Love at Comic-Con

         Amy Miller had never been a huge fan of comic books, but she loved seeing movies and television shows made from them.  For a couple of years now her friends Lacy and Paul Jacobs had been asking her to attend Comic-Com in San Diego.  She would always say no because she didn't own one comic nor know anything about them to go to a convention.  In due time Amy did some research and found that she did have an interest in the convention.  From her online search and Lacy's photos she saw that stars from her favorite television shows made appearances at Comic-Con.  She now knew she had to attend, but she didn't just want to go with Lacy and Paul.  She wanted a nice group to go figuring it would make the experience better.  Deciding on a group of seven to ten people Amy called Lacy to invite her over, so they could brainstorm who they could invite.  Lacy said she would be there in a half hour.  Amy got paper and pens then waited for Lacy to arrive.  In no time there was a knock on her door.  Opening the door she greeted Lacy and let her in.
         "Hey Lace thanks for agreeing to help.  I know Paul and you are used to going by yourselves.  I hope you don't mind my idea to much."
         "Not a problem.  Paul and I think it is a great idea.  We were thinking we could all leave early where we can drive to San Diego.  Kind of make it a road trip." Lacy said while smiling.
         "That sounds fun.  Now all we have to do is get the rest of the crew together."  It took them almost two hours to get a list together of possible people who may want to go with them.  "Wow, it is getting late Lace I will let you head home and iw ill e-mail everyone or call them."
         "You sure you don't want me to help you?"
         "Oh, no you have done enough thank you.  All Paul and you have to do is plan out the rest, and of course work on your costumes."  Amy knew Paul and Lacy dressed up every year and she didn't want to take away from the time they need to prepare.
         "Okay, well call me if you need anything from me."Lacy said while putting her coat on.
         "I will and I will also keep you updated on who is all going."  Amy showed Lacy to the door and went right to work on her invites.

One Week Later

         Amy ended up having four more people than planned.  A couple of the people she was surprised agreed to go to Comic-Con.  One of them was Ben Cooper who worked in the same office.  The only reason she sent invites to any of her co-workers was so they couldn't say they weren't invited.  Amy never expected anyone from there to accept let alone Ben to.  Ben was more of a sports man.  He watched only what he considered manly.  She already knew not to expect to much from Ben.  He did agree to drive which helped with the problem of making sure there was enough cars.  The next ten people to accept were: Amy's sister Ashley, her boyfriend Mike Turner, Doug Harris(friend from high school), Blain Moore(friend of Lacy's), Neil and Nick Jacobs(Paul's brothers), Brigid Green(mutual friend of Amy's and Lacy's), Brittney Holten(Lacy's sister), Chris Watson(Paul's business partner), and Daniel Gillman(Amy's neighbor).  Amy knew this would be an interesting trip she just didn't know how interesting.

Five Days Earlier

         Ben Cooper was checking his e-mail when he opened one from his co-worker Amy Miller.  After reading the e-mail he chuckled to himself.  Did she just really invite him to this childish event?  Ben has noticed a couple of other people from work on the recipients list.  He knew none of those people would go heck he didn't want to go.  It was the fact that Amy invited him that he would accept and go to this sure to be boring event.  Amy was 5'4" with dark brown hair that was to the center of her back.  Her eyes were just amazing; a beautiful hazel color with a sparkle.  Ben would swear there were diamonds in her eyes.  The only thing that surprised him about liking Amy was she wasn't real skinny.  She has curves and boy he loved them.  All her curves were natural and assets were not paid for either.  No matter how much he tried to tell himself he didn't really like her; he became more drawn to her.  Ben wasn't a model himself, but he likes to think he was the non-famous GQ man.  He was 6'6" well built, had a six pack, medium short brown hair, and brown eyes to match.  He took good care of himself by eating healthy and exercising daily.  He knew Amy liked his appearance who didn't, but knew she would never give him the time of day.  His only plan for this trip was to try to get to know her better and knew if he offered to drive all he had to do was get her to ride in his car.

