After a few more hours of milling around the con, Henry grew tired of being the third wheel. He ditched the other two somewhere around seven. Elizabeta and Gilbert walked around the booths for a while more before ultimately getting bored. They had bought many dollars worth of useless kinds of paraphernalia, (collectibles, as Henry had called them.) They had watched cosplayers and visited question and answer panels. But, this was the last night and Gil wanted to do something fun. Maybe something that didn't include the con. Perhaps playing a game that Gil had spent many of his former days playing.

Gil had told Eli his plan and she had agreed. The two made their way to the local convenience store for supplies before going back to Elizabeta's hotel suite. Then, the plan began.

Elizabeta breathed like she had run a mile. In her cocked arm, she held a hollow ping pong ball. Her concentration was only broken by the alcohol strangling her brain. Like a poised warrior, she raised her arm and flicked her wrist. The ball arched in the air before plopping into a red plastic cup. She howled in victory.

"Drink up, snowflake." She shouted.

"Snowflake? We're on pet names, now?"

"No! That's an insult. Drink up."

Gilbert picked up the cup from the long coffee table, leaving rings of mist behind. He chugged down the beer. It was his favorite German brand. He bought it at the gas station a block down the street. He finished the cup and threw it across the room. The vessel hit the cocoa walls before falling into a cushion of the other empty cups. Gilbert held his hand up. Elizabeta flung the ping pong ball at him. Snatching it from the beer-tinged air, he kissed it. Then, he let the ball fly, draining it into one of the cups. As a few drops sprinkled out of the cup, Gilbert cackled in laughter.

"Hah! Your turn."

"I've already had five. Any more and I might dehydrate."

"Then drink some more." Gilbert smirked. Elizabeta snatched the cup. She raised it to her mouth like a coasting car out of fuel. Just as she could sense the alcohol floating towards her, she grinned. Suddenly, she pointed the cup at Gilbert and splashed him with the beer. The sound of the Doors' "Hello, I Love You" sweating out of the small speaker in the coffee table between the two beds. As she keeled over in laughter, Gilbert examined his drenched outfit. His head shot up to Elizabeta. Then, he rounded the table and ran at her. They collided, and Elizabeta felt the grey carpet smash into her back. Gilbert hovered over her with Elizabeta still gigging.

"I thought you liked beer. Wasn't that refreshing?"

Gilbert leaned in little closer to her. A sheet of paper could barely fit between their noses. He could smell the emanating alcohol coming out in short spurts as she breathed hard. "You can't do those things. I'm too awesome to be humiliated like that."

"Humiliated? I just taught you a lesson in humility, that's all."

"I should teach you a lesson, too."

Elizabeta kept her smirk glued to her face. "In what? You can't teach something to someone who's better than you."

"Then I should show you what happens when you mess with me."

Elizabeta smiled and put her arms around Gilbert's neck. He started to bow his head, almost touching his forehead to hers. Suddenly, Gilbert's grin wiped away. His mouth was agape as he kept his gaze locked to her emerald eyes. Everything about her left him stunned. Her figure, excitement, spunk, and knowledge of all things nerdy crafted her into a near-perfect woman for him. She not only was able to keep up with his self-proclaimed awesomeness, but even matched him with some of her own. Gilbert had never been one for real relationships or commitment for that matter. Now, however, he wanted to keep this Hungarian girl around him at any cost. He just didn't know how to move forward, or if they would even have any sort of romantic attachment.

Regardless, Elizabeta was too far gone. She'd most likely forget all of this by tomorrow. Even if he were to make his move, it would probably be lost to her drunken ether. It certainly would not be real. He could probably get her to jump out the window right now if he wanted. Let alone, sleep with her. Even with how forward he had been with girls in the past, he wanted something that he could call his own. An actual connection with someone else other than online or at bars.

Speaking of connection, it seemed that Gilbert was given a moral reprieve. Elizabeta took her arms and heaved them toward the side, yanking Gilbert's body onto the floor. She put her hands on his shoulder and pressed down on top of him. Her knees ground into his stomach, making him groan.

"You're trying to wrestle me," She said.

"Are you crazy?" Gilbert whispered in a strained voice.

"I fought off four gang-members at my high school. You think you can challenge me?"

"Your high school must have sucked." Gilbert yelped when Elizabeta flipped his leg in the air, pressing it down towards him. "Say uncle, and I'll think of letting you go." She said.

"Never. You can't break a Prussian." Gilbert said.

