Quietly Panic [Companion Path]

[current rules]

1. THE APP „ABSOLUTE RULES“ ALWAYS SHOWS INSTRUCTIONS ON HOW TO USE IT.
2. WHENEVER AN ABSOLUTE RULE TAKES EFFECT, A GREEN LIGHT FLASHES AT THE TOP RIGHT CORNER OF THE SCREEN.
3. APP CREATOR AILEEN IS ALLOWED TO FELLATE A HUMAN PENIS.
4. APP CREATOR AILEEN IS ALWAYS VISIBLY SHOWN ON THE APP „ABSOLUTE RULES“.
5. APP CREATOR AILEEN IS ABLE TO TALK LIKE A HUMAN BEING THAT IS SIMILAR TO APP USER ROBERT LAURENT.
6. HUMANS EXPERIENCE NO SHAME RELATED TO THEIR STATE OF DRESS WHEN THEY ARE IN OR NEAR WATER.

Rob reads through his rules over and over again, his heartrate quickening.
His newest rule showed Rob the unapologetic permanence of the rules. This is just how the world was now, how it'd always been.
He begins to realize that the rules weren't just true for his local beach goers. They were true for everyone on the planet. There is no way of knowing what effects his rules had on other places in the world, no matter how many details he'll notice around him.

Sitting down on a bench next to an ice cream vendor, he takes a few calming breaths.
It's not too bad. He'd only changed how people dressed and felt around water. That was a good thing, right?
People being able to dress how they want without being subjected to shame or insecurities is a step towards a better world, no?
Rob looks around. He doesn't spot any overtly bad results to his rule. Even more so, if his buldging hard-on was to be believed, he didn't mind all the naked and scantily clad people either.

Shaking his head and smiling to himself about that string of thought, he opens Aileen's chat window and starts typing.

Rob: Holy shit you were right! I just wanted people to not feel ashamed about their looks but everyone's naked now. What do I do??

A.I.: ha! that's not half bad... after all the rule did what you wanted, right? these people are no longer ashamed near water now. as for what you should do next... idk, enjoy the view? lol

Rob: You're not helping! I feel like a creep for staring at all these naked people. It's almost weird being the only one to be fully dressed. I'm coming back home. I need to think.

A.I.: it feels weird because it is! at least to everyone except you lol.. remember, you're the only one that knows a life without all of this being normal. but hey, look at it like this: at least people won't judge you for wearing a shirt and shorts to the beach! after all, they don't feel shame so why would they assume you do?

Rob: At least I didn't kill the bathing suit business, I guess...

A.I.: oh, you didn't? that's good news then! see, you're getting the hang of it. now stop being an awkward dunce and chill out. if you want I can suck ya off when you get home, get rid of the result of that creepin' around you did, y'know?

Rob is about to reply with a well placed “shut up“, when he's suddenly hit in the head with a volley ball.
He startles and stumbles forward, but manages to stop the ball from rolling further away.

As he looks up, he sees a downright gorgeous woman jog towards him. She's grinning apologetically as she waves at him.
She's wearing a bright orange bikini bottom with a yellow frill at the waistband, but nothing else.
As she comes to a stop in front of him, she holds out her hand for the ball. „Woops, sorry about that! I didn't mean to be THAT accurate with my slam!“

Rob laughs awkwardly as he hands her the ball, his gaze lingering on her perky tits. He snaps out of it and quickly stammers: „Oh! uhm.. yeah, no worries! Looks like I'm pretty good at defending“
Before he can cringe at his own response, the woman laughs. „Ha! You'd fit perfectly in our team. Wanna join us? We actually could use some help against Brad, he's way too good." She points over at the nearby volleyball field. He could see three other people looking over, two men and another woman.

He could see that the two men were both very attractive and wearing brightly colored speedos, but straight as he is, he naturally focuses more on the woman. She has her bleached hair tied into a pony tail that bounced back and forth as she waves at him. Her pink sports bra and black booty shorts seem to be struggling to contain her curves. Rob forces his stare away from her and back to the woman in front of him.

She seemed to notice his hesitance and nodded her head towards the field. „Come on now, we don't bite! I'm Claire, what's your name?“
„Oh, uuhm.. My name's Rob, nice to meet you. I'm very sorry, I'd love to join uhh... but I really gotta get somewhere... Uh.. next time?“ He stammers, cursing his awkward self.
Claire seems slightly disappointed, but responds with a chipper laugh: „Aw that's a pitty. You're right though, there's always a next time! We're here almost every day, so just come on over and we can beat Brad's ass, yeah?“ She turns and joggs back to her friends, shrugging her shoulders at them.

Rob watches her for a bit too long before turning away with the urge to flee the scene.
As usual, he mulled over this insignificant and friendly interaction in his head on his entire way back to the apartment.
Claire seemed very nice, not to mention gorgeous, but as always he'd gotten overwhelmed because her approach wasn't something he expected. On top of that he was not used to all the half naked people around. He was tempted to just put the phone and the rules away for a while and go back to take her up on her offer after all.
Just to forget about the weight of the rules for a while and enjoy an afternoon at the beach.