5 minutes earlier…

  “Do I need to wear a mask or something…” Veyra complained with a nervous breath, while Aree slowly pushed her through the crowds and the dark LEDs.

  She couldn’t believe she’d already been recognized, even through her freckles, her different hair color, and her glasses. Was her face really that similar? Greenwitch must have seen the competitor’s pass on her clothes, identifying her from that. He’d followed her for minutes, until he finally gathered the courage to ask for an autograph.

  I hadn’t even practiced a signature… she thought. Her face already felt red hot, and she hadn’t even seen Aiden once yet.

  “I have these masks if you need one,” Aree said, offering her a black surgical mask. “Want me to put it on?”

  “Yeah,” Veyra said. “If fans are recognizing me, it’s only a matter of time before the haters will as well.”

  She hid the competitor’s pass in her pocket, and Aree put on the mask. Now it should definitely be impossible to recognize her, until it was her turn to compete on stage. Everyone would know her then. For now, she hoped she was free to explore without fearing scrutiny.

  She glanced around, checking passersby’s faces impulsively. She knew she wouldn’t find Aiden like this. Even if she did, she knew she’d be too nervous to approach. But she kept looking anyway.

  Now would be a good time to meet, though… she thought. After an awful yesterday, her stomach had mostly calmed down. The new meds her doctor had suggested were a risk, but they seemed to be working for now. She only felt a slight dizziness, which was nothing compared to the usual weakness.

  If only her phone hadn’t died. Her charger had broken in the middle of the night. Now that she was at the event, her phone was at zero percent. She couldn’t send Aiden a message even if she wanted to.

  “Have you spotted any shops that sell chargers?” Veyra asked.

  “I have not,” Aree said. “Maybe I could let you use my phone? You could log in and send him a message.” She stopped walking near the wall, at a bathroom sign. “I need to use the restroom first, though. What about you?”

  “I’m fine,” Veyra said.

  Aree nodded and said, “Wait here, please,” before disappearing to the bathrooms. She angled Veyra’s chair to point at the passing crowd, near a stairway, where she wouldn’t be in the way.

  All alone… Veyra thought. Only momentarily, but somehow, it felt scary to be alone. If someone approached—someone who she didn’t want to talk to—what could she do? Close her eyes and pray nobody got physical?

  Nobody seemed to be looking in her direction, though. She was just another attendee here, enjoying the event just like everyone. For a real-world event, Worlds had been surprisingly pleasant so far. It had felt nice to give an autograph.

  She suddenly spotted something at the top of the stairs. Cables popped out of the wall. A woman plugged her phone in and paused there. A charging station?

  And it has a wheelchair ramp, she thought. The spot was close enough that Aree would see her when she got out of the bathroom.

  “I can make it…” she told herself, and began the trip toward the ramp, pushing the wheels with her right hand. The wheels had a one-arm drive mechanism, which made both of the wheels turn with the same rotation. That could be locked on or off with a switch when she needed to turn left or right.

  People got out of the way cautiously, giving her space. She made it to the ramp easily enough, and began pushing herself up. She needed some strength, but her right arm was more than strong enough to push the chair up.

  Steadily and carefully, she pushed herself up.

  Until a soft snap came from the right wheel, and the chair suddenly turned sideways. Veyra flinched.

  The switch to the one-arm drive mechanism flipped off. Veyra cursed under her breath. It sometimes did this. Her crappy old wheelchair barely saw any use, so Veyra didn’t see a need to replace it, even if its features didn’t fucking work properly.

  The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  She held herself in place as her hand slowly started to lose strength. If she let go now, she’d either roll down or hit the wall and possibly fall sideways. That could be dangerous. She couldn’t push up either, now that she was sideways. She grimaced. Do I actually have to call for fucking help!

  Her mask started to feel hot from heavy breaths. Her right hand burned, and her chair was moving down. She was sliding down. She had to—

  “Can I help you?” someone asked, and the pressure calmed as someone grabbed the push handles.

  “Thanks,” Veyra said, though the voice wasn’t Aree’s. It was a man. Why was the voice so familiar?

  He pushed her up at a steady pace. Veyra glanced behind herself, seeing who it was.

  And every thought in her head suddenly froze.

  A tall guy with black shoulder-length hair. A sharp but goofy face, partly covered by a black hood with cat ears, with a smile Veyra had seen many times now.

  Veyra snapped her head away, heart skipping a long beat as pressure took over her chest.

  Holy shit. Why is he here! How did he find me! What why whatwhat what?

  That was Aiden, was it not? Had she seen wrong? Everything about him was exactly like on TV. That had to be him, right?

