The Love Box Ch. 02

The next day, I awoke to a smiling face looking back at me. I had forgotten all about yesterday's events, I mean, could you blame me? It was all so dream-like. So, I reacted how I would if any stranger had popped up in my bed.

I screamed.

Pushing myself away from her, I banged my head against the wall the bed was connected to. Sixcia watched me curiously as I clutched my head in pain. The door burst open.

Mom was there wearing a see-through nightgown and wielding a black pan like it was a sword.

"What's wrong!?" She asked like some kind of superhero.

"Nothing, nothing!" I waved my hands back and forth. "I hit my head trying to, uh, roll out of bed."

"... Oh?" Mom walked up to us and crouched between me and Sixcia. She ran her hand down the back of my head in a soothing way. "Oh, sweetie. There, there."

How embarrassing was it to have mom mothering me in front of Sixcia? Extremely. And yet, being the bonafide wimp I am, I leaned into her touch.

Sixcia was looking at us pretty strangely, but she just nodded to herself and swung her legs back and forth, her curiosity disappearing before my eyes.

"I'll make you some food now. Ashley's actually coming over to walk with you to school."

"Moooom!" I whined. "I told you not to make commitments for me like that."

"It'll be good for you! Just you wait and see!" With that, she exited the room. I sighed.

Sixcia hadn't said anything. Instead, she'd just sat there, smiling at me the entire time.

"What?" I asked. "Just say what's on your mind."

"Oh, the rules forbid it."

"Aren't you mine? Can't I change your rules?"

"No, race rules take priority over owner rules. We have a whole council to speak with about this sort of stuff. I could contact them."

"No, no." I waved her off. "You don't have to go through that trouble for my sake."

I stood up, wanting to go take a shower when I caught her smirking at me.

"What is it?" I asked.

"You have a very loving mother. It's cute." She shrugged.

"Yeah, I wonder about that..." I muttered in response. Complete mistake. Oversharing is never good, and at that moment I had been so tired, I let myself talk too much. I quickly hurried into the shower to avoid any questions.

As I quickly got some energy through the warm water on my skin, I quickly shifted most of my attention to the Love Box. Just thinking about it made my heart go quicker. "So, with that thing... I can... Wow..."

For some reason, a certain event came to mind. That damned moment when Sixcia kissed me. My eyes widened a little at the vivid memory. How her lips...

No. No. No. I am so not going there. I shook my head, trying to forget how my body had warmed up then and was warming up now. I stepped out of the shower, gave myself a look-over on the mirror. Wow. That girl is about to level up!

I felt a smile appear on my face as I wrapped my towel around my body and left, coming back into my room. Sixcia was sitting at my bed, playing around with my Switch.

"Hm..." She hummed. "I could do this a little better, I feel."

"Well." I said, hoping that one word said everything.

"Oh? Did you have a nice shower?" Sixcia asked with a smile.

"Yeah." I replied, maintaining my stare. She didn't do anything.

"Nice." She replied.

"Yeah..." I waited. And waited a little more, tapping my foot against the ground. "So, are you gonna get out or what?" I asked.

"Oh, no. I'm fine." She smiled sweetly at me.

"I'm going to change, get out!"

"What, why?"

I blinked.

"Because I'll be naked," I explained, baffled by the fact that I even had to say that.

"So?" She asked. Funny thing was, she genuinely looked like she didn't know what the issue was.

"You can't see me naked?"

"Why?"

"Because... Because it's embarrassing!" My brain cells were dying, I swear.

"Okay, fine." She picked herself up and walked out of the room. I closed the door behind her, a little harsher than I needed to.

A few minutes later, I was what I deemed to be ready for the day, and I came out to go have breakfast. Downstairs, mom and Sixcia were talking. Wait, shit. That was not good. What if she said something weird?

"Ha!" My mom laughed. Sixcia laughed with her and placed her hand over mom's. I basically snarled. "Oh, sweetie, your friend was telling me about your reaction when she asked to stay over. Is it true you didn't say anything for ten minutes?"

"No," I muttered.

"With that kind of spirit, it must be!" My mom determined and laughed even harder.

Sixcia winked at me.

"We're going," I stated, dragging the vesie out of the room.

"W-Wait, your food!" Mom called out.

"I'll get something on the way!"

Sometime later, we were on the street, walking to my school.

"I don't know what you're thinking of, talking to my mom like that, but stop."

"Hm? I was just having a conversation." She stated.

