Stacy stared at the screen for a second like she wasn't sure it was real. Then she laughed softly, almost to herself.
"Okay. Okay, there are actually people here." She ran a hand through her hair, slow, like she was just now letting herself relax. "I didn't think this was going to work or anyone would really come"
[Red_ranger: It worked!!]
[ICEMAN21: we're here!!]
[TheSmartOne: omg she's so pretty, even prettier than the storm goddess]
She glanced down at that last one. Letting it sit just long enough.
"Thank you," she said quietly. Like it was just for that person.
[TheSmartOne: you're welcome *sad eyes emoji*]
[Captain_Jack: facts though]
"Okay so…" She shifted, leaning forward slightly, elbows on her knees. Closer to the camera at the top of the floating screen. "Can I be honest with you guys for a second?"
[RichFarmer: yes baby]
[TheSmartOne: always]
[Red_ranger: please]
"I haven't talked to anyone in eight days." She held up a finger. "And before you say anything — I'm fine. I'm okay. I just…" She paused.
"It gets loud in your own head after a while, you know?"
[ICEMAN21: of course it does, come listen to me instead]
[Red_ranger: that sounds so hard]
[you should've gone live sooner]
"I know." She nodded like they'd gently scolded her. "You're right. I had no idea." A small, self-deprecating smile. "I don't know anything that is happening, and the monsters outside are scaring me."
[are you kidding]
[Tell me where you are, I'll come save you.]
[LaserDevil: Lol, Captain Save-a-H\*e. Always knew you were a simp — same goes for all of you idiots]
She ignored that last message and pretended to be touched by the previous one.
"Okay, stop," she said softly. "Seriously. Don't do anything dangerous."
[Red_ranger: Don't worry, I'm strong enough to protect you from any monster]
[ICEMAN21: @LaserDevil, you can't blame us. Just because the world has ended doesn't mean we'll stop being horny]
[TheSmartOne: I'm only here looking for fap material… lol]
[Salvation_Father: Tell me where you are, little one]
She looked off to the side for a moment, like a defenseless little girl.
"I'm sorry, guys, I can't give out my location to just anyone. You'd have to show me I can trust you."
Yohan watched from the side as she took control from the beginning, without any nervousness or even a stutter.
She was pulling out all of her feminine charm, every subtle movement was to highlight her pretty face or draw focus to her chest.
He had to struggle not to get caught staring.
It was obvious she was doing all of this on purpose, but he couldn't resist. It was probably the same for the guys online.
[Salvation_Father has sent 10KP]
[Red_Ranger has sent 4KP]
[RichFarmer has sent 7KP]
He was shocked as the donations began coming in one after another. It was like something straight out of a TechTok video.
[Red_ranger: You can trust me, princess — I'll take good care of you]
[LaserDevil: @Red_ranger, you really are an idiot]
[TheSmartOne: wow, it's so easy for pretty girls]
[TheSmartOne has sent 2KP]
She came back to the camera with wide eyes. "Oh my… you guys shouldn't have. Aren't Karma Points hard to come by?"
[Red_ranger: I'll give you everything I have if you'd just let me come meet you]
"Mr. Red, you're being too forward." She let out a small laugh. "If you want a girl, you have to take her out on a date first."
[Red_ranger has sent 10KP]
[Red_ranger: How do we make that happen?]
Lucas couldn't believe they were giving her even more.
'I spent these last few days thinking of how I was going to get more Karma Points, and all it took her was smiling and talking for a few minutes. That's almost sad'
Almost — because as of right now, they were a team.
'A win for her is a win for me' he thought with a grin.
He watched as more Karma Points came in, mentally counting and adding everything up in anticipation.
Although it was his online account, every point went straight to her, so he technically had no way of knowing how many she had unless she showed him herself.
He wasn't too concerned about that, since Stacy was clearly a good person… or so he thought.
After a few minutes, the time came to divide the earnings.
"Only 10?" Lucas couldn't stop himself from voicing.
"What do you mean, only 10? I told you I only got 20 Karma Points, so we have to split it equally. Don't tell me you're going to be ungrateful?" She looked at him with a subtle frown.
"But… I thought it was way more than this?" Lucas didn't know how to say it, since he'd never expected this to happen in the first place.
"I counted at least 50—"
"So what are you trying to say?" She cut in angrily. "That I'm a liar? You're unbelievable. Maybe I shouldn't have given you anything."
"No, no, I wasn't trying to upset you. It's just…" Lucas hesitated, wondering what he was going to say.
He considered whether it was even worth saying anything, because at this moment he needed her more than she needed him.
She knew that too, so it didn't matter how many Points she'd gotten — he would get whatever she gave him, and there was hardly anything he could do about it.
"You're right," he forced a smile. "I shouldn't have been ungrateful."
This was the only thing he could do to ease the tension.
"No need to apologize now, you've already shown me your true colors. I don't want to deal with someone like you."
"Stacy, don't be like that. It was my bad. I was just confused about everything."
Lucas tried to mask his desperation, but it showed. Even though the truth of the situation was the reverse, he couldn't allow her to leave him behind.
"Let's just forget I said anything."
"It's too late for that. You can go figure things out on your own." She turned away dismissively.