Just as she was about to snap his leg off, the door opened. They whipped their head up. Henry stood in the short hallway with a horrified expression, zoning in on the disheveled pair next to the queen-sized bed. Elizabeta rolled off Gilbert, who shoot to his feet in a stumble. He saw Elizabeta struggling on the floor, so he knelt down and lifted her up to where he was resting her head on his shoulder. Henry kept staring at them; the sound of Jim Morrison's deep voice being the only barrier of sound between them.

"I hope you two were doing yoga." Henry said as he walked towards the coffee table. He put down his can of Dr. Pepper, and turned to the pair. Elizabeta smiled and reached out her arms at Henry. He moved forward, sharing a quick hug with her. "You're cheery tonight. Win at beer pong?" He said when they broke away.

"Please," Elizabeta rolled her eyes.

"Snowflake wasn't even trying." Henry looked at Gilbert with a grin.

"Snowflake, huh? I think that's a good pet name." Gilbert sighed.

"I guess that's sticking, right?"

"Like the beer soaking the carpet." Henry pointed at the coffee table which had beer dripping off the sharp edges.

"You should have played. I would've let you drink just a little." Elizabeta said.

"I'd destroy you two. I would've had to call an ambulance for alcohol poisoning on you."

Gilbert cackled. "Is that a challenge, bro?"

"Old man, unless we're related, you can't call me that." Henry said with a frown.

"Old? I'm only like a few years older than you."

"Whatever. I'd love to school you for what would be the first of a million times, but the rave wasn't quite up to my standard of cool. Nice, but not cool. So if you could please leave the Epic Hedervary suite, we can call it a night."

"Psh. I live next door." "Too bad you don't have an extra bed for more yoga." The door slammed behind him. Gilbert stared at the ground, a dumbfounded look caressing his face.

"Oh, Gil." A voice drew out Gilbert's name in a high pitched voice. He turned around, leaving his rolling black luggage to bask in the humid Tampa air. Henry stood by the ferns next to the front revolving doors, beckoning him with his finger. Gilbert groaned and walked towards him, the sound of his shoes smacking the ground following him.

"I imagine this could be the first of many times I see your face. I know I pride myself on how cool I am, but I think your competing 'awesomeness' might give me a run for my money. Just a little."

"Thank you. I was hoping to impress you and not someone else." Gilbert turned to Elizabeta, who was busy talking on her phone.

Henry laughed. "I get that. What I'm saying is that I wouldn't mind seeing you again."

"Henry Walden Hedervary, are you asking me on a date? I'll accept, just so your feelings aren't hurt."

Henry stepped back a foot. His eyes were the size of dinner plates, and his stammers translated to Gilbert as nervousness. "S-She told you my middle name?"

"It sounds really familiar, too. Was that some American scientist or someone?"

"Forget it. I'll get back at her later. Right now, I just want to say something. And I'm gonna seem really lame and stupid, so don't judge me. You're not quite at that level yet."

Gilbert smirked. "I'd say the exact same thing."

Henry took a long sigh, closing his blue eyes for a few seconds. Then, he looked back at Gilbert's scarlet ones. "As you can probably tell, I'm not really related to Eli. I was around seven when my...biological dad got arrested for theft and assault. It was stupid. He just went to a QuikTrip with a baseball bat and bashed some guys skull in. It was almost homocide if the guy didn't wake up from his two-month coma. Mom was outta the picture a long time ago, so I went through the system. I was a real weakling back then. I guess I felt sorry for myself with all the bullshit happening. So anyway, I moved through my first group home to the second. I didn't really have any friends, so I kept to myself all day. And just when DFCS was about to move me again, she saw me."

"What's Defax?" Gilbert asked.

"Social services. I was outside in the lawn, and I was throwing a baseball up in the air. I guess I was too close to the gate. When I reached to grab it, she took her hand out and took it. She threw it at me, and I swear that her pitch was so fast, it broke the sound barrier. For some reason, she decided to come back and play catch with me of all people. She did a lot of physical activity, so that's how she was able to take on all those boys. It was probably how she pummeled you at wrestling last night."

"She didn't pummel me. We weren't wrestling." Gilbert said.

"She's always been strong. I begged the people from the state to keep me there, and they did. So I guess her parents got curious, because they came over a week or so later. Eli had kind of scared a few of the boys in the neighborhood, so she wasn't that popular. Our parents thought I was good for her, and after two months of visiting, I became a Hedervary."

Gilbert nodded. "I figured that's how it was."

