“Get in here, butthole!” The moment Joshua opened the door to the laundry room, he was unceremoniously grabbed by the front of his shirt and tugged inside. “Just what the heck did you do to me?!”

Startled and confused by the sudden confrontation, Joshua could only stammer, while blinking furiously. “Uhh… I… I don’t know. I’m sorry!” Instinctively, he lowered his head and closed his eyes, half expecting to feel a burning sensation across his cheeks from an angry slap. When none came a few moments later, he slowly and cautiously cracked open one eyelid to watch as Olivia finished locking the door behind him.

“What do you mean you don’t know?” Turning back around, Olivia glared at Joshua like he was a cockroach under a microscope. “Are you just a pervert, or what?”

“No! I’m not a pervert,” Joshua rushed to assure her.

“Are you planning on raping me?” Without even giving him a moment to catch his breath, or gather his thoughts, Olivia jumped to another completely different topic.

“No!” Joshua instantly denied that accusation. “I’m not that type of person!”

“Then are you going to bounce me if I don’t refuse you? It seems like from what happened this morning, I can’t,” Olivia pressed.

“No! Yes! I don’t know,” Joshua admitted, shaking his head back and forth in confusion. “I… I am a guy… And there’s no doubt that you’re a beautiful girl… And it’d be hard to pass up the chance… But I’m not an asshole – or at least, I don’t try to be one…”

“Fine. I get it.” Sighing deeply, Olivia slowly brushed past him to hop up and sit atop the lid of the dryer. “You’re wishy-washy, and really don’t know what you might end up doing,” she told him, frowning deeply. “You know what you’d like to do – just like all guys – but you don’t know…”

“I know what I daydream about doing,” Joshua corrected, interrupting her. “But I also know dreams aren’t reality. It’s fun to imagine some sort of power fantasy where you can do whatever you desire to a woman, but the reality is different. If we’re going to actually be companions in the apocalypse, then I want you to be able to trust me and not actually hate me.”

“And I’d probably hate you if you forced yourself on me,” Olivia assured him, finishing his thought.

“Yeah.” Slumping his shoulders, Joshua tossed his bookbag over into the corner and then slowly walked over to hop up to sit on the lid of the washing machine. “Just because I could do something, doesn’t mean I’m going to,” he tried to assure her, while sounding uncertain himself. “But that’s only the me of today,” Joshua murmured softly. “Who knows what type of person I’ll end up being tomorrow, because of this New Human bullshit.”

“You know, it’s actually not that bad,” Olivia reassured him, reaching over to gently ruffle her hair with her hands. “I’ll admit, it’s scary as heck knowing you can just tell me to do something, and I have to do it, and I certainly don’t like the way you can just set rules or whatever at a whim and have them change me.”

“Sorry,” Joshua muttered, feeling like a complete ass now. “Honestly, I didn’t think it’d be a big deal,” he tried explaining. “I just wanted to test what the limits of things were, and I honestly tried to give the disadvantage to myself first. The stupid system just wouldn’t let me. I can’t give myself a minor disadvantage,” Joshua pouted, “and it was the stupid system that asked if I wanted to give it to you instead.”

“Tee hee hee…” Soft little laugher echoed from beside him, causing him to slowly raise his head and stare over at Olivia. “I’m sorry,” she giggled. “Maybe we’re not so different after all. I was trying to test the limits of things, to see if they were real as well.”

“But I’m still miffed at you,” she reminded him, half glaring, half smiling. “Do you have any idea what the heck you’ve did to me,” she asked, staring directly into his eyes?

“Umm… Made you dislike underwear,” Joshua answered hesitantly.

“Not just dislike them,” Olivia pouted. “They’re absolutely terrible now! Have you ever had a pair of boxers with the waistband broken? A set that keeps falling down, bunching up, and trying to ride up your butt crack?”

“Uhh... Yeah,” Joshua admitted, slowly nodding his head up and down.

“Well, it’s like that for me,” Olivia pouted. “One moment, I’m sitting in math class, minding my own business. The next moment, there’s a series of pings in my ear, and then my panties suddenly feel like they’re three sizes two small and trying to wedgie themselves completely up into my colon! My bra is itchy. The underwire in it suddenly feels like it’s broken and scratching my breasts. Even my dang socks suddenly felt like there were holes in all the toes – holes almost big enough for my toes to poke out of, but not. It’s like they kept riding down my ankles and bunching up at my heels, and while catching on my toenails.”

