Fabio vs. the Friend Zone (The Pen Pal Romance Series)

by Kelsie Stelting

  “Thanks.” Grace cleared her throat. “Um... where to now?”

  Focus, Fabio. The convention. “There’s a welcome meeting, then we can browse some of the booths, and then I have another display I want you to see.”

  She smiled. “Sounds mysterious.”

  “Oh, it is. You’re gonna love it.”

  “Of course.” There was that smile again. Her smile. I’d never get tired of seeing it.

  We followed the mass of people into the large expo area. There had to be hundreds of booths with everything from displays by video game companies to local clubs. My eyes landed on the Tomb Raider booth. An oldie, but a goodie.

  I led Grace over there and smiled at the woman behind the table. “Hi there, Miss Croft. How are you?”

  She dipped her head in greeting, her long braid falling over her shoulder. “Good to see you.” She nodded at Grace. “And this is?”

  I nudged Grace forward. “Pika ‘Grace’ Chu.”

  Grace grinned and nodded. “Nice to meet you.”

  “Likewise, Chu.”

  My eyes landed on the table. “Whoa, are those sword pens?”

  “Sure are.”

  I pulled one apart. They weren’t sharp, but they looked cool. I put it in my con tote. That thing would be full by the end of the day. Kid, meet candy store.

  The opening ceremony was awesome. Someone dressed like Master Chief from HALO spoke first, basically affirming every single reason video games rocked. And I wasn’t the only one amazed.

  Hundreds of people just like me looked on wide-eyed, excited. I couldn’t wait to work in this world, for people just like these. I hoped Grace would be by my side for that too.

  After the speech, I stood up and took Grace’s hand. “Are you ready to see something amazing?”

  She looked at the people around us, at some of the costumes. “Aren’t I already?”

  “This is going to be even better,” I said. “I think it just might change your mind...about us.”

  Her eyes widened, and she swallowed. She didn’t speak, but she nodded.

  That was okay. I was nervous too. I took Grace by the hand and led her into a room across the hall. Great loves from video games surrounded us. I wanted to show her we belonged here, right in the middle of all these classic romances. I just hoped she could see it too.

  Fourteen

  Grace

  Fabio’s hand felt warm around mine as I stared around the room. Giant papier-mâché characters surrounded us. Some of the video game couples I recognized, like Mario and Princess Peach. Or Master Chief and Cortana from HALO. And here, in the middle of it all, stood my best friend and me.

  “Grace,” Fabio said, “I know you think my head is in the clouds, but these characters...they’re some of the realest things I know. Like this...” He led me toward Mario and Peach. “I know, at the end of the day, that Mario’s going to do what it takes to protect his princess.”

  I looked at their bright eyes, their linked hands. Just like ours.

  Fabio led me to another couple. Master Chief and Cortana. “If anyone battled reality, it was Master Chief,” Fabio said. “Cortana was an AI, but they worked together, and it didn’t matter whether she was ‘real’ or not. His feelings were real enough for the both of them. She actually gave herself up for him—to save him.”

  Fabio’s eyes roamed the couple. “Remember that time all of those people made fun of me in health class? Saying my pimples were herpes?”

  My stomach hurt just thinking about it. Fabio had been on the verge of tears.

  “You stood up for me,” he said, “even though it meant they could have turned on you.”

  Had I been his Cortana all along? And what did it say about me that an artificial intelligence had become more self-actualized than I had?

  Fabio brought me to couple after couple, telling me stories about love and bravery and sacrifice. His explanations brought the characters to life right in front of my eyes. How had Fabio been in a world so real and I’d missed it?

  Just watching him talk about them, seeing his eyes light up, his hands gesture through the air, his knowledge—it blew me away. In all of the stories he told, he compared me to the hero, the defender. Didn’t he understand all that he’d done for me?

  Fabio had become my safe place all these years—the one person I knew would always be there for me, through the fights, through the phases, through grades and dances and changing dreams.

  Had he become more than a friend?

  I wasn’t used to this gray area between best-friend love and forever love. But when Fabio took both of my hands in his and looked me in the eyes, I knew we’d passed from the realm of friendship.

  But where we were now, I didn’t know.

  “What do you think?” he asked, his eyes wide open and more vulnerable than I’d ever seen them before.

  My heart wanted to go to him. But something held me back. Fabio didn’t know that in just a month I’d be leaving Oklahoma again, this time for a year. Maybe he wouldn’t like me so much when he learned I’d traded our dream for my own. That wasn’t love, was it? Didn’t love give of itself, just like Cortana had for Master Chief?

  “I don’t know what I think,” I admitted.

  Fabio’s face fell, moisture pooling in his eyes. He tilted his head down, but I reached up and lifted his chin with my index finger.

  “Hey,” I said. And I stalled. What could I say to Fabio that would ever be enough? “I love you. But I don’t know what to do with that.”

  He nodded and wiped at his eyes. After taking in a deep breath, he said, “Okay.”

  Silence hung between us, heavier than my heart, until Fabio said, “I’m going to go to the Fallout breakout. Why don’t you check out the exhibits?”

