Test the basics

David needed to establish whether the curse triggered only when he spoke or if writing counted too. Leaning over to Rachel, he asked gently: "Thank you for helping me with this. I have an idea for what we should test first, but I'll need a pen and some paper."

They lay there for a moment longer before Rachel released her tight hold on him, seeming almost sad to let go. She got up from the bed and went over to her desk, pulling out a pen and notebook.

As David lay there gasping for air after being freed from her grip, he noticed Rachel return with a blush on her face as she handed him the notebook. Her cute expression caught him off guard, causing him to blush in return and nearly lose his train of thought.

Closing his eyes, David focused on what he wanted to write, something small and obvious. After five minutes of thinking, he opened his eyes slightly and smiled as he wrote: "Rachel has a cute mole on her right cheek just above her lip."

When he finished writing, David looked at Rachel's face but saw no mole. So, simply writing didn't trigger the curse; that was one unknown off the list.

Next, he needed to test if having someone read what he wrote would trigger it. Taking a deep breath, David asked hesitantly: "Would you mind reading this for me?"

Rachel took the notebook and pen with a smile, saying cheerfully: "Of course!" as if testing his curse was just chatting about everyday things. David watched anxiously as her eyes skimmed over the short statement.

She looked at him expectantly afterwards and asked in a chipper tone: "So did it work?" When David replied that nothing seemed to have changed, Rachel pouted like she'd failed somehow.

David tried to comfort her: "You did great. Now we know it's only what I say that's affected by the curse. Without your help, this probably would've been a lot harder." He put on his best smile to cheer her up.

Rachel seemed less upset but still bothered by something. She shifted awkwardly from side to side with the notebook in hand and asked: "So... do you not think I'd be cute with a mole on my cheek?"

She hid her face behind the notebook before continuing nervously: "I-I wouldn't mind if you used your curse to make me cuter." Rachel turned around, shaking with embarrassment as she said quickly: "Sorry, that was silly. Y-you can just forget about it."

Her sudden confession left David speechless, his ears burning from blushing. A girl had just asked him to change her appearance to be cuter, and here he was frozen like a statue.

After mentally kicking himself for taking so long to snap out of his stupor, David summoned his courage. He reached out and put a hand on Rachel's back before asking gently: "I don't think it's silly. If you're unhappy with something and I can help make you happy, why wouldn't I change it?"

David began fidgeting slightly as his nerves got to him. After taking a moment to breathe, he asked: "Would you mind telling me what you want changed?" Rachel shook her head, saying in barely a whisper: "I-it's too em-embarrassing."

After an awkward minute of silence that felt like an eternity, David cleared his throat and asked: "Would writing it down be less embarrassing?"

Rachel nodded softly, saying: "I c-can do that." She flipped to a fresh page and began to write.