The Heart System

Chapter 679: Chapter 679

We had moved up the stairs and sat there while she kept drinking and I just tried to stay entertained by checking the room, the guests, and the news on my phone whenever I could. I had no idea how people managed to lose their minds that fast, but somehow the whole mood of the party had changed in what felt like no time at all.

Then Cole came over.

Him. The guy who had arrived and somehow set the whole house on fire with his energy. He walked up the stairs holding something in both hands and grinned at us like he had the night completely figured out.

”Shrooms, people?” he asked, holding up two little cakes. ”Old-school style, baby. Eat it and fly away into nirvana.”

”Drugs?” I asked, frowning. ”Nah, thanks.”

”It’s a party!” Ivy reached for one of them and looked at me with a grin that was already a little too loose. ”Just eat it!”

She was already sounding off, and now she wanted mushrooms too. Great. ”Ivy, no.”

I grabbed the mushroom cake from her hand and held it out toward Cole, but Ivy snatched it back before I could fully take it away. She took a big bite before I stopped her, chewed it like it was no big deal, and then looked at me with a very satisfied nod.

”I always wanted to try these!”

”Ivy,” I muttered, staring at her. ”Give me that.”

I took the half-eaten mushroom and shoved it back toward Cole.

”Come on, brochacho,” Cole said, disappointed already. ”Eat it. It’s a damn party.”

”We’re good with beers. Thanks.”

”The definition of party pooper,” Cole muttered, shaking his head. ”Man.”

”Yeah, yeah.”

He moved back down the stairs and started pestering somebody else about trying mushrooms. Fucking hell. I never thought Ivy would actually take the bait. Her doing drugs? After all the times she made fun of me for smoking? That was rich.

A few seconds later, Ivy got up and threw both hands in the air.

Her ponytail had already come undone a little. She didn’t look like the same girl who had gotten into the car earlier at all. She looked buzzed, wide-eyed, and way too energized for her own good.

”Let’s dance, Evan!”

”Ivy, no.”

”Come on! I can feel it working. I’ve got so much energy!”

”It doesn’t even hit that fast, Ivy,” I said, exhaling hard. ”You are talking nonsense. Sit down.”

”YOU BITCH!”

”WAIT—”

The shouting from downstairs pulled my attention away for a second, and when I looked down from the stairs into the living room, Grace was in the middle of a full-on fight with another woman. People were not stopping them. They were only watching, cheering, recording, and throwing beer at them like this was the best part of the night.

What in the actual fuck was happening here?

Grace and the woman were pulling each other’s hair, slapping, shoving, and swinging empty beer bottles around like they had forgotten they were in a house and not some cheap bar brawl. At one point Grace’s dress rode up and her panties flashed into view, and immediately a bunch of people started filming harder.

I couldn’t believe this.

Nobody was trying to break it up because almost everyone was drunk out of their minds.

”Ugh... great. What a fucking party.”

I got up from the stairs and went down. I stepped between them, stretched both arms out, and tried to get them to calm down.

”Please stop,” I said. ”Grace, come on.”

”You bitch!” the other woman spat. ”She kissed him!”

”It was an accident!” Grace snapped back, fixing her dress. ”You whore!”

”I’ll kill you!”

”Come on, come on,” I shouted, trying to push them apart. ”Relax!”

”Yoo!” Cole shouted, suddenly shoving me from the side. ”Let them fight, man. You are ruining all the fun!”

”Push me again and I will stick those mushrooms up your ass, cunt,” I snapped, pointing at him.

”Look at him!” Cole yelled to the room, like I had just become entertainment too. ”The big boy! This is a party, bro. People are having fun. What the fuck are you doing?”

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- Quest Available

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- Title: Too many shrooms?

- Task: Beat him up!

- Reward: Stat Points.

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- Accept Quest? [Yes] [No]

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Beating this jackass up and getting stat points for it? Sign me up.

I accepted immediately and stepped toward him, shoving him back. He dropped the mushroom he was holding and tensed up instantly, ready to swing.

”You bastard!”

I wasn’t the old Evan anymore. I’d dumped a ridiculous amount of points into Strength, and I also had Crushing Presence active, which was already making him look more nervous than he had any right to. I brought both hands up and blocked his first hit with my elbows. He kept pushing, trying to force me backward into the crowd with his head near my waist and both arms locked around my back, but I planted my feet and refused to move.

Then I drove my elbow into his back a few times.

He fell to the floor holding his spine, and I kicked him in the head once, sending him flat onto his back.

”Come here, you idiot.”

I picked up the mushroom from the floor and shoved it into his face, rubbing it around and forcing it into his mouth before stepping away. After a few seconds, I spat on him and straightened back up.

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WOMEN - INTERACTIONS

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Jasmine: Interest: 40 / 60

Kayla: Interest: 38 / 40

Tessa: Interest: 40 / 60

Kim: Interest: 100 / 100

Delilah: Interest: 100 / 100

Cora: Interest: 100 / 100

Mendy: Interest: 24 / 40

Nala: Interest: 100 / 100

Penelope: Interest: 25 / 40

Minne: Interest: 38 / 40

Ivy: Interest: 53 / 60

Eleanor: Interest: 25 / 40

Amelia: Interest: 12 / 20

Esme: Interest: 72 / 80

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Yep. There it was. Minus four favor from Ivy. Great. Just great. Though, I’d earned good boy points from stopping the fight. That was something.

”Bro, what the fuck!” Cole yelled from the floor while holding his back. ”Ah, my back... you fucking idiot! You are not invited to the next party, man.”

”Are these drugs?” Grace asked, still panting. ”What did I tell you about drugs, Cole!”

”We are leaving,” I said, already turning toward Ivy. ”Come on. Let’s go.”

”I am not coming,” she said, shaking her head.

I didn’t bother arguing with her.