MATTHEW
A week and a half into December, Matthew and Eleni sat side by side in the dance school auditorium. The excitement in the room was a physical thing. Madam P would be announcing the annual ballet any minute now. The other dancers sat clumped together and sounded like a swarm of bees with their incessant and nervous chatter.
"A real ballet," Eleni mumbled next to him, resting her head on his shoulder. "I still can't believe this is happening."
"Believe it." And you and I will be the leads, he willed to himself.
Madam P had started giving them extra instruction in the evenings. Matthew had welcomed it as dancing with Eleni was the one consistently good thing in his days; their relationship remained restrained most of the time, and while Matthew suspected he had seen evidence that his and Adam's ploy was paying off, he wasn't certain. That was not to say that the extra dance-sessions had been all fun: Madam P was rigorous with them and they always came out exhausted. Matthew suspected she was preparing them for the auditions, though she never said as much.
"They didn't do big performances where you studied?" he asked Eleni, focusing again on the conversation. He found it strange that she had never been in a real ballet given her level of ability. She shook her head.
"It's not that. Being a bastard…"
"Ah." He pulled their heads together and rested his forehead on hers. "Their loss," he said quietly.
The buzzing dropped off suddenly as Madam P finally entered and gave her students a stern glance. She surveyed them for a moment before starting. Matthew thought her eyes rested on Eleni a moment longer than everyone else.
"My students. First, I want to express how impressed I am with all of you. You come here because you have discovered a love of dancing. But love alone is not enough for a solid foundation in your passion. It takes dedication, a careful understanding of yourself and your fellow dancers, as well as a desire to maintain the highest level of quality you can achieve. I am proud to say that I see that in all of you here. You are one of the best classes of students I have seen in my lifetime. I look forward to seeing you demonstrate that to our patrons and guests in this year's ballet."
The teacher took a deep breath before continuing.
"And that ballet is to be…Swan Lake."
Matthew was silent with shock. His eyes sought his father, who was looking tense but unsurprised, and Matthew knew Madam P had told the other teachers ahead of time.
The buzz arose again in the auditorium but with an edge of excitement now, and perhaps disbelief. Swan Lake was one of the most difficult ballets; a challenge had been set before them. A challenge that hadn't been set for a generation. The last time Swan Lake had been selected Adam had performed the role of the prince. It was the last role he had ever performed on stage.
Matthew took in a deep breath and glanced down at Eleni. Her eyes were shining.
"Oh, Matthew, what are the chances…?"
"Good, really good!" he said, understanding even though she didn't finish her question. "We're doing this together."
Staring into his eyes, she hesitated, then slowly her face broke out in a smile. It looked almost painful as it blossomed on her face, and her eyes shone with tears, but he knew through the bond that was because she was letting herself hope. He knew in that moment that she never indulged in that feeling. A chill soaked in sadness passed over him, but he grabbed his girlfriend's hand and stood up to shake it off.
"Let's start practicing."
They practiced together the entire afternoon, and Matthew stayed for dinner in the evening, as did Adam. At the table, the older man brought up an issue Matthew hadn't considered.
"Natalya, will there be any objections to Mattie auditioning?" Matthew looked up and there was a spike of alarm from Eleni.
"Why would that be a problem?" he asked. Madam P raised her eyebrows.
"You have technically aged out." Matthew sat with his mouth open for a moment. Recalling himself, he snapped it shut and glanced at Eleni who looked worried as she spoke.
"Would someone keep him from auditioning for that?" Madam P waved her hand.
"I find it hard to believe. Anyway, Matthew doesn't officially graduate from high school until after the auditions. That should be enough to get him in." Matthew nodded.
"I'll be there," he said as he gave Eleni's hand a squeeze to reassure her.
And indeed he was. One of the other dance schools did raise the point of his age, but the fact that he was technically still in high school, as of the audition, proved sufficient as Madam P had supposed.
"So, you're stuck with me," Matthew joked as week later as he finished relating the miniscule saga to Eleni.
She gave a small smile, her eyes roaming around the lit caverns of the UpMountain as they walked. The windows up above revealed only darkness.
"Good." There was a wave of relief through the bond. "So…where are we going?"
"You'll see," Matthew replied mysteriously to her change in topic.