Henry pointed at Gilbert, nudging his chest. "I tell you this for two reasons. One, I figured we might as well know each other's backgrounds. Why? Because that leads to my second reason," Henry paused for a few second. Moving his head, he saw Elizabeta animatedly talking in her phone, like she had just survived an excursion to a tropical resort. Henry shifted his gaze back to Gilbert. "Eli hasn't been this excited about anything in a while. The night you guys first met, she couldn't concentrate on anything when we got back to the room. She just had a far away look and hummed to herself. After you left last night, she couldn't shut up about you."

"What was she saying?"

"I don't believe I have to tell you that, Gil." Henry said while emphasizing his nickname. "I will say that if you're going to do what she wants you to do right now, we may see each other more for a long time."

"By that, you mean asking her out." Henry nodded. Gilbert turned around to Elizabeta, who just hung up on her phone.

He thought about the information that had just been laid down for him. Henry's revealed secret made Gilbert realize that he did not want to let his talk go in vain. Not only that, but he needed that extra push to ask Elizabeta. If he weren't, all of this work to meet up would have been for nothing. He walked over to her while dodging the valet parkers and scattered suitcases on the sizzling concrete sidewalk under the awning. When he reached her, he tapped her on the back, making her spin on her toes like a wooden top in her green sundress. She stepped back slightly before smiling at him.

"Well, Gil, for two days of knowing you, I had a lot of fun."

"Had? Are you saying we won't have fun in the future?"

Elizabeta paused. "W-What's that supposed to mean?"

"You're in Jacksonville, and I live in Daytona. So how about, alongside our usual business online, we actually see each other? That way, you won't have to go too long without admiring my awesome self." He said.

Elizabeta chuckled. "You want to meet somewhere in the middle?"

"Saint Augustine. We'll drive down separately and meet at 8:30 on Friday."

She brushed a strand of her wavy hair away from her face. "And where will we meet, TheAwesomeGil?"

"I know a restaurant. It's 'Colombia 1911.' Really fancy, but leave your wallet at home. I'm paying."

"You must have a nice boss. Letting you have days off, and a good salary?"

"My lame-ass job has some perks."

Elizabeta stopped for a second. She looked towards the entrance. Henry was leaning on one of the pillars, his eyes narrowed in a fake show of boredom. Deep down, she knew that this was probably his doing, or at least he prodded Gilbert to do this. Regardless, she knew Gilbert was planning this at some point. She did expect it around now considering that he didn't seem like someone to ask a girl out online. Though, That notion made her freeze her train of thought. There was an important barrier in their friendship (or relationship? She didn't know) that may have just been crossed, and she needed to know where she was with him now.

"Is this a date?" She asked.

There was a empty hole of noise lapping around them. Gilbert's smirk faded away, and he licked his lips while passing the awkward period.

"Well? You're setting up a time and location. You're paying. Is this a date?" She asked.

"Why do you sound so eager, Frau? Can't keep your hands off me?"

"You're avoiding the question."

"Of course it's a date. I had a ton of fun with you, and I wanna see if that translates to the real world. Not saying that the time here didn't matter, but a con isn't the best place for relationships, after all. And you didn't mention a boyfriend, and if we ever meet that other guy in New York, I don't want to be a third wheel, and the last date I was on was with a guy, and I-."

"What a second? A guy?"

"You said a date was a set time and paying in full. We met at a bar on a Friday, and he didn't have money, so I spotted him."

Elizabeta groaned. "That's not what I-. Okay, let me ask you this. Is there a romantic connection to this date? If there is, then is it a date?"

"You just called it a date." He said.

"Then it's a date."

"Okay. So this is our first date." Elizabeta stopped in her tracks. Quietly, she nodded. Gilbert smirked and stepped up to her. "If this is our first date, then are there any ground rules?" He asked.

"No death. Everything else is pertinent on how the date goes."

"Geez, Eli. I didn't know you bored someone to death."

Elizabeta playfully shoved Gilbert back, making him bounce off the open passenger door of the car. "If I'm boring, why do you wanna go out?"

"Because you're the most fascinatingly boring person I've ever met." Gilbert said. He moved towards Elizabeta. Before she could act, he wrapped his arms around her, and Gilbert reeled her into a tight hug whole resting his head on her shoulder. Elizabeta snaked her arms from his hold and returned the gesture. The buzz of the sprawling convention slowed to a soft ringing, and the warm Florida air rested on their shoulders. They released each other from their grip. Gilbert winked at her, igniting a gaggle of giggles from the Hungarian. He spun around and twerked away, disappearing in the clashing groups of ushers and Cosplayers squeezing out their last drips of enjoyment in the small gap of reality bridging fiction and life to people that need just a small reprieve from their own lives.

Now, Elizabeta was looking forward to ending that reprieve.