Comic Con: Part Deux

High from my great interactions with both Selma Blair and Billie Lourd, Zane and I wandered through the booths, looking at who was where so that we could figure out our next move. I was dying to go find Tyler Posey's booth, but I also didn't want to get all three of the people I wanted right off the bat; I had driven almost two hours to be there - I wanted to enjoy myself and make the most of it. This trip was going to have to be my "vacation" for the year.

Eventually, we stumbled upon Tyler Posey's booth, but he wasn't there. I knew that the celebrity guests didn't just sit at the booths all day to sign pictures and take selfies; they took breaks to eat and use the bathroom, as well as participate in panels and do the professional photo ops. There wasn't anyone hovering around, so I figured we could continue to browse and not come back to a full line. Right before we walked away, someone walked by and asked the worker when Tyler was expected back; around an hour.

Zane and I walked through the booths selling action figures, Funko Pops, art, books, comic, and other wares. Zane had bought a Funko Pop of Quark from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine during one of our trips to Walmart; he was looking for the Data Funko Pop, as well as a Captain Kathryn Janeway and Seven of Nine from Star Trek: Voyager. I wasn't sure if they made a Janeway or Seven of Nine, but I knew for a fact that they made at least one Data because I'd seen it at Walmart back in October and had considered buying it.

We looked at every booth there was, but none of them had what Zane was looking for. Out of at least half a dozen booths, only one or two had a Star Trek Funko Pop; it was Sulu, whom Zane couldn't care less about. It was mind-blowing to me that a major nerd convention - where three iconic cast members from Star Trek were in attendance - had barely any Star Trek merchandise; there was plenty of Star Wars Funko Pops, but Zane didn't care about those. I'm in the unfortunate position of liking both Star Wars and Star Trek immensely; it's hard for me to say which I like better or think is better on the whole.

We got back to Tyler Posey's booth less than a minute before the worker opened the gate so that we could form a line. I immediately rushed to the front of the - nonexistent - line beyond excited to meet my crush. I knew that Tyler was married, but he had also come out as sexually fluid and said that his wife was queer, too. Was it out of the realm of possibility for him to become smitten with me and invite me to Los Angeles to be in a throuple with him and his wife? She could have a girlfriend on the side to make it even! Almost immediately after my feet stopped moving, the woman in charge of Tyler's line informed me that I would have to move, as there were people who had come in the time I'd been gone and gotten numbers to be first in line when it opened; I completely understood and stepped back, just grateful that I was going to get to meet and interact with him. I hoped that he would be kind, that he wouldn't be standoffish or rush through the line like some celebrities do at conventions. The group of girls that were standing in the VIP line to my right were talking excitedly amongst themselves about Tyler and Teen Wolf; I tried not to eavesdrop, but I couldn't help but overhear - especially since Zane wasn't saying much, just standing beside me looking bored to death - that they were discussing their favorite characters and plotlines. They were talking about the part in the show that I was currently at - the tail end of the second half of season three - but I didn't try to butt in to correct them or engage them in conversation. At one point I happened to look to my right to see who was in the booth next to Tyler's and saw that one of the girls in the VIP lane was just a gay guy. As we waited, the VIP line started to fill up; Zane was becoming even more restless the longer that we waited. After what felt like hours, but was probably thirty-five minutes, Tyler Posey made his way through the line, smiling, fist bumping, and talking to his fans. My heart immediately pounded in excitement as he approached me. I was crushed when he focused on the group in the VIP - didn't even turn to me - but then he faced me, said hi, fist bumped me, and then worked his way through the crowd for a few minutes before going back to the booth and beginning the signing.

Tyler Posey was incredible chatty, spending a long time with each person who came through the line; I didn't mind. I was excited to know that he wouldn't just take my money, sign my photo, snap a selfie with me, and send me on my way. I watched as he tried to form a genuine connection with each person, going out of his way to make them feel special. I couldn't imagine being a celebrity and having that much pressure on your shoulders; even more than that, I couldn't imagine having to be friendly with the people who are clearly unhinged or don't shower.

After a while, Zane announced that he had to pee and left the line. The chances of him getting back to the line were slim to none, but it was okay, I was a mere matter of feet from Tyler Posey, and I was too enthralled with checking out his bulge and catching his eye to care about being alone with strangers. At one point, a young kid got to go up for his autograph and selfies with Tyler and I couldn't help but smile as Tyler made a point to do everything possible to make that kid's day; he probably spent twenty minutes talking to the kid, encouraging him and making him feel like the only person in the world in that moment. If it were possible, I'd have fallen in love with Tyler there and then.

