Cosplay Shenanigans

0 - of encounters and eye contact

June 2018, 01:18 PM.

Abel Eastwood could never fathom why people could empathize with characters who never showed their emotions.

He didn't know which was worse. The fact that they always had tragic pasts he could predict even with his brain switched off, or the fact that it took him a huge amount of energy to understand their thought process. Everything allegedly sad about them just turned him off. He rolled his eyes and snorted whenever cosplayers gushed on about them and how they touched their fragile hearts.

What's so cool about them, anyway? He huffed and folded his arms, looking away. They always go mope around and force others into their gloomy world.

Abel faintly sighed as he scanned through the vicinity, scrutinizing people's costumes and speculating which show the characters they impersonated came from. He struggled to recognize a few, but for the rest, he mentally named them all in a heartbeat. Oh, she's the one from that magical girl show, she's that Raven girl and he's He-Man...

"Oh my gosh, can I take a photo with you please?!" cried out a young girl, snapping him out of his guessing game. She furiously skipped towards him before he could take another step. Gripping her phone tightly, her eyes glinted while she ogled Abel's sleek outfit up and down.

"Heh. Sure thing, sweetheart."

He promptly flipped his cape as his lips broke into a satisfied smirk. With a broad grin, he held his head up high and posed as elegantly as possible. As expected, the girl practically screamed her head off, drawing the attention of the others nearby... unfortunately not in a pretty way.

At least he nailed the character straight to the point.

My efforts are not going to waste. I always did my best. Abel mentally chuckled, sauntering through the aisle and flaunting his amazing apparel. All the camera flashes and squeals around him made his confidence shoot up the charts. People, particularly the ladies, had always approached him and took countless pictures of his breathtaking cosplays. Needless to say, his costumes were the absolute best, after all.

Moreover, a few even asked for his signature.

Take that, Charlotte. Abel couldn't contain himself from smiling so widely throughout the whole scene. He inwardly snickered; he obviously had proved his best friend wrong. She had been constantly making a fuss about his choice of cosplay, to which of course, he paid no heed to.

However, he wasn't prepared to witness a barrage of people clustering all over this one cosplayer, who just... seemed indifferent. While the crowd were completely head over heels by her overall looks, this particular woman never gave a single damn.

What the heck?

They were desperately trying to get close to the girl, going as far as quarrelling for their turns. Abel raised his brow as the horde of people headed towards his direction, but his confusion dissipated when he recognized the girl in the center of the commotion.

Mairi Cabanila.

An experienced cosplayer whose name frequently made its way out of everyone's mouths. She was known for her unconventional manner of rarely cosplaying female characters. She was always seen dressed with various kinds of iconic suits. If Abel remembered, she sported a lustrous black hair cascading through her back with bangs falling over her forehead.

Right now though, she had a boyish cut — most likely a wig to impersonate some sort of a butler, judging from the black waistcoat and trousers. Ugh, who's the butler again? It's on the tip of my tongue...

Mairi casually strolled through the assembly, wearing a blank look despite having a large following. With a small frown and a pair of purple eyes that never seemed to spark, Abel also had a hard time deciphering what and how she was currently feeling. Heck, there was not a hint of a smile... or at least some type of other expressions.

Not that I care though.

After all, why should I? She's probably like those annoying characters.

He would never want to waste his thoughts on trying to read someone with a poker face. It really wasn't his business, but perhaps he should reconsider when Mairi's nonchalant gaze landed on him.

What was going on? Abel's muscles suddenly ceased to move, as if her apathetic eyes pinned him down. His chest forcefully pressed against his palpitating heart, which threatened to burst out of his ribs. Heck, he could even hear his pumping pulse inside his ears. The fuck, why am I feeling this way...? I'm not supposed to be like this... what's wrong with me? What's this...?

It was like she cast a spell of some sort.

Snap out of it, Abel!

Bringing himself back to reality... Mairi was no longer in front of him. Whirling on his heels, Abel noted her retreating figure in the distance, eventually assimilating within the sea of people surrounding her. A ragged breath escaped from his nostrils as he reverted to the spot Mairi formerly was.

This is just so strange.

Well, she merely acknowledged his presence, but that was the least thing Abel expected from her. In spite of being called a professional, Mairi never bothered or interacted with the other cosplayers, let alone batting an eye at them. In other words, no one was barely able to steal her attention.

Maybe she just happened to be looking at me. Don't think too much about it. Abel slapped both of his temples and took long strides as his scarlet cape swayed with such immense glory. It was nothing to be so freaked out about. Remember, people like her are difficult to understand.

Scratching his head, Abel walked out to the other section of the con, blissfully unaware of the constant glances made by the veteran crossdresser.

***

A/N: Thank you for reading, and let me know what you think of the prologue!