Both wouldn't hurt, but are you going to do it?

While you have firmly decided you are going to make Sam Bookish again, you mull over what to do with FITNESS-ENTHUSIAST. You don't want to make it go to waste, might as well use it, it's not like it's going to make her worse.

You load the combination in the watch, then reach for her and boop her on the nose, not really having other excuses. She looks at you quizzically, but she does not recoil. "What?" she asks quietly, but you are already messing with the watch again, loading BOOKISH and STRONG to start the trait-cooking process.

"You are weird." She adds. You make a fake embarrassed expression to try and avoid answering. She senses that and add. "Not in a bad way. Just... what is it with that smartwatch? you are always glancing down at it. If you want we can leave... I don't want to be a bother"

She is looking down, clearly somewhat uncomfortable. It's true that you have been ignoring her for most of the evening. And... when you were interested in her it had been watch-related...

"I'm sorry... It's just... I have to take some medicine, something new for head cramps... It's... it has me quite anxious, that's why I'm watching the time so much..." You remove the watch and place it in your jacket's pocket. "There! Now I have your undivided attention!" You have half an hour still before the two traits merge anyway, plenty of time to finish dinner and leave.

"Oh, sorry... I just thought... I didn't want to assume..." It seems the bluff worked. Now to wait for her passion to come back. "So... dessert?"

The two of you manage quite well to not stumble into other awkward silences for the next minutes. You thought you were used to it, but seeing her morph in both attitude and looks before your eyes leaves you as stunned as it has all day.

In just around ten minutes the Samantha in front of you is quite the change from before. Her brown hair, messy and long since this morning, is now short, in a manageable pixie cut. You can't help but notice that her face that you previously thought plain, is starting to feel quite cute to you, especially with the passionate spark in her eyes that you were missing. Gone is the slightly chubby figure in an oversized green shirt, welcome sleeveless shirt and leggings. She is definitely dressing to show how lean and toned both her arms and legs are, and you can see the outline of a black sports bra holding her bust in place.

"Yeah, so... since I can't pay for the gym membership anymore it's just about two jogs per day plus cardio at my apartment. You should totally come sometimes, even if it's hard to interact with me when I run! While I'm in the zone it's like I don't exist to the universe!" The girl chuckles to herself and you follow suit, amazed at what's in front of you.

You wonder... could you extract TOMBOY from her now? You know it didn't have anything to do with Samantha before, but now you wouldn't describe her in any other way. If you ever managed to take it, would she still have FITNESS-ENTHUSIAST, or were the two thing tied? So many ways and directions to proceed swimming in your mind.

"Sam? Sam, you there? Are you sure you're okay?" The girl is waving a hand in front of you.

"Oh... yes, sorry again." You look down at your empty ice-cream bowl. You don't know if half an hour has passed... "We should bounce" You say matter-of-factly before getting up.

"Mhhh... sure, okay..." Samantha got up as well and the two of you make your way to the cash register. You remain quiet while you pay for the two of you, you still haven't given Sam a new job yet so it only seems fair. Plus you still feel some guilt on using her as a guinea pig.

The moment you are out of the diner your head finally stops spinning, the fresh air helping you feel less stuffy. You check your watch and you put it on your wrist, loading BOOK-BUFF.

"Listen, Samuel..." The other Sam calls you, making you turn around to face her. "It was a fine evening, it really was... but you really are quite strange" She is smiling at you "I'm gonna be blunt, because I have been in this situation a couple of times already. I'm not really into you, and I can clearly see that you are not into me... hell, you have barely registered my presence all evening..."

Aaaand the guilt has reached maximum levels. She is right though... You put your left hand on your right wrist, stealthily unloading BOOK-BUFF, at least for tonight you should stop it.

And at that moment Samantha does something unexpected. She throws herself at you in a hug. You are taken aback for a moment, especially after her speech, but anyway you respond by hugging her back.

"Still, Sam & Sam could be a great friendship, what do you say?" She says still in the warm embrace. She parts away from you with a smile. She really is energetic in this new version, huh?

"Ehm... yeah, you are right. And... you are right- About tonight being awkward and not working, I still enjoy your company though..." You respond meekly. "Let's still chat from time to time though!" You try and brighten the last phrase.

The walk back home is silent, but your head is buzzing. You keep looking at your wrist, the word TOMBOY flashing with the old ones...