Chapter 3 — The Day After
When I woke the next morning, the first thing I noticed was that I wasn't immediately dying. The second thing I noticed was the quiet.
No system messages.No glowing panels.Just the sterile hum of machines and the gentle morning stir of hospital staff drifting through the hall.
It felt almost normal.
Until I blinked—and the faintest flicker of blue light pulsed at the edge of my vision.
Right.The system.
It hadn't been a concussion hallucination after all.
I exhaled slowly, rubbing sleep from my face. My ribs protested, sending sharp reminders through my chest. I wasn't used to waking up in pain. I wasn't used to waking up with quests, either.
A small rectangle of soft blue light materialized in front of me.
[MAIN QUEST PROGRESS: 2 / 3 Conversations Completed]
[DAILY QUEST RESET — 00:14]
Fourteen minutes until today's daily quest.I didn't know whether to dread that or look forward to it.
I shifted slowly, adjusting the pillow behind my back. The room was bright, too bright. My head pounded. But beneath the ache, beneath the groggy heaviness, there was a strange undercurrent in my chest.
Anticipation.
Or panic.
Same thing, really.
Yesterday… everything with Ava… it felt like I'd seen a version of her no one else had access to. The tired, shaken, real Ava. Not the campus idol everyone photographed. Not the girl floating between track meets, photoshoots, and sponsorships.
Just Ava.
And now the system wanted me to build a "genuine connection."
I had no idea how to do that on purpose.
A nurse walked in just as I was trying to look like I wasn't staring at thin air.
"Morning, Ethan," she said cheerfully. "How's the pain?"
"Like I lost a fight with a vending machine," I muttered. "And the vending machine won."
She smiled. "Better than yesterday. Your vitals look good."
"That's debatable."
"Your sarcasm levels are normal," she added dryly. "That's how we know you're recovering."
She checked my IV, changed a monitor lead, and gave me a new cup of water. Then she left with a friendly pat on the foot of my bed.
Silence filled the room again.
Then, with all the enthusiasm of a bored office clerk, another message appeared.
[Daily Quest Unlocked]
Perform 1 Act of Encouragement
Reward: (+2 Charm)
I stared at it.
"What, I'm a self-help YouTuber now?" I muttered.
The system gave no reply. Just hovered, patient and glowing.
Before I could argue with a floating rectangle, the door opened.
Ava stepped inside.
She wore a loose white sweater and black leggings, hair tied in a messy bun. No makeup. No filters. No armor. Just her.
My heart monitor, the traitorous bastard, beeped faster.
She glanced at the machine, then at me, and gave a tiny smirk.
"I'm choosing to believe the beeping means you're excited to see me," she said.
"It's my ribs," I lied.
She raised a brow. "Sure."
She walked to the chair beside my bed, carrying a paper bag that smelled suspiciously like actual food.
"You brought offerings?" I asked.
"Peace offerings," she corrected, sitting. "Hospital food is a human rights violation."
"I knew it."
She handed me a wrapped breakfast sandwich from the campus café. Warm. Fresh. Heavenly.
My chest tightened—not painfully, but in that weird, fluttery way I didn't want to analyze yet.
"Thanks," I said softly.
"You saved my life," she said simply. "The least I can do is bring you hash browns."
I laughed—and instantly regretted it as pain spiked through my ribs.
"You okay?" she asked quickly, leaning in.
"Yeah," I wheezed. "Just my body punishing me for expressing joy."
She smiled, small and almost shy.
I unwrapped the sandwich slowly, trying not to devour it in two bites. She watched me with quiet relief, like seeing me eat was proof I was actually okay.
It was… nice.Unnervingly nice.
We talked. Not about anything important at first—food, sleep, classes she was probably missing, classes I definitely wasn't missing.
She told me one of the track girls took notes for her but wrote so sloppy it looked like ancient hieroglyphics.
