UltimateHeroEric: Are you excited?

UltimateHeroEric: 'Cause I'm excited.

UltimateHeroEric: Are you excited, sassy pants?

SakurAssassin: Ecstatic :)

Yes, I was excited. And very, very, very nervous. The big day was tomorrow. In a few short hours, Eric and I would meet.

SakurAssassin: Did your flight get in okay?

UltimateHeroEric: Yeah. The Nihonda Company even put us in a hotel. They gave my brother a separate room, so I get one all to myself B)

UltimateHeroEric: Hey, wait. Did they put you in the hotel too? Are you next door to me?!

SakurAssassin: No. They only get hotels for people who don't live in the area.

UltimateHeroEric: Ah ha! I knew it! Totally called it! You live in LA!

SakurAssassin: Guilty :P

UltimateHeroEric: So, we live across the country from each other, huh?

SakurAssassin: Yep.

UltimateHeroEric: That'll make it pretty difficult to see each other again. Better make tomorrow count!

I sure hope I could.

UltimateHeroEric: How are we going to meet up? How will I know it's you?

SakurAssassin: Well, I'm dressing up like my character. You should be able to recognize that.

UltimateHeroEric: Cool, I'm going as myself, too. But what if other people people dress up like us? What then?

SakurAssassin: You'll be able to tell it's me.

UltimateHeroEric: How?

SakurAssassin: Because I'm going to be invisible.

"Charlie, don't you think that's enough?" I asked.

"Nope," Charlie said. She threw another handful of glitter at me. "There. Now it's perfect. He'll definitely be able to find you."

The glitter of course had been Charlie's idea. She didn't think the fabric of my invisible ninja outfit had been shiny enough. Under all of that glitter, I was dressed completely head to toe in black. My hair was in a ponytail under my hood and the mask to cover my face draped loosely around my neck. It took me a long time to get all the details right, but I managed to make a belt, bag, and katana to carry around, too.

"Everybody will be able to find me," I complained.

"Ah, but only one person will be able to tell it's you. They say the best place to hide is in plain sight," Charlie said.

"Maybe," I said.

"As long as you keep your mask on, your secret identity will be safe," Charlie said.

I pulled my mask, careful not to inhale any loose particles of the infectious glitter. I nodded.

"Okay, I've got to go to my booth. If you need anything, you'll know where to find me," Charlie said.

I nodded again. I could do this.

"Good luck out there, Kiki." She gave me a thumbs up before she exited the bathroom. "I'm rooting for you."

Right, okay. I could do this. I had been preparing for this moment for a long time. I was ready.

The convention hadn't officially started yet. Only a few people were scattered through the lobby. There were the workers, special guests and vendors. I was the exception. That was why my pass was a different color. Very few people knew what it actually meant.

They'd be letting the people in soon, and who knows how long it would take Eric to get through. I decided to park it at a bench on one of the walls. It wasn't too far off to the side. He should still be able to find me.

There was a throng of excited voices as they finally started opening the doors. My eyes searched through the crowd as they started to trickle in to see if I could find Eric.

There were a lot of people dressed up as characters. A few of them were dressed up as Eric. I stared at them, trying to see if I could figure out which one was him. After quite a few impostors, I decided it would be better if I just waited. I got out my Nihonda Portable Gaming Console, so I could do a little more work. The game prototype I had been working on was still really rough.

Even as I tried to pick apart the flaws in my game, I couldn't help but worry. What if I wasn't like Eric expected? I mean, I knew I wasn't, but what if it was in a bad way? What if he got mad at me because I had to trick him?

"What are you playing?" Someone sat down next to me on the bench.

"Oh, um, it's just, um." I tried to turn the screen away. "It's just this old game. You've probably never heard of it." I tried not to make to big of a deal as I slipped it back in my bag.

"Hmm," he didn't try to protest, probably not much of a game enthusiast.

I shyly glanced at the guy sitting next to me. I was pretty sure he wasn't Eric. First off, he was dressed up in this maid outfit. Secondly, he was wearing cat ears. He looked exhausted.

"Are...are you okay?" I tentatively asked him.

"I'm just tired," he said. "I camped out in line all night."

"Oh." That would explain why he was slumped out on the bench.

"Have we met in game?" he asked me. "I mostly played in Italy. Username CatLuver33."

"I-I don't think so..." I said.

"Oy, is this guy bothering you?" Another player approached us. He had on a suit and fedora. A mask covered the top half of his face. I'm pretty sure this wasn't Eric either.

"Back off, man," CatLuver33 said tiredly.

"Hey, have some respect for the lady, man. She obviously looks uncomfortable," the new guy said.

"Oh God, you're one of those 'nice guys,' aren't you?" CatLuver33 said.

"I think there's been a misunderstanding..." I tried to say.

"And how about you just shut up. There's nothing wrong with treating women right," new guy said.

"News flash, she's not an NPC. She doesn't owe you her heart if you say a few nice things," CatLuver33 said.

"And she's not going to give you her heart if you dress up like a perverted cat maid," new guy bantered back.

