Finding the Perfect Fit Pt. 22

"I..." Once more she trailed off into thought before returning with the words she wanted. "...I wish Joo Won was here. But you help keep away the loneliness, so thank you." I held her close, not telling her she was doing the same for me as soon enough, I was going to introduce her to Jamie and see where that led.

"I hope you get to see him soon." Min Seo said nothing to that but the sounds of loud talking and laughing had pulled us apart, looking around to discover people were crashing through the trees from the opposite direction we had come from. Without a word Min Seo led me up the trail and back to the official path in a hurry, shaking her head once we returned to our cars.

"Hey, once I get my apartment, you're invited over anytime. And you'll finally get to meet my boyfriend!" I knew what was coming from her and wasn't let down.

"The hippy?" The words still sounded so strange coming from Min Seo and I had to smile at hearing it.

"Sure, Jamie the hippy. Maybe we can work together to fix that?" Min Seo was confused for a moment then eager, making me laugh, giddy at having companionship and the ability to talk freely without being vague. Plus Jamie getting a makeover from Min Seo would be a thing of wonders.

With a final hug we parted ways, me returning home for a shower and to pack away the clothing I'd bought. That done, I typed and listened to music, stopping to have a conversation with Brooke, who kept being nosy about who I was dating so I kept being vague just to annoy her. It's my job as an older sister after all.

June 11

I shouldn't open every entry in this journal with "I'm so tired and horny", but if that's the truth then I should be noting it, right? One of the mechanic's girlfriends brought him lunch today, tall and with tattoos on her arms shown off by wearing a light sundress. Everyone stole looks but she was surprised to see me there, striking up a conversation while I was checking spark plugs on an older car that was close to being more rust than metal.

"So how is it here, working with a bunch of guys all day?" I glanced over, finding she was pulling off the sundress look well considering her shorter hair and ink. It was a mashing of eras and I wondered what Min Seo would think of it.

"Well, my Dad's worked here for over 20 years and Dick's basically my Grandpa so everyone minds their manners." I sat on the front end of the car, wiping my hands on a rag as we looked each other over. "Otherwise, it's a job."

"Well if Clark gives you any shit you have my permission to throw a wrench at him." She glanced back at her boyfriend, who tried and failed to look innocent, a burger in one of his raised hands.

"Nah, he's fine. Worst anyone's done is look and who doesn't do that?" The woman nodded, doing exactly that but not seeing much. I was in my usual get-up: a mechanic's one piece with the top half tied around my waist, revealing a tight, sleeveless shirt that was sure to detail the lines of the sports bra I had worn underneath it. Sure, my figure could be seen but otherwise I was all business here, not bothering with makeup as that would be utterly pointless.

"Amen to that." And she walked back to Clark, leaving me with the rust bucket and my own thoughts. I texted Jamie while my hands were still clean, got one last look at her, then got back to work. Didn't even catch her name but still, an interesting event in what was otherwise a boring day.

June 18

Tired, bored and horny. That's all I've got. Been giving my story more attention than this journal 'cause what else do I have to say? I work, eat, sleep, and text Jamie; hoping at some point he invites me over. So far, that hasn't happened. Mostly, he's been complaining about his Dad being shitty or dealing with Dairy Queen.

So yeah, no Jamie and I'm sitting on a bunch of money I can't spend yet 'cause I have to be an adult and save it. Fuck this summer!

June 23

Okay, things finally happened today. Min Seo contacted me, saying she'd bought one day passes for us to hit up the anime convention this Saturday, meaning I had to ask Dick for the day off. No big deal but I always hated asking him for anything, seeing how he'd done so much for me already. Then Jamie hit me up, asking about when we should start looking into apartments, wanting to find something around the college and Dairy Queen so he could walk to both if needed. Of course, all of this would just drop in my lap today when I had any idea for my story!

Got Saturday off, got a time set up the day after for Jamie and I to call each other in order to look for a place, and I guess I get to write until then. I'm glad to be doing something instead of spending all my time watching old black and white movies. 'The Big Sleep' is good though.

