#crossroads excerpt

The 14th annual AkibaCon is only two months away and I've spent the past few weeks putting the finishing touches on the costumes for Seth and myself.  We're currently in the car headed to the Gallia, a cozy little theater where I'm currently the costume director.  Yeah, I know, I'm a little young for such an important sounding title, but I've earned it.  Granted, I haven't been working there long, but I've worked my butt off since then, and it hasn't taken long for everyone at the theater to realize I have what it takes.  Humming happily to myself, I make a mental note to send a small gift to Mrs. Kleid, the previous costume director.  It's all thanks to her that Derrick even considered me for the position.  She'd been a judge at last year's cosplay competition and was really impressed by my Princess Ai costume - it was complete with full-sized wings, and one of the most complicated pieces I'd ever done.  Unfortunately, it fell apart almost immediately afterwards (I'm pretty sure it was a bad batch of glue)...but I still won third place out of over one hundred entries!

Anyway, nearly a year later when she and her husband decided they needed a warmer winter climate and Derrick was frantically looking for someone to replace her, she recommended me.  Okay, I know what you're thinking.  Why would this random woman, who I only met once, think of me specifically after all that time?  To be honest, I wondered the same thing myself.  But apparently I made a really good impression on her when we got the chance to talk after the competition, and she wanted to help me get my foot in the door.  Derrick told me later that she'd raved about my ability to get a lot done in a short amount of time...and also about working well under pressure.  Who could've guessed that one of the biggest costume disasters of my life would turn into such an amazing opportunity?

Surprisingly, after only two weeks on the job I ran into Sam Warren, an old friend with at least as many ghosts in her closet as me.  She'd been working as the Gallia's choreographer for about three years before I came along, but was off dealing with personal issues when Derrick originally hired me.  Ironically, we didn't hit it off too well at first...in fact we didn't even recognize each other...which is understandable I guess, since we hadn't seen one another in about twelve years.  However, despite the rough start, we easily got reacquainted and now there's not a week that goes by that we don't spend time together.  Work not included, of course.

Sam's never been big on the male species...lots of trust issues...but when I told her about Seth she demanded to be introduced - which is where we're headed now.  I also want to borrow some of the Gallia's supplies to put the finishing touches on our AkibaCon costumes; Sam told me Derrick wouldn't mind...as long as I didn't completely raid the costume closet.

We pull into the Gallia's almost empty parking lot and get out of the car; there isn't a rehearsal today, but I know Sam's inside, probably working on battle choreography for the next play.  It looks like Derrick's here, too - not that I'm surprised.  Sometimes I wonder if that man even has a home.  Stepping out of the car, I get out my key to unlock the front door, admiring the theater's facade for what must be the millionth time.  It's a little run down, but has the classic feel of an old 1950's movie house.

Seth peers over my shoulder as I open the door.  "Wow, classic on the outside and ultra modern on the inside - sweet!  I can't believe it took me so long to check this place out!"

After locking the doors back behind us, I reach for his hand, pulling him close.  With our faces only inches apart, I reply teasingly, "Well, it's your own fault for never trying out.  We're doing a casting call for The Scottish Play soon..."

Seth wrinkles his nose in mock disdain.  "I thought this director of yours was known for thinking outside the box.  What's so exciting about Shakespeare?"

I slap at his shoulder playfully and then pull him deeper into the theater. "You didn't let me finish.  It's set in the distant future - a colony on Mars.  The 'witches' are actually Martians trying to turn all the colonists against one another so that they can have the planet back to themselves."

Seth chuckles.  "Well, that's a bit more...original."

I waggle my eyebrows at him.  "So you'll audition, right?"  He shuffles his feet, refusing to meet my eyes.  "You know you'd be good at it," I continue.  "Your roles at school have always been amazing."

He sticks his tongue out at me with a wink.  "You have to say that because you're my girlfriend." I start to protest, but before I can get a word in he changes the subject.  "So where's this friend I keep hearing so much about?  Isn't that the whole reason we came today?"

