Matter of Contention

[Addison Sloane]

After a confusing night (nights, really) of being rejected by what she thought was a sure thing, Addison was determined to face the next day with nothing but the optimism that got her to where she was now. She was ready to go walk the dog when the doorbell rang.

Not expecting any guests, Addison frowned slightly as she pulled her coat on, stumbling over her new dog, laughing in the process. "Could you be more in the way?" She asked, bending down to pick the dog up. As he struggled in her arms, Addison pressed her nose on to the top of his head. "Come on, Z. Chill. It's just the doorbell." She said with a smile before answering the door.

When she saw that it was her good friend, Felix, her smile widened. Gone was the girl who sat blubbering in his office. The sessions with the mind alterer had changed that, leaving somewhat of a husk of the girl that had shown raw emotion just a few days ago. Had Felix not seen that side of her, seeing her this way wouldn't have been much of a shock.

But there she was, perky and so unlike the girl that had left suddenly from the studio just days ago.

"Felix, hey! What a pleasant surprise. Come on in." She grinned, stepping aside so her friend could pass through.

[Felix Nicholas]

Felix was concerned for Addison Sloane. So much so the teacher hadn't thought of much else since his friend had broken their therapy session abruptly short. He could not help but partly blame himself... He'd seen how low she was and yet had still pushed ahead with the session; Granted she had insisted, but Felix felt he should have refused none the less, given her unstable emotional state. Felix had never seen her so breakable before... She'd felt so horrifically fragile, as though she was made of glass, as though one wrong movement would have shattered her.

Which he felt he may have done.

The teacher was unsure on how exactly he should approach her; He wished she would let him in, even a little, into what was plaguing her. Whatever it was had truly shaken his friend to her core, and was clearly far beyond the pressures she felt at the music agency. While perhaps he should have left her until she was ready to come to him, Felix couldn't shake the drive to check on her. She hadn't even called, or texted an apology, which was very unlike her. The teacher took a deep breath as he paused, just outside of Addison's apartment door.What exactly was he supposed to say? He'd already questioned her, urged her to tell him what was hurting her, and yet she seemed intent on steeling herself from him with those metaphorical emotional walls. But then he wouldn't be a good therapist unless he tried... Or a good friend. Felix brought a small smile to his lips, not wanting to greet her with a worried or concerned expression, and gave a light, casual knock to the door. He adjusted his shoulder bag which housed his laptop in the moments prior to the door opening, preparing himself for the ghost of a girl he'd seen a short time earlier.
What met the teacher however was such a stark difference to what he was expecting it had the man almost reeling in a mixture of confusion and concern; Addy... Was practically beaming. She greeted Felix with a grin which didn't seem at all forced, stepping aside to let him in.

Felix however didn't step forward. He blinked at his friend with widened eyes, his eyebrows knitted together as he took in her strangely sunny disposition uneasily. "... Addy?" He spoke questioningly. "... Addy, are you okay?" He took a hesitant step forward, peering at her face; She didn't look as though she'd been crying recently... And yet there was something off. Something not quite right.

[Addison Sloane]

Felix's concerned look worried Addison as she tilted her head, wondering why he was asking if she was okay. "Of course I am, why wouldn't I be?" She asked with a forced laughter.

She then decided it was high time she introduced Felix to the new addition in her life.

"Oh, Felix. Meet Z. I got him a few days ago. Say hi, Z." Addison held the husky puppy up to Felix and the puppy gave a tentative lick in the man's direction. "I saw an ad in the town bulletin board and just couldn't resist it." She grinned before asking him. "Oh, were we supposed to meet today? I mean, I'm glad you're here. I was about to bring Z out for a walk but if we had something planned for today, I could cancel the walk or push it for later."

[Felix Nicholas]

Felix was still reeling from Addy's strange behavior when the bundle of fluff was presented before him. The teacher managed a small smile, and raised a hand to ruffle the puppy's fur. "... You alright there little guy?" He spoke softly, before moving his hand away, watching his friend as she bizarrely continued, casually, as though he'd merely popped by and she hadn't had tears cascading down her face in his office days earlier. Was she feigning this bright, upbeat attitude in order to calm his concern? It was such a sharp turnaround... The girl he had seen in his office had been a shadow of her usual self; You did not shift your emotional state from something so dark and breakable to this in mere days. But it was even more unsettling then that... She wasn't trying to assure him that everything was fine, that he shouldn't worry. She was almost acting as though what happened back at the radio station hadn't happened at all.

