“Locke?” Penny asked when he didn’t respond right away.

"Uh..." Locke swallowed, knocked off balance. He knew Penny, but had never talked to her. Stared at her, a lot. Subscribed to her instagram and youtube channel? Definitely. Jerked it to her late at night? More times than he could count. But this was the first time talking to her. "Yeah?" 

So even with his new, bigger frame, his 18 year old voice could still crack. Great time to find that out! 

Locke cleared his throat, tried again. "Yeah. Hey. No, you're not interrupting anything." Locke couldn't remember what he and Yuna had just been talking about, so it probably wasn't important.

"Actually," Yuna interjected sharply. "You kinda were."

PennyZ (which she preferred to be called even in real life, and pronounced "Pennies"), smiled.

"Don't worry, this'll only take a minute," she said to Yuna, then proceeded to ignore her entirely.

Penny laced her hands behind her back and leaned forward until her standing height allowed her to make eye contact with his sitting one. 

"You wanna go to prom with me?" she asked. "You're like the hottest guy in school, and I think we'd have a lot of fun."

"Huh?" The idea caused a short circuit in Locke's head. An entire life of fading into the background at school had conditioned him to never expect being asked out, especially not by the most famous (and infamous) girl in the school. With the goddesses, it was a different story. Such an alien and surreal environment that it was more like he was roleplaying inside of a videogame than engaging in real life. 

But this? This was such a dissonance it took him a few seconds of staring at her before he thought to answer. "Oh yeah. Sure. That'd be fun, yeah." 

And then a few seconds more until, "Wait wait wait. Sorry, hold on. I was just talking to Yuna about going with her, sorry." He grit his teeth when he realized he'd fallen back into his old habit of apologizing for everything.

"Yeah," Yuna said, her hand shooting across the lunch table to grab his arm. "My boyfriend is spoken for."

She didn't add "So fuck off", but her tone implied it well enough. 

PennyZ arched a pink eyebrow, then shrugged, tossing her hair back.

"Well...can't blame a girl for trying," she cooed, winking at Locke. "You lovebirds have fun."

She walked away then, a sway in her hips as her skirt swished around her shapely thighs and heart shaped ass. Immediately, Yuna turned even redder than he'd been a moment ago.

"I...I'm sorry," she said. "I didn't mean....I know we're not...that. I don't know. She stepped in on that and I guess I got a bit territorial." 

She sighed, brushing her dark hair back, her eyes doing a quick inventory of the floor.

"Not that I should be territorial. I just...I mean...I'd love to go with you. Sure," she said. She bit her lip then, nervous brown eyes turning up to his.

"Yeah. That sounds great. Wow. Boyfriend, huh?" Locke smirked, gave Yuna a light shove on the shoulder. Yuna was a sweet girl and more than he deserved, he was sure. Even if it was bizarre that she'd been his best male friend only yesterday. He knew that rationally, could remember all those times together.

But he could also remember Yuna being his best friend. Growing up together. Spending every afternoon after school together playing videogames, riding bicycles, and getting into trouble. And unlike Alice, Yuna had always been a very pretty girl, with it only getting more obvious the last few years. The Locke of that alternate timeline, the one where he’d always been a musclebound stud and Sun had always been Yuna…in that timeline, Locke was going to ask Yuna out to prom 100% of the time. And even if it wasn’t his timeline, even if he only half-remembered the details, now the thought of seeing her in a prom dress smiling at him was sending butterflies fluttering in his stomach. 

And yet... he couldn't stop himself from glancing back towards Penny just once. The girl was bad news, he'd heard. Rumors said she had zero friends her own age and only dated older guys. Whether that was because everyone else considered her out of their league or she was truly unpleasant to be around, he had no idea. 

But that one video of her dancing while wearing the red latex cosplay, the way she moved her hips... he'd watched that one a lot. 

Well, it wasn't any good being greedy. It wasn't like Yuna was any less sexy than her either. She was just... familiar, in an odd way. 

"So, want to hang out..." Locke remembered the meeting that morning. These dates with the goddesses were going to suck up his whole week’s schedule. "...sometime next week, after prom?" he finished lamely.

