Love Addict’s RPG Vol. 2 Ch 79 (Patreon)

Whew. Okay. We’re back. I know this was a long wait and I hope it was worth it as I piece my mental state together but I think the medicine is finally starting to kick back in. I’ve felt incredibly stable all day today and am hoping it will extend into the night.

As for the chapter itself, I really, really like this one. I hope you do too.

***

"You, um... you promise this isn't weird...?"

"I said no the first time you asked, and then I said the same thing the next five times," Oliver laughed. "What makes you think my answer would be any different now that we're in line?"

"Um... c-crippling social anxiety and a stupid, stupid brain programmed to reflexively doubt the true intentions of everyone around me, m-maybe...?"

"Yikes. Yeah, that'd do it. I should know..."

Rebecca smiled from behind her mental armor, fidgeting with her fingers. "If, um, if it makes you feel any better, I do believe you. It's just that hearing the same answer over and over again calms me down a lot. Makes it feel more real."

"In that case, ask as many times as you'd like. I promise you won't get a different answer."

She smiled even wider and fidgeted even harder. Rebecca couldn't help herself. Even more so than his kindness, she liked Oliver for his genuine patience towards her 'quirks'. It wasn't the fake kind she was used to from most people- at least as far as she could tell. That went far in her book.

"Kay. I, um, I still appreciate you for this, though. Today was... a lot, and um... w-well... ever since I was a little girl, my dad would always take me here whenever I had a stressful day..." Rebecca sighed, glancing down at her belly. "Needless to say, we came here a lot..."

"My family would always order a pizza if I had a bad day at school. Granted, I was the kinda kid who shrugged it off and tried to hide my problems from my parents, so there weren't as many pizzas as there probably could've been if I'd been intent on gaming the system."

"Oh, t-that's no good. Why hide the truth?"

"Just never really feel comfortable when other people do nice things for me. Especially my parents. Always feels like I'm being a burden, even when they tell me I'm not, you know?"

While close to her father, Rebecca sympathized with the overall sentiment. "I do. I really, really do..."

"It's okay. Mia and I are working on it."

Rebecca frowned. She was having those silly feelings again- the ones that made her want to somehow coddle this relative... no, he wasn't a stranger anymore. They rolled dice together and shared adventures in a world made of cardboard. Oliver was her friend- she had his phone number, for Sacred Erde's sake!

She wanted to coddle her friend and was mildly jealous that Mia got to. Not that she'd even know what to do for him if she had the chance. Hold his hand? Pat him on the back? Massage his scalp? It was all too much.

"I, um, I hope she helps you make some progress," she forced herself to squeak out. "I'm always stressing out about dragging down everyone else around me, and it really feels like not a day goes by where I don't feel like I'm a burden on at least someone, so... y-yeah, like I said, I, um, get where you're coming from... m-maybe more than anyone..."

Oliver blushed, the heat in his cheeks feeling nice against the building's chilly air. He was on the verge of saying something back, but the person in front of them got rung up, and they were shuffled forward in the line before he could.

A kind-looking black woman in her early forties met them at the register, greeting them with more pep and energy than either social recluse knew how to deal with. "Hey there, kids! Welcome to Frozen Rock Cream Shop; what can I scoop for you?"

Rebecca immediately hung her head in shyness, leaving Oliver to order first. He looked at the menu, the seemingly endless row of ice cream flavors, and the equally infinite toppings available. Not in the mood for anything special, he settled on a single scoop of vanilla chocolate chip cookie dough and left it at that.

"Sure thing! And what about you?" The woman's radiant smile nearly blinded Rebecca, dealing a critical hit on the awkward girl despite her hulking mental power armor.

"I-I, um... d-double... double scoop of m-m-mint.... chuh... chocolate... I... oh, darn it..." Rebecca slumped over, cradling her face in her palms. The sleeve of her turtleneck fell, allowing the employee to catch sight of her rainbow bracelet with an infinity sign on it.

"Oh. Take your time, sweetheart." The employee said a touch slower. "There's no rush."

