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Your phone vibrated, skittering along your bedside table and almost falling to the floor before you swiftly reached out a hand to get it. Maybe it was him, maybe after a whole month without texting or calling, he had finally-

‘r u coming 2 con this weekend’ the message read. From Alfred.

Damn.

You typed your answer with flying fingers before throwing the phone unceremoniously back on the bedside table and flopping down on the bed, ‘Yeah. Pick me up at eleven.’ Even if your friend refused to use proper grammar, spelling, and punctuation didn’t mean you had to.

You picked up your pillow and pressed it against your face, screaming into it with frustration. The scent of laundry detergent filled your nose mixed with a subtle hint of cherry Chap Stick, your favorite kind. You couldn’t help but think of all those nights you had spent kissing the pillow, practicing for when he would finally come to meet you… But he hadn’t.

The bastard.

You couldn’t remember the first time you had met Antonio Fernandez Carriedo, whether it was on Facebook or Tumblr or one of the MMORPGs you didn’t play anymore. You couldn’t remember when it started, but you remembered how it was.

You and Antonio were mutual friends on Facebook and deviant Art, followed each other on Tumblr and Twitter, you both even were subscribed to the youtube channels you had created one day. Every night you’d stay up till obscene hours chatting on Facebook and eventually Skyping. Oh God, the first time you saw his face… Dark brown wavy hair fell charmingly into bright, lively green eyes, matched flawlessly to tanned skin and a perfect white smile. You had told him multiple times he should stop spending so much time online with you and get a girlfriend- someone so handsome could surely snap one in an instant.

He had responded by asking you to be his “compañera” and how could you answer with anything but a thousand yeses? So the two of you had exchanged phone numbers and thus began the brief but sweet period in which he had texted you about a thousand times a day- even during class (He had said that in Spain, they were okay with that, but you were doubtful)- calling you pet names and saying how much he loved you.

Then, one day it had all ended. Just like that. He stopped texting, calling, messaging… everything. All of it gone in the blink of an eye. You hadn’t been quite the same after that. Your friends tried to “console” you by saying that it wasn’t a real relationship, anyway, it was online, but that made things a million times worse. It was hard to get over it, but eventually you had, in a way. Of course, your heart leapt every time your phone buzzed with a text, but at least you had stopped crying yourself to sleep.

Said phone vibrated again and you snatched it up immediately.

Alfred again.

‘hey (f/n) r u going 2 b in cosplay 4 the con’

‘Yeah. I’m going as Amy Pond, remember?’

‘k great’

You shook your head. However poor text messages were at conveying meaning that was still pretty cryptic. What was that American up to?

---

The day of the big convention dawned partially cloudy, muggy, and full of anticipation.

You couldn’t wait to get out into the thick of things and meet all the great artists, voice actors, etc. This was the first time there had been a convention in your city and the first one you’d ever gone to. Quite obviously you were excited.

“Oh, oh, look at that cosplay!” you marveled, tugging on Alfred’s sleeve, “And guess who’s doing a panel at three?!”

“Hey, careful, (f/n)! You’ll rumple my outfit…” Alfred carefully smoothed down his blue cotton sleeve. He was dressed as Superman- even dyed his hair black for it.

“What a girl…” you snorted, flicking him in the side of the head and giving him a playful shove.

“Well, you make fun of me now… But some hot chick is gonna see my cosplay and think ‘Damn! I’d be his Lois Lane any day.’ And then we’ll see who’s laughing, (l/n)!”

“What? Am I not hot enough of a chick for you?” you asked.

“Yeah, but Antonio would get really mad at m-“ Alfred stopped midsentence, eyes wide. “H-Hey, look! They’ve got a food court here… Who knew? Let’s go, I’m starved.” he blurted, pulling you along by the arm.

You furrowed your eyebrows, confused, “Al, I haven’t talked to Toni in a month, how would he know if-“

“Who said anything about him?!” Alfred laughed nervously, letting go of your arm and running towards the line at Five Guys.

You just shrugged, sitting down at one of the grey plastic tables, swinging your bag over the back of your chair. You had never fully understood your American friend and frankly you didn’t feel like you ever would.

---

You had been sitting at the table forever and your red wig was beginning to itch. Where was Alfred with the food? The line hadn’t been that long… he had to be close to the front of it by now.

When you looked over at the Five Guys again, you couldn’t see him. He wasn’t there at all!
What the hell was going on? You stood up, craning your neck around, trying to find him. Maybe he had gotten sidetracked by some youtube star or something… That would explain things.

You pulled at your tights where they were riding up and turned in a slow circle, chewing your lip. You didn’t see Al anywhere… Maybe you should call.

You took your phone out of your pocket and punched in his number. You let it ring seven times before hanging up. Why wasn’t he answering?

A strange feeling crept up your spine. What if he was in danger? What if he-

“(f/n)!” Someone called over the din.

“Al?” you answered, turning to the voice. But something in your gut told you it wasn’t him. That wasn’t his voice… It sounded like-

Antonio. Running towards you. Was this a dream? But no, there he was, pushing people aside
as he sprinted through the crowd. Happy tears streamed down his flushed cheeks but he never stopped to brush them away. He just kept running ‘til he reached you. It was like every fantasy you had ever had… He came. He came for you.

He finally came…

Antonio stopped inches before crashing into you, converse skidding on the tile floor. When you smiled at him, he blushed and put a hand to his hair, smoothing it down. He wiped at his eyes with one sleeve before speaking, voice choking with emotion, “You are more beautiful than I imagined possible. Of course I didn't remember your hair being quite so red, but-”

You let out a little laugh that sounded more like a cough and blinked away tears, “ It's just a wig." you slipped it off your head and set it down on the table, eyeing him up and down, "But me, the attractive one? Look at you… You-You… You’re here.” You whispered, putting a hand to his cheek.

“I’m so sorry I took this long, querida. I was trying to make enough money for a plane ticket, but… it took longer than I thought it would. I wanted it to be a surprise and I knew if I spoke to you, I would let it slip. That’s why I stopped calling. Lo siento. Te amo.” He began to speak Spanish, like he did when he got upset, “Lo siento, eres tan hermosa… y te quiero tanto, y- ¡Querida, estás llorando!” he gasped and reached out a hand to brush away the tear trickling down your cheek.

“I just… You’re so amazing.” You put your arms out, slowly at first, and pulled him into a hug.

He responded quickly, crushing you sweetly in a tight bear hug. “I’m so sorry I had to leave.” He whispered into your hair, “I wish I never have to again. How can I make it up to you?”

You pulled back a bit and looked into his bright green eyes, “Kiss me.”

He smiled at you, leaning down and pressing his lips gently to yours.

It was something so simple, and yet both of you had been waiting months to be able to finally do it. And though soon it had to end, that first kiss felt like it would last forever.