Love Collector Ch. 12

Surprise, was very inspired today so here's a second one. It's quite different from the scene in the outline, because that one didn't make sense contextually anymore. It wasn't a big deal to Mia that he blanked out for so long, but I didn't know they were gonna have a big moment where he promised they'd talk more before that. So, it kind of had to change.

Additionally I think this served a really good narrative purpose for Oliver and will hopefully make him more likeable for learning this lesson.

---

The menu followed Oliver on the way back to the lounge. He got himself a vanilla iced coffee, opened it, and took a drink as he stared at the two options. 'Work Hard' or 'Manual'. They spoke for themselves.

In some of the games he'd played, the player was often given the choice to work harder than usual at the cost of some energy. He didn't see an energy cost listed, so Oliver figured he'd feel it with his body. Manual, though? That carried some implications that Oliver didn't like. He had a choice between fast travel and manual earlier in the day, and in that context, manual obviously meant driving on his own.

Oliver assumed this meant that picking 'Work Hard' here would fast-forward him to the end of his shift, similar to how fast travel skipped his morning drive altogether, except that time would actually have to pass for him to finish with his job for the day. If he chose that option, he had every reason to assume he'd be giving up eight hours of his life that he wouldn't get back.

The thought scared him until he realized that was already the central conceit of labor. Employment was an exchange of his time for money, and if he was right about how this worked, this would let him skip the mind-numbing grind. That was tempting, but there were other things to consider.

He wanted to talk to Mia today. Would he still do that if he skipped ahead, or would he turn into a mindless robot for the rest of the day? Oliver vaguely recalled seeing a movie when he was younger that tackled a similar issue in between rampant amounts of fart jokes and misogynistic punchlines, and from what he remembered about its plot, things didn't turn out great for the guy with the universal remote.

Oliver was of two minds.

He needed to figure out how these powers worked as fast as possible because assumptions would only take him so far. Pressing that 'Work Hard' button would instantly show him how it functioned, but there was a nonzero chance he might upset Mia. He'd just told her he'd be making a big effort to talk to her way more, and it was obvious he'd gotten her hopes up.

Whatever option he went with, he needed to choose it fast. Oliver couldn't just stand in front of the vending machine all day. The team was waiting for him back there. He closed his eyes, weighing the pros and cons of each decision.

It sucked to come to this conclusion, but the information was more valuable than a short-term boost to Mia's affection. If the worst-case scenario came true and his body went on autopilot for the next eight hours, Mia would probably be upset with him, yes, but Oliver thought it was unlikely he couldn't work past that after how close he felt they got this morning.

There was also the chance he was overthinking all of this, and maybe none of it worked the way he thought it would. For all he knew, 'work hard' might have him acting as usual, and nobody would realize the difference.

Wait, that was kind of scary, too, now that Oliver thought about it. It'd be like a stranger was wearing his skin for eight hours.

What the fuck even is my life anymore... Oliver sighed, extending his pointer finger towards the floating screen.

He hesitated for another few seconds, but he'd decided. He needed information, and there was only one way he would get it. He pressed 'Work Hard', and his vision blacked out.

Instantly afterward, it returned.

The first thing Oliver noticed was that his body felt absolutely wrecked. Unsurprising for a sheltered nerd, he wasn't in fantastic shape and didn't eat all that well. That button wasn't kidding, apparently. When it said 'Work Hard', it sure as hell meant it. His arms and legs were exhausted, and his back was killing him to the point where he couldn't remember the last time he felt so worn out. Not even his yearly Thanksgiving shifts did such a number on him.

The second was that he was back in the lounge, and some of the other associates were gathering their belongings, or in Mia's case, putting on her hoodie. Oliver really did skip just eight hours of his life, but that didn't scare him so much as finding out how it went with Mia. He had to talk to her and get a measure of what happened from her perspective.