Most people wouldn't have noticed, but Rebecca was so used to it that she immediately picked up the change in tone. She pulled her face from her hands, seeing the unintentionally demeaning way she was suddenly being smiled at. Darn it. She fixed her sleeve, hiding the bracelet. 

"Did you need some help?" Oliver offered. "If talking to me is easier for you than talking to a stranger, you could always-"

"N-No, no, it's fine... I just... wanted to try saying it out loud for myself..." Rebecca whipped out a little notepad from her fanny pack and scribbled a hefty paragraph. She tore it out, handing the page over to the employee.

Rebecca watched their smile falter after taking a closer look at her order. It was momentarily replaced by a raised brow and a look of confusion. Maybe disgust? Inconclusive. Rebecca looked down right after the employee forced back their smile, holding in a sigh.

"Well, someone knows precisely what they like! Lemme just make sure I've got this right, okay? I don't want to get it wrong." She awaited Rebecca's approval, continuing after getting a tiny nod. "You want... a double scoop of mint chocolate chip with cookie dough, gummy worms, raisins, skittles- but ONLY the yellow ones, hot fudge- but the raisins and gummy worms need to be sprinkled on AFTER the fudge, a cherry on top, and... an empty container?"

Oliver tried not to react to hearing Rebecca's order. He really, really tried. But it was weird. The employee knew it was weird. The people in line behind them knew it was weird. Even Rebecca had no illusions and wasn't surprised to see him glancing her way with a cocked head.

"Y-Yes... that's... um, that's correct..." 

"Good, glad I didn't misread! Coming right up, then, and hey- I'll throw in a third scoop on the house- just for you, sweetheart!" The employee announced cheerily, deaf to the shy girl's meek protesting. She punched in the numbers, and Oliver wasn't surprised to discover that Rebecca's custom order had inflated the cost to a whopping $35.

He initially offered to pay, but Rebecca was surprisingly insistent on splitting the order. She had the closest thing she could muster to a fierce look in her eyes and was biting her lip, silently pleading at him to drop it. And so he did, paying only for himself.

[Spent $14]

They watched the woman work, quickly finishing Oliver's order and then moving on to Rebecca's. Everything went fine until she reached for the raisin scoop too soon. Rebecca tried issuing a correction, but her voice was stuck. She couldn't get it out and bit down on her lip, resigning herself to frustration.

"Excuse me," Oliver raised a hand, catching the lady's attention. "Sorry, but she wanted the raisins and gummy worms after you poured the hot fudge."

"Huh? Oh, right, right! I'm sorry, sweetie! I'm doing my best here, but it's a lot to remember, you know?"

Rebecca's heart raced as she looked from her friend, then at the employee, then at the ground. She smiled guiltily. "It's, um... it's okay. T-Thank you, Oliver. For the help, I mean."

"It's no big deal, just doing what I can,"

"Wow. You're a lucky little lady, aren't you?" The employee asked while drizzling on the hot fudge. "Having such a sweet, handsome big brother to look after you!"

Oliver and Rebecca glanced at each other. Both were blushing and confused. The two didn't look a thing alike, and Rebecca seemed upset at the assumption. 

"We're not siblings," Oliver dismissed the accusation with a polite laugh.

"Oh, gotcha. Guess that makes you her caseworker, then?"

Rebecca shut her eyes. This wasn't happening. Nope, nope, nope. Not a chance. Retreating to the alien landscape of her mind, she envisioned Leutnantin Rebekkiller die Berg-Maneater on another genocidal rampage of epic proportions. Every crushed skull and snapped spine helped anchor her, but in the end, it wasn't enough to fully calm the raging mix of embarrassment and frustration bubbling up inside.

Good thing the Leutnantin had reinforcements.

"Look, lady. I'm just here to grab some ice cream with my friend. I get you're just trying to be friendly, but you're clearly upsetting her with all these assumptions. Right?"

Opening her eyes, Rebecca took stock of Oliver's tense expression. He looked defensive, protective, and a little annoyed. The confident, dashing badass she'd watched beat up Mia's brothers was back in full force... and all for her, no less.

Color flooding her cheeks, Rebecca responded the only way she could manage: rapidly nodding like a bobblehead.