I told her Psych 101 lectures could be replaced by a single YouTube video titled "Humans Have Emotions, The End."
She laughed.A lot.
And every time she laughed, the system pulsed faintly—but didn't give a notification. Like it was watching but not interfering.
It only interrupted once:
[SIDE QUEST AVAILABLE]
Ask Ava one question she's never been asked before.
Reward: (Beginner Social Insight Skill)
I stared at it for a second too long because Ava tilted her head.
"You okay? You keep zoning out."
"Just contemplating my life choices."
"No wonder you look so confused," she teased.
I rolled my eyes, but the warmth in my chest tightened again.
Focus.Question.Something she'd never been asked.
I considered something deep. Philosophical. Emotional.
Instead, I blurted:
"What's the dumbest rumor you've ever heard about yourself?"
Her eyes widened.
She laughed so hard she nearly fell off the chair.
"Oh God, um—" She wiped her eyes. "Someone once told people I had a twin sister because apparently I 'appear everywhere.'"
I snorted. "I mean… fair."
"There is no twin sister," she declared dramatically. "Just me. One person. Running around too much and not sleeping enough."
Her shoulders relaxed. She looked lighter. Happier.
The system shimmered.
[Side Quest Completed]
Reward Granted: (Beginner Social Insight Skill)
A warmth settled behind my eyes—different from the "Soulful Gaze." Sharper. More aware.
And suddenly, I noticed it.
Ava was tired.Not just from the last two days.From something deeper—weeks? Months? The pressure of being watched, judged, praised, expected.
She hid it well.
But I could see it.
"You okay?" I asked softly. "You look… worn out."
She froze.Surprised.Like no one had ever noticed.
"I…" Her voice faltered. "Yeah. Just a long week."
"A long year," I corrected gently.
Her eyes flicked up to mine, shimmering with something quiet and vulnerable.
And there it was—the moment.
Meaningful Conversation #3.
She swallowed, then nodded once.
"You're… not wrong," she whispered.
The system pulsed gently.
[Main Quest Progress: 3 / 3 Conversations Completed]
[Reward Granted: +3 Confidence]
[Reward Granted: +5 Charm]
The warmth spread through my chest this time—subtle, reassuring, grounding. I felt clearer. Straighter. More… myself.
Ava pulled her knees onto the chair, hugging them loosely. She looked so small like that, so unlike the confident girl on magazine covers.
"Can I be real again?" she asked.
"Always."
She hesitated long enough that I almost told her she didn't have to.
Then:
"I'm scared," she said quietly. "Of what would've happened if you hadn't been there. Of what almost happened. Of… everything."
I wanted to reach out.I didn't.
Instead, I said, "Being scared doesn't mean you did something wrong. It means you survived."
Her breath hitched.Her eyes softened.She looked at me like I had cut a wire inside her she didn't know how to hold together.
The silence between us was warm. Heavy. Full.
Then a knock at the door broke it.
A doctor stepped in for a check-in, and Ava scooted back, wiping at her eyes discreetly. I pretended not to notice.
He asked about my pain, ran a light across my eyes, poked my ribs in ways I didn't appreciate, and finally left with a "You're recovering well."
Ava stood then, reluctantly.
"I should let you rest," she said, gathering her bag.
"I'm not rejecting free hash browns tomorrow," I said quickly.
She laughed.
"Same time?" she asked.
"Yeah," I said. "Same time."
She hesitated, then leaned down and pressed a soft kiss—not to my lips, not to my cheek—but to my forehead.
Warm.Brief.Electric.
"I'm glad you're okay," she whispered.
And then she left.
The room felt cold without her.
The system waited until the door clicked shut before dropping one more message.
[Main Quest Complete]
New Main Quest Unlocked: "Build Trust"
Step 1: Provide one moment of genuine support.
Reward: (Beginner Cooking Skill)
Cooking skill? Seriously?
I groaned and fell back against the pillow.
But despite the pain… I was smiling.