ɴᴇᴍᴇꜱɪꜱ ║ ᴛᴏᴍᴍʏɪɴɴɪᴛ

Chapter 34 : Meet and greet

Hands shoved in his pockets, Tommy walked down the convention hallway. After a whole day of being asked for pictures or what not, he felt relieved in this empty space, with no one except himself and Wilbur around. They were, as usual, engulfed in random conversations about their days and so on, with not a care about what surrounded them.

Eventually they came to a turn, the hallway exiting into a much bigger part of the convention. There they spotted the massive pit of people, forming a make-shift and drousy line towards a tiny podium that had been prepared.

The meet and greet.

"Oh, there it is." Wilbur muttered as they both observed the event.

The winner of the bedwars tournament had not only been promised their prizes, but also a solo meet and greet. And since Ray's team had won, it was her duty to do it.

From what he knew, she had been beyond nervous. Yet her maneuvers showed the complete opposite- she felt relaxed and comfortable. The people wanting to see her were either girls that admired her, little kids, or beyond respectful teenage boys, so she stayed within her comfort zone.

Tommy crossed his arms, leaning against a nearby pillar.

Ray had decided on a full black outfit this time, made up of a hoodie, jeans, a pair of Jordans and silver accessories. She had put in extensions this time, as she had been changing up her hair almost every single day. Her face was concealed by a dark face mask, along with a pair of shades, just like Ranboo.

Wilbur tilted his head slightly, just to be able to take a glance at his friend. Upon noticing Tommy's concentrated frown, he smirked.

"Jealous?" Wilbur teased, bringing the latter out of thought.

"Who? Me? Not at all!" Tommy defended rather loudly, causing Wilbur to burst out into a malicious chuckle.

"I was just kidding, no worries." He assured the younger.

"I let her win, you know?" Tommy looked away snobbishly, and Wilbur rolled his eyes.

"Sure, sure." He exclaimed sarcastically. "I'm glad you did. Look at how well she's doing with all those people! I was worried because of how nervous Niki said she had been, but she seems perfectly fine."

Tommy subconsciously nodded along, gaze returning to the small figure that was once again taking a picture with yet another devoted fan.

The two decided to continue coming closer, knowing that the crowd was too distracted to notice and swarm them. They approached sneakily and quietly, standing at the side of the podium with the cover of security and staff.

Suddenly, Tommy's face turned into a grimace as he noticed the upcoming fan. Unlike the very obvious pattern amongst Ray's audience, this man looked like he could be in his 30ies, 40ies even. He wore a gross and worn out zip-up over an white t-shirt that looked stained. He paired that with a pair of simple jeans and old sneakers. The look on his face was smug, creepy, and could deter anyone.

Tommy observed him closely, his senses becoming alarmed as he got called up. He walked over to Ray, who expected him with a small wave.

Ray, who so far had remained composed and relaxed, tensed up at the maybe 180cm male that approached her.

"Hey, how are you?" She asked, trying to keep her voice stable as he stopped right in front of her.

"I'm feeling great, and you?" The man grumbled in response.

Something about him... maybe it was the look in his eyes? The awkward out stretching of his hands? The creepy smile plastered on his lips?

Whatever it was, it set off all the alarms in Ray's head.

'Let's get this over with quick.'
She thought quickly, before putting on a smile that he wouldn't be able to see anyway.

"I'm good, thanks. Wanna take a picture?" She asked politely, and the man nodded subtly.

He took out his phone, an old iPhone 6 maybe, and stood beside her for a selfie. But as Ray raised her arm to do a V, trying to keep her distance, she felt his hand on her shoulder.

This made her freeze completely.

So far, no one had done that. No one had even gotten near touching her, no one had appropriated or invaded her in such an intrusive way. Everything about his hands on her felt wrong, the feeling sending shivers down her spine.

'Just a few more seconds... few more seconds Ray.'
She urged herself on, trying to keep a stable and clean mindset about this man.

Yet the moment was short-lasting as a figure approached them with hurry. Ray gasped as the fan's hand was ripped from her shoulder, but not in an aggressive way, but rather a friendly bump.

And as she looked back up, she found that now in between the two of them stood the one and only TommyInnit.

"Hey there fella, I'm sure you don't mind if I'm in this one too." Tommy exclaimed in his usual persona voice, pointing towards the man's phone.

He clearly seemed irritated, but after a second of thought, he decided to stand next to Tommy and angle to the phone to be able to fit the three of them in a selfie.

It felt like a weight had been lifted off of Ray's heart. She couldn't help but exhale a shaky breath of relief as she told her goodbyes and the man was escorted off of the stage.

And then she looked at Tommy. And he was looking at her.

The look in his eyes resembled something shed never seen in them before. They looked at her in a warm and calm manner- as if he wanted to ask her the question.

But he didn't. Because the next fan was coming up, eyes glimmering at the opportunity to get a picture with both NightmareNyx and TommyInnit.