"Sure you weren't thinking of pushing her down like you did with me yesterday?" I asked.

"Of course." Sixcia replied firmly. "That comes after."

"N-No, what the fuck!? She's my mom!"

"So?"

I gaped at her. Momentarily stunned, I made an executive decision. I wasn't about to start explaining to her the intricacies of human morality and why you shouldn't hook up with your friend's mom. So, instead, I did this:

"New rule! No seducing your friend's mom!"

"Aw, but..."

"No buts!" I put on my stern face.

"... Okay. But I, uh, I do have to talk to you later."

"We can talk about whatever you want. Just don't do anything with my mother, please."

"Noted." Then, Sixcia made a face like she'd realized something and suddenly she started to smile. "Thank you, by the way." She started skipping. Like, actually skipping, complete with the happy humming and everything.

"For what?"

"You told me we're friends." She pointed out. "Just now."

Crap. My anti-social status had somehow broken my barriers down enough to where now, just talking to me was enough for my mind to place you in the "friends" folder. Shit.

"Whatever. Now, tell me again how this works?" I asked, holding out the Love Box. I figured there was nothing wrong with holding this out in public. People would just think it was a regular box.

"Aim it at someone, it looks into the future, picks and event and materializes a gift. If you use the gift at the appropriate time, at the minimum they will want to have sex with you. At the maximum effect, they will fall in love with you."

I was salivating. I had just the guy in mind. For matters like these where you had to perform scientific research, it didn't matter whether or not you knew them personally. So, I picked a random basketball player I knew of.

"This is going to be so cool!"

"So, what lucky lady do you have in mind?" Sixcia asked. I clicked my tongue.

"None. I'm not... You know what I mean." I replied. Listen, just because that kiss before was... Weird, didn't mean anything. Besides, I was already unapproachable I didn't need to add "gay" or whatever on top of that. That warmth was a one-time thing, and I was sure of it.

"Oh, right, sorry. What guy?"

"I think his name's Jack? Not sure." I scratched my chin thoughtfully. "Well, his name doesn't matter. What matters is he's hot."

Or, at least, I've been told he's hot. You know, I've always thought that I have a bad sensor or something. Apparently, if Ashely's reaction whenever I told her which guy I thought was fuckable over the years was anything to go by, I had terrible taste. Whatever.

"Okay. Good luck!" Sixcia cheered me on in a way that made me blush. Ashley was already filling the quota for "embarrassing friends" I didn't need another one. And yet, I had her.

"Thanks."

I arrived at school, having walked here next to Sixcia. Big mistake. As Ashley, who had been standing outside the entrance, presumably waiting for me, started waving, I looked at the vesie next to me.

"Oh shit!" I whispered. "H-Hide, do something!"

"Oh." Sixcia realized she was dressed in house clothes. She spun, and in the blink of an eye, she was dressed in an imitation of my uniform. Complete with the black hoodie and everything. I stared a little. It was weird how my clothes on her, with her youthful eyes and confident stance, made her look so cute.

"Wow." I muttered.

"Miri!" Ashley ran up and hugged me. Okay, I'll be honest. I liked her hugs. The way her arms wrapped around my back made me feel secure, and... Okay, the soft breasts pressing into my chest felt like hugging pillows. It was nice.

Making sure to sigh loudly, so she didn't think I was getting used to this or anything, I wrapped my own arms around her.

"Hey, Ash."

"I HEARD YOU HAD A SLEEPOVER!" She stated a bit too excitedly for my liking. "With someone else!"

"Yeah. Uh, her." I looked over, pointing at Sixcia. The vesie was alternating between looking at Ashley and looking at me. Something about the sight made her smile.

"Hello." She waved.

"Hi!" Ashley, ever the social butterfly that made it her mission to destroy any and all barriers, ran over and hugged Sixcia.

Sixcia smiled in a way I had seen before. I should have been quicker, honestly. But I trusted Sixcia to be normal far too much. I didn't realize how many rules would have to be established.

Sixcia leaned up and kissed Ashly on the lips. Ashley's eyes went wide. I gasped and ran over instantly.

"Oooookay!" I separated them. The kiss lasted (approximately) 4 seconds. 3 seconds longer than would be possibly considered normal, I think. "Remember, you. Just. Met. Her." I said, forcing a smile and elbowing Sixcia in the ribs as I laughed like she'd just played a joke.

