"Just a bottle of coke, love, cheers," Matt Sykes says to a mesmerised young woman serving at the store in downtown New York. "Gosh I love your accent," she says. "Cheers. Grew it myself," Matt replies, nodding and leaving the store without realising she was most probably flirting with him. He makes his way back onto the street and opens up his map again. He was taking the chance before tonight's show to get out and see some sights in New York, which he had always wanted to do. Besides, Kai had told him he wanted some time alone on the bus today, which was cool, so Matt had decided to just get out for a bit to see what was happening. He scans the map looking for the nearest tourist attraction that he can go to see.

Matt is just about to ask someone for help - the lack of a "you are here" on the map despite it not being an interactive app, annoyed him - when someone comes crashing into him from behind. For a minute, he assumed he was being mugged. He had heard all the horror stories about New York after all, so he nearly jumps out of his skin. He turns slowly, expecting to see someone stood there with a massive knife, demanding all his money, but all he saw, much to his surprise, was a girl sat on the floor looking flustered and quite pissed off. He breathes a massive sigh of relief and adjusts his beanie on his head, relieved that he wasn't about to become another statistic.

"You reet down there?" he asks with a little chuckle. She had clearly walked into him, but she looked angry, so he wanted to try to break the ice and diffuse the situation straight away. "'Ere y'are love. Give us yer 'and," he says, holding his hand out to her to help her back to her feet.

Matt pulls Aubrey to her feet as he chuckles a little. It was flashing through his head that this was like something out of a romcom. It was his first time in the US, so he associated most of the country and the things that happened with movies he had seen. "You alright?" he asks her again, hoping she hadn't hurt herself. "You've got a bit of a dusty arse, there. I think the path's a bit dirty," he laughs, trying to make light of the situation again. He was the sort of person who could make conversations anywhere and he was one of the easiest people around to get on with. "Don't worry about it, love. I suppose when the boyfriend texts, you gotta reply quick," he says with a little wink. "You alright though? Looked like you took a bit of a bump then."

"Yeah, you do," He laughs. "Just like two dusty arse cheeks imprinted there." He didn't feel bad about telling her. Matt was one of the most up front and open people around. He didn't really have a filter, and he just said what came into his head at any time. When she turns around to show him, he raises his eyebrows and nods. "It in't often you go on holiday and get a woman asking you to look at her arse. Nice one. Aye, you got it all, love. All good now," he smiles at her. "Sounds like a bit of a strict manager there. Mine told me to fuck off off the bus earlier," he chuckles. "What do you do then? Must be important wi' someone telling you where you need to be like that." He was totally oblivious to who Aubrey was, not for any other reason than Matt was very much a metal fan, and he knew little about any other genre at all. When she steps forward and almost falls again, Matt moves quickly and grabs her arm. "Woah, there," he says, holding her up. "You need to go to the 'ospital?" he asks her. "That don't look too clever. Do you want me to get you a cab or summat?"

"I do. Definitely one for the twitter feed this," he laughs. Matt definitely thought she was interesting. Aubrey seemed very confident and self assured, which he was almost not used to. Most of the women he spoke to now were Kai fans and they were always quivering messes when he spoke to them. When she mentions what she does, he nods. He had definitely heard the name and he imagined Kai had mentioned it some time. He was far more open to other genres than Matt. "Sounds nice. So are you like a singer in it or what?" he asks, not realising how stupid his question would sound. "Me? Important?" he laughs. "Nah I just play fucking drums in t'band. Hidden away at the back. You probably know Kai though. Rollins. He's the screamin' bastard that stands at the front of t'stage. He probably kicked me off so he could shag his missus." Matt raises an eyebrow when she refuses to go to hospital. She definitely looked like she would need more than just a seat. "Right...ok well 'ere. Put your arm around us, love. Come and sit down," he says as he starts to slowly help her to the bench. "What would you have done without a charming Englishman 'ere eh?" he jokes with her as they walk.

"Oh right. I mean I don't know much about pop music, like, but you don't look much like you're out a girl band. They're usually all...orange...and fake. You look much more classy," he says with a smile. To Matt, that was a real compliment. He didn't much like fake people at all. When she mentions that she knows Kai, he grins and nods. It seems that everyone knew Kai, which was weird given that he was just a mate from back home to Matt. "Oh yeah? She's a lovely lass, Faith. That bastard landed on his feet wi that one," Matt smiles. It blew his mind that he could be so far from home and meet someone who was actually connected through mutual friends like that. "It's a small world, eh?" he laughs when she mentions Jane Austen. "I were thinkin' more Hugh Grant film," he laughs. "Oh...gosh...jeez, wow are you hurt?" he asks, doing his best impression of Hugh Grant. As they get to the bench, he sits down with her. "It's no problem, love. I'm hardly gonna leave you out here on your own." He looks down at her ankle and grimaces. "Yeah. That looks sore. Lemme see." He gently lifts her ankle and looks at it. "Can you move it at all?"