Two Months Later

         Amy was not enjoying the beginning of her trip.  She was not even sure how she ended up riding shotgun in Ben's car with Chris, Daniel, and Blain.  She knew this was pretty much going to be a car ride from hell.  Daniel was kind of interesting. She didn't know a lot about him and had lived next door to him for three years.  Amy remembered the day she sent out the invites; that Daniel showed up at her door with a huge smile on his face.  He just started rambling on about how he went to Comic-Con so many years ago and loved to go again.  Amy tried so hard not to laugh at the way he acted.  This memory brought a smile to her face.  Amy had not noticed that Ben was paying attention to her until he started to talk.
         "What are you thinking about to make you smile?" He asked as he put his attention back on the road.
         "Oh, nothing I just was thinking about something."
         "Or do you mean someone?" Ben asked with a wink.  He was holding onto a little hope that she could possibly be thinking about him.  He had hoped that he could just have her in his car.  The renting of a ten passenger van on Paul and Lacy's part ruined that for him.  He was just happy she ended up in his car.
         "No, I don't mean someone Ben.  Shouldn't you be keeping your attention on the road?"  Amy was not about to embarrass Daniel by talking about how excited he was for this trip.  Not like he would notice the difference right now.  He was wearing headphones and his head was steadily into his laptop.
         "My attention is on the road.  As my copilot you have to keep me awake, so I can stay focused."  Ben said this because he was dying to get to know her, but she spent three hours not talking to him or in that fact anyone in the car.
         "I do, I was not aware of that.  No one had given me an instruction manual for riding in your car."  Amy was getting a little annoyed with Ben at this point.  She just wanted a quick ride after she saw who she had to ride with.  She had packed her IPod and had her cell phone that is all she needed to survive this trip.
         "Ouch Amy.  Your tone can be hurtful.  I am just saying with Daniel in his own world, and Chris and Blain keeping each other company talking about not and playing games online.  It would be nice for someone to talk to me, so I don't get bored and fall asleep at the wheel.  Sorry I am bothering you."  Ben stated while keeping his full attention on the road.  He was actually hurt.  He knew they didn't talk much at work and knew his ego showed a great deal there.  He just never thought that Amy disliked him.  She was the only reason he came, but he wasn't about to tell her that.  At this point Ben was thinking he could drop them off and head back home.  He didn't mind wasting the money, but that would leave the other three without a ride back home.  He couldn't do that.  He didn't want Amy to completely hate him.
         "I'm sorry.  I just didn't have this planned for my trip.  I was supposed to be in the van discussing details of Comic-Con with Lacy.  I also wanted to hear about her costume.  I know once we get there Paul and her will be in their routine and I don't want to hear about it later."  Amy stated while putting her hand on Ben's forearm.  She never meant to hurt his feelings.
         "You do know you can talk to me about any details of Comic-Con you know, or what you hope for?"  Ben asked trying to save what was left of their ride.  He knew he would never be able to stand the silence in the car with the tap tap tapping of keyboards.  He could have turned on the radio, but didn't want to bug everyone else.
         "Well I hope to meet some of the actors and actresses from my favorite television shows.  Some of them participate with Comic-Con."  Amy said with a huge smile on her face.  That alone fueled the excitement for the whole trip.
         "What are your favorite shows?"
         "My favorite shows are Doctor Who, Torchwood, The Big Bang Theory, Psych, and Supernatural."
         "I have heard of all of them expect for Torchwood."  Ben said with hopes that would keep Amy talking.  He loved the way she smiled as she went on to describe Torchwood.
         "Well Torchwood is a spinoff of Doctor Who.  The character Captain Jack Harkness that was introduced with the 9th doctor got his own show.  The show is about the same.  Every episode Jack has to save the world from extraterrestrials and supernatural threats."
         "I see I might have to look that show up.  Well everyone has a favorite character on the shows that they watch, so who are yours?"  Ben turned his head a little bit to look at Amy.
         "For Doctor Who it is always the doctor no matter who plays him.  My favorite actor for the doctor was David Tennant.  For Torchwood it is Captain Jack of course.  Then The Big Bang Theory it is Sheldon all the way.  Now for Psych it is Shawn, which really only makes sense in my eyes.  For Supernatural it is hard to choose I enjoy Dean and Sam both."  Amy couldn't help but smile and be excited about the conversation.  These shows were the reason she was attending Comic-Con.  Amy of course couldn't be the only one talking. She was hoping he wouldn't change the topic to all sports.  "What do you like to watch Ben?"
         "I watch NCIS, Law & Order SVU, and sports of course."
         "Yes, of course sports.  I would have never guessed."  Amy said sarcastically with a little eye roll.
         "Sorry I guess you don't watch many sports.  We can talk about something else.  What else are you excited about?"
         "I also know Lacy goes all out on her costumes, so I figure other people do as well.  I just want to see what everyone is going to be dressed as."
         "Well that does sound exciting in a way."  He said trying not to sound uninterested.
         "Don't sound so thrilled."  She smiled at him.  Amy was starting to have a nice trip with Ben.  He wasn't as bad as she thought only about 50 percent.
         "I am thrilled in a way."

