Unintended

"Hey Matt!" I called, opening the door to his apartment to let myself in. "I'm a little early!"

"It's alright. Dinner's nearly finished," he replied from the kitchen. "Come on in."

I walked further into his apartment, shutting the door behind me. The layout of his apartment was very similar to mine. His walls were painted tope with white trim all throughout the rooms with splashes of the rainbow from decorative art that he had on the walls. His living room was simple: red couch, entertainment center with his television and stereo, and a rather large bookshelf filled with all sorts of books ranging from the biography of Che Rivera to conspiracies covered up by governments of the world. The only thing that was different about his living room was the beautiful black piano against the wall alongside my apartment. It was fairly neat with the exception of piles of sheet music stacked near the piano on the floor.

It was a Wednesday night, two days after Matt had returned from Italy when he invited me over for dinner. When I left for filming in the morning, he had stopped me in the hall to ask me to his place for dinner. Since I didn't have anything scheduled later in the evening, I accepted. It was one of the first times we had seen each other since his return from Italy. To be honest, I had looked forward to seeing him all day that a lot of the cast on Doctor Who seemed to notice the extra bounce in my step. David Tennant kept joking about me having a hot date after work, which made me blush at the thought of it being a date rather than just two friends sharing a meal. I knew it was a ridiculous thought to have but I kind of did wish it was a date.

I walked over to the bar of the kitchen, watching as Matt stood near the stove, stirring his pot. I placed a bottle of semi-expensive, good-quality red wine that I brought with me on the counter and leaned against the marble, smelling the wonderful food he was preparing. Matt turned and faced me, smiling widely and walking to the counter.

"I brought our beloved red wine for the evening," I said, pushing the bottle towards him.

"Ah, see? This is why we're friends. You know exactly what's important to a meal," he replied, reaching for the wine glasses. "Fancy a glass?"

"Of course," I said. "I really need it."

"Long day?" he asked.

"Oh yes. I've been busy filming my scenes in the special all day long. I have one more scene to finish but that's not happening for another two days until we can get on location," I explained. "I've never ran so much as I have for this show. It's really a workout."

"Then you really do deserve a rest," he said with a chuckle, handing me a glass of wine. "But, it's been fun, hasn't it?"

"Hands down, the best thing I've worked on so far," I smiled.

"Have you gotten to know anyone from the cast particularly well?" he asked, going back to his cooking.

"I've gotten fairly acquainted with David Tennant even though we hardly have any scenes together. He's a fan of my stage work and told me that he admires my success for such a young actress. We spent a lot of time talking about his production of 'Hamlet' and 'Love's Labor's Lost' and my time doing stage plays. He's given me some really good advice about the RSC so it's been nice. He's really kind to everyone on the set," I said, taking a sip.

"It's a good thing you've gotten on so well then," Matt replied.

"It's just really sad to be on that set because everyone knows it's one of the last times he'll get to be The Doctor so everyone's getting very sentimental about it. I feel a little out of place sometimes when the regular cast starts swapping stories from the previous series they worked together," I sighed. "But I guess it's no different than how it is the last night of a play. I remember everyone talking about our time in rehearsals and stories about silly moments we shared at the final cast party for The Importance of Being Earnest."

"Yeah, I'll be a bit sad to see him go," Matt said, pulling his pot off the stove. "I really liked how he portrayed The Doctor but it does give another up and coming somebody a chance to shine."

"Yeah. Who knows? We might like this new guy better than David Tennant," I shrugged, standing from the stool I sat on and walking towards the stereo. "Do you mind if I put on some music?"

"Not at all," he replied. "I've nearly got everything done."

I looked through the different CDs he had lined up on the shelf of his entertainment center, trying to figure out what would be good to listen to. Our tastes in music were really different from one another but still, I was about to find something amidst the classical music and David Bowie he had stashed. I picked up the copy of 'Carnival of the Animals' and decided that it would be good. I enjoyed Camille Saint-Saëns as much as he did. I pushed the disc into the stereo and turned the volume up a bit, hearing the first track begin to play.

"Alright, dinner's all set," Matt said, clapping his hands together.