"Oh, God. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to- I... I just have a cousin like you, and-"

"Like you?" Oliver repeated. "You maybe wanna rephrase that? Or, hey- better idea- just stop talking altogether?"

"Yeah, um, think I'm gonna go with the latter..." the employee hung her head.

"Probably for the best, thank you,"

Rebecca stood frozen in place, silently awed. Getting a helping hand whenever she couldn't express herself was hardly new. Putting aside her dad, Zoe had stood up for her more times than she could count, and even Mia often rose to the occasion despite her shyness.

But a boy telling someone off on her behalf?

These were uncharted waters, and Rebecca had fallen overboard. Also, she couldn't swim. She'd have to make an athletics check or risk drowning, and the odds weren't good. After all, the poor girl had a minus three in strength, but her modifiers wouldn't matter if she rolled...

Nat twenty! A critical success. Rebecca's hand shot out and grabbed the closest thing she could to keep herself afloat in this cruel, uncaring ocean.

Oliver's hand.

"T-Thanks..." she managed to softly squeak.

Oliver blushed, the false bravado he'd masked his social anxiety with melting away from the sudden physical contact. He had to put himself together, so instead of treating this as some big deal, he smiled reassuringly and gave her a comforting squeeze.

"No problem."

They got their ice cream a minute later, the employee apologizing one last time before they went and sat down at a booth in an isolated corner. He missed her hand the moment it was gone. God, was it tiny. It was too bad for those fingerless leather gloves she always wore, as he had a feeling she might've felt even softer than Mia...

Not the fucking time for that, Oliver, he shook his head free of inappropriate thoughts while watching Rebecca slump over, sighed, and fumbled with her bracelet, stashing it into her pocket.

"Don't know why I wear the stupid thing-" she whimpered to herself.

"More trouble than it's worth?"

"W-What? Oh, um... y-yeah, kind of... I thought it'd be a nice way to spread awareness, but people's main takeaway whenever they see it is that I'm 'special' and need to be treated like I'm..." Rebecca stared into her mountain of ice cream, her big buck teeth digging into her lower lip. 

"You don't have to say it. I get it."

"Like I'm retarded," she continued, furiously picking off raisins like scabs and stashing them in a napkin. "Which I'm not- I have Asperger's. It's different. Really! I went to college, darn it! I have a job! I pay taxes! I-"

"Hey, hey! Easy, Rebecca. Easy. You don't need to prove anything to anyone, least of all me. Why don't you just take a deep breath and calm down a little, okay? In and out. Just like that, yeah. There you go."

Oliver's voice was comforting. Disarming, almost. It compelled Rebecca to follow his advice, and she drifted off until she was somewhat more comfortable. 

"Feel better?" He asked, gently smiling.

"A little..."

"Great, but we could always eat outside if you'd like more privacy. Pretty sure there we passed some tables on the way in, didn't we?"

"I-I'm okay, thanks. It's, um, it's not this place that's bumming me out, and it's not even really that lady's fault, either. I'm just wound up really, really tight tonight in general, that's all. Work was crappy as ever this week, and I thought I'd get to unwind all day today, but then there was all that junk with Zoe, and between that and having to deal with being around you, I-"

"Being around me...?"

"Huh? Oh. Oh, no! T-That sounded way, way worse than it should've! Darn it, Rebecca! I-I meant more, um, getting used to being around you! I'm so, so, so sorry, Oliver!"

"Whew," Oliver sighed and gave her a gentle smile. "That's a relief. I figured you misspoke, but I was kinda worried for a second there..."

"P-Please don't be! I like you, and I like that we're friends now, it's just... I've only ever had two of those before, and I've never been friends with a boy, so... yeah... it'll take time before I'm used to it. You? Yeah. Um. Used to you."

He knew he probably shouldn't, but something inside of Oliver prodded him into teasing the poor girl a teeny tiny bit. Not a lot- he wasn't a monster- but he did have a penchant for it and a lack of impulse control.

"You seemed pretty used to me when you held my hand,"

Rebecca looked up at him, wide-eyed, horrified, and red-cheeked. She anxiously shoved a hot fudge-covered gummy worm into the empty container she'd requested, stuttering, "T-T-That... that was, um... just... a reflex... you made me feel safe, and I-I was so happy you stood up for me so I... I... oh, darn it all..."

