Love and Fandoms - Chapter Five Part Two

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WYATT

He and Kareem stepped into Another Dimension Comic and Game Shoppe. There wasn't anyone browsing the books, but a half-dozen junior high kids sat at the tables in back playing collectable card games. They'd dropped Mandy off — she didn't yet have her driver's license, but planned to get it sometime before she left for Michigan — and then Kareem asked him if he wanted to hit the comic shop. New books weren't due in until tomorrow, but any trip to AD, as he and Kareem called it, was a good stop.

As they looked through the X-Men books and debated which current series was the best, Allyssa Shaw walked in. She was the one Kareem was trying to set him up with. She was smart and almost as much of a geek as the two of them. Plus she was pretty, with her long, wavy light brown hair, sparkling green eyes, and curvy but athletic body. She didn't play any sports at school, but from what he understood, she spent plenty of time at the gym, and it showed. He should have been happy to go out with her, but he couldn't. She wasn't Mandy. Which was stupid, but there it was.

"Hey, guys," she said, coming over to them. "Trying to get new books a day early?"

"I wish," Kareem said. "I've been avoiding the Comic Pals message board for two weeks because I don't want the new Dark Knight spoiled."

"Yeah, that was quite the cliffhanger last ish," Allyssa said.

"Don't think it'll be anything major continuity-wise," Kareem said, "but it's making for a good story."

"I don't think they even get the new books in until Wednesday morning anyway," Wyatt said.

"Makes the temptation to sell early a bit less, eh?" she said, giving him a wink.

His heart gave a little flutter. It wasn't nearly as strong as when Mandy smiled at him, but it was something. Maybe he should let Kareem set him up with her. They really did get along, and he couldn't deny the attraction. Something to think about, anyway.

"What do you guys think of Mr. Yong's class?" she asked, browsing through some books. Wyatt couldn't see which from his angle.

"I think it's cool," Kareem said. "I like how he throws topics out and hangs back while we discuss them. I'm looking forward to seeing what movies and TV episodes he brings in."

"And it's a plus that the only homework or tests we have, to go along with participation, are a five and ten-page paper on any topic," Allyssa said. "The only problem will be narrowing it down."

Wyatt chuckled. "Kareem asked Mr. Yong if he could do more for extra credit."

"What did he say?"

"He said there was no doubt I'd get an A, so there was no need. But I might do an extra couple anyway just to hedge my bets."

Allyssa rolled her eyes. "You realize he has no interest in reading your extra papers, right? Especially since they'll probably be 20-page diatribes about how you could make whatever show, comic, or movie better if you wrote for them."

"Well, I could," he said.

She reached across the stacks and nudged Wyatt. "How can you stand to listen to his pompous attitude day after day?"

"You get used to it," he said, earning a laugh from Allyssa and a scoff from Kareem.

"I noticed you two taking Mandy Blake under your wings. Did her big strapping boyfriend threaten to pound you if she didn't get an A?"

"Nah," Kareem said. "Mandy's a geek at heart. She just needs some help getting up to speed."

"She's a Mister Incognito expert," Wyatt said.

"I've heard she's into the show, but I'll have to see expert to believe it."

"You should come to our study sessions after school," Kareem said. "Looks like they're going to be every Tuesday and Thursday in the school library for the foreseeable future. We do our homework and talk shop."

"We had our first one today, and it was a lot of fun," Wyatt added.

Allyssa shrugged and smiled. "Yeah, if you guys don't mind, I'd love to join."

"Cool," Kareem said, while Wyatt smiled at her. She smiled back in a way that made him feel a little bit light-headed. That was good, right? Mandy used to be the only one who could do that to him.

"I should get going. I'll see you guys tomorrow."

They said goodbye, and when she was gone, Kareem said, "Dude, she's into you. Why won't you ask her out?"

"She's being polite," he said, but he was pretty sure Kareem was right.

"Dude, there was nothing polite about it. She was practically undressing you with her eyes. Don't ask me why she'd even want to do that, but she was."

"Whatever. Do you think Mandy will mind we invited Allyssa to join the study group?"

"I don't see why it would bother her. Allyssa knows almost as much as we do. That's why she wanted to start this in the first place, right?"

Yeah, that made sense. And with Allyssa there, Mandy's presence wouldn't affect him as much. Or at least he hoped.

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Love and Fandoms - Chapter Five Part One

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Chapter Five

MANDY

Mandy walked towards the school library about fifteen minutes after school ended. The three of them decided to conduct their study sessions every Tuesday and Thursday, starting today. She informed Wyatt and Kareem that she'd be a bit late this afternoon since it was a running day in Sports Conditioning, and she'd have to take a quick shower. It was too hot not to. Kareem said, "Good idea," while Wyatt mumbled something about how it was probably impossible for her to stink. She giggled and told him she had stuff that would make her smell nice, but she'd feel all sweaty and icky, so they could wait. Wyatt had blushed, as he often did around her, which was adorable. She guessed he blushed around most girls.

She showered quickly, was done not long after school officially ended, but took a little too much time getting ready. She wanted to look perfect, but not appear like she took any time to make herself that way. Which was stupid since Alex wouldn't be seeing her. She didn't know how long the study session would last, but the library closed at four-thirty, so they'd be done and gone long before football practice ended. She tried to tell herself she simply wanted to look good out of pride or whatever, but that was a lie. She did it for Wyatt. When she reached the library door, she took a deep breath, told herself it was no big deal, and walked in, engulfed by the wonderful, intoxicating aroma of books.

They sat at a table in the far back corner. There were a few other students at various tables, but the library was mostly empty. Ms. Sanchez, the librarian, kept it open for group projects and study sessions like theirs, so it'd see more traffic as the year went on. Wyatt waved at her, and her stomach did a little flip. Cool it. She smiled, walked over, and saw both boys had their math books on the table. Though she was only one level behind them, no doubt she'd have no idea how to work those problems, even if it was likely review for them. Probably things she'd learn later this year.

