Unexpected Meeting

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Starring

 * Matthew Alexander Rider
 * Adina Blair Engel

Unexpected Meeting
Matthew Rider



Matthew rubbed at his wrist as he sat in a chair in the Cafe Van de Volle See. It wasn't his favorite eatery in town but it was where he had agreed to meet some owner of a swim team in the United States. Apparently there were some over there that liked his style and wanted him to move over there or at least represent their country during the next Olympics. Yeah...as if that was likely to happen!

So far the guy he had been supposed to meet was a no show and Matthew was just becoming a little tired of waiting. Ten minutes late he could understand, not forty five. Besides, he had better things to do with his time than sit around waiting for someone who bailed.

Reaching in to his pocket he grabbed an unopened packet of painkillers. Ripping open the packet he popped the two pills in to his mouth and washed it down with a gulp of his ice water. He had gone climbing the other day some two hundred miles from Amsterdam. At first it had been fun but he had hit a patch of loose rock that had given away and down he fell. Luckily he didn't break anything but he did have a few scratches on his arms, hands and his face and he did sprain his left wrist.

Yeah, that was going to keep him out of the water for awhile...at least until the pain and swelling went down. He sighed. Today was just getting better and better...and not in a good way! A waiter came by and asked if he was ready to order but Matthew just waved him away, using his gift with gravity manipulation to give the waiter an extra shove away from the table. Matthew was just so fed up right then that it wasn't even funny. Deciding he had had enough he rose up from his chair and reached in to his pocket to grab his wallet. He had had just about enough of waiting!

Adina Engel



There wasn't really a reason for Adina to be in the city, but that didn't stop her from going. She had a day off work and the weather seemed to be almost too fair for her not to go take a walk. And so, she hopped on a bus and traveled to the city, where it was bustling as usual.

All the people who were taking walks with their pets excited Adina and she meandered from person to person, asking if she could pet the furry creatures. Most of them met her with a smile, although slightly taken aback by her childish request. Still, it didn't stop her from snuggling with all the animals. When she was finally done with this little quirk, Adina traveled to the nearest pet store, where she found time to cuddle with the kittens and hold a fluffy white rabbit. If only her salary could permit it, she would bring them all home in an instant!

After an entire morning of indulging in her pastime, Adina found that she was getting a little peckish. Her wandering eye soon shifted its focus from animals to food and she began to ponder what she should have for lunch. After all, Amsterdam offered many choices and Adina was soon at a loss for what to eat. However her grumbling stomach was pushing for her to decide soon.

It didn't take long for her to find herself in front of the Cafe Van de Volle See. It was a nice place and didn't cost her too much from her pocket. Deciding that she was going to eat there, Adina entered and looked around. Out of all the unexpected things however, she didn't think that she would see

"Mattie!" she yelled almost a bit too loudly. She flushed slightly when the room hushed just a little in response to her outburst and she quickly made her way over to her friend, who was looking quite irritated for some odd reason. "Sorry, was that too loud?" she asked in a more hushed voice, still a little embarrassed. Hopefully she didn't embarrass him too much, but she knew that Matthew would be forgiving. After all, he was like an older brother to her. Always protecting him and making sure that she didn't run off to do something stupid.

"I didn't think that I would see you here. What a coincidence!" she chirped, still rather excited to meet him. "Are you eating here, too?"

Matthew Rider



When Adina yelled his name rather loudly, two things happened in quick succession. The first thing was that Matthew flinched and jumped. The second thing that happened was a waitress that was carrying a large tray filled with hot food, for no apparent reason lost her footing and flung the tray of food, causing it to hit the customers that it was intended for.

“Whoops...” Matthew muttered under his breath. He knew he had been the cause of the waitress tripping but he certainly wasn't going to admit to it. Instead he focused his attention on Adina as she came over to him. They hadn't known each other for too long but already Mattie felt a strong connection with her. It wasn't a lovers type of connection, no it was more of a big brother/little sister bond. The last time he had felt a bond so strong was when his own brothers had been alive.

'' "I didn't think that I would see you here. What a coincidence! Are you eating here, too?" '' “Um...” Matthew looked down at his table. All he had was a glass of ice water that had a lot of condensation on it. The silverware in the rolled up cloth was still untouched. “Yeah I guess I am. Care to join me?” he asked as he gestured to the chair across from his.

He sat back down in his chair already knowing that a waiter would be by to ask him if he was ready to order in another minute or two. “Fancy seeing you here! I didn't know that you cared for the Cafe,” he commented. It really wasn't a surprise that he didn't know that much about Adina.

They had talked before but they never had truly gotten around to each other's likes and dislikes. They usually stuck to quaint pleasantries but Matthew was interested in getting to know her as a person. It wasn't every day that he felt a special sibling bond with someone that wasn't related to him by blood. “Busy day so far?” he asked, grabbing his water and taking another sip from it.

