New Assignment [kathryn]

[matthias]

The problem with his teleportation abilities was that, in order to be successful, he had to be thinking clearly about where he wanted to go. So as he lay in his bed, reading a letter signed by the headmistress, Matthias should have known better than to use his power to do what it said. According to the letter (which also contained his class schedule) he was supposed to meet some Kathryn something or other. Really, the sorts of things the school could find out about him were a little creepy. Apparently because his mother just happened to be an ASL teacher up in Boston, they thought he would make a good interpreter. Why couldn't they have just hired a professional?

Reading the location he was supposed to meet her, his mind was still clouded by thoughts of how this little arrangement was going to work out. For one, he couldn't remember who the girl was, so she was either new this year or they just hadn't had any classes together in the past. For two, people didn't always take to the whole buddy system thing very well and he wasn't always the easiest person to get along with. So as he disappeared into thin air, aiming for the ground floor, he instead ended up on the second floor.

More specifically, Matt teleported himself right into the broom closet. How he managed to unintentionally get himself inside of it he wasn't sure. All he knew was that he had one foot in a mop bucket, had snapped a broom in half, and was stumbling backwards. His back slammed into the door, the force of his weight sending it flying open. Then he was sitting in the middle of the hallway, pulling the broken broom handle out from under his butt and muttering a few swear words. The letter he'd been holding up until that point lay face up on the floor, currently the least of his worries. Right now he was hoping more than ever that no one was around to see his blunder.

[kathryn]

Kathryn wondered if it was obvious she was trying to hide from her interpreter. She had been sitting in her room reading the letter from the headmistress, and she was already horrified. She did not want her own glorified stalker hanging around her, no matter if he’s her age or not. He was going to be a pain, and Kathryn didn’t have to meet him to know it. At this point, an ingenious Idea popped into her head. She would hide from him. She didn’t give a damn if she was supposed to meet him now or never, she preferred never. Collecting herself and tucking the letter into the front pocket of her jeans, she Slipped on her hat and made her way, in a ninja like manor, out the door.

Where would she go, though? That was the million dollar question. She did not want to go to the main floor, because that’s where she was supposed to meet Mr. Creepy, and she didn’t want to go down... she’d try that later. She felt herself move in the sketchiest manor possible to the elevator, where she pushed the handy dandy number 2 button and waited for the elevator to whisk her away. Not once in her mind did she wonder if her Interpreter was young, old, cute or ugly. She did not care. She did not want him. And she would make that very, very clear to him.

Where could she hide upstairs? She noticed some people gave her looks as she walked past them, but she didn’t hear it. She didn’t try to read their lips, she just moved on... until she saw the perfect hiding spot. The broom closet. She snuck in, rather stealthily, and hid herself behind some brooms and a bucket. Unfortunately not long after she had hidden, she was shocked to see a body appear out of the middle of nowhere in front of her, breaking a mop and step in a bucket... all this caused him to fly backwards as the door opened. Kathryn knew she had squeaked when he had surprised her, but now she couldn’t help but giggle.

She stepped out of her little hiding spot and stood in the doorway to the broom closet. ”I’m gonna pretend I didn’t see what your lips just mouthed.”

[/b] Kathryn said as she listened to him curse. Her hands moved as well, unintentionally signing what she was saying. She was hoping to confuse him into not asking what she was doing in the broom closet.[/blockquote][/blockquote]

Outfit!

[matthias]

Busy looking to make sure no one was outside the broom closet, Matt never bothered to consider the alternative. The sound of moving appliances caught his attention and, looking up, his face paled as a girl (a rather pretty girl) stood in the doorway, looking down at him. Well this was just his luck. How was he supposed to be all suave and sexy (translated into cute but way overconfident) when he still had his foot in the mop bucket? Without thinking he signed a word just as dirty as the ones he'd been mouthing.

But the lady had sharp eyes and was apparently the girl he'd been looking for, if her own signing was any indication. Huh... Maybe he'd been thinking about her so hard that his power took him directly to her rather than to where he was supposed to meet her. He really shouldn't have missed that darn Powers Control lesson; at least then he might have known what was going on.

Forcing himself to stand up, Matthias kicked the bucket from his foot. It rolled down the hall and towards the staircase before a loud clatter signaled it was going on a trip to the ground floor. He stared in its direction for a moment. Then he turned grey eyes back on the girl, hand thoughtfully placed on his chin as he smirked. Next thing he pointed at her, eye brows lowered, and finger spelled what he was assuming was her name. Comm-singing out of bad habit he asked, "So you're Kathryn?" The expression on his face was rather cheeky; he'd definitely have to thank the headmistress in person for giving him such a beautiful assignment.