I walked over to his table, which was already set, and looked down at the food that lay before us. He had prepared spaghetti and meatballs with homemade sauce as well as a small green salad on the side dressed in light vinegar and oil and freshly baked slices of sourdough bread. Matt helped me into my seat before sitting down across from me, putting his napkin into his lap.

"My, you'd think after all the pasta you ate in Italy that you'd be tired of it by now," I laughed, also placing the napkin into my lap.

"Never. This is one of my specialties. My homemade sauce is one of the best things you'll ever taste in your life," he grinned. "Please, help yourself."

Nodding, I piled on a bit of pasta onto my plate as well as salad. I sprinkled a bit of parmesan cheese on top of both before grabbing two slices of the bread. Matt also served himself some of the food as I took my first bite of the food. He looked at me expectantly, waiting for my response before he started eating. It was cute because he looked a little nervous about what I would say, like he was desperately seeking my approval of his cooking.

"It's delicious," I said as he breathed a small sigh of relief. "I think you're a better cook than I could ever be."

"Thank you," he said, twirling the pasta around his fork. "But I highly doubt my cooking is anywhere near your level. Your food tastes a lot better than mine."

"We're all our own worst critics," I shrugged. "So, tell me all about Italy. It's nearly been a month since I've seen you so I'm dying to know what it was like," I said.

"It was truly beautiful," he said with a tiny smile. "We've been there before to play shows and do interviews but not really for an extended period of time. It's different being there and actually getting a chance to experience the culture rather than just passing through on the way to a gig or a television interview. I think we got a lot more out of it this time."

"Well three weeks at a riverside villa would allow you to experience the culture all you want," I replied.

"Perhaps next time we'll have to go through with Dom's kidnapping scheme rather than leave you behind to work on some silly play," he laughed.

"Silly play?" I asked in mock offense. "You're calling a performance of one of Britain's greatest authors in literature a silly little play?"

"It will always be silly to me since I'm not as passionate about Shakespeare as you are," he laughed. "Though, I will admit, I did buy a copy of the play so I could brush up on my iambic pentameter."

"Did you now? Well, I guess I found someone to help me rehearse more," I giggled with a playful wink.

"You honestly think a major music geek like me is worthy of running lines with one of the biggest stage actresses London has seen in the last decade? Oh how I would love to live in such a fantasy world where that was true," he said as I shook my head at his dramatics.

"You better shape up your acting skills if you are to be my substitute Orlando," I said, pointing at him with my fork.

"I don't think my acting skills match up to that of your co-star, the great Ianto Marks, but I shall do my best," he grinned.

"Trust me, you'll do fine," I said, taking another bite of pasta. "All you need to really do is deliver my cue lines and check to see if I remembered the phrases correctly. I'm not expecting you to be like Johnny Depp or anything," I laughed.

"Good because there's no bloody way a guy like me will ever have skills like Johnny Depp. I'm just a musician. My creativity comes through expressing myself musically, not through acting before a bunch of strangers," he said, taking a bite of the sourdough bread.

"Speaking of music, how's the album shaping up?" I asked curiously, taking a sip of wine.

"We really got a lot of things accomplished in Italy. It was good for us to get out of London and have some peace and quiet so we could really focus on the concept of this album, you know? It was just the kind of refreshing boost we needed to generate some different ideas about what we needed to accomplish," he explained, twirling pasta around his fork. "Besides, Dom had a blast working on the drum beats for our untitled track. That was something new for him."

"I'm very interested in hearing that track when it's completed," I smiled.

"Honestly, I am too," Matt said as we both laughed. "It's so different from what we've done in the past that I don't know what I can do lyrically but I always like something that challenges me as an artist. Sometimes, you need to think outside the box in order to create something good."

"What does it sound like so far?"

"So far, it's very reminiscent of a hip-hop beat from a Timbaland song," he said.

"Sounds rather interesting," I nodded. "Have you written any lyrics for it yet?"

"I've tried a few ideas out but still haven't come up with the right idea for the song yet," he sighed. "It's one of those things that will come to me at a very inconvenient time. I just know it."

"Well, hopefully you'll be able to figure it out without inconvenience. I'm sure whatever you come up with will be great," I said reassuringly, placing my hand on top of his.

