Love Collector Ch. 20 (Patreon)

Big one because I really like writing texting scenes and get carried away lol

---

Bradley is going to be fine, Oliver convinced himself by repeating the thought over and over and over and over again until it finally started to sound somewhat believable. Realistically, he wasn't much weirder than your average Vista Venus native. People would probably assume he was one of those odd robot-themed mimes from the boardwalk who took their performance way too seriously or something. Or maybe they just wouldn't respond to him in the same way that Oliver did. No one saw him warping around the city with his car, so there was a nonzero chance that Bradley might seem normal to anyone who wasn't in the know about how the sausage got made.

Oliver was still a little worried about Bradley getting into an incident with the homeless, but he forced himself to file the issue into his brain's 'too much stuff has happened today and this isn't my fucking problem' cabinet for the sake of his mental health.

Problem solved?

Oliver was finally alone again. He explored his menus almost instantly after getting home earlier, so this was the first time he could decompress. Although he was only mentally present for a few hours today, his body didn't get the memo. Guess he didn't have a zero in strength for nothing.

He sighed, thinking it would be a pain to start working out, only to force down his disappointment by remembering what he was fighting for. Dimming the lights and stripping to only his boxers, Oliver curled up in bed with his phone and opened his contact list, staring idly at Mia's newly added number. Not counting Tessa, this would be the first time he'd texted a girl.

It was supposed to be a casual thing, and for the most part, it was. There was just a pervasive feeling of pregame anxiety as Oliver's thumb hovered over Mia's name, hesitating and drawing the moment out. If he hadn't gone through one existential crisis after another today, this might've been more challenging than it ended up being.

Luckily, he had, so Oliver sent off three quick texts in short succession like it was no big deal.

---

Oliver:
Hey, Mia
Just checking in like you told me to
Woulda done it sooner but a friend stopped by to hang for a bit

---

It was a big deal.

Oliver was nervous while typing the texts and even more nervous after sending them. Strangely, it was a good kind of nervous. A kind where he also felt inexplicably proud of himself for stepping out of his comfort zone. It wasn't like this was some monumental achievement. He'd only shot off a couple of texts to a girl he was interested in. However, Oliver's self-satisfaction was wholly justified for someone with his brand of troubled past. Just texting Mia wasn't enough, though. He needed to make something happen here.

He wanted to make something happen.

His goal was to have an actual conversation with her through text, to not let it die out if he could help it, and if he was really lucky, try and come up with a way for them to hang out tomorrow after work or sometime this weekend. The tricky part was making it seem casual and not like he was asking her out on a date. Oliver wanted to wait until they'd had at least one Heart Event for that.

Though he told Bradley off about it, calling Mia the 'tutorial girl' wasn't entirely the worst way to look at it. Not when you had permanent gamer brainrot like Oliver did. He wanted to see number go up. After it had done so enough to take him to his first major turning point with Mia, that would be the time to strike.

In the meantime, Oliver was just hoping Mia saw his damn texts already. With every passing moment, his heart was pounding at a stupider pace, dreading the possibility of getting left on read. It wasn't that late, but he wondered if he waited too long. Maybe she was already in bed and he'd gotten himself all worked up over nothing.

Five minutes after he sent them, Oliver saw a bubble that indicated Mia was typing and nearly had a heart attack. The anticipation was almost enough to make him sweat. His phone buzzed in his hands.

---

Mia:
so ur feelin good enuff to hang huh
guess I was worried for nothin smh

---

Milestone Achieved!

Texted Mia +5LP

---

Oh, God. This was so much worse than if she said nothing at all. He was so nervous he couldn't even celebrate his new milestone. Was she actually upset with him? What kind of tone was he supposed to read that in? Literal? Sarcastic? If only she'd included some kind of indicator or-

His phone buzzed thirty seconds into his panic attack.

---

Mia:
jk lol
thats rly good
how u feelin now tho

---

Oliver smiled nervously and took a deep breath. This was stupid, but he found out that feeling stupid also felt pretty nice for some reason. He didn't know getting so excited at something as simple as this was possible. Sure, much of his life was spent reading text from cute girls on a screen, but those were all fictional girls.

Mia was real.

---

Oliver:
Better now that I'm talking to you

---

"Ah...? Shit..."

His excitement got the best of him- his thumbs blurred, and Oliver pressed send without even realizing what he had just typed. That heart attack he was afraid of seemed like it was creeping closer by the second. It just sort of came off the cuff. He didn't mean to imply anything, but it was already out there, and he couldn't take it back. Well, he could... if he wanted to be lame as hell and throw out a 'jk' of his own. Oliver knew how bad that would look, though. He figured it was better to just own up to it.