In toto, I ended up waiting about an hour and half to get my turn. As much as I tried to be happy for every person ahead of me, I did start to get annoyed when I thought I could finally step forward to be next and more VIPs would come and cut in front of me. When at last it was my turn, Tyler turned to me and as our eyes locked, I felt my heart leap into my throat. My crush on him was so severe that I'd spent a good five minutes agonizing over which perfume to wear to meet him; normally when I go out, my go-to fragrance is Lovely You by Sarah Jessica Parker, but I can admit that it isn't a fragrance that everyone is going to like; I have several fragrances by Ariana Grande - Thank U Next, Thank U Next 2.0. God Is A Woman, Sweet Like Candy, Moonlight, and Ari. I seriously considered wearing Sweet Like Candy - it does smell like candy, but in the end, I opted for my personal favorite of Ari's fragrances - that I own - Moonlight.

"Hi, what's your name?" Tyler asked, ushering me closer to him.

"Gabriel," I replied, trying my best to keep my voice even. The last thing I wanted was for my voice to be wobbly or high pitched. I didn't want to make a bad impression on my future boyfriend.

"Gabriel, nice to meet you." Tyler held out his hand, which I shook, feeling nervous energy race throughout my body. His hand was warm, inviting. While I'd been in line, I'd routinely wiped my right hand off on my jeans; the last thing I wanted was to shake Tyler Posey's hand while mine was moist with sweat.

"It's nice to meet you, too," I replied, grinning.

He bent down to sign the photo I'd selected and then he turned back to me. "Gabriel...G-a-b-r....i-e-l?"

"You got it! Good job!"

"Thanks," he laughed, scrawling my name on the photo.

"Not many people get it right."

"Really?" He turned to face me, his features serious.

"Yeah. Every year when I was in school the teacher would say 'Gabrielle' and it drove me crazy. It's the same as Daniel and Danielle; it's pretty simple."

"It is. Our education system is so fucked, dude."

"It really is. You'd expect a teacher to get that."

"So, how's it going?" he asked, fixing his chocolate brown eyes once again on mine.

"It's going," I responded breathlessly. I hadn't given much thought to what I would actually say when I met Tyler Posey because I had assumed it would be a quick in and out affair; I wasn't expecting to actually have to say too much. I wanted to tell him how hot I thought he was, how much I had enjoyed his explicit content on his OnlyFans, and the many, many things I would do to him if given the chance, but I didn't want to be a creeper. Just because I felt like I knew him, just because I visually appreciated him, didn't mean that the feeling was mutual. I had to do my best to behave myself and be "normal," whatever that meant. "I haven't had any caffeine today," I continued, trying to explain my lack of conversation.

"Neither have I!" he exclaimed, his eyes lighting up.

"I didn't get much sleep last night; we had to leave by eight this morning. It's a little over an hour and half drive to get here."

"When are you going to have some caffeine?"

"When I get closer to home. I have stomach issues and don't want to chance it."

"Me too! I think I have I have a slight case of IBS sometimes."

"Me too. I've got something..."

"Like, I almost pooped about ten minutes ago."

"Oh...I'm sorry."

"Obviously, I didn't, but I could definitely feel like I could have." It was at that point that I began to realize that I didn't have to worry about Tyler Posey thinking that I was a freak; he was out of his mind in the most amazing way. "Caffeine messes me with though, messes with my anxiety."

"Me too. I have anxiety. Thank God for Zoloft."

"Did you come here by yourself?

"No, I dragged someone, but he does not want to be here. I told him, 'you made me go rollerblading with you, so you can come to Comic Con with me.' "

"That sounds fair to me," Tyler agreed, grinning.

"Especially because this is so much more fun. And no one can fall and get hurt."

"Right. We wouldn't want that. That would be unfortunate."

"When we were rollerblading, a woman fell and broke her nose. I looked at him and was like, "this is why I don't belong on rollerblades.' I'm so much safer on my feet."

"Sounds like it. It's never good to fall and break your nose."

"My nose is already crooked as it is," I teased. "But it's okay. I didn't want to make the drive alone and I'm sure he'll get over it."

I realized that I was having perhaps the most stilted, awkward conversation that I could be having with him. I wasn't telling Tyler how hot I thought he was, or how much I liked him on Teen Wolf; how I hoped for another Teen Wolf movie or how I had signed up for his online newsletter and had preordered the limited run signed Beacon Hills lacrosse jersey that he was offering on his website.

"Where is home for you?"

"I live about two hours north of here, it's a little town called Pinconning. It's the cheese capital of Michigan."

"Oh!" His eyes lit up again. "That's exciting!"

