Love Addict’s RPG Vol 2 Ch 85 (Patreon)

And it’s finally done. I think it’s a pretty fun one and a good start to the new day. This last week has been very up and down as I’ve felt the medication starting to straighten me out and stabilize my emotions a lot more compared to a few weeks ago, but I have no idea how long this stabilization phase will last. I’m feeling better but it’s only marginally. I almost didn’t finish this one today but I challenged myself to at least do that much, and I’m happy I did. Releasing new stuff and seeing your comments is the biggest boost to my mood I ever get!

For those who haven’t read the outline, expect today to have a split focus between Zoe during the day and Mia at night. Fun things are coming.

***

Sunday, February 25th

Oliver began the next day with a thrilling lesson on the difference between a weed hangover and a drinking hangover. He'd only experienced the former, which always left him sluggish and disassociative. Waking up after binge drinking dialed that sluggishness up to eleven while slapping on a horrifying headache to go along with it.

It was like someone threw him in a church bell before hammering it a few hundred times. Naturally, the generic royalty-free BGM running through his mind was appreciated now more than ever.

Ten out of ten, magic dating sims powers. No notes. He mentally grumbled, sitting up and nearly hurling in the process. A pan sizzled in his kitchen, and the smell drifting his way did nothing to help his aching stomach.

"What're you cooking over there...?" Oliver asked, rubbing his eyes. Several notifications blocked his line of sight which he purposefully ignored while rejoining the waking world.

"A special [Hangover Cure Recipe] I learned FROM one of my [Acquaintances]!" Bradley cheerily clued him in. "Should clear you RIGHT up my, [Friend]!"

"Thank God. I don't know how I'd survive without you."

"Poorly?"

"Hm. Actually, yeah. 'Poorly' sums it right up." Oliver stretched out with a yawn. After confirming it was ten in the morning, he checked his notifications. One was good, one was bad.

The good,

[Milestone Achieved! Hung out with Mia's Brothers +30LP]

The bad,

[Spent $200]

Oliver's headache doubled in intensity as he cradled his face in his palm. "Bradley, any chance you can tell me why I spent a fifth of my savings last night?"

"I CERTAINLY could! However, we both know you're ASKING me another of your infamous [Rhetorical Questions]. Why don't you [Take a Stab] at IT?"

"Juan talked me into paying the tab, didn't he?"

"Ding, ding, DING! A [Winner] IS [You]!"

"And Julio just let that happen?"

"Indeed, he did! I believe he CALLED it their [Advisory Fee]."

"Those fucking scumbags," Oliver laughed, shaking his head.

Honestly, he wasn't even mad. Buying their drinks was the least he could do after the mess his powers put them through, and from what he could remember, Oliver had a lot of fun hanging out with the twins last night. That alone was well worth the price of admission. Getting 30LP for hermano happy hour made the trade-off sting less, too.

Oliver thought it was nice that his powers awarded him for getting closer to Mia's family. He wouldn't have expected it beforehand, but now it was something he'd have to keep in mind going forward.

"If it comes as ANY [consolation], I bought my OWN [Drinks]!"

"Of course you did," Oliver dragged himself from his bed to the coffee table. "And for that, I thank you."

Next came shooting Mia a text, telling her he hoped she had a good time today and he'd see her later. She didn't respond, which was fine. She was probably already at her parents' house, and Oliver knew she didn't check her phone while there.

It was more for him than it was for her. Texting his girlfriend made the little idiot happy.

One thing Oliver wasn't happy about was his mostly unintentional decision to get blackout drunk. It just sort of happened. Juan and Julio kept drinking, and therefore so did he. This meant he didn't get to sneak in any stat training with Sleep Optimization. 

Tonight for sure, he thought, doubling his conviction. He had a lot on his plate today, but he wouldn't get anywhere with his heroines if he didn't start putting the work in, and far be it from Oliver not to rise to the occasion.

