by J. B. Buell
* * * *
The next day, Billy wrote out his email to Scott, and edited it several times. Eventually he ended up with a version he was (mostly) happy with:
Hey! I got some prints from you at the comics fair yesterday, and you mentioned about needing a writer? I’m a writer, and I’d be interested, especially if the comic features non- binary characters, as I’m non-binary myself.
Maybe tell me what you had in mind? And I can send examples of my work?
Thanks,
Billy
P.S. I had this T-shirt on…
And he made sure to attach a picture of the merperson T-shirt from the store’s official website.
Great, finished, Billy thought. Now all he had to do was send the email. His finger hovered over the send button, hesitating for a moment before he finally hit send.
Well, it was in Scott’s inbox now, and all Billy had to do was wait for a reply. Easier said than done, he thought to himself.
Billy became a nervous wreck the first hour after he sent the email, and when nothing came through, he realized how much time he’d wasted on this and he had to go get ready for his afternoon shift.
No one replied to emails right away, he reasoned. Well, maybe except him, because he was a dork like that.
So, Billy went into work and tried to be subtle about checking his phone every two minutes.
Still no reply.
At the end of his shift, Billy went home and picked up some groceries from the bodega on his block.
Still no reply after dinner.
Oh, God, this had been the worst idea ever. Billy was pretty much dying from embarrassment over the whole thing, and decided he’d just pretend that it never happened.
It’s in the past now, as Rosa would’ve said. Time to move on.
Billy watched a movie by himself at home, stress eating two big bags of chips while he tried not to think about it.
* * * *
The next morning Billy woke up early from an anxiety dream about receiving an email, and it wasn’t a nice one.
He grabbed his phone from the nightstand to check his messages, but there was no email from anyone new, and definitely no email from Scott, so Billy flopped back down in bed and sighed in relief.
“Jeez,” he muttered. “I am never asking anyone anything again.”
That afternoon, when Billy had already written the ordeal off, he got a new email. He opened the app on his phone, eyes widening when he saw it was from Scott, the hot artist.
Or, well, someone else could possibly be writing the emails for him, Billy thought, so maybe curb that enthusiasm down a notch.
He opened the email and read:
Hey, Billy!
Great to hear from you! I’d love to discuss ideas. Are you close to Brooklyn? I live in Bedstuy, maybe we could get a coffee? Or let me know what part of the city you’re in?
Have a great day.
Scott
Billy had to put down his phone and take a walk to the vending machine in the hallway, just to get rid of his nervous energy.
Scott had replied! He’d actually replied.
So, now Billy had to arrange a meeting slash interview, and try convince this cute artist to let Billy write a comic for him.
Piece of cake, right? Easier than a date would be, surely.
Chapter 2: Seek Out New…Situations
They emailed back and forth a couple times to find an afternoon when they were both free, and decide on a venue.
Billy had to veto Scott’s first suggestion after he’d Googled their restrooms. Hard pass on gendered stalls, so he made a suggestion to Scott of a nice independent coffee place he knew that not only did great roasts, but had really nice gender neutral bathrooms.
Although he didn’t tell Scott about the restrooms part.
Scott was cool anyway, and with the date set (work date, Billy told himself, work date only) they started discussing comic ideas.
In truth Billy was having some serious imposter syndrome vibes and generally panicking over it, so he asked a few questions to try get some hint of what Scott was looking for in a writer.
I’ve got some contact sheets of character designs, Scott replied to him. I can send them over and you could see which ones speak to you?
Sure, Billy emailed back.
When he got the next email from Scott with the PDF attachments, Billy put his glasses on and examined the drawings carefully.
They were great, really. Colorful too, which Billy liked. He enlarged the images onscreen, trying to get a vibe from the characters themselves. They certainly seemed a little gay, Billy thought. Not exaggerated in design or anything, but he definitely got a not-straight vibe from them in general.
Which was awesome, obviously. Billy would rather work on a LGBT themed comic than a straight one. He still wasn’t sure what sort of genre Scott wanted, though.
He fired a quick email to Scott, asking, What market are you aiming for?
I’m not sure? Scott replied. Help???
Billy smiled to himself. Okay, perhaps Scott wasn’t as organized as he’d first assumed.
What springs to mind? he asked.
I have some ideas, Scott replied. Depends on the writer, I guess? I’m flexible to an extent. I just want to make a fun comic, and I want it to be diverse rep.
How sexy will it be tho? Billy asked. Or not sexy? Because I won’t lie, some of these characters look cute, and I’m shipping them already…
He attached a gif of a ship setting sail.
Scott replied, LOL!!! Awesome!
Then he asked Billy what chat app he preferred to use. Billy let out a small squeak of excitement and suggested they use WhatsApp, giving Scott his cell number.
Hey, Scott greeted him on WhatsApp, along with a string of smiley emojis. So, it’s good if you ship my characters, right? That means you see a story there?
Totally, Billy agreed, but give me an idea of how old your audience is, because I’ll warn you now my strength lies in more mature LGBTQ themes.
Mature huh? Scott replied. Honestly, I don’t think I could draw any graphic scenes, it’s far too distracting for me.
