At The Con Teddy And Adeline

1.

"Dude, no," Teddy shook his head before taking the final swig from his bottle of cider, "I told you I'm staying the fuck away from Mega Con this year!"

Mike placed the big plate of nachos down on the coffee table. "Come on man. The games. The panels. Hot cosplay girls. Fucking Matt Smith AND Alex Kingston. I'll even pay for the autograph session"

Teddy sighed deeply, "I refuse to go anywhere near that thing." He glanced forlornly towards the door leading to his bedroom.

His bedroom. Not theirs. Not his and Becky's.

There was still a small box containing some of her things over on what used to be here side of the bed. He absolutely hated passing it every time he went to the bathroom.

He also hated the fact that he took the can of her body spray out of the box last night and sprayed the sheets so he could imagine that she was still there.

And he hated Mike just a little bit right now because he was the "go between" - the one who was taking the box after he left to drop it off with his girlfriend Karen, who in turn was going to drop it off to Becky.

Mike picked up a small plate and began scooping some of the nachos onto it.

"Okay, I know something and it's gonna piss the fuck out of you, but it will also make going to the con easier."

Teddy's left eyebrow raised slightly, "Go on."

"Becky's not going this year."

Teddy's eyebrow arched even higher, "Go on," he repeated.

Mike took a sip from his beer bottle. "She's not going...because she's going on vacation."

Teddy felt his jaw tense up, "With him?"

"Um, yeah."

"Great," Teddy leapt up from the couch and made his way right to the kitchen. He flung open the refrigerator door and grabbed another bottle of Angry Orchard, "Just fucking great. I hope they have a great time. No really. I hope my fucking ex-fiancée and that asshole douchebag former boss of hers have a fantastic time! Are they going to Turks and Caicos? I mean why the fuck not. That's where we were planning to go on our honeymoon. She did all the research, so makes sense right?"

Mike said nothing but kept drinking.

"Oh my hell," Teddy shouted, "they ARE going to Turks and Caicos, aren't they?"

"Dude," Mike attempted, but then took another sip of his beer,

"Dude nothing!" Teddy continued to rant, "Do you have any idea how fucking embarrassing this is? It's not cliché enough that my fiancée dumped me for her boss. They're basically going on my fucking honeymoon!"

Mike took a deep breath, "Dude, I love you. You're my best friend. Brothers from different mothers. You know that."

Teddy stood there listening, trying not to throw his bottle and trying not to cry.

"This isn't me saying I told you so. We've already had that talk. This isn't me saying there's blame to go around. We've had that talk too. This is me simply saying come with me to Mega Con. I've got the hotel. I got you a ticket. And surprise, I already fucking got us into the autograph session. And before you say anything, consider this both an early birthday gift AND my way of saying thank you for last year."

Hearing that, the anger seemed to flush right out of Teddy.

Mike's dad had died the previous year after a painfully short bout with pancreatic cancer. Teddy was there for everything. He helped with funeral arrangements when Mike and his sister couldn't handle them. Teddy sat in a bathroom while his friend puked his guts out after drinking himself into near oblivion.

They'd been friends since junior year of school and helped each other get through parental divorces, a sibling drug overdose, breakups, job losses, and, as Mike put it "the horror of JJ Abrams Star Wars."

Now Teddy actually felt his eyes tearing up.

"You fucking suck, you know that right?"

Mike raised his bottle and smiled, "Only when they pay me."

2.

The ride from Queens to Marlborough, Massachusetts was usually fairly quick. This evening, as Teddy drove, it felt like an eternity.

Teddy had insisted on driving and Mike put up little resistance. He'd been putting late hours in at the ad agency as his team scrambled to save an account with a major fast food chain. In the end the efforts paid off (and Mike was well compensated, hence paying for the entire trip), but he was clearly in no shape to drive.

While his best friend snored lightly, Teddy drove in silence. He didn't want to put on his favorite playlist, knowing a few of the songs on it were ones that Becky had suggested. And he sure as hell wasn't about to listen to "Comedy Bang Bang" anytime soon. Becky had gotten him hooked on that podcast and there was little chance anything they said was going to make him laugh anytime soon.

There was no question, Teddy missed his "Nerd Girl."