He only wished he didn't have to rise to the occasion of eating Bradley's supposed hangover cure. Breakfast was a random assortment of fruits and vegetables cooked in bacon grease. That by itself wasn't the weirdest thing in the world. Oliver was sure it'd taste great on broccoli, but he wasn't convinced it was a natural fit for dragon fruits, sunchokes, or Jamaican tangelos.

Sucking it up, Oliver suffered every bite and was better off for it. His hangover faded the more he worked through the meal. Not that he doubted Bradley for even a second. The man got results.

"So. Did I miss anything big after you joined the party last night?" Oliver asked from the kitchen sink. He was washing his plate and the pan, wanting out of guilt to at least do some of the work around here.

"Not MUCH! After THAT point, the [Topic of Discussion] primarily FOCUSED around [Embarrassing Stories] taken from the youth of [First Girlfriend Mia Rosas]!"

"Wait, really? Fucking damn it. I remember every word of advice the twins shot my way, but not so much as a lick of that." Oliver pouted. "She got lucky."

"If you SO [Desire], I can [Recount] the many [Personal Anecdotes] that were SHARED!"

"Nah, I'd feel weird hearing about that kinda stuff coming from you. No offense."

"NONE taken!" Bradley shot him a wink along with the finger guns of understanding. The artificial bro then recalled something, saying, "Ah, yes. I believe there WAS one [Matter of Importance] worth [Reiterating] in CASE you've [Chugged Away] the memory! [Julio Rosas] proposed a follow-up [Strategy Meeting] next Saturday to DISCUSS your approach regarding [Potential Fifth Heroine Rebecca Bergmann]!"

"...I didn't say anything stupid, did I?"

"Is this another [Rhetorical-"

"No. Well, kind of? I was drunk as hell. I'm sure I said tons of stupid shit, but did I say anything stupid about Rebecca?"

"To QUOTE the [Oldest] of the [Rosas Siblings] when you [Nervously Asked] him the SAME exact [Question], you didn't HAVE to!"

Oliver closed his eyes and sighed. "Whatever. We'll put a pin in that for now, one thing at a time."

"You've been SAYING that so much it MIGHT as well be your [Personal Motto]!"

"Wouldn't be the worst words I've lived by," he managed a dark laugh while finishing his chore.

The boys then moved on and discussed pregame strategy.

There was little to be said. Oliver simply repeated the twin's advice to Bradley, making doubly sure he still remembered. Everything boiled down to not being afraid of lowering Zoe's affection score in the short term, playing hard to get, being shameless, and pushing forward no matter what.

Business as usual.

Wanting to get a move on, Oliver gave Bradley a firm handshake before the guy ventured off to presumably collect more bizarre hobo recipes for his repertoire. A hot shower came next. Oliver spent the entire time building his confidence, sharpening his focus by repeating positive affirmations within his mind.

He emerged with a determined expression that disappeared with a laugh once he saw how goofy he looked in the mirror.

Doing his hair and picking an outfit took longer than usual. Embarrassing as it was to admit, he knew the reason why. Oliver wanted to impress Zoe. Even if she didn't get another affection boost, knowing he looked good still did his confidence wonders.

Yeah, this'll do, he smiled at his reflection, pleased with the wavy-haired guy in a tight white tank top, navy blue button-up shirt, and black cargo shorts smiling back. Oliver left his bathroom after giving Gollum a fistbump... but not before feeling embarrassed about it.

It was 11:00 once he'd finished all his preening. Before heading over to the girl's place, Oliver wanted to check if Zoe had taken a break at any point since she'd fucked off to her room.

He booted up her Tweak page, which showed she was live. That was far from shocking, but he was surprised to see she'd only been streaming for about three hours. Zoe's archive revealed the previous stream started after she'd gone back to her room and ended three hours before the current one.

Oliver smiled.

Great. Looks like Zoe at least tried to sleep last night. Doubt this means she'll be any less pissed when I pull the plug, but still. Credit where it's due.