“Gaaahh!!” Waving her hands in the air, Olivia grunted in frustration. “Do you know, I had to ask to be excused from class just so I could go to the bathroom and take them all off?!”

“I’m… I’m sorry.” Unable to help himself, Joshua couldn’t help but to stare over at Olivia. Glancing down, sure enough, he could tell that she wasn’t wearing any socks anymore – and that was enough for his mind to try and imagine the rest.

“Perv!” Laughing slightly, Olivia seemed to almost read his mind.

“I’m sorry,” Joshua apologized again, deliberately averting his gaze.

“It’s okay,” Olivia assured him, while still half laughing. “Take off your clothes, and let’s both get naked,” she suddenly suggested, hoping up from the dryer she was sitting on. Before Joshua could say anything, she was kicking off her shoes and already pulling her sweater up over her shoulders.

“Wait… Wait… What?!” All Joshua could do is sit and stare unblinkingly as Olivia slid out of her skirt and then calmly folded up her clothes and sat them on the edge of the dryer, before hoping back up to sit where she’d been before, acting almost like nothing had changed.

“It’s your turn,” she told him. The smirk that kept twitching up across the corners of her face made it seem like she was going to burst out laughing at any moment.

“Umm… Yeah… Sure…” Hopping down from where he was sitting on the washing machine, Joshua slowly undressed while Olivia giggled and whistled lightly. By the time he was finished, his cheeks were burning bright with embarrassment.

“And… Why? Why are we naked?” He asked, sitting back on top of the washer, placing his hands together in his lap.

“It’s actually one of the minor tasks,” Olivia told him, while both blushing and giggling slightly. “Companion Familiarity I – Observe your companion naked for 15 minutes,” she informed him, trying to sound nonchalant about the whole situation.

“And… And you’re fine being naked in front of a guy you barely know?” Staring over at her, Joshua was trying hard not to let the heat rise up too far in his loins. Olivia truly was one of the top beauties in the school, and there she was, sitting just a few short feet from him, in nothing but her birthing suit.

“No. No, I’m not,” Olivia admitted, blushing brightly. “I’ve never been with a guy, you know,” she admitted, sheepishly. “Everyone claims us cheerleaders are all tramps and whores, but that’s not true at all. I mean, a few are,” she admitted, “but most of the girls aren’t any different from any of the others at the school.”

“Then… Then why suggest... Suggest this?” Frowning, Joshua interrupted her. Sweat was slowly begging to form on his forehead, as he struggled to try and keep his teen hormones under control.

“Because… I… I’m trying my best,” Olivia slowly admitted. “I… I don’t really know everything about the situation that I’m stuck in, but for whatever reason, it seems like I’m stuck in it together with you. I’ve already seen from this morning that I can’t refuse you, and I learned during math class that you can do all sorts of weird things to me, if you want. You’re not just ‘a guy I barely know’. At least, not anymore,” Olivia sighed, deeply. “You’re now ‘my Eternal Lord’.”

“Besides,” she rambled on, “in some ways, it might not honestly be that bad. Ask any woman out there if she’d be willing to give herself to a guy who would never lie to her, betray her, or hurt her. You’d be surprised at how many there are who would jump at a chance like that.”

Nodding slightly to show he understood, Joshua blushed brightly while asking, “So… So does that mean I can…”

“No,” Olivia interrupted him. “Not unless you really do want me to hate you.”

“So… Sorry!” Hanging his head, Joshua felt all the warmth drain from his loins as pure embarrassment suddenly burnt his cheeks.

“Sorry,” Olivia apologized herself. “I didn’t mean to come off sounding so harsh. It’s not you – not in particular,” she assured him. “It’s just I’ve promised my mother that I won’t be with anyone until after prom night, at least.”

“Prom?” Joshua asked, slowly lifting his head back up to steal another glance over at Olivia.

“It… It’s complicated,” Olivia assured him, wrinkling her nose up slightly. “How about I offer you a deal instead. One where we can both be satisfied.”