"Look, I'm not giving anyone my heart," I said a bit louder. "I'm actually kind of waiting for someone..."

"See, you scared her off!" said the masked man.

"It's all because you just had to come over here and start a fight..."

"I was defending her!"

"She doesn't need you to defend her."

Maybe they wouldn't notice if I just slipped away quietly...

"SASSY PANTS!"

All at once, none of their fighting really mattered. I felt my heart constrict and skip a beat. It was him. That had to be his voice.

I stood on my tiptoes and tried to search the crowd. I couldn't see him.

"Sassy pants!" he said again. A hand waved wildly above the heads of the crowd. That hand belonged to the biggest, most beautiful grin I had ever seen.

"Eric!" I found myself shouting back, adding an enthusiastic wave of my own.

He started laughing and pushing his way to where I was. The crowd cleared up a bit, and he picked up his pace. He was practically running when he wrapped his arms around me and lifted me off the ground. He used his momentum to spin around with me in his arms

With the sudden sense of my feet leaving the ground, I clung desperately to Eric's neck. He was stronger than I expected. He held me up in the air for an embarrassingly long time. His chest was warm, and his arms squeezed me tighter.

"Um, Eric...I-I can't reach the ground," I informed him.

"Oh, right. Got a little carried away," he said. He leaned over so my toes could find their way back to Earth. I let go of his neck and sank back onto my heels.

We took a moment to just look at each other, really seeing each other for the first time. Eric really had tried to model his character after himself, so it wasn't really that hard to see him any different. Plus, it helped that he was dressed up like a cowboy.

He was quite a bit taller than I was. Maybe half of a foot. He wasn't quite as beefy, but he had a nice build. His shoulders were plenty broad, and he must have some muscles if he could hold me up comfortably for that long. His hair had a sort of wind swept look and was a dirty blond color. He had a couple of freckles and probably the bluest eyes I had ever seen. I couldn't help but think I was being a little vain when I felt my heart beat faster just looking at him.

Eric's eyes suddenly went wide as if he recognized something.

"What?" I asked.

"Nothing. It's just that..."

Oh God, what if he knew it was me already? What was I thinking? He could probably recognize me from my eyes! He had seen my face everyday, hadn't he? Oh no...

"It's just that you look really cute, okay?" Eric finally said. He rubbed the back of his head. "I wasn't expecting that."

I could feel myself blushing madly under my mask. What? But he could only see my eyes!

"Not that I thought you were going to be ugly or anything!" he added on quickly. "It's just...you're a little bit different than you are in the game. At least, I can definitely tell you're a girl now..." he continued nervously.

Oh, if that's all he meant. "You're a little different, too. I mean, I didn't know you wore glasses."

Eric smiled at that, grateful I didn't make a big deal out of him calling me cute. "Yeah, I would have worn my contacts, but I didn't get much sleep last night..."

"Eric! You can't just go running off like that!" a voice called out from the direction he came from.

Eric rolled his eyes and looked back at the person pushing through the crowd.

"That would be my brother," he told me.

I recognized the him as he came into view. Arthur Freeman was one of the few guests not dressed up like a character. I nodded my head in his direction.

"Excuse me, you must be 'sassy pants,'" Arthur greeted me and nodded back. "I believe we met in the game."

"Briefly," I confirmed. "It's nice to see that you were both able to make it."

"Yes, well, I don't know how much of a help I will be considering my limited knowledge of the game, but I thought the convention would be an interesting experience," Arthur said.

"Yes, very interesting. Don't you have an article to research or something?" Eric said.

Arthur gave Eric a sideways glance. He looked slightly annoyed but decided not to argue. "I suppose. I could always go say hi to Kiki..."

Eric didn't look as conflicted as I thought he would be. I sort of thought he would want to try to look for Kiki, too. "Yeah, go say hi."

Arthur stayed a moment and then shrugged his shoulders. "Okay, fine. You two have fun."

Eric waited for him to go before he said anything else.

"So, when do I get to find out your name?" he asked quickly. His eyes were full of excitement.

"Um, you see..." I wringed my hands nervously. "It's not like I'm not going to tell you. You will find out today. It's just..."

"Hey, don't worry!" Eric said, interrupting me. He took my hands in his and squeezed them gently, sensing my nervousness. "You don't have to tell me right away, if you don't want. I know how much you love your surprises."

Oh God, I loved this boy. My heart was beating like crazy.

"Can I at least see your face?" he asked.

"Ah, well..." I really started blushing then. That would pretty muchbe the same as telling him my name.

"Say no more, say no more! I get it! Surprises. Let's just go have fun!" Eric started to pull me straight into the heart of the crowd.

"Oh hey, I forgot to tell you something! I'm nineteen! My birthday was yesterday!" Eric shouted to me as he lead me aimlessly. Something must have caught his attention. The place was starting to get loud with so many people here.

"What?" I shouted back.

"Yesterday was my birthday!" He shouted again. "I'm the same age as you!"

"Why didn't you tell me?" I said.