It was Matthew's third try at spending an evening out with Eleni. He'd taken her out once more since their disastrous first date, and it hadn't gone much better: the restaurant had served them, but they'd been seated by a draft and the food had come out cold. They had gone straight home after and skipped the concert he had planned. Pushing the memory of that subdued evening away, he told himself this time would be different.
Eleni cast him a suspicious look, but he just smiled in return. She wore a turtleneck sweater of soft yellow with grey detailing that fitted to her body, and deep blue jeans. Her scarf was black. Crystal studs graced her ears, and Matthew found his eyes lingering on them. The subtle touch of sparkle suited her. Holding her hand firmly in his, he strode on.
It was a week before the Solstice, and a weekday evening. The caverns of the UpMountain were relatively unpopulated, and Matthew hoped their destination would be similarly deserted. He had come to the reluctant conclusion that the fewer people around them, the happier their date would be.
Ahead of them, their destination came into view.
"Wha—what have they done to it?" Eleni exclaimed. Matthew just grinned and pulled her through the wide triangular entrance into a wonderland.
The Atrium, as it was every year, was transformed for the coming Solstice. Strung lights hung draped across the cavernous space: large star shaped lights, or hundreds of thin filaments bundled into pom-poms that glowed at the end of the clear threads, hung at various levels throughout. At floor level, the trees were also strung with lights, and sculptures made of light shining through a variety of clear materials were interspersed throughout the massive room. The garden was made magical.
He bathed in the wonder that poured from Eleni as she took in the transformed space.
"It's beautiful!" she exclaimed, delighted. She had stopped and was staring at the lit space in front of her. Matthew, himself, didn't look. He gazed instead at his girlfriend's shining eyes, entranced and happy to bring her joy.
"They do this every year, though they change it around each time." Blue eyes shifted to him, and she tugged him forward.
"I want to see all of it."
As they slowly moved on, the Throne rose up ahead of them. It was a permanent fixture of the Atrium. The large metal sculpture, shaped vaguely like chair, was raised up on a dias and dominated the center of the Atrium even when it was undecorated. Today, however, it glowed with a thousand small dewdrops of light that flowed with the contours of the sculpture itself.
"It's different every year," Matthew explained. "Sometimes there are images, and I've even seen a sculpture built on top of the Throne itself. The design is up to the artist, and they feature a new up-and-coming individual each year. It is a great honor to be chosen." Eleni was quiet for a moment taking in this information and the Throne.
"It feels right this way. The Throne is meant to be fluid." Matthew nodded, though he didn't have a strong opinion himself. Eleni squinted her eyes and studied the work of art for a long moment. "I think it's a single strand."
"What?"
"The lights. They are all joined by a single strand. It's just looped over and over again." Matthew looked closely but couldn't tell how she had discerned that from where they were standing. Moving close to the object, he saw that she was indeed correct.
Eleni meanwhile moved over to the plaque located at the base.
"Soaring," she murmured, and nodded. After looking to see the name of the artist, they moved on.
When he heard Eleni gasp a second time he couldn't help but grin.
"What is that?" she said, disbelief in her voice.
"An ice palace," Matthew replied. "Come on." Together, they approached the structure.
Created every year by mutants with the power to modify temperatures or form ice, the structure was always a palace with rooms you could walk through. Some years it was a stone-like fortress, others an elegant county palace with conical towers.
This year, it was delicate in nature, with peaks topped with rounded bulbs that ended in a point, swirling patterns on the walls, and filigrees of ice across the windows. With more excitement than he had felt in years, Matthew entered it with Eleni's hand grasped firmly in his.
Inside, the walls boasted art in all different mediums. Eleni broke free from him to exclaim over them.
"They use the Solstice display to celebrate the art of the Montagne," he explained. The sense of wonder emanating from her was more than he had expected.
"That's wonderful," Eleni mumbled, as she inspected a painting. "And these are all new works?"
"Yes," he answered as she moved on to the next piece. This one, a metal sculpture, again abstract but with sharp edges, held her attention for a long time.
"You like art," he said, slightly non-plussed. How had he not known this? She moved on to the next piece, as she answered absent mindedly.
"I do. I like the idea of creating something with a meaning to be discovered." Then she pointed out some highlights on the new piece, though she didn't spend long there.
"You know there are several museums in the UpMountain." He held her waist from behind and she leaned back into him as she looked at the final pieces in the room. "We should go," he whispered in her ear, happy to have found an activity they could do together that would be less controversial than their other dates.