At that moment when I felt his hot skin underneath my palm, I could feel my heart beginning to race. For the first time this evening, I was beginning to feel myself blushing at the touch of his skin. After three weeks of not seeing him, I thought I would have gotten rid of these stupid feelings but instead, they seemed to intensify tenfold. Now, gently rubbing the back of his free hand in reassurance, I desperately wanted to intertwine our fingers together and bask in the feeling of being connected to him, even though it was only through holding his hand.

I slowly retracted my hand, sheepishly looking up at him as he smiled at me. I bit my lower lip, trying to keep myself from smiling back at him like an idiot. The effect that Matt had on me never ceased to amaze me, even after not seeing him for so long. I shook my head, trying to rid the thoughts of how attractive he looked or how I wanted to be closer to him. Instead, I decided to change the subject and break the silence that loomed over us, just to distract myself from any inappropriate thoughts.

"So aside from the regret you feel in not following Dom's abduction scheme, what else did you do in Italy? Tell me about the psychotropic adventures in Milan. I saw the pictures and you three looked ridiculous," I said with a laugh.

"Well, we basically did everything you saw in the pictures I sent to you. Dom wound up frolicking in the gardens at Sforza Castle while three Italian security guards yelled at him. He just kept saying 'belisimo' over and over again like it made some kind of sense as a response and blew them kisses while Chris and I tried to deny knowing him," he said, sipping his wine.

"I can only imagine Dom frolicking through a garden while Italian men chase him about. That seems very like him," I replied.

"Yeah, Dom really seems to enjoy running about while strange men chase and shout after him," Matt laughed. "But Milan was fun. My favorite part was the Teatro alla Scala. I was finally about to see an opera in a real opera house. I've always wanted to see a live opera."

"Yeah, same here," I smiled. "It's good you attended though because you gained the missing link to a song."

"I did. I just hope I can sing in French without making the aria sound rubbish," he said with a sigh.

"I'm sure you can," I said reassuringly. "As much as you stress about your music, I know your suffering will be worth it in the end when you have the finished product for the fans."

"Yeah, I know you're right," he said with a tiny smile.

"Of course I'm right! I've been hanging out with a very clever Doctor who told me so," I joked.

"Are you trying to tell me that The Doctor knows about how our new album will turn out?" he teased.

"Duh! He's a Timelord. He can see all of the future throughout the whole universe. Of course he'll know something as simple like whether your album will be successful or not," I said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"I think the time on the Doctor Who set has completely warped your brain," he said.

"Whatever," I laughed. "I know you're jealous because your job doesn't involve the Doctor or his TARDIS."

"You're right. I'm completely jealous," he replied sarcastically, rolling his eyes.

"Well, The Doctor did tell me to tell you that he's a massive fan and would like an autographed copy of the album when it's done," I said, sipping more of my wine.

"I think that can be arranged," he grinned.

We finished out dinner, clearing the table and pouring another glass of wine. I insisted on washing the dishes as Matt protested, arguing that I was his guest and it wasn't proper for guests to clean up the mess. In the end, after a fifteen minute debate about which one of us was right, we came to a compromise. I washed the dishes while he dried and put them away. Once the dishes were done, we took our wine and headed into his living room, plopping down on the red couch.

"So, now what are we to do with our time?" he asked, glancing over at me sideways.

"Well, we have many options available to us," I said, leaning forward to set my wine glass on the table. "Like we can always watch a movie or you could play me something on the piano."

"If we were to watch a film, which one would you like to watch?" Matt asked.

"That would depend on the movies you have available to watch," I replied, pushing myself off the couch and walking to his entertainment center. "Are you DVDs in this cabinet?" I asked, pointing to the two doors.

He nodded, also standing from the couch and walking toward me, "Yeah, that's it."

I opened up the doors of the cabinet and browsed through the different movie titles he had stacked inside; noticing his tastes in movies was vastly eclectic. He had all different types of movie genres from classic Monty Python comedy to cult classics like Fight Club and Donnie Darko. I glanced over at him, fairly impressed with his collection of movies and watched as he looked through the DVDs as well, unable to stop my stomach from flipping nervously as he looked at me with those clear blue eyes.

"Didn't you mother ever teach you that it's not polite to stare?" he asked teasingly, glancing at me out of the corner of his eye.