June 27

Well, today was a fuckin' event. I'll be honest, I wasn't quite sure what to expect from an anime convention considering I'd never really watched the stuff aside from catching a few episodes of whatever Ty was watching, usually the one with ninjas. So I had no idea what I was walking into, even asked Min Seo what I should wear and she just told me to dress normally, so that's what I did.

I drove to the address she gave me, ending up in the parking lot of a large hotel and knew I was in the right place instantly. Getting out of my car, there were all sorts of people around, a bunch of them younger, all heading to the hotel. A shirtless guy with a large rusty metal pyramid over his head obviously caught my eye but people cheered as the figure walked by them.

"I should have told you there are games here as well," Min Seo said in her usual quiet voice, scaring the shit out of me as I was too focused on whatever the fuck that was to notice her walk over.

"Wha? Who or what the fuck was that?!" Her gaze was disappointed as I watched the guy bend at the knees to get in the hotel without breaking his stride, getting looks from everyone else all the while.

"Pyramid Head." I glared at her for the bad joke but Min Seo said nothing more, instead handing me a lanyard and putting one on. Following suit, I started walking, this hotel being of a higher class than the few I'd stayed at before during vacations in the past. Inside was fancy with all sorts of people hanging around, a sign stating the anime convention was on the third floor. So we got into an elevator with two teenage guys, the both of them looking like they were in middle school and in shirts featuring characters I didn't know.

I had actually bothered to put on makeup and brushed out my hair until it shimmered; it was beginning to get too long but not yet out of control. I'd settled for a simple black low cut shirt, one Jamie had worn at some point, and shorts that showed nearly everything. Min Seo was dressed similarly, light shirt and shorts that had a bit more to them. So getting looks wasn't unexpected, especially from younger guys.

When the doors opened, I was treated to a freak show and Min Seo had to lead me out of the elevator onto the floor. The pyramid head guy was off to the side, talking with a seriously sexy nurse with freaky contacts that whited out her eyes. There was a bigger dude in a black robe with red clouds on it chatting with another guy in an orange tracksuit looking thing with an black and spiky obvious wig. A tall guy in a long red coat with a broad red hat walked by, his smile aimed at us and showing off vampire fangs.

At some point I'd grabbed Min Seo's hand while taking all of this in, not having expected any of it. She led me away from the elevators and towards a packed hallway, standing on her tippy-toes before asking if I could see the vendor's room. I ended up leading the charge, seeing so many references to things I didn't know every second and it was making me feel like I was a stranger in a strange land.

However, the large room lined with stalls was more familiar, having been to a few pawn shops laid out like this before. However, shuffling along with the stream of people, I realized this was the place if I wanted some posters of chicks. I ended up burning some money in that room but I didn't feel bad about it and still don't. I had cash to spare and blowing it on things that looked pretty made me feel better. The first stall had all sorts of art prints for sale and I instantly wanted the one of a blue haired woman in a typical Playboy bunny get-up that showed off her ass so well.

The average looking lady that was selling stuff turned out to be the artist, Min Seo striking up a conversation with her as I looked at all her wares; not knowing the characters but that didn't matter 'cause I understood curvy women with either innocent or pouty faces.

Three posters there, then another from a different vendor, this one just oozing raw sex, a woman with very long legs standing confidently before a darkened city street with an impractical outfit that was fun to look at. These weren't going to be ripped up as they were so much more expensive and talking to the people who'd drawn them made the idea of destroying the art too personal.

I was shocked at how much crap was on sale here, a weapons vendor displaying knives and swords, most replicas from movies and what I assumed were shows. When I asked Min Seo how the hell that was allowed she shrugged, leaving me stunned. A chick with a long, furry tail walked past us, getting my eye on her outfit but then Min Seo led me to a table covered in paperback books that turned out to be manga; Japanese comics. Then I discover yaoi towards the back of the table and Min Seo and I exchange a look before starting to flip through pages to make sure we got good ones.

I left with three, Min Seo two, my bag heavy but totally worth it. By the time we had made a full circuit, an hour and a half had passed and she told me we had to be going. Where, I had no idea but we went back into the busy hallway where I got smacked with more madness. It's a whole other world, an anime convention and I'm not sure I'm the right person to describe it. But it was the most exciting thing to happen all summer so I'm going to give it a try.