"That would be nice." She smiled up at him. "I've always wanted to do that." He tried his best to kiss away the trace of sadness in her comment.
She spent the longest time at the last piece, a painting. It featured a fairytale fortress of long ornate rooves with occasional peaks of glass. It was built into the side of a mountain, and somehow appeared as if the structures had emerged organically from the random lump of rock. The picture looked idyllic, except that the foreground was dominated by flames.
"That's the Montange from the outside, isn't it?" Eleni mumbled. "The UpMountain."
"Yes. It was carefully planned in every way. It is beautiful."
Eleni hummed. After another moment, she spoke again.
"The fires burned here too, then?"
"Yeah," was all Matthew said in response to that. The time known as the Inferno had been one of the hardest for the Montagne and its struggling population. Matthew didn't want to dwell on that, impatient to show her the final surprise.
Keeping one hand at her waist, he gently pulled her away from the picture, and guided her to the doorway that led into the next room.
"Close your eyes," he said, before entering the short hallway that joined the gallery to their final destination. She looked at him, suspicious again. "It'll make the experience better," he explained.
Though doubt still rang through the bond, Eleni closed her eyes, and he led her into the next room, positioning her in the center.
"Open them."
Eleni gasped in awe as she opened them, turning to take in the full effect. Then she looked up and froze.
They were surrounded by points of light, some hanging or strung, but most frozen directly into the walls. The ceiling above them was studded with them and they spanned throughout the many feet of ice. When viewed from the center of the room, an intricate geometric pattern was clear. However, as you moved around, it seemed to collapse and re-form into an infinite array of designs.
"Who did this?" Eleni asked, clearly impressed. Matthew showed her the plaque with the artists' name, though it was no one he recognized.
"The Coming of the Light," she murmured, reading the title.
"It always has that title, though a different person designs it each year."
Matthew enjoyed the sculpture of light, but not nearly as much as the feeling of wonder and joy that radiated from Eleni. After a few minutes moving around the room, she came over to him and pulled him into a kiss.
"Thank you for showing me this," she whispered.
"I'm glad you like it," he whispered back, and held her as they lost themselves among the points of light floating in the dark.
When they finally left the palace. Eleni allowed him to draw her to one of the benches at the side of the path. In the half darkness, they sat, arm in arm. He wondered at how happy, comfortable and content he was with her, and she with him. He rested his forehead on hers for a long minute, savoring the closeness. She didn't pull back and she didn't ask to leave.
He hated to break the mood, but as relaxed as she was, he thought he was more likely to get a straight answer from her.
"How is it at school with the pranks?" he asked. Eleni pulled her head back, distractedly.
"They've dropped off a bit. A lot, actually. Maybe, they got bored?" Matthew was relieved.
"Um…actually, Adam and I may be the reason for that." Eleni's looked at him sharply. "I didn't want to say anything until I knew it was making a difference, but several vintages have gone missing…it happens from time to time…" He felt annoyance through the bond as his meaning sank in.
"I didn't ask you to do that," she said.
"I know. I wanted to."
"I wish you had talked to me first."
"Would you have let me do it?" Eleni didn't answer. She had pulled back, but he took her hand in his and laced their fingers together. "I knew you might be mad, but I also knew I would tell you. I don't regret it, and if it is working I don't want to stop."
Eleni looked away, silent for a long moment. Matthew's eyes dropped down to their clasped hands.
"I hate doing nothing," she whispered, and he looked up in surprise. There were tears in her eyes. "I don't want to depend on anyone for anything, but I have to. I am not powerless!" The last was said fiercely and resonated with truth. He didn't know how to respond, but tentatively drew her to him again. She didn't resist, and she sat in the circle of his arms for a long time.
As the time got late, they arose, separated, and walked slowly away from the ice palace.
"Thank you." She said it quietly, and Matthew could feel that gratitude was only a small part of how she felt about the situation, and very little of it was positive. He felt a spike of irritation and frustration.
He opened his mouth, but then took a deep breath instead of speaking. Eleni was looking at him out of the corner of her eye, waiting for his indignation, which she had no doubt felt through the bond. At that realization, the emotions changed to dismay. He held himself in, waiting a moment, carefully sifting through his feelings and considering hers. He chose his words.
"I wish it was different." He looked at her. "I just want to be with you."