"Eh." I shrugged. "It's a lot of hardcore Republicans and Trump supporters, lots of mouth breathers..."

"I get that...but cheese!"

"Cheese is good," I agreed, chuckling. God, it was so easy talking with him; why couldn't this be a forever thing!?

"I'm going to help you with the caffeine thing. We're doing an energy exchange; it's real."

"It's real," I agreed, going along with it. "It's real and it's powerful."

"It's powerful, and it is going to work. Here we go!"

Tyler squeezed his eyes closed and then held his hand out, palm a mere inch or so from my chest. I immediately felt warmth radiating throughout my body, as if he was, in fact, giving me his energy. Believe it or not, I started to feel a warm sensation cascading through my body; it felt good. I couldn't help but remember one of my hookups talking about how sex was a form of energy exchange; perhaps this was the closest I was going to get to having sex with Tyler Posey - I was damn well going to enjoy it!

"You'll start to feel it in a minute," he said, going back to signing my photo.

"I already do," I confessed. "I'm tingling." That elicited a chuckle from him; he knew exactly what he was doing. "My coworkers all hate me, because I play your EPs all the time.

Tyler stopped signing and turned to me, his eyes wide. "My music?"

"Yeah!" I replied. "They're always like 'why are we listening to so much Tyler Posey?' and I'm like 'because he's awesome, shut the fuck up.' I was actually supposed to be working today, but I told my boss I had to come see you."

"Aw, thanks, man!" Tyler pulled me into a one-armed hug. As our chests touched, I couldn't help but relax into him. I knew that my crush on him was just that, but the fact that he was taking the time to make me feel seen and heard and appreciated, that he was making sure I got my money's worth meant the world to me.

"I have Happy on repeat all the time."

"Really?"

"Yeah. I usually listen to it when I'm getting ready for work. It really resonates with me."

"That's a good one."

"It's my current favorite, but I'm sure it'll change. You have a lot of good songs."

"There's a line in Happy that goes:

Yeah, I know how to act

Just give me a name

I've been playing these roles you won't want me to play

Yeah, I know how to nod

Nodding, I'm half awake

With my eyes rolling back, can't you tell I'm OK?

Nodding is a drug reference; it's like being so messed up and trying to act like you're fine."

It took a second for me to process that THE Tyler Posey had just sung a snippet of my favorite song of his to me.

"Hopefully you'll release some new music soon!"

"I haven't released anything in a while..."

"I know! I'm dying for more!"

"I do have some songs written; I just haven't recorded or anything in so long, but there's stuff in the works."

"I will definitely listen to it when you get around to it."

"Hopefully I'll get around to releasing new music soon."

"Well, get on it! I need new tunes to keep me from choking people while I'm making their pizza!" I joked, gaining more confidence and feeling more comfortable with him.

Tyler laughed. "That's actually pretty good!"

"There you go, you can write a song called "Choking People Pizza...and I won't even hit you up for the copyright."

"Yeah, half the proceeds will be yours."

"No," I giggled, "just take me on tour with you."

"Done!" Tyler hurriedly finished signing my photo and then faced me again. "Ready to take some photos?"

"Of course!"

As I stepped closer to him, I saw that he was now holding his phone. Where had that come from? And why was it out? Surely he wasn't going to take selfies of us on his phone? I unlocked my phone and held it out to him.

"Thanks," he said, taking it. He put his arm around my shoulders - swoon!

"Why are you thanking me?" I teased, leaning into him.

"For handing me the phone."

"No, thank you for even doing this!"

He snapped several pictures of us - with varying facial expressions. For the last one, I turned him, and said, "roll your eyes back, so I can tell you're okay," referencing the song.

After one last picture, Tyler handed the phone back to me. "I did my best," he said, meaning rolling his eyes back.

"I only said that because of the lyrics in Happy," I explained, hoping I hadn't offended him or made him uncomfortable in any way.

"It was so nice to meet you, Gabriel," Tyler said, smiling warmly at me.

"You, too!"

"Thanks for coming to see me.

"Thanks for being here!"

Tyler smiled at me again and as I walked past him to leave, he said, "You're the best."

"No, you're the best!" I replied, grinning like the Cheshire cat.

Tyler reached out and patted me on the shoulder, giving me one last hit of dopamine.

Against my will, I forced my legs to carry me away from him; I could have stayed and talked with Tyler Posey all day. I know that he was getting paid for the interaction and that we weren't really friends, but I felt like I knew him, like we had formed a genuine connection. Somehow, in a crowd of what had felt like thousands, he had made me feel like it was just the two of us - him and me.