Getting a new roommate

As I get home, it feels like something changed, it’s pretty subtle, but it’s like the apartment is warmer, and more welcoming.
I look around and notice there’s now a carpet in the livingroom covering a big area in front of the couch.
I go to the kitchen to check what’s left in the fridge, and I notice Matt also added navy blue curtains on the kitchen’s windows. It changes the lighting and the mood of the room drastically.
I guess giving him this quest was a good idea then.

I go knock on his door and I tell him I’d like to talk when he has the time. And I go in my room, I turn on my computer and notice a discord message.

[Hey! I had a great time today! How about setting up another meeting sometime? I have lots of free time outside of work!]

I respond to Satomi’s message, telling her we can meet up sometime next week, and soon after, I hear Matt knocking on my door.

“Hey! You wanted to talk?” He asks as I let him in.

He didn’t change much since our last talk, but I know he wants to become girlier, so I expect some changes soon, and I can always give him some quest to help.

“Right… It’s about Sandra.” I tell him, and he seem a little surprised that she’s the subject.

“Did something happen to her?” He asks worried.

“No, nothing like that. It’s just that she hasn’t found a place to live yet.”

“Okay, do you want me to help look up good places to live?” He asks.

“Well, she had an idea in mind, so I wanted to run it by you first.” I say, and he waits while looking confused.

“She wants to live here. Of course she’d pay her part of the rent.” I explain but I have issues reading the expression on Matt’s cute face.

“Really John? You want a girl to move in? Does she know there’s no bedroom left?” He asks.

“Yes, she said she wouldn’t mind sleeping on the couch.”

Matt looks at me like he wants to object but doesn’t find a good reason to.

“You know Matt, it’s your house too, so if you really don’t want to, I’ll just tell her no.” I reassure him.

However it doesn’t seem to have the effect I wanted, and he looks even more conflicted.

He waits for a while, thinking about it, and he lets out a big sigh.

“If she knows what she’s in for, I guess I wouldn’t mind paying less rent.” He says.

“Thank you Matt. I’ve spent days looking for a place with her, and I was starting to feel like I’d never get there.” I thank him.

“That’s okay, she would do the same for us… Anyway, how about a movie night? I want to make a simple meal tonight.”

“Sure, let me take a shower first and I’ll be there.”

(Matt’s POV)

Fuck, why the hell did I agree? I always agree when he looks at me like that…
What if she flirts with him? What if they get together? That would actually be the worst.

No, Sandra isn’t that kind of girl, she wouldn’t become someone’s roommate to seduce them. And I know if she wanted to seduce him she would have already done it long ago. I know how John looks at her, I thought it had been long enough but he was still enamoured with her at the party last weekend.

Which means something could happen if I don’t hurry up. But I still have some way to go. I need more quests, I want to buy Femininity III before she moves in.
I need to find a way to seduce him before someone else definitely takes him. Now that I have an actual chance, I can’t miss it.

Tonight’s movie night could be a good first check, if I can get something going, that’s a good sign.

(John’s POV)

We end up watching some random movie while sitting on the couch, it’s hard to ignore how girly he looks like now, and I am slightly surprised everytime my eyes wonder to my side.
In the dark room, only lit up by the TV, it’s hard to think of him as my roommate. I try to move away from him, but the distance between us only shrinks as he starts to lean toward me.
When the movie is finally over, it seems he notices his posture, and straightens up, before looking at me apologetic.

“I’m sorry John, I just took all the space on the couch.” He says.

“Don’t worry, it didn’t bother me.” I say, but he doesn’t seem satisfied and continues.

“I’m sorry, It’s just… I’m pretty tired, and I didn’t notice.”

“Did something happen?” I ask, and he seems to hesitate.

“I don’t think I told you about it… But after last time’s collab stream, I bought a VTuber avatar.”

“Really? And what’s the issue?” I ask feigning ignorance.

“Well, I received it, and now I’m stressing about actually using it to stream.” He explains.

“You don’t want to use it?”

“I do, but it’s still stressful. What if I’m a mess? If I just threw that money away?”

“I’m sure you’re going to be alright! It’s not like you only relied on income from your streams anyway.” I try to reassure him.

“R-right…”

I can see he’s still not convinced.

“You know that if you have issues paying the rent, I can always help right?” I tell him, and he nods before thanking me.

I wake up and decide to stay in bed a little longer this morning. I have a meeting with Rita but it’s in the afternoon so there’s no pressure.
I decide to check the app, and possibly give quests to everyone.

Maria bought the Beauty II perk for 3 points.

Maria completed a hard quest. [+15 xp] [+15 bonus xp]

Name: Maria
Surname : Finocci
Gender: Female
Age : 27
Level 11 (19 / 30 xp)
Class: Yoga Mom
Perks : Training Efficiency II, Cooking I, Motherly II, Flexible I, Coach I, Beauty II, Casual Affection I, Massage I, Friendly I
Perk Points : 3

Beauty II: Makes your body a lot more conventionally atractive. (Hidden: Receiving compliments on your appearance increases arousal)

Friendly I: Makes you look more aproachable and friendly. (Hidden: Friends opinion’s influence slight increase.)

Great news, Maria finally finished her quest. I didn’t think it would be that hard to do, but it seems she had some trouble finding a friend at the gym. Maybe that’s why she bought the Beauty II perk? I don’t know if it helped but the Friendly I perk will.
I feel a little sorry for her, it was clearly out of her comfort zone, so I want to give her an easier quest next.

Maria will receive the following quest : “Enjoy a comfy day at home”

Select a reward from the three choices:

• Feel fully rested
• All chores are done
• Cuddles with John

All the rewards are lackluster, especially the last one, but I guess not having to do any chores would be great.

Reward: “All chores are done”

I also write a quest for Matt.

Matt will receive the following quest : “Get a new haircut”

Select a reward from the three choices:

• Everyone will like your new haircut
• A date with John
• Delay Sandra’s move by two days

Come on, why is the app so obsessed with making me part of the reward? The third reward is also a problem, would Matt be motivated by delaying Sandra’s move? He didn’t seem very happy about it so it would definitely make some sense.

Reward: “Everyone will like your new haircut”

I wonder what I could write for Cotton, I don’t know if I want to make her aware of the quest again, she seemed to do them well while unaware.

Cotton will receive the following quest : “Help your father with the library.”

Select a reward from the three choices:

• Administration I perk
• Bigger allowance
• Authority I perk

There’s no way I’m giving Cotton a perk called Authority. I’m afraid to know what it could do with her personality.
Maybe I’m exaggerating a little? She did get better recently. She even helped me a few times already. Still I prefer to be safe.

Reward : Administration I perk

For this quest, I decided to turn her awareness on again. I don’t think she’ll mind doing it, and the reward is still interesting I think.

I still didn’t give a quest to Rita, but that’s because I’m not sure I should.
I don’t know if it’s the right way to call it, but we have a date today, and I don’t think I want to meddle in with a quest. I just want her to enjoy herself.
Maybe I should give her a quest to enjoy herself, but that’s also a way to affect her. I guess I’ll refrain for today, and I’ll give her a quest if we ever go on a date again.

I spend my morning lazily, and prepare for my date, dressing up as well as I can before finally heading out.

Author's Note : Next chapter, we're tackling John and Rita's first date. I'm excited, but also scared to mess it up.
Slowing down to a chapter a week also didn't do much good for my motivation.
Thanks everyone for commenting! I'm keeping up thanks to you!