"...I should really hold off on teasing you, shouldn't I?"

"P-P-Probably for the best, y-y-yes..."

"I feel like I just kicked a puppy..."

"I'm not a puppy," Rebecca pouted, puffing out her cheeks.

"Fair, I mean, you do strike me as more of a mouse more than anything else, really, so-" he froze, noticing the adorable way she continued glaring daggers at him. "God, I suck at holding back..."

"You do. R-Really, really bad...! B-But... it's fine, mostly... I-I'm not a mouse, though, either!" Rebecca squeaked defiantly, her buck teeth biting down on her lower lip as her tiny hands scratched at her frozen treat, sorting gummy worms and raisins alike. "There's nothing rodent-like about me whatsoever!"

"Right, of course not," Oliver held back a chuckle. "Still, my bad. I really shouldn't shovel more shit onto the pile when you've already got so much else weighing you down."

"Thanks. It, um, it is kind of a lot to deal with... and I'm already not great at working through my stress as it is, so..."

"Do you wanna talk about it?"

"A-About what? My stress?"

"Yeah, why not?" He smiled politely after enjoying another bite of cookie dough. "I just figured I'd offer an ear if you needed one."

Rebecca sat still as she processed Oliver's suggestion. Strutting around next to him without her helmet was dangerous enough- who knows what would happen if she dared go further?

"We don't have to if you're not comfortable, I-"

"N-No, it's fine! You, um, just caught me off guard. That's all. I... don't really talk about my feelings, so..."

"Not even with Mia?"

"Not usually, no? I-I, um... I don't like being a burden, and since I'm always lagging behind as it is, it's, um, it's easier to just nod along, smile, and pretend everything is fine than it is to go out of my way and drag everyone else down with me..."

"That's a pretty harsh way to look at it," Oliver frowned.

"It's how it makes me feel... I'm... ah... n-not sure how else I could see it..."

"Can't fault you for that, I guess. Not when I used to be the same exact way."

"...You did?"

"Yeah, though saying I ever got better at it would stretch the truth. I still can't stand the idea of burdening the people I care about, and I still hide a lot of my thoughts and feelings from them, but I'm making more of an attempt these days. Can't exactly pop my bubble if I don't poke it from inside, you know?"

Rebecca stewed on his words, her heart feeling heavy. She empathized so much with Oliver that it dizzied her to think about, and yet, for all their similarities... he was trying to improve, and she wasn't. That bothered her. Not enough to make her heart burst with motivation, but enough to give the mousey girl a little nudge in the right direction.

Work was the last thing she wanted to discuss, but everything else...?

She could soldier through at least that much.

"I, um... I'll give it a try, b-but there's not too much for me to say. I'm upset about the thing with Zoe, and that's about it. When I heard about the temp ban, I thought it'd be an excuse to finally spend some time with her, and then Mia told me you were both, um... working toward maybe trying to get her out of her room more often, and, w-well... that got my hopes up a little higher than I probably should've let them."

"This is just a setback," Oliver declared. "I'm not giving up on her."

"Y-Yeah, I, um... I know, and I hope it works out, but while I'm not as pessimistic as Mia, it's... still pretty hard to imagine Zoe recovering so smoothly from her addiction..."

"Oh, it definitely won't be smooth. It'll be rough- maybe even a little nasty- but someone's gotta pull the rug out from under her. After that, though? It shouldn't be too bad. We'll just need to be firm about introducing a little structure into her life. That, and be there for her."

Rebecca had trouble picturing what that would look like, but she was inclined to believe Oliver when he spoke so confidently. She was just excited at the prospect of getting Zoe back once and for all. Long shot or not, a shot was still a shot.

"I can't believe how fired up you are about this," Rebecca said wistfully with a thin smile as she picked off another gummy worm. "You, um... you must really like Zoe, huh...?"

"Huh? Uh- yeah, kinda... I mean, I haven't known her for long, and we didn't click right off the bat, but I wasn't kidding about everything I said earlier. Hanging out with you guys today really helped open my eyes to the way I want to live the rest of my life."