They'd met at Cornell, both of them studying to be veterinarians. They had smiled at one another a few times, and had a few brief conversations, but never seemed to have much luck getting schedules to sync. Finally one Friday afternoon, they bumped into one another at a Starbucks off campus and ended up sitting together. Teddy asked Rebecca "Becky" Jwa if she had ever seen "Battlestar Galactica" because in his opinion, she looked exactly like actress Grace Park.

She looked at him with a sly smile, "Maybe at some point, you'll find out if my spine glows red when I fuck."

It was about three days later when Teddy confirmed that while it didn't glow red, Becky was:

1. Insane in bed.

2. As huge a nerd as he was.

Like his off-campus apartment, hers was adorned with nerdy baubles, posters, books and movies. She sewed her own cosplay costumes and could sing along to Buffy without messing up a single lyric.

Becky's goal was to become a zoological veterinarian, while Teddy was content with the plan of taking care of everyone's pets back in his hometown of Maspeth NY. Graduation, time zones and life goals resulted in them splitting amicably but remaining close.

A few years later, Becky got offered a position at the Bronx Zoo which she jumped at. Teddy offered to let her crash at his apartment while she found her own place, and she never left.

As cliché as it sounds, life was good. When they weren't working, they were attending cons or playing Dungeons and Dragons with Mike and several others. Mike's girlfriend Karen and Becky hit things off and became besties, even if Karen wasn't as nerdy as the rest of them.

Of course, when they weren't gaming or binge watching anime, they were fucking. Becky loved putting her legs over Teddy's shoulders so he could penetrate her deeply. She would literally growl as his dick plunged as far inside her as possible. She also was obsessed with playing with herself while they fucked, which Teddy found incredibly arousing. As soon as he felt her fingers rubbing against her clit, he knew it would be just seconds before he came. Becky was on the pill, so most times he stayed inside her. But he also enjoyed seeing pulling out and letting it splash on her belly, watching his semen eventually pool into her navel.

As time went by though, both of them became extremely busy in their own careers. Teddy and a colleague opened a successful practice in Maspeth, while Becky continued to rise in the ranks at the zoo. Comic conventions and RPG nights became few and far between, as did romantic interludes. Thinking about it now while he drove, Teddy realized the proposal wasn't so much an act of love as it was an act of desperation. Even if they were too busy for one another then, they would have the rest of their lives together.

It was stupid and naïve. Teddy failed to see the warning signs until it was too late and Becky was confessing to the affair with her boss. One of them was going to have to leave the zoo, but they were in love and going to work it out, she explained through tears. And just like that, her closet of costumes, her statues and manga books were gone.

His colleague, Dr. Michelle Gorman, practically jumped when he told her he was going to take a few days off to go to Mega Con.

"Thank fucking Christ, Ted!" she cheered as she gently placed a groggy cat back into its cage to recover from its surgery, "I was literally telling my wife last night that you need to get the hell out of town for a few days. Do your nerd shit. Or whatever the fuck you do at those cons. Hell maybe meet a girl and get laid."

Teddy did not like that last part in the least. He had no intention of going to the con for anything other than to forget about Becky, or at least make a half-hearted attempt to.

3.

The first day of the con, Teddy swore he saw Becky at least twice.

Of course both times he realized he was wrong once the girls turned and faced his direction. In one case the girl was dressed as Harley Quinn. Becky despised Harley Quinn so she would never have been caught dead cosplaying as the character. The second girl however was dressed as Tsuyu Asui/Froppy from "My Hero Academia" - one of Becky's favorite characters from the series. And even though he knew Becky didn't have a costume (at least not while they were together), there was still a moment when Teddy froze in terror thinking Mike had made a terrible mistake.

Speaking of Mike, he was having a fantastic time as attendees were stopping him to take pictures of his costume: he was wearing a mashup of Deadpool and Eleven from "Stranger Things." His Deadpool mask was topped with a blonde wig and he was wearing a dress similar to Eleven's. He still had his fake foam swords strapped to his back and he was carrying an empty box of Eggo waffles.

"Dude, you totally should have dressed up today!" Mike's muffled voice came from beneath his mask.

"I'm fine, really" Teddy said half-heartedly. The most effort he could muster up was a t-shirt depicting Rick from "Rick and Morty" sticking his head out from the TARDIS and giving the finger.

"The cosplay contest is happening at 2pm," Mike said as two girls rushed up and asked for pictures. They were both dressed as scantily clad anime characters that Teddy didn't recognize. Mike however appeared to have no problem as they each took turns practically grinding him while the other snapped away.