"I wanted...to tell you..." The crowd broke up slightly as we went into a different room. "In person," he said with a smile.

"Oh, then, happy birthday, Eric." He couldn't see my mutual smile under my mask. "Congratulations on turning nineteen."

"Why thank you, sassy pants," he said. "Seeing as we are now equal in age, I feel like I must challenge you."

I laughed. "You're going to challenge me?"

"Sassy pants, I must ask you to dance," Eric said in all seriousness.

What dancing? Here? But this was the...

I got a mischievous look in my eye. I understood. I couldn't back down with my pride on the line. "Dance dance?"

Eric nodded and grinned again. "Dance dance."

You couldn't really having a gaming convention without at least a couple of gaming rooms. There were rooms where you could play current games and previews for games that hadn't come out yet; however, this gaming room was dedicated to the classics. The games you might find at an arcade. We stepped up to the Dance Dance Revolution platform when it was our turn.

"I've got to warn you, sassy pants. I'm pretty good," Eric bragged.

"I'm sure," I replied. I reached into my bag and grabbed a couple of quarters. I put them in both Eric and my slots.

I got on my side once the settings were put in place. I bounced up and down on my feet as the introduction was played. I sprang into actions once the arrows started to fly onto the screen.

"Shoot," I heard Eric say after the first few arrows. I could hear the sounds of constant misses as he tried to keep up with the influx of arrows.

I laughed as he stumbled around. "Why did you choose expert?"

"Because you did, and I wanted to look cool!" he said, exasperated. "Help me!"

"I thought you said this was going to be a challenge," I said, dancing around easily on the platform, showing off just a tiny bit.

"I thought we were partners, sassy pants!"

I laughed and then squealed as he pulled me over to his side. He held onto me tight until he was sure I wasn't going to escape back to my side.

"You take the left and back. I'll get the other two," I finally agreed.

We managed to clumsily make our way through the rest of the song, even with my half not participating. Eric's side managed to score higher than mine.

"Ha! I beat you!" he jokingly boasted, as if this had been his plan all along.

"I wouldn't be so sure about that,"I said.

The screen popped up with the highest scores. All fifteen places were owned by one SASS, the shortened version of my favorite username.

"You've got to be kidding me," Eric said breathlessly, staring at the screen.

It really wasn't all that surprising. These were all my games. "I've had lots of practice. I've been going to these conventions since I was a kid," I told him. "Charlie and I would..."

I suddenly remembered. "Oh, I wanted to introduce you to my friend Charlie!" It was my turn to tug and lead him by his hand. "Come on! We need to go to the vendors' room!"

"Fine, fine, Lead the way, dancey pants!"

The vendors' room was always full of neat stuff. I could tell Eric was getting distracted by all the novelty items, but I at least wanted him to meet Charlie before the opening panel started and things got really hectic.

"Charlie," I called out once we were getting closer.

She looked over at us and gave me a smug smile. "Well, will you look who it is! It's Mr. Cowboy himself. And don't you both look glittery today."

It was true. Quite a bit of my glitter had come off on Eric. I hope he didn't mind.

Eric looked surprised. "You're a girl!" he exclaimed.

"That's real sweet, hun. I bet you said the same thing to my best friend here," Charlie said. "Quite the charmer you've picked up." She nudged me

"Be nice," I told her. "Charlie, this is Eric. Eric, this is Charlie."

"It's nice to meet you. Sassy pants told me a lot..." Eric started.

"Wait, wait, wait, hold up a second," Charlie interrupted. "You call her...this girl right here..." She pointed to me. "You call her 'sassy pants?'"

Eric looked confused. "Yeah..."

Charlie started laughing uncontrollably. My face went red from embarassment. "He...he really has no idea who you are!" Charlie managed to say between laughs.

"Charlie..." I said in warning.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" Charlie was staring to calm down. "You're alright, kid. I like you. Here." Charlie pulled up something from her stall. "I thought you two might like these. They're my most popular items, so I had to save them for you."

"Oh my God!" Eric reacted quickly, picking them both up. They were little replicas of our characters. "We're action figures!"

"Mmmhmmm," Charlie hummed proudly. "I had them made myself. Think of it as a token of appreciation for taking good care of her. Though I think most of my customers are using them for shipping..."

Charlie continued to talk about the trending sales of products around the convention. I tried to think of what else I wanted to see with Eric.

"Sassy pants..." Eric's voice seemed to drown out all the rest as he whispered low in my ear. "I need to talk to you about something."

I looked at him, seeing the sincere determination in his face. "Now?" I asked. There wouldn't be much time until the panel started.

He nodded. This must be pretty important.

"Excuse us, Charlie. Eric and I want to do more exploring before the panel starts," I said. "We'll try to meet up again later."

"Okay! Make sure we do! I want to hear every gory little detail," Charlie added in one last tease for me. I tried to ignore it as I lead Eric away from the vendors' room.

There was only one place I could think of where we could talk about things privately. It wouldn't be much, but we'd be able to spare a few more minutes to be alone together.