"There's Miss Incognito," Kareem said, earning a smile from her.

"That's much better than the dork or geek I get from Alex and Luci when the show comes up."

"You gotta own those names," Kareem said. "Wyatt and I do. Someone calls us geeks, and we give them a thumbs-up or a thanks. Besides, society has practically made geek cool."

"Yeah. I love seeing the shirts you guys wear each day." She looked at Wyatt while she said it, and he blushed and looked down at the table.

"I'm surprised your boy doesn't like all things geek," Kareem said. "Or at least most things. We've got plenty of action, good stories, hot chicks …"

"Hot guys, too," she said, earning a laugh from both boys. "He's mostly being stubborn. If it's not a laugh-a-minute show like The Simpsons or Family Guy, or it's not a sports match or something else sports-related, he won't even give it a chance."

"His loss," Kareem said.

"If you were my girlfriend, I'd make sure to share as many interests as I could," Wyatt said. His face went pale and his eyes wide, as if he couldn't believe he said it.

She hid a smile behind her hand and said, "You should talk to Alex. He could use that lesson."

Kareem smacked Wyatt's shoulder. "You could totally get a girl, dude. I think we both know one who would say yes in a heartbeat if you manned up and asked her."

Mandy's insides went cold, but she hid the feeling with a smile. She didn't want to know who Wyatt liked and vice versa. She had absolutely no reason to feel that way, but she couldn't help it.

"What about Luci?" Wyatt asked. "I thought she'd love all the martial arts in Mister Incognito."

"She actually thinks they do a good job with that aspect, but she's being as hard-headed as Alex. Her brother, Johnny, likes the show, too, so she'd lose her fun of calling us geeks and dorks if she started watching it. I know she'd enjoy it if she gave it a chance."

"So much closed-mindedness in the world," Kareem said. "I ought to talk to her for a few minutes."

"I can arrange that," she said with a laugh. "So, anyway, how is our study group going to work?"

"It was your idea," Kareem said.

Before she could call Kareem a smart ass, Wyatt said, "We'll work and talk. Kareem and I always talk comics and fandoms when we do homework together."

"Sounds great," she said as she pulled out her own math book and binder.

"So how did you get into Mister Incognito?" Kareem asked.

"You used to watch it when we were kids," Wyatt said.

They shared a smile, and she bit her bottom lip before quickly stopping herself. Oh, goodness, she only ever caught herself doing that when she really wanted to kiss someone. Or, more specifically, when she wanted to kiss Alex. Or Channing Tatum or Zac Efron, but they were givens, right? She couldn't get like this with Wyatt. He wasn't her future.

"Yeah." She gave an internal wince at how hoarse her voice sounded. She cleared her throat and said, hopefully in a light, airy tone, "Remember how we always wanted to act out scenes from the show, but Luci wanted no part of it?"

"And when she wasn't around, we'd play the board game you had for hours."

"Oh, I forgot about that. I probably still have that hidden in a box in our garage. Maybe I should find it, and we can play again."

"It could be pop culture homework," Kareem said. "Mr. Yong would be all for that, I'm sure."

"That'll be fun," she said. "Anyway, when the show first came on, my dad wanted to watch, but my mom had no interest. It must have started at nine o'clock because that was my bed time. Once a week, they'd let me stay up an hour later to watch with him. So my love of it started because I got to stay up past my bedtime, but it didn't take long for it to legitimately become my favorite show."

"And your knowledge?" Kareem said. "From what I heard, you might even be able to challenge me or my boy here in a trivia contest."

"Probably blow us away," Wyatt said.

"Trivia books and things like that. My dad would buy them for me, and I'd devour them. Plus I've seen each episode at least a half-dozen times."

"That's great," Kareem said, "but time to branch out and watch other things."

"I know. That's why I'm here and looking forward to the class."

"Too bad we didn't know you were so interested," Wyatt said. "We would have picked you up a ticket to the comic-con."

"When's that? Neither Alex nor Luci would go, but maybe I could tag along with you guys."

"Sold out," Wyatt said with a frown.

"Oh well. You'll have to tell me all about it. When is it? Is it the San Diego one?"

Kareem shook his head. "That one's in July. This is the 2nd Annual North Orange County Comic Book Convention. It's in the beginning of October."

"Cool. Are you guys going to dress in costumes?"

"Nah," Kareem said. "We'll just wear some sort of fandom shirt each day."

"We'll have fun watching others cosplay, though," Wyatt added.

"Too bad Alex won't take you," Kareem said. "He'd probably cosplay."

"Yeah, right," she said. "You wouldn't catch him dead doing that."

"Does he ever wear a team jersey when he goes to sporting events?" Wyatt asked.

"He's taken me to a few Angels and Ducks games, and he always wears a hat and jersey."

Wyatt and Kareem looked at each other, nodded, and said, "Cosplayer."

She laughed and made them promise not to bring that up to him. Wyatt pantomimed locking his lips with a key, like he used to do when they were kids, and her heart fluttered again. She really needed to stop letting him affect her so much if they were going to keep this up twice a week, not to mention class together every day.

The conversation flowed until four-thirty, all of them actually making a pretty good dent in their homework. She enjoyed Kareem's sense of humor and Wyatt's shy demeanor but well-timed quips. They didn't talk much more about pop culture, but caught up with each other's lives. When Ms. Sanchez called it a day, Mandy wasn't ready to be done, but was happy they'd be doing it again on Thursday.

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Love and Fandoms - Chapter Four Part Two

Click here to read Chapter Four Part One

WYATT

Wyatt didn't bother checking if Kareem was available to chat, as he kept himself hidden. Instead he shot him a text. "Mandy Blake wants to do study sessions so she can learn more pop culture. Cool with you?" He then went back to his Physics text, where he had to read chapter one by tomorrow, no doubt the easiest homework for that class all year. It only took a minute or two for Kareem to get back to him.