"She did but can you blame me? I haven't seen you in nearly a month! I almost forgot what you looked like," I laughed. "Anyway, onto a more important topic, what should we watch?"

"No preferences whatsoever?" he asked curiously.

"Nope. I'm fine with whatever you pick," I replied, walking back to the couch.

"Alright then," he said with a shrug, grabbing a DVD case from the shelf.

He popped the DVD into the player and walked over to the wall near the kitchen, turning down the lights so we were sitting in the dark. He returned to his spot next to me on the couch, grabbing the DVD remote from the table as I glanced at him curiously, wondering what movie he picked. Matt looked at me with a crooked grin, raising an eyebrow questioningly.

"What?" he asked innocently.

"What movie did you pick?" I asked.

"How do you feel about zombies?" he asked seriously.

"Um, I'm not the biggest fan of zombies because they're usually really lame in movies. Why? Are we watching a zombie movie?" I asked.

He nodded, "I decided on 28 Days Later since it's one of the better films about zombies. I really like how real it all feels compared to the other movies."

"I've heard good things about it but haven't actually taken the time to see it. Hopefully you're right about it being good," I smiled. "Wait, is it scary?"

"There are some moments that are sort of scary I suppose," he shrugged.

"Shit," I muttered.

"Why? Does Gabriella Nightingale not do well with scary movies? Afraid of the zombies coming after you?" he teased.

"I'm not a fan of horror movies because they tend to give me nightmares but since I'm watching with someone else, I suppose it won't be so bad. I might have to use you as a shield if I get too freaked out though," I warned him.

"I don't mind," he smiled, wrapping an arm around my shoulders and pulling me closer to him. "I'll protect you from the evil, vile creatures."

I couldn't help but feel the blush creeping onto my face when Matt pulled me closer to him. My entire left side felt like it was on fire when it came into contact with his warm body, his arm draped lazily over my shoulders as I rested my head on top of his shoulder. I placed my right hand across my lap as my other hand rested on my thigh. I could smell his aftershave being this close to him, making me feel more anxious about my thumping heart rather than the zombies that were to appear on the screen. I didn't know if I could handle being this close to Matt, especially with my growing attraction to him.

The studio credits began for the movie, leaving both of us in the dark as the first scene started. It wasn't even five minutes into the movie when I was forced to bury my head into his chest to shield myself from the images of the chimpanzee attacking one of the female activists. I hugged him tightly, which caused him to chuckle a bit at my reaction. He just held me closer and grabbed my free hand with his, intertwining our fingers together as I looked up at him.

"It's all over now. You can look," he said with a smile.

Embarassed about my reaction, I just bit my lower lip and looked back to the screen, not moving away from him in case I needed to shield my eyes once again. Throughout the entire movie, my heart was racing and I jumped from time to time when the zombies popped up unexpectedly. Though I was actually creeped out by the movie, since it was a different, plausible zombie movie that I could actually imagine happening one day, I felt a little better since Matt was holding onto me so protectively. I knew my heart was pounding from the tension of the movie but it was also beating so fast because we were so close to each other. This psychical contact was a new thing for our friendship and something I was not used to yet.

By the end of the movie, I was nervously prying myself away from Matt, trying my best not to be too scared in the dark after watching the dark zombie flick. Matt turned the movie off and changed the channel to something a little more lighthearted, which happened to be re-runs of 'The Office'. I slowly sipped my wine, looking around the room for any source of light so I knew I was safe.

Suddenly, I felt a pair of hands seizing my upper arms, surprising the hell out of me and making me yelp out loudly. Matt started laughing immediately, which made me glare at him for scaring me.

"You bastard!" I said, trying to catch my breath. "You're so dead!"

I lunged at him, pushing him back on the couch and trying to playfully hit him. He laughed, grabbing my wrists and holding me back. We both started to wrestle one another, laughing at our own ridiculous behavior. He managed to flip us around so that he was lying on top of me, tickling my sides as I squirmed beneath him. I managed to grab his hands, locking our fingers together so he couldn't tickle me anymore.