"Hm?" Sixcia looked up at me. She must have understood what I was trying to get across because she smiled and said:

"Sorry if that was surprising, where I'm from, that's how we say hi." She may not have been lying, to be fair. Hell if I knew.

Ashley had frozen completely. She was just staring at Sixcia. The precise moment where I got a bad feeling about things was when she brought her right hand to her lips.

But, in a second, she smiled.

"I see!" She replied happily. "That's interesting, I'd like to know more about you! Any friend of Miri's is a friend of mine."

"Great!"

"Awesome!" The two girls grinned at each other.

They were getting along way too fast for my liking. I pulled Sixcia aside for a moment.

"Listen." I started. "First off, no seducing Ashley."

"But why?"

"Same as mom. Friends don't do that to their friends." I crossed my arms.

Sixcia pouted. It was... Honestly an adorable look. But, I stayed firm.

"Alright, fine." Sixcia replied when she saw I wasn't backing down. "But... Yeah, I need to tell you something."

"Shoot."

"Uh, listen. Vesies don't need to sleep or eat anything, but it comes at a catch. See, truth is we have the ability to replace those things for something else. Another source of energy."

"Okay, so?"

"Meaning, the vesie picks something, an emotion, attaches themselves to it, and that's their energy source. It's the secret to our long lifespan too."

"What's your point?"

"... Miri. I said I was the Love Engineer. What emotion do you think I picked?"

It didn't take a genius to see where she was going with this. I gulped.

"So? Do we need to find you a girlfriend or something?"

"No, if I'm understanding the concept of "dating" right. I just need to have sex."

"Oh." I blushed. "Why?"

"Lust is a form of love. It's love for the person's body. A different kind of appreciation, but rooted in the same fountain. It's not as potent as true love would be, but it's enough of an energy source to keep me going."

"So... You need to have sex in order to function?"

"Basically."

"And does this hurt the person you have sex with?"

"No. I'm not a succubus. It's the emotion I feed off, not the person's life." Sixcia put her hands behind her back. "I, uh, I don't know how long I could last without having sex."

"Why? Did you get laid that consistently where you're from?"

"Mhm." Sixcia nodded. "Vesie's aren't a hive mind, but we are intimately aware of which emotions others use to fuel themselves. When I made the choice to use love, my friends and family made sure I was always full."

I recoiled. "Friends and family." Yeah, that's a rabbit hole I'm not going down.

"A-Anyway, so in conclusion, you just need to have sex and you'll be alright?"

She nodded.

"Well, love. Not just sex, but if the person fueling me doesn't feel love, then sex is enough. Oh! By the way, that's why consent is necessary. If there's no consent, there's no love in the act."

"I see..." My head started to hurt. "Okay. I'll uh, get back to you on that."

"Thank you."

"Next thing! So, I have to go to class. What will you do? I'll be here at school till three."

"Hm. I think I'll go take a walk. I want to get to know this place."

"The school?"

"The town. I just arrived."

"What?" I tilted my head. "What do you mean?"

"Yup. You know when you caught me?" She smiled sweetly. "I had just flown here."

I am the single, most unlucky person in the world. It's official. I shook my head and spoke up.

"You have a phone, right? I saw it when you were with my mom."

"Mhm."

"Alright, give me your number and here's mine." We exchanged contacts. "Alright. I'll see you later then." I said, but Sixcia kept staring at me. "What?"

"Uh..." She blushed. I was surprised. It was a good thing she wasn't human, the guys around here would eat her up. "Can I..."

"Can you...?" I asked back, somewhat feeling like bullying her a little. She's a supernatural being, she can take it.

"Can I kiss you goodbye?"

Wow. If a guy had said that to me, I may have melted. Instead, there was a slightly electric feeling in my gut as I sighed and nodded.

"Sure, took my first kiss, now you wanna take my second."

At that, Sixcia shrugged. I breathed in, readying myself, and leaned down. The vesie pressed her lips to mine.

When she said "kiss you goodbye," I thought she meant a peck. The kind I've seen people give. It was around when we'd spent five seconds still connected that I realized that wasn't what she meant. It was when her tongue poked out and swiped across my bottom lip that I pushed her off lightly.

"Okay!" I borderline yelled, retreating. "S-S-See ya later!" I turned and like the coward I am, ran to my classroom.

Ashley wasn't there, waiting for me as she usually was. Instead, she arrived after I did, sitting down next to me just a few minutes before the class was supposed to start.

"Where were you?" I asked. I looked over at her. Her face was flushed like she'd just spent a few minutes running.