"Yeah. I'd like that," she said. "And uh...well, I know you're not my boyfriend. I shouldn't have said that, so...sorry."

“Hey, you already said that, and really, it's no big deal. I kind of liked it.”

She glared over his shoulder at Penny, who was sitting with a group of girls who served as her lackeys. 

"That bitch just gets under my skin," she said, then added. "Influencers," sounding the word as if it were a curse.

"Yeah. I mean... totally." 

Locke wasn't about to point out that Sun had been the one that first showed him PennyZ's instagram account when she was going viral for wearing heart-shaped nipple pasties. His friend had been even more into her than he was. He guessed the new Yuna was just as straight as Sun had been.

Which wasn’t a bad thing at all. Yuna’s new body was smoking hot, and Locke wanted to see more of it. Thinking about the selfies he’d gotten yesterday from Lucy and Ella, an idea popped into his head. A way to reassure Yuna that she had absolutely nothing to worry about.

"But hey, if Penny is off the table, maybe I could get a few personal pics of you to look at instead?" he said without thinking.

One look at her face was all he needed to know that his idea had come out wrong.

"You don't mean like....her, do you?" she asked. "I'm not some e-slut. I said yes to prom because we're friends and...."

She studied him, brow furrowed.

"This isn't just because I'm pretty, right?" she asked.

"What?" Locke's brain seized up. Yes or no? 

"I mean, if you were a guy, I wouldn't have asked, so you being a pretty girl helps, yeah." The flaring of Yuna's nostrils told him he was continuing to choose his words poorly.

"I mean, no, it's not like you're that pretty so..." Oh no. That lower lip quiver. The eyebrows scrunching up. Last time he'd seen that look on Sun, he'd been punched in the face. 

"I just thought... you like me, I like you. We're horny teens. That's like... the things horny teens... do...? I can send you some dick pics too if you want."

She ran both hands through her hair.

"Y'know what, forget it," she said, getting up from the table. "We're friends. Let's just leave it at that. I don't wanna… just fucking forget it."

She stormed off then, tossing her plate, tray and all into the garbage before making a hasty exit up the cafeteria stairs.

"Guh..." Locke wanted to bang his head on the table. With Alice being his maid now, Yuna was the only actual friend he had left. Screwing things up with her felt like a punch to the gut. 

What Chaos had told him yesterday echoed in his mind.

Once per day, to one woman, you can issue a powerful suggestion that a woman's brain will subtly conform to accept.

If he chased after Yuna and told her to forgive him, then things could go back to normal. He could fix everything. 

But after everything else he'd done to her, did he really want to abuse her trust like that?

Instead, he fished Yuna’s tray out of the trash to set it with the rest and finished his lunch, chewing on the question long after he’d finished his food.

He didn’t notice PennyZ had sat down at the table across from him until she reached out and touched his hand, making him jump.

"Hey, you got a sec? I saw that whole thing earlier and I just," she said. "I hope that wasn't my fault. I'm sorry if it was. I didn't know you two were like, dating or whatever. If I fucked something up for you there, I'm really sorry."

Locke had never really talked to Penny before. But according to reputation, she was always performing for some literal or figurative audience. The fakest girl in school.

Here, though, she looked genuinely concerned. She looked around, as if checking to see if anyone was watching.

"No, uh. I'm just... it's a bit awkward. I'm not used to talking to girls. And never really thought of Yuna like that until... recently. Everything has me on the backfoot." 

Locke blew air between his cheeks, gave his head a shake. "But no, not your fault. And hey, thanks for asking me. I'll figure out some way to get this fixed. Don't see why it all has to be so complicated. Wish we could figure something out so we could all go together. Heh. Yeah, that'd fix everything." 

Locke felt a tightness in his chest and a relaxation of pressure on his head, the same strange sensation he'd experienced when he'd told Mrs. Webbing to not mind what he was doing. His eyes went wide. He hadn't just triggered that power Chaos had given on accident, had he? 

He looked at Penny. Were her eyes glassy? Did her eyes just flutter. 

"Right… all of us," Penny repeated, bringing a finger to her lip. “...go together…”

“Penny? I wasn’t being serious just now, you know?”

