Medical Center.
Adam's Office.
After ditching the party, Adam, Sheldon, and Peggy were hanging out here, playing chess and chatting. The vibe was pretty chill.
Well… mostly.
"No, this can't be real~"
Sheldon stared at the chessboard, where he'd just gotten crushed, shaking his head like he refused to accept it.
"Sorry, buddy, it's real," Adam whooped, jumping up and throwing his arms in the air. He grabbed Peggy, spun her around a few times, and whispered in her ear with a grin, "I won. Does your promise still stand?"
"Of course it does," Peggy said, beaming. "Sure, there was a sneak attack involved, but you still beat Sheldon fair and square in this brainy chess match. I'm proud of you, Adam Duncan. You've really stepped up."
"Tonight's definitely gonna be a step-up kind of night~" Adam chuckled mischievously. "I'm proud of you too."
This time, Peggy didn't brush off Adam's flirting like she usually did. Instead, she locked eyes with him, her gaze soft and starry. Clearly, in her world, Sheldon was a benchmark—beat him, and you'd officially earned a spot in her eyes and her heart.
"That game doesn't count!"
Sheldon, replaying the moves in his head, realized he'd been careless and let Adam get the drop on him. He started protesting loudly, "I wasn't even trying!"
"A win's a win, a loss's a loss!" Adam set Peggy down and grinned at Sheldon. "How could it not count?"
"Best of three!" Sheldon demanded, flustered.
He couldn't stomach losing to Adam. Back in the day, Adam was just some dumb Earthling in his eyes. If he admitted defeat now, what did that make him?
"Nah, I'm done," Adam said, shaking his head. "I already won—boring now."
With that, he threw an arm around Peggy, ready to head home.
Are you kidding? He'd just scored Peggy's approval—time to cash in that starry-eyed jackpot! No way was he sticking around to play more chess with Sheldon. What if he lost this time and those sparkly eyes dimmed? Total buzzkill.
"Play him!" Peggy nudged Adam playfully. "No penalty for losing, but a reward if you win."
"For real?" Adam perked up. "What if I win again?"
"The rewards stack," Peggy said with an encouraging smile.
Howl! Adam's ears practically rang with imaginary wolf howls.
"Sheldon!" he pointed dramatically.
"What?" Sheldon blinked, confused.
"Don't you dare leave—we're battling till dawn!" Adam flashed a dazzling grin worthy of a TV drama kingpin.
"You're up for more?" Sheldon lit up.
"Obviously!" Adam puffed out his chest. "Forget best of three—let's do nine rounds, five wins. Tonight, I'm going for 666! You in?"
"Heck yeah!" Sheldon's competitive fire flared up. "You'll never beat me!"
"Beat who? What's all this noise about?" Missy strolled in.
"Buzz off!"
"Don't bug me!"
Adam and Sheldon shot her matching glares, then plopped down at the chessboard, ready to throw down.
"…"
Missy pouted, looking at Peggy with big, sad puppy eyes.
Peggy just smiled at her and turned her attention back to the chess match.
In chess, there's a time limit. A timer sits nearby—after each move, you smack it to log your time. Each player gets a set amount of thinking time per game, so it's all about managing it smartly.
To flex their smarts, Sheldon and Adam started off blitzing through moves, barely thinking before slapping the timer.
Smack!
Smack!
Smack!
Smack!
One's a natural-born genius.
The other's a late-blooming cheat-code master.
One's glaring daggers.
The other's smirking like a zen master.
One's fighting for pride.
The other's chasing some prideful fun.
It was a full-on showdown.
Once Sheldon got serious, his 187 IQ kicked into high gear. Adam, gunning for sixfold happiness, cranked his 182 IQ to max power.
Neither wanted to lose! Both were dead-set on winning!
After the initial flurry of lightning-fast moves, things slowed down. They hunched over the board, staring intently, their supercomputer brains running at full throttle.
You predict!
I predict your prediction!
Then I predict your prediction of my prediction!
Infinite layers, all before the timer buzzed!
Peggy watched with a little smirk, totally hooked.
Missy, after a minute, got bored and looked away. She glanced at her old friend Peggy, giving a small, almost shy smile. "Peggy, long time no see, huh?"
"Mhm," Peggy replied, sparing her a quick glance.
"How's your skin that good?" Missy said, trying to reel Peggy in. "It's unreal—tender as heck. What makeup do you use?"
At first, it was just flattery, but then she took a closer look and realized she didn't even need to exaggerate. Peggy's face was flawless—rosy and so delicate you'd leave a mark with a poke.
"No makeup," Peggy shook her head.
"No way!" Missy yelped. "That's impossible!"
Okay, truth's truth, but to spark some old friendship vibes, she dialed up the drama a bit.
"I don't lie anymore," Peggy said, giving Missy another glance.
She remembered her rebellious phase—teaching Missy to lie, nearly dragging her into shoplifting. Now, in a great mood, seeing Missy like this softened her up, and she added, "One, I'm too lazy. Two, Adam doesn't like it. He's always going on about 'natural beauty'—says it's the best look."
"But your skin's insanely good," Missy said, thrilled Peggy was actually talking to her. "It's better than when you were a kid. That's nuts!"
Time's a butcher's knife. Kids have the best skin—smooth and perfect. But as you age, sun, wind, bad diets, late nights, and slowing metabolism team up to wreck it.
Western girls especially—bloom early, fade fast. Twelve or thirteen's the big turning point.
Missy remembered Peggy's face from when they were around ten—peak skin days, right? But now, almost eight years later, with Peggy turning nineteen, her skin wasn't just holding up—it was better than her childhood peak. Missy, with her normal skin, couldn't wrap her head around it.
"Better than when I was a kid?" Peggy blinked, caught off guard.
She hadn't thought about it. But now that Missy mentioned it—holy crap.
Her genius brain kicked in, projecting mental snapshots of her face over the years, analyzing frame by frame.
And yeah, Missy wasn't exaggerating. Her skin was basically reverse-aging—getting better and better. The timeline? It started after her eighteenth birthday, so… the last six months or so.
Peggy glanced at Adam, who was deep in his chess trance, and something clicked in her mind.
(End of Chapter)