"... Addy, look," Felix began, shaking his head a little, walking past her and into her home. "... I just want to talk. There's no need... To try and act as though nothing is wrong." He looked back at her, smiling gently. "I promise I won't try any therapy today... I'm sorry for pushing you. I should have refused the session." He sighed a little, raised a hand and ran it through his hair, before reaching it outto gently stroke the puppy's head. It seemed quite pleased with the attention.
"... If you want me to leave, I will," Felix continued, his tone as gentle as his smile. He raised his eyeline and met his friend's. "But there's no need to pretend what happened in my office didn't happen. I'm here for you, Addy... Just tell me what's happened to you. I'm your friend before I'm your therapist. Please."

[Addison Sloane]

"He sure is all right." Addison grinned, pulling Z back into her face for nuzzles. He smelled so nice and felt so soft against her skin, she took awhile to rub her face in his fur.

When Felix started speaking again, Addison looked up from the dog's fur with a puzzled look colouring her face. She looked at him as though he had grown a second head. "Felix, what are you talking about?" She asked with a forced chuckle. She didn't even remember being in Felix's office, especially recently.

"Felix, are you okay?" Addison asked, reaching out to squeeze his arm, a move that was decidedly unlike her.

[Felix Nicholas]

It was like looking at a completely different person, the change was so violently opposite to the quivering girl she had been; She almost had Felix questioning himself, if it wasn't for the fact even now with her so upbeat... Something was still not right. It was unsettling.

Felix's smile dropped at his friend's reaction, furrowing his brows deeply in confusion. "... Addy, what are you talking about? You were in my office for a therapy session a few days ago, you burst into tears..." He trailed off when she touched his arm, the teacher almost flinching back from the shock of it; Days earlier, Addy had made it very obvious that she couldn't bare for Felix to so much as grace her arm. She had looked so horribly uncomfortable... And now she was willingly touching him, even squeezing his arm in some effort to comfort him. The teacher shot her hand a startled glance, before looking back at her. "Addy. You ran out of the station, don't you remember?" He paused a moment, moving in closer to her, narrowing his eyes as he scanned her face, her head, his mind racing with the idea that his friend might have severely knocked her head and was suffering some form of concussion. He looked back to her. "Addy, have you hit your head?" He spoke with urgency. "Think back... How is your memory over the past few hours? Any black outs?"

[Addison Sloane]

Felix's words, though in English, didn't seem to make sense to Addison. His question about blackouts made her frown and shake her head. "No. Felix...why don't you calm down. Come inside, I'll make you tea." She said as she moved to the kitchen with wary glances at her friend.

She let Z go and he scampered off happily to the living room, jumping on furniture.

As she made tea for Felix, his words came back to her. Had she hit her head? No. The past few days have been a blur but wasn't that always the case for her? It wasn't like she had time to think about her previous days. Felix must have been mistaken.

But why would he come up with such ludicrous claims? She was crying? Why would she cry? And he mentioned therapy earlier but she didn't remember asking Felix for a therapy session. Why would she? He was her friend.

Blinking away the confusion, she steeped the tea and looked around for mugs.

[Felix Nicholas]

Felix bowed his head as Addison wearily shrugged off his claims, frowning at the floor a moment as his mind reeled from his friend's worrying behavior. What could have brought this on? Was she suffering from some sort of memory loss? Had what was plaguing her blocked it out in order for her to cope? Addy had looked so breakable that day Felix couldn't put it out of the realm of possibility...

He looked over when he heard the clinking of mugs, slowly following her into the kitchen area. He watched as she hurriedly went about making tea; Boiling water. Sugar. Milk. She was going through the motions perfectly, and Felix could see no visible head injury. Why was she so adamant that the therapy session never occurred? The teacher slowly walked towards her, gently placing a hand on her shoulder. "Addy... Addy stop, for a moment," He spoke softly, using his other hand to take hold of each of the mugs in turn and moving them back away from her grasp. "Can we talk? Please. Just sit down." He smiled warmly, hoping to calm her uneasiness regarding his questioning. He had no idea what had caused this, but right now she needed him. Felix needed to talk with her, to try and trace her mind back over the past few days.
If her mind had blotted out a traumatic incident... Without medical aid it was only going to get worse. Repressed memories had a way of crawling their way back out, and often became all the more traumatic for it. She needed help. This wasn't Felix's area of expertise... Music therapy was usually something which helped with the aftereffects of things like this, not the initial disorder. But Addy was his friend... And it pained Felix's heart to see her like this, knowing it was surely some desperate act of her subconscious in order to prevent herself from hurting. If he could just talk to her... He might be able to convince her enough to take her to a doctor.

