All the Feels (5 page)

On her phone’s screen, a reply appeared:
Username AVAILABLE.

Liv hit Accept. When she looked back up, Xander was grinning, and suddenly she was, too. He lifted the fry box, offering her the last one.

“You’re serious about this, aren’t you?”

“Absolutely.” Liv pointed at him with the end of the fry. “So are you in or not? The revolution can’t start without you.”

He winked. “I always had a soft spot for Che Guevara.”

*   *   *

Spartan Forum, 2:15 a.m.

New thread, topic: Spartan Rescue Mission

@SpartanSurvived:

ATTN: All members of the Starveil Rebellion. Many of you have heard that Captain Matt Spartan, commander of the Star Freighter Elysium, has been reported missing in action. Surveillance footage from the final escape pod shows the Elysium being destroyed, but in the last hours, there have been multiple reports of an unidentified transceiver messaging in the Omega Quadrant.

We need you, soldiers. Spartan needs you. Look for evidence. Find reports, word-of-mouth testimony, footage if you can. If we have any hope of finding Spartan alive, it will come down to your ingenuity and determination. This rescue message must spread far and wide. Post your findings on all fandom platforms using the hashtag: #SpartanSurvived

THIS IS YOUR CALL TO ACTION.

@SpartanSurvived

Liv chewed her lower lip, rereading the text once and again. Leaving a post like this on one of the busiest
Starveil
forums was a call to arms. It was so outrageous—so arrogant—she couldn’t doubt the potential for ridicule. Trolls loved tearing apart things like this. And if they decided to start flaming her post, they’d burn her idea down to the ground. But if she didn’t post it, she’d never know.

Her fingers drummed on the armrest.
Post or not.
That was the big question.

Liv lifted her phone, scrolling through her texts. There was one from Joanne. It had arrived while she was out with Xander.

@JoesWoes:
So upset over that stupid ending, Liv. How do you get over losing a character you love? Spartan’s REAL to me. He’s my baby, you know?:(

Liv
did
know. He was her baby, too. He was everyone’s! And by killing off the character, the creators had wounded an entire community of fans. She reread Joe’s text, her finger hovering over Reply for a long moment.

She set the phone down again.

Her gaze darted back to the computer screen.
THIS IS YOUR CALL TO ACTION.
If she posted this, it needed to be real. She needed people to believe Spartan could come back. They needed to trust that he’d made it out of the ship. It couldn’t just be fangirl to fangirl, writing
Starveil
AUs that never really happened. This would be the guerrilla warfare of character ships. The fans would have to reweave the details they had into a new explanation of those last seconds of film. They’d take no prisoners, leave no wounded fans behind. But, as in any war, that meant the intel behind the revolution had to stay secret for as long as possible.

Fandom had to
believe
.

Liv released her breath, heart beating in her temple.
It’s up to you to make your happy ending.

She hit Post.

3

“I SOLEMNLY SWEAR THAT I AM UP TO NO GOOD.”

(
HARRY POTTER AND THE PRISONER OF AZKABAN
)

Saturday morning Liv woke to the sound of the garage door closing. Her mother had the day off, but she went in for a few hours each weekend and had done so for as long as Liv could remember. The house was cold, and an icy wind rattled the bedroom windows. Liv rolled over and pulled the covers over her head, waiting for sleep to retake her.

Heady warmth spread through her limbs. Behind closed lids, images flickered: the video she’d done for her final project last semester, the girl in the audio lab who always asked Liv for help with the anticrackle effect, Xander dragging her through fabric stores so he could pick out “the right brocade,” the new
ONLY ONE MAN CALLS ME DARLIN’
T-shirt Liv wanted to buy.

“You ready, darlin’?”

The alien bug crouched, ready to attack.

“G’bye, Spartan.”

Liv’s eyes snapped open. With a groan, she whipped off the covers and swung her legs off the bed. No point in sleeping if
that
was what she’d dream about. Twenty minutes later, she was back in bed, albeit showered and dressed, with a cup of tea on the bedside table and her laptop balanced on her knees. Out of habit, she opened her e-mail.

Three hundred eighty-seven messages.

Liv blinked in confusion. “What the…?”

The hundreds of messages had one source: her Spartan post from the previous night. With shaking fingers, she scrolled through them. Tweets, replies, likes, and, most exciting of all, “evidence posts”—at least fifty of them—filled the screen. These were getting their own reposts and replies, too. She leaned back against her pillow, heart pounding.

#SpartanSurvived had taken off.

Liv fumbled for her phone and flicked off airplane mode. It began to vibrate in her hand, four separate tweets from Joe, Brian, and two other fangirls appearing.

@JoesWoes:
@LivOutLoud OMG Liv-GET ONLINE! Something’s going on with Starveil. O_O

@StarVeilBrian1981:
@LivOutLoud Check out the new manip I just posted:

New Spartan post, btw. You should do a vid or something.

@SpartanGrrl:
@LivOutLoud Liv! LIV! LIIIIIIIVVVVVVVV!!!! Where ARE you??? There’s a Spartan revolution about to begin!

@VeilMeister:
@LivOutLoud Check out this post, bb.
http://tinyurl.com/Starveil3

“Oh my God!” Liv gasped as the realization hit her. “I’m trending.”

Liv started to type an answer to Joe’s tweet, then stopped and deleted it. It felt important she keep anonymous, at least for now. It wasn’t supposed to be a joke. It was a call for action. She flicked back to VeilMeister’s tweet. Not just a call to arms, a Spartan revolution.