[kathryn]

Kathryn tried to contain her giggling, which failed miserably when the kid signed a word Kathryn would rather not repeat... and then a light bulb went off in her mind. He knew sign language. This could either be a coincidence, a rather weird coincidence, or he was going to be her glorified stalker. This made her curse a thousand times over in her head. But then again, this went back to the whole coincidence thing. He could just be another kid that had grown up in a deaf household, or had a family member that was deaf, or mute, or something. Coincidence, that’s what it had to be... right?

The fact that she had been angry about this before, made her wonder if she had a small lapse in control over her power. She hoped not, she prayed not, because last time she didn’t have control over it was when it manifested... and only a select few people knew the outcome of that event. She wasn’t going around advertising it, nor was she going around advertising her little gift. People could guess and try to figure it out all on their own. She knew this guys gift, he was a teleporter... a rather out of control one at that.

She watched him stand up as she leaned in the door way and kick the bucket off his foot. It rolled until Kathryn could no longer see it. It was going to make someone on the ground floor rather unhappy. When she turned back to look at the red headed boy in front of her. He had a smirk displayed prominently on his face, with his hand placed thoughtfully on his chin. She raised an eyebrow sarcastically as he pointed her with lowered brows. He spelled what he was saying, which made Kathryn go “oh ffff-Phuket Thailand.” ”So you’re Kathryn?” he said, a cheeky expression on his face. She felt her hand go up, and smack herself in the face. Yes, Kathryn just face-palmed.

The person she was trying to avoid just happened to teleport right into her hiding spot... great.

And you must be my glorified stalker.

[/u][/color] She signed and said at the same time. She assumed he was of hearing, so he would notice the annoyance in her voice, and in the way she moved her hands. Why was it when she didn’t want to be found, she always was? She narrowed her eyes slightly as she crossed her arms over her chest. She was debating whether to go back into the broom closet and lock the door. But, he was a teleporter, so that could be a very bad idea.
[/blockquote][/blockquote]

Outfit!

[matthias]

Glorified stalker? Matty putt on an expression of mock hurt, clutching at his chest as if she'd just run him through the heart. He was not a glorified stalker! Quite the contrary, he was to be her knight in shining armor. And if she was intelligent, she'd be his free ride to an easy A. The boy was far from being top of the class, so this little study buddy arrangement of theirs was definitely going to benefit him as much as it would seemingly annoy her.

"The lady is too harsh!" he spoke, not using his hands as he kept up the theatrics. But a moment later he was back to comm-signing, hoping to diffuse some of her annoyance without making it worse. "Come on! This isn't my fault. I didn't even know till I got the letter. I'm Matty." After finger spelling his name, he made the gesture for name sign and then shaped his right hand into an M, tapping it several times over his heart.

As an afterthought he added, "I'm not that bad. Promise! Gimme a chance!" Matthias was half tempted to throw himself down on his knees and beg in order to make a really really big scene, but he figured he'd save that sort of stunt for later. If she was a stubborn one (and he was pretty sure she was given her tone) then chances were he'd have to pull out all the stops at some point. Because he wanted her to like him and he would not rest until she did. The fact that they would be forced to spend so much time together would only aide in his possibly futile endeavor.

[kathryn]

Kathryn looked down at him, with the expression of mock hurt. He looked like she had just run a metal stake through his heart. She was not letting the fact that he was cute overrun her annoyance. He was going to be with her everywhere! She would have no peace! He would be there pretty much every second unless she wasn’t in her dorm... like a kitten. God only knew what he would do during class. He didn’t seem to be the intelligent type, and Kathryn was not going to be letting him copy her work. If she was forced to, she’d tutor him... but letting him have a free ride? That was a big no no!

”The lady is too harsh!” he said, no hand signs. Kathryn was so used to reading lips that she could pretty watch TV without the subtitles. Despite not knowing him, she knew the way his mouth moved already... and she was not enjoying it. He was being extremely theatrical. She was glad there was no one in the hallways at this very moment in time. ”Oh, you haven’t seen harsh yet.”

