Love and Fandoms (11 page)

"We are so
going to have to see this," Kareem said. "I'm more than willing to
wait in line after we finish our full tour."

"Yeah, that
sounds good," Mandy said, and he was impressed at how normal she sounded.
He wasn't sure he'd be able to even utter a sound at the moment without his
voice cracking.

They did make a
full round, and saw plenty they wanted to do, but Kareem's original idea was
best. After grabbing some dinner, they headed for the line at the castle, which
was posted as a 45-minute wait. While they queued up, they scoped out the
nearby cosplayers, marveled at the dragon some more, and discussed the rest of
the weekend.

Tomorrow they'd
get here early to see Francis Yarbo, a former show runner for Mister Incognito.
He and Kareem were glad to see it, as it would be an interesting talk, but they
were mostly doing it for Mandy. They also planned on seeing Roderick Brooks and
Danny Silver, the creators and head-writers and artists of the comic book
series, Danger Squad, which had recently been announced as a big-budget movie.
Both he and Kareem read the title every month and were eagerly awaiting how it
would work on the big screen. Though with such a great subject matter, the
movie should be a slam dunk.

After those panels,
if they could somehow sneak in to a couple more presentations, they'd do it.
Xavier Logan, an artist for After Hours Horror Anthology, would be a lot of
fun, as would Henry Lopez, a writer for a number of Batman titles. They
wouldn't be able to wait in line for either because of the two they already
planned to attend, but maybe the fates would grant them luck, and the theaters
wouldn't be full when their shows let out.

"I don't know
about you guys, but I think we should probably get out of here after
this," Kareem said. "I'm setting my alarm for 5:00 tomorrow morning,
and that's going to come awful quick."

"Agreed,"
Wyatt said. "Best to rest tonight since we want to be here until closing
tomorrow."

"At least
there's a Starbucks right outside the convention center," Mandy said.
"I have a gift card with plenty of money on it, so caffeine's on me."

"Even
better," Kareem said, and they all laughed. The line moved forward a bit,
and Wyatt saw the 45-minute wait was likely an over-estimation. He hoped so,
anyway.

MANDY

They sat on the
cold pavement, leaning against the hard wall of the convention complex at 6:30
in the morning.
Ugh
. Mandy rarely realized there was a 6:30 in the
morning. Even on school days she normally slept until seven, as first period
didn't start until 8:40. At least she had coffee, a Venti-sized cup of warm, wonderful,
caffeinated goodness with plenty of cream and sugar to go with the vanilla syrup.
Kareem had a Venti-sized Mocha Frappuccino, with an extra shot of espresso,
while Wyatt, who didn't like coffee (she was only partially teasing when she
asked how he survived not drinking coffee), sipped a Trenta-sized cup of
unsweetened (
yuck!
) green iced tea.

They'd arrived at
the parking structure right before it opened at six, and only had to wait a few
minutes before Kareem flashed their parking pass, and they were directed to a
spot. She took Kareem's coffee order and Wyatt's wasted one — he gave her a
nudge with his shoulder that sent her heart racing — and went in to get their
drinks while the boys hopped into the main entrance line. The doors wouldn't
open until eight, and then they'd rush to another line inside, but they wanted
to be as close to front row center for Francis Yarbo as possible. His
presentation started at ten, so most of their morning would be sitting and
waiting, but it would totally be worth it.

It was awesome of
Wyatt and Kareem to do this for her. They both wanted to see Francis Yarbo's
presentation, too, but she knew it wouldn't have been their first choice. Even
though she hadn't said anything and would never have pushed to see it, they
knew how much it meant to her. After all, the Yarbo years were some of the most
exciting, off-screen, if not on. She couldn't imagine the amazing stories Mr.
Yarbo would share.

But, at the
moment, the coming fun was too far away to focus on. "Ugh. I'm going to
fall asleep right here, coffee or not."

"No one said
being a geek was easy," Kareem said, as he took a long pull from his
drink.

She stuck her
tongue out at him and laid her head down on Wyatt's shoulder. He put his arm
around her and set his head lightly down on hers. Okay, wow, this felt right.
Beyond right. She loved all of his touches yesterday, including their wonderful
hug. It reminded her of how it used to be with Alex. Sure, she still felt the
fireworks when Alex touched her, though, truth be told, she'd probably now
classify them as simple sparks. No doubt that was mostly because he rarely gave
her random loving caresses and cuddles like he used to. Nowadays, all of his
touches tended to be of the possessive variety. Yes, that was occasionally kind
of hot, like when he gave her rough kisses, but it mostly turned her off. Not
what she wanted from her long-time boyfriend she was going across the country
with to college.