"No problem. I guess it's a good thing not to look like other girl bands. Unlike us, I think we look like any other metalcore band," he smirks, lifting his arms to show off some of his tattoos. He didn't have as many as Kai but he still had quite a lot on his arms. "Faith? Aye, she's a lovely bird, like. She's a bit mental, like Kai, when they're both on summat. Both of them like pulling the most random pranks. but she's a lovely lass, aye." He laughs a little and then claps his hands together when she praises his impression. "Thanks, love. If this drumming lark don't work at least I know I can do summat else eh?" He was enjoying hanging with Aubrey already. She was way different to other people who he was normally around, be it on tour or even at home, and she seemed confident and mature yet fun and relaxed, which he liked. And she laughed at his jokes, which was nice. "Judge? Not at all, not at all. I bloody love a good rom com, me. Keep that to yourself though, love," he winks. "What's your favourite Hugh Grant film then?" He watches as she rotates her ankle a little. "A good sign? Well it's not dead, anyway," he winks. "Nah I'm sure it'll be great. It's just swelling I reckon....is it weird I've been holding your foot this long?" he laughs.

"We stand out? Well he does, for sure. Me? I'm happy to blend in to the background most of the time. I'm basically a good lad like that," he chuckles. "So have you never heard any of our stuff then? I imagine probably not, hey? I don't blame you, it's mostly noisy shite." He laughs quietly. "Hey, maybe it's the future of rom com movies, being more modern and metal. Alternative guy meets hot girl band member in the street and she, literally, goes head over heels." He smirks and then winks at her to show he's joking. "I quite like Notting Hill. What about Bridget Jones. Were he in that one? That's me guilty pleasure when no one else is around that movie. Me and a tub of Ben and Jerry's. Can't beat it." He watches as she leans back on the bench and laughs. She seemed so confident and assured even though she barely knew him. She was definitely the sort of girl who was sure of herself, which was nice to see. "That's fine then. If anything, it looks like the swelling is starting to go down." when she says her name, Matt laughs, realising that they hadn't introduced themselves at all. "Good point. I'm Matt. It's lovely to meet you, Aubrey. It's a pleasure in fact."

Matt smiles at Aubrey's cautious flirting. He found it really cute and endearing that she was like that, not like other girls who were too in your face. "No, sadly I haven't heard any Cherry Street at all. But I do have like Spotify on the bus so I'll check you out on there later when I get back." He laughs at her attempt at a Yorkshire accent. "I'm sure it in't shite, love. Your manager wanted you back asap so that must mean someone wanted to hear more of you at least," he says with an added wink. He was getting a little more confident for a change. "Zellwegger? Oh yeah, she's got a right mush on her. Looks like a dog eating lemons," he laughs. "Still a cracking film though if you're into all that love stuff and that." when she stands on her ankle, Matt holds out an arm in case she's about to fall again, just giving her the security in case it doesn't hold up. He's pleased to see her manage this time though. "It's my pleasure, love. Glad it feels better." As she goes to leave, Matt has a sudden realisation. He let things pass him by in life too often, and he basically never took chances when they presented themselves. Not this time. "Are you leaving?" he asks her. "Hey, um, might sound like a daft idea to you...but do you reckon maybe I could take you out some time? I feel like we might get on really really well. It would be a shame to pass that opportunity up," he smiles at her.

"Rags to riches, eh? Lucky lass, you. I've gone rags to slightly better rags, me," he says with a laugh. In some ways it was true. Matt never really had to want for anything anymore. They had a label who paid them well for touring, and even though he was nowhere near as rich as Kai, he got enough free clothes from Drop Dead for a lifetime so he was pretty comfortable. "Death metal? Haha nah, not us, love. We're more metalcore...or like dancecore or summat now. We kinda switch between shit a lot. I'm sure you'll hate it like. It's pretty loud and abrasive." there was a brief moment after Matt asked her out that he expected Aubrey to say no, but he was a confident enough guy, so when she said yes, he was more happy than he was surprised. "Lovely stuff," he says with a cheeky smile. "I'm sure we'll have the best time." He looks at his watch quickly. In truth, he'd rather spend more time with Aubrey today than have to head back to the bus. They had connected really well already. "Well..aye I've got a few hours like. Where do you wanna go?"