[/color] she muttered without signing. ”Come on! This isn’t my fault. I didn’t even know til I got the letter. I’m Matty.” he said. Kathryn just eyed him suspiciously, like he had another motive. ”Funny, I knew about you the second my dad got me in the car.” she said, signing as well. She had gotten used to doing the two things at the same time. It freaked some people out, but they got over it quick. She spoke with her hands, not usually her mouth, and people needed to accept that. ”Kathryn, but I also go by Katie, Kat, Kitten, Katie Belle, Angel, and whatever other nickname your mind can conjure up.” she said trying not to be to hostile. Keyword being trying. As if he didn’t know. Her dad had told her the school had found someone for her that was closer to her age... so it wouldn’t be as weird. To Kathryn this was almost like a lack of faith thing. She never needed an interpreter before, and she sure as hell didn’t need one now.

”I’m not that bad. Promise! Gimme a chance!” he said and Kathryn narrowed her eyes a bit. ”Maybe.” she said and signed sternly. She did not like this arrangement, and if he was like this every day.... Kathryn felt like she’d have to sick her roommates dog on him for safety measures. ”I have never needed an interpreter around, and I really don’t need you around... but you’re not going to leave me alone... are you? Hence the term, glorified stalker.”[/color] Kathryn said. She, however, had no intention of giving Matty a chance. If he wanted his chance, he had to earn it. Plus he seemed like the kind of guy who couldn’t take a hint... Kathryn could only think of one thing she wanted to do at this point, and that was paint out her rage.

[/blockquote][/blockquote]

Outfit!

[matthias]

Okay fine, so maybe he wasn't being completely truthful. The letter had come weeks ago, the day he'd first moved into his dorm. But Matthias had this little habit of ignoring any official looking school mail until he had a stack as high as his head. More often than not they were detention notices or boring reminders about some school policy or event. In other words, they were all things he had no desire to read. He had been lucky that he'd decided to finally go through his mail this morning, just half an hour before they were supposed to meet, because if he hadn't he would have screwed this up right from the start. Now any screwing up would be Kathryn's fault, given that she was the one who was hiding in the broom closet.

He did manage to get an introduction out of her though (and a long one at that) and the list of things she tolerated being called caused a cheeky grin to spread across his lips. One name in particular stood out to him. "Kitten." He spelled out the letters silently before his hand seemed to pluck something off the side of his nose (the sign for cat). From now on, that's what he would be calling her. She would be his own, personal kitty cat.

And then she'd said maybe, and that pretty much sealed the deal in his book. While his signing was a little rusty (he only really used it to talk to his mom and brother on Skype), the more he used it the more natural it became. He'd dropped the comm-signing, voice turned off as he let the grammatical facial expression take full control of his eyes and mouth. "We're going to be the best of friends!" he signed. "Trust me!"

He ignored any further comments about being a glorified stalker and instead linked their arms together. He would tug her along to the appropriate meeting spot if he had to. Something she had said did catch him a little by surprise though. She had never needed an interpreter before? But she seemed to speak just as well as she signed, something more common for the older generation that only had the option of oral schools before given the chance to learn ASL. Maybe she had a cochlear implant (though that topic was an unwelcome one in his own household; his mother swore against them)? Eh, there was rarely any harm in asking so he signed with one hand, unwilling to let her go. "You go to deaf school, or have a CI?"

[kathryn]

Kathryn kinda wanted to smack Matty. Why? She did not know. It’s just how she felt. She wasn’t mad at him, per say, more at the world for having him. It may not have been fair to take it out on him, but her mind was made up. She wasn’t going to like this kid... before she met him it was decided. She would do whatever it takes to get away from him. She already had somewhat of a plan.... Shove him into the next girl she saw and run. He could teleport, but so what? She could knock him out with some Pheromone power. She figured that would backfire on her though, considering she still had to figure out how not to make her pheromones do the whole attraction thing. Once she got that part out of the way, then she would feel so bad about using her power! But alas, it still couldn’t let her go back in time and prevent it’s manifestation.

She stared at him, and that Cheeky grin was back. She blinked, wondering what it was for, but thought against it to. She didn’t want him to think that they were friends. She was not going to be friends with him. ”Kitten.” he spelled out, then did the sign for cat. Kathryn felt tempted to do the little cat growl thing, but that was completely inappropriate for this very moment. She was not sure what to make of Matty just yet. He would be calling her Kitten from now on. Don’t use it out of context.”

[/u][/color] she said. It was a nickname, not a sleazy pet name. Boys were so far off her radar that they were in Narnia. She also heard, from a source called the internet, that if a guy constantly used a pet name for you that he was probably cheating on you.

