Comic Con: Le Fin

As I walked away from Tyler Posey, I tried my best to sear our entire interaction into my brain so that I would never forget it. I had met many celebrities at conventions over the years, but aside from several amazing interactions with Katy Manning at the Chicago Tardis convention in 2015, Tyler Posey was definitely the best interaction I'd had yet. Not to say that any of the others were bad or lacking in any way, but Tyler went above and beyond to make sure that my brief time with him was great.

I found Zane sitting against the wall, playing on his phone. I felt bad that I had dragged him here against his will, but I had been hoping that seeing me so happy and giddy would make it worth it for him - apparently it didn't. I gave him a play-by-play of my conversation with Tyler Posey, but he acted like he couldn't have cared less. He'd been cranky all day; when we'd been in line for Selma Blair, I'd been excited to see that she was hugging everyone, seeming to be geninely happy to connect with her fans. Zane said that he didn't want her to hug him, that he didn't know her and didn't want her to touch him. I'd begged him not to embarrass me in front of Selma Blair and joked that she wouldn't give him multiple sclerosis.

We left the autograph section and ventured back into the vendor section. Lance had asked me to pick him up some Stylin Boxes but hadn't decided which one(s) he wanted. Once I told him the prices, he decided on just a Star Wars box; I picked one out for him, hoping that it would include some things he'd like, that he wasn't just wasting $60. I was grateful he'd taken his time deciding what he wanted to do; the last thing I wanted was to have another thing to schlep around the venue, one more thing for Zane to hold for me so I could take my selfies with the celebrities.

We made our way to the cafeteria - Zane was hungry - but the menu was far from myriad: pizza, preztels, nachos, and chicken sandwiches. Normally, I wouldn't even consider eating something while I was still so far from home, but I had taken two Imodium before leaving the house, so I figured I'd be fine; if Zane was going to eat something, then I certainly wasn't opposed to some nachos, especially if they came with beef on top. In the end, Zane decided that he would just wait until we got to Bay City, since I was planning on going to Burger King anyway.

While we were walking around, I heard a worker announcing the last call for the Teen Wolf photo ops with Tyler Posey, Tyler Hoechlin, and Ian Bohen. I led us around to the back of the tented off section where the photo ops were taking place, hoping to get one last glimpse of Tyler Posey - and hopefully another interaction, however quick it would be.

"I really wish you could just be happy for me," I said, annoyed.

"Happy for you for what?" Zane asked, dropping into the chair next to me.

"The fact that I'm here, that I'm doing something that makes me happy. You should be happy that I'm happy."

"I'm just existing. I'm here."

"You know, when we went roller skating, I was happy for you when you were out there skating, doing what you love. I was happy that the date was ruined for you because I couldn't do it."

"You sat there on your phone," Zane replied emotionlessly.

"What was I supposed to do? Stare at the section of the rink in front of me and watch for you to come back around? I kept checking to see if you were there, I watched you."

We sat there for about a half hour, but there was no sign of the Tylers, nor of Ian. I looked over and happened to notice that Zane was messaging his ex-boyfriend, Dustin, whom he was still friends with. He said that he was at Comic Con in Novi - against his will.

When we got out the car, we both groaned when we got in and immediately felt like we were on fire. The temperature gauge said it was ninety degrees; I knew I should have left my windows cracked. It was crazy to me how much of difference in temperature there was between Pinconning and Novi; in Pinconning it was in the mid-sixties, but in Novi, it was in the mid-eighties. I probably shouldn't have been as surprised as I was considering I'd grown up down in that area. Chesterfield barely got any snow; living - and driving - in Pinconning in the winter had been a culture shock to say the least.

We didn't talk much until we got closer to Bay City. Somehow, we got on the topic of RuPaul's Drag Race, which proved to be a safe topic. We shared a love for Jujubee and an appreciation of Phi Phi O'Hara - for the drama and the plot - but Zane didn't understand how Raja could be my favorite, or my appreciation of season one winner BeBe Zahara Benet. We agreed that Katya should have won All Stars season two, but Zane said that Katya had been cockblocked by Rolaskatox - the clique of Roxxxy Andrews, Detox, and Alaska. I like Roxxxy and Detox, but I lost any respect for Alaska during All Stars season two; the one - and only - time that she was in the bottom two, Alaska acted like a spoiled rotten brat. To this day, I still think RuPaul should have chosen anyone else just for the fact that that behavior shouldn't be rewarded. Zane was not a fan of Roxxxy or Detox, but he didn't say much about whether he liked or disliked Alaska. It was not lost on me that the only positive conversation we'd had thus far was about RuPaul's Drag Race.