"I... um, wasn't expecting you to get all introspective, ahaha... I'm not, ah, not sure what you mean, though? How exactly do you want to live?"

Oliver gazed off dreamily into the middle distance, thoughtfully resting his chin on his hand. His mind had drifted, leaving him no longer present. His answer had even less thought put into it than all the crazy stuff he said when he got carried away.

"Surrounded by cute girls,"

"Ah," Rebecca nodded. "Yeah, that makes sense, I-" and then it hit her. "W-Wait, w-w-what was that just now?!"

Having said the quiet part out loud, Oliver snapped out of his hedonistic fantasies and went into damage control mode.

"Crap, I did not mean to say that! It's just that I was thinking about Mia, and it sorta slipped out, honest! What I meant to say was that after going my whole life without any, I want to live the rest of my life surrounded by good friends. And, um, m-my girlfriend, too, obviously. My girlfriend, who I'm dating and am very committed to!"

Oliver botched the explanation about as much as he could've, but Rebecca let out a deep sigh after hearing him out, utterly sold.

"Okay, yeah, that makes a lot more sense... you said something pretty crazy there, and for a second, I, um, I almost thought you were serious...!" She chuckled nervously, finally grabbing her spoon after disposing of what looked to be the last remaining raisin.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to freak you out..." desperate to change the topic, he pivoted as fast as he could. "All done getting things the way you like them?"

Rebecca looked down at her ice cream and then at him. She turtled up, lowering her head as she wished she had one of her dad's GM screens to place between them. "Y-Yes, sorry, I'm... um... I'm picky..."

It took all his self-restraint to not joke that he'd noticed, but Oliver resisted and smiled patiently instead. "That's cool. What was wrong with it?"

"Strictly speaking? Nothing. It's just that I, um, I like chocolate-covered gummy worms but not on ice cream, and I despise raisins but enjoy their aftertaste, so..." Rebecca mustered up the courage to look up and wasn't encouraged by what she saw. She knew what people looked like when they struggled to hide how strange they found her. "S-Sorry... I know it's weird..."

"A little, maybe..." he chuckled softly.

"Don't lie. I don't need to be handled with kid gloves."

"...Okay, fine. Yes, I think how you like your ice cream is pretty weird- but so what? I'm not actively reassessing my opinion of you whenever you say or do something strange, Rebecca."

"You're not? B-But you were chuckling at me not even a second ago!"

"Only because your quirks- I don't know- just sort of make me smile and laugh? God, I hope that doesn't sound too condescending..." Oliver sighed, navigating the minefield. "All I'm trying to say is that I'm not looking down on you, and it's not coming from somewhere mean-spirited, either. I just like hanging out with you, quirks and all."

Rebecca's opponent rolled absurdly high. His words significantly damaged the hulking super soldier's armor, leaving her gauntlet busted. More and more of her anxious inner self laid bare before him as she softly trembled in uncertainty. She calmed herself by taking a big first bite of her frozen treat, the absurd concoction and its fusion of flavors exploding like a frag grenade onto her taste buds.

The sweet and fleeting distraction gave her enough courage to smile at Oliver and say, "I- um... I like hanging out with you, too. A lot. I don't really get what's so entertaining about me, but, uh... so long as you're not laughing at me, I promise I won't get upset if you can't hold back a chuckle here and there..."

Oliver's pulse quickened. She looked like she'd just gotten an affection boost, making him realize he'd moved from a minefield to a tightrope.

A big part of him wanted to tell Rebecca straight-up that she was so entertaining because he found her cute. His goal here wasn't to brute force Rebecca into becoming a heroine, though. His plate was full with Zoe and Mia's drama, and he only wanted to cheer her up. Challenging as it was, he successfully resisted his compulsive urge to flirt.

Rare, but it happened.

He didn't even know if Rebecca was privy to Mia's boyfriend-sharing fantasies, anyway. Randomly calling her cute without that context while they were out somewhere alone together? Yeah, probably for the best that he didn't go there... but damn, if he didn't want to.

Naturally, the following words out of Oliver's mouth saw him failing upwards and endearing himself to Rebecca so much more than calling her cute ever would've.

