Teary eyed, you lifted the phone to your ear. "Matthew?" you whispered, waiting to hear the quiet man's voice. When it responded immediately, the tears spilt from your eyes. "Mattie, I did it." He paused over the line and you feared the worse, until you heard his calm answer to your unspoken question.

"See you in 10."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It had only been a few days since you broke up with your abusive boyfriend, and Matthew Williams had been the most supportive of all your friends, holding you while you cried, nursing your wounds, even allowing you to live with him. So it was only fair you do something for him.

You woke up early that day. It was just a random Saturday, no big deal, so you expected Mattie to still be asleep at 5 that morning.

Creeping silently through the halls, you snuck into the kitchen and pulled out all the ingredients you needed to fix pancakes. While you stirred together the batter, you sang one of your favorite songs quietly to yourself.

"He likes me.
I think he likes me.
But does he 'like me' like me
Like I like him?
Will we be friends,
Or something more?
I think he's interested,
But I'm not sure."

The song brought back fond memories of when you were still a young woman in high school, before you lost yourself in the wave of confusion that was your ex.

"A mix tape,
He made me a mix tape.
He was thinking of me,
Which shows he cares!
Sometimes when someone
Has a crush on you,
They'll make you a mix tape
To give you a clue."

Back then, you had been hopelessly, desperately, in love with the shy Canadian boy. Back then you were energetic and full of life. Back then, you were only a naive Freshman in high school. You cleared your throat, along with all the painful memories.

"Let's see.
'You've Got a Friend',
The theme from 'Friends',
'That's What Friends Are For'.

But in your Junior year, one bad mistake lead to another and you found yourself slipping away from Matthew Williams and his caring family and into the dark abyss that was the world of the corrupted. Shaking your head, you tried to shake the memories away with them.

"Shit.
Oh, but look!
'A Whole New World',
'Kiss the Girl',
'My Cherie Amour'!"

By now, you realized your haunting past wasn't going to leave you alone, so you had accepted the feelings that would soon flood you as you sang.

"'I Am the Walrus',
'Fat Bottomed Girls',
'Yellow Submarine'.
What does this mean?"

Drinking, smoking, vandalism. Overnight stays in police custody. Threats to be held back in school. Possibilities of boarding schools. Everything was going the wrong way. Including your love life. The monster who started everything.

"'Stuck On You',
'Love Me Do',
'My Heart Will Go On'!"

Three years. That man had stolen three years from your life. After you had 'outlived your usefulness', he started to find other ways to entertain himself. He would come home late at night, drunk off his ass, and beat you. Matthew helped you cover the bruises after he saw one.

"'She's Got a Way',
'Yesterday',
'Goodnight Saigon'!"

You had been at the supermarket, buying something, you couldn't remember what, when you bumped into the shy boy you had hardly seen in the last two years. He caught sight of your split lip and saw how delicate you were with your left wrist, and had come to his own, correct, conclusions.

"'Throughout the Years',
The Theme From 'Cheers',
'Moving Right Along'!"

For a year you ignored his pleas, along with the begging of anyone else who wanted you to leave that man. But you never listened. You thought you loved him. Matthew reminded you just how wrong you were.

Quietly, you flipped the last of your pancakes and hummed the final line to yourself.

"'I Have To Say I Love You In a Song'."

Matthew saved you. In the end, it was all him. And you were going to make it up to him. You turned and started walking up to his room, never noticing him listening to you sing as well as make the mad dash back to his room before you got there.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A few more days passed, and Matthew was out of town on a business trip, along with the awkwardly adorable couple Alfred and Arthur who lived down the hall and Matthew's 'uncle' Francis. You were lonely, but happy to have silence for a while.

Walking into your room, you saw a small (f/c) package sitting on your made bed. Your name was written on it in beautiful calligraphy.

Carefully, you pulled away the neatly folded paper and revealed a small mixtape. Behind it, laying on the unwrapped paper, was a small card with a list of songs.

'You've Got a Friend'
The theme from 'Friends'
'That's What Friends Are For'
'A Whole New World'
'Kiss the Girl'
'My Cherie Amour'

The list continued on, and with a small blush you realized that Mattie must have heard you singing, hence the tape. But, sitting on your bed with the mixtape held delicately in your hands, only one thing ran through your head, falling from your lips and escaping into the empty air.

"He likes me!"