Chapter 3: Preparing for ComiCon.

3:AM. Sephiroth is sound asleep. with the sounds of the desk fan in Thomas's room helping him to drift away,
he seemed to be sleeping peacefully.
But he is soon woken by Thomas Ackerman, who didn't mean to disturb him. It was the sound of him almost tripping over the coffee table.

"crap..."

Sephiroth got out of bed and stood in the doorway, looking at Thomas stuffing things into a black backback.
"Thomas? What are you doing? It's 3 in the morning."
"ComiCon opens at 8:00. If we go now, we can get there before it gets crowded." said thomas putting things in the backpack.

Sephiroth was wiping the sleep out of his eyes.

"are the Buses even running?"

"yeah. The next bus there arrives at 5. You bringin' your Masamune sword Sidney?"

Sephiroth replied with a nod.

"yeah. I am. What are YOU bringing?"

Thomas held up a sandwich.
"food, money, drinks. Stuff we'll need to stay fed there. The food is REALLY expensive there. no way I'M giving them my money."

Sephiroth took a look at Thomas' black backpack, curious if they even needed all the stuff he was bringing.
(how long are we even going there? does the competition really take that long?
if so, we'll only need a few meals. not a whole Smorgasboard.)

Thomas looked back at Sephiroth.

"yeah, i know. We might not need all this stuff. but the competition lasts a REALLY long time, and it's good to be prepared."
Thomas said, as he finished stuffing his backpack.

"well, let's get going then." said sephiroth with an exasperated sigh. As he turned for the door, Sephiroth was stopped by Thomas.

"HEY! Don't go yet! I need to get my wallet."

"Don't you have it on you?"

Thomas quickly reached into both his pockets. He found what he was looking for.

"oh yeah, i do. heh. wow, I'm dumb." he said jokingly.

Sephiroth smiled at thomas, walked away, and waved. "I'll be waiting at the bus stop until you're ready."
"ok."
With that, Sephiroth left through the door. Thomas could hear his footsteps going down the stairs.

Thomas sat down on his blue couch.
(i feel bad for Sidney. His car was stolen, he has no home and no money, and he might not even have a job.
It's a good thing i invited him in. Not only does he have a home, but...
he looked like he was going to kill himself. did i do good?
maybe... it was getting kinda lonely here. big surprise, living by yourself for so long makes you lonely.
well... I'm not alone anymore... so, maybe i did do the right thing.)

Meanwhile, at the bus stop outside Concrete Tree Hills, Sephiroth was gazing into the night sky. the angel was deep in thought,
as he pondered Thomas' actions towards him. after all he had done back home, all those lives lost, why have someone be nice to him?
it simply does not compute. he deserves death. not kindness. but then again, maybe that's just what he needed.
(Why... Why did he bring me in? He didn't have to invite me to live here. I don't deserve this.)

He spied a single comet in the stars.

(shooting star... What, do i wish for something?)

Glancing at the Apartment Building, Sephiroth jokingly said to himself "heh. wish he'd hurry up."

*sigh*

(i wonder if i can live in this world without revealing my true identity?
Are people gonna freak out? will they want me dead?
Nah. I don't think i have my powers here anyway. I guess this is my new life now. Living in an apartment, maybe with a new friend.
I think i might like this new life.)
Sephiroth slowly sat down near the cold, red metal pole of the bus stop, patiently waiting for Thomas to finish packing.

1 very long hour passed.

(what is taking him so long? It shouldn't take this long for him to pack supplies. maybe he's looking for something?)
Suddenly, Sephiroth spotted a silhouette in the doorway of the apartment building. It was Thomas. his backpack was in one hand,
and in the other was a medium sized blue cooler.

"HEY! SID!" he said, bursting through the doors faster than the average COD game's development time.

Sephiroth turned his head towards Thomas, who was running towards him at Mach 5. He began gasping for breath as he reached Sephiroth.
"you finished packing?" asked Sephiroth.
"yeah. I got snacks, drinks, all sorts of neat stuff." Thomas said, opening the backpack.
Sephiroth took a peek inside. There were Granola bars, sandwiches, pizza slices, and fruits inside plastic food containers.
There were also various soft drinks inside the cooler as well.

Sephiroth looked up at Thomas. "you sure came prepared."

"yeah..."

"sooo, how long does the competition take anyways?" asked Sephiroth. for all he knew, the contest would take literally hours.
"literally hours."
"aahh.. i see."
The two then looked up into the starry night sky.

Sephiroth turned his head, then his whole body to face Thomas.
"so. What took you so long?"

"i got a phone call. A really long one."

"from whom, exactly?"

(Whom? Seriously? Nobody says that.) thought Thomas.

"my mom. She was going on and on about those 'Acolyte' guys, and that i should be careful at the Con."
Sephiroth was confused. "Acolyte?"

"remember? The radio? They blew up the Vatican!"
"oh. right. my mistake." Sephiroth said, remembering what he was talking about.

Sephiroth looked back at the night sky.

"so, Thomas. why did you invite me in? I barely even know you, and yet you offered me shelter and food. Why?"
Thomas looked down at the cold concrete of the sidewalk, and slowly gave a heavy sigh.
"do you really want to hear why, Sid?"

Sephiroth nodded at him.
"well... I... I have a hard time making friends. Or at least, finding the right opportunity to make them."

"oh?"

Thomas looked back at Sephiroth.
"yeah. Even if i do find the right opportunity to make a friend, i'm too scared to actually talk to them.
Will they like me for who i am? What are they like? I just don't know."

Thomas put his hands in his pockets, and looked away as if he were trying to hide something on his face.
Sephiroth could almost sense the insecurity in his eyes.

Sephiroth outstreched his right arm, and placed his hand on Thomas' left shoulder.
"did the opportunity come when you saw me at the bench?"

Thomas looked back a Sephiroth.
A gentle smile slowly formed on his face.

"yeah. I guess. When i saw your Sephiroth outfit, i thought 'hey. He might like the same things i do.
Why don't i complement his outfit and take things from there?'"

Taking his hand off Thomas' shoulder, Sephiroth smiled back at him. The moon seemed to be reflecting off his face.

"so... Does that meam i'm the first friend you ever made?"

"yeah... I guess it does..."

The two could hear a Vehicle coming.
It was a yellow bus, with the silver headlights shining off Sephiroth's face.
The sound of Pneumatic mechanisms were heard as the bus slowed down to a halt, making the sounds of the engine much easier to hear.

"Guess our ride's here." said Thomas looking at the driver.
He was beckoning the two to come aboard, lest he leaves without them.

Sephiroth walked forwards towards the bus.
"let's go. We have a contest to win."

Thomas followed him onto the bus. Getting out his wallet, he paid for the bus fare as Sephiroth found a seat behind the driver.
Thomas sat down beside him shortly after, getting out a sandwich from his backpack.
The few people that were on the bus were staring at Sephiroth as if he did something bad. Or at least looked out of place.

"seatbelts everyone! We're going to ComiCon." announced the driver on the speaker.

With that, the two were off. The bus slowly gained speed as it headed for ComiCon.