Three Hours Later

         Ben was unpacking his bags in his room at the Hampton Inn.  He would have preferred to stay somewhere a little more up scaled, but it was Amy and Lacy who booked the rooms.  Ben's mind was completely on Amy.  He knew he would barely see her any on the three days they were here.  Ben had no clue on God's green earth what he was going to do.  Daniel had invited him to walk around with him, but that didn't seem like anything he wanted to do.  He just knew right now he wanted to take a nice hot shower and go to bed.  Tomorrow would start his three days of misery.
         As fast as Amy could get into her room there was a knock at the door.  It was Lacy, Brittney, Brigid, and Ashley.
         "What are y'all doing here?  Don't you have some unpacking to do?"
         "Yeah, we do, but we wanted to hear all about your car ride with two hotties."  Brigid said with a huge smile.
         "Two hotties?  What two hotties?"  Amy was lost on the whole topic.
         "Really Amy you're going to play dumb now?  We're talking about Ben and Daniel of course." Said Lacy
         "Oh, are you four sick?  You think those two are hotties?  Let's see Ben is a sports nut who doesn't care about to much else other than sports.  Daniel well he is kind of cute, but he spent the whole trip on his computer.  That is how my car ride went, so please don't rub in how much fun you guys had without me.
         "Well fine we won't tell you what we talked about the whole time."  Lacy said.
         "Don't you think it is time for you four to go to bed?"  Amy was tired and just wanted some peace and quiet.
         "We can take a hint."  Ashley said with a wink.  All four women left giving Amy goodnight hugs and promising breakfast in the morning.  Amy was exhausted and couldn't believe her friends came to her room this late for something so juvenile.
         "Daniel and Ben ha."  Amy spoke to the empty room.  When she climbed into bed that night shouldn't help, but wonder if Ben was having a good time.
The Next Day
         Amy woke up refreshed and ready to start her day.  She met the girls in the hotel lobby got breakfast.  After a bagel or two and hotel coffee they were ready to hit their three day event.  It was only a ten minute drive from the hotel to the convention center.  Amy was surprised to see Ben wasn't at the car when they went to load them.  With the lack of a driver they made from in the van a ten minute ride seemed like forever.  This gave Amy enough time to wonder what Ben was up to.
         Ben decided to sleep in a bit; his thought was why he should get up ready to go to something he really didn't want to go to.  After waking up he took a long hot shower and headed to IHop for a better breakfast than he could get at the hotel.  Even after a great breakfast he still debated to even show up, but he knew he needed to show his face.
         Amy was so excited that the butterflies were flying though her like they were trying to escape.  As they were showing their passes to get into the convention a young man was passing out itineraries for the day.  While Amy was still trying to get herself together Lacy was skimming the itinerary.
         "John Barrowman wow." Lacy said
         "Huh?"
         "John Barrowman will be here today."
         "Really? That is great.  He is one of my favs."
         "You want me to stand in line with you when he does autographs?"
         "Oh, no I know you want to join the costume contest and I don't want you to miss it."
         "Okay, well call my cell if you change your mind."
         "I will also I have a couple of hours to make the final decision."
         "Just remember you can call me."
         "I will now get out of here and go sign up for the contest.  I will stay around this area and hopefully be first in line."
         "Amy remember one thing you have to get in line early or be in line forever."