[Addison Sloane]

When the hand landed on her shoulder, Addison jumped a little and turned around, her eyebrows furrowing in the middle when she saw that concerned look on his face again. Briefly she wondered if this was going to take awhile, him looking at her like a piece of breakable glass.

She did stop, letting Felix take the mug away. The way he was handling her seemed so gentle, completely out of place. Her relationship with Felix could never be classified as gentle. Exuberant, music-filled and full of life. Or that was always what she saw their friendship as.

This was worrying. To her. If she only knew how ironic the situation was.

She sat on one of the stools near the counter and watched Felix, scrutinising his every move. She wondered what brought on this change about him. Had she really forgotten that they had met a few days ago? It just seemed wildly unlike him to make such claims without it being true.

"Okay, what's happening right now, Fe?" She asked after a long silence.

[Felix Nicholas]

As Addison went to seat herself down, Felix sighed softly, folding his arms across his chest and bowing his head in thought. How exactly was he going to start explaining this? He tried to think back to his college days, his mind flicking through methods of approach; But this, if it was what he thought it was, was likely beyond the care he could give her. If her mind had taken such a drastic measure to salve her pain, what she must have suffered through must have been horribly traumatic... Why hadn't she come to him sooner? Had she not wanted to burden him? The teacher brought a hand to his hair, rubbing it through before gripping a handful, his brow furrowed at the floor.
What if it wasn't repressed memories? It was odd for someone's mind to be that selective... The traumatic incident could be utterly blacked out, but often the victim is aware of something having occurred; Addison was denying even so much as coming to Felix's office and breaking down, which was an incident after the initial cause. But what option was left? It was clear from her expression that she wasn't feigning not knowing... She honestly thought she hadn't been to a therapy session.

"... Addy," Felix began, his tone gentle as he raised his head, letting his hand slip from his hair as he reached out for the other kitchen stool, pulling it over with a soft sigh and taking a seat. "I need you to think back over the past few days. Does anything seem... Odd? Any blackouts, or areas of memory that are difficult to recall?" He raised his eyeline to meet hers; He kept a small, soft smile on his lips in an effort to reassure her, but his gaze spoke volumes of his true feelings; He was scared for his friend.

He'd known Addy for years, had helped her with her career by featuring her on the school's radio; She'd helped distract him back during the unpleasantness with his ex, by throwing her all into musical collaboration, something which he'd been beyond thankful for. She'd been there for him, so without any consideration Felix knew he would do everything within his ability to help her... He couldn't lose such a dear friend.

[Addison Sloane]

The way Felix seemed to handle himself made Addison feel like a child again. It wasn't a nice feeling. She had been so damn unsure of her place when she was a kid. Not that she was all confidence now but she had shed so much of that excess baggage that she felt the distinct difference now. Felix looked like an adult figure trying to break bad news to his kid.

His question got her thinking and she had indeed experienced a few parts of her memory that seemed rather odd and out of place. But she didn't really think it was anything to worry herself over. They must have been insignificant enough that it didn't matter that she was feeling it.

"Yeah, but nothing worrying. I mean, I don't think I've missed days of memory. Everything's fine though, Felix. Don't I look fine?" She asked, her hand grabbing Felix's and squeezing it. She had wanted to make him feel less worried with that gesture. But it probably made Felix even more worried about her. Especially since Addison wasn't known for being touchy.

[Felix Nicholas]

She was looking at him as though he was the one who should be worried about. He was still battling within himself to what exactly his best course of action should be; If he just came out with it, would she not just push him away? Highly likely... And beg him to see a doctor.
As she began to answer his questions, Felix watched her closely, trying to spot any indication in her expressions that she was lying,
or some shake in her belief that she had indeed never entered his office within the past few days. Felix's concern only deepened...
Addison seemed to steely believe that she was perfectly fine. The teacher bowed his head again, biting his bottom lip as he franticly tried to think through his training. At this rate, the only option left would be to simply break it to her... But breaking a delusion without preparation could surely be damaging? This was way out of the realm of music therapy...
"... Addy, you-" He then was cut off abruptly, as his friend reached over and placed her hand on his own. A kind gesture to reassure him, but it such an out of place action for Addison that he shot her a look of surprise. He looked at her, the girl whom had helped him through some troublesome times... Her gaze was different. This wasn't her.
"Addy, a few days ago you arranged to come to see me at the Academy," He spoke slowly, gently moving his other hand to lightly pat hers before moving his hand from under hers. "You asked for a music therapy session to try and help get get back into music. You... You came. You looked... terrible, Addy. You didn't want me to question you..." He trailed off. What if he told her and it caused her to break down? There was no telling what this could do to her. The teacher took a deep breath, closing his eyes before breathing out.