“A deal?” Blinking in confusion, Joshua was completely lost. He was embarrassed being naked in front of a girl. His ass was cold from sitting on the lid of the washer. He’d gotten his desires up, then had them dashed, and now she was offering a deal… ‘If I’m the Lord,’ he thought piteously, ‘then I certainly seem to be dancing in the hand of my servant!’

“As long as there’s no penetration below the waistline,” Olivia offered, blushing brightly herself, “then you can do whatever else you want. I’ll… I’ll let you touch all you want. We… We can kiss,” she offered. “You… You can use my breasts for a boob job, and I… I’ll even learn to use my mouth…”

“As… As long as I don’t penetrate below the waistline,” Joshua finished, blushing brightly. Both of them were crimson from head to toe as they sat mere feet apart, staring at each other unblinkingly.

“Fine… Fine,” Joshua finally managed to agree. “You’ve got yourself a deal, but you can’t blame me if I decide to take you up on the offer.”

“I won’t.” Sighing softly, Olivia slowly eased up from where she was sitting on the dryer and moved over to hop up and sit on the dryer beside him. Trembling slightly, she slowly wrapped one arm around Joshua’s back and then laid her head down upon his naked shoulder.

“I just… I just keep telling myself that it’ll be all right,” she whispered, unconvincingly. “After all, you can’t lie to me, betray me, or actually hurt me.”

“I… I can’t,” Joshua assured her, slowly wrapping his arm around her body to help pull her up close beside him.

“Is… Is it okay if I think of myself as more of an Eternally Loyal Knight, than as a servant?” Olivia asked, slowly lifting up her head to stare directly into his face with her pale blue eyes. “Knights still have to do what their Lords tell them to, but they’re still held in high regard by the people and their families.”

“Absolutely,” Joshua assured her. “You can be my personal knight if you want to. The Guardian of the Lord.”

“Ping!” A sudden ping echoed in his ears as a new notification window suddenly appeared in front of his eyes.

WRP Announcement: The title of your Eternally Loyal Companion Olivia Davis has been upgraded to become your Eternally Loyal Knight Olivia Davis.

“Well, I guess that means it’s officially official,” Joshua stated, in shock, before moodily muttering, “This damn WRP System really needs a damn instruction manual to go with it.”

Olivia said nothing, as she simply sat there in silence and rested her head against his shoulder.

“Ping!” It was the gentle reminder of a notification window opening that finally broke the gentle reverie for the two of them.

Congratulations! You have completed the task Companion Familiarity I. You have been awarded 1 MSP and 1 MCP.

“Looks like we did it,” Joshua smirked. “Hardest task ever,” he joked.

“And there’s a part two to it,” Olivia smirked. “Observe your companion naked for thirty minutes.”

“We should be able to complete that before lunch is over, I guess,” Joshua chuckled. “Unless you’re too cold to continue? These lids really aren’t the warmest, and they must keep the heat turned down low in here!”

“I’m fine,” Olivia assured him, though she did snuggle her naked body up a little tighter against his side. “But what the heck are these MCP for? I understand the Minor Status Points — they let us change things about ourselves — but what is the CP for?”

“Companion Points, I think,” Joshua guessed aloud. “I think you can spend them to improve your companions, kind of like a gift. Seems to me, we can basically use them in one of two ways,” Joshua told her.

“And what are those,” Olivia asked?

“One — we spend them on each other, for rapid growth,” Joshua smiled. “Or, two — we save them and use them to quickly build up any new companion we get in the future.”

“We’ve got 336 days before whatever comes next happens,” Olivia smirked. “Let’s spend them.”

“On what,” Joshua asked. “I’ve already screwed up and made you upset with the whole underwear thing. I don’t want to screw something up again. Though,” Joshua laughed lightly, “I do know of one thing you probably need now”

‘Acquire Resistance (Cold), Level One, for Eternal Knight Olivia Davis,’ Joshua thought to himself, quickly followed by, ‘Acquire Resistance (Cold), Level Two, for Eternal Knight Olivia Davis.’ Two blue pop-up notifications and some gentle pings assured him that the points had been spent.

“Oooohhh…” Olivia moaned softly, while smiling happily. “That’s much better,” she admitted, giggling slightly. “At least now my tush isn’t going to get frost bite.”

“Oh! I can think of another good minor one for you,” Joshua laughed, smirking mischievously. ‘Acquire Like — Taste (Joshua Campbell’s seed), Level one, for Eternal Knight Olivia Davis.”