She blinked and stared at him. Then she looked down, collected his hand, and laced their fingers together as he had done earlier.
"And I like being with you," she said quietly, glancing back up at him. He smiled, reclaiming some of his enjoyment from earlier, and they walked on together.
The auditions came and went, and then came the waiting. Every year the schedule was the same: auditions the week before the Solstice celebration, and results announced the week after. The dance students often complained about it, as it made it more difficult to enjoy the annual holiday. Matthew didn't mind so much this year, as his excitement for the Solstice holiday made waiting for the results less urgent. He had gotten Eleni a special present.
He forced himself through the stilted family dinner Adam insisted upon for Solstice Eve, where he and Jae both tried their best to pretend the other was not there. That night he had trouble getting to sleep, his anticipation was so keen, and the next morning Adam had to stop him from leaving just after breakfast.
"We'll go over in the afternoon, Mattie. As usual." They always spent Solstice with Madam P, though Matthew had stayed home last year. At that point in time, Matthew had refused to audition for the show due to his break-up with Jenna, and he had stayed home alone on Solstice rather than face his dance teacher. He hoped Madam P wouldn't bring that up today.
He and his father finally arrived mid-afternoon; Jae had chosen to spend the holiday with her latest girlfriend. The dance teacher's house was decorated with green boughs that were sold after being collected from the evergreen trees of the Atrium and the corridors of the Montagne.
Eleni looked lovely in a dress of soft grey, shot through with metallic accents. He kissed her and whispered the season greeting.
"Happy Solstice."
"Happy Solstice," she returned, looking bemused. She had explained that the solstice was observed in a different manner in the Citadel, and that the ancient tradition of Christmas took precedent. Matthew knew some families celebrated Christmas, but it by no means dominated the population. Other religions were just as prevalent, and people took off time when it suited them. However, everyone celebrated Solstice: the shortest day of the year took on additional meaning when sunlight was already at a premium.
The four of them sat for a moderately elaborate meal, complete with a bottle of wine. As Adam prepared to pour for everyone, Eleni surprised them by turning hers down.
"I'm fine with water. I'd prefer it that way." Matthew noticed her emotions were tight, and that her eyes avoided the bottle.
"Me too," he said to draw attention from her. He father gave him an incredulous look, but Madam P took advantage of the situation.
"More for the two of us, no, Adam? You did bring the 3000 merlot, correct? I am happy not to share." Adam shrugged and poured the two glasses.
After the meal, Matthew drew Eleni into the living room. She had picked up on his excitement.
"What is it?" she asked, curious, as they settled onto their usual places on the couch.
He drew a small box from his pocket and handed it to her. It was a beautiful and distinctive box: deep purple lined with silver accents. Across the top the name 'Tang's' was imprinted in decorative silver script. They were one of the top jewelers in the Montagne, though Matthew realized Eleni probably didn't know that.
"Happy Solstice." She looked at him, eyes narrowing.
"What is this?"
"Open it," he promoted quietly. She shook her head, trying to understand.
"But, why?" He understood her confusion.
"It's traditional to give gifts on Solstice. I wanted to get you something." He gestured towards the box.
"But I don't have anything for you." He waved that concern away.
"It doesn't matter. I don't want anything. But I did want to get something for you. I think you'll really like it."
"Matthew, I can't accept this." What? Matthew pushed down a spike of irritation.
"Why not?"
"It…it makes more of an imbalance." Matthew, aware of that dynamic thanks to G, had an answer prepared.
"But people also give gifts to those they care about. Can this just be that? I saw this and it made me think of you. I wanted to share it with you. No tallies, no need for reciprocity."
"Why didn't you tell me about this?" Another spike of irritation. Why couldn't she just accept the gift?
"I wanted it to be a surprise," he said, exasperation edging his voice. "Come on, Elle. I got a present for you because you are my girlfriend. It's a normal thing to do."
She sighed.
"Please, don't get me anything else, ok?" He stared at her.
"It's harmless, Elle. People usually like getting presents." Her eyes went hard.
"It bothers me. This is ok, but don't get me anything else." He relented but felt the moment had been ruined.
"OK."
She nodded. Then, looking back down at the box, she carefully eased the top off.
A small hinged wooden box was tucked within, and within that was a pair of diamond earrings. Awkward moment forgotten in his excitement Matthew couldn't suppress the grin on his face.
