The line for ShadowStorm's panel stretched out the door and all the way through the first few booths in Artist Alley. You couldn't see the end from where you stood. You were too excited to think about it.

Photographers still snapped pictures of you and Carolina. You didn't even know how long you had been at the con, and you didn't want it to end.

Finally, the line began to shrink. They were letting people in. You couldn't stop smiling. You would see him in his natural habitat.

When you met eyes with Carolina again, she was giving you the crazy eye. "Please. Stop smiling. You're scaring people away."

Your eyes enlarged. "Exactly! I want them gone so that there can be more room in the panel!"

"That's not the best attitude, Lena. I know you're excited, but isn't that a bit overkill?" Carolina sighed, looking at her long colored nails on her gloves.

You grumbled. "Well, yeah, yeah...I'm...sorry about what happened at Starbucks?" You followed the line in, showing your badge and sitting down. The front table was empty. "I think I'm just awkward around him…"

Your friend stared at you with squinted eyes. "Don't worry! Sip your Frappucino! It will relax you. We're in just another panel. It's just no big deal." She leaned back in her chair, pulling out her phone. It was something Sombra would do. That was another reason you were slightly jealous of your friend.

The Frappucino wasn't cold anymore. You missed the chill on your tongue. At least Carolina was nice enough to save you a seat close to the table. You could almost see his face up there. It was so amazing.

Then you checked the time. You still had five minutes to wait to see his face again. Maybe he took his trenchcoat off. Maybe he would have made sure his hair looked better. Was there any way this could be better?

Your heart began to quicken just thinking about him. Four minutes.

"Hey!" Someone called. But it wasn't meant for you, you thought, it was meant for Sombra. Or Carolina. Whichever was better in the moment. "I love your costumes, you two!"

Your friend was so lucky. She could make a conversation out of anything. "Oh, really? She remarked. "Do you play?"

The eager twenty-something pulled out his phone. "Yes! Of course. I'm a Hanzo main, actually."

You couldn't help but laugh. "Hanzo main!" You realized you were louder than most people in the room. "I'm a die-hard Tracer main. No wonder I'm like this, right?"

Hanzo Main gave you a look. The flutter returned to your voice. You were getting nervous as the minutes ticked away. Three minutes.

You sipped your Frappuccino, hoping Carolina would keep you entertained for just a little longer. "Sombra Main, obviously. Apagando las luces, hello!" She laughed.

He chuckled after her. "Been a few months since I've seen a girl who's something other than a Mercy main, amiright?" Hanzo Main adjusted his glasses. It reminded you of Winston, slightly. "Yeah, so you guys big fans of ShadowStorm or whatever?"

You froze up. Oh. That's why you were here. Right. This was his panel. Mr. Buy-You-A-Drink-At-Starbucks. And there was just two minutes before you would see him again.

Carolina met your gaze, noticing you were tense. "Yeah, we're fans."

"Aspiring 'tubers?"

She shook her hands. "Just here for the party. For the fun and all that fluff. You?"

He ruffled his strawberry hair, replying, "Yeah, want to start an Overwatch channel soon. Mostly gameplay, I suppose." He shrugged. "Maybe a bit of lore? Never know, right?"

Carolina eyed you, obviously uninterested in the conversation. "Yeah…" She responded, letting the silence linger. One minute.

An announcer came up to the stage. "Is everyone here for the 'How to Make Better Gaming Videos' panel?" The microphone gave some feedback. Everyone shut their ears and nodded. "Well, good, because there are a few panels going on at the same time as this one." The announcer let out a breath of relief, his badge dangling from his neck.

"Alright, now here's the moment most of you have been waiting for, the panel." The Overwatch theme cued up, trying to make it sound epic. "First up, we have one of everyone's top three Overwatch YouTubers: ShadowStorm!"

You saw his face in the distance. Your ears tuned out the screaming and clapping. The Overwatch theme never sounded so good. It was all so magical, watching him sit down in a foldout chair at a table.

