The End of MindCrack

Chapter 4: Minecon Lines

 "That concludes our panel today. For those interested, the MindCrackers will be avalible to sign autographs following the panel," the announcer said.

 Xavier felt Austin grab his arm and pull him from the room. "Come on. We have to hurry if you want to talk to Beef," he said.

 Xavier wrenched his arm free. He traced the outline of his eyepatch, his new nervous habit, he thought, and shook his head.

 "They'll be there for a couple hours, Austin. We can stand in line, or we can look at some of the displays in the area. We won't go too far." Standing, his stance showing a confidence he didn't feel, Xavier turned the card he'd found over and over in his pocket. Finally, Austin nodded.

 "Alright. There were a couple I wanted to see," he said.

 "And we don't have to stay together," Xavier added. "I know you're not a MindCrack fan."

 Austin frowned. "Only if- if you'll be okay?"

 Xavier nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine, man. I lost an eye," he said with a grin. "I'm not a baby." His grin widened as Austin rolled his eyes. As his friend walked away, Xavier noticed a tall red-haired man by the wall staring at the MindCrack table. When he noticed Xavier's gaze, though, the man abruptly shifted his focus. Xavier shook his head and walked over to a display some ways down the hall. The MindCrackers were going to be there for a while.

~~~

 Etho glanced around convention hall. Never in his life had he felt so nervous. He wasn't technically breaking any rules by being here, not as long as he didn't tell anyone, but he wasn't so sure that his blackmailer would be so quick to see it in the same light. Particularly when he was, in fact, looking for help here. Surely among so many people, there must be someone who would recognise his voice.

 With a sigh, he ran long, slender fingers though his red hair, not noticing when the medium-length strands stayed spiked, vaugely reminicent of his Minecraft character. Maybe if he could talk to the other MindCrackers, he thought, but that seemed almost impossible. At least, as long as the line for the autograph table still streched down two seperate hallways.

 He watched, a wry smile on his face as the handful of MindCrackers seated at the table signed picks, hats, and various other items while talking to their fans.

 He'd wanted to be there.

 He sighed again, thinking of the night when, with his Minecon pass sitting on his desk, he had sent the email to Guude instead of uploading the video he'd recorded earlier that day. It had been his attendence announcment. And now he was here and no one knew.

 He turned and walked away. Maybe he could catch them later.

~~~

 Xavier turned a corner, half lost in his own thoughts, and walked straight into the red-headed man he'd seen earlier.

 "I'm sorry," he muttered, backpedaling. "I should look where I'm goi- Hey, I've seen you before," Xavier said. He almost added, 'Staring at the MindCrackers,' but kept it to himself at the last moment.

 "My fault, too," the other man said, looking at Xavier oddly.

 "Were you looking at this?" Xavier asked, gesturing to the stand. The other man shook his head. Xavier frowned, he seemed to be trying to avoid talking.

 Xavier glanced at his watch. "Guess I'd better go. I've got a lot of time to kill."

 The other man gave him a small smile. "Yeah," he said. "You and me both."

 And then it clicked. It had been the voice that had been bothering him. It was familiar. One of the first youtubers he'd ever watched. "See ya round." He started to walk away.

 "Yeah, see ya."

 Xavier walked away confused. The voice had been Etho's, he was sure. But Etho had quit, not just MindCrack, but youtube. Why would he be here at Minecon? Particularly when he was obviously avoiding people? How else explain his short answers.

 It just didn't make sense.

 What did make sense, was why he had been watching the MindCrackers. Like Xavier and about a bagillion other people, Etho wanted to talk to them. But why wouldn't he just send them a skype message or something?

 A thought came into Xavier's head, so crazy that he immediately dismissed it. What if Etho's sudden departure from youtube hadn't been his own choice?

 But that was insane, wasn't it? No one knew who Etho was or where he lived to even think about blackmailing him. And yet, he was pretty sure that had been the famous redstoner. Xavier shook his head, putting the thought from him. It was crazy. He had probably just met a guy who happened to sound a bit like Etho and thought it was strange that a random person would try to strike up a conversation with him. Nothing more than that. He wandered off to wait in line, tracing the outline of the eyepatch.

 He still neeeded to talk to Beef.