Spark(17)

He met her gaze, and something in his dark eyes made a little flame flicker to life in the middle of her chest. Then he was gone, closing the door softly behind him.
Dammit. She was not falling for some cute gamer guy she knew nothing about. Even if he seemed nice and had rubbed her hand.
Spark leaned her forehead against the closed door, feeling the vibrations of the con rumbling through the building. She didn’t want to turn around and go back into the empty suite, breathe in the stale air of loneliness, and eat the rest of the chocolate by herself.
But she did.



Aran’s feet were sore from working the Expo Hall the rest of the afternoon. At five o’clock, he and two other volunteers walked through the big room, announcing they were closing up for the night. All the convention-goers needed to leave before the main doors locked at five thirty. The vendors would have one door available to them, but that would close at six.
“Doors reopen at ten,” Aran called. “Everybody out.”
Two gray-haired guys were arguing at a table filled with old-school RPG books and board games. One of them picked up a figurine and brandished it.
“The introduction of the Elbeck was the worst idea, ever! From then on, the game totally dived.”
“Lies. Without the Elbeck, the entire storyline makes no sense. Dude, you’re an idiot.”
Aran leaned forward, ready to intervene if things got violent. The one guy raised his hand, and Aran started to sprint over, only to relax as the Elbeck-hater clapped the other fellow on the back.
“Come on,” he said, tossing the figurine down on the table. “Let’s go get a beer.”
“Right on.”
The two men headed for the exit, still arguing companionably. Behind them, a couple sporting tufted ears and long, striped tails darted, playing a growling game of tag on their way out.
Gamers. Aran shook his head, but couldn’t help smiling. These crazy people were his tribe—even though he’d gone over to what some of them would call the dark side. He felt too stuffy, dressed in his jeans and SimCon shirt. Tonight, the blue streak was going back in his hair.
He met Bix at the info table up front, the Expo Hall strangely quiet as the vendors closed up.
“I’m so ready for fun,” Bix said. “Think we can get into some more parties? Maybe we’ll meet up with Cyndee and Pema again.”
Aran had to think for a second, “Right—warrior princess and robo-enforcer-girl.”
“You have to admit, they were pretty flawless.”
There was only one girl on Aran’s mind, and nobody else at the convention could even come close.
“If you want to go to a party,” he said, “how about VirtuMax’s?”
Bix snorted. “Right. You have to be on the list for that one. No sliding in just because of our shirts and badges.”
“I got us on the list.”
“What?” Bix stared at him, his eyes comically wide. “Not true.”
“Yes true.”
“Woot!” Bix started dancing around, waving his long arms. “I can’t believe it—this is so prime!”
Aran couldn’t help smiling at his friend’s excitement. He shared it, though he drew the line at dancing like a maniac.
It would be good to see Spark one more time before the con ended. And she had mentioned her half-day off. If he invited her to see the city with him, would she come? His pulse sped at the thought.
Bix finally stopped dancing. “When does the party start?”
“I’m not sure. Not too early.”
“What should we wear? Like, costumes, or just normal clothes? Do you think Spark Jaxley will be there?”
“No doubt. Come on.” Aran headed for the exit.
Somehow, the moment to reveal his budding friendship with Spark had come and then gone. Now it felt too late.
“I think I’ll be NinjaQuad,” Bix said. “I can use my brother’s costume.”
“Will it fit?” Outside the Expo Hall they took a right, back toward Gofer Central.
“I’ll make it fit. What are you wearing?”
“Let’s grab our stuff and go home,” Aran said. “We can figure out it out, eat something, and get back here within a couple hours. The party won’t get going until then, anyway.”
He didn’t feel like arguing with Bix about wearing a costume. It would be enough to re-dye his hair and wear his Tinz shirt—his favorite band. He’d actually bought the shirt, though he’d climbed the fence with a couple of friends to sneak into the concert. Good times.
So, no costume. For one thing, he didn’t have one, and for another, he wanted Spark to recognize him. He had a feeling she’d be herself, too—though the room would probably be full of magenta-haired gamer girls.