“You!” Blushing brightly, Olivia buried her head in his shoulder in embarrassment as the ping slowed faded from Joshua’s ears.

“Well, it was part of our deal,” Joshua reminded her, laughing slightly. It was all he could manage, to keep from blushing himself. “I figured if you’re going to do something like that, it might as well be enjoyable.”

“Well just remember,” Olivia blushed crimson, forcing herself to lift her pale blue eyes to stare directly into his, “I can buy minor advantages for you too!”

“Got… Got it,” Joshua promised, gulping slightly. “I’ve still got two minor points left, from the underwear thing,” Joshua admitted. “Is there anything you’d like me to spend those on?”

“Umm… Give me a second.” Resting her head back upon his shoulder, Olivia stared off into space, scrolling and reading a menu only she could see. “How about Reduced Hair Growth — Below Neck, Reduced Appetite, or Improved Bladder Control?”

“Those?” Joshua asked, thinking they were useless. “Why not some of the resistances, like to warmth, alcohol, or food poisoning?”

“Those sound good,” Olivia admitted, “but you don’t know how annoying it is for a girl to have to shave every day! And if there’s really going to be an apocalypse, then learning to eat less seems like it’d be essential to survival.”

“And the other,” Joshua asked, feeling stupid.

“Because someone fixed it so I don’t like to wear underwear,” Olivia reminded him, matter-of-factly. “Girls… umm… leak, sometimes,” she explained, blushing slightly. “Particularly when it gets close to that time of the month,” she added, softly.

“Got it,” Joshua said, blushing brightly and feeling like an idiot. ‘Acquire Reduced Appetite, Level One, for Eternal Knight Olivia Davis. Acquire Improved Bladder Control, Level One, for Eternal Knight Olivia Davis.’

“How’s that?” Joshua asked, trying to make it sound normal.

“Great,” Olivia laughed. “I’ll buy the last one with my ‘sit around naked’ point.”

“And I’ve still got ten actual Companion Points,” Joshua reminded her. “Any idea what you’d like me to spend those on?”

“Ovulation Control,” Olivia answered, without any hesitation.

“Ovulation Control?” Joshua repeated, feeling stupid again. Once again, it was something which he would’ve considered completely worthless.

“It’s every woman’s dream,” Olivia assured him, laughing lightly. “To be able to control their monthly cycles. Stop their period. Prevent pregnancy. Control their hormones and mood swings. It’s the Holy Grail of feminine liberation!”

“Fine,” Joshua agreed. He might think other things were more important, but he certainly wasn’t going to argue the point with a woman! ‘Acquire Ovulation Control for Eternal Knight Olivia Davis.’

“Wow,” Joshua muttered, “that was five whole points. Almost twice what two ranks in improved intelligence costs!”

“And worth ten times that cost,” Olivia assured him!

“If you say so,” Joshua shrugged, unconvinced. “There’s five points left. Any preference for them?”

“Umm… If I’m going to be a knight,” Olivia pondered, “then how about a couple of ranks of Stamina, Agility, and Reflexes?”

“Sounds great,” Joshua agreed, thinking they were the first real things she’d purchased that made much sense to him. ‘Acquire Enhancement— Stamina, Level Two, Enhancement — Agility, Level One, Enhancement— Reflexes, Level One, for Eternal Knight Olivia Davis.’ Honestly, Joshua wasn’t certain it’d work trying to purchase multiple things at once, but the ping sounded, and the notification popped up without any issues.

“All done,” Joshua assured her. “I’m all out of…”

“Ping!”

Congratulations! You have completed the task Companion Familiarity II. You have been awarded 1 MSP and 1 MCP.

“…Err… Or, maybe not,” Joshua laughed. “One minor point left.”

“Save it for now,” Olivia suggested. “It seems higher ranks take more points, so we might want to accumulate and keep some extra points around, just for emergencies.”

“There’s not much time left before class,” Joshua sighed, regretfully. Truly, he was enjoying the feeling of the naked beauty pressed up tight beside him. “If we’re going to eat, we should probably get dressed and rush to the cafeteria.”