He stopped talking, and stuck to signing. She swore she saw the glimmer of hope in his eyes and she wondered what the hell she had just done. Maybe did not mean yes! ”We’re going to be best of friends!” he signed, ”trust me!” and she swore a small whimper left her lips. Under extreme emotional duress, Kathryn could lose control of her little gift. Did this count? Because she felt more than a little bit stressed out... and stunned silent. Great, now she would need a better plan to get rid of him. Maybe she could convince Ren to flirt with him, just for a little bit, to take his mind off of being Kathryn’s best friend. I already have a best friend.”[/color] she signed not really knowing what else to say. This was not helping his not a stalker clause.

He linked his arm through hers, which surprised her as well. He wasn’t going to give up, was he? Kathryn wondered what in the world made him think that this was a good idea... but she didn’t stop him. She wasn’t one for making a scene in public. She just needed to find a pretty girl to shove him into, then run. ”You go to deaf school, or have a CI?” he asked with one hand and Kathryn’s expression went from shocked to appalled to annoyed all at once. Deaf school, since I was little, My dad took me to speech therapy when I was really little. I would never get a Cochlear. Do you know what they have to do? Do you know the risks?”[/color] she said, not bothering to sign this. She could do it one handed, but she wanted to make sure he heard the annoyance in her voice, and the alarm that he would ask. She also, proceeded to move her hair back behind her ears so he could get a good look at what wasn’t there. She didn’t even have her hearing Aid in today. She even took off her hat to make it more clear.

”My whole family is deaf, and none of us got the CI... we turned out just fine. I read lips at an advanced level, I’ve been doing it since I was a kid. There is no point in getting a CI for me.”[/u][/color] she said trying to calm her voice down. She never liked the subject of a Cochlear Implant. It made her queasy to think about. The fact that he asked made her like him less.


[/blockquote][/blockquote][/size]

Outfit!

[matthias]

"Don’t use it out of context." Hah! He'd be referring to her as "Kitten" to everyone he knew. And he'd probably make it sound like she was his new pet or something. Who knows? At some point he may even be bold enough to pat her on the head. But first he had to diffuse the bomb he accidentally set off. Yes, he had to diffuse the very pretty when angry bomb.

He let go of her arm as she yelled at him, defensively taking several steps away from her. She even went so far as to show him her ears which were indeed free of any sort of hearing device. So maybe it hadn't been the best question to ask. Or rather, he probably should have left off the second part of it. His hands found their way into his pockets, head hung slightly as he watched her, posture akin to how he looked whenever his mother scolded him. It was a natural reaction and when he realized what he was doing his smile turned sheepish. Hands came out of his pockets, hoping his next comment would possibly lighten the mood. "You sound just like my mom."

He decided that it was probably a good idea for him to offer up some background info as well. It was only fair, and maybe knowing that he wasn't just some hearing kid who'd learned ASL because he'd thought it was cool would help to win her over. "She teaches at the Horace Mann School, in Boston. She and one of my brothers are both deaf-mute." That's right, segway the conversation. Hopefully the change in topic would calm her down a bit, or at least make her see that he really hadn't meant any harm. It was just a question after all, and he wasn't going to try and change her mind on topic.

[kathryn]

Kathryn was silently fuming. She was not happy, or impressed with Matty right now. His impression had not been the best. She had no idea how he managed to find her exact hiding spot. Had he been thinking about her while teleporting? Could he do that all the time? It made her shudder to think about him popping into her room while changing because he teleported while thinking about her. That would be extremely creepy, not to mention she would beat him with an easel if he ever even thought of doing that. But he was a guy, since when isn’t that all they think about.

Kathryn noticed Matty let go of her the second she started yelling at him and hung his head. He took a few steps back, which made Kathryn wonder if she yelled at him all the time, would he leave her alone? Something inside of her made her doubt it. Which only rose the irritation and stress factor of this whole situation. ”You sound just like my mom.” he signed with a sheepish smile on his face. The smile, however, kind of made her deflate a little. She scowled, and kept her eyes narrowed as she crossed her arms over her chest. No way was he getting away with bringing up the Cochlear Implant. Some people liked the concept, but Kathryn took it in offense... even if it hadn’t been meant to be offensive.