"I'll see you there," Teddy said, "I'm just gonna hit the vendor floor for a little while."

'Deadpool' shook his head, "If I find out you ended up going back to the hotel room, I'll...hmm." Mike looked at the anime girl, "Dear child, what should I do if my friend cruelly abandons me?"

"We'd take care of you" the girl next to Mike said suggestively, then added "But you'd have to keep your mask on."

Teddy rolled his eyes and chuckled. He knew Mike would never do anything to fuck things up with Karen, but there was no way in hell his friend wasn't loving every second of this.

"Go have fun, but not too much fun," Teddy said as he started to stroll away, "I'll catch you later. Text me if you need me."

"Vaya con Dios!" Mike said as the girls switched spots and the lesser dressed of the two started posing with him.

4.

Teddy nudged his way through the crowds in the vendor section. Like most geeks (or nerds or fanboys or whatever you called yourself) there was a bit of an art and a gamble to buying merchandise at cons. You walked around and priced out the things you liked, which more often than not were being sold at multiple booths. You'd also check out the vendor's overall prices and how popular the booth was. If items were reasonably priced across the board, there was a chance the item you want might go quickly. Alternatively, if the seller was marking things a little higher, people might wait until the end of the con to see if prices would go down.

Most vendors would prefer not to have to box everything up and bring back to their stores or storage locations. End of cons were when deals were made, provided the things you wanted were still there.

Teddy made note of a pretty stunning Darth Vader statue and a new model kit of the Space Battleship Yamato, both which were being sold in a few booths.

Maybe a few totally unnecessary purchases would make him feel better, he thought.

And then he saw it: a limited edition "Headless Ned Stark" Funko Pop figure.

Normally Teddy wasn't a huge fan of Funko Pop figures, with their squat bodies and oversized heads, but he did love "Game of Thrones," and this particular figure was apparently hard to find.

He slowly made his way past a couple dressed as zombiefied Superman and Wonder Woman to get a closer look at this glorious find. It was up on a shelf behind the vendor's makeshift checkout counter, between a few other rare Funkos.

"One second," the guy behind the counter said gruffly. Teddy stood patiently as the guy finished up another customer's purchase.

Teddy had two pet peeves. The first was the type of people who stereotyped nerds geeks as slovenly, oblivious of their personal hygiene and with poor social skills. The second were those in the "community" who reflected, and sometimes embraced, those stereotypes.

The man behind could have been the poster boy for Teddy's pet peeve with his unwashed hair, stained t-shirt depicting Catwoman bending forward provocatively and a very subtle, but apparent, body odor.

"So?" the man asked.

Ignoring the vendor's rudeness, Teddy motioned to the figure. "The Headless Ned Stark?"

"Oh yeah. Exclusive to San Diego Comic Con." The man took the figure down off the shelf, "Someone was checking it out before. I don't do holds, but they said they were most likely come back for it."

"How much is it going for?" Teddy asked.

"$285. Plus tax if you're using a card."

Teddy whistled. He really wasn't looking to spend that much on the figure, especially given the other things he was hoping to pick up. But this was a rare find.

"If I did cash is the price negotiable?"

The vendor pursed his lips, and nodded, "I'll take five bucks off."

"Damn," Teddy replied, "Give me a minute to think about it."

The vendor shrugged. Teddy noted the man's body odor more prevalently now as he extended his arm to put the boxed figure back on the shelf. "Like I said, I don't hold. And I think the other guy is over in that booth over there," he gestured in some random direction, "So he's probably coming back for this any minute." Another person came up to the counter with merchandise, and the man immediately lost all interest in Teddy as he started to ring up the purchase.

Teddy kept staring at the figure. He couldn't remember how much it normally went for but he was pretty sure it was more than $285. So this was an absolute steal. But it was definitely more than he was hoping to spend on it.

"Don't do it," a voice said next to him in a low tone.

Teddy turned. The woman standing next to him was about two inches shorter than his own 6' 1" height. Her purple hair was pulled back in a ponytail. She was wearing a black t-shirt depicting General Zod from "Superman II" with the word KNEEL appearing in a word bubble next to him. Her skin was pale and flawless and her eyes were stormy grey, surrounded by thick black eyeliner. She had a nose piercing that, when she leaned in closer, Teddy realized was a tiny skull.