It was like one of those cheesy scenes in commercials where the main character finds the one they love. The soft pink vignette forms around the person, and you can't help but swoon. It was as if you had hearts booming out of your eyes.

Honestly, you didn't care about the rest of the people on the panel. Sure, you heard of them, but they were not the same.

Finally, everyone was seated. Carolina gave you the glare, telling you to quit it. You tried, sipping your Frappuccino. It was almost gone. "What's up Vidcon how're you doing today?" ShadowStorm screamed into the mic in one straight phrase.

You cheered as loud as the rest of them. They loved it, they loved him. They just don't know how you feel. "So here's the deal, I and the rest of the people at this table will discuss the basics of how to keep your audience captivated and into the game, then we'll open the floor up for questions. You all might even get a preview of our newest projects…" He whispered. His voice was chocolate, smooth and sweet with a little bit of rich flavor. The new projects would be even tastier.

Time flew by fast. You didn't care what everyone else at the table had to say. You would even like it to go faster if it could. All you wanted to hear about were the questions, what everyone else had to ask, tell him how you felt. But others kept talking, interrupting him sometimes. You wanted them to stop.

Finally, he had a chance to speak, but it felt like it was close to being over. "Well, what I like to do is think about what I'd like to watch, then I put all my effort into it and hope other people like it. That's what I've been doing ever since I made the account. I also like throwing humor into it, especially in 'What if Sombra was a cyborg.'"

Of course, Carolina laughed. You laughed along too, knowing it was the first video you watched. It brought it all back. He continued, "Yeah, and does that seem like it, you guys?" Shad looked down the table. They all nodded. "Well! I'll open up the floor for questions! Just raise your hand, and Jim, is that it," Jim nodded, "will come to you with a handheld mic."

Carolina smirked at you. "You going to ask a question, Lena?" She snickered, but you took no offense to it. "I think you should."

You shook your head. The nerves were too big a factor.

"Come on," she murmured, "just one question. It's not hard."

You sipped more. "Sure. You ask one then," you dared. People were already asking away.

"Watch me," she said, raising her hand. Jim came over with a microphone, and she stepped out of her seat.

You watched your friend, like she instructed you too. She was so confident. "ShadowStorm, what are you working on?"

"What do you mean? I'm always working," he replied with a sly smile, meaning it was meant to be joking.

"I mean, what's your newest project?"

ShadowStorm took a moment to think about it, then he responded. "If you haven't seen the trailer, then I'll tell you about it now. It's basically an Overwatch Question and Answer series, where instead of asking questions to someone like me, they would be asking it to...Pharah, for example. Speaking of Pharah, I'm always in need of more voice actors…" He winked at the crowd. "All the questions would be in the comments of the previous video. Who's excited for that?" The crowd roared, and you roared with them. But...wouldn't you miss hearing his voice? Oh wait, he voices Genji. "Thanks for your question. Next?"

Carolina slid back into her seat. "Told you it was simple, right?"

You nodded as another man went up to ask a question about what the first video you post can become. "I'm still not doing it," you whispered. "It's ShadowStorm, for God's sake, not a businessman on the street."

Carolina was not impressed. She begged, "Come on! It'll be easy, and you won't remember it!"

Another person on the panel was answering the question. "Thanks again. Next?" The YouTuber asked.

"At least let me see a few more."

The next girl in line was bleach blonde, wearing a teal tank top and looked like something just out of a spinoff magazine. Obviously, she came to this con for the popularity or the makeup tutorials. She twirled her hair with one hand, the mic in the other. "Uh, this is a question for Shadow." She was chewing some gum. "Do you have a girlfriend?"

Everyone in the crowd laughed. Even Shadow laughed. It would've seemed silly if you were a normal person, but no one else knew your passion. Carolina wasn't laughing either. You sat patiently, almost bursting out of your seat with anticipation to hear his prized answer.