Oliver watched some of her current stream to see what she was doing. Her room was as dark and neon-lit as ever, though she sat on a big exercise ball in front of her TV instead of hanging out at her computer. She was speedrunning an early 3D stealth game while wearing a tacky camo bikini, cat-eared headphones, and thigh highs.

It goes without saying that she was making damn good use of the exercise ball, bouncing in such a way that kept the donations flowing. Oliver gulped, trying to suppress the part of himself that wished he was the ball. He shook the lust off, focusing less on Zoe's body and more on the game.

Zoe's stream was currently titled '#SlothingOut with Iron Cog'. He knew from going through her content on Me2ube that 'Slothing Out' was the name of her more casual streams where she played whatever she felt like. He also knew that she did a lot less of them than she used to in favor of recent releases and whatever's trending.

Oliver was happy to see Zoe taking it easy with one of her old favorites, but he was even happier to hear this speedrun was almost over.

"Almost there, chat. Just gotta hit C4 skip and then backward stealth jump during the Gatling Corvid boss fight. We'll hit the end credits in juuuust a few if we can pull it off, you fuckin' pervs...!" Zoe said, grinning like a madwoman. She had a fire burning in her eyes so fierce it almost distracted from her tits nearly spilling out between strategic bounces.

Damn it, Zoe, he sighed.

Oliver was amused and profoundly curious about how she hadn't been temp-banned sooner.

He stopped watching upon noticing his growing distraction. Despite that he'd never even played the game, listening to Zoe rant and rave about speedrunning techniques was tons of fun. That, or his crush on Zoe big enough that he could listen to her talk about paint drying and still find the entertainment value.

Oliver shrugged off his simping and walked to his car. He didn't zoom straight over to their apartment once his fast travel menu opened. Grabbing Zoe something to eat to quell her inevitable gamer rage seemed a smart idea, so he warped to a random fast food joint and bought a random smattering of junk off their breakfast menu. 

While Oliver didn't know Zoe's exact tastes, he doubted the insatiable roommate would have many complaints given her bottomless appetite.

[Spent $30]

It might not be Aphrodite's, but here's hoping...

He momentarily parked and opened his car door again to retrigger the menu, then arrived at the girls' place seconds later. Mia thankfully remembered to leave the door unlocked for him, so he came in, kicked off his shoes, turned on some lights, and set the food on the coffee table. It was as silent as the grave, aside from Zoe occasionally breaking through her soundproofing.

Next came the hard part.

As someone who suffered from social anxiety, not much terrified Oliver more than the thought of inconveniencing someone he liked. Especially when it'd get him yelled at. Oh well. Now was the time to suck it up, and far be it from him to not rise to the occasion.

Oliver sent Zoe a text message warning her that he was in the living room, giving her a few minutes to respond and end the stream of her own volition. No response. Five minutes later, he took matters into his own hands. He pulled the router's power cord, severing the streamer's internet connection.

Zoe's angered voice bellowed out not even a second later.

"What the shit?!"

Here we go, Oliver braced himself.

Zoe kicked open her door, storming into the living room. Her face scrunched up into a primal rage, and her chiptune BGM started playing when they locked eyes. It was a more aggressive mix than usual, like retro music sputtering out of a damaged speaker.

The music spiked when she saw him holding the power cord.

"Dude. Olive, are you fuckin' kidding me?!" She stomped toward him, all but shoving her bikini-clad body in his face. "I was RIGHT in the middle of a starting up a new speedrun!"

[Zoe has lost -15 Affection!]

Yikes, that hurt. Oliver knew she'd be pissed, but not minus fifteen pissed. Talk about a knee-jerk reaction.

It's fine, I'll get it back, he doubled down, refusing to let it get to him.

"Nice to see you, too, Zoe," Oliver bounced back. "Did you forget we planned this out ahead of time?"

"No, I know, I just... it was an important stream, Olive. Fuck. You should've texted me or-"

Oliver pulled out his phone and showed her he had.

Her angered expression eased somewhat, along with her theme song's intensity. She let out a frustrated sigh and then took her phone from her bra, unintentionally exposing a purple pasty. Oliver mostly ignored the view.