"I'm...what? Don't what?" Teddy stammered.

"Don't buy the Pop," she continued, "It's a knock-off."

Teddy's eyes widened, "How do you know?"

The woman glared in the direction of the man behind the makeshift counter, "Mitch over here has been selling custom figures for years. But a while back he started trying to pawn some off as hard to find Funkos. He's a piece of shit."

The man behind the counter saw the woman next to Teddy and his face flushed.

"For fuck's sake, Adeline!"

The woman shrugged, "What? I'm on break and I'm just checking out what my fellow vendors are selling."

"Bullshit!" the man Teddy now knew to be Mitch snarled, "You do this all the fucking time!"

"Well if you weren't such an utter piece of garbage trying to sell fake merchandise, maybe I would mind my business!" she retorted.

A couple of the people standing around the booth looked at both Adeline and Mitch. The person who had just completed their purchase looked inside their bag and then back at the now very flustered vendor.

Mitch put his hands up, "She's lying. Everything is legit. And 5%...10% off for the next half hour!"

The woman stared at Mitch one last time. "Fuckwit," she said disdainfully, then turning to Teddy added, "Sorry, I just didn't want to see you get screwed. Headless Ned Stark - a real one - doesn't go for anything less than a grand, and that's if it's in a less than pristine box."

"No, I appreciate it," Teddy exclaimed, "What's really embarrassing is now I'm remembering an article about rare Funkos and that one was on the list."

"Just a little over 1,000 ever made." She chuckled, "I'll admit, asshat over there is getting better with his 3D printers."

"So you're a vendor too?" Teddy asked.

The woman nodded, "Mine is in the next aisle. I have a shop in NYC and..." she paused, her eyes narrowing on Teddy, "And have we met before?"

Teddy looked at her, "I don't think. Wait, a shop in NYC?"

"Astoria actually. It's called The Secret Headquarters."

"Holy fuck," Teddy exclaimed, "Yes! I've been there several times. I live in Maspeth. Great store. You started selling RPG books last year. And I love that you blacked out the front windows and you have to step through the old phone booth to come inside."

The woman blushed slightly, "Thank you. My ex boy— business partner thought that people would never find us. But business is really good." She smiled and extended her hand, "I'm..."

"Adeline. Yeah, I heard asshat before. I'm Teddy."

They stood there for a second, their hands - and eyes - locked. When their hands finally began to separate, Teddy felt her fingertips trail slowly through his palm and wrist.

"So, um," Teddy stammered, "You said you have a booth set up here?"

"Yeah," Adeline replied, "I don't do shows as often as I used to, at least not as a vendor. But I'm starting to think about business expansion. More online orders. So I'm doing a few cons in the next few months in New England to get the name out there." She smiled playfully, "You wanna come over and check out the wares?"

"I would love to," Teddy said regretfully, "But my buddy is doing the cosplay contest starting soon and he'll kick my ass if I'm not there."

Teddy saw Adeline's expression fall slightly, so he quickly added, "So this is a very ballsy thing for me to do, and I swear to I don't do this kind of thing, but would you be interested in meeting up later? I'm here at the hotel. We could grab a drink or whatever."

Adeline looked at Teddy's shirt, then met his gaze again. "You're cute. And you get points for the sweet mashup there, nerdboy. Rick in the TARDIS. I love it."

Teddy could feel his face flush slightly. He also felt his penis shift in his pants.

"The vendor floor shuts down at 7 tonight," Adeline said, "So how about meeting up at 9? Gives me and my poor underpaid underling time to close up and for me to clean up a little. I'm in room 402."

A coquettish look flickered in her eyes. "We can figure out where to go from there."

5.

Like the second floor where he and Mike were staying, Teddy found plenty of activity on the fourth floor. People were coming in and out of rooms with cases of beer and bottles of alcohol. Several doors were propped open and the sounds of laughter and music could be heard coming from within. Mega Con was a huge event, with all but a few rooms occupied by attendees, vendors, show workers and even a few celebrities. The few guests that weren't part of the event learned quickly that there was no quelling the commotion. They could either sleep with a pillow on top of their heads, take some sleeping pills, look for a new hotel or join in the fun.

Teddy counted down the room numbers as he approached 402. He had showered, thrown on a dark blue button down shirt and a clean pair of jeans.