To Kill A Mockingbird

Chapter 1: The Setup

And the night is takin' over

And the moonlight gets exposure

And the players have been chosen

And it seems like fate has spoken

"Matt?"

"Adeline?"

He reached out a hand and she shook it lightly, their connection lasting for mare seconds.

"Have a sit." He offered after they exchanges a quick 'hi', while the server that appeared a second before reached for the chair to help her. "It's nice to meet you."

"Thank you." She said quietly to the boy who she assumed looked much younger than he really was and turned back to Matt. "It's nice to meet you too."

"Hope you like Italian." He asked and the corner of his lips turned up in a small smile.

"I love Italian." Adeline smirked in return.

He sensed her nervousness literally a mile away while she was still in a taxi parked on the other side of the street. Her heart-rate was rather fast and she couldn't find what to do with her hands. He anticipated that their date was a surprise for her as well as for him. Matt could honestly admit that the idea of not going did cross his mind but as he smelled her scent he was glad that he decided against it.

It was her perfume. Very faint: she must have put it on in the morning before work and it drained off but the base of the aroma was still there. It was eastern but not vividly: notes of rose and violet intervened with wet wood and raspberry leading to one more part of the scent Matt could not exactly put yet. He felt intrigued. He was usually good with smells...very good. The woman wearing that kind of perfume had to be at least interesting judging solely by her choice of perfume.

He listened to heels creating a little rhyme on the polished wooden floor of the restaurant. Her hair was dark but with lighter highlights as the ringlets reached just below her shoulders. She did bite her lips once or twice a she was calculating his appearance. A moment later she stopped all the commotion. Her heart raced and he could only imagine what riot was taking place in her mind. It wasn't hard to guess: apparently she wasn't notified that she was having a dinner with a blind guy. Smooth, Foggy.

It was certainly an amusing moment of hesitation. If Matt had to bat: he'd probably put a fifty on her sprinting back to the cab on her 200$ heels right that second. He was glad he wasn't a gambler because next moment Adeline Ames called his name in her velvet-like voice.

"Anything to drink, Ma'am?"

"I wouldn't mind a glass of wine. Red."

"And for you, Sir?"

"The same, please. Thank you."

"I'll be back with your drinks in a minute and will take your order."

As the server left Adeline took a moment to take a better look at her companion: dark red hair, strong jaw line, a flat nose that seemed to have been subjected to more than one injury. He was wearing a grayish suit and black tie which was normal every day attire for him if he was a lawyer.

"For a minute there I thought you'd turn around and escape." Matt interrupted her train of thought.

Adeline cocked her head slightly to look at him at another angle, then asked softly:

"Are you sure you are blind?"

Matt grinned.

"Most of the time."

"Though they do say that blind people tent to "see" more than the once who actually have sight."

Matt was about to offer his input when the server came back with two very tall glasses of red wine that engulfed his senses with the deep aroma of wooden barrels, cade and blueberry.

The lawyer turned back to his date after they ordered:

"Misto del Mare, huh? So you decided to stick around."

Adeline grinned, appreciating his joke about the indication that her dish was one of the most time-demanding in the kitchen.

"Well, I am starving and it's not every day that a handsome man wine and dine me in Italian restaurant."

"I find it hard to believe." Though by the beating of her pulse he knew it was the truth.

"Flattery, huh? It will get you nowhere but...keep going." She smirked and neared the wine glass to her nose to inhale the aroma.

"And what's the verdict?"

"Blueberry is very distinctive." The young woman answered after a second. "Something coniferous...and there's something else..."

"Touch of cherry." Matt probed. "But other than that, you're absolutely right. Wine lover?"

"I used to live in Canada. Wine-making there is a part of life. Dozens of vineyards in some regions. I even worked in one for a short period of time. Those people know how to make a good wine." Adeline took a sip, holding the liquor in her mouth before gulping.

As she was talking about Canada and wine Matt felt her heart-beat slow into a comfortable tempo and as the beverage made it's way down her throat she made a content sound that reminded him of a cat purring though it was much quieter and less on the "r" side.

"What about you, Matt?" She asked finally, dancing out of her alcohol-taste induced trance. "Touch of cherry? You sound like someone in a know."

"It comes with some specific features of mine." He chuckled. "Smell and taste are slightly high-lightened."

She didn't respond but felt like she should have guessed. Adeline has never encountered anyone blind before so she wan't sure where were the boundaries of the interaction.

Second set of glasses filled with red wine followed not long after the first one.

"Foggy said you're working law too?"

By the leap that her heart gave , he realized that the subject wasn't welcomed:

"On the other hand, it is such a nice night. Let's not ruin it with work talking."

"I agree. And Foggy?"