He followed with a sweat-drop emoji.
Billy snorted to himself. No problem, he replied, it doesn’t have to be graphic, I have ideas to get around drawing overtly graphic content. Like, I really love metaphors and symbolism in art. If you draw the characters sharing their powers, for example, in some colorful, explosive event, to show them coming together, it could be a metaphor for sex or love. I mean, it’ll be obvious to older readers that’s what it is, but at the same time it’ll be subtle and arty too.
Billy stopped texting and watched the typing ellipses nervously as he waited for Scott’s reply.
I love that idea! Scott sent back. I could use my water-colors and make it all swirly and colorful.
Billy breathed a sigh of relief.
He didn’t usually share his ideas with anyone else. Anonymously posting his fan-fiction online wasn’t the same as sharing a half-baked idea with a person and waiting for a reaction in real time.
Would each character have a different way of doing it? Scott asked.
Sure, they could, Billy replied. Everyone’s different, and it’d be more interesting that way. Maybe the colors all have different meanings too, and some are more powerful than others? The explosions of power, or color, or whatever they do, can symbolize their height of passion?
Billy was starting to feel a bit flushed having this conversation.
He wondered if Scott felt the same, or if he was only thinking about the comic.
Probably the latter, knowing Billy’s luck, and he had no way of knowing because obviously he couldn’t see Scott over WhatsApp.
Billy tried not to fret over it. He’d chosen to open this line of communication, and he was fine with it. He’d just have to remind himself not to get too attached to Scott or crush on him.
This was a business project.
* * * *
Billy’s meeting with Scott was in five days, and during the week they messaged each other with pictures of comic panels and random images for inspiration and ideas.
Billy noted them all down. Chatting with Scott about the project was fun, and got his creative juices flowing. He’d never collaborated with anyone before and it was actually very exciting.
It was so hard not to crush on Scott though. Especially when he kept saying nice and encouraging things about Billy’s ideas, and was very vocal about wanting the cast of characters to be diverse and inclusive.
The fact that Scott wanted genderqueer and non-binary characters in the comic was really cool, too. Billy thought of asking Scott about including a trans character.
He made notes for potential ideas to discuss later.
Billy himself had always been drawn to characters with dramatic and colorful transformations, or shape-shifters, but he wasn’t sure if those metaphors for physical change with a trans character would go down well with other trans readers. The problem was that LGBT characters were usually shown as aliens or mutants in comics, not as real people, and that was a problem.
Then an idea lit Billy’s mind.
Oh. Real people, of course.
He grabbed his notebook and pen, and began writing.
* * * *
The day to meet Scott had finally arrived.
Billy had his folder of ideas already tucked into his backpack, so he had plenty of time to waste by fussing over his appearance and worrying, like he normally did.
He’d already picked his outfit for the day, but he was trying to be strategic about his clothes. Billy wore the black pants that fit him best, and one of his new T-shirts, and then a very regular checkered shirt over the top. That way, he could keep the shirt on if he felt like he wanted to, or take it off if he was feeling brave.
He’d chosen the white T-shirt with Batman kissing Superman on the front; it was very cartoony, and a nice splash of color against the rest of his dark clothes.
Billy tied his hair up so it was off his neck, and pulled on his trusty Converse sneakers. After he grabbed his bag, he forced himself out the door before he could second guess everything he was wearing, and worry himself into not going.
At least he didn’t have far to travel.
He couldn’t believe Scott lived in Brooklyn and Billy hadn’t seen him on Grindr, or anything other apps. That kind of told him that Scott was spoken for, or not into guys, or maybe just not into dating.
Still, they could be friends. Billy needed more friends, especially geeky ones.
He arrived at the coffee place early, because he was a dork and wanted to be prepared. He hustled into the restroom first and made use of having a clean, private stall with its own sink all to himself.
He washed his hands, then got out his comb and make-up bag, and started restyling his hair. He brushed it all over to the side, showing off his undercut, and smoothed it down with a little Argan oil. He rubbed the remaining oil through his short beard, nice and neat because he’d trimmed it yesterday.
Next, he got out a glittery liquid eyeliner pen and carefully drew in a line of bright turquoise over his upper lashes.
He felt safe enough in the coffee shop to be bold in his looks, and he could always take it off again before he left. He had make-up wipes in his bag too.
Lastly, Billy got out a creamy lip balm and applied it to his lips. It was just a light sheen, nothing too bright.
Then he washed his hands again and repacked his bag.
Time to face the public.
Billy went out into the shop and got in line at the counter. He gazed up at the board, and tried to tamp down on the rising anxiety he felt of being out in public, and about to meet someone exciting.
It wasn’t a date, though, it was just for a project. Still, Billy wanted to make a good impression.
He got to the front of the line, and Fatima greeted him with a smile.
“Hey!” she said. “Where you been? Haven’t seen you in, like, two weeks.”
“Just working, I’m afraid.” Billy smiled back. “How’s it going?”
“Better now the lunchtime rush is gone,” Fatima replied in a hushed voice. “You sitting in today?”