Eleni's eyes were wide as she looked up.
"Please tell me these are glass." He rolled his eyes.
"Of course, they're not! Do you like them?" Eleni looked at him in disbelief, and a feeling of discomfort grew through the bond. Anxiety started to color his irritation, and he did his best not to feel those feelings.
For a long moment, Eleni looked back and forth between him and the earrings. Then she apparently resigned herself and nodded. She even smiled, if reluctantly.
"They are beautiful. Let me go put them on." As he waited on the couch while Eleni went upstairs, he turned his attention to the bond, and was rewarded by a warm glow of pleasure. Eleni was smiling contemplatively when she rejoined him. The earrings glittered on her ears.
"Thank you. I love them," she whispered as she leaned up to kiss him.
"…make something for you to remember me by when I am gone." Matthew's attention was ripped from the sweet, triumphant moment by the thought that suddenly echoed in his mind. He jerked back.
"Gone? Why would you go?" he demanded.
"Wha-? How did you-? You read my mind!" She backed away, alarm growing.
"I've had a few slips with my telepathy. It's nothing. But, why are you thinking of leaving me already? We've only just gotten together!"
"That is not important! I can't be with you if you are reading my thoughts!" Her voice dropped to an urgent whisper as she glanced towards the kitchen.
"Elle, I'm a telepath. It happens. But, there is no reason-!"
"You said you never do that! I believed you!" she hissed. He was trying to get close to her, but she kept backing away. Her eyes burned, and the bond bubbled with alarm, anger and anxiety.
"I didn't lie! This is a new thing. It's just happened a couple of times over the past few weeks. It's nothing!"
"It is not nothing! I can't be with someone who might accidentally read my mind!" Matthew's heart contracted. In desperation, anger flooded him.
"Elle, you are taking this way to seriously! Anyone knows this can happen if you date a telepath."
"If that is the case, then you are getting mad at me for something you failed to tell me!"
"No! I'm getting angry at you for failing to be reasonable about it!" He couldn't lose her. "Come on, Elle, just give it some time, and I'll show you it hardly happens. It'll probably just be a phase and will stop at some point!"
"And maybe it will start happening more! I cannot accept that situation, Matthew! We're done." He grabbed her arm as she started to turn away.
"We're not! I waited too long for you, and worked too hard to be with you, to just let you walk away!" Didn't she see what he had done for her? Her eyes went wide.
"Is that right? I need to dance to your tune to make up for the hardship you have suffered? Are we back to that?"
"That is not what I said!"
"That is exactly what you said, and it is another reason I will not be with you." She yanked her arm away from him. "Good bye, Matthew. It sounds like it will make your life easier not having me around!" She turned, stalked out of the room and up the stairs.
Matthew was frozen for a moment but the appearance of Madam P and Adam in the hall, concerned looks on their faces, motivated him into action. He stumbled out the door.
The moment was strikingly similar to Eleni's rejection of him months earlier. Part of him felt numb, unable to process what had just occurred, not wanting to admit that this woman had hold enough on him that his heart rebelled at the idea of losing her.
The cool air of the cavern shocked him out of that stupor, and as his heart won out as shock, pain and sadness flooded him. He felt a responding echo and looked up to Eleni's window only to see it blocked by a curtain. A matching curtain fell over her emotions, and he was left alone with his desolate state.
Anger started seeping back in, and his mind raced with indignation over how she could reject him for something that was a part of him. He ignored Adam when the man finally caught up with him but did catch a glimpse of a small purple box clutched in the man's hand.
Once they were home, he learned that Madam P and Adam thought he and Eleni had broken up over the earrings.
"It was too much, Matthew." His father spread his hands over the box sitting on the table between them. Its presence was much larger than its physical footprint. "Even I can see that, and I have been known to be exuberant on occasion."
"I was just…things were finally starting to get better."
"At school?" Adam asked.
"Yes, and in general. We had a rough start of it. And…giving gifts is a normal thing to do!" His father nodded in understanding.
"Yes, but this was overly generous. It's not the lifestyle she is used to. Don't forget, your point of reference was very different from hers."
"Are you saying I should treat Eleni differently than I treated Jenna?" Matthew challenged, looking to focus on something other than the real problem. Adam paused.
"I…I don't know, son. But this was clearly too much." A sigh. "Give her some time, and then you two can figure it out together. In the meantime, you need to return this." He tapped the box on the table. Then he excused himself.