"My friend. He and your friend Amy set whole thing up."

"I thought his name was Nel or something..." Adeline's eyebrow went up.

"Nel?..." Then Matt produced a throaty laugh. "Probably from Nelson."

"Right...nicknames everywhere." The young woman nodded. "What's yours?"

"It's not exactly innovative. I used to hear Shades from time to time."

"Yeah, feels like there's a void of creativity to it." Adeline grinned and fingered her left earring.

"What about you?"

"I don't really have one."

"I don't think you're telling the whole truth." Matt smirked smoothing his tie.

"Well, look at that, Mr Lawyer. Fine, I'll rephrase: I used to have one back at the University."

"Let's hear it." He edged.

"Ehhh...Mockingbird." She let out.

"It's better than Shades, I'll give you that."

They shared a laugh at that and Matt asked:

"But really why Mockingbird?"

"We had those role plays quiet often when we played out cases in court. I bet you had those too if you were in law school.."

"Sure, Columbia is famous for their Court theatre or whatever they call it."

"Right, so a lot of time I used this trick: I took the opposite side's strategy as a base and when they got mixed up in their own evidence base I used it against them. And once Jamie Kent called me a Mockingbird who after hearing a sound uses it even louder as it's own."

"This one story for a nickname! Not just "You're wearing glasses, now you'll be called Shades."

"Yeah, though as far as I know Jamie Kent works as a salesperson in Walmart after being kicked out for cheating after a third year."

"You know, as far as I know, my "Jamie Kent" didn't end up well off too."

"Cheers." Adeline proposed, raising a glass. "To those haters."

"Gladly." Matt raised his own glass. "Cheers."

"Is Matt short for Matthew?"

"It is. Why?"

"Oh nothing..." Her cheeks heated up ever so lightly. "When I was a kid I was crazy for names. Genesis, meanings. Stuff like that. So I guess I still subconsciously filter through that prism."

"Now I just have to hear it." Matt leaned a little closer as if ready to learn a secret she was about to share.

"Have I trapped myself?" After receiving a nod from him she went on. "O-ok, let's see. Matthew is Hebrew, meaning "Gift of God". In Bible he was the apostle to write the first..."

"Gospel, yeah." He finished.

Adeline looked at her companion a little surprised then smiled:

"Were you a fan of names too or is it religious?"

"I can't say I was a fan." Matt affirmed. "Though talking to you know I realize just how much I missed out."

She inclined her head a bit as her melodic laughter filled the air in their microcosm. He had no other choice but to join in.

"I think we're not really good at this: I believe we broke all the rules there ever existed." Adeline said taking her glass in her hand.

"Which are?" Matt asked, mirroring her action.

"How does it go? Hmm...Never talk about work, religion and ex-partners on a first date."

"Well, we can discuss the ex thing to certainly make sure the rules fly out of the window."

The brunette smiled lightly biting on her lower lip and raised her gaze to her date. The moment she did it she remembered that he wouldn't look back at her, there won't be a moment when he'll catch her eyes across the table and she'd feel that pleasant tingling from just locking their eyes. Suddenly and every bit unexpectedly (Adeline blamed it whole heartedly on the wine) the young ADA felt that thought ricochet a little spike in her chest.

So she just hummed a little smile and took one more sip of her drink.

It was almost 10p.m. when they left the restaurant. One small conversation fell into another and then another one. Filled with laughter and grinning both almost didn't realize that they spent together close to three hours.

"Careful." Matt held Adeline's elbow before she had a chance to trip on the step she's missed while buttoning her coat.

She looked at her date, her blue eyes wide:

"How..."

"The cane." He answered softly.

She was looking intently at him, right at his shades but all she could really see was her own reflection. Finally she half-whispered. "Sure."

The cab was parked in front of the entrance. Matt opened the door for Adeline but before she could get in, he called her, only a cab door separating them:

"What does Adeline mean?"

She smiled but answered right away.

"Noble. It means Noble."

"Hmm. No surprise at all."

Though Adeline's lips parted to say something Matt held out a hand to help her in the car. She took it and before getting in squeezed it lightly:

"I...I had a wonderful time, Matt."

"More reason to do it again."

The redhead closed the cab door and the car started the same second, leaving him behind on the street smelling strays and bits of her perfume. He still couldn't guess the one ingredient of the scent that intrigued him the most when they met.

A\N:

Hey, guys! Just wanted to say Thank you to everyone who's reviewed and who's reading.

The first chapter's up! Tell me what you think about the structure: is it easy enough to read? One more, what did you think of Matt's POV? Should I add it frequently? What do you say?

Leave me a line or two!

Good time of day to you, sweeties xo

RoadwayFox