The hairstylist finished her work and quietly stepped away, leaving the couple alone. Chris turned her chair so she could fully face him, then kneeled in front of her. His handsrested on her thighs, but it didn’t take long for them to start wandering upward. Jules caught the movement and shot him a look.
“Quickie to shake the nerves?” He teased with a smirk.
“Christopher!” Her face went all shades of pink as she grabbed his hands before they could go any further.
He laughed. “I love it when you get all rattled like this.”
She tried not to, but his stupid grin was contagious, and she found herself smiling. The joke almost worked because her shoulders felt a little lighter. Just not enough. Chris quickly noticed. His hands found hers, and his expression shifted to a more serious one. He gave her hands a gentle squeeze, trying to ground her in the moment.
“You’re safe,” he whispered, his face locked on hers. “I’ve got you.”
Jules tried to focus on her husband’s reassuring words, but the sounds around her began to blur, replaced by the distant roar of a loud crowd. The noise grew louder, like a wave crashing into her consciousness, pulling her away from the safety of that moment. The scene dissolved, the dim lighting and stark white walls shifting to something else.
She could still hear his voice, faint and distant, echoing through her mind. “I’ve got you…” But it felt further and further away with each passing second.
5
JULES
Iblinked twice, my imagined scenario dissolving as I found myself standing at the entrance of the chaotic Comic Con hall, still clutching a flyer handed to me somewhere between the parking lot and now.
How long had I been dissociating?
I looked down at the pamphlet, and his picture was right there. Chris Jones. The real one. Not the one I’ve spent way too many hours daydreaming about. His photo stared back at me. His eyes darker than they really were. Maybe the camera couldn’t quite capture the ridiculous shade of blue I’d seen a thousand times… in mydreams.
Listen to yourself.
Of course, they looked ridiculous in my head. They were not real.
A small commotion pulled my attention to the right. There was a poor girl who passed out cold, and her friend was frantically trying to carry her while holding their autographed photos like freaking relics. It made me feel slightly better about my own celebrity crush on steroids.
I inhaled. Exhaled. Okay. Dream Jules wasofficially gone, and in her place stood me, the real Jules. Sweating, exhausted, and trying not to lose her shit in front of Liam and Carol.
There were people everywhere, packed shoulder to shoulder. Superheroes, villains, and hundreds of other cosplays I couldn’t name, moved around us. Chatter, laughter, loud music. All blended into this overwhelming buzz that rang in my ears. My heart pounded.
Stop. Be human. Now.
I tried to take a deep breath, but failed.
“Are you su—” I began to ask, but Liam was already off like a rocket into that sea of people.
“Spider-Man!” He spotted something and darted toward a booth.
Fuck. Me.
I couldn’t believe I was doing this.
My body tensed while I tried hard to prevent my mind from spiraling or even going into a full-blown panic attack when a gentle hand landed on my shoulder. I turned quickly to find Carol standing there, her calmness grounding me.
“You need to remember to breathe, or people will think you’re cosplaying a zombie.” She joked, trying to lighten up the mood. I assumed I looked more pale than usual. I forced a laugh and exhaled slowly.
In front of us, Liam’s eyes were wide as he took in all the vibrant displays around him. The tables and shelves overflowed with toys, action figures, and endless rows of comic books. His gaze jumped from one thing to another until it landed on a Spider-Man comic.
Carol and I followed closely, trying not to lose him in the madness. His hands reached for the comic, carefully lifting it off the shelf as if it were sacred.
He was about to say something when a young woman in a Wolverine costume strolled over and crouched to his level.Her yellow and blue spandex suit hugged her frame, but her wide smile was the first thing I noticed.
“Do you like Spider-Man?” she asked.