"Sounds good. She wants to go full geek?"

"Must be it. Will probably be every Tuesday and Thursday in school library. Talk more in morning."

"Cool. And try not to be late."

Wyatt shook his head and laughed. He never failed to be out waiting in the driveway by the time Kareem pulled in each morning. Kareem drove him to school every day, starting last year when he got his license and car. Wyatt had his own driver's license, but no car. He had to borrow Mom's, which was out of the question on school days since she usually needed it. He sent back a "Do my best."

"Cool. See you, bro."

Wyatt put his phone down, but before he could pick his textbook back up, he heard the garage door rumble open. Mom called earlier and said she'd bring home dinner, and he was starving. He hustled out and met her in the kitchen.

"Ah, nothing like a mom bearing food to draw her teenage son out of his room," she said.

He kissed her on the cheek and said, "Welcome home and all, but, yeah, let's eat." He opened the plastic bag and pulled out two containers. "What did you get?"

"Free food, so don't be picky. I'll let you choose. Either a Bacon-wrapped Fat Dog with jalapenos and mustard, or a BBQ Fat Frank Burger. Someone ordered them but called a few minutes later saying they wouldn't be able to pick them up. Carlos snuck us some fresh fries with my promise I wouldn't tell the manager."

"But you're the … oh, yeah."

"Glad my sense of humor isn't wasted on you, kid."

She was one of the managers at Fat Frank's Gourmet Burgers and Dogs, a family restaurant attached to the Yorba Linda Mall. She was also a substitute teacher for elementary schools in the area. "Pour us some juice and get some plates. We don't need to eat out of the containers since we're sitting at the table."

"Do you have the same shift tomorrow?"

"Yup. I'll bring us something again, even if it's not free. Don't get used to it, though. Remember, I start back subbing next week, and then I'll actually have time to cook. And I'll probably have the closing shift most weekends."

"Jokes on you. I like your cooking."

"Not sure if that was a back-handed compliment or a failed insult. Either way, I'll take it. I'm going to change out of my work duds. Dish up dinner and choose which one you want. I assure you I'm happy with either choice."

He nodded, and she left. He put first the BBQ burger and fries on a plate, and then did the same with the bacon-wrapped dog and fries. He started to move the burger to his place, but stopped. What if she'd rather have that, despite what she said? He wanted the burger, but he'd enjoy the hot dog, too, especially with the jalapenos. Instead he put both in the center of the table so she could choose.

When she walked back in, she rolled her eyes at him and grabbed the hot dog. They sat down and dug in. As always when she brought home unwanted orders, it tasted fine despite sitting under a warmer longer than necessary. He hoped tomorrow, though, that she'd ask him what he wanted because he'd love to have a chili-cheese dog. Not that he'd mention it, but if she brought it up.

"So," she said after they took a few bites. "School. Good?"

"Yeah. Looks like it'll be a fun year. Calc and Physics are going to be a lot of work, but they should be good challenges. And Comic Book Pop Culture will be great."

"Is your teacher going to sit back and set you and Kareem loose?"

"No," he said with a snort. "But Kareem would like that. He's already planning on writing up a list of things Mr. Yong should cover this year."

"Ooh, I'm sure Mr. Yong will appreciate that."

"Sarcasm thicker than a vat of honey left out on a cold winter morning," he said, chuckling.

"Now you're getting it. But, seriously, tell Kareem not to do that unless he's specifically asked. Or, if you won't, I will."

"I will." He wouldn't, but he doubted Kareem would do it anyway. Mr. Yong's syllabus looked pretty complete. Or at least as complete as they could hope.

"So school's good academically, but what about the girl situation? Any cute ones in your classes?"

Any cute girls? Only the most beautiful, perfect girl in the history of ever. "Yeah, I guess. But it's not like I'm going to ask any of them out."

She sighed and shook her head. "I'm sure plenty of girls would love to go on a date with you. Believe it or not, they're not going to bite your head off. The worst that'll happen is they'll say no."

"Actually, they could say 'Hell no,' call me an idiot, and get the whole school to laugh at me." Not that he actually believed that, but it was better than admitting the truth, which was that no one at school could ever match up to Mandy.

"You know that's not going to happen, right?"

"Maybe it wouldn't have in your day."

"Yeah, way back in my day, the magical late 80s and early 90s, where everyone wore neon spandex and acid wash jean jackets and did the moonwalk to school while banging their head to grunge music."

Wyatt barked out a laugh. "Wait, I knew about the neon spandex, grunge music, and the moon walking, but acid wash jean jackets?"

"Oh, you poor, innocent soul. I've sheltered you too much. Besides, today, your day, you'd only get cyber bullied."

"Great pep-talk, Mom. That makes me feel so much better."

"What? Like that's a big deal for you. You can use your computer wizard skills to stop them."

"You mean like blocking and unfriending them?"

"There you go. See? More than I would have known to do."

"Whatever."

"All I'm saying is you should enjoy your senior year. Why not get a girlfriend? You haven't had one since you and Mandy Blake were so close in elementary school."

Wyatt's face felt like it burst into flames. Maybe Mom wouldn't notice, but there was probably no way she didn't. Heck, the Wilsons across the street probably felt the heat. "What? No, she wasn't my girlfriend. She was just a … girl … who was my friend. Same as Luci Velarde."

"Sorry, kid, but I remember with probably much more clarity than you. Luci was your friend who was a girl, but Mandy was your girlfriend, even if you were too young to think about it in those terms."

He stuffed a few fries into his mouth so he didn't have to say anything for the moment. His mind flashed back to that afternoon when he was eight years old, and Mandy not only said she wanted to marry him some day, but had kissed him. Silly, innocent stuff, but a memory he'd always cherish. How pathetic was that?