“Yeah, I’m waiting for a friend,” Billy said.
“That sounds like you need a pastry!”
“I…yeah, okay.” Billy laughed. “You talked me into it. I’ll take one of those long ones so I can fit it in my mouth without making a mess everywhere.”
Fatima stifled a giggle. “Chocolate twist, or cheese twist?”
“Can I say both?” Billy asked.
“Hey, why not?” Fatima got a plate ready. “Any hot drinks?”
“Large caramel latte, thanks.”
“Coming right up.” She got his pastries together and set the plate on a tray with some napkins.
Billy handed over his loyalty card, and Fatima stamped his coffee, then gave him an extra stamp.
“Shh, don’t tell the other customers,” she said, handing it back.
“I won’t.” Billy grinned, and dropped a few extra dollars into the tip jar when he paid.
Iman, the barista, gave him his coffee, and Billy took his tray through the shop, looking for a table.
He was in luck, there was one of his favorite spots available; a small table and two seats tucked in an alcove. He set his tray down and claimed a chair, stashing his bag on the floor by his feet.
He took a sip of coffee, pondering how he felt and after a small internal debate, Billy took his checkered shirt off.
That just left him in his white T-shirt with Superbat on the front, but he wasn’t in full view of the shop so he felt okay about it.
And he was still fifteen minutes early, so he got out his phone. Scott had messaged him to say he was on his way.
I got us a table and pastries, Billy wrote back. See you soon!
He took another sip of coffee and waited, smiling to himself.
* * * *
Scott showed up right on time, just as Billy was reading an article on his phone and trying really hard to look busy.
He sensed that the person approaching his table was Scott, and looked up at him with a smile.
And, damn, Billy thought, Scott looked even cuter than he remembered.
And tall.
Billy loved tall. He was five eleven himself, and he loved tall guys.
His grin widened. “Hey, Scott.”
“Hey.” Scott smiled back, eyes crinkling happily. “Thought I’d see if you need another drink before I get in line?”
“I’m good,” Billy said. “Actually, a bottle of water would be great. Still, please.”
“Water. Got it.” Scott gave him finger guns before turning away again, and Billy had to smother a laugh because that was way dorkier than he’d expected, but Scott’s friendliness put him at ease.
He could tell already that he and Scott would get along.
When Scott came back with their drinks, Billy passed him a pastry and definitely did not check Scott out as he removed his jacket and sat down opposite.
It was just that, from the looks of it, Scott seemed like he kept himself in shape, while Billy certainly did not unless that shape was round, and now he felt all self-conscious again.
“Here’s to making comics!” Scott toasted, raising his cappuccino.
Billy grabbed his water bottle and toasted back. “To comics,” he said, as his inner imposter started fretting that all his ideas were terrible and Scott would hate them.
Scott took a long sip of coffee before setting his mug down. “You said you wrote some ideas?”
“Um. Yes,” Billy said, his voice hitching a bit. He cleared his throat and reached for his bag, pulling out the folder. “I printed out your characters for reference and wrote some quick ideas alongside them.” He handed the folder over to Scott. “I figured you could take this home or whatever, and let me know which ones you like…or not.”
He smiled nervously, feeling sweat spike on
his skin as Scott opened the folder.
“Oh, wow,” Scott said reverently, leafing through the pages. “You’ve done loads.”
“Um, yeah, but it’s just brainstorming,” Billy explained, feeling shy. “There’s individual character ideas at the front of the folder, and plot concepts nearer the back.”
“Awesome.” Scott went back to the front and flipped through it again, more slowly this time. He stopped to scan the page that had clippings and pictures stuck to it. “Oh, cool! A moodboard.” He fingered a swatch of sequin fabric on the page. “This is awesome, Billy.”
“There’s some spandex in there too, you know, for superhero costumes,” Billy joked, and Scott burst out laughing.
He had a great laugh.
Billy grinned, relieved and happy. He’d honestly been of two minds about doing a moodboard, and he was pleased Scott seemed to like it.
He watched Scott flip through to the galaxy and nebulas page next.
“Oh, love these,” Scott said. “Space stuff is cool. I actually want an excuse to draw a rocket-ship that’s really, like, you know, obviously a huge dick metaphor, but not so obvious that it’ll put people off if they’re not looking for it.”
“So…something that only smutty-minded people would spot?” Billy guessed.
Scott grinned at him. “Yeah, exactly. Glad we’re on the same page.”
Billy’s flush of excitement swept through him so hard, he felt his cheeks burn red hot in an instant.
“Yeah,” he agreed, smiling through his shyness. “So, romantic space opera, but subtle on the romantic parts?”
“Sounds great!”
“Okay, well, I did have one idea,” Billy said. “I mean, I have a few, but this one I could see being a comic for all ages, I guess? Anyway, um…A group of space heroes, or whatever you want to call them, all with different powers, they get transported here to Earth and find themselves stuck in human bodies, and they’re suddenly in high school, or regular jobs.
“And to get back home to space, they each have to discover their power again, but the kicker is that on Earth their powers are a little different, so it doesn’t manifest exactly how they expect.”