We passed by a room where a bunch of people were shouting, me peering in and seeing a room with a whole bunch of TVs set up with people gathered around them playing games. We walked by a short, skinny girl in a black bikini with stockings leaning up against the wall looking at her phone when someone yelled "Etna! Step on me!", a collective laugh going up at that. Min Seo just muttered about how well done the wig was; it being a mop of red hair in pigtails that looked like gravity defying spikes, a tread I'd noticed during my short time here.

"Where are we going?" I asked but Min Seo answered it by pointing at more open doors that had a sign out front, proclaiming it was the Main Hall and the cosplay pageant was soon. We walked in, it being less packed only due to the rows of chairs and there was a small stage set up before the seating, making it obvious even to someone as lost as me.

We took a seat away from most of the other people near the front, Min Seo sighing as she sat. I had to admit, as exciting as it was to be here it was also tiring. Nothing had prepared me for this. My fucking life hadn't prepared me for seeing Pyramid Head walk down the hallway with everyone parting before him, the front of the metal-looking mass that lacked any eye holes but he still walked with the utter confidence of a monster.

I'll say this much about being an outsider: It was a strange world but I was glad to be there. I wasn't thinking about Jamie or being tired or how much I didn't want to go to work. No, it was just a constant state of 'what the fuck' and it was refreshing in that it broke up the monotony of the summer.

"The cosplay contest will start in five minutes," an amplified voice boomed, scaring me and making Min Seo look up from her manga before returning to reading. Following suit, I dug out one of my purchases as more people came in to watch, a few of them milling around in the back of the stage. Eventually a guy who looked like he was having a long day came out and told us with a surprisingly cheery voice that the show was on in less than a minute and guest judges had arrived.

Finally the curtains were drawn back and a very peppy girl in a green tunic and long floppy hat came out and thanked everyone for being here as I nudged Min Seo and asked her who that girl was dressed up as.

"Link? From The Legend of Zelda?" It was clear she thought I was fucking with her but I honestly had no idea. It ended up not mattering as the crowd cheered and Link waved before stepping to the side of the stage to begin announcing the contestants along with the character or concept that their cosplay depicted; which was useful for my ignorant ass. The participants walked to the middle of the stage to model their cosplay, some being far more experienced as they showed off both front and back. Cheers, along with whistles, began in short order.

A buff woman with darker skin in a one piece came out and flexed, showing off to the delight of the crowd as she flashed a smile that was so sure and confident. I didn't find the muscle attractive - she wasn't a bodybuilder, just in damn good shape - but the cool assurance in herself was mesmerizing.

I was happy to see a few guys in the line up as well, the first few swordsmen from things I'd never heard of then fucking Pyramid Head tromped on stage and everyone went nuts; a guy in a green jacket with a Nerf gun soon joined him, shooting a few darts that bounced off the pyramid before running out of the room screaming with the monster silently storming off after him. The audience loved it and though I was amused, I was still very lost.

However, most of the show involved women showing off what they had, all of them starting to blur together in short skirts, tight tops, and styled wigs. Not to mention the costuming, which Min Seo gave a running commentary on, guessing at what was handmade or store bought. I was definitely entertained though, Min Seo cheering when what I figured was a Korean woman strutted her stuff on some pretty tall heels. The judges playfully bickered before giving out awards and then all the cosplayers stepped off the stage and the crowd was allowed to mingle and ask them questions. Link said there was a Smash tournament starting in five minutes; whatever that meant. But Min Seo was already headed towards a person that I had guessed was her friend.

I ended up following her, not wanting to get left alone and ended up standing off to the side while Min Seo excitedly talked with her friend. Switching the hand I was holding my bag with, I had quickly noticed that it bumped up against someone's leg and I turned to them to apologize. It ended up being a woman, of course, in a short tight skirt and a top that covered her boobs but not much else. And tall - her platform heels made her match my own height; something I wasn't too used to.