  And then I watched my best friend walking away, dreading the day he would walk out of my life for good. I worried it would be sooner rather than later. But I couldn’t think about that right now, or I’d be crushed under the weight of what that meant.

  I left the room of great loves and went back into the big expo space. My eyes went to Lara Croft, that busty girl with the braid. I’d caught more than one guy drooling over her chest when Fabio and I were out there, but he had been so cool about it, greeting her like a friend.

  I walked past the tables, wishing I had Fabio with me to decode it all. I mean, I understood some from all the game stuff he talked about or the times we’d played HALO, Skyrim, or Fallout together. But without him around, I felt kind of lost.

  A big banner hung over an indoor tent. ARE YOU LOST? Madame Sinistra reveals all.

  Okay, that was a little convenient.

  Too convenient to ignore.

  A sign right outside the flaps said vacant, so I peeled back the curtain and poked my head in. The space was foggy and smelled weird from the burning incense, but the lady captivated me, with her glittering eyes and blood-red lipstick.

  “I’ve been expecting you, Grace,” she said.

  Whoa.

  I looked around. “How did you...?”

  She smiled, her teeth glinting in the faux candlelight. “Your nametag, dear.”

  Okay, now I felt dumb.

  “Come, have a seat,” she said. “I sense you need this.”

  If Cookie knew I was here, she’d drag me out of the booth and bless me with some holy water. But what Cookie didn’t know wouldn’t hurt her. So I sat down.

  “Good choice,” she said with a wink. “Now, Grace, I suspect you didn’t just wander in here accidentally. You have questions that need answered.”

  Duh, I wanted to say. I knew fortune tellers got their money from really good guesswork, but part of me wished it was real. If I just knew how this would turn out, where taking a chance would lead, I could dive into it headfirst.

  “Let me see your palms,” she said, and I put my hands on the table.

  She traced each of the lines on my palms with her pointed fingernails. The touch sent chills down my arms, right to my chest. Suddenly, the
room felt like all the heat had left.

  “You love someone you don’t want to love,” she said. It wasn’t a question.

  Her eyes connected with mine, and I nodded.

  She marked an X on my palm with her nails. “These two lines show a crossroads. A decision that will affect the rest of your life.”

  “How will I know which one to make?”

  Her eyes narrowed. “I knew you were a logical girl. But if my readings are correct, this is a choice you’ll have to make with your heart.”

  “Is that it?” I asked. There had to be something she could tell me. Even if it was just nitwitted advice.

  Her lips pursed together. “It depends. Do you want pain now or later? I sense both decisions will end in pain. One with betrayal and loss, and one with loneliness. It is up to you to decide which you can handle.”

  Betrayal. That’s would be risking in all of this. But the loneliness? Could Fabio be the one, and I’d missed it all this time?

  Maybe love didn’t need to come with fireworks. Just a flame that would never burn out. But she was right. That was my decision to make. I just had to choose.

  Fifteen

  Fabio

  There was a real-life Bethesda rep leading this session. A person from the company that created Fallout. This was like a karate teacher seeing Jackie Chan in person. And all I could think about was Grace and her face as she said she loved me.

  Grace had said she loved me before. It sounded different from all those other times. She was confused. And confused usually meant no.

  But I couldn’t think about that now. I really couldn’t think about that.

  So I thought about everything else. The person in front of me. The gaming company I wanted to work for. The competition I’d spent months training for. The games I’d spent hours playing. But in all of that, Grace had been by my side. Would any of my success matter without having my best friend to share it with?

  Had I blown everything by coming clean about my feelings? Yeah, she wouldn’t know if I hadn’t said anything, but we could have been best friends throughout college. Maybe she would have come around on her own.

  Wishful thinking, I knew. Grace was all about logic, and love was logic’s antithesis.

  After the session, I waited in line to greet the Bethesda representative. He was the kind of guy who wore a graphic tee with jeans and a blazer. I liked him already. Honestly, it all got kind of fuzzy after I shook his hand. Probably from lack of oxygen. I needed my inhaler. I’d said I loved Fallout. And that I hoped to win an internship.

  He gave me his card.

  Someone from Bethesda gave me his freaking card.

  I kept it together long enough to make it to the bathroom and start jumping up and down.

  And then I needed my inhaler even more.

  What a crazy life.

  There was just one thing that would make this moment better. One person. And I had a message from her in my inbox.

  Grace: Meet me by the food court? I grabbed our lunches.

  I tucked my phone in my back pocket and walked toward the food court, carrying the business card like a medallion that could solve all my problems. I caught sight of Grace at a table with her head bent over her phone. The tail hung down behind her, dangling over the chair. That slayed me. So cute.

  When I got within earshot, I said, “Hey.”

  She looked up at me and smiled, but her eyes seemed tight. Why did her eyes seem tight?

  I ran my thumb along the edge of the business card. The business card! My heart wanted to pound of my chest from the high. “Guess what I have,” I said, sticking it out.

  She took it from me, and as her eyes panned the tiny writing, they widened. “Oh my gosh, is this real?”

  I nodded faster than the collegiate bobble heads in our guidance counselor’s office. “Yep!”

  “Ah!” She jumped up from her seat and hugged me. “This is awesome!”

