Jenna, 19, the Only Gay Girl in the Village?

Jenna looked at the app and shook her head - no way could it be real. It was either a scam or a joke or some other bullshit she wasn't interested in. She immediately attempted to delete it, but the icon stubbornly remained there in the middle of the screen, so she settled for the next best thing and threw her phone across the room in frustration. The state her dating life was in, it felt like the new app was taunting her.

It wasn't that Jenna was unattractive, she figured she couldn't be since guys hit on her plenty.

The problem was, she didn't like guys. She also lived in a village so small and restrictive it might as well have been the setting for a slice of life farming sim, if there were ever to be one based in rural Shropshire. There were plenty of cute girls that lived locally - some of whom Jenna was friends with - but they all liked boys. Which left her contemplating a life of masturbation and loneliness, when her friends inevitably ended up getting married and starting families.

Her curiosity refusing to abate, despite herself, Jenna eventually retrieved her phone from the bean bag it had landed on and read the user guide for the app a second time. It was clearly too absurd to be able to work - collecting real people like characters in a video game, placing them on a Love List and guaranteeing their successful seduction simply by completing arbitrary tasks from a checklist. Yeah, right, like that could happen. There was one line from the User Guide that had really caught her attention though:

The Romance Mechanic will function perfectly on anyone you are attracted to, regardless of their relationship status or sexual orientation.

Okay, so that would actually be pretty awesome. This thing might actually be able to fix Jenna's love life if it worked.

If it worked.

In reality, this was something to laugh at with Cass once she came over.

Cassie Thomas was Jenna's best friend, who she had been knocking around with practically since they were toddlers. There had been a slightly awkward time in their friendship when they had gone through puberty together - Jenna had discovered she liked girls, Cassie that she liked boys, and Jenna that she liked Cassie. Of course, those feelings had been repressed and buried where they could cause no embarrassment to anyone, and the friendship had endured without any issues. Cass knew Jenna was gay, of course, but assumed any fond feelings her friend had for her were those of a platonic best buddy.

"Hey Jen, what's up?" Cassie announced herself as she arrived at her friend's place.

"Nothing much. I mean there's fuck all to do here and nothing ever happens, right?"

"Yeah, I wish I could disagree with you"

"How's your stupid boyfriend?"

"Oh, come on Jen! I know Lee was a bit of a dick when we were at school but he's really matured. You just need to give him a chance!"

"Whatever"

Jenna felt her phone buzz. She gave it a glance, and was shocked to see the update on her screen from the Romance Mechanic.

Congratulations, you've just made a connection with Cassie! Tap here to view her on your Love List!

Jenna half listened to her friend talking about her day as she clicked on the icon.

Sure enough, Cassie's name was right there on the list, alongside a cute, digital face that was clearly supposed to represent hers and five hearts, the first of which had a hint of red in it. Jenna couldn't help but be drawn to the message that popped up next.

Keep building your connection with Cassie to fill her hearts with affection! After one heart is complete, she will agree to go on a date with you whenever she is asked. Five full hearts and she will happily fulfil your wildest sexual fantasies!

That immediately shoved the kind of thoughts about Cassie that Jenna usually tried to repress right to the forefront of her mind. She allowed herself a few moments to daydream about a world where the Romance Mechanic actually worked.

"What's that you're looking at?" a curious Cassie asked her clearly distracted friend, bringing Jenna back into the room with a bump.

"Um, er, nothing. Just some pointless news alert"

Perhaps Jenna wouldn't have a laugh about the new dating app with Cassie just yet. Maybe she ought to experiment with it a little first before completely writing it off.