"Sorry." She shrugged, brushing pink hair out of her face, glasses with round purple lens' that were not quite hiding her eyes. I had no idea who she was dressed up as but they weren't modest, I knew that much.

"No big deal." The longer I looked at her, I noticed she was pretty beyond the interesting outfit, with full lips and a narrow, pale face. Yet there was something slightly familiar about her that I couldn't quite put my finger on. "Like what you see?"

"Yeah, neat outfit." She smirked, cocking out her slim hips while giving me a cool look. "Nice legs, too."

"Thanks! It's too bad I wasn't able to- Oh!" The slight pout on her face quickly disappeared as I felt someone behind me, the stranger's face lighting up as she looked past me. I turned around and had these thoughts in this exact order:

Holy shit boobs.

Holy shit she's tall.

Holy shit!

I actually had to look up into the beautiful face of a woman facing me with a bemused expression, her fancy jacket not meant to be closed but hanging open so her body could be seen. And what a body it was with massive breasts and wide hips clad by what had to be designer jeans. Black hair had been done into some fancy braid that hung down over her shoulder, as if reaching for her cleavage. I felt both under-dressed and impressed, a very weird combo as she looked from me to the woman I'd been talking to.

"Who's your friend, Nika?" Her voice was lower in tone, yet those sharp, dark eyes were taking me in, not in the usual approving way, but as if she was a Terminator and was scanning for threats or targets.

"I dunno, we just started talking." Nika stepped to the woman's side and aimed a stern look up at her. "Besides, we're here to relax, remember?" The dark bombshell actually sighed and looked over the babbling crowd, not quite admitting defeat but clearly admonished by the shorter, scrawnier Nika.

"Don't mind Moneybags here, she's too used to getting her own way." The taller woman glared at Nika, who returned it, the scene making me very uncomfortable before they finally knocked it off.

"Forgive me, I tend to be too possessive of Nika here." I just blinked, having no idea what I'd wondered into.

"And too high strung. Did you score some coke or something?" Nika said, getting a murderous expression from the tall woman but that didn't seem to phase her at all. "Anyway, thanks for the company! Later!"

"Uh, later?" The tall lady had recovered her stately bearing and gave me one last searching look before holding her arm out, Nika taking it before they walked off together. Eventually they were swallowed up by the press of people and then Min Seo was poking my arm, meekly saying she was going to be hanging out with her friend the rest of the day. I was invited to come along but declined, having work later and just about fried after so much consistent strangeness.

Shit's fuckin' weird! There, that's what my inner mechanic thought about the whole anime convention. Just thinking of me greasy and in my usual work garb going to the convention makes me smile then wince at the idea of handing the manga or pictures I'd bought with my fucked up hands.

Anyway I got out of that mess, back to the ground floor, and then got slapped by a wall of sweltering heat upon stepping outside. I was starting to sweat by the time I got to my car, firing it up and rolling the windows down. I got the radio good and loud and tucked my purchases away before driving home. Eventually, I got the air running and made it back safely, hopped in the shower, then laid on my bed. I could have napped but instead started writing, happy to have something substantial to chew on for a while.

It was a damn eventful day and meeting Nika at the end was a baffling question mark to wrap it up. Nika and that tall, beautiful woman had to be a couple, right? They must have an odd relationship, given how they were acting familiar and standoffish towards each. Not that I'm one to judge but... Huh.

At least I got something to put on my walls and new reading material!

June 28

Woke up, ate, and told Mom I needed some privacy as I was going to be calling my significant other and working on finding a place. I told her that not out of any malice but just so she knew what was going on. To her credit, she wasn't at all surprised and figured now would be a good time to take Ty and Brooke shopping. I thanked her, got some water, then returned to my room to get my computer and phone ready.

At noon, Jamie called me and we exchanged some small talk, his voice still slightly groggy from a bad night of sleep. We got the niceties out of the way, set each other on speaker phone, and got to work. The college and the Dairy Queen he worked at during the school year were close enough to each other so we needed a place within walking distance. There were plenty available but checking reviews exposed some issues, so the choices started narrowing down pretty fast.