"If it makes you feel any less awkward, I feel the same about Mia and Zoe's quirks, too. This'll probably sound a little edgy, but fuck it. Something I really like about you three is that in a world where everyone's out there hustling their ass off trying to be someone they're not, you're all unapologetically yourselves. Mia's a shy little sex freak who wears anime pins of softcore porn shows to her day job, Zoe doesn't give a fuck and is a few steps away from being as shameless as a camgirl, and even though you're hyper-conscious about it, you're still out here wearing your hat, your boots, and so on while doing all the silly little things you do, which is more than I can say for myself. Me? I mostly just keep my head down and try not to stand out."

"W-What...? No way. That's, um, that's a bald-faced lie. Y-You're way more open about yourself than I am! I-I just wear all this junk because it makes me feel comfy. You? Heck, you kissed Mia in front of her b-big, b-bulky b-b-brothers- and then you beat the stuffing out of them!!"

"Yeah, but I only really get like that when I'm under a ton of pressure, or I'm trying to impress someone... it's not something I can just flip on and off like a light switch... you know?"

Rebecca lowered her head, clenched her fists, and sat them on the table as she rose to meet him with an unexpected look of fierce determination.

"Oliver? I- um, n-no. You're selling yourself short, soldier. A-And not even a little, either! Like, really, really selling yourself short! So what if you're usually just a 'normal' guy? When I'm feeling pressured, I crack like a crystal ball dropped off a two-story building! Not you, though. From what I've seen, you rise to the occasion and become a total badass! Even now, you're fully focused on what comes next with Zoe, while I'm still stuck feeling mopey about it! M-Maybe it's just me, but... I think that what you do when your back's against the wall says a lot more about your, um, your character than the way you normally act... and personally speaking, I, um... I really wish I was more like you in that regard..."

Oliver blushed brighter and brighter in the wake of Rebecca's sudden rant. He'd heard a lot of crazy things as of late, but he'd never heard anyone say they wished they were more like him. From his perspective, he hadn't done anything that earned this admiration. He simply had crazy impulses, acted on them, and refused to back down once he'd made up his mind on something.

Then again, perhaps he really was selling himself as short as she claimed...?

"I guess you're right," Oliver chuckled meekly. "Maybe I do know how to step up and act cool occasionally, but you'll never hear it from me."

"I... um... I just did hear it from you, though...?"

"Yeah, and it took your heartfelt speech just to get me to admit it. The way I've been acting is all pretty new to me, Rebecca, and these days, I feel like I'm halfway between the old me and a better version of myself. It's been difficult to come to terms with, but all I can do is keep pushing forward and gaining experiences in the hopes that one day I'll be more comfortable with who I am." He gave the awkward girl his brightest smile, oblivious to how she melted before its skill-amplified might. "Thanks, though. I'm... really flattered you think all those things about me."

Rebecca gulped and slumped over, shoveling ice cream into her mouth so she didn't have to talk. Poor girl was wolfing it down, caring little for how she looked. It was easier than dealing with all these emotions beating the crap out of her fluttering heart.

When she finally mustered the courage to speak, she rushed right past the touchy-feely junk. "You're, ah... you're welcome. S-Speaking of pushing forward, though, do you have any ideas on how you might get through to Zoe, or are you just hoping for the best?" 

"Going in blind, mostly. I figure I'll let her yell at me until she's chilled out enough to play some games together, maybe invite her out for lunch or something if I'm lucky."  

"I wouldn't count on that. Zoe doesn't like going outside. She, um... she never has, really, but she's only gotten worse about it..."

"Is there anywhere special you can think of that might actually tempt her?" He smiled thinly, thinking about just how dating sim things were getting. Nothing quite like asking the friends of the girl you're pursuing about her favorite date spots.

"Hmmmm..." Rebecca pursed her lips and tilted her head. Adorably, she looked like she was buffering. "It used to be easy to talk Zoe into going to her favorite restaurants, but the rise of food delivery apps pretty much put an end to that..."

"It doesn't have to be lunch. I'm looking for anything that might get her out of the house, really. I feel like a change in scenery might shake her up a little, you know? Lower her defenses."

