Chapter 8

Julia

Well, this was…surprising.

I looked over at Matt as he jotted down some notes in the notepad he’d been carrying in his hand all afternoon. So far, we’d gone to a workshop on writing for comics that was geared toward high schoolers and college students, then we went to a Q&A panel for a new TV series adaptation of a classic comic, and then we hit up the stalls so I could shop for some old issues I’d been looking for. And now? Well, now we were finally listening to my hero talk and it was amazing.

But I’d expected nothing less from the comics genius that was Les Corning.

No, what was really surprising was how much fun I’d been having—with Matt Cartwright.

At first I’d been a little wary, afraid that having someone from Grover High at my side would dampen the fun. But Matt didn’t seem to be judging me on my excitement or enthusiasm. And come to think of it, the only time he’d looked at me with those judgy eyes was when we’d first arrived and I’d avoided his too-personal question. Other than that, he’d been surprisingly…sweet. Accepting, even. He was great with my comic-con friends whenever we ran into them and he not only tolerated my excitement and non-stop chatter about what was going on around us, he actually encouraged it.

Les Corning finished up his talk and walked off the stage, but I couldn’t stop watching Matt make notes in his little book. His brow was furrowed in concentration and his mouth was sort of pursed. It was cute.

“What are you looking at?” he asked, his tone teasing even though he never lifted his head.

I turned away quickly to stare at the now-empty stage. “Nothing, just…” I cleared my throat. “Just wanted to know if you got everything you needed.”

He leaned back and dropped the pen onto his notepad before turning to look at me. “I think I did, yeah.”

I nodded, unsure of what else to say. All afternoon we’d managed to avoid the kind of awkward silence that had dominated our car ride, but I felt it coming back, creeping over me like a blush.

That was when I realized I was blushing, and that he was still looking at me, his dark eyes oddly intense as they held mine. The silence was stretching too long, but the longer it went on the more powerless I was to stop it.

I hated silence. I shifted in my seat but I couldn’t bring myself to look away, not even when the audience members on either side of us started to move, pushing their way past us to the aisle. It wasn’t until we were alone in our row that Matt broke the silence. “I liked what he said about superheroes and their masks.”

After such a long, oddly intimate silence, a comment about superheroes was so not what I’d expected.

I swallowed a wave of disappointment. Honestly, what had I been expecting? That he would make some sort of declaration? Ha! Or maybe kiss me? Even more laughable.

But I didn’t feel like laughing as I nodded. It was the best response I could come up with. Yeah, Les Corning had made some excellent comments about superheroes—why we love them, how they reflect us, how masks can often symbolize the masks we wear in everyday life. It was interesting stuff, made all the more interesting because he was speaking in reference to his upcoming, totally new take on superheroes, but ultimately nothing I hadn’t heard before in some form or another.

But then again, Matt probably didn’t read about comics religiously like I did, so maybe it was all new for him. “Did it help give you an idea of what angle you’re going to take with your article?”

He nodded, but his eyes seemed clouded, like he was lost in thought. “Yeah, I think it did.”

“Great.” I started to gather my things, but his voice had my head snapping up to meet his gaze once more. “Thank you.” He had that intense, earnest vibe going on again.

“For what?”

He gestured around us. “For bringing me here.”

“You brought me here,” I teased. “You had the passes, remember?”

He smiled but his gaze was still thoughtful. “Thank you for telling me to check out this lecture, and for sharing all this with me.”

I blinked a few times because what he said—he’d made it sound like so much more than just attending a comics convention together.

“Yeah, well…my pleasure.” I shifted away from him and looked down at my purse and coat again as I came to my feet. “I’d better go. I still need to pick up some stuff for our costumes for tonight’s event.”

“I don’t even know what I’m going to be,” he said.

I grinned as I stood to leave. “I do.”

He started to ask questions but I was already heading out, blatantly ignoring him and breathing easier with every step I took toward the exit.

“Where are you going?”

I turned back around to flash him a smug smile. “You go on to the next presentation without me. I’ll meet you back at the hotel in time to change.”

“Change into what?”

I grinned. “You’ll see.”

* * *

True to my word, I arrived at Matt’s hotel room door with a bag full of clothes and with enough time to get ready before the costume competitions. I held out no hopes for winning. Even with days and weeks to prepare I wouldn’t come close to some of the stellar outfits that the diehard fans came up with. But it was fun to try, and it was even more fun to participate. The costume contest had been me and Thea’s favorite event since the first time we came to one of these together back in junior high.

Her parents had brought us, but we’d been let loose at the costume event, and it had pretty much changed my life.

Thea was waiting for me now, ready to help me get ready after I helped Matt.

He opened the door with a wary look toward the bag in my hand. “That’s my costume?”

I nodded, holding it out proudly.

“Please tell me you didn’t get me anything too embarrassing.”

I rolled my eyes. “Like what? A full-body Supergirl costume? I could have a picture of you blown up to match mine.”

He laughed and I found myself laughing too. If you had told me a couple days ago that I’d be laughing over the most humiliating moment of my life, I’d have told you that you were crazy. But here we were, yukking it up like that embarrassing moment was just soo funny.

Oddly enough, being here surrounded by my comic-con friends and this surprisingly non-judgmental Matt…it was kind of funny.

Kind of.

“I was thinking more Superman,” he teased, but his laughter stopped short when I pulled out a Superman T-shirt from the bag. “Wait, I was kidding.”

I smiled in triumph. “Relax, Cartwright, I didn’t get you a full-blown Superman costume…”

“Oh, good.”

“Just a Clark Kent costume.”

He stared at the suit I pulled out. “You got me a Clark Kent costume.”

I nodded. “You’ll make an amazing Clark Kent.”

“But…doesn’t he just wear a suit and glasses?”

I smiled, unable to contain my excitement. “Just you wait.”