”She teaches at the Horace Mann School, in Boston. She and one of my brother are both deaf-mute.” he said and Kathryn felt herself deflate a whole lot more. So maybe he was bit curious. Kathryn did speak well for a deaf person... so she couldn’t hold it against him... could she? Yes she could. But the mom and brother thing made her feel bad about it. Dammit, glorified stalker was not getting away with it! ”So you’re CODA? And I thought you were just some hearing kid trying to get lucky with deaf chicks.”

[/color] she said, the last part was slightly sarcastic, but, hey it had been her first instinct. ”So I’m guessing you know why the CI isn’t such a good topic then?”[/u][/color] she signed without saying a word.

”Okay, let’s get some things clear. In class I don’t need you to be around me all the time, as a matter of fact I’d prefer it if you just, I dunno, sat as far away from me as possible? If I need you, I’ll tell you. Second, If I catch you teleporting into my room.... I will beat you with an easel. And third, for all the good things in the world, you are not to hold my hand or grab my arm in the halls... unless I’m about to get run over or something.”[/u][/color] Kathryn said. She might as well lay out the ground rules for him so he knew exactly where she stood on him hanging around. ”After classes are done, I don’t need you... Unless I have to go out or something. Only then because i can’t hear cars or sirens or anything like that... “[/u][/color] she said trying to think of anything else to say to him. She only had one other rule, but she wouldn’t talk about that. She didn’t want to give him any ideas of how to bug her. He seemed to be doing a fine job all on his own.

[/blockquote][/blockquote][/size]

Outfit!

[matthias]

She seemed to soften a little. It wasn't much, but it was a start. And she was laying down ground rules which meant she had accepted his presence as something rather permanent. Too bad he had a habit of ignore most rules. The rest he usually found loopholes for.

"Yup. Pop and the rest of us are all hearing. Something about Connexin whatever. I can never remember the number," he signed. "And don't worry, Kitten. I've only got eyes for you!" The cheesy wink he threw in meant he was only joking, not that he wasn't opposed to the idea. But he had just met her, after all. Matty usually wasn't the type to "crush on first sight." He'd met enough pretty girls with such god-awful personalities that rejection was something he was getting used to.

He then slung his arm over her shoulder (she hadn't added that to her list of no-no's) and smirked, signing with one hand again. The other hand sneakily had his figures crossed as he gave her his word. "I solemnly swear to be on my best behavior. And if you drag me along on any dates, I get to bring one too!" If he had wanted to spend the mental energy on thinking up his own ground rules, he probably would have. For instance, he wouldn't want her waking him up earlier than noon on weekends to go on a "girls day out shopping spree," but until she actually did do such things he had nothing he wanted to add.

[kathryn]

Kathryn laid a single ground rule for herself. Do not, under any circumstances, become friends with Matty. She could not dislike him, but she couldn’t be friends with him. She had to deal with him, her dad would just have another one assigned to her if she scared Matty off. Quite frankly, Kathryn thought she could handle him. She knew the perfect way to distract him too. Her original plan was still brewing in her mind... she was hoping she could convince Ren to be her distraction so she could escape for a little bit. He seemed to understand the ground rules, and he’d know if he over stepped one of them.

”Yup. Pop and the rest of us are all hearing. Something about Connexin whatever. I can never remember the number,” he signed ”And don’t worry Kitten. I’ve only got eyes for you!” he said, throwing in a Cheesy wink. Kathryn’s expression was like that of ‘gag me with a spoon’ at that. She did think it was rather nice of him, and responsible of him, to learn sign language for his mom and brothers sake. Some people just ignored their family members that were deaf. She knew a girl who’s dad left because she was born deaf, but her mother stuck around and learned the language. ”Well, it was nice of you to learn our language, for your mom and brother’s sake.”

[/u][/color] she said and signed and then she turned to look at him and a smirk played on her lips. ”And I’m sure I know a few girls who could cause you to stop looking in my direction.”[/u][/color] she said raising an eyebrow. Now what did mister cheeky and cheesy have to say to that, huh?

Then he slung his arm around Kathryn’s shoulder, and the urge to kill began to rise. His smirk made her wonder what exactly he was thinking about... ”I solemnly swear to be on my best behaviour. And if you drag me along on any dates, I get to bring one too!” Matty said. Kathryn looked at him, looking more than a little surprised, but she quickly regained her composure. With one hand, she took his and pushed it off of her shoulder, while with her other she signed. ”You won’t have to worry about that.”[/u][/color] she said, taking on a more serious tone. This was the one rule she had ever since her powers came into play. She was also extremely glad he hadn’t asked about them yet. ”I don’t date.”[/u] she said. With that, she adjusted the hat on her head and crossed her arms over her chest. Kathryn didn’t date. She never wanted to. Not after her dance accident, and not with her power. Pheromone manipulation. She knew when she was intentionally doing it, but power control wasn’t on her list of classes this year. The unintentional stuff was what she was worried about most.
[/blockquote][/blockquote][/size]

Outfit!

