The Affection Multiplier - Chapter 222: Emily and Megan talk to Lilian. (Patreon)

How did they convince her of this? What sort of wacky world did Lilian enter in which Emily Miller and Megan Grant would ask her to go shopping with them? Perhaps them saying they wanted her advice on some attire choices was what got her to accept.

They go to the mall and go around looking at clothes, shoes and make up. From the moment they stepped into the building they’ve done nothing but that. Everything they’ve talked about has been about shopping.

Lilian helped Megan pick a nice, yellow sundress and some sandals. She convinced Emily of trying out a different brand of hand cream. Hell, they convinced HER of buying a specific brand of running shoes because they said they’ve been using that for years, and who else should she listen to about sports equipment if not these two?

For about an hour and a half, that’s all they talk about. There’s no awkwardness, not resentment, nothing.

They sit down at a coffee shop to rest and grab something to eat. Lilian orders a sandwich and tea to keep things light while Emily orders a lemon pie and Megan gets a cheesecake.

“Aren’t you worried about your weight?” Lilian can’t help but ask.

“That’s the great thing about being a sports junkie.” Emily grins. “We can eat all the sugar we want because we burn it in no time.”

“That’s a bit of an exaggeration.” Megan chuckles softly. “But yeah, we don’t have to worry too much.”

“Ugh. I’m so jealous.” Lilian sighs. “I love sugar way too much, but it’s just terrible for me. I only allow myself something like cake about once a month.”

“I get you.” Emily nods. “Keeping a figure like yours must be hard. You work out, right?”

“A bit. I have a treadmill and an exercise bike at home that I use. I hate it, but the nutritionist said I wouldn’t lose weight only changing my diet.”

“Why do you need to lose weight? I’d say you’re already way too thin.” Megan points out.

“I meant back when I was 15.” Lilian grimaces. “When I was 1.67m tall and weighed 85 kilos.”

“O-Oh…”

“Huh. It’s kind of amazing that you managed to slim down so much and without screwing up your body.” Emily nods, speaking with honest praise. “Too quick a weight lose usually leaves a few marks.”

“Yeah, I was careful about that. Like I said, I went to a really good nutritionist and she helped me a lot.” Lilian smiles.

“Really now?” Both Emily and Megan are looking at her with different eyes all of a sudden. She knows what that is.

Respect.

She only said what she did because she’s proud of her own accomplishments, but it makes sense that the soccer super stars would find it interesting. They ask for more details, and Lilian has to tell them her story.

And hearing about how she was bullied for being fat makes Emily scowl and click her tongue. She also sees Megan bite her lip and tighten the grip on her fork.

“That’s fucking stupid.” Emily says.

“I don’t get it. Why do that kind of thing? Is it fun?” Megan asks, mostly to herself but it still touches a nerve in Lilian.

“Sometimes it’s not about whether it’s fur nor not.” She says, but is not about to argue too much in favor of it.

“Yeah, we’ve heard.” Emily sighs. “I guess this is as good a time as any.”

So here it comes. Lilian might not know exactly what about, but it’s obvious these two want to talk to her about something. And It’s more than likely David-related in some way.

“We wanted to ask you what you’re planning to do about David. Or more specifically, why you’re going along with Olivia and Jessica.”

“W-What?”

“We’ve spoken to Jessica about this. We know how much she likes him.” Megan says. “And you don’t need to be very sharp to know Olivia has had her eyes on him for months. She’s head over heels for him.”

“We get why they’re doing what they’re doing. But honestly, and sorry if I sound like an ass, but we don’t get YOU.” Emily sighs. “Why are you also in on this? You don’t look like you’re very interested in David.”

“I… I am interested.” Lilian says.

“Not enough.” Megan says with a wry smile. “Sorry, but what we have with him is not a casual relationship anymore. It hasn’t been for a long time. We’re looking towards the future, towards marriage and kids.”

“…So it would seem.” Lilian sighs.

