for him. He was so happy that she was doing this though!

Hope hesitantly let go from the wall, not quite sure how to move her feet, but she carefully made over her way to Matt. "I am sorry if I end up falling over you or pull you down." She grabbed his arm tightly, trying not to put her weight on him, but still using him to keep her balance.

"Ditto," Matt agreed, inching forward slowly. The good news was that he didn't really need a sighted guide anymore. The bad news was that he didn't really know how to skate. It took him a little bit, but he started to get used to it and slowly he shifted so that he was holding Hope's hand, but that she wasn't quite clutching him more.

Slowly she started to figure out how to move her feet and still holding Matt's hand for balance, they started to make their way down the drive way. "It still feels very strange... it's a lot rougher "

"Yeah," Matt was staring down at the ground not to see anything, but to direct the sound waves from his voice to better see the ground with his sonar. "Well...it's kinda fun." His skate hit a rock unexpectedly and he lost his balance, falling into the grass next to the driveway with a surprised yelp.

Suddenly Hope felt a sharp tug on her arm and she was also careening in the direction of the grass. "Whoa." Luckily the glass was fairly soft when she caught herself on her hands. "I sincerely hope this was not part of your plan." Hope said, turning to look at Matt. A small giggle escaped as she registered the expression on Matt's face, though she tried to muffle it behind her hand. "Are you alright?"

"I meant to do that!" Matt announced in a voice that was overly cheerful as he began to try to get up. "I'm fine though, you?" it wasn't a bad fall or anything, they hadn't been going very fast. He smiled though, pleased at the giggle. "See, that was why we came out. You need to laugh more."

Hope giggled again a little as she tried to stand up again, but she fell back into the soft grass. "This is not quite working as it is supposed to." Hope said as she tried to stand up yet again, this time trying to keep her skirt back in place.

If you were going to have a problem like this where someone might see up your skirt, it was good to do it around a blind guy. "Here," he unfolded his cane from his pocket and once it was locked, he offered her his hand, using his cane for extra balance. It was titanium, it could handle it. "That help?" He liked that she was smiling. He couldn't see it, but Matt could hear it in her voice and laugh.

Hope gratefully accepted his hand and let herself be pulled to her feet. "Yes, that helps. Thank you, Matt." She wavered for a few moments on her skates before she let go and found her own balance.

Smiling, Matt suspected that he looked absolutely ridiculous. That was part of the point though. Sacrificing his self respect for Hope to smile was okay. "Wanna give it a try then? Back to the garage?"

"We can do that." Hope nodded. Hesitantly she started to move again, but apparently she was getting the hang of it. At least she wobbled a lot less and she didn't feel like she could topple over every moment.

"You're smiling," Matt informed her. "Therefore, mission accomplished."

"Thank you, Matt. Roller skating is an... interesting activity..." Hope said as soon as they had reached the garage. She hesitantly made her way over to the bench and sat down, frowning a little at the tight knot her laces had become.

"It's kinda fun," Matt agreed. He didn't know if he'd do it again, being up off the ground without his cane was a very disconcerting thing even without the rest of his powers, but it was just something different to adapt to, nothing he couldn't manage. "You wanna talk about what's bothering you then and keeping you super stressed? Because we haven't been visited by ghosts or anything recently."

The smile quickly faded from Hope's face. "I just have many demands on my time, Matt. That is all." She explained very briefly. "I have been quite busy."

Ah. Well. Awkward moment. Did he call her lie or let it ride? "True, they keep us pretty busy here with school and powers training and stuff," Matt paused from taking his skates off before he made a knot of the laces, "I have enhanced senses, Hope," he finally pointed out mildly, "I know you're lying, but...okay. Just know that I don't mind listening or trying to help make it better if I can."

"It's... complicated." Hope explained. "I have also been trying to master some new hobbies and my mother suggested I might wish to broaden my other skills further. I doubt I have the time to master everything properly though."

That was tough. "I never had a mom, but when my dad made suggestions, they were just that. I got to make up my own mind and if I didn't like something, then I quit so long as it wasn't school or something like that. And mastering stuff takes time. Took me months to relearn how to read and I already knew how!" Matt paused, "Don't over work yourself is my point. You gotta enjoy what you do."

"The things I learn are valuable." Hope simply replied. "I just need to be careful in planning so I can cover everything."

"Well, sure. I wasn't trying to imply that they weren't," Matt got his skates unlaced and off, then reached for his sneakers, "But over stressing yourself doesn't do any good either."

"You have made a good point. I will be careful. Thank you for doing this, Matt. It was a very interesting experience." Hope wanted to try to feel the slightly giddy feeling for just a while longer and talking about her mother and her demands on her time were topics that made it disappear rapidly.

Matt smiled, "Anytime, Hope," he smiled getting to his feet and offering her a hand up. Matt at least tried to be a gentleman around her. She was a lady after all. He checked the time on his watch. Almost time for counseling. "Have a good rest of your day!"

Hope accepted Matt's hand with a smile and let herself be helped to her feet. "I certainly hope so. And a good day to you too."