Once the laughing died down, he calmed himself and answered. "Actually, I don't have one. I'm single." He chuckled nervously. That must mean something. Anything. He was open. All you had to do was ask. "Alright, alright, I hear we're running short on time, so this will be the last question."

Carolina grabbed your wrist, shoving it in the air. You were shocked. You honestly had no question. You sipped your Frappuccino, realizing it was gone. You had no security.

"Drum roll please!" Shadow commanded. "And the last question will go to...the Tracer cosplayer!"

You froze. He meant you. You had no question, you didn't know what to ask him.

Jim held the microphone right in front of you. Everything felt warm in your face, and you noticed it was growing red. "What's your question, girl?" Jim asked.

You had no answer. There was complete silence, all eyes on you. "I...I'm really sorry," you spit out, breaking the silence, "but I forgot my question."

You forgot your Frappuccino was out, so you sipped it and it made a loud noise into the microphone, as if it couldn't get any worse.

ShadowStorm looked at you with sympathetic eyes. "Don't worry, it's nothing. Love the costume, by the way!"

You didn't like all this attention. You wanted him to keep breaking the silence, telling everyone it was time to leave, and that they needed to go, now. They needed to go so they didn't see you embarrass yourself again.

"Well, uh, everyone, looks like the panel's over! It's eleven! Let's give one more hand for our esteemed panelists!" The roar of the crowd masked your desperate slurping. As soon as you saw one person get up, you dashed out, afraid to show your face.

That was it. It wasn't your face, it was Lena Oxton's. No one knew your name. No one cared. A few stares meant nothing.

You looked behind you at the empty auditorium. People flooded out, and with them was Carolina, her face more obvious than anyone else's. "[YN]! What happened?"

"You know. Well, you should know." You tossed your Frappuccino in the trash. You didn't need it anymore.

"Embarrassed? I get you. He's another person that you wouldn't really want to screw up in front of, huh?" You nodded. Carolina always knew how to get to you. "Maybe he isn't the same as he is online?"

You shook your head. "No, he is. Trust me."

Just then, you felt another hand on your back. It wasn't slender, like Carolina's. Your eyes grew wide once you heard his voice. "I'm sorry about what happened."

You sighed, staring up into ShadowStorm's eyes. "No, it's not your fault. It's mine, I didn't know what to ask you."

He smiled at you. "At least you're okay now, right? Heroes never die."

You grinned back at him. Carolina flashed you a half-smile. She was happy. You knew it. "Thanks for uh...caring about me. I mean, I know I'm just another fan and all…" You scratched your wig with your foam gun.

He stayed silent. "It doesn't matter, does it?"

"Yeah…" You nodded, smiling. The crowd of people seemed to split right when they hit the trio of you. It was heavenly. The silence was golden. You really, really, wanted to kiss him, but you figured it wouldn't work, wouldn't make sense. Almost like magnets, you leaned forward, not even wanting to. Your face grew closer to his.

Then, a hand stopped you. It was Shad's. "Do you want to...go out to lunch together? I'm kind of hungry."

You looked to the side. Carolina had disappeared. "Y..yeah. I'd love to, I suppose."

He smiled, leading you through the crowds, his trench coat back on. Your grin almost matched his. People still took pictures. Lena was back, and everyone needed the pictures.

As soon as the photographers grew closer, he took your palm and began running. You dashed by Carolina, barely getting a glimpse of her before you went out the door. She followed close behind.

In the back, you saw her trying to navigate toward you. Carolina gave you a stern whisper. "Where are you gonna go?"

"Out. He wants to go to lunch with me...trust me, we'll be back, I'll give you all the deets."

She laughed. "Phew! Thanks. Almost thought I'd have to force something out of you," Carolina remarked. "Text me if you need anything. I'll be here on the floor." She moved back, clearing her throat. "I'd love to stay and chat, but I'm not going to."

You turned your head for a second as Shadow joyfully weaved through the crowds. Once you looked back at Carolina, she was gone. She left no trace.

Maybe you were in over your head.