"A wise strategy," the tiny tactician nodded sagely. "Even so, nothing really comes to... hmm... well, come to think of it... I'm not sure if it'd grab her attention or not, but... I do remember an arcade she mentioned visiting a lot back in high school..."

Oliver held back a half-amused smile. Figures that the only way to get Zoe to stop playing video games long enough to leave the house might be to take her somewhere else to play video games. He really shouldn't have expected anything less.

Politically incorrect as it was, he was starting to wonder whether or not Rebecca was the only member of this little friend group on the spectrum.

"You're not talking about Prize Planet, are you? Because Mia and I are sorta... unnofficially banned from that place after our date last Monday..."

Rebecca's overactive imagination flared to life, dreaming up unlikely scenarios that would get her two friends in trouble with an arcade of all places. "W-Wha? I don't... um... unofficially? H-How-"

"Long story," he shrugged.

Blushing furiously, Rebecca decided to take his word for it. "K-Kay, then... it's, um, it's not Prize Planet, though. I think it was called Quarter Up?"

"Oh," recognition sparked in Oliver's eyes.

Bradley, that son of a bitch, had done it again. There were two arcades present in the recommended date spot pamphlet he'd made for Oliver the other day, one for winning prizes, the other for actual gaming. Quarter Up was the latter.

What a happy little coincidence. 

"I think I know that place, actually. I'll float the idea by Zoe tomorrow and see what she says. Thanks, Rebecca."

"No problem! I... I really just want my friend back, so if there's anything else I can do to help you out, you, um, you only need to ask!"

Oliver thought about what other kind of information he'd find useful, and his biggest question stuck out like a sore thumb. "What was up with that jab Mia made about Zoe's parents? She mentioned something about Zoe going no contact the other day, and it's been bugging me ever since."

"I... I-I'm sorry, but I really don't think I should be the one to tell you about any of that..." Rebecca turtled up.

"Shit- no, yeah, of course not. My bad. I didn't mean to sound nosy or anything, I-"

"N-No, no, you're fine, it, um, it just kind of stirs up some bad memories of my own, t-that's all... I'd tell you anything else you want to know about her, though! Even if I'm not sure how much help I'd be..."

Rebecca's uncertainty stuck out to him as odd. "Why not? It seemed to me like you guys were really close."

"Oh, um... well, it's not like we aren't..."

"But?"

"I-I don't know... despite all the time we've spent together, I've always felt a little... distant from Mia and Zoe... I guess?"

Oliver's heart went out to Rebecca as he watched her frown and finish the last few bites of her ice cream. "Mind my asking why?"

"Well, some of it is the autism," Rebecca frowned. "I can't really help feeling a step removed from most people as a whole. That's, um, that's just part of the package... w-well, no, actually, it's a wide spectrum, so I can't speak for everyone, but it's, um, it's part of my package..."

"But that's not all?"

"N-No. I, ah... w-well, Mia and Zoe are my best friends, but they're each other's best friends, and..." Rebecca paused. She'd never expressed these feelings to anyone before and had only done so because she knew Oliver could relate to her on some level. Opening up felt halfway between good and bad, and she wasn't sure she wanted to keep going.

Ultimately, Rebecca put her trust in Oliver's empathy and continued pouring her heart out.

"I know a lot of it is all in my head, b-but sometimes it feels like I'm just an afterthought... or... a girl who can't swim watching from the beach as all her friends splash around in the ocean, maybe? I-I don't know. I'm not good at metaphors. Or- um, a lot of other things, really..."

The more he heard, the bigger the growing lump in Oliver's throat became. He had a clear mission in mind for the foreseeable future- fix the Zoe situation- but Rebecca's depressing innermost feelings threatened to shake things up.

He felt for her. He really, really did. So much so that he was tempted to make an actual push toward somehow making her a heroine solely in the hopes that it would help him to help her.

Maybe when things settle down a little more, he thought to himself, slipping. In the meantime, I can still help Rebecca by lending my ear and being her friend.

Suppressing the unavoidable urge to hug the poor girl and tell her everything would be okay, Oliver remained rational by asking, "And you've never brought any of this up with either of them?"

