CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT
MCKINLEY THE PESSIMISTIC WEREWOLF
I know that’s what you all call me!?
Vampire Falls. Season two, episode sixteen – “Come Back Moon”
The final panel is always bittersweet. Felix brings the guests on stage and they usually share a running joke from the weekend or mention a cute baby they made friends with.
And we all laugh and feel warm, knowing that we’ve had a weekend of loving our favourite show and its stars, along with other Fallers who get who we are and what we’re about.
This time though, it’s more than bittersweet.
It’s bittersour, if that’s a thing. Firstly, I’m sitting in the hall alone.
I’ve spent most of the day in Vivian’s room (a sentence I never thought I would say, believe me), where I witnessed a true genius of people management and manipulation (same thing?) at work (no more brackets, I promise).
Roxy was already in Conference Hall A when I came in, sitting near the front with Dorothy asleep on her shoulder.
Fake McKinley isn’t around, which is a shame because I could have done with a dose of his exuberance. We all could.
Word has spread that the karaoke party isn’t happening and there’s a feeling of loss hanging heavy over everyone.
Packed suitcases and bags punctuate the end of the rows; I guess people don’t feel the need to stay for a non-ending.
I haven’t told a single soul what Damon Van Schwartz told me.
I can’t do it to them, and also, I don’t think it’s sunk in because I haven’t responded with an Eliza-style meltdown.
I haven’t seen Charlie. I want to see Charlie. There’s a panicky voice in my head whispering that he’s already gone, that Sadie’s gone too, and this is all for nothing. But it won’t be. Even if they’ve gone, it won’t be for nothing.
I tune back into the stage chat. Felix nods and smiles at Amber Anderson, then turns to the audience. You can see the shadows under his eyes from back here, but he smiles. The audience whoop and clap for him and the final panel.
“Thank you everyone, truly. This couldn’t have gone ahead without you, and I .
. .” His voice cracks, and the audience responds like they’re at a pantomime.
“I’ve never done this to get rich, as you know.
I just wanted to bring these guys to meet you, their fans, and it’s been a pleasure doing so for all these years.
Things will be a little different in the future, but we’ll always be Vampire Falls family. ”
“Blood is for ever!” shouts the audience.
Felix smiles and puts his hand on his chest.
“Blood is for ever,” he repeats, turning and nodding to the guests as they stand up one by one, clapping him.
There’s a massive, snot-filled sob. Yes, it’s my own.
“Before we bring this panel to a close, we actually have one more guest to bring on and introduce to you. A sort of bonus guest.”
The audience’s attention is piqued. My attention is piqued. Roxy shifts in her seat, waking Dorothy up. This is highly irregular.
“OK, OK, guys,” Felix says, waving everyone to calm down. “Damon, would you like to do the intro?”
“My pleasure, Felix,” says Damon Van Schwartz into his mic.
He gets up and joins Felix at the side of the stage.
“Now, I heard a rumour that a couple of scenes from our spin-off show, Midnight in Portland, found their way onto the internet. But I know none of you law-abiding citizens would break any laws by watching it, right, guys?”
About forty-three per cent of the audience laugh.
“The new show is set in the same world as Vampire Falls, and features the character Stellan Denver, my half-brother.I can tell you exclusively that the show has been green-lit and will be premiering next fall!”
That same percentage clap their hands. They’re a pretty enthusiastic bunch. Damon Van Schwartz waits for them to settle down then lifts the mic up to his mouth, and gestures to the other side of the stage.
“So now, it is an honour to introduce to you, my fictional half-brother and my brother from another mother, Dylan Maguire!”
Everyone looks at each other, frowning and clapping their hands, limply.
How can Conference Hall A get excited for an actor sixty per cent of us didn’t know existed?
Nevertheless, I clap the actor, whoever he is, feeling a little bad for him being introduced to his new audience at possibly the lowest point of the weekend.
And then I see who it is.
Roxy, who’s seen who it is too, spins in her seat and looks for me, shaking her head in disbelief as our eyes meet and we share a moment of true fan history.
A clean-shaven Fake McKinley, or Dylan Maguire, comes from the other side of the stage, waving to the audience.
Damon Van Schwartz greets him with an almighty bear hug.
I shake my head, laughing to myself as he takes the mic from Felix and turns to look at his audience.
He’s wearing grey joggers, perfect white trainers, and, like a cherry on top, a Vampire Falls T-shirt.
I smack my hands together so hard they sting.
I’d give anything to be sitting with Roxy right now, but I sit up straight so I can at least see how her hair reacts.
Dylan lifts the mic to his mouth and the audience quietens down, even though most of them don’t know who the hell he is.