It didn't help his mental state that Mia's reply was slow. It took her three minutes of on-and-off intermittent typing to say anything back.

---

Mia:
whoa smooth lmao
srs tho if talking to me helps calm u down or w/e do it more

Oliver:
I try.
Was already planning to, long as I wouldn't be a bother?

Mia:
bother me dude
whenever idc
don't got much else goin on like... ever

---

Oliver's heart was still racing, but it was much more manageable now that conversation had been established and the initial shock factor was wearing thin. This felt comfortable, somehow. He wasn't kidding when he said talking to her made him feel better. Usually, the last thing he wanted was for someone to worry about him, but Oliver guessed it was different when it was Mia doing the worrying and not his parents.

---

Oliver:
Really just testing your luck, huh
Could've opened Pandora's Box by telling me that.
What if I'm actually like super clingy?

Mia:
I could think of worse developments
all jokin aside
are u doin ok
today was a fuckin roller coaster, man
been waitin to hear from u all night

Oliver:
Yeah... I'm good now I think.

Mia:
u think?

Oliver:
Well, things could always be better right

Mia:
sure
but thats not good enough for me
how can I *make* things better?

---

That was a dangerous question, one Oliver could think of all sorts of replies to. He didn't let his excitement carry him away, though. Not again. He instead grounded himself in the current moment by speaking from the heart.

---

Oliver:
I was being serious earlier.
Just keep chatting with me and I'll be plenty happy.

Mia:
...
boy u are sendin mixed signals like nobody's business
goddamn

Oliver:
Sorry...

Mia:
I'm mostly joking
mostly
just don't clam up on me again, ok
I know u weren't in a great headspace
and it prolly didn't seem like it but
idk
was really tryin to put myself out there u gilipollas
shit
dont google that
fuck
you still totally are one but fuck

---

A quick Google search revealed that she essentially called him the Spanish equivalent of a dickhead, or a wanker if you were British. Oliver couldn't help but laugh and admit that she had every reason to think that after opening herself up to him. The ball was in his court, however. He made up his mind not to fumble it.

---

Oliver:
I don't have a good excuse for what happened
But it's not gonna happen again.
Mia
You're really cool, and I feel crazy stupid because I'm sitting here like, 'I've known this chick for a year and a half and took so damn long to actually get to know her' and now all I wanna do is make up for lost time
if you'll let me, of course

---

Oliver was nervous after sending such a dramatic string of texts. It took around half a minute before Mia started typing again. Before her next message arrived, a small notification popped up next to Oliver's phone that went a long way toward easing his anxiety.

---

Mia Gained 1 Affection!

---

Mia:
oh I'll let u lol
u owe me this, ese

---

Learning that it was possible to increase affection through texting was a valuable new discovery, and in the short term, it gave Oliver some added perspective. Mia was happy that he wanted to make it up to her. It told him that she wanted to keep talking to him and that he shouldn't be afraid to continue texting her.

Oliver was in the clear to move things along and try having a more casual conversation. He didn't have experience talking to girls like this, but it's not like it was rocket science. When in doubt, ask basic questions.

---

Oliver:
Great
So what were you up to before I texted?

Mia:
nm
just kinda vibin and workin on some sketches
before u ask yes I draw but I'm not a draw-er
that's not a fuckin thing that's furniter
*ture

---

"Damn," Oliver remarked at how fast he was gifted a way forward. He could see countless things he could ask Mia about from here and a few potential paths to set up his secondary objective of hanging out with her sometime this weekend. He didn't want to say this would be easy, but it wouldn't be as hard as he was worried it might be.

Out of curiosity, Oliver opened Mia's heroine profile and saw that 'drawing' was now listed among her likes. Guess that wasn't important enough to notify him about, but it was good to know his valuable database was updating itself as he learned more about Mia.

---

Oliver:
oh cool, yea I've seen the good draw-er memes lol
Really though, what kind of art do you do? Anime stuff?

Mia:
mostly ye

Oliver:
You know you have to show me now right

Mia:
nahhh don't HAVE to do anythin

Oliver:
wow

Mia:
send me a selfie tho and maybe somethin happens
or maybe it doesn't
one way to find out

Oliver:
Uh
1 sec?

---

Oliver was surprised by Mia's sudden request. He wasn't in a state to take a picture of himself, but that could be straightened out. It sounded like she was willing to sketch him. It was flattering to imagine, if a little embarrassing. Oliver decided that the embarrassment was worth putting up with, and so was the pain in his muscles as he forced himself out of bed and dragged himself to the bathroom.