Sighing to myself, I let it go.  Seth loves acting, but he's always been too nervous to try out for anything more than one of our school plays.  I keep hoping, now that I'm working at the Gallia, that he might begin to feel a bit more comfortable with the idea of performing in a different venue.  "Alright, alright.  She's probably upstairs somewhere."  As I lead Seth through the halls, he gets a sort-of whirlwind tour of the Gallia's layout before we wrap back around to the front of the building, eventually finding Sam upstairs in her 'office' - a makeshift desk set up in one corner of the rehearsal room.  She's nursing her cup of afternoon coffee and talking angrily into her cell phone.

"Look, it's been over a week - I just want to know HOW he got my address!"  There's a pause as she listens to someone on the other end; she hasn't noticed us walk in.  "I'm not trying to tell you how to do your job, I just..."  Another pause as she listens.  "Alright, fine, do whatever you want, just make sure he leaves me alone from now on."  She slams the phone closed, still fuming.  "Incompetent, no good, son-of-a..."

"Hey Sam!  Look who's here!"  I interrupt quickly before Seth's eyes can get any wider.

She spins in her chair, obviously startled, a slight flush on her cheeks, although I can't tell if it's from anger or embarrassment.  Her stare turns just a little bit wicked as she looks Seth over.  "So this is your infamous boy toy, huh?"

"Put your claws away," I warn with a chuckle.  "Seth Kysely, I'd like you to meet Sam Warren."

My friend eyes Seth for another minute before standing up and holding out her hand.  "It's nice to finally meet you, Seth; Aiden never seems to shut up about you."

Seth shakes her outstretched hand with only minor trepidation and replies with a smile, "I hope she's been saying good things or I could be in trouble."

I walk to Seth's side, taking his hand and wrapping it gently around mine.  "Now how could you think that I'd be saying bad things about you? You don't say bad things about me behind my back, do you?"

Seth smiles down at me, kissing my temple; a blush rises quickly to my cheeks, but I don't care.  "There's nothing bad to share; you're perfect, Aiden." Seth tilts his head closer to mine and our lips meet.  I smile into the kiss and begin to reciprocate...

"Please, for the love of God, no PDA in the rehearsal room!  I have to work in here, remember?"

I roll my eyes, giving Seth's lips one final tug with my own.

"Weren't you two here to do a fitting?" Sam asks, voice just a decibel or two louder than normal.

"Okay, okay," I reply, pulling away from Seth to give her a playful slap on the shoulder.  "I get the hint."

Grabbing Seth's hand, I pull him down the hall and into my office - aka, the costume closet. It's not really a closet, of course - there's plenty of space for racks and racks of clothes and a huge table scarred from years of costume creation.  "Ah, home sweet home!" I say with a grin.  Leaving Seth at the entrance I make my way into the maze of material, winding through the racks until I come to the costumes I'm looking for.  This year we're going as Aya Fujimiya and Ken Hidaka from the Weiss Kreuz OAV; not the most complicated costumes I've ever done...but I can't wait to see Seth in all that leather!  Pulling Aya's outfit and wig off the rack, I head back to my boyfriend, still waiting patiently by the door.

"The official guys' dressing room is downstairs if you want to use it.  Otherwise, there's a small bathroom at the end of the hall on your right.  Put everything on and then come back here so I can make some adjustments and get the wig in place. I'm pretty sure everything's going to fit fine, but you need to tell me if there's anywhere that's too loose or too tight, kay?"  Smiling, I hand him the costume, leaning in a bit closer than necessary to brush my lips across his jaw.

Seth whispers into my ear, "Who needs a dressing room?  I don't mind changing right here..."

"Well, that makes one of us," Sam quips from behind him.

My boyfriend jumps slightly, and we pull quickly away from each other.  "She's kinda scary," he mouths to me before giving me a wink and walking off to find the dressing room.