But he is very handsome, and that T-shirt is tight, so they’re willing to give him a go.
“So, I take it from that, you guys don’t recognise me from the show,” he says, a Californian drawl surprising me. “Does this help?”
Roxy looks round at me again, mouthing what’s just popped up in my head.
He’s American!
I bob my head up and down at her and she turns back to the stage, just as he pulls a pair of black-framed glasses from his back pocket and puts them on.
That forty-three per cent of the audience reacts with cries of recognition and his character’s name, Stellan, ripples across the crowd.
The other fifty-seven per cent react to seeing a really hot guy putting on a pair of glasses. I’m somewhere in the middle.
“As my buddy Damon here just said, I play the main character in Midnight in Portland, the half-brother of Viggo Rasmussen.”
“His more intellectual half-brother,” interjects Damon Van Schwartz.
The audience laughs and Dylan throws an arm around him. We’ve never experienced anything like this, and it’s breathtaking.
“You might have read some rumours about whether the show was going ahead, due to the lead actor,” he says, pointing tohimself, “having some personal issues. While I’m not going to address any of that, I admit coming straight out of college and being from a predominantly theatre-orientated background, I did have some reservations about committing to the show.I’m aware that with shows like these, and with fans like you, you’re not just an actor showing up each week, but you’re part of the fandom.
And I wasn’t sure I was ready for that.”
The audience quietens, not sure they want to hear they can sometimes be a little intense.
“I loved the premise of Midnight in Portland, and I loved the production team, but I’m a pretty private person and wasn’t sure I wanted to open my life up to you guys. To do all this,” he says, waving his hand around the stage and the front row, “not after going through some personal issues.”
Damon Van Schwartz puts his arm around Dylan, nodding his head.
“So, I just want to tell you what I’ve learnt this weekend.
” Everyone stares at him, waiting for him to tell us that we’re too weird or vampire TV shows suck.
He looks out at the audience, his eyes moving across their faces like he’s searching for someone, and then they stop.
On me. And he smiles. “This isn’t just a fandom. This is a family.”
Everyone jumps up, clapping the newest member of our extended family. Dylan beams at the audience, putting his hand on his heart, then lifts the mic to his mouth again.
“Blood is for ever!”
“Blood is for ever!” responds the audience, throwing in some whoops and whistles.
My cheeks ache from smiling and I wipe away my tears.
“Thank you, Dylan. I’m sure you’ll have a few new members in your fang club by the time you leave.”
“Thanks, guys,” says Dylan, “that’s all from me for now, but I look forward to a little karaoke with you later.”
Felix’s face drops and the audience mood shifts from jubilation to melancholia, now reminded that we only have a few hours left together before people start leaving. Felix steps forward, his face a picture of sorrow.
“Actually, Dylan, I need to officially tell everyone this is it for the convention. Sadly, the karaoke party won’t be going ahead. You’re welcome to stay but I’m afraid there’s no equipment for a DJ or a party. I’m so sorry to let you all down.”
There’s a low hum from everyone now Felix has confirmed the rumour and their convention will be coming to a crumbling non-end. There’s a sob from the back of the hall and I look round, feeling guilty that my heart leaps at the sound of Sadie’s tears.
So, they are still here.
“Actually,” says Dylan. I turn back to the stage and everyone pauses, wondering what the new guy’s going to say. “The karaoke’s back on.”
Felix frowns and looks round at a Headset Guy just off the stage, who shrugs back. Felix turns back to Dylan.
“Who told you that?” asks Felix.
“The redhead told me,” says Dylan, gesturing to the side of the stage.
Felix goes over to Headset Guy who leans into Felix’s ear, pointing over his shoulder.
Then, anyone who isn’t looking properly would miss it, a sheet of red hair suddenly flicks up out of the shadows, followed by a hand on a hip as Felix nods at whoever’s filling him in.
Everyone around me murmurs, wondering what the hell is going on, and I sit in the middle of it all, knowing that they’re about to get the convention end they deserve.
Felix walks back to the middle of the stage and puts his hand up, looking a little shellshocked.
“OK, so in an unexpected twist of events, which I’m inclined to just go with, the karaoke party, our final karaoke party, is back on.” He turns to the guests still sitting on stage. “I hope you’ll join us?”
“Try and stop us,” Damon Van Schwartz answers for all of them.
The audience erupts in applause and there’s a particularly high-pitched squeal coming from the back.
“In that case, I’ll ask everyone to clear the hall, I’ll speak to this mysterious redhead and her associate bitch, and we’ll be back on schedule for eight. See everyone later.”
Associate bitch. I think that’s me.