He fussed with his hair, a bit of color blooming in his cheeks as he remembered Stacy's backhanded compliment that morning. Maybe she had a point? He'd have more time for personal hygiene from now on, anyway. Just another benefit of getting to skip traffic.

When he was done making himself look presentable, Oliver threw on a shirt and turned his light on. It should go without saying that he wasn't an expert at taking selfies. In actuality, he'd never even taken one before in his life. There wasn't much reason to when you were shy, and social media was never your thing.

Oliver quickly skimmed an article about taking good selfies because he didn't want to fuck this up too bad. It didn't help much, in his humble opinion. Mia was waiting for him, so he didn't bother getting hung up on the little details and sent over what he considered the best of the lot.

He got confirmation that she read the message a few seconds after sending it, at which point she shot him a quick reply telling him to wait for a few minutes. He did, which was as nerve-racking as ever despite his excitement about seeing Mia's skill.

His phone buzzed five minutes later, and a photo of a black-and-white pencil sketch on a sketchbook page arrived.

The verdict was in. Despite her protests, Mia was a good draw-er. A really good one. Although the demonstration was just a sketch, her line work was fluid and aggressive, with bold shadows. He'd seen enough anime art to know that she was on the level of a professional, especially considering that such a sketch only took her roughly five minutes of work.

There was just one problem with the sketch that Oliver didn't know how to approach. He'd sent Mia a selfie like she asked for, but he had no fucking idea who the drawing she sent back was supposed to be of.

It was clearly based on the selfie, but calling it a loose adaptation would be missing it by a mile. Oliver only managed a nervous grin, whereas the sketch looked closer to one of the anime villains on her pins today, with a broad, confident, outright arrogant-looking, sharp-toothed grin. His scruffy black hair, which obscured his eyes even after brushing, was transformed into wild, untamed locks, and the eyes poking out from behind his bangs were cocksure. Wild, even.

She drew him like one of her 2D boys.

---

Oliver:
Ok
first off, you're amazing, second, who the hell is that supposed to be lmao
Is that like how you see me or something because I think you might need glasses

Mia:
I do wear glasses
everyday
u seen them before ollie
a lot

Oliver:
...
god I'm so fucking bad at this

Mia:
lmao you are but dw
anyway ye I took a few creative liberties
but I think its still p accurate
glad u like it tho
was just a quick sketch

---

Oliver laughed at how easily she dismissed the discrepancies. If Mia was really going to insist that's how she saw him, he wouldn't argue with her. He could still press her even harder from here, though, so he continued asking her about art.

---

Oliver:
Even if it's a sketch or not you still did great
So how long have you been drawing?

Mia:
o god ur rly gonna run through all the questions aren't u
let me lightnin round this shit hold on
1, a long time
2, self taught, mostly
3, no, no one else in my family is a draw-er
4, yes, I'd like to be a pro but its just a hobby rn

Oliver:
Wow that's a lot to unpack

Mia:
sry its not u
I meant all that as a joke but it prolly didn't land lmao
its just that...
so many random jackoffs think that sketchin in public is like...
some sort of artist shorthand for
'hey stranger come over here and ask me about my personal life'

Oliver:
lol I can see how that'd get annoying
so you're like super serious about it, bringing your sketchbook out in public and everything?

Mia:
ye even in anime art u still gotta do real life studies and shit

Oliver:
I love that dedication.
You should show me more of your stuff sometime

Mia:
maybe
I don't rly talk about my art w/ ppl I know, so...
this is kinda new

Oliver:
Hey, it's cool. You don't have to if you don't want to.
I just think it's nice you have something you're passionate about.
I don't really have anything like that.

Mia:
no I will
just wanna show u at my own pace
and that sucks to hear
hbu
u ever try art?

---

Oliver hadn't, not outside of his school years, but Mia's simple question gave him an idea that he decided to roll with. He would have to start doing creative things to raise his spark, anyway. Why not see if he could use this new pursuit to get closer to Mia?

---

Oliver:
No, but I've actually always kinda wanted to try

Mia:
rly?

Oliver:
Yeah.
Might be a good way to force myself out of my bubble, in any case.
No idea where I'd even start, though
Or what all I'd need to buy

---

The bait might've been slightly obvious, but Oliver hoped Mia would bite and volunteer more information about herself and her artistic preferences. She exceeded his expectations, offering an alternative way forward that he went beyond the scope of his imaginings.