“Huh? Oh, of course—” The lunch bell rang, cutting her off. “Just kidding, of course. Well, see you soon, Locke. And just leave everything to me.”

“It’s fine, right? Probably. I told her I was joking.” Locke assured himself.

But for Penny, the seed had been planted, and she couldn't shake a persistent daydream of going to prom around one Locke's arms, with Yuna around the other. One megastud with chiseled abs taking the two hottest girls in school? She could see the comments already. So many of her fans jealous, so many questions about Yuna. People ranting about what it said about society, deep dives on the way her makeup coordinated her prom dress… it’d be her most viral event of the year, easy.

And didn’t a girl like her deserve two prom dates?

Meanwhile, the rest of Locke's day passed largely without incident. As he left school, Alice stepped in beside him, looking up at him with a smile. Normally, Yuna would be right beside them as they waited on their respective rides, but their third musketeer was nowhere to be found. 

It wasn't Grace that pulled up this time, but Mark.

"Hey, get in," he said. "Make it quick. I gotta get you two home so I can get on with my day here."

"No way. I think I want to stand around in this parking lot another twenty, forty minutes," Locke replied dryly as he climbed into the car. 

"Kind of ridiculous that I need to bum rides off everyone anyways," he said as he did his best to get comfortable, once more pulling the seat back as far as it'd go and still not having enough leg room. “I really need my own car.”

"Trust me, more trouble than it's worth," Mark replied, wheeling out of the parking lot in the family station wagon. "And where would you even park it?" It was already crowded at home with the wagon and Dad's car in the garage, Grace's small white SUV on the driveway. 

"I guess." 

"I'd be happy to act as your chauffeur, Master," Alice chimed in. "I attained my driver's license just for that reason."

Mark scowled at that. He shook his head.

"Fucking awesome. Grace's the golden girl who gets to do whatever she wants, and you have some girl who does whatever you want, but I've still gotta play babysitter or I'm 'inconsiderate'," he said. "I'd tell you to grow up and buy your own car, but I guess your maid will just take care of it for you."

Alice sat up a bit straighter.

"Excuse me, my decision to be a maid to master is none of your business."

Mark rolled his eyes.

"Whatever. That’s just your Slut Phase acting up. I just wanna know what star this dweeb was born under to be so lucky," he said. "And you are a dweeb."

Mark was the oldest of the three, and for as long as Locke could remember he’d always been trying to take the wind out of his sails. Mark said it was because someone needed to, that as the baby of the family, he was getting spoiled by the rest of the family. Which might have been true, but Locke thought that it boiled down to pure resentment. And even if the reality warps had landed Mark with a new stable job instead of his failing streaming career, that hadn’t changed between them.

"Yeah, well, don't worry. After this summer, I'll be out at college and out of your hair, and you'll still be here," Locke fired back, resting his elbow at the base of the window as he stared out at the road. 

"Someone's gotta take care of Mom and Dad," Mark retorted, though his heart wasn't in the argument. "Eh, another year at the Slut Center and maybe I'll move out too. My supervisor keeps telling me they need young guys like me at the bigger city centers." 

Locke was just dying of curiosity of just what the hell went on at a "slut center". 

"...so what exactly is it you do there?" 

"We guide women through their Slut Phase in a way that's safe and healthy," he said. "Birth control, safe practices, counseling. It's a tough time for women. They do irrational shit, and sometimes it’s even crazier than just deciding they’re the maid of some dork. When it’s over, there’s nothing left but regret. I teach them how to avoid mistakes and deal with them once they do."

It was a dry but sincere explanation, and without an ounce of bragging to it. Locke had thought he’d just be satisfying horny girls having sex all day, but it looked like he was wrong.

Mark finished with, "I help women going through sexual phases, instead of taking advantage of them."

"It's not a phase. I've been dreaming about serving Master since the first moment I ever met him," Alice insisted from the back seat. "I do hope that when my Slut Phase does kick in, it won't inconvenience the Master though."

Mark didn’t look convinced. 

"Uh, you don't really need to worry about that," Locke said. It sounded like Mark's job was mostly talking and paperwork, much less exciting than the fantasies in his head. "I'm sure I can help you out when the time comes. Least I could do." 