“Sure,” Olivia laughed, hopping down off the washer’s lid. Half skipping over to the dryer, she paid absolutely no attention to Joshua’s eyes as he burned her graceful image into his retinas with his unblinking gaze. “That won’t take long anyway,” Olivia chuckled, slipping her sweater down over her shoulders and quickly sliding her skirt up. “You made certain of that earlier, after all.”

“Sorry,” Joshua blushed, as he hopped up and began putting on his underwear and pants.

“Well, you just be certain to buy me something like ‘sag resistance’ and ‘strong shoulders’ later, got it?” Giggling lightly, Olivia turned and half whistled as she deliberately watched him get dressed.

“Can’t I just buy it back off?” Joshua asked, looking puzzled as he slid his old shirt back over his head.

“Can you? That’d be great,” Olivia laughed, seeming her normal, happy-go-lucky self again.

“Once we get more minor companion points,” Joshua confirmed. “It gave five to max it out, so probably the same to pay it off.”

“Probably more,” Olivia corrected. “If I was making something like this, I wouldn’t go for a one-to-one exchange. I wouldn’t want people to just “borrow” trivial points when they need them, and then pay them back later. I’d at least charge interest, or something, to discourage the practice.”

“Well, I’ll find out when I get another MCP,” Joshua assured her. “It gave two for the last rank, so I’m certain it’ll take at least that many to buy off.”

“Sounds good,” Olivia laughed. “My bo-two can barely wait!”

“Bo-two?” Joshua asked, as they both slipped on their shoes.

“B. O. Two... The first two letters of both bottom and boob!” Olivia said, chuckling lightly. “It just seemed like an easy way to put them both together.”

“Well, you have nice bo-twos,” Joshua smirked, heading over to unlock and crack the door slightly. Peeping out cautiously, he checked carefully to make certain nobody would see them heading out of the laundry room. “It’s clear,” he assured her, quickly stepping outside.

“You still haven’t told me what you want me to buy for you with my CP,” Olivia reminded him, skipping outside light-heartedly to twirl in the crisp winter air.

“The skills to Assess, Appraise, Inspect, all at level two,” Joshua told her. “I’m hoping some of these will help shed more light on the overall system, and help us understand more of what’s going on. And the last point in improving stamina, please,” Joshua asked, politely.

A few moments later, a single “Ping” resounded in Joshua’s ear, which was surprising to him as he was expecting to hear several of them.

Congratulations! Your companion has purchased Skill – Assess I for you.

Congratulations! Your companion has purchased Skill – Assess II for you.

Congratulations! Your companion has purchased Skill – Appraise I for you.

Congratulations! Your companion has purchased Skill – Appraise II for you.

Congratulations! Your companion has purchased Skill – Inspect I for you.

Congratulations! Your companion has purchased Skill – Inspect II for you.

Congratulations! Your companion has purchased Enhancement – Physical Stamina I for you.

Congratulations! Your companion has purchased Enhanced Resistance (Cold) II for you.

“All points spent,” Olivia laughed, moving up close beside him to grab his arm.

“Now wait… Wait a moment!” Glancing around in a panic, Joshua looked all about to see if anyone was looking at them. “You don’t want people to think you’re together with me, or anything, do you?”

“Why not?” Olivia asked, laughing unconcernedly. “I don’t think they’d understand if I told them I was your knight. Don’t you think it’d be much better if everyone just learned to think of me as your girlfriend?”

“Girl… Girlfriend?!” Joshua sputtered, and almost tripped in his shock. “Who? Me?”

“No,” Olivia laughed lightly. “I’d be the girlfriend. You’d be my man.”

“Ubbbaa whuuut?” The gears in Joshua’s poor brain slowed down and slowly cranked to a complete stop, as he imagined smoke slowly drifting out of his ears.

“Well, it’s the least people can think of us, if I’m going to be your lover,” Olivia told him matter-of-factly. “Besides, it’s already decided you’re taking me to the prom.”

“I am?” Joshua blinked stupidly.

“THUD!!”

“OOOFFF!”

Walking into the edge of the doorway leading into the cafeteria, Joshua stumbled and sat down hard on his ass, drawing all the eyes of the students who were just finishing up their meals.

“Yeeeeeeppp!! Are you okay?” Hovering over him worriedly was Olivia, as she gently tugged on his arm to try and help him back up to his feet.

“I might never be okay again,” Joshua muttered softly under his breath, once again having trouble believing this was reality.