It wasn't too terribly hot outside but for some reason he had been really thirsty that day. He had already drunk seven glasses of water and was working on his eighth. Putting the glass back down on the table he once again focused his attention on Adina as he waited for her to speak.

Adina Engel



It took a little effort for Adina to stifle a laugh when she saw the waitress behind Matthew fumble her tray over some unfortunate customers. It was a very comical thing to watch, despite the possibly painful experience for the patrons. It was somewhat disastrous, but it was human nature to take pleasure in these things. Schadenfreude, as Adina would call it in German.

Seeing that Matthew gestured toward the seat before him, Adina gladly took the invitation and plopped down. A little bubbly feeling rose up within her. It felt nice to spend more time with someone she trusted so much and in hindsight, she didn't really have the opportunity beforehand. They never actually got to interact on a more personal level. Perhaps he was just too busy keeping her out of trouble. Now she would finally have a chance to talk to and get to know her "big brother".

"Busy?" she responded to his question. "Why, hardly at all! I've just been wandering around and playing with all the animals around here. They're so adorable!" she squealed, clasping her hands together as she recalled running her fingers over the soft fur of the kittens and the fuzzy pelt of a dog. She was so lucky to be able to work with a veterinarian; she both got to interact with and help animals.

"What about you, Mattie?" she asked in return. She then noticed the numerous scratches littered about his face and arms. "Why are you so scratched up? Did you pull on a cat's tail?" she joked lightly. Still, she was still rather concerned. In fact, she didn't even know what Matthew did for a living or what he did for fun. All she knew was that he was a nice, protective big brother whom she could trust. That being said, Adina found it easy to trust a lot of people, but Matthew just seemed... even more trustworthy.

Matthew Rider



Matthew smiled and nodded his head a little when Adina expressed her joy at interacting with the animals. There certainly were quite a few here and there; mostly strays but there were some that had legitimate owners. “Well...just be careful. Some animals may not like being petted.” Mattie warned.

When Adina asked how he had gotten the scratches to his face and arms he only shrugged. “A little rock climbing accident but it's okay, I didn't break anything and the scratches will heal up fine,” he said in an assuring voice.

He leaned back in his chair as a waiter; the same waiter he had shoved earlier, came over to their table with a menu which he placed in front of Adina before he asked her what she wanted to drink. Matthew thought the whole setup was a little funny because the cafe was acting more and more like your typical restaurant but if that's the way management ran the place then who was he to complain?

“So what do you do here in Amsterdam? When we met we hardly got to know each other.” Matthew said. It was true their conversation had been short, polite and charming but no real information had been passed between them.

All Matthew really knew about her was she was cute, prim and proper and she had a love for animals...and yet he felt very protective of her. When the waiter turned to him and asked him once again if he was ready to order, Matthew nodded his head.

He decided to keep things simple: Chicken Parmesan on a bed of white rice with whole kernel corn as a side. One of the main reasons he wasn't too fond of the Cafe was the food they served; pretty diverse and 'un Cafe' like as one could get. The food wasn't gross, it was pretty good but nothing to write home about.

Adina Engel



'Rock climbing?' Adina thought to herself. Now that he mentioned it, it did seem like Matthew was the athletic type. She wondered how many other sports he engaged in, but before she could ask, she was interrupted by the waiter, who asked her what she wanted to drink.

"I'll have a lemonade, please," she said as she picked up the menu and began to scroll through the list of entrees. It contained a rather broad variety of foods, although none were made to be absolutely exquisite. What did you expect from a cafe, anyways? Still, Adina was having a hard time deciding and so even as Matthew asked her about her doings, she was still partially distracted by the menu.

"Um... Well I work with... you know what they're called... Veterinarians!" she exclaimed as she put her menu down. "I don't really have a professional degree so I can't really do all the fancy stuff and the pay isn't great but it makes me happy to help animals! I just absolutely adore them," she explained, the smile on her face becoming wider as she recalled the happiness she felt while she was on the job. She couldn't imagine doing anything else that would make her happier.

The waiter seemed to be back so quickly and Adina had to run her eyes over the menu one last time before she came to a decision. After all, it would be rude to make the poor man run back and forth. "I think a fettuccine alfredo will be fine," she said as she handed the menu over. The waiter nodded and dipped away after taking the orders and promised that the food would arrive soon.

Thinking for a moment, Adina remembered what she wanted to ask before the waiter had appeared and said, "Anyways, Mattie, what do you do for a living? Do you do any other sports? Because you seem like such a sporty guy. I can just imagine you running a marathon or something!" It was true, for with Matthew's build, it wasn't hard to see him doing anything athletic. However, the thought did pique Adina's curiosity even more.