"Oh, no, I-I would never! I don't want to bum them out, and, um... t-there's always the chance they'd be upset at me if it turned out it was all in my head..."

"I'm not going to try and tell you off since I know how hard dealing with constant self-doubt can be, so all I'll say is that I really don't think Mia or Zoe are that type of person,"

"I know..." Rebecca stared softly until managing an anxious smile and asking for further reassurance, "What, um... what makes you so sure, though?"

"Because in my experience, they'd have turned on you the second you even slightly inconvenienced them if they didn't actually care for you. Can't say that I ever had a single 'friend' growing up who would've helped me with my anxiety the way that Zoe did for you, that's for sure..."

The reassurance had the intended effect as well as a downside. Rebecca felt conflicted again. More than anything else, though, she was disappointed in herself. "You're right... I know you're right... I just hate that no matter how many times I try and internalize what you're saying, I always circle back to my same old doubts time after time..."

"Maybe your problem is that you've been trying to sort through your feelings alone?"

"I um... I mean, I see a counselor every other week, b-but..."

"Let me guess. You just sit there and say everything is fine because you don't want to bother them?"

Rebecca sheepishly looked away.

"Figures," he sighed. "You should probably work on that, but putting it aside for the moment, I was trying to say that I can help you if you'll let me."

"You... you can? How?"

"By being your friend, silly. If you ever catch yourself getting trapped in a spiral of self-doubting, anxiety, or something else altogether, well... you have my number, don't you?"

Rebecca's eyes went wide as she subtly trembled in her seat. She didn't want to bother Oliver. She didn't want to bother anyone, really. If Rebecca could've had her way, she'd prefer to live in the awkward little limbo she'd constructed for herself. Her isolated bubble where her problems remained precisely that- hers- and no one else's.

But...

After spilling her heart out to this kindred spirit and being treated with nothing in return save for an overabundant combination of kindness, patience, and understanding?

Another piece of armor popped right off as she swallowed the lump in her throat and clutched her phone in her pocket, whimpering, "I... I do... and I p-promise I'll use it if I have to. Thank you, Oliver. Thank you. Really. Thank you. Thank you, thank you, thank you."

"...Rebecca? Are you okay?"

"N-No. Short-circuiting. I-I, um, t-that's enough t-t-talking about me for now, p-p-please..."

"Of course," Oliver offered up a soft smile before making one last triumphant, if compulsive, push. "One last thing, though. As soon as I'm done clearing up all this current drama, my attention is going straight towards helping you close the emotional gap you feel towards your friends. I promise right here and now that I won't rest until Mia and Zoe openly call you their best friend straight to your face."

If Rebecca was short-circuiting before, now her entire brain was on fire. There was no computing power left up there whatsoever. Her heart raced, and she started sweating bullets. Clutching her chest, the girl began breathing deep breaths in and out... in and out... in... and... out.

It looked like she was having a panic attack. Or worse.

Oliver wanted to kick himself in the balls.

"Rebecca? You, uh... doing good over there...?"

"NoIamoverstimulatedandIwouldlikeitverymuchifyoutookmycardandpleaseboughtmeanothericecreampleasesugarhelpsmecalmdownIknowthatsoundssillybuttrustmeitdoeshelp-"

Oliver gaped silently, seconds away from whipping out his phone and calling 911.

Rebecca bit her lip, presented her debit card, and pointed at her empty bowl and then the register.

"And that'll... help?"

She nodded rapidly, getting the point across as well as she could. Oliver took the card and returned to the empty line, not a second too soon.

That spur-of-the-moment promise just now was... too much for Rebecca. It wasn't just nice of him to say that- it was the nicest thing anyone had ever said to her; full stop. Being who she was, how was she supposed to emotionally process... that? Her brain couldn't even attempt to sort it out.

Her heart, though? It made up its mind pretty damn quick, simultaneously shattering another three whole pieces of her mental armor without warning. If Rebecca wasn't careful, the poor girl would run out sooner than later... and then?

Then she'd end up naked.

***

Oliver Chase | Strength 9 | Style 5 | Spark 1 | Smarts 4
Cash: $1056 | LP: 100