"Mmmhm," Mark agreed as they continued the drive home. “And remember to wear a condom when you two are doing it. You can get free ones at the SC, and they’ve got the extra thin ones now thanks to me. Trust me, I go through like a box a week and it’s basically raw.”

“...thanks.” 

Or maybe it was exactly as fun as he was thinking.

The rest of the drive passed in an uncomfortable, tense silence. Before long, they were home. Grace wasn't around, but his mother was. He had a few hours before his first date to do his homework, socialize with his family, strategize with his maid, or do anything else before he had to meet with his first goddess. The next three nights would certainly be interesting. But they risked being exhausting as well.

After the lunch he'd had, Locke was feeling significantly more nervous about the upcoming dates. He'd managed to piss off his (only remaining) best friend, fumbled talking to a hot girl, and he couldn't even carry a conversation with his own brother without making things tense. 

And now he was supposed to spend six hours talking to an immortal being beyond his comprehension? 

"Relax, relax. You're not the one being judged here, they are," Locke told himself in the mirror as he messed with his hair, checked out the outfit Grace and Alice had helped him pick out just yesterday.

"Relax, relax. You're not the one being judged here; they are," Locke told himself in the mirror, running a hand through his thick, dark hair. Alice had done it for him earlier, talking about “volumizing” it that had it looking even messier than usual. His sharp jawline, perfectly smooth after a shave from Alice, framed a face that could have stepped out of a fashion magazine—deep-set hazel eyes, a strong nose, and he wasn’t sure what to make of his lips. Not really thick or thin, they were one of the few things about himself that Chaos had left untouched.

He stood tall at 6'3", his broad shoulders and muscular frame making even the plainest clothes look good. But this outfit? It was like transforming from a high-school kid to post-college adult. Grace really knew her stuff. A fitted charcoal blazer that hugged his arms and chest paired with a crisp, white button-up shirt that peeked just above the blazer’s open collar. Dark, slim-fit jeans, and a pair of black sneakers completed the ensemble.

He looked good. Incredible, even. It helped put some salve over the screwups earlier. A new look couldn't change the fact that his social skills were bad, or erase the work he had to do in that department. But it was a huge improvement, and looking so damn good gave him some confidence that he could figure the rest out.

As the clock ticked closer to the 6 PM start time, he tried what he could to distract himself. He tried playing some video games, but couldn't get into anything. He tried looking at his homework, but after being handed the fate of the world, it just seemed too trivial. Alice offered more than once that she could help him relax before the date, and he had zero doubt that she could do exactly that… but this was Locke’s first date. Having another girl suck his cock right before it didn’t seem like the right thing to do.

15 minutes of waiting to go, and he was checking his outfit for the 40th time when a knock came at the door. 

"Hey dude. You got a sec?" she asked from the other side.

"Yeah, sure. Yeah." Locke shook his body, trying again to relax. He'd thought that had been the date, showing up early, and his heart had nearly come out of his mouth. He was getting far too nervous and talking to anyone about anything would help to calm his nerves. He hoped. 

Locke opened the door to let Grace into his room—and thanks to Alice's efforts, it was the cleanest room in the house now, so there wasn't any need to feel embarrassed as he sat on the edge of the bed, leaving the office chair at his desk open to her.

Grace was, as usual, dressed like a tease, this time in a pair of panties and a t-shirt that exposed a bit of midriff.  It was the kind of thing she might have worn around her apartment when she was alone, but thanks to the Slut Phase, she didn’t seem to feel any shame wearing it around her family.

"Woah," she said, looking him up and down. "You look fantastic."

She squinted a little.

"Too fantastic. Locke....are you going out tonight?" she asked, an impish smile beginning on her face.

"No! I mean... yeah, I guess." He knew from experience it would be pointless to try and hide the truth completely from her. "She's picking me up at six, actually, so if you do have something you want to talk about, we should focus on that." And not on his own upcoming date.

She stretched out her legs, grinning up at him. The gesture was almost catlike.

"Nothing in particular. Well, I guess you and Mark got into it, and I wanted to see if you were okay," she said. "Goes into public service and now he thinks he’s god’s gift to women. I mean, I admire the work he's doing right now, but he can really be a dick about it."