         "I will."  Amy split ways with Lacy.  Amy figured she could possibly hit two or three tables before she would need to get in line to meet John Barrowman.  What would be her luck then to choose Lynn Johnston's table.  She created one of Amy's favorite comic strips For Better or For Worse.  Since it was the beginning of the day the line wasn't too long.  When she made it to the front of the line she couldn't help, but be excited.  Lynn was so nice and answered Amy's questions with ease.  Amy left the table with a heart of hope and the first page of her autograph book signed.  The table she decided to go to was Bill Amend's.  Bill is the creator of the comic strip Fox Trot.  Bill kind of resembled one of the characters.  She didn't mind the line was long she figured she could wait and sill make it in time before the line will be too long for John.
         Ben showed up at the convention two hours after it started.  He figured he would search for Daniel and spend the rest of the day walking with him.  A couple tables in after entering the building he ran into Amy.  She was sliding her camera back into her bag and was leaving the table.  She looked amazing today or at that is what he thought.
         "Hey where are you off to now?"  He asked.
         "Oh, hey Ben.  I am in my way to the long line for John Barrowman."
         "Who?"
         "I don't have time to stand here and explain.  Every second is another person getting in line.
         "I will get in line with you and you can tell me about him."
         "Sounds like a plan."  Amy replied as they walked off together.  Ben was sure they spent over two hours and line and he was sure he knew everything he could about John Barrowman now.  That didn't matter much now.  Amy was next in line.  He loved seeing the excitement in her face.  He would have sworn she was a kid if he hadn't of known better.  The person before them is finally finishing up.  She will be next.  Right before Amy can get close to the table a staff member walks up.
         "That is all the time John Barrowman has.  If you have any questions for him save them for the panel tomorrow for the Torchwood cast. Thank you." 
         "What?" stuttered Amy all she could do was look at Ben with disappointment.
         "Amy, you can always get his picture tomorrow." Ben said
         "It won't be the same.  I could have been in this picture and had his autograph.  If I would have been further back it would have been okay, but I was next.  I just want to go back to the hotel now."
         "Okay, come on.  I will drive you."
         It was a quiet ride expect for the call from Lacy.  She had got second place for her Arwen Evenstar costume.  He could tell Amy was happy for her.  He dropped Amy off at the hotel and headed back to the convention.  He knew he had to do something special for her.  He also knew it was going to cost him.

Four Hours Later

         Amy was laying in bed trying to put herself in a good mood.  She was close to falling asleep when she heard a knock at her door.  When she opened the door she could have sworn she saw Captain Jack standing at her door.  Before she could say anything he kissed her.  She couldn't help herself, but to return the kiss.  When this stranger finely broke this enchanted kiss her eyes adjusted to see that it was Ben who had kisses her.
         "Ben what are you doing?"
         "I have been trying to think of a way to tell you how I feel.  After today I knew what I could do.  I stepped out of character and became someone else.  A person who kisses you without a second thought."
         "Wow, um I don't really know what to say.  Well I do have something to say where did you get the costume?"
         "Just say that you won't push me away.  Also I rented the costume from someone."
         "I won't."  Amy said as she stepped aside and let Ben into her room.  Ben and Amy spent the night together and spent the rest of their time at the convention together.  She didn't mind riding in his car on the way back home.  They promised each other they would attend next year's Comic-Con and if they got to meet John Barrowman he would hear their love story.