They began with the laundry, working in quiet rhythm. Travis handed her damp clothes one by one, and Debbie shook them out before draping them neatly over the washing line. The sun was climbing higher, and a gentle breeze carried the clean scent of soap through the backyard.
"Firstly," Debbie began with a suspicious smile, breaking the silence, "what happened to you, Travis? I feel like I'm speaking to a new person."
"Nothing happened, Debbie," he replied calmly, his voice steady. "I'm just… feeling like doing something instead of doing nothing, that's all." The way he said it made it sound casual, almost effortless.
Debbie raised an eyebrow but let it slide. "Alright, I won't ask anymore then. It might take time, but I'm sure that if we do this together we'll be done by noon."
"I hope so," he said with a faint smile.
Once the first batch was hung, they went back inside and sat together in the laundry room, the steady tumbling of clothes filling the background.
"So, you're going back to school," Debbie said after a moment. "Are you excited?"
"No, not really. But I don't really have a choice, do I?" Travis leaned back in the chair, arms resting on the sides.
"Yeah, but you never know what kind of people you'll meet there. You might find a cute girlfriend."
"I doubt it."
"Why?" she pressed, smiling teasingly. "Jenny's always said your college has plenty of pretty girls. Though she also said she was the most beautiful compared to them all… then again, that was years ago."
"I haven't even gone there yet," he said. "And is that surprising? If Jenny's the prettiest, God knows what mutants study there."
'Of course not you, Eve,' Travis thought with a faint smirk.
Debbie laughed warmly. "Well, I hope you find someone to spend time with outside of school, because you'll be bored sitting home every day."
"Well, I have you to spend time with," he said smoothly. "Don't worry about that."
'Kinda cringe, but it works,' he thought.
Debbie smiled softly and wrapped an arm around him. "You normally would hate me doing this to you. Well… I think I might like the new you."
"Nothing has changed, Debbie. I'm still the normal Travis," he replied with a tone so convincing it smoothed over the last of her suspicion.
"Alright. Well, let's finish doing this laundry."
After a few hours of folding and carrying baskets, they finally finished.
"Alright, dear. Now let's go upstairs. I need to make dinner for us—do you want to help with that as well?"
"No, I know you need to focus on making us the best food ever," he said with a small chuckle.
Debbie's cheeks pinked at the compliment. She rested her hand lightly on his chest, her eyes meeting his.
"Why, thank you. No one has ever complimented my food the way you just did. Makes me want to make it even better—which is exactly what I'll do."
Travis smiled back at her, holding her gaze. "Well, I'll be ready to consume it when you're done."
Her smile grew wider at his words. He turned, jogging lightly up the stairs before disappearing down the hallway, leaving Debbie standing there with a thoughtful look.
"That boy is such a charmer," she muttered under her breath, a small smile playing at her lips. "Even I can't handle his charm."
Travis made his way up to his room with a satisfied smile, his mind at ease. He had just finished helping Debbie with the laundry, and in the process, had earned a bit of her affection through his smooth, effortless charm.
[System Notification]
Affection +3% — Debbie's current affection: 2% → 5%
『5%』
He smirked to himself. Step by step…
As he passed by Jenny's room, his ears caught the sound of her voice—she was on the phone, her tone animated and teasing.
"Been a while since I've gotten any dick. Well, who needs a man when you have a hand," she said with a chuckle that carried just enough mischief to make his eyebrow twitch.
Travis shook his head, not sure if she was joking or dead serious, and slipped into his own room. Dropping onto the bed, he stared at the ceiling for a moment, but then a thought hit him.
He sat up slowly, a sly grin forming. In the corner by his desk, collecting a thin layer of dust, was his old telescope.
He wasn't some perv who ogled random people for no reason. But in the entire block, the only house visible from his vantage point was Erik's. And it wasn't Erik himself he was interested in—it was his stepmother, Tammy. Or Mrs. Johnson, as everyone called her.
In the game, Erik supposedly lived there because Tammy was his landlady or something along those lines. But that explanation made no sense at all. Not even a little.
Besides, her ex-husband Larry looked almost identical to Erik. Anyone with half a brain could tell they were related somehow—maybe brothers, or father and son. The tangled web of their relationships was confusing, but Travis wasn't here for family drama.
Travis carefully aimed the telescope's knob toward Tammy's room. His breath hitched as the zoom brought her into sharp focus. There she was—buck naked, legs folded up against her chest in a way that made his mouth drop open. What exactly she was doing, he couldn't tell, nor did he care. The view was more than enough.
' Damn, she's hot. Lucky me I don't get to choose, ' he thought, smirking to himself.
But then reality hit.
This wasn't good for him. If he stared too long, he might lose control and start gooning—and that was the last thing he wanted right now. Gooning drained his energy, made him lazy, and bred a kind of depression he couldn't afford. He had bigger plans and zero time for distractions.
With a sigh, Travis slowly twisted the telescope away from the window. Pulling himself back from the edge, he sank onto his couch and pulled out his phone, diving into some mobile games to shake off the lingering urge.
Meanwhile, across the hall in Jenny's room, she lay sprawled on her bed with her laptop open in front of her. She was scrolling through the internet, desperately hunting for ways to make some quick cash. Her eyes caught a link that promised fast money for women willing to share... a bit more than just their selfies.
Curious and slightly hesitant, she clicked through to a site where women could upload nudes and get paid. The idea sent a thrill down her spine, sparking a mix of excitement and fear as she contemplated what she might be willing to do.
' So all I gotta do is post my Goddess body here and people will pay me? ' Jenny mused, a slow, confident smirk curling her lips.
' People have been saying my looks could make me money one day... maybe this is it. ' The thought sent a rush of excitement through her veins.
Without hesitation, she quickly signed up, fingers flying over the keyboard. But just as she was about to proceed, a message popped up: "Please submit a $100 payment to activate your account."
Her smile faltered, replaced by a sharp pang of frustration.
' Fuck! I knew it was too good to be true. Where the hell am I supposed to get a hundred bucks? ' Her thoughts churned, a mix of anger and desperation bubbling beneath her skin.
Grumbling, Jenny closed the signup tab—but not the entire browser. The tab stayed open, a small flicker of hope that she might return to it later, somehow.
Needing a quick distraction from the stress gnawing at her, she pulled up a few porn videos, hoping the temporary escape would calm her racing mind. But deep down, she knew her broke self wasn't in the mood for pleasure—only the sharp sting of reality.
TO BE CONTINUED