As our laughter died down, I began to realize how close we were to one another. Matt was straddling my waist, leaning over me with our hands locked together and his face inches from mine. I could practically feel his warm breath on my neck as his laughter died down. We both slowly gravitated toward each other, pushing the limits to which we would go to make closer, physical contact. I could feel myself swallow hard at being so close to him, desperately trying to stop myself from blushing once again. We were definitely in new boundaries now and I had no idea what to expect next. The whole time I was thinking about how bad this would be but how much I wanted it at the same time.

I carefully studied Matt's blue eyes, unable to tear my gaze away from him. His eyes traveled from my eyes down to my lips and then back up again, neither one of us able to move or speak a word to one another. The butterflies in my stomach were definitely flapping up a tornado as he took a shaky breath. All I wanted was to close the gap between us and meet his lips with mine, just to know what his kiss felt like but I was too scared to move. I couldn't tell what he was thinking as he continued studying my face.

After what seemed like an eternity of stillness, Matt leaned in closer, capturing my lips with his in a soft, gentle kiss. I tensed at first, shocked by his actions but quickly recovered, reciprocating his actions. His kiss turned from gentle and soft to hot and passionate within a matter of seconds, caressing the side of my face with one of his hands. I wrapped my arms loosely around his neck, pulling him closer against me as he brushed his tongue against my lower lip, deepening the already amazing kiss.

My head was spinning at the feeling of his touch. I never thought something as simple as a kiss could make me feel so high. The more he kissed me, the more I wanted him, craved him. Of all the things that could happen this evening, kissing Matt Bellamy was the last thing I expected to happen. I didn't think he was interested in anything more than a simple friendship. I still didn't know what he was interested in. Did he kiss me because he was caught up in the heat of the moment or was there something more there? My mind was clouded with all these questions rushing by all at once.

I slowly pushed his shoulders away, breaking the kiss and leaning up on the couch. Matt cleared his throat nervously, moving off of me so I could sit up properly and ran a hand through his dark hair. I chewed on my lower lip, avoiding his curious eyes as I tried to sort through what had just happened. I didn't want to read too much into it, since neither one of us was looking for some kind of romantic attachment of any kind, much less with each other. I couldn't help but lightly touch my lips with my finger tips, feeling them still tingle from our brief kiss.

"Sorry about that," he said sheepishly, causing me to break my train of thought and look at him curiously, "I guess I got a little swept away for a moment."

"Oh," I replied, feeling a slight sense of disappointment swelling in my chest. "Um, I should get going now, shouldn't I? I have a long day of more meetings and rehearsals tomorrow and could use the rest," I said quickly, standing up from my spot on the couch.

Sadness quickly filled my heart, causing me to want to run far away from this awkward situation. Matt and I had just crossed the boundary into the unknown and neither of us was sure of what the next step was. I just needed time alone so I could sort my feelings out and figure out why I was taking his explanation so hard. I needed to keep myself from showing any kind of disappointment in his response.

"Oh, right," Matt said slowly, also standing from the couch. "I guess you should get your rest."

"Dinner was lovely," I said quickly, briefly looking at him. "Thanks for everything. I'll show myself out," I added, rushing to grab my purse and coat and heading out the door before Matt could say another word.

I quickly threw my apartment door open and shut it, locking it back up and leaning against the wood despondently, letting out a quite sigh I hadn't known I had been holding. Taking a shaky breath, I ran my fingers through my hair and shut my eyes, remembering the feeling of Matt's body close to mine. I could still feel his lips lingering against mine, causing me to touch them once again with my fingers as I realized that the moment had already passed. It was just a moment where he got carried away. There was nothing more to that.

'So it really didn't mean anything to him then. It was just hormones gone awry,' I thought sadly. 'There's no way that silly kiss could ever mean more to him.'

I slumped down against the door down to the floor, releasing yet another dejected sigh. This whole incident was just a mistake, just a laugh amongst two friends. I shouldn't read too much into this situation. We both made it perfectly clear that romance of any kind would further complicate our already difficult, busy lives. I knew all this but yet, couldn't get rid of these stupid feelings of confusion and disappointment. I wasn't sure how to act around him now.

The only thing I was sure about now was that the next time we spoke would be extremely awkward. I wasn't sure I would be able to face him right away until I got control of my emotions and realized that the reality of our situation would allow for a friendship only. I couldn't like Matt more than that. I wouldn't.