His phone buzzed a few seconds later.

-

Zoe: Sorry bro my bad lol........

-

Zoe scratched the back of her head as she looked away, blushing. Her flushed face was locked in an embarrassed scowl. Oliver tried not to laugh as a new notification popped up.

[Milestone Achieved! Texted Zoe +5 LP]

"It's cool," he said. "You'll presumably get over it, being a big girl and all."

"Bigger than you, short-stuff," Zoe fired back. "Whatever. I'm glad you showed up."

"Yeah. I could tell from how you rolled out the red carpets for me."

"What, I can't be pissed off and happy to see you?" She crossed her arms, now relaxed enough to sharply smirk.

[Zoe has gained +5 Affection!]

Regaining a chunk of what was lost helped Oliver cope as it reaffirmed her intentions. Regardless of her mood, Zoe still wanted him here. Still wanted his help. That was all he could ask of her, and it was enough justification for him to put his best foot forward.

Oliver smiled back.

"I'm happy to see you too,"

"Heh. More like you're happy to see my tits. Pro tip? You aren't so subtle when you stare, perv."

"Oh, shut up," he laughed. "I've got a pro tip for you, too. If you storm out of your room dressed like a dollar store hooker, there's a good chance you'll attract wandering eyes."

"Dollar store?! Too fuckin' far, Olive. Too. Fuckin'. Far."

"Hey, if the ninety-nine cent buy-one-get-one-free bikini fits..."

All pretenses went up in smoke as Zoe erupted into laughter, popping off so hard he earned back more points.

[Zoe has gained +1 Affection! +1 Smooth Talker]

"Fuck, that was a good burn, and I can't say I don't deserve it. Shit's downright trailer park trashy, but it gets eyeballs." Zoe said, shifting her top in a way that made her tits jiggle magnificently. Her eyes never left Oliver's while she did, teasing, "Take a pic. It'll last longer."

Oliver raised his phone and snapped a pic. There was no build up, no fanfare. He simply acted with total nonchalance.

It tripped Zoe up.

"Dude! What the fuck, Olive?" She took a step back, giving him a funny look as she blushed and briefly covered her chest with one arm.

"Oh, were you not being literal? Sorry. Might've spent a little too much time with Rebecca yesterday. I can delete it if you want."

"No, it's cool. Keep it. Fuckin' jack off to it for all I care, but like... warn a bitch next time, geez..."

Oliver felt his more dominant side cropping up again after pressing the gamer girl's buttons and playing with fire suddenly seemed a lot more appealing. He pointedly looked her up and down, commenting, "Huh. If I didn't know better, I'd almost think you were embarrassed."

"Yeah, right. I lost every ounce of shame in my body a few years back, and I haven't looked back since... embarrassed, pfft... fuck off with that noise."

She was only getting redder.

"Christ. You're blushing crazy hard right now."

"I- gah, are you fuckin' trying to annoy me, Olive? Because I thought you wanted to hang out or whatever the fuck, not take the piss out of me!"

"Pretty sure we've firmly established I want nothing to do with your piss by now, thanks. Again- not my thing." He teased, then gestured towards the bag of fast food. "Now would you maybe like to move on from this little topic and get some breakfast in you, or..."

"Fuck, dude. Thought you'd never ask." Zoe sank her ass into the couch and dug into the bag, sorting out its contents. He knew she ate a lot, so a lot, he brought. "I was trying to be polite and show some restraint, but my mouth's straight up watering from the fuckin' smell..."

She paused, looking at a wrapped-up breakfast sandwich and then at Oliver after he sat down with her. Her expression turned to a thoughtful frown.

"Something wrong?"

"Nah, I... well, kinda," Zoe pointed at the food. "You sure this is cool?"

"Why wouldn't it be?"

"I dunno... just feeling a little guilty for snapping at you after you got me all this, I guess?"

"Why do you think I even brought breakfast in the first place?"

"Because you've got a crush on your girlfriend's bad bitch of a BFF?"

