"Ouch," Jane groaned as she stung her finger yet another time.

At this point, she felt like throwing the damn dress and stomping on it, which would've felt immensely childish, but also deeply satisfying. She kept losing her focus of her task and it showed in her work. It didn't happen all that often. She'd gotten the hang of sewing fast as a teenager. While she had struggled with more complicated patterns as a beginner, it also hadn't discouraged Jane. And now this dress was getting the better of her.

Jane sighed and slouched over her handiwork in defeat. She knew where her frustration stemmed from. Her thoughts kept going back to Cole Bradford. If a headache had taken human form, it would've shown up with this man's face. She rubbed her forehead before sliding her fingers through her hair. Why was he getting to her so damn easily? She'd met her fair share of annoying people in the past, just like anyone going through life would. Hell, she'd faced bullying when she'd been younger. So why was Cole different?

She decided to take a break. It didn't really matter anyway if she did. Jane was ahead of the schedule she'd set in order to prepare her next cosplay. She had more than a month left before the next event she was supposed to attend. Jane stretched, her arms and shoulders a little tense from all that time spent sewing.

Her phone buzzed. Desperate for a distraction from her costume that was going nowhere, she picked it up. The notification had come from her Instagram. What appeared on her screen made her eyes widen with shock. Once her initial reaction passed, she quickly put the phone back on her desk, as if afraid it would burn her. And maybe it would, because what the hell was this? She couldn't even start to make sense of what she'd just seen.

Maybe Jane had made this up. Maybe her stupid imagination was playing tricks on her. Too much time spent working single-mindedly on a complex task could do this to anyone. She let her chair roll closer to her desk and clicked on the screen of her cell once more.

Nope. Still there. That's definitely you. Beside Phoenix.

It obviously had been taken at Big Apple Comic Con. She recognized her attire as Asuna from Sword Art Online and Phoenix sporting his Captain America costume. She felt a flush of embarrassment creep up her cheeks. Anyone taking a look at this picture would think she was some lovestruck teenager. She could almost see the hearts in her own eyes.

God, please tell my past self to tone down all that fangirling, this is so embarrassing, damn it.

And beside her stood Phoenix, his bright smile turned her way. He gazed at Jane as if she'd made his day by stopping by to say hi and introduce herself. Which she knew couldn't be true. From what she could tell, he was just so charming and good-natured, why would he show it if she bothered him? He probably acted that way with any of his fans.

Now that she was no longer surprised, Jane took a glance at the top of the screen to see who had tagged her in that photo. This time, she almost dropped her cell to the floor.

The owner of that picture was none other than Phoenix. A quick check showed the account had been created very recently and that he'd been careful not to write any kind of personal information on it. When she switched back to the photo, she noticed the caption she'd unintentionally skipped.

Someone sent this to my email the other day. I don't know who you are, but thank you for this. Met a cosplayer I really admire on that weekend at Big Apple Comic Con. Name's Alix, go check her out, she's fantastic at what she does. Also guessed now was as good a time as any to make an Instagram for my cosplay. 🙂

Jane figured the already more than decent number of likes, comments and followers had carried over from his Youtube channel. And already her screen was buzzing with new notifs, a mix of people commenting on that photo and of others liking or following her account. But despite all that, she could only think of two things : she wanted to know who the hell had taken and sent that photo to Phoenix, but more than that, why had he taken the time to publish this? Why make his first post about her when he could've just taken a shot of his work in progress?

She just couldn't make sense of this. Jane sent the link to Amy, wondering if she had any insights to give her about this.

Amy : Yeah, I know. Figured he'd do that, the guy was just so transparent the other day. Glad he liked my photo. 🙂

Jane, infuriated, could feel her blush from earlier intensify as she tapped a quick response.

Jane : Why the hell would you do that for?!

Amy : Oh, come on. He was looking at you all starstruck, I couldn't resist.

Jane : He wasn't looking at me like that and you know it.

Amy : Oh, don't worry, I know you're freaking blind as a bat, but I went out of my way to help you and this is the thanks I get. Wow. You suck at this friend thing. 👎

Jane : You're talking as if you're helping me talk to my crush or something.

Amy : If not that, then what else?

Jane : I already told you, dammit! I admire him for his skills in cosplay and nothing else.

Amy : Methinks the lady doth protest too much.

Jane cursed at her and had they not been texting, she could've almost heard Amy's laugh ringing in her ears.

Amy : Just proving my point, really.

Jane : I hate you.

Amy : No, you don't. When your introvert ass recovers from the shock, you'll be real glad.

Knowing deep down that there was just no way to use reason with Amy in teasing mode, Jane decided to avoid answering her and checked the offending photo once more. It was a nice one though. Amy had done a good job, taking a picture from her cell with all sorts of guests getting in her way. How had she not noticed Amy? Had Jane been so stuck in her small bubble of happiness that she'd stopped thinking about her surroundings?

Jane couldn't just ignore the damn photo too. She had to acknowledge it, one way or the other.

She typed a quick comment on Phoenix's post. Play it cool, don't make a big deal out of it, she thought to herself.

She reread what she'd just written before hitting send. Thanks for the shoutout, Phoenix. It was great meeting you too! Hope to see more of your amazing cosplays in the future. 🙂

She heaved a relieved sigh. That wasn't too bad, now was it? Not flirty at all, the friendliest message to ever friend.

As soon as she put her phone back down, it buzzed again with a new notification.

Please, don't let it be from him already, she thought, then chided herself. God, stop acting like you're some teenager asking out her crush, you're just talking to this one guy you admire a lot. Ok, that doesn't really sound any less intimidating after all. But still. I don't need to be this nervous. This means nothing. Nothing at all.

With those words of wisdom in mind, she took a quick look at the reply that did indeed come from Phoenix.

Don't worry, you'll be the first to know! 😉

She felt herself sink deeper into her chair. God, she had it bad; how could such simple words make her feel like she was floating with happiness?

She smiled to herself, all the more motivated to get back to sewing her cosplay dress. Cole might be good-looking and all, but he definitely had nothing on Phoenix.

                                                ─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

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