"Anyway," Mom said, "I won't say any more about it. Just thought you might want a date before high school ended."

"I'll keep it in mind."

She rolled her eyes. "Finish your dinner."

They talked more about each other's day while they polished off their meals. After he rinsed the dishes and placed them in the dishwasher, he headed back to his room to finish his homework. His mind flashed back to the day he kissed Mandy. Not because of that, but because of Dad. That was the first time he'd fully realized something was wrong with his parents' relationship. A few months later, they were officially divorced, and less than a year after that, Dad was gone, a victim of a single-person, one-car crash. Well, victim was sort of silly to say. Wyatt doubted it was on purpose, but Dad was fully to blame, as heavily dosed with booze as he was. Everyone was lucky he'd been the only one involved.

He took a deep breath and reached for his laptop. He hated thinking about Dad, and did it as little as possible. There were plenty of great memories, but the most vivid ones were from that last year when he'd been drunk more than sober. He clicked on Netflix and pulled up a Buffy episode. That would bury the bad memories for the moment.

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Love and Fandoms - Chapter Four Part One

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Chapter Four

MANDY

Mandy sat on her bed working on math homework, which consisted of nothing but review problems. It was mostly busy work, though it was getting her back in the math mindset, so she decided it was worth the time.

She'd almost finished when her phone buzzed with a text message. She picked it up, expecting either Luci or Alex, but found one word from Dad. "Dinner." She rolled her eyes, but couldn't keep back the smile. It would have been easier for him to call up, as her door stood open, but where would his fun have been in that? She texted back "potassium," which took only a tap of the "p" before the word showed up on her quick word bar. She texted that to him enough to where her phone knew.

Her texting habits had been such where she would type "k" for "okay," but it drove him nuts, so he began texting her "potassium." When she asked why, he told her it was the same as typing "k." It didn't take long for her to realize that k was the symbol for potassium on the Periodic Table of the Elements. So now it was their thing, and his lesson had stuck. She always typed "ok" in texts to others because typing "k" made her laugh too much.

She set her homework aside and headed downstairs. Whatever dinner was smelled great. She got to the table and found chili-topped baked potatoes, one of her favorites. She knew the grilling about her day was coming, but Mom and Dad let her fix up her potato with cheese, chopped onions, and sour cream before they started in.

"So?" Mom asked. "How was your first day as a senior?"

"Fine. Actually looks like it'll be easier than past years. Trig/Pre-Calc looks tough, and Honors Language Arts will be a lot of reading, but it should be fun. Most of this semester's assignments will be an author report and book reports on five of his or her works." She frowned. "AP only has to do three."

"You knew what you were getting into when you signed up for Honors," Dad said.

"I know."

"Have you decided on an author yet?" Mom asked.

"Not yet. Luci had a great idea of doing J.K. Rowling."

"You've certainly read those enough," Mom said. "You could probably finish the reports by this weekend."

"Yeah, but if I decide to go that route, I'll want to compare and contrast the books and movies. And I'll probably make one of the reports on her non-Harry Potter book. I've never read that."

"Good idea," Dad said. "I enjoyed the Potter movies, but I'm guessing you'll skewer them."

"I liked the movies, too." She gave him a wink. "But, yeah, compared to the books, they're garbage. Besides, Kareem Reynolds gave me the idea for comparing and contrasting them, so I don't want to do it if he does."

Dad scoffed and muttered, "Literary nerd."

Mom rolled her eyes at him, but chuckled. She then reminded them to eat before dinner got cold. Mandy did, and nodded her approval. She guessed the chili was the premade stuff from the organic market Mom shopped at and hoped she'd keep getting it. It certainly wasn't the generic canned junk Dad would buy.

"Who's Kareem?" Mom asked. "Is he new? I don't remember you ever mentioning him."

"No, he's been there since seventh grade. He's Wyatt's best friend. I guess I've never had anything to say about him."

"I wish you could have stayed friends with Wyatt," Mom said. "He's a nice boy. I occasionally see him, and we always share a smile and wave. You two used to be such good friends."

"Yeah," Mandy said. Her stomach clenched up a bit as she thought back to that late summer day so many years ago when they'd shared their first kiss. As far as she knew, it was Wyatt's only. She'd never seen him with another girl, anyway. Did he ever look back on it as fondly as she did? "Guess we drifted apart. We have a class together this year, though. The Comic Book Pop Culture one."

She took another bite of her chili potato while Dad asked. "How does that class look? Any Mister Incognito?"

"Maybe. Mr. Yong said we'll talk a lot about sci-fi and fantasy pop culture. He said it was easier to name the class after comic books."

"Think he'd mind if I sat in sometime?"

She laughed and said, "I don't know, but I can assure you I'd be mortified."

"Even better."

"You two," Mom said, shaking her head, but not able to hide her own smile. "Did you get to spend much time with Alex?"

"Home Ec, break, and lunch."

"Did you warn your Home Ec teacher?" Dad asked.

"About what?"

He raised his eyebrows.

"Blow up one microwave and you're branded for life. How was I supposed to know that bowl had metal in it?"

"Because I warned you on multiple occasions?" Mom said. "But that's beside the point. I'm sure you'll do a wonderful job."

"I say it's a good thing Alex is taking the class, too," Dad said. "You can let him do the cooking next year and save your kitchen from burning down."

Mandy hurled her napkin at him. He casually caught it, wiped a blob of chili from the side of his mouth, thanked her, and tossed it back. She rolled her eyes, but didn't give him any more satisfaction than that. Not that he needed it, judging by the smug grin he wore. As they finished eating, she described the rest of her day and heard a couple of stories from their days at work before excusing herself upstairs to continue on her homework.