  She wasn’t ready. She hadn’t psyched herself up at all. What would she say?

  He was pushing her wheelchair up the ramp! Aiden! That same guy she’d hugged in virtual reality, he was pushing her up!

  “Where to?” he asked obliviously. “I’ve got time if you need help.”

  What’s happening?! Her head felt so hot, she was about to explode. She couldn’t have formed words had she wanted to.

  “Sorry, do you speak English?” Aiden asked.

  Does he not recognize me?

  “Uhm, just that charging spot,” Veyra said, and she pointed at the spot.

  Her voice was so soft, there was no way he’d heard her, but he followed where she pointed, pushing her wheelchair to the charging spot.

  Aiden was really pushing her!

  “Is this good?”

  “Mm,” Veyra said with her heart in her throat. “Yeah.”

  Her hand shook like crazy while she reached toward the chargers. Her arm was just barely long enough to reach, though at this angle, she struggled to connect the charger to the port.

  Aiden helped with that as well, easily connecting the phone. “Sorry, is that better?”

  Veyra’s eyes spun. The pressure made her dizzy. Play dumb! Pretend I don’t know him. He doesn’t recognize me!

  “Yeah, thanks,” she managed to say.

  Then she thought, Wait, but if I act like an idiot, he’ll recognize me later! He’ll remember me!

  “Sorry,” she added with an awkward laugh, still avoiding his eyes. “I’m a bit nervous today.”

  Aiden laughed much more confidently, leaning against the wall next to her. “Same. I’m meeting someone for the first time today. She’s somewhere here. But she’s not telling me where.”

  “What’s she like?” Veyra managed to ask, her voice hazy and nervous.

  A wide smile took over his lips. “She’s amazing. Imagine FireBrand’s casting, but she’s even better, and also smarter. She’s a redhead time mage, who’s amazing at hugs. Really, the perfect package. How do you think someone like her would dress in real life?”

  I’m right here!

  “Um,” she said. “She sounds interesting…”

  “I’ve only met her online,” Aiden said. “Hopefully she’s as cute in real life as you are.”

  Veyra’s head broke, thoughts unable to form. “Thanks?” she said.

  Aiden chuckled again, now more awkwardly than before. He pulled out his phone and checked the time. “I might need to get going. Are you good? Can you reach your phone?”

  Veyra nodded.

  He smiled, waved, and with that, he left.

  Veyra sat there, perfectly still, unblinking, not breathing, as her head struggled to puzzle the mess of emotions together into memories. People kept walking past. Some glanced in her direction before moving on.

  The cat ears made Aiden look even taller. Or maybe it was just Veyra’s low seat on the wheelchair. Aiden walked with his hands in his pockets, until he disappeared behind the corner.

  Veyra’s vision blurred as something wet got on her eyes.

  A sniffle escaped. The tear flowed down her cheek, dropping onto her lap. The jumble of emotions in her head, every bit of panic she just felt—they all traveled to her head, straight to her eyes.

  She found herself bawling. Audibly sobbing, like a little girl.

  People paused, glancing at her out of concern. Even that couldn’t make her stop. She hardly even cared that she was in public, with everyone looking at her.

  “Veyra?” a concerned voice asked. Aree ran over. She knelt down and held her from the shoulders. “Veyra? What happened? Is everything okay?”

  She continued crying.

  “What happened?” Aree repeated.

  “He pushed me. He…”

  “Who?” Aree asked, a serious look in her eyes.

  “Aiden! He…he…!”

  Aree’s expression dropped in horror. “No way,” she said. She stood with an angry frown. “Where did he go? I’ll go give him a—”

  “No, not like that!” Veyra said, grabbing Aree’s hand.

  “Wait,” Aree asked, expression calming. “Are these happy tears?”

  Veyra nodded and sniffled at the same time. “He… He said I was cute!”

  Another wave of uncontrollable tears hit, and the world blurred into a mess. She took off her glasses and tried to wipe her eyes, but she just kept crying.

  Aiden hadn’t even known who Veyra was. He still helped her, a random girl. Did that mean he was kind enough to help a stranger in a wheelchair?

  Dating is different though, Veyra reminded herself through her tears. Many men had helped her and smiled at her throughout her life. But very few of those same men would feel the same way, knowing she was the one who they were going to date.

  Her heart squeezed so tight, imagining her identity being revealed. If you dump me now… she thought. I’ll really die from a heartbreak!

  Aree got close, holding her in a hug, where Veyra continued crying on her shoulder.

  20 chapters ahead on !