“If you don’t like him, that’s fine. What I don’t understand is why you’re forcing yourself.” Emily says, crossing her arms but keeping a soft expression, sincerely trying to understand.

“Look, I’m really serious when I say I like him, okay? I really do. It’s just… Everything I like about him is superficial, and that bothers me.”

“Oh?”

“He’s hot, he’s cute and has very nice eyes. But other than that, I… don’t know if he’s my type.”

Both girls raise a curious eyebrow, look at each other in confusion and then back at Lilian.

“And what’s your type of guy?” Emily asks.

“Unless you’re into girls.” Megan adds.

“I’m not into girls.” Lilian clarifies with a slow shake of her head. “The thing is, David is a really nice guy and all. He’s kind and reliable, but… that’s kind of boring.”

“Boring?” The two jocks look even more confused.

“You don’t think so? Well, I guess you wouldn’t. So let me ask you. What do you see in him?” Lilian asks. “If you’re going as far as talking about marriage, what is it about him that makes you want to spend the rest of your life with him?”

“Well, I seriously don’t understand what you mean about him being boring.” Emily says. “Sure, he’s not a comedian, but he makes us laugh and we make him laugh. He’s supportive and trustworthy, so we know he’ll be these for us no matter what.”

“He’s hardworking, earnest and always wants to improve himself.” Megan says, smiling. “He’s also very naïve, trusting and softhearted, but I find that endearing.”

“He’s a huge nerd. He loves video games, cartoons, comics and books. And while Megan and I don’t share that, we can tell he’s passionate about them.”

“Speaking with him is always fun. Even if we’re talking about thing WE like and he doesn’t, he’s always interested.” Megan giggles. “I like hearing him talk about what he likes, too. You can tell he thinks really hard about WHY he likes things and can put it into words.”

“We work out with him, too, so it’s not like we don’t have anything in common.” Emily nods. “Sorry if it seems like I’m too hung up on this, but I don’t get why you mean by boring. It sounds like you’re looking for someone to amuse you.”

“Eh?” Lilian exclaims.

“I’m definitely not an expert in relationships,” Emily shrugs. “David is my first boyfriend, and even then this relationship started in a weird way and turned into something even weirder over time. When Megan and I started dating him he was already with Emma and now there’s eight of us. Perhaps that helps to keep things interesting, I don’t know. But I’ve seen my friends and teammates break up with their boyfriends, and the most common reason I hear is ‘he changed’.”

“You’re right.” Megan says, pondering. “They always say stuff like ‘he’s not as sweet as he used to be’, or ‘it’s not exciting anymore’.”

“I guess that, if I had to give you a single answer to your question, it would be this,” Emily says. “With David, I can be myself. I enjoy being with him even if we aren’t talking or doing anything. I don’t need him to keep me entertained. I just want to spend my days with him because I find him an interesting person, one I can connect with. He understands me.”

Lilian keeps quiet for a moment, letting Emily’s word sink in. Megan, however, blinks several times before she starts giggling.

“Oh my god! I just realized you’re sounding WAY more eloquent than you used to! You wouldn’t have been able to put that into words a few months ago!”

“Are you calling me stupid?” Emily crosses her arms, annoyed. “Not that I can defend myself. I agree. But listening to David, Emma, Sophia, Mia and Katherine speak made me think more about stuff. This has been in my mind for a while.”

“I’m teasing, but I get you. I feel the same way.” Megan giggles. “Perhaps that’s what love truly is? It’s not that infatuation we felt at first, but knowing that you’re with someone who understands you and you can be yourself with. To feel a sense of satisfaction even during times that are, well, boring.”

Lilian can only stare at the two girls in silence and with her mouth half-opened.

Somehow, everything they said just makes sense. Lilian said David wasn’t her type, but… what IS her type? Lilian has had boyfriends before, but only for popularity points in high school. She always picked the popular ones, never caring for who they were. In fact, she usually broke up with them because they turned out to be annoying.