“Yeah. I think he’s just worried about me, in his own way. But definitely being a dick about it.”

Grace smiled. "I think that the whole family just can’t stop bugging you a little right now. You’re the last one to finally fly the nest."

“Mark still hasn’t moved out,” Locke pointed out.

“Mark moved back in. Big difference. Trust me: right now, everything going on in high school might seem like it’s the most important thing in the whole world, but give a year or so after graduation, and you’ll be laughing at yourself for taking these things so seriously.”

Locke was certain that high school really was the most important thing in the history of the planet, so he let out a laugh right then and there. “I dunno, sis. I think it might be the opposite, that I’m not taking things right now seriously enough.”

“Says the guy who has been sweating bullets and pacing his room the past hour.” Grace smirked.

“It’s my first time. I’ve a right to be a nervous wreck I think.”

“Sure you do. But you’re a sweet, intelligent kid who never let the fact that he’s a knockout go to his head. Just don’t talk about anime and you’ll be fine.”

Locke’s mother’s voice came from downstairs.

"Mark! Someone's here to see you?" 

"Go knock ‘em dead," Grace said, giving him a light punch in the shoulder

"I’ll give it my best shot" Locke said.

On the way downstairs, he remembered what they said. One goddess to date, and another to manage the date. He'd told them they could "go crazy" with their powers as long as they didn't mess with the other goddess's mind and changed everything back at midnight. 

Maybe that had been a mistake.

“Locke, there’s a girl here who says she’s picking you up!" she said. “A very pretty girl. Did you get a date without telling me?”

"Uh… Yeah. I mean. We're just friends. Going to... hang out. It's not a date, really." Locke said, averting his gaze.

His mother stepped up to him, straightening out his collar and smoothing out the invisible wrinkles. 

“Just a friend, huh?" she teased. “You don’t dress this nicely for just a friend. And neither does she.”

She corrected his posture, then cooed in delight.

“I’m so happy to see this!" she said. “And you look so handsome! I hope you have fun, but don’t forget to be responsible. No drinking or anything. And please try to be home by ten. It is a school night.”

Typical maternal worrying. Mark did have a point about Locke being the spoiled baby of the family at least when it came to their mother. A fair trade when he had to put up with all her fussing, he thought.

"By ten. Sure. Right," Locke parroted back to her, not really listening so much as scanning the room. "Where is she, by the way? I don't want to keep her waiting." 

The sooner he could get out of the house, the better. Not to mention he shouldn't keep a goddess waiting. Or did that matter? They were beyond time, right? Best not risk it. 

"And of course we'll be safe. I don't even like alcohol." He'd tried one of Mark's beers a year ago and hadn't even been able to finish the can. Bitter and disgusting, Locke  didn't understand what people liked about alcohol.

"She's just outside," she said, kissing him on the cheek. "This is so exciting! My little man’s first big date."

“Jeez, Mom…” He finally managed to get away and head outside, where he found Ella outside waiting for him. 

She must have had enough self-awareness to realize how it’d look for a teacher to go on a date with her student, so her usual MILF-y form had been regressed back to her late teens. The olive skinned beauty was no less busty for that, and her huge breasts were even perkier thanks to her rewound body. She stood in a dress that would make even Grace blush: everything below the black belt cinched at her waist was normal, if a rather tight-fitting maxi dress that went down past her knees. But the top half was little more than two narrow triangles connected to spaghetti straps, providing barely any support to her breasts and risking them spilling out at any second. The dress clung to her (now narrower, but still impressive) hips and ass, ultimately ending just above her ankles. Her hair was out of its usual bun, white as snow and looking silky to the touch.

Put simply, Ella looked stunning. A lateral step from her usual look, but a high impact fresh look. And the new context--that she was here to take him on a date, rather than invite him to partake in a contest of the gods--had his palms already sweating. 

"Hello, Locke," she smiled sweetly. "You look very nice today. Did you go shopping for this?"

"I uh... yeah. Yesterday. Thanks." 

"You look nice too. Really sexy." Locke noticed that he was staring at that wide expanse of cleavage and forced himself to raise his gaze up a few inches. "Sh-shall we go?"

"I would love to," she said, extending an arm.

That was the beginning of his first date.