As Oliver approached, Mia looked over her shoulder at him, and her expression told him everything he needed to know to figure out that the worst-case scenario had come to pass. She was subtly frowning, and her eyes were dull as they regarded him, tainted by mild disappointment.

"Mia?" Oliver called out to her, his throat feeling dry all of a sudden.

"Hey," she zipped up her hoodie. "Welcome back."

--- Mia Lost 3 Affection! ---

Her words stabbed into him like daggers in his heart, but it wasn't as bad as seeing Mia's affection go down to seventy-two. Oliver had drastically underestimated how much it would suck. Three points was nothing compared to the fifteen he gained, yet it felt like he'd just lost three hundred. This wasn't an outright rejection, but it might as well have been to someone with so many bad experiences and vulnerabilities as Oliver.

Despite it all, he found it in him to keep calm and focus on the long game.

This was a necessary step back towards figuring out how his powers worked, and what came next was figuring out what the hell happened in a way that respected Mia's intelligence. Oliver had played through enough stories where the protagonist had to cover up the supernatural circumstances happening to him, lying to everyone he cared about in the process and digging an even deeper hole with every word.

Oliver didn't want to be that guy.

Yes, he couldn't tell Mia the entire truth. She'd rightfully think him mad. But Oliver wasn't going to make up excuses, gaslight her, or try and gain her sympathy through made-up bullshit, either. He had to be careful and play it by ear while keeping true to what he thought was right.

"What do you mean?" He asked carefully.

She turned around and crossed her arms, now looking at him directly. She looked like she had a lot to say but was doing her best to not pop off. "Nothing. Happy the cat gave you your tongue back, that's all."

Oliver cringed. "I'm sorry I wasn't very talkative."

"Weren't very talkative? Ollie, I could barely get more than a word out of you with the way you were zipping around like goddamn Superman." Mia looked around, seeing that most of their coworkers left already and taking a step toward Oliver. She grabbed him by the strap of his apron and pulled him close, asking a question in a hushed voice. "Look. You said you'd be real with me, so be real. Did you fucking take something when you went to get a coffee this morning? Shit like weed and shrooms are one thing, but I don't fuck around with people who do anything harder than that."

Dear God, was this going worse than Oliver possibly thought it would.

"No! No, of course not! I just... kind of... blacked out mentally. I know how that sounds, but-"

Mia let go of him, a lot of her disappointment easing up, but not all of it. "...Okay."

Oliver stared at her, a little confused. "Okay?"

"You're not lying," she sighed. "I've got an eye for these things... but that doesn't mean I'm not still a little pissed at you."

"I know I said we'd talk, but I couldn't really help it."

"You think I'm mad because we didn't chat?" Mia gave him a concerning look. "I'm mad because you convinced me you were good to work and then mentally disassociated all day while you went around with all the speed and power of ten meth heads rolled into one. Obviously, I'm not holding your mental state against you- that would be stupid- but fuck, dude. I was worried. Scared, too..."

Oliver didn't know what to say. All he did was press a button to get more information, only to end up thoughtlessly ruining Mia's day. He couldn't magically make up for what he did, but he would keep this in mind and never forget it. If he had a chance to test something that might make others worried about him, Oliver would wait until he could do so alone.

He made a huge mistake in thinking of this in game terms. Mia's affection wasn't just a number, and she wasn't an NPC. That number reflected her actual feelings, and lowering it meant he'd hurt her. It didn't matter if it was 'only a little'- it mattered that he'd done so at all.

"I'm sorry."

"Better be," Mia stared at the floor. "You know I'm going to stab you if you come into work tomorrow, right?"

"Had the feeling that'd be the case, yeah."

"Good. Don't want there to be any fatal misunderstandings."

He smiled at her halfheartedly, and after a few moments, she reluctantly returned the gesture.

"What are you gonna do if this keeps happening?"

"I don't think it will, but I'll probably make an appointment somewhere."