---

Mia:
well
do u have any plans tmrw night after I'm done w/ my shift
its payday for the rest of u soooo
I was gonna go and stock up on some art supplies
if u wanted to tag along I could maybe give some suggestions?
plus I'm still worried bout u
wouldn't mind checkin in w/ u after work
and u DO kinda owe me, so...
fuck I'm talkin in circles here
yes or no

Oliver:
Yes that sounds great!
You don't gotta guilt me into this Mia I'd love to hang out with you

Mia:
huh. rly?
cool.
would u mind pickin me up then
I usually walk everywhere, but like
legit I don't wanna walk after work if I don't have to lol

Oliver:
Hey, I offered to drive you home the other day

Mia:
bad mood
ask me again sometime

Oliver:
Fair. No worries, I get it.
I'll pick you up.

Mia:
awesome
as much as I wanna keep chattin w/ u tho
u did hit me up kinda late
I gotta shower and hit bed soonish

---

"Aw..." Oliver sighed. He could actually feel the rampant disappointment in his heart. Texting Mia like this was a constant thrill, giving him a similar yet superior dopamine hit to the one he got while playing his dating sims. Growing closer to real girls was way better than virtual ones, especially with Mia.

He couldn't believe how well things worked out. This was way better than the best-case scenario he was hoping for. It wasn't exactly a date, but he'd get to hang out with his cute coworker tomorrow evening. Just thinking about it was enough to get him pumped out of excitement.

There was still every chance in the world he might fuck it up, but Oliver was so happy that even the persistent negativity inside his head couldn't hold him back for very long before he went back to thinking optimistic thoughts.

---

Oliver:
Man that sucks, I was having fun

Mia:
so was I but too much of a good thing etc

Oliver:
What do you mean?

Mia:
nothin u need to worry about
this was just a lot, ok?
but I'm rly happy we're doin this and I wanna go now b4 I get even more worked up

Oliver:
that's adorable lmao

---

"God damn it...!" Oliver blushed after sending a message he didn't put enough thought into. Again. This was even worse than the last time he did it, too. He repeated the same mistake he'd made this morning, and Oliver had a feeling he knew where this was going.

---

Mia:
are we rly doin this again

Oliver:
I hit enter too soon, it was an intrusive thought

Mia:
nuh uh ur not takin it back
are you callin me cute, ollie?
again?

Oliver:
Mia go shower

Mia:
u’d like that wouldn’t u

Oliver:
Go to bed Mia

Mia:
no not until you start ownin up to it

Oliver:
fuck it
Yes
I pictured you all worked up just now and the Mia in my head looked fucking adorable
Are you happy now?

Mia:
no

---

Mia gained 5 Affection!

---

Oliver:
You sure about that?

Mia:
yes
night ollie

Oliver:
Night, don't get too worked up lol

---

The conversation died abruptly after that. Oliver couldn't stop imagining the look on Mia's face right now. She seemed... a little more frazzled and disconnected over text than in person. Vulnerable, even? Maybe he wasn't the only one intimidated by the terrifying lack of tone when reading text.

Either way, they texted for over half an hour, and the results were monumental. He learned about Mia's hobby, she drew a sketch of him, they made plans to hang out tomorrow evening- plans Mia was apparently already worked up about- and most notable of all was that he somehow got away with calling her cute again. This time, he even came out on top and managed to tease her about it instead of the other way around.

Oliver doubted he could've pulled that off in person, but he'd made off like a bandit as far as he was concerned. He only expected to make baby steps tonight, if anything. Instead, he somehow made it up the entire flight of stairs. Oliver was predictably over the moon because of it. He was tempted to go to work tomorrow just to see Mia's face, even though he knew better than to risk it with her.

Before he forgot, Oliver texted Bradley about the new developments and told him to drop by at noon tomorrow. He'd have a lot of time before he had to pick Mia up, and he had an idea on how he could sneak in some stat training before his not-a-date. It wasn't something he could do alone, so Oliver figured he would rely on his new best bro and see how it went.

In the meantime, Oliver was tired.

He sprawled out in bed after stripping his shirt off again, feeling happy and satisfied with everything in his life for once. His new powers took some adjusting to and his body ached like crazy, but all in all, today was the best day he'd had in... well... it hurt to admit, but it was the best day he'd ever had- period. His standards were so low that all it took was one heart-to-heart with Mia, followed by a round of texting in the evening.

"Holy fuck, I'm shallow..." Oliver remarked, staring into the darkness at his ceiling as he really grappled with how it took practically nothing for him to fall in love with his coworker. Did it really matter if he was shallow, easy, or desperate for affection, though? He was happy, and Mia apparently was, too.

That was enough for today.