I chuckle, shaking my head.  "Sam...you really don't like men, do you?"

My friend shrugs with nonchalance.  "I don't hate them...they just have to earn my respect...my trust."

"But I trust Seth, isn't that enough?"

"There were a lot of people that trusted him, too," Sam whispers, almost to herself.

Sighing, I decide it's best to change the subject.  "Hey, will you help me get the other costume and all the accessories laid out on the table?"

Sam quirks an eyebrow.  "I thought you were done with the other costume?"

"I am...but I was hoping once I got Seth's finished you could maybe take some pictures..."

She nods in agreement and the two of us quickly get everything spread out; I watch as my friend fingers Aya's sword with interest.  "You know," I say slowly, sidling up next to her.  "You'd make an epic Yohji."

Sam jerks her head up to stare at me in shock.  "What?!  Oh!  No, definitely not!"

"But..."

"No, Aiden.  A convention like that...even with my meds...it would be sanity suicide."  She shakes her head...almost sadly, it seems.

I decide not to push the idea too far...not yet, anyway...but my sigh is full of melodrama.  "Well, you can't blame me for trying, right?"

Sam shrugs with a smile and asks, "Do you want me to help you change?"

Shaking my head, I reply, "Not yet, I want to finish up Seth's costume first."  I brush my hand lightly over the Ken wig, studying my stitching.  Making my own wigs was one of the first things mom taught me how to do.  With all the chemo I've gone through, having a variety of hair choices to pick from makes me feel a bit more in control.  Granted, I don't have to go through chemo anymore, so I could technically grow my hair out, but the wigs are so much fun...and I still can't bring myself to believe the leukemia is truly gone.  So, for now, I use the wigs to express myself - my mom isn't too fond of some of my more...original designs, but Seth, on the other hand, likes everything I make.  I just wish I felt comfortable telling him the real reason I wear them...

"Maybe it's time for you to tell him..." Sam says quietly, as if reading my mind. "I mean, you've known Seth for how long now?"

"I...I can't," I whisper, crossing my arms defensively over my chest.  "He watched his mother die of cancer when he was only 11; he held her hand.  Seth...never really got over it.  I don't know how he'd react if he knew the truth.  Besides, is it wrong to want to be a normal person for as long as I can...?" I trail off, finally looking up to meet Sam's gaze.

My friend sighs.  "Aiden, if he really cares about you, it won't matter.  True, he might get mad at first; leukemia's a pretty big secret to keep from someone, but..."

"Seth! Hey, that looks really good on you!" I cut Sam off as my boyfriend appears in the doorway.  Stepping into the room, he nods silently looking back and forth between the two of us, eyes narrowed slightly.  Trying to ignore his gaze, I busy myself with examining the outfit's hems.  When Seth remains quiet, I ask, my voice wavering just slightly, "Does everything fit okay?" He nods, but still says nothing.  I glare fiercely at Sam over Seth's shoulder.  Eyes wide and unhappy, she mouths, "Sorry."

"So," Seth says, his voice tight.  "What were you two talking about?"

Sam glances over at me nervously, before replying, "They're lines...from a script Derrick and I are working on.  I was, um...asking Aiden if she thought they sounded realistic enough."

We're in silence again as I kneel down to check the length of the trench coat, but I'm too flustered over what's happened to do any more than tug at the hem.  Seth lets the quiet drag on for what seems like an eternity before saying, "Well, Aiden, what do you think, we're the lines real enough for you?"

His stress on the word 'real' drips with sarcasm.  Staring at my hands on his hem, I can only nod, unable to meet Seth's penetrating gaze.

"Sorry, what was that...I didn't hear you..."

Suddenly Derrick's voice shouts down the hallway, "Sam, where'd you disappear to?  I have a question about those mats Jason said we could borrow."