[matthias]

"Didn't have a choice," he signed back, though he was careful not to make it sound rude. It was the only way he could communicate with his mom and one of his older brothers. Learning it had been as natural as learning English. "Mom taught us all. I could sign before I could speak."

Her comment about setting him up with someone made him laugh. While the idea was appealing, he didn't want her thinking that he couldn't get a date on his own. Just because he'd never actually been on a date didn't mean he couldn't get one. He just... needed to find a girl who would actually say yes first... In the mean time he would joke around, describing the opposite of what he saw in Kathryn. By the time he finished, his hands were held in front of his chest, exaggerating breast size. "Know any really busty blonds?" He was laughing again.

The joke died quick when she shoved his arm off though. Matty looked a little off put, arms folding across his chest as he read her hands and face. Didn't date? But why? Dating was something he couldn't wait to do. And she was really pretty (or he thought she was at least), so getting a boyfriend would probably be easy for her. The words that next came out of his hands and mouth had failed to be caught by his mental filters. "What? How come? I'd date you!" So maybe his type wasn't really big boobed blonds after all.

[kathryn]

Kathryn may have giggled when Matty said ”Didn’t have a choice,”. He didn’t seem to be ruse about it. She could only imagine living in house where you could hear everything, but you were signing instead. ”Mom taught us all. I could sign before I could speak.” he said and Kathryn found herself smiling a bit. It sounded like her house. She couldn’t ever remember not signing, but she could remember the days before she could speak. She was young, but she could remember it. ”Wow, sounds like me... except no one was of hearing at my house.”

[/u][/color] she said. Kathryn never remembered her mom either. Kathryn’s dad refused to talk about her. Kathryn assumed that she was always gone for work or something like that. Little did she know her mom died during childbirth. She never knew, then a few years ago her dad told her. She never had a mom so the news didn’t really affect her per say. It was a bigger deal to her dad than anyone else. ”It’s a good thing she did. My dad was the one that taught me.”[/color] she signed with a smile.

Kathryn was feeling somewhat more at ease now. They did have one thing in common, other than being the same age, they both had deaf parents. Kathryn knew she was hard to have things in common with, and Matty almost confirmed it. She rolled her eyes when he exaggerated breast size and signed ”Know any really busty blond?” he asked. She assumed he was laughing by the way his face looked. She did know a blond, but she was too old and too smart to go for a guy like Matty, which only made her smirk.

She watched his expression change and the joke die as she pushed his arm away. She didn’t let herself get that close to guys. Linking arms, that was okay because it was all in good fun. He was too close to her with the arm thing, and she did not like it. ”What? How come? I’d date you!” he said and Kathryn put on her best poker face, without reliving the night that had ruined dating for her. Ruined romance for her really. ”What happened to busty and blond? I don’t fit either bill.”[/color] she teased trying to change the subject. She inadvertently dodged the question... although she did feel her cheeks heat up a bit when he said he would date her. It didn’t matter. Something always got lost in the translation... Kathryn just wasn’t taking a chance.
[/blockquote][/blockquote][/size]

Outfit!

[matthias]

Matty's jaw dropped when she threw his former joke back at him. He hadn't realized what he'd just said until after he'd said it. Now he was regretting every word. His face flushed with embarrassment and again he took a few retreating steps. He hadn't meant! He didn't mean! He...

His cheeks were almost as red as his hair as he completely forgot about signing. Panic had tripped up his brain. Instead, he was practically shouting as he stared at her with wide, grey eyes. "I-I... I like all girls!" He didn't look at her after that, deciding his vans were more interesting.

How could he have been so stupid!? He'd just met the girl for christ's sake! And on top of that every time he tried to get closer than an arm's length away she would push him away. Clearly it had been the wrong thing to say at this point in time. But... He had no idea how he was supposed to redeem himself. He'd just made himself look like a large, big mouthed idiot in front of a very cute girl and had no idea how he was supposed to fix his image. His cheeks were read with embarrassment and shame.