But what other choice did he have?

"We started the session... But then you broke down, crying. You ran from the room..." He met his friend's eyes once again. "Addy, you're not acting like you. You don't remember the session, you don't remember crying... You flinched when I touched your shoulder, and now you've touched my hand as though it was nothing." Oh Felix hoped this gamble would pay off... For her sake. "Are you telling me you can't remember any of this?"

[Addison Sloane]

The surprise Felix portrayed when she held his hand made her freeze before pulling her hand back. "Sorry." She apologised quietly before turning her attention to Felix once again as he spoke, recalling an event that for the life of her Addison couldn't remember happening. Her? Crying? The last time she cried was when she manifested and even then, she didn't do it in front of people. It was such a damning piece of evidence of weakness that Addison never wanted to partake in.

"I'm..." she started, a look of helplessness washing over the young woman, making her look years younger than she was. "I'm sorry Felix. I genuinely have no idea what you're talking about."

Suddenly she was worried that something had happened to her. And if so, what? She lived in a world where mutants roamed free, literally anything could have happened.

"Wait, what do you mean I flinched? Why would I...Felix, you're scaring me, man."

[Felix Nicholas]

Felix watched as a a look of utter helplessness crossed over her, confirming his notion that Addison indeed had no recollection of what had happened days earlier; She then continued, seemingly unable to think why he would flinch from his touch. She was so adamant... So certain that the session hadn't occurred. Could memory repression be this severe, this clean cut? Could it change a person's attitude this dramatically? It wasn't as though she'd merely repressed the incident that had triggered her break down, it was more she was... A different person altogether.
Felix's expression softened slightly when his friend mentioned that his words were scaring her, a weight settling itself firmly on his heart. The last thing he wanted to so was upset her. He took in another deep breath, sighing. "... Addy. I think you've gone through a traumatic incident," He spoke gently, speaking each word with slow purpose. "I don't know what it was, since you didn't tell me. But it would explain... All of this... I think your mind has repressed what's happened to you."

He bowed his head slightly. "I'm not too sure on how to progress, this is out of my field," he added, fighting to keep any sense of defeat from his voice; He might not be qualified to handle memory repression, but he could help support her in what he was about to suggest next. He raised his warm, concerned gaze and met hers. "We need to go to a doctor... I'll take you as soon as I can get you an appointment. Please, trust me on this... You're not acting like yourself." He sighed, before glancing over to where he'd moved the mugs to; Perhaps now tea would be a good option... It calmed the nerves. He slowly got up from the stool, reaching over to the mugs. "... When you were back in my office I touched your shoulder. You flinched... ... Did... Did something happen to you to do with a man?" He looked to his friend. He hadn't wanted to ask this... He doubted she'd remember, but it seemed to add up... The flinching from his touch. The memory repression. "... Did someone hurt you, Addy?"

[Addison Sloane]

Felix's conclusion caused Addison to frown even deeper, looking at him with a bit of a scorned look. "That can't be it." She responded and sighed. There was no way she would have repressed anything traumatic that happened. She was stronger than that, wasn't she? She had to be. She wasn't raised a wuss.

Well, technically she wasn't raised as anything. Being a foster kid meant there was no one around to teach her properly. A lot of the things she did learn were from people she met on the streets. And they all taught her how to survive. If she did go through a traumatic incident, she should have been dealing with it. Not...repress it. Right?

When Felix suggested a doctor, Addison shook her head. "No. No doctors, Fe. They're not gonna do anything. If it's repressed, what can they really do about it? I mean hell, I don't even remember meeting you a few days ago. No...no doctors." She said in a decisive tone. "I trust you but no doctors, okay?" She looked at Felix hopefully. She didn't know what was happening to her but she was telling the truth. She did trust Felix. He was one of her closer friends, and she didn't have that on high supply.

The suggestion that a man had hurt her made Addison shake her head. "Of course not. No. I would never let...no." She shook her head again before helping with the tea. "I'm sure it's nothing, Felix. I mean it was just the one memory, right? I mean I can still recall my childhood well. And what happened yesterday and stuff. And I know I have an appointment for my puppy next week. It's...I'm sure it's nothing. Can you stop worrying for a bit?" Addison asked, tugging his arm so he would turn his attention to her.

"I'm fine. Trust me?"