"Damn right you will," Mia approved. "And make sure you throw away those edibles when you get home. Changed my mind. Better safe than sorry. There's still a chance you had a bad reaction to an ingredient or some shit. You should ease off the gummies for a while in general."

"You got it. Anything else?" Oliver opened the floor, allowing Mia to be as pushy as she wanted. He figured telling him what to do might make her feel better, and he was right.

"Yeah. I'm not gonna be able to sleep tonight if I don't know how you're doing, so..." suddenly, Mia froze up and looked back at the ground again. "I, um... I'm just saying I'm really worried about you, so if there's any way you could let me know how you're feeling later on, then...?"

Troubled as he was, it took Oliver a second to discern what exactly she implying. He blushed as soon as he did.

Oliver had to remember that despite how talkative she'd been with him, Mia was still a quiet person, and by her own admission, she wasn't the best at expressing herself. She wanted him to draw his own conclusion and make that effort himself, and as embarrassed as it made him, he couldn't argue that she deserved that much.

He calmed his nerves and took out his phone, trying to do this as casually as possible. He wasn't smooth at all, but that was okay. Mia didn't care if he was smooth. She cared that he got the hint and asked for her damn number already.

"I could, um, you know... text you later if you gave me your number, maybe...? Not just tonight, either. I can keep you updated on how I'm doing this weekend, too, if that's cool...?"

Mia lowered her head to hide how red her face was getting, nodded, and yanked his phone out of his hands. She inserted herself into his contact list and was polite enough to not comment on the fact that aside from Oliver's family, the only other person listed was Tessa.

"There," she thrust the phone back into his hands and looked him in the eyes, allowing him to appreciate how cute, embarrassed, and vaguely mad at him she still looked. It was a conflicted mess of emotions, but above it all, Mia seemed happy. "Don't forget."

--- Mia Gained 3 Affection! ---

--- Milestone Achieved! Asked for Mia’s Number +5 LP ---

Oliver didn't even care about the numerical increase, the LP gain, or the concepts of milestones being added to his understanding. He was just glad Mia forgave him. It wasn't ideal that she thought he was going through a mental health crisis, even though he very well might've been, but he could convince her that wasn't the case so long as he didn't do anything to worry her more than he already had.

"I won't."

"And if you do?"

"You'll stab me."

"You're learning, ese." Mia intoned.

He cracked a smile, and she gave him one back without a hint of reluctance this time, the two of them just standing around in the empty room and staring at each other like idiots.

"I'm gonna get going, Ollie..." Mia forced herself to stop looking at him and stepped past him to the door, only to remember something on her way. "Oh. Just making sure, but you didn't forget that Tessa wanted to see you in her office before you go, right?"

His eyes shut themselves involuntarily. He probably should've expected this if Mia wasn't exaggerating about his out-of-character behavior. "God damn it."

"Good thing I checked..." Mia sighed on his behalf. "You want me to hang around just in case she leaves you even worse off? Not saying I'll lick your wounds or anything, but maybe we could-"

Oliver appreciated the offer, but he'd had enough of Mia worrying over him for one day, so he shook his head. "It's cool, I'll go deal with that."

"Are you sure?" Mia frowned. "I was just gonna say-"

"It'll be fine. Really." Oliver led the way out of the lounge. "I'd rather just go and get it done with so I can head straight home for the night."

"...Yeah, that's probably a better idea, I guess," Mia nodded and walked with him until it was time to split up. "Don't let her get to you, Ollie."

"Lord knows I'll try..." he gave her an unconvincing smile and went on his way.

Mia puffed out her cheeks in frustration now that she was alone. She thought she'd try and ask if he wanted to grab dinner or something, but she had to admit it probably wasn't the best time for that right now, anyway. Oliver needed the rest, and she should be happy with what she got.

Today might've been stressful, and she was worried to hell and back over him, but Mia didn't walk home that night with a subtle grin while clutching her phone for nothing.