"Oh, uh, I was looking for a friend."

"Oh. Okay." I turned my head around. Secretly, I was eyeing my backpack, knowing the Love Box was in it. Because of what I knew would happen soon, I was excited! Within a few minutes, Jack would come in through the door and I would test the Love Box out!

All I had to do was point it at him and my road to an active sex life would appear! On cue, the muscular, tall and thin guy came in through the door. He was talking to the other students, but I couldn't hear him over the sound of my own heart.

I didn't waste any time. I didn't want to lose him to the jungles that were this school's halls. I pulled the Love Box out.

"Heh heh heh..." I laughed like an evil villain. Subtly as I could, I pointed the container at him and pressed the button on the left side that I spotted just now.

Okay, see, when Sixcia had said to point the box at the person, I didn't think the box would behave like a camera. I thought it'd do... You know, magical stuff and just make the item appear. Instead, it soundlessly produced a strange purple flash in his direction. Like I'd just taken a photo with purple light as the flash.

Everyone looked in my direction. I freaked out, trying to act naturally as I appeared about as interested in the box in my hands as possible.

"Ha, cool box I've got here." I made sure to throw in. Stupid, I know.

"Hey, isn't that Ring Girl?" Someone asked. I couldn't hear the rest of the conversation, but I didn't care. I was too busy cheering in my own head.

"Oh yeah?" I thought. "Well, Ring Girl is about to get in the pants of one of the hottest guys here. So there's that!"

I opened the box.

Nothing.

"M-Maybe you have to wait for a bit."

Nope. The entire class went by. Nothing.

I left the room hunched over and depressed. I'd risked social isolation for the sake of a prank. A stupid prank that had been played on me by Sixcia. I huffed and told Ashley I needed a moment to call someone. She went on, walking to the cafeteria, looking strangely distracted.

I called Sixcia.

"You little shit!" I spat out.

"What?"

"The box doesn't work!"

"Uh, what do you mean? What happened?"

"I pointed it at a guy and nothing, yeah, nothing happened." I tapped my foot against the floor angrily.

"Oh... Could I tell you about that in person?"

"How the... Right, you can fly. Alright, I'll be by the... The big tree in the center of the school." I hung up.

My high school was structured in a weird way. The classrooms were all built into walls that created a perimeter around a small, natural park scene. This was the tree I meant. When I got there, Sixcia was already standing nearby.

"Okay, tell me. Did you want to disappoint me? Is this some philosophical 'it's not about getting laid' bullshit? Because it absolutely is about that."

Sixcia shook her head.

"Uh, no. See, I told you there were rules."

"Mhm."

"And consent is necessary."

"Yeah, so?"

"Think about it. If you can't force someone to do anything, by extension, that means you can't force someone to fall in love with you. The box only manipulates probabilities based on future events. But, I ask you," she raised her index finger. "What do you get when you multiply something by zero?"

"Zero." I replied with a shrug.

"So... If your chances of having a certain person fall for you are zero, and the box looks for a way to multiply that chance, what answer will it get?"

My eyes widened. I got it. I understood what had happened. Feeling my knees going weak, I looked for a nearby bench and I sat down. Shit.

"No object appeared because there's literally no universe or timeline where he likes me."

Sixcia smiled sadly. She sat down next to me and rand her hand up and down my back.

"Holy shit, that's sad," I muttered.

"U-Uh, well!" Sixcia quickly added, "On the bright side, remember, it's a two-way street! The box also takes into account whether or not you like them. So it may have just been the case that there was no universe or timeline where you like him either!"

"But..." I was about to say 'but I do like him!' But, was that even true? I didn't even know at this point. If it wasn't, then there was a real chance the box knew more about me than I knew about me. And that was almost scarier than the option of just me being unlikeable.

"I guess." I shrugged.

"H-Here, let's do a test! To see if it's actually effective!" She took the box from my backpack and put it in my hands. For a moment, her eyes started to glow in that multi-colored way again. "Her!" She pointed at someone. "Do it with her!"

"Whatever." I didn't even care that she was asking me to point it at a girl. I was pretty sure the thing was ineffective anyway. I pressed the button, it flashed, and I waited. This time, the box shook.

I nearly dropped it out of instinct. It was shaking, I could feel something inside moving! The little heart symbol at the front glowed pink for a few seconds and then dimmed. The box stopped shaking.

"It worked!" Sixcia literally applauded.