On the day of the convention you are exited, but you retain your cool attitude. It seems to you like you've known your friends since the beginning of the universe, but since you all moved away from each other it's gotten a little harder to stay friends.

You finally sign in to the convention after two hours of waiting in line. A quick pesterlog with John reveals he got there with his father at around three in the morning to avoid the massive behemoths that are convention lines.

You pester Rose to see her position in these line waiting shenanigans.

TG: where are you

TG: i just finished in the line

TG: its fucking huge

TT: What are you referring to?

TG: the line of course

TG: duh

TT: I guessed that was the case. I am currently with Jade right now just inside the main entrance.

TT: We finished in line about a half an hour ago.

TG: wheres john

TT: I believe he is with his father browsing the spectacular collection of artwork in the art hall.

TG: Though, that is just conjecture at this point, as he was moving quickly earlier.

TG: where do i find you

TG: you can help me locate him

Bro taps your shoulder lightly as you look up from your phone into Rose's violet eyes. Jade, for a lack of a better word, pounces out at you from behind Rose.

"Surprise!" She grasps you in a tight, slightly uncomfortable hug.

"The guest of honor arrives." Rose looks you up and down, and you can't help but feel like she is somehow judging you.

She has light white-blond hair like yours, and she wears a white shirt, that on first glance, seems to have a perfectly cute squiddle on it. Actually, the eyes have been modified to make it look more fierce than endearing or cuddly. She seems like the kind of girl that's too smart to be mainstream, but too good-looking to be a total dweeb.

Jade, on the other hand, has a squiddle shirt and a pair of white dog ears on her head. She has jet-black hair, vibrant green eyes, and darkish tanned skin. She looks like she spends a bit of time out in the sun.

"Well," you say, "Thanks for coming all the way out here."

Before you can say anything, Bro interjects, "Lets find the Egderp and get moving. I've got a lot to do."

Rose rolls her eyes and says, "According to this map, the art hall is right off the main hall. It should be marked with a sign."

You all get moving, searching through the quite sizeable crowd of people for your dorky friend. You identify the Art Hall and sure enough, the nerd is busy looking at artwork.

"Ah, our bespectacled friend and his father!" Rose greets John.

"Hi guys!" John has to yell a little to stay louder than the crowd. "So nice to see you again! Happy birthday, Dave!"

"It's so nice to fucking see you, Egderp," you comment, receiving a judging glare from John's father, presumably for uttering a swear word within fifty meters of his son.

John cringes as well, as he knows not to swear in front of his dad. 'Don't call me Egderp." He sighs. "Either way, there's still lots to see and do!"

You all return to the entrance and start at the beginning. Though you personally couldn't care less about anime, your Bro and John and Jade all seem to really enjoy it, and you and Rose are basically just content that they are having fun.

What is really comical, however, is John's Dad's interactions with Bro. John's Dad keeps making an effort to make conversation with Bro, but Bro is too busy hitting on male cosplayers to respond most of the time. Sometimes the occasional female cosplayer catches Bro's eye, then he pursues her, making John's Dad feel marginally less awkward. Marginally.

"Their interactions are really hilarious," Rose comments. "Does he bother you when he acts that way?"

You know she's referring to Bro's antics. "No, not really. He might ask me if I have a boyfriend at home if he's being a butt, but he doesn't pressure me to feel a certain way."

"How do you feel?"

You know this is just what Rose does, she asks questions. You learned a long time ago that dodging her snoopiness is futile and that its better to just answer honestly. "I don't really care at this point. Male, female, doesn't matter much." You may have learned to answer honestly, but you still don't want to reveal how you really feel to her, good as her intentions may be. Either way, your answer is close enough to the truth to stop her from asking.

She squints her eyes at you, then smiles. "I suppose its not entirely my business anyway."

"Dave, come over here!" John is frantically motioning for you, as he stands near Jade in fromt of a merchant's table. Once you get there, he points at a sword lying on the table. "Look at that, it's an amazing sword! Almost a perfect replica!"

You don't have the heart to tell him how unbelievably shitty the sword probably is but you sigh and ooh and aah over it anyway.

Out of nowhere, John remembers something super important.

"Dave, I'm super excited for a game that's coming out next year."

That's when all your troubles started.