Page 20 of Foes & Cons
Not even Damon Van Schwartz and Amber Anderson riffing on stage lifts me from the pungent swamp of despair-excrement I’m neck deep in.Despexcrement. The crowd laughs at their Hollywood anecdotes and claps furiously when Damon Van Schwartz talks about how much he loves his dog (a Golden Retriever named Gandhi), but I’m impervious to the good cheer in Conference Hall A.
“Hi Amber, I know you’re a fan of the show,” says a man.
The audience turns to look at the man at the mic stand in the aisle, dressed as a punk version of Chester Burton, the archivist, from the multiverse episode.
“Sure am, honey,” replies Amber, smiling at him.
“Would you mind telling us what your favourite scene is that youdidn’tappear in?”
“Gosh, you guys are knocking it out of the park with these questions today, I gotta say.” Punk Chester Burton looks pleased with himself. “I know this is a favourite for you Fallers too. It’s gotta be that scene in the asylum between Lila and possessed, or non-possessed, Orion.”
Music pipes out of the speakers, sending goosebumps racing down my arms. Amber looks off to the side of the stage and smiles.
“See? I didn’t even have to tell you guys the episode name. You nailed it.”
I could hear any one of the instrumental versions of this song and tell you exactly what scene, episode and season it’s from. The version playing now is from “Just For Today”, and it triggers a pandemonium of emotions inside me. The audience claps gently over the music and I look at Charlie Chamberlain, wondering if he remembers the song too.
Because that episode, that actual scene, is where this whole thing started.
Week by week, month by month, Charlie Chamberlain fell face first forVampire Falls, and I started falling hard for him. Our time together spilt out of my living room and he gravitated towards us at school, until we became a tight little cluster.
Vampire Fallswas always on the agenda, but we’d loop and swoop around each other in conversations about anything and everything. Often it was just me and him doing the talking, and Roxy would observe as he teased me or when I made ridiculous observations that would have him in stitches. I told him everything, from my secret fantasy about Damon Van Schwartz showing up in the common room to whisk me away, to my fear that Roxy would one day realise I’m too weird for her and leave me.
He’d laugh and shake his head, saying I was ridiculous, but I’d be thrilled that he had any kind of opinion of me. I remember sharing a show theory with him, and as I explained why it’s feasible Lila was in a coma since the first episode, he pulled a tiny leaf from my hair. I spent the rest of that day twirling that curl, my heart fluttering at the memory of his gentle fingers.
I loved those lunchtime moments where he’d clock me, andthe tension would just melt from his face. I’d ask to see photos of his pug, Chuck, knowing he’d lean in closer, pressing his shoulder against mine. Roxy had teased him for being overgenerous with his deodorant, so he’d cut way back, revealing the vanilla and sweet orange aroma of an aftershave Sadie had given him for his sixteenth birthday. In the mornings, his coconut shampoo joined the mix and tingled its way from my nose to my fluttery stomach; he smelt like dessert.
There was an energy hustling between us when we were close, and it took my breath away.
Every night, as I played our interactions over in my head, analysing the type of smile I got when we said goodbye,I wondered how it would feel if he kissed me. Wonder became hope, until one day we were alone at my house.
We were watching the season three episode “Just For Today”, which routinely appears in fan top five lists. Orion is possessed by a demon that’s draining the life from him. While the gang prepare a spell to turn Orion back into a ghost (the only way to expel the demon), Lila sneaks off to see him chained up, but he’s broken free and, under control of the demon, he grabs her. Lila fights against him (that girl is scrappy) until he pushes her against the wall and we realise, from the way he looks at her, that in that moment he’sherOrion.
A single tear rolls down his cheek, his hands and eyes exploring her shoulders and her face, checking he hasn’t hurt her. Strings start up, the instrumental theme twinkling gently between them, pulling the viewers into their pain as Orion tells her he can’t fight much longer, that he’s getting lost inside the demon’s darkness.
Lila looks up at him, shaking her head as her own tears fall. Orion runs his fingers through her hair, then cups her face in his hands and leans in, pressing his lips against hers, squeezing their eyes closed as they take in the moment, take in each otherbefore she loses him. Maybe for good (spoiler: it’s not for good).
It was a moment Fallers had been waiting for since Lila and Orion danced together at the Vampire Ball in season one. I’d seen it dozens of times, so I looked at Charlie to see what he thought.
He was looking right at me.
He blinked slowly and the side of his mouth curved up in a smile, like he was preparing to be happy about something. I froze as he leant into me in slow motion and super speed all at once, then kissed me, his body pressed up against mine in the familiarity we’d built up over years of friendship.
I held my breath and put my hand on the back of his neck,a spot I’d become obsessed with, and melted into him. Suddenly, a loud clang broke us apart, and he clutched his chest, laughing because he’d knocked the remote off the sofa into an empty snack bowl. He straightened up and looked at me, like he was memorising every one of my freckles, then broke into a wide smile.
“I’ve been thinking if I didn’t kiss you soon, I’d explode,” he said, drawing a little circle on my knee with his finger. “Then there was a bang and I thought we’dbothexploded.”
I laughed, he laughed. It was us and it was cute, and I’ll never forget that moment. I think about our kiss daily and it makes my heart race and break at the same time.
Goosebumps still prickle my skin and I narrow my eyes at Charlie Chamberlain who is fixated on Amber Anderson, not a ghost of that same memory twitching on his face.
“. . . and that’s the opening ceremony, guys. Although . . .” says Damon Van Schwartz, that crooked smile of his teasing the audience into a frenzy. “I heard a rumour there’s some kind of surprise, Felix. Is that right?”
“That is correct, sir,” says Felix, without missing a beat. “We know you’re allsuckersfor surprises.”
Roxy looks at me, her eyebrow raised. I sit up from my slumped position. Felix now has my attention.
“All right. First off, Damon Van Schwartz is giving us the ultimate treat by playing with his band tonight. I can’t think of a better start to the weekend, can you?”