Maybe that was
telling her she needed to end it with him. She'd been thinking about it for
weeks, but she should really do it. She texted him last night to congratulate
him on another huge win — Luci texted her the final score and that he'd
dominated like usual — but he never got back to her. Yeah, if that wasn't
another in a long line of red flags, she didn't know what was. It meant no
Michigan, of course, but her parents would be more bummed about that than her. It
was a good school, and she was sure she'd enjoy her time there, but she was a
Southern California girl. She didn't think she could get used to those winters.
Plus, she'd miss Mom and Dad. And Luci. And now Wyatt and Allyssa. Kareem, too,
but she was going to miss him anyway since he was off to Stanford. Besides, she
could no doubt get into OCU with no problem, and probably with some sort of scholarship.
It was a great school, on plenty of the top academic lists for all universities
around the country. The only reason most people hadn't heard about it was
because it didn't have any sports teams. That was fine with her, as she never
kidded herself about becoming a star on a division I soccer team. She had a
feeling she might be able to make a squad and contribute, but as long as she
could still play on club teams, join summer and winter leagues, she'd be happy.

She pushed herself
a little closer to Wyatt. She'd been so in love with him in elementary school,
and had been sure they'd become boyfriend-girlfriend, get married right out of
high school, and be together forever. And the funny thing was, even when things
were at their best with Alex, she always kept tabs on Wyatt. They'd never
really talked, just occasional hellos as they passed on campus or near home,
which was actually pretty rare considering they lived so close. She usually
figured out what his schedule was so she could catch a glimpse of him on a
regular basis. Pretty stalkerish, right? Maybe he was her soulmate. Heh, could
she get any cornier than that? She didn't even believe in the concept. Did she?
Well, anyway, Alex proved he wasn't it. Oh, she loved Alex, she didn't doubt
that. He lit a fire in her. But this, this right here with Wyatt, she couldn't
remember Alex ever making her feel so comfortable, so content, so … whatever
this was.

Even if she did end
it with Alex, she couldn't tell Wyatt to break up with Allyssa. It was
something he had to decide to do on his own, and that wouldn't be easy. She
remembered from when they were kids, and had seen it in this month or so they'd
been hanging out now, that he didn't stand up for himself. Sure, he had plenty
of opinions and stances when it came to his comics and fandoms, but not when it
came to his actual life. She was sure she could change that about him, at least
up to a point, but she also needed him to show he was ready to change. Besides,
she really liked Allyssa, and didn't want to force their breakup. Okay, she
did, but she wouldn't.

Of course, there
was also the possibility that she was reading too much into this. He and
Allyssa really did seem happy together, and they were a perfect fit. Well, as
perfect as a non-Mandy-Wyatt relationship could be, but maybe he didn't see it
that way. All of this touching might simply be friendly, and not romantic at
all for him. She wasn't sure she believed that, as she was almost positive she
saw the sparks affect him, too, but she needed to be sure.

Before she could
dwell on it any longer, Kareem cleared his throat. "Look, I know the
chances are slim to none, but if either Alex or Allyssa showed up right now,
you two would be dead."

She sat up straight,
careful not to whack Wyatt's head with hers, and he pulled away his arm.

"We've known
each other since we were kids," Wyatt said. "We're just being
friends."

"I'm just
saying, if there's going to be drama, I don't want any part of it. I like my
drama in my entertainment, not in real life."

Wyatt shook his
head. "No drama, dude. It's early and we're being friendly pillows."

Mandy gave a
shrug, one she hoped looked nonchalant, and agreed. But, inside, a tiny part of
her died. Wyatt had said the right thing, but he'd said it so convincingly that
he had to believe it with every fiber of his being. And why shouldn't he? He
had Allyssa, and he was convinced she was happy with Alex. They'd been a pretty
high-profile couple since eighth grade. Why should he invest even a small part
of his heart in her when she seemed so off-limits?

He further drove
the point home by saying, "I should text Allyssa that we're in line."

She gave an inward
sigh, but put on a happy face. "Let me take a picture of you two so she
can see how close to the front we are." They both agreed it was a great
idea, so she got up to get the shot. Why did she have to like Allyssa so much?

WYATT

Finally dinner.
They'd had a good lunch, and then a snack later while waiting in line for the
Danger Squad presentation, but that felt like eons ago. They'd planned on
grabbing some grub after Danger Squad, but when they checked on the line for
Xavier Logan, they found it being let in. The guy working out front of the
theater waved them over, saying there were still seats. That show hadn't let
out until 8:30, so now, at 8:45, after having eaten lunch this morning at
11:30, and sharing a plastic cup of fruit salad somewhere around 4, Wyatt was starving.
The way Mandy and Kareem dug into their own meals showed they both agreed.