Grinning, she finally decided on Xander. Besides being her friend, he had absolutely no connection to the
Starveil
fandom. Even if he accidentally said something online, it wouldn’t matter. The only people who really knew him were the steampunk crowd. Besides, he
needed
to be in the know, since they had a vid to film. She wrote half a page of text, then deleted it after all, calling instead. The phone rang three times before a sleep-laden voice answered.

“Liv?” Rustling echoed in the background. “You all right?”

“I’m fine. I just need to talk to someone.”

“So text me,” Xander mumbled. “Goodness. What century were you born in?”

“But I need to talk to you
now
, not three hours from now!”

“I cannot imagine anything that can’t wait three hours.” The sound of yawning came through the phone. “There are reasonable ways to wake a person in the morning, you know.”

“From someone who prefers an inkwell to a Sharpie,” Liv said, giggling, “you are a surprising technology snob.” She peeked down at her computer screen. Forty-six new notifications had arrived in the time since she’d woken. “So are you awake yet?”

“Mrrrph. I’m trying … I really am.”

“I’ll take that as a yes. I need you to go online, Xander.”

“As in right now?”

“Yes, now.”

“But I’m so tired,” he moaned. “Can’t this wait?”

“No.”

“Honestly, Liv. How are you awake at all?”

“Please, Xander,” she pleaded, “just do it.”

“All right … let me grab my tablet.” He yawned again. “Okay, I’m online. This better be good.”

“I need you to go to the
Starveil
wiki.”

There was a pause. “Are you joking? You know how I feel about
Star
—”

“Just GO.”

“Fine … But only because it’s
you
asking, dearest.” Liv heard him moving around, the phone being shifted. “All right. I’m over on the dark side. You’d better have the cookies I’ve been promised.”

Liv giggled. “Now find the list of Spartan forums.”

“Where? I don’t see it,” Xander grumbled. “This is really the
worst
-designed fan page I’ve ever—”

“They’re over on the left side of the page. You see them now?”

“Um … yeah. Yeah, I got it. Which one?”

“Just click on the search box at the top of the list and type in Spartan Survived.”

There was a pause.

“Okay,” Xander said. “I’ve got about a hundred different results. Which one?”

“All of them!” Liv laughed. “That’s me! I’m trending.”

There was a pause of several seconds.

“That’s …
you
?”

“Yes! That project I was telling you about last night? I kind of started it on my own. I put out a post. It should be the first one on the list.”

Liv heard him moving about, sheets rustling. Xander’s voice returned, brighter than before. “Is this the Spartan Rescue Mission post?”

“Exactly! It’s trending. I’ve got like…” She refreshed her e-mail browser, eyes widening at the new list. “Close to five hundred replies already.”

“Are you kidding me? This is for freaking
Starveil
. Unbelievable!”

Liv choked back laughter. “Don’t be mad,” she teased. “I’m sure steampunk will have its day.”

She could hear the grin in Xander’s tone. “It already does, Liv dearest. You just have to meet
real-life
people at cons to truly experience it.”

“So you keep saying.”

“Then why don’t you come with me this summer? Dragon Con is something you must experience to understand. Arden and I are already planning our dual cosplay.”

Liv rolled her eyes at the mention of Xander’s girlfriend. “Wouldn’t that be … kind of weird?”

“Why would it be weird?”

“I dunno … With Arden and you, and then … me?” Liv laughed. “I’m not excited to be a third wheel.”

“Pfft! Arden adores you. Besides, every room is packed that weekend. That’s just how Dragon Con works. My cousin’s coming, too. We could find room for you, if you wanted.”

“I don’t think so. But thanks.”

“Not a problem,” Xander said. “And seriously, Liv, this whole thing you did with the
Starveil
post is fantastic. Bravo, dearest! Five hundred overnight is … It’s amazing! I’m in awe.”

“Thanks, Xander. That means a lot.” She grinned. “So are you ready to start a revolution?”

He chuckled. “I think it’s already started.”

*   *   *

“Where does the belt go?” Xander’s irritated voice came, disembodied, from the other side of the door.

“In the belt loops.” Liv laughed.

“Not
that
belt,” he said. “The other one. The, er … fancy one.”

Liv frowned in confusion. There
was
only one belt on the costume she’d handed him. She closed her eyes, ticking through the different parts of the resistance uniform.

“Can you describe it for me?”

“It’s got these, um … silver things glued to it?” Xander made a snorting sound. “I don’t know, Liv. This is all a bit showy, if you ask me.”

Liv began to giggle. “That’s not a belt. That’s a bandolier for your blaster.” Her laughter grew. “It goes across your chest.”

The bathroom door opened a crack. “Blaster as in a gun?”

“Yes, Xander. Just throw the strap over your shoulder and…”

Liv’s words disappeared as the door opened the rest of the way.

Xander stepped forward. Only it
wasn’t
Xander at all, it was a
Starveil
resistance fighter. His hair was no longer pomaded into a smooth coiffure, but hung loose into brooding eyes. The signature coat of the Rebels hugged muscular arms, and rank pins twinkled on his lapel.

“Well,” Xander said, lifting a brow. “Do I look rebellious enough for you?”

Liv couldn’t speak. The words literally wouldn’t move past her slack lips. Xander’s hooded eyes suggested wicked deeds about to be unveiled, and her heart was in overtime with the mere thought of what they’d be. Liv had seen many people’s cosplay, but none had affected her like this. Her gaze moved from head to toe and back up, absorbing details like parched soil drawing in rain.

“I … you…”

“How does the rest of it look?” Xander turned in a circle, the ragged coattails swirling. It was like seeing a character from a movie alive and well in her living room. Liv’s mind just couldn’t put together Xander—with his old-world charm and debonair good looks—and this smoldering Rebel leader. “Does the jacket fit all right?” he asked. “I can’t see the back.”