There's a sense of hesitation before my friend shouts back, "Gimme a sec, I'll be right there."

I want to look up, to beg her not to leave me here...with him, but I'm frozen, unable to do anything but cling to the coat dangling in front of me.

"I, uh," Sam hesitates.  "I'm gonna go see what Derrick needs.  You two...you should talk...about...stuff."

As her footsteps fade out of the room, I silently curse my friend for leaving me alone.

The silence seems to stretch on forever before Seth, voice cold and accusing, finally asks, "Why didn't you tell me?!"  I can't help but flinch at his tone, my eyes starting to tear up.  Still unable to speak, all I can do is focus on his feet and shake my head.  "At least stand up and look at me!" he shouts, bending down to grab at my arm.  He pulls sharply, dragging me to my feet and my eyes finally meet his.

I've never seen him so angry, but somehow I manage to find my voice.  "I just want to live a normal life, to forget for a while that this stupid disease even exists."

Seth pushes me away from him, a look of disgust on his face.  "If you truly cared about me you would have said something!  You know how I feel about..."  His voice cracks and catches, stopping his words.  His eyes burn with betrayal.  "How could you lie to me this way?!"

I know I should say more, but all I can manage is, "I'm sorry," over and over again as tears begin streaming down my cheeks.  Reaching out for him, I mumble, "Seth, please...”

"Stay away from me!" he shouts, swinging his hand full-force against my cheek with a resounding smack.

Stunned, I stumble backwards, tripping over my own feet and falling, arms first, into the nearest rack of clothes.  The metal rack and several of the surrounding ones clatter to the ground, the clothes doing little to break my fall.  I look up at Seth in shock, unable to fully comprehend what's just happened.

Suddenly, before either one of us can say a word, Sam is racing into the room and yanking Seth away from me by the collar of his costume.  I wince as the sound of ripping fabric fills the room.  She throws him up against the wall and traps him there, white-knuckled hands gripping the front of his coat.  "Don't you ever, EVER touch her again!"  My friend jerks him away from the wall and slams him back again, as if emphasizing her point.

Derrick appears in the doorway, shouting "Sam, stop!" but he makes no move to interfere.

She ignores him, hate-filled eyes focused entirely on Seth.  He tries to squirm out of Sam's grip, but her hands are locked onto the costume.  "Let go of me, you crazy bitch!"

But she only tightens her grip and leans in close.  "Listen to me, you little punk."  Her voice is calm and quiet, but I can sense the danger behind it...and from the look on his face, Seth can too - he stops moving.  "You are going to carefully take off that costume, and then you are going to leave this theater and never come back.  If I so much as THINK I see your face, I will pound your ass into the ground so fast you won't know what hit you."  She releases him and takes a small step backwards, but never takes her eyes off his.  "Now strip!"

Seth stares at her incredulously.  "You can't be serious, I'm not going to..."

My friend's eyes narrow dangerously.  "I said STRIP!"

Derrick tries again to interrupt.  "Sam..."

Without taking her eyes off of Seth, who, to my surprise, has actually begun to remove his clothes, she says to our director, "Maybe you should do something useful instead of just standing there...like check on Aiden."

Derrick looks guiltily over to me, where I'm still sprawled on the floor, and immediately moves across the room to help.  "Sorry," he whispers as he helps me to my feet.  "I just...I don't think well in situations like this..."  He grimaces and I smile weakly, tears still trickling down my face.

We both turn back towards Sam and Seth, the latter of which is now dressed in nothing but his boxers.  Sam nods at Derrick.  "Our director will take you back to the dressing room to get your clothes, then he'll walk you to the exit.  Don't try anything stupid; I've got the cops on speed dial."

Seth refuses to meet my gaze as Derrick escorts him from the room.  Sam stoops down and picks up the Aya costume, folding it carefully before bringing it over to me.  "Sorry," she says quietly, placing the garments in my arms.  "I think I messed up the collar."