She finished her math, and then jumped on her computer to research which author she might like to choose for her report. First, of course, she had to stop by Facebook. She browsed her news feed, which mostly consisted of obligatory first day of school posts, and then turned her attention to Chat to see if Luci or Alex were on. They weren't, but she noticed Wyatt's name. She'd seen him available for Chat before, but she'd never done anything about it. He hadn't, either, but it wasn't like he would. From what she knew about him, taking initiative wasn't his strong suit.

A thought popped into her mind, and she clicked his name to start a conversation. She typed, "Hi, Wyatt. Hope your day went okay." She said hello to him in fifth period, but they hadn't had a chance to talk.

It took only a few seconds for him to reply.

WYATT: Hi, Mandy. Good first day for me. How about you?

MANDY: Good for me, too. Pop culture class looks like it'll be fun.

WYATT: Yeah. I've been looking forward to it all summer.

MANDY: Me, too. Though I know next to nothing compared to you and Kareem. Probably most people in class.

WYATT: From what I've heard, when Mister Incognito comes up, you're going to school everyone.

She laughed at that. It might be true. She had a few Mister Incognito trivia and fact books that she'd read over the years, and most of the information stuck. And it didn't hurt that she had every available season on DVD, and every episode from last season, which wasn't yet for sale, on Instant Video.

MANDY: We'll see. I hope Mr. Yong chooses to talk about it.

WYATT: I'm sure he will. It's a big part of pop culture.

MANDY: Yeah.

She took a deep breath before typing the next part. Hopefully he wouldn't think her a total dork for asking.

MANDY: Hey, do you think you and Kareem might be interested in doing an after school study session once or twice a week? It'll help me become a bit more well-rounded in fandoms, which seems to be our main homework for the class.

WYATT: That sounds great! I'll ask Kareem, but I'm sure he'll be happy to do it.

MANDY: Excellent! We can do other homework, and talk sci-fi, fantasy, and comic books at the same time.

WYATT: When shall we start? And is the school library the best place?

MANDY: Library works for me. I have Tuesdays and Thursdays open. I'm happy to do it on one or both each week. We can nail down specifics tomorrow.

Wyatt's next response didn't come as quick, but when it did, it made her heart give a little pitter-patter that only Alex had ever caused. Well, since they started dating in eighth grade, anyway.

WYATT: Looking forward to seeing you tomorrow. Signing off.

MANDY: Me, too. To both.

She then logged out of chat. Her hands were shaking a bit. What in the world was going on? Yes, she'd always kept tabs on Wyatt from afar, which she had to admit probably meant she had feelings for him, but he shouldn't affect her like this. Especially when she not only had Alex now, but a bright future with him, too. She let out a sigh, closed her laptop, and grabbed her iPad so she could watch some Mister Incognito. That would help clear her mind. She could look up authors for Language Arts later.

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Love and Fandoms - Chapter Three Part Two

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WYATT

As he and Kareem headed off towards the math building and third period Calculus, Wyatt did everything he could to get his breathing back under control without Kareem noticing. He hadn't been that close to Mandy for that long since elementary school. He was such an idiot! Not only was she so far out of his league that he probably shouldn't even be allowed to so much as glance her way, but she was dating the coolest guy in school. Practically married to him, as far as he could tell. To top it off, they were going to the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor together next year. He wasn't bitter about it, though. Good for her. Alex was an awesome guy. He could have chosen to be a mega-jerk, a real super villain, but he didn't. Because of that, Wyatt really was happy for Mandy.

"What did you hear about the comic book class?" Kareem asked, knocking him out of his thoughts.

"Nothing new," Wyatt said. "Like I said, Mr. Yong plans to teach it a lot like a college course. But he said as much last year when he announced it."

"Yeah, he's never tried to hide his dream of becoming a professor at a university. I wonder if he's going to use this in his portfolio or something."

"Dunno. Maybe." Wyatt looked over towards the senior quad and caught sight of Mandy again, once more losing his breath. Damn it, he was being stupid. She was just a girl, a person, and she shouldn't affect him like this every time he so much as thought about her. But she did, and had since junior high, when he effectively lost her. Her shoulder-length wavy blonde hair framed her gorgeous face in that perfect way that meant she could be a model if she wanted to, at least in his eyes. He'd certainly buy whatever she was selling. Her skin had a nice tan from playing soccer all summer. As far as he could tell, from the close-up view a few minutes ago, she didn't have a blemish on her. He tended to see that on people since he had such a battle with acne when he was younger. He didn't judge anyone based on their good, bad, or neutral skin, but he noticed. That wasn't all he noticed about her. He saw her whenever he shut his eyes — her piercing blue eyes, her heart-shaped face (he looked online to see what that meant, and it was a dead-on description), her muscular legs and athletic body, crafted by so many years of soccer, her cute button nose, and her lips, thin on top and full on the bottom. It all added up to his perfect girl, enhanced ten-fold by her wonderful personality. He held back a chuckle. Thinking like that made him feel like a stalker.

Luci was as pretty as Mandy, but he never thought of her as anything other than an old friend he never talked to anymore. She stood about the same height as Mandy, probably five-five or five-six, and had a chiseled body from years of Taekwondo. She wore her dark brown, almost black, hair in a ponytail. Even as far back as elementary school he couldn't remember a time she didn't prefer that style. The thing he enjoyed most about her appearance was her smile. When she let it loose, she lit up everything around her. Even though she could kick mega-butt, her smile (and his past friendship with her) meant he'd never be afraid of her.

"Hey, it's Pizza Face and the Hindu Terrorist," someone shouted. Wyatt put his head down and kept walking, and Kareem did the same. It was Duncan Thomas, one of the Pigs. While all three of them — Holden Greenfield and Tyler Navarro rounded out the trio — could certainly be called pigs because of their boorish behavior and slovenly appearances, they earned the name on the football field and wore it with pride. They got down and dirty in the mud blocking for Alex and the running backs. Neither Wyatt nor Kareem meant it as a compliment when they said the nickname, though.