Once we got into town, we stopped at Meijer first. I was pleased to see that the furry was not manning the self-checkout lanes on the produce side. As I was putting a piece of cheesecake into my cart, I spotted my friend Nicole. We caught up quickly; I didn't bother introducing her to Zane since he had said many times that he didn't want me talking to people about him, that the less people who knew about him, the better. When we were exiting the clothing section, I spotted the furry at the self-checkout lanes on the pharmacy side; thankfully, he didn't see me.

While we were in Meijer, I got a weather alert on my phone, something about a severe thunderstorm. While we were waiting in the drive thru at Burger King, Zane read the alert on his phone and said that baseball-sized hail was predicted. Almost immediately after we got our food, the hail started falling. Zane suggested we park under the awning at the bank, but I didn't want to cross traffic, so we whipped into Marathon and parked at the gas pumps to wait it out. The cherry Coke I'd gotten with my meal brought me back to life - literally. By the time I finished my food, the hail was over.

At Walmart I grabbed what I needed and then we stopped at the photo center so that I could get prints of my Comic Con pictures. Zane watched in disbelief as all 20,000 photos on my phone were uploaded; he couldn't believe how many pictures I had, that I never deleted them. I thought it was hilarious. After picking up the prints, we made the obligatory stop at the book section. As I was looking at the selection of Freida McFadden books, Zane's friend sent him a reel. As he opened it, "End of Beginning" by Djo started to play.

"Aw, it's Djo!" I exclaimed, smiling. "I told you not to play that song in my presence again."

"I don't know who Joe is," Zane replied, rolling his eyes.

"Djo. Joe Keery. Steve from Stranger Things. I told you last time that song played that Joe makes music as Djo."

"I don't care about those people!" Zane snapped, cutting me off. "I watched the show. It's over. I don't think about them at all. I don't care about celebrities."

I wasn't sure how to respond, so I just dropped it. Maybe Zane was just cranky because he'd had to get up early on his day off, but still, it wasn't that big of a deal.

When we got back to my place, Zane helped carry the groceries in and then laid on my bed for about ten minutes before he stood up and announced that he was going to go home and take a nap. I wasn't particularly sad that he was leaving so soon but decided to be a gentleman and still walk him out.

Zane said goodbye and then pulled the door closed behind him. I couldn't help but notice that we hadn't kissed yet again; not that I particularly cared, but after the mess with Terrence I have tried to pay attention to every minute detail. I hurried back to my room and starting my Sunday night ritual of changing the sheets.

I'm not sure what the future holds for Zane and I. I think that, at our cores, we are two incredibly different people. He likes the outdoors: farming, camping, kayaking, and could not care less about celebrities and pop culture; I would much rather be inside, and my life revolves around celebrities and pop culture. There is definitely some deep incompatibility there, but that isn't the end of the world for me; I already know that I'm one-of-a-kind and won't find anyone even remotely like me. Still, I'm disappointed that Zane was so surly; had we been dating, I would have been pissed with how he had acted; why couldn't he at least enjoy the fact that I was happy, that I was doing something that brought me a rare sense of joy?

We haven't seen each other since Comic Con. I respond to Zane's snaps when he sends them, but that's about it; we don't really talk. The truth of the matter is, with me working six days a week, I don't have time or energy for anyone else in my life; on my day off, I want to rest, spend the time with my cats, and focus on making myself happy. Maybe I'm wrong and I misinterpreted the situation; maybe Zane thinks I'm mad at him or don't want to talk to him anymore, but at the end of the day, Comic Con wasn't about Zane and I, it was about me doing something exciting for myself, taking a little vacation, meeting the amazing Tyler Posey. Zane's bad mood didn't spoil the day, but I would have had more fun with someone who at least pretended to care.