"Because I knew you'd be pissed and wanted to soften the blow," Oliver laughed off the accusation.

"Eh. I still don't really get why you'd purposefully come here just to get bitched at, I- wait..." her eyes narrowed. "Is this some kinda kink thing?"

"No, dummy. It's a friend thing. I'm here because I promised I'd help you."

Zoe stared at him for a few seconds before unwrapping a sandwich and stuffing her face with it. "...Is that all there is to it?" She asked between bites. "You really don't have any ulterior motives?"

Zoe sounded curious rather than accusatory, which brought Julio's advice to mind. The part where he should play hard to get and beat around the bush.

Oliver acted accordingly.

"I wouldn't say none whatsoever," he smirked, playing it cool. "Not to drag you through the mud, but I could go without Mia and Rebecca worrying their heads off over you."

Zoe frowned, then devoured her current sandwich in a few small bites. She started on another one. It lasted her even less long. "I feel you there," she mumbled sadly. "You're a good dude, Olive. A real good one. Here's hoping I end up learning a thing or two from you."

As she finished her second sandwich, Oliver was drawn to the crumbs Zoe was getting all over her chest.

"I could start by teaching you how to wear a bib. You maybe wanna throw on a shirt or something before going to town?"

"Why?" Zoe grinned, making a big deal of brushing off her tits while licking her lips. "Can't tear your eyes away?"

Oliver swerved to avoid her trap, then tapped into his shamelessness to tease back, "From the ninety-five percent naked girl sitting to my left? Shockingly, no. She's a little distracting."

"Really? Why? It's not like you haven't already seen me like this."

"Being a titty streamer somehow hasn't taught you that we guys don't get tired of things we've seen before?"

"I mean, sure, but that's different. Most of my simps are fuckin' basement-dwelling losers who think I'll suddenly fall in love with if they keep sending me money."

"Was that not how it works?"

"Dunno yet," Zoe chuckled. "I'll let you know if one makes it that far."

Oliver smirked, then felt a random pang of introspection.

"Do you ever feel bad about the grift?" He asked. "Not that I'm judging what you do or anything, PG-13 sex work is still work, I'm just curious."

"Eh. From my perspective? Not much of a grift. All I really do is wear slutty clothes while gaming and occasionally jiggle my tits on camera. If horny internet losers wanna throw money at me for that, that's on them. Hell, I barely even encourage donations."

"You know what? Fair. Those kinds of people will just wind up spending money on some random internet hot chick. No good reason that it shouldn't be you."

"My thinking exactly, Olive," she grinned, satisfied. "Glad we've reached an agreement on the ethics of titty streaming."

"Same. Now how about we circle back to the part where you were so clearly fishing for a compliment?"

"...Huh?" Zoe blinked.

"You already know I find you totally hot," Oliver confessed. "Why play stupid and act like you don't understand why I'd be distracted unless you're deliberately trying to make me say it?"

Again, Zoe went quiet. She also went red this time. Then she laughed and turned her nose up at him. "Uh, yeah, nah. No fuckin' clue what the fuck you're going on about, perv. I think you're projecting."

"And I think you're desperate for compliments," Oliver smiled innocently.

Zoe opened her mouth to dispute the claim only to discover a lump formed in her throat, preventing any words from coming out. This only made her frustration boil over, her face even redder as she stood up and stomped toward her room.

[Zoe has lost -1 Affection!]

"Oh, fuck off! I'm not desperate for shit. That clear?"

Oliver just kept smirking. "Crystal."

"Rgh... just... gimme a sec and I'll throw something on, okay? You went and pissed me off, so now I'm revoking your privilege to ogle my ninety-five percent naked body while I'm eating breakfast." Zoe slammed her door on him before he could fire back with further teasing.

It was good that she did, as the madlad was on fire. He already had a zinger lined up about being unsure he could make it through the day without her the sight of crumb-covered titties.