The three yelled more horribly racist things to Kareem and more unflattering words to Wyatt, but both kept going, ignoring it all. Only when the words stopped and the laughter faded did they relax, though they kept up their double-time pace all the way to the math building. Once they reached their destination, both burst out laughing.

"What a bunch of idiots," Kareem said. "I don't think they actually know what Pizza Face means. Your face has been clear for a long time. I wonder if they think you actually got pizza on your face once."

"Probably, but I didn't get the Hindu thing. That was new."

"I think they meant Muslim." Kareem looked about ready to lose himself to a fresh batch of laughter.

"That makes sense. Sort of." Now Wyatt couldn't control himself, and more giggles poured out, getting Kareem started again. What made it funnier was that Kareem wasn't just a Christian, but one of the leaders of the teen group at his church. Pretty much the whole school knew that — he'd been named after his dad's favorite  old-time basketball star, Kareem Abdul Jabar, not for religious reasons — but it was too much to hope for the Pigs to have picked up on it.

Other than his religion — or what the Pigs perceived it to be — they also picked on Kareem because of his appearance. Not because he was black (though their taunts and insults more often than not went there), but because he was as skinny and scrawny as Wyatt. Both shared an awful lot of qualities with pre-spider bite Peter Parker. Kareem was the same height as Wyatt, both five feet, eleven inches — they'd measured each other two weeks ago so they could put their precise stats into character creations for a video game — and kept his hair short, almost buzzed off. 

If the Pigs weren't so big and mean, their stupidity might deserve some pity. He had no idea how they kept their grades up enough to remain on the football team. Though, now that he thought about it, all three had been held back twice, once in junior high, and once as freshmen.

"We ought to see if Alex, Mandy, and Luci will let us hang out with them," Kareem said. "I doubt the Pigs would bother us then."

"Yeah," Wyatt said with a grin, but butterflies swarmed his stomach. There was no way he'd survive that much time so close to Mandy. They'd never had a class together, so he wasn't sure how he was going to handle Comic Book Pop Culture with her in it. Maybe she wouldn't affect him this hard if he started talking to her every day. Because, yeah, him starting conversations was such a strong point. In a way, he was looking forward to her going to Michigan. The daily chance of running into her would be gone, so he could move on. Not that he often ran into her now, and she only lived a block or so away, but with most of the country between them, the chance would be absolute nil. Of course, he'd probably find another pretty girl to obsess over and start the cycle anew. Maybe he should own up to the fact that he was hopeless.

"Earth to Wyatt," Kareem said, waving his hand in front of his face.

"Sorry. What?"

"Just wondering if you read last week's Danger Squad yet, Mr. Space Cadet. What, are you thinking about a girl?"

He took in a sharp breath, and shook his head hard. "No."

"Sure, sure. You don't have to tell me if you don't want. I told you about my future girlfriend, but don't think you need to share. I'm only your best friend."

Wyatt opened his mouth to say something, but he didn't know what. Before he could, the bell signifying the end of break sounded, and Mrs. Neely, their Calculus teacher, opened the classroom door. Instead of saying anything about Mandy or making up a lie about some other girl, he said, "Yeah, I read the Danger Squad ish. It was a good one."

Kareem shook his head, but didn't push it. They filed into the classroom and found seats in the middle of the room where they'd have the best views of both whiteboards Mrs. Neely liked to use, as well as the projector screen when she lectured from her computer. Mrs. Neely had been their Trig/Pre-Calc teacher last year, as well as their Geometry teacher their freshmen year, and they got along well with her. When she saw them, she said "hi," and asked about their summer.

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Love and Fandoms - Chapter Three Part One

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Chapter Three

MANDY

Mandy held Alex's hand while Luci walked next to them as they headed across campus during nutrition break. She didn't think being a senior would seem like such a big deal, but she really did feel different this morning. No doubt part of it was her schedule; she, Alex, and Luci had just finished their first Home Economics class, or, as everyone called it, the Easy-A Cooking and Eating class. Mrs. Farrell, the teacher, confirmed this. Show up, do what's asked, and you'll get an A. That was quite a difference from what she was used to in all her other years of school. She still had tough classes to come, including Honors Language Arts, which she heard consisted of a ton of reading, and Pre-Calculus/Trigonometry, which she was dreading but knew it would look great on her transcripts for college. Not that she needed it, as Alex's dad pulled plenty of strings to get her into Michigan with a full scholarship. Being the girlfriend of the biggest football recruit of the year definitely had its advantages.

They rounded the corner of the science building on the way to the senior quad. That part was no big deal. Seniors usually kept any non-seniors out, but Alex had been welcomed since he led the football team to the CIF championship his sophomore year. That meant she and Luci were allowed in, too.

After a few steps, she saw Wyatt and his best friend, Kareem Reynolds, walking nearby. As always happened when she saw Wyatt, her heart skipped a beat. And, again, as always, she didn't know why. Yes, she had crushed on him since they were 8 years old, but she had Alex, the perfect boyfriend. Besides, she and Wyatt had barely talked since before junior high. The last time they'd even been alone together was in eighth grade, right before Alex asked her out for the first time, and that had only been for a few seconds.

So why could she never get him out of her mind? He couldn't compete with Alex in the looks department. Not to say he wasn't good looking, with his stylishly-messy brown hair, cute face with very few blemishes (he had a face full of pimples their freshman and sophomore years, but his mom had taken him to a dermatologist, who cleared him up), and his tall, lanky frame. He didn't have much in the way of muscle tone, but despite dating Alex, a bona fide hunk, she didn't care about that. Wyatt's eyes were one of the main things that melted her — soft brown that she'd stare into forever if she could. He dressed like a total geek, but she meant that as a compliment, as she loved seeing what shirt he'd wear each day. Her favorites were a tie between his Mister Incognito shirts, a sci-fi spy series which was her absolute favorite TV show ever, and his shirt which read, "Total Geek." That one made her see that if he embraced the word, she should, too.