Matthew stared at the box, hating it. If he hadn't given it to Eleni, then that slip wouldn't have occurred. He closed his eyes. Why was she thinking of leaving? He couldn't get beyond the pain of that knowledge. Things had been going so much better for them, and he had come to see that most of the negative hadn't been them, it had been everyone around them. In the moments they had gotten beyond all that, things had felt right between them. Like when they danced together.
He roared in frustration and backhanded the small box, sending it flying into a corner.
He tried to speak with Eleni over the next few days, but to no avail. School was out for the winter break, and the dance studio was closed for a couple of days after the Solstice. When it reopened, Eleni avoided him, and frequently retreated to the house.
Madam P noticed, of course.
"Give her some time, Matthew. I think she'll come around. The earrings were too much." His teacher's kind eyes were hard to bear. The second time she gave him this reassurance, he went and returned the earrings. He never wanted to hear about them again.
"It's for the best, Mattie," his father assured him when he learned what his son had done. Matthew closed his eyes against his father's ignorance.
The next day the audition results were announced. Matthew would be the prince; Jenna would be Odette; Eleni was Jenna's understudy.
It seemed like an honor to Eleni: receiving the part of the understudy for a challenging role was a nod to her talent. However, Matthew knew that Jenna had never missed a performance, and that her family would spare no expense to preserve that record. It was the only part Eleni had been given, and the probability was that she wouldn't even get to perform on stage.
He felt Eleni's disappointment through the bond and tried to talk to her about it at the dance school.
"I'm sorry, Elle. At least they acknowledged what a talented dancer you are." She looked to the side.
"I suppose." He took a breath.
"Elle, look, we need to talk. I miss you." She didn't look back at him.
"Matthew, there's no point. There is no way we can negotiate that. It is unacceptable for me." His ability. That she had known about from the start.
"Come on, Elle. You're taking this too seriously. In all the time we've been together, since last summer, nothing like this has happened." An image of a blond man flashed through his mind, but Matthew kept talking and ignored the implications. "We were working so hard to be together. It's not worth it to end it over this." He was proud he had used 'we' and not 'I'. He recognized now that that would have gotten him nowhere.
Eleni was quiet for a moment before she spoke.
"You could wear a collar." Matthew stiffened with afront that she could suggest such a thing.
Collars, which in most mutants rendered their mutant ability passive, were only used in the most desperate of cases. It was not something a mutant did lightly; they had been used in the distant past to enslave mutants and were an emotional topic in the Montagne whenever they came up.
"No."
"You could afford it." That was true; the devices were rare and expensive. But that was beside the point.
"No! You don't ask someone to do that, Eleni! Not unless they have to," he replied forcefully.
Her eyes widened and she actually stepped back, surprised by the vehemence of his response. She took a minute to calm her shock. He took that minute to try and put aside his anger at what she had just asked him to do.
"OK. I accept that. But then, there is no way forward for us." He recognized her sadness through the bond, and her resolve. "I'm sorry, but it's over," she whispered. Then she walked away.
He stood there, watching her go, angry, sad and at a loss for how to proceed. A hand came to rest on his arm, and he looked down.
"Mattie, is everything ok?" Jenna asked quietly.
"Uh, yeah," he said. She glanced at the door Eleni had just left through but didn't press further.
"It's you and me again." She squeezed his arm and smiled, her comment referring to the roles they had both been awarded. He gave a half smile back.
"I guess it is." Jenna pouted, but it was clearly for fun.
"Don't tell me you're not up to handing their hearts back to them on a plate?" she teased, referencing the phrase they had used when they were cast as leads in previous ballets. It made him smile and even laugh a little.
"You know I am."
"Good."
"Jen, you get all the fun." Cordelia came up on Matthew's other side and, taking his free arm, plastered herself against him. She grinned up at the tall man. "But don't worry, Mattie, we'll get our fun, too. I'm one of the princesses!" Matthew disengaged himself from the women, planning to make his goodbyes. He thought he'd head home to…think about the hopeless situation he found himself in with Eleni.
"Mattie, a bunch of us are heading to the District to get some food, maybe pick up a concert. Wanna come?" He looked at Jenna trying to think of a good excuse to refuse. Then he decided the distraction would be welcome.
"Sure," he said, and he joined them.