“Hey!” I move in between the two of them as Ryan recovers and presses up against me, absolutely ready to push by and get himself beaten up. “Everyone just calm down.”
“We’re fine,” the other guy speaks up, the one with the chain necklace. “But you two better mind your own business.”
He reaches for something in his back pocket and pulls it out quick, making me and Ryan flinch. It’s another sticker, and he laughs with the other guy before leaning over and slapping it on top of the one we were trying to peel away.
“Everything okay?” A third guy walks over, dressed a bit more typically conventionesque in a Final Fantasy T-shirt, the hint of some kind of tattoo peeking out near his neck. He exchanges a look with the two trolls and then eyes us, a flash of recognition washing over his face.
“You.” He points at me with a sly smile.
“What?” I ask, glancing quickly at Ryan.
“You’re the boyfriend,” the guy continues, giving his friends a playful slap on the back. “You don’t recognize this guy? From the videos? The texts and pictures?”
He looks back at me, grinning.
“Nice of you to show up.” He digs for something in his pocket, and I wince again as he pulls out another one of those stickers.
And then he slaps it across my face.
“Enjoy the show,” he sneers at me, then all three of them dart off.
I peel the sticker from my face, the glue ripping at my stubble and skin. These are seriously heavy-duty stickers—that must be why they aren’t coming off the columns.
“Ugh.” I crumple the sticker up and whip my hand around to get it off, shaking it into the trash next to the pillar. “That was...so not great.”
“Are you sure we should be here?” Ryan asks. There’s a slight tremor in his voice.
“Not really,” I stammer out. Then thoughts of D1V float through my head, and I exhale. “But we have to be here. Not just for her, but for us.”
I nod in the direction of ManaPunk.
“Yeah. Yeah, I know.” He clears his throat. “Okay.”
I start walking over, when Ryan grabs my shoulder, pulling me back.
“What now?” I groan.
“I’m sorry, have you even thought this through at all?” he asks. “What are you going to do? Ask Jason nicely to turn it off? Run over there and just steal the prototype? Rip the computer out, knock over the television? How are you going to get it all away from him? From Laura?”
“I’ll figure something out.”
“No. You won’t,” Ryan says firmly. “You’ll run over there with this crap on you, this tube that looks like an oversize quiver of arrows, and fuck it all up. Or those Vox Populi bros will catch wind of us walking that way and interfere somehow.”
He leans against the pillar and exhales.
“Here’s what we’re going to do.”
* * *
I nudge my way through the crowds over to the ManaPunk booth, where several people are milling about, talking to Jason and Laura, or maybe just trying to get a look at the demo. I get it. ManaPunk is a popular indie. People know the name, know Jason. It’s enough to break my heart, seeing that booth without me in there. I wanted people to know me the way they know him, I guess. This was supposed to be a huge moment for me and for Ryan, and instead, it’s all about him.
I squint, looking around the booth and the area surrounding them, for anyone else who might be one of the Populi. But how would I tell, anyway? Dressed kinda plain, looking like a bro...that describes a lot of the people meandering about.
They could be anywhere.
I steel myself, taking a deep breath, and inch closer, just as Laura locks eyes with me. She smiles, and suddenly, it’s like I’m looking at someone I don’t even know anymore, a stranger. I’d had this strange drive to try to...what, protect her from Jason? When all the while, I’m pretty sure I needed protection from her. I’d thought we were friends.
She nudges Jason and says something, and he looks at me, his face aghast, like he’s seeing a ghost.
A small sense of victory courses through me. At least he knows he did something wrong. That’s what his expression is telling me.
“Aaron!” Jason exclaims, his tone nervous. He inches a little in front of the television playing the demo, as if that’s going to hide it from me. “Good to see you. Come on over!”
“I saw the video, Jason,” I say, taking a step toward the booth. “The trailer. Online.”
“Ah, yes, that.” His eyes dart over to what I’m carrying. “What is that? Part of a costume or something?”
“Don’t try to change the subject,” I say, fidgeting with all the stuff bundled under my arm. “The video. The demo. That’s my story. My words. Ryan’s artwork. You tried to set us against each other. You tried to trick me into signing that contract and just giving you my work, and then you used it anyway.”
A few people appear to be listening to what I’m saying, and Jason starts to look extra nervous. I spot someone take out their phone, maybe shooting a video.
“Jason, we were friends,” I press, and for a second, I feel my lip start to quiver. There’s no way in hell I’m going to cry here, right now, in front of him. “How could you do this?”
“Hey, Aaron, come on. Take it easy.” He looks around and lowers his voice. “Look, I was desperate. I needed something ready to showcase. I was still going to like, work on getting contracts and all with you two. Let’s talk about this somewhere else.”
“Here’s the thing,” I say, taking another step toward him. I’m right up against the booth’s table now, and I grab one of the postcards with Ryan’s art on it. “It’s fine. It’s all fine. In fact, I’m ready to sign the paperwork you sent over. I printed it out and brought it with me.”
“Wait, really?” he asks, his whole posture shifting immediately. “That’s great! I never wanted any of this to get complicated. You know? And I heard that your streamer girlfriend, or whatever she is, I heard she’s not doing it anymore? Got rid of her videos or something?”
“Yeah, it didn’t quite go down like that, but she’s speaking today about it. And she’s not my girlfriend,” I add. I glance around for any of the Populi, as the last thing I need is to be recognized again.
Out of the corner of my eye, I see the curtain behind the television swish back and forth a little, the black fabric separating. Ryan’s hand and eventually his head peek through. He locks eyes with me and nods.