  “I know!”

  “Did you scream?”

  “In the bathroom,” I admitted and sat down.

  She laughed. “Good. I’m proud of you for waiting.”

  Well, I had plenty of practice. But I didn’t tell her that.

  “Here,” she said and pushed a cardboard to-go box my way. “I got you turkey.”

  I peeled back the flaps and looked at my sandwich. “Come to papa.”

  She laughed. “You’re such a weirdo.”

  “Yeah, but I’m your weirdo.”

  “True.” She popped a carrot stick in her mouth and crunched.

  “I never thought I’d get to see Pikachu eating carrots,” I said, grinning at her. “It was totally worth the wait.”

  She crunched louder. “Good.”

  I smiled and bit into my sandwich. There was only one way this day could get better, but it was already pretty great.

  “So, what’s up next?” she asked.

  My lips spread on their own. The great loves had been trick number one. This? This was the ace up my sleeve.

  “What?” she asked.

  “Are you ready to see how real this all is?”

  She brushed crumbs off her hands. “I’m game.” She giggled. “Get it?”

  I groaned and stood up. “Come on.”

  “Aren’t you gonna finish your food?” she asked.

  I shook my head. “I’m too excited. Let’s go. I want to get there a little early.”

  I used the map printed on the back of the con agenda to find the room. When we got there, Grace stared at the big banner hanging over a table manned by a couple of volunteers.

  VIRTUAL REALITY GAMING. Prime attendees only.

  “That’s us?” she asked.

  “Oh yeah, I went all out.”

  She smiled. I loved that smile. I loved that I’d been the one to put it there.

  “Come on,” I said.

  We checked in at the booth, and they helped us put on our suits. Grace pulled hers off way better. Me? I was just glad I’d put on Blue Mountain that morning. This was going to get hot. Fast. And not in a sexy way.

  “Ready?” the volunteer asked us.

  We both nodded.

  “Okay,” he said. “I’m going to start you on different sides of the maze, and it’s a race between the two of you to see who gets there first.”

  “Like on the Goblet of Fire?” Grace asked.

  Just when I thought I couldn’t love her any more.

  “Exactly,” the volunteer said. “Except you get a coin when you’re done, not a full-blown Voldemort resurrection... Good?”

  Grace nodded.

  “Yep,” I said.

  And then we were off. It was just one big room, and I could see people running around and laughing like they were in an actual maze. How did they keep from bumping into each other? It all seemed kind of weird from here. Maybe this was how Grace saw me and video games. Would the goggles be enough to change her perspective?

  We would see.

  The volunteer waved at Grace where she stood across the room and did a silent countdown for us to put our goggles on.

  Once he got to zero, I pulled the goggles over my eyes and was thrown into an entirely different reality.

  Sixteen

  Grace

  Metal walls taller than skyscrapers surrounded me from all angles except for one. The sky, or ceiling—it was too far to tell—offered almost no light. The only things indicating how far I might have to go were thin strips of red lights along the base of the walls.

  This was silly. I knew where the edge of the room was—I would just go there. Virtual walls be darned.

  I ran toward the wall, and my entire suit vibrated and lit up. Suddenly, beasts that seemed to be a mix between wolves and zombies raced toward me, their fangs bared. I screamed and stepped away from the wall. The monsters disappeared.

  I took a breath. Okay. No more touching the walls.

  I began jogging down the path, my heart still pounding from the monsters. Sure, this was “fake,” but that was ter
rifying. I hoped Fabio had his inhaler.

  Fabio. Where was he in this maze? Had he already learned about the creatures lurking, waiting for us to mess up? He would know what to do about them. But I had to find him before he could help me. And to do that, I had to get through this.

  A turn approached, but a giant wall sprang up in front of me. Holy crap. I jumped back, and a holographic computer screen loaded in front of me.

  Greetings earthling...

  I rolled my eyes. How original.

  You can choose. The way of least resistance or the way with a fight.

  Obviously, I chose the path of least resistance. Why was there even an option?

  An open door appeared in the wall, and I started down the empty hallway. How long would this last? I was already feeling claustrophobic, and I could both hear and feel my pulse rushing in my ears.

  A white mist came down the hallway, straight for my face, and I ducked, curling myself into a ball. What the heck was this? They hadn’t taken a trick from The Hunger Games, had they?

  I stuck my hand out to test the mist. It had no substance, but was so thick I couldn’t see through it.

  The way of least resistance.

  I had to walk through this blindly and risk touching the walls. In which case, I wouldn’t see the monsters.

  My chest tightened.

  I really wished Fabio was here.

  But there was only one way to reach him.

  I kept pushing one foot in front of the other, constantly terrified of feeling my suit vibrate.

  All at once, the mist cleared, and I was greeted by another holographic screen.

  Nice job this time, earthling...

  Seriously with the earthling thing?

  Now you must decide. Markers or crowns?

  Markers or crowns? Did they misspell crayons? I sighed and pressed markers. What the heck.

  Another hallway opened up, bright sconces hanging every few feet. I took a step closer to the blue light ahead of me, but the green one behind me dimmed.

  And then the blue light flickered out.