Of course, most girls would call her crazy for lusting after Wyatt when she already had Alex, who had the face and body of a model. He spent plenty of time in the gym lifting weights, and it showed. He wasn't overly muscular, as that would hamper his ability to play quarterback, but he had the right amount of muscle which made his body look, well, perfect, as so many girls in school liked to tell her when they exclaimed how lucky she was. Honestly, she didn't think of herself as lucky; she merely thought of Alex as her boyfriend. Of course, she could see why they said it. Not only was he smoking hot, but next year she got to go to Michigan for college. Sure, it was too far away from her family, and, in the winter, way too cold for her Southern Californian tastes, but a good school for free was nothing to sneeze at. No doubt she could get scholarships to other schools, but probably not the entire cost, including living expenses, like she was now. Plus, this way she and Alex could stay together.

"Hey, Wyatt, wait up," Alex said. Mandy gave a double take. She knew they'd shared a couple of classes in the past, and Alex often nodded hello to Wyatt and Kareem when he saw them, but he never stopped to talk.

"Hi, Alex," Wyatt said.

Kareem said, "What's up?" to Alex, and tipped an imaginary cap to her and Luci. "Ladies."

"Always the smooth one, Kareem," Luci said. "Haven't seen you since first period. And hi, Wyatt. An actual long time no see."

"Yeah. Hi, Luci." He then turned to her and gave a smile and a slight blush. "Hi, Mandy."

She suppressed a giggle and hoped she didn't blush, too. No one else but Luci would notice, but she'd pick on her later. "Hi, Wyatt. Hi, Kareem."

"Did you read all of the instructions for the author report in Language Arts?" Alex asked Wyatt. "I stuffed mine into my folder."

"You need to ask?" Luci said. "There's a reason he gets better grades than you."

"Hey, I bet our grades are pretty similar." He gave Wyatt a friendly punch to the shoulder. "His classes are just harder than mine."

Wyatt shrugged. "Yeah, I read it. Looks like it's going to be a fun project."

"It does, but is it only classic authors, or can we choose anyone? My uncle is a Stephen King junkie, and he has all of his books. He'd even walk me through some of them. It would make my semester easier."

"Your semester doesn't need to be any easier," Mandy said, giving him a nudge.

"Whatever."

"You might want to ask Mrs. Anderson," Wyatt said, "but as far as I could tell, it could be anyone."

"If I was in that class, I'd do the Harry Potter lady," Luci said. "Those movies were awesome, and Harry Potter is such a hottie."

"Ugh, those damn movies," Kareem said. "Maybe I'll choose Rowling just so I can call B.S. on how different the movies were from the books. No doubt Mrs. Anderson will give me extra credit. She eats that kind of stuff up."

"I hate that magic crap," Alex said. "But Emma Watson made those things worth it, at least in the last few. Smokin' hot."

Mandy groaned and smacked his shoulder, Luci rolled her eyes, and Kareem laughed and said, "Too true, too true." Wyatt only looked at her, and they shared another smile.

"Speaking of magic and other speculative arts, Miss Incognito," Kareem said, looking at her, "are you taking the Comic Book Pop Culture class?"

"Yeah. I'd hoped you guys were, too. These two wouldn't join." She pointed at Alex and Luci.

"Boring," Luci said in a sing-song voice, while Alex said, "No way."

"Their loss," Kareem said. "We'll take care of you."

"I know some stuff, Harry Potter, for instance, and Mister Incognito, of course, but not much else. I thought it would be a blast, though. Kind of like a college course."

"That's how Mr. Yong plans to teach it," Wyatt said. She had to suppress another giggle at how much effort he had to put into speaking up. She heard it in the strain of his voice. Too cute!

"Anyway," Alex said, "have fun in nerd class."

"Geek class, dude," Kareem said, getting everyone to laugh, and earning a fist-bump from Alex.

They all said bye, and she and Wyatt shared another look. Or she did, anyway. He might have been being polite or looking over at her at that exact moment or whatever. As they finished their trek to the senior quad, she couldn't help but wonder, for the umpteenth time in her life, what was it about Wyatt Faulk?

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Love and Fandoms - Chapter Two Part Two

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WYATT (Eighth Grade)

Wimped out. Again. But at least this time he'd actually forced himself to talk to her, and she seemed happy to talk to him, too. She might have only been being polite, but most girls in school would have run away or told him to get lost, so that was something. If only Alex hadn't shown up he could have found out for sure. He didn't actually want to go to the Winter Formal — Friday nights were better spent gaming, watching TV or DVDs, and reading comics — but it was a great chance to spend time with Mandy. Or see if she had any interest rekindling their friendship. Oh well, it was probably for the best; no way would someone as pretty and cool as her want to hang out with a geeky nerd like him. Everyone in school would say the same.

He stepped around the corner of the classroom and stopped. If he was both careful and quiet, he could hear what Alex had to say. He shouldn't eavesdrop, but what if Alex only had a school question? He might still have a shot.

"No, no one's asked me yet," Mandy said. It could only be in regards to the dance.

"If I asked you, would you say yes?"

"I don't know. Are you asking?" Wyatt heard the flirty tone in her voice, and he placed his forehead against the cool bricks of the classroom wall. It would have been better to dash it against the coarse, hard surface, but a heartache was enough. He didn't need a headache on top of it.

"I need to be direct, huh? Okay. Mandy Blake, will you go to the Eighth Grade Winter Formal with me?"

"Yes!"

"Awesome."

Wyatt didn't hear anymore. He hurried away, anxious to be gone. He wasn't sure where his mom was teaching that day. If he was lucky, it was one of the further away school districts, and he'd beat her home. If he could get started on his homework, he'd forget all about this for now, and she wouldn't notice anything wrong. He certainly didn't want to talk about it. Kareem had been correct the first day of junior high: he had no business hanging out with someone as pretty as Mandy.