What was she expecting out of David? Or any man, for that matter? Did she want a famous celebrity or something? An actor or musician? A high-profile athlete? Was that what she was considering ‘interesting’?

In the end, even celebrities are just people. There would come a time when any novelty would wear out. In the end, people are just people. What’s important is to find someone you can connect with, like Emily just said.

Can she connect with David? She’s not sure, but despite all their differences, they have something in common. They both worked hard to become the person they wanted to be. For different reasons, but still. Lilian knows she wants to talk to him about that, at least.

Once she decides, she explains her thought process to Emily and Megan.

“I see.” Emily nods in understanding. “If you want someone with an interesting job, then you better look elsewhere because David is heading to law school.” She shakes her head.

“No, I get what you meant.” Lilian says. “I realize it’s stupid to think he’s boring when I haven’t even talked to him much.”

“Then I think there’s only one solution to that.” Megan nods to herself.

“And that is…?”

“Take him out on a date, of course!”

“W-What!?

“Yeah. I knew it was going to happen eventually, but you better stop delaying that. Megan and I are ready to give you three a chance, so are Katherine and the teachers. Sophia always has been and Anzu doesn’t have any deep issues with it.” Emily agrees.

“B-But! I shouldn’t be the one to go on a date with him! Olivia and Jessica have been waiting longer!”

“Then go as a group if you want. Though I think it’d be better if you had a one-on-one date with him.” Megan suggests.

“You’re always together, anyway.” Emily shrugs. “Our first date with him was as a pair, too.” She says, looking at Megan.

“Though it happened WAY after we got together.” The brunette laughs.

Lilian swallows.

Going on a date with David with Olivia and Jessica as well? That sounds… very weird, but she’s not against it. It could be fun. Maybe. But if she really wants to know if she can make a connection with David, she should spend some time alone with him, right? Maybe a one-on-one date really IS the way to go.

But there’s something more important that they said.

“Is it true, then? Are you girls really willing to give us a chance?” Lilian asks, sounding hopeful. Regardless of her own feelings, this is what Olivia and Jessica have been working towards.

“Pretty much.” Emily nods. “We still have our eyes on you. And I honestly don’t know what’ll take for us to ever come to trust you blindly like we do the others, but nothing’s gonna happen if we don’t move on.”

“You’ve grown, Em.” Megan says, giggling.

“Shut up.” Emily says, frowning but with reddening cheeks.

“Then is it okay for me to tell the others?”

“Yeah. We confirmed that with everyone already. There’s just one big, important thing. You accommodate to us, not the other way around. We already have a dynamic and we’re not about to make drastic changes that could potentially hurt us.”

“Sounds mean, I know, but try to put yourselves in our place.” Megan says, smiling wryly. “We’re scared. We don’t want anything to ruin what we already have.”

“…” Yeah, Lilian can understand that fear. It’s why she and the others never made any other friends. Keeping to themselves and pushing everyone else away just to make sure nothing would ruin their friendship. “Very well. I guess we’ll see where things go from here.”

“Good.” Emily takes a deep breath and groans in annoyance. “Dammit, maybe we should’ve brought Sophia. I’m not good at these serious talks.”

“You did very well.” Megan reassures her with a smile.

“It was… interesting.” Lilian agrees. “Thanks for talking to me. I think I needed that.”

“Then it’s all good.” Emily nods. “Now, there’s one more thing I wanted to ask you. I don’t normally wear dresses, but do you think there’s something that would look good on me?”

“You want to wear a dress?” Megan asks, raising an eyebrow.

“I want to mix things up. I think David will like it, but only if I can find something good.”

“I have a few ideas.” Lilian grins. “I hope you’re ready to try a lot of things.”

“Bring it on!”

And so, the three girls continue their shopping spree. The air between them much lighter than before.

Lilian now has a clear goal, and that’s to see if David is someone she can make a connection with. If she can, then she’ll go for it. If not, she guesses it won’t be the end of the world.