Most of the items
in the food court had comic-inspired names, which was awesome. Some made
perfect sense, like the Alpha Flight Pizza he ordered, which was an individual-sized
pizza topped with Canadian bacon. Other things simply had comic book names
slapped on them, like the X-Men fries, which was the other thing he ordered.
Those were simply a basket of seasoned curly fries, but he was okay with that.
The effort had been made.

Kareem got an
Incredible Hulk cheeseburger, which lived up to its name. It was a half-pound
patty, topped with pepper-jack cheese, thick-cut bacon strips, and green chile
sauce. His satisfied grunts with every bite proved he enjoyed it. Mandy ordered
The Thing, which was a layer of seasoned curly fries smothered with chili and
liberally sprinkled with pastrami, jalapenos, and grated cheddar cheese. She
wasn't nearly as audible as Kareem, but the content look on her face proved she
enjoyed it every bit as much.

Earlier in the
day, while they ate lunch, Kareem asked Mandy what she thought of the Yarbo
presentation.

"It was good,
excellent, even, but I'd actually hoped for more off-screen stories and a
Q&A." Basically the entire hour-long show had been Yarbo giving
commentary, DVD-style, of a dozen or so key scenes from his years as show
runner.

"Now you're
proving you're a true geek," Kareem said. "Something was great, but
it wasn't all you thought it could be, so you're disappointed."

"I wouldn't
say I was disappointed," she said.

"Stick with
us, and you'll have no problem calling it disappointment," Wyatt said.

"Yeah,"
Kareem said. "You'll learn to exercise your geek entitlement."

Mandy had laughed,
but Wyatt could tell she wasn't sure if they were teasing her or not. He upped
her amusement by telling her they kind of were, but not really.

As they neared
finishing their dinners and slowed down a bit, the conversation finally
started. "I can't believe we lucked into the Xavier Logan show,"
Kareem said. "If we hadn't rushed out of the Danger Squad presentation, we
wouldn't have made it. Did you notice all of the people who got turned away
after we got in?"

"Yeah, and
I'm so glad we saw it," Mandy said. "He was awesome. Now I want to
start reading that comic."

"It's a good
one," Wyatt said. "And the best part is that almost every ish is a
separate story, so you can pick it up from anywhere without worrying about
missing key backstory components. You should subscribe to it on
ComiXology."

Kareem let out a
disgusted breath, as Wyatt expected. "I still say you should get into
comics on paper rather than jumping right to digital." They'd had a big
discussion about digital vs. paper this afternoon while waiting in line for two
hours for the Danger Squad presentation. Wyatt had extolled the virtues of
digital comics, while Kareem defended the classic paper books.

"You made
great points, Kareem, and I do like reading quote-unquote real books, but I
think I'll be much more likely to keep up with the various titles on my phone
and iPad. Besides, isn't it more important that I'm reading comics rather than
how I'm doing it?"

Kareem sighed, but
conceded the point. "Yeah, yeah, fine. Read 'em how you want."

She and Wyatt
shared a look and smiled. The whole time she'd been talking to Kareem, her hand
had been on Wyatt's forearm. He had a hard time breathing as it felt so good,
but no doubt she meant it in nothing but a friendly manner. Had all of the
touches she'd given him so far this weekend, the ones that set off full-blown
fireworks displays in his brain, been nothing but purely friendly gestures?
Most likely. Or, rather, almost certainly. It was silly for him to think she'd
want him for anything more than a friend since she had Alex. And she and
Allyssa got along well, so he figured that was another excellent sign that she
viewed him simply as a friend.

This morning when
she put her head on his shoulder, it felt so right, so perfect. He hadn't
thought twice about wrapping his arm around her shoulders and laying his head
atop hers. He wished Kareem hadn't said anything; he could have stayed like
that the rest of the morning. Later, after lunch, Kareem had gone to the
restroom, and while they waited, she flowed into his arms. Not only was that way
cool because, well, it was way cool, but also because of the envious stares he
got from guys nearby. Now, though, looking back, she'd been tired. She'd
admitted to being exhausted this morning, and had chosen his shoulder either
because Kareem had just made a remark along the lines of "suck it up"
about it being so early, or because of their childhood friendship and that
she'd known him longer. Yeah, that all made a ton more sense than that she was
trying to get him to fall for her, despite her admittance of jealousy when he
and Allyssa first began dating. Even if Alex was becoming a bit of a jerk,
there was no way she would ever choose him over Alex.

Now, as dinner
neared its end, she asked, "What did you guys think of the Danger Squad
panel? It sure made me want to see it." They'd been so excited about
getting into the Xavier Logan show that they hadn't talked about Danger Squad.

"I don't see
any way they can mess that movie up," Kareem said. "Those two won't
let a studio screw up their vision."

"Don't jinx
it, dude."

"I know, I
know, you're right. I'll just say that I'm more excited for this movie than
I've been for any other in a long, long time."