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Love and Fandoms - Chapter Two Part One

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Chapter 2

MANDY (Eighth Grade)

Mandy stood next to Mrs. Snyder's class, waiting for Luci, who was discussing some sort of science project. On the brick wall opposite, hanging from a bulletin board, was a flyer for the Eighth Grade Winter Formal dance. She and Luci were going, either with dates or with each other. Jessie Harper already asked Haylee, and they were all pretty certain Scott Williamson would ask Simone. Not that they wouldn't still be together in the dance. Luci had hopes of Jeremy Van Allen asking her, but he was already taking Mellissa Trument, so she'd sworn off dating for now. Mandy tried to point out she needed a first date of any kind to swear it off, but was promptly told to shut up. Mandy had no prospects, as far as she could tell, but that was okay. She couldn't wait to go to her first formal dance, even without a date.

She moved to peek her head into the doorway to see if Luci was about ready when Wyatt came walking towards her. She immediately perked up. Though they rarely talked, hardly ever saw each other, she still thought of him as her Wyatt. She wished she had a chance to primp herself up, but it was too late now. He wore a Star Wars t-shirt, and she tried to come up with some sort of saying from it so he'd think she was cool, but nothing came to mind.

"Hey, Mandy."

"Hi, Wyatt." She felt her face heat up. "Haven't talked to you in a while."

He looked at his shoes. "Yeah, elementary school was easier, wasn't it?"

"Uh-huh." Why had she listened to Simone and Haylee that first day of seventh grade? Social politics were stupid if she couldn't be with who she wanted. She smiled, hoped it was her best, and wondered what brought him over. She could sense the nerves pulsing off of him, and her heart caught in her throat. Maybe he was going to ask her to the Winter Formal. She almost blurted out a "Yes!" but that would have been stupid since he hadn't actually said anything yet.

Before he could speak up, Alex Jacobs's voice sounded behind her. "Hey, Wyatt, how's it going?"

"Uh, hey, Alex."

Bad timing, but there was never anything wrong when Alex was around. He was only the hottest guy in school. She sat next to him in Pre-Algebra, and they got along well. A few minutes ago, though she never imagined it would happen in a million years, her dream was that he might ask her to the dance. But, if given the choice, she'd choose Wyatt. Assuming, of course, that was why he was here now, which, once she thought about it, was a very un-Wyatt-like thing to do.

Alex put his hand up to give Wyatt a fist bump, which he awkwardly returned. Mandy had to repress a giggle because it was so cute. "Thanks for the help in science, man. I owe you one."

"Yeah, sure."

"Hey, do you think you can give us a minute? I need to ask Mandy something."

Wyatt opened his mouth, looked as if he may protest, but then clammed up and nodded. "Sure, Alex. See you later, Mandy."

No, wait. But if he was going to ask her out, he would have tried harder than that, right? Even if he was so timid. Maybe he was only going to ask her a school question. They both had Mr. Miller for Language Arts/Social Studies block, but at different times. Yeah, that was probably it. She turned her attention back to Alex and flashed him a smile.

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Love and Fandoms - Chapter One Part Two

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WYATT (Seventh Grade)

Wyatt and Kareem walked out of their first/second period block of English and Social Studies on the way to the lunch area for nutrition break. It was strange to go to whole new classrooms with different teachers for most subjects. He had done it in elementary school for Reading and Math, but now, in junior high, it seemed so much more grown up. Kareem confirmed he felt the same way, even if they hadn't actually switched classes yet. They would for the remaining five periods of the day.

He and Kareem became friends over the past two summers at computer day camp. Both went because they wanted to design games — Wyatt blockbuster RPG action games and Kareem physics-based strategy games. Designing games was Wyatt's dream job, while Kareem wanted to do it for fun. His goal was to become an astrophysicist like Neil deGrasse Tyson.

Wyatt had been ecstatic when he not only saw Kareem in Mr. York's class, but got to sit next to him. They had a lot in common, and Wyatt figured they'd become even better friends then they had during camp. Hopefully Mandy and Luci would like him, too.

As they headed towards the cafeteria to get a snack, Kareem said, "My brother says they have honey buns that they heat up. They're the kind you buy at the mini-marts, but they're totally worth getting."

"Okay," Wyatt said. "First I want to find a couple of friends to see how their day is going."

"Cool. Who are they? Not computer campers, I take it."

"No. Mandy plays soccer in the summer. Well, actually, she pretty much plays all year. And Luci is into Taekwondo. Neither cares much about computers other than Facebook and things like that."

Kareem stopped in his tracks. "Wait, girls? We can't hang out with girls. The only guys that hang out with girls are those that have game. And, dude, neither of us has game."

"No, you'll see. They don't care about that. They're awesome. Mandy's been my best friend since before elementary school, and Luci since first grade."

At that moment, Mandy and Luci rounded a corner ahead. Wyatt waved, and Mandy waved back, while Luci gave a half-hearted one and looked embarrassed. There were a couple of other girls with them, too, but he didn't know them.

"No way," Kareem said. "Your friends are way too hot for us to hang out with. Even talk to. And those girls with them are Simone and Haylee. Light years out of our league."

"I just want to say hi." Wyatt started towards them, but Kareem grabbed his arm. He looked up and saw the other girls had stopped Mandy from coming any closer. She argued, but the two girls, Simone and Haylee, like Kareem, wouldn't relent. Luci gave him a shrug and turned around. Mandy stopped struggling, gave him another wave, this one sad, and turned with her friends. He slumped his shoulders and let Kareem lead him towards the lunch area.

"Sorry, dude, but this is junior high. You need to learn the rules."

Wyatt sighed and nodded.

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