Matthew Rider



'' "Um... Well I work with... you know what they're called... Veterinarians!" ''

Matthew couldn't help but smile when Adina seemed to trip over her words. So she worked [i]with[/i] vets but she wasn't a vet. That made perfect sense. She did seem like the kind of person that would enjoy all of the perks of being a veterinarian. There was her love for animals, that was a big plus. She was kind, friendly and always had a smile on her face, or so Matthew noticed.

Adina had said that she didn't have a professional degree. That was too bad; she should take the courses so she could get one! It was obvious that she would be great as a vet all she needed to do was believe in herself! He didn't know if that was what was holding her back or not. She didn't seem like the type to not believe in herself but he had been wrong in the past.

He gave a curt nod to the waiter as the man left, promising that the food would be out soon. Yeah, yeah. Promises promises. '' "Anyways, Mattie, what do you do for a living? Do you do any other sports? Because you seem like such a sporty guy. I can just imagine you running a marathon or something!" ''

Matthew chuckled, still amazing at Adina's bubbly nature. That was one thing he liked about her. It reminded him of his own mother. “Yes, I uh...I swim. I participated in the last Olympics and I participate in races all over the place. I find it a whole lot more satisfying than running a company,” he remarked, “In my spare time I also like swordplay and rock climbing...guess you could say I'm a pretty active guy with diverse tastes.”

He leaned forward a little in his chair and rested his arms on the table. “If you like working with animals you should go and get your degree so you can be a vet,” he said.

Adina Engel



Even though it should have come as no surprise to Adina, she still couldn't stop her jaw from dropping when Matthew revealed himself as an Olympic swimmer. That seemed almost unbelievable because to her, Olympians were like celebrities and Adina never would've thought that she would be acquainted with one. In fact, she never thought that she would be sitting down and having lunch with one of them.

"That's amazing!" she blurted, still marveling at Matthew's occupation. It wasn't everyday that you realized your friend was a world-renowned athlete. And not only was he good at one sport, but he also had different tastes. "You sure must like working out, then," she commented, wondering how much time and effort he must put in to maintain his physique. Just thinking about it filled her with awe. It was simply incredible.

 "If you like working with animals you should go and get your degree so you can be a vet.” 

Adina rested her cheek on her palm, pondering the possibility for a while. She had never actually thought about it. After all, college just never appealed to her that much. She was happy working where she was, but now that Matthew had mentioned it, perhaps becoming an actual vet would be desirable as well.

"You know, I never actually thought about getting a professional degree. My parents never really encouraged it because I'm not really part of.. Well I guess the regular crowd" she chuckled. It had always been a habit of hers ever since she was small to kind of flaunt her supernatural powers. It wasn't that she was flamboyant with it, but she would border on revealing her identity, which could prove a problem. This was especially a concern now due to her parents' positions as traditionalists. They were worried that if Adina was exposed as a witch, too much unwanted attention would be received. In fact, she might become alienated and that was the last thing they wanted for their daughter.

"Say, Mattie, Adina began before she continued to ask, "If you found out that some people had special powers, would you be afraid of them?"

Matthew Rider



 "You know, I never actually thought about getting a professional degree. My parents never really encouraged it because I'm not really part of.. Well I guess the regular crowd" 

“That's too bad,” Matthew said not really catching on to what Adina meant. Parents really needed to encourage their kids to be all that they could be and go after something if they really wanted it. His own parents had begun to do that with him and he was lucky that his uncle had shared their feelings. He really didn't know where he would be if his uncle hadn't been there for him.

 "Say, Mattie, Adina began before she continued to ask, "If you found out that some people had special powers, would you be afraid of them?"  Matthew shook his head. He could never be afraid of someone like that. He too had special gifts and had been encouraged to use and develop them which was why he could do the things he could. To say that he was afraid of someone 'special' would be like saying that he was afraid of himself and he wasn't like that.

“No, the way I see it is everyone is different and special in their own way. Some people are good at somethings, other people are good at something else. No one needs to be criticized or feared just because they are different. Everyone has a purpose in the world, even those with special powers. Why do you ask?”

Did Adina ask because she had special powers? If that were so Matthew knew that he would be shocked. Perhaps that was why he felt a bond with her, because they were alike. It made sense. “Do you have special powers or something?” He didn't laugh when he asked that. His tone was quite serious because he wanted Adina to know that he was taking it seriously. Being special really was no laughing matter.

If Adina revealed that she had special powers, Matthew knew that it would only be fair to reciprocate and be honest with her about what he could do, but he really didn't want to. It wasn't that he was afraid to tell her it was that he didn't want some random person hearing. His family had been targeted once and everyone but him had been wiped out. If someone knew he was that different he could be targeted again and he didn't want to have to go through that whole experience again.