This wasn't quite what Julio meant when he'd told Oliver not to be afraid of pissing Zoe off. He was more talking about making short-term sacrifices that she'd find endearing in retrospect, but stressing out over numbers and game mechanics prevented Oliver from seeing what was right in front of him; that Zoe was fucking adorable when she was pissed.

At least most of the time. She wasn't so cute when yelling at him for killing her stream, but when she got all huffy and took his minor teasing personally? Mn, that was the good stuff. It spoke to his darker side, making him want to mess with her more and more.

I get it now. I finally, finally get it! Oliver realized. No wonder all those red-pilled assholes went on and on about negging, I-

It took him a second to catch himself. If Oliver had an affection bar for how much he liked himself, this would've made it go down from about negative fifty to negative one hundred. He cradled his face in his palm, embarrassed and ashamed.

Teasing Zoe was fun, but far be it from him to let himself get drunk on being an asshole.

I'm better than that. I WILL be better than that. Oliver vowed, his determination to become the world's most ethical fuckboy deepening ever still.

Today was his big chance. There were some major strides in his relationship with Zoe coming up. Unlocking her first heart event seemed like a given, as did nabbing the 'hung out with' milestone. Neither was enough for him. He was ready to push for as much as he could get away with.

A couple of minutes passed, and Oliver started to worry she was messing around on her socials. Despite his concerns, he waited patiently. She deserved the benefit of the doubt, which he gave her for five minutes until knocking on her door

"Zoe? Are you good in there?"

Her sarcastic voice shot back a second later.

"Yep, doing a-okay, Dad. Geez. And you think I'm desperate? Get a load of you, Olive. Can't even go five fuckin' minutes without me!"

"Guilty as charged. That, and I thought I'd make sure you weren't screwing around on the net."

"I was, but all I did was type up an excuse for why my stream got cut off. I didn't want everyone worried I'd been banned again or some shit."

"Ah, yeah. That's fair. Take your time, then. Sorry."

"You're good. Thanks for checking, dude... and hey, just so you know? I mean it."

Oliver smiled out of pride, then went back to the couch to give Zoe some privacy. It was only another two minutes before she came out wearing the same shirt with her logo on it that Juan was repping last night and a pair of baggy, purple track pants. A fresh can of gulpies in her hand completed the look.

It was a casual, laid-back outfit. There was no real reason for Oliver to react strongly, but he was blushing all the same.

Zoe didn't get it.

"Uh. The fuck's with the creepy ass grin? I thought the point of throwing on some clothes to get you to stop gaping at me, but here you are, staring like I fuckin' walked out naked..."

"Your hair,"

"...Huh?"

"I've never seen you put it up before..."

"Oh. Right. I guess you haven't?" Zoe stood awkwardly at her door, reaching behind her head to mess with her hair tie. "I dunno. You obviously spent some time trying to doll yourself up for me this morning, so... fuck it. Thought I'd try something new."

"Really?" He asked, smiling even wider. "Wow. All that work, and just for me, huh?"

"Nothing's ever simple with you, is it? Rain or shine, you've always gotta clap back..."

"It's nice, Zoe. Really nice."

"Yeah? Okay. Cool... um... still not really sure what's up with your smile, though. Is this a big deal to you or something? Got a thing for ponytails?"

"Do I have to have a 'thing' for something to think it's cute?"

Zoe blushed back before finally giving in and smiling out of confused acceptance.

[Zoe has gained +1 Affection! +1 Smooth Talker]

"Guess not. I just assume the worst when it comes to you, Olive." She teased, throwing her body on the couch and hunching over the coffee table. "Now do me a favor and zip it. I promise we got all the time in the fuckin' world for cutesy back-and-forth shit, but for now, this bitch is hangry."

Oliver complied, and thus, the ravenous feast resumed.

Crumbs still got all over Zoe's hangry tits.

***

Stat Changes

Oliver Chase | Strength 9 | Style 5 | Spark 1 | Smarts 4
Cash: $826 | LP: 135

Zoe Myers | Status: Friend | 76/100 | ♡♡♡♡♡