[Nightmare]

Chapter 48 [Bait’n Switchin’ Bubble Baths]

"One day, Helix ran up to me while talking to Macron and said, [Riley, I have an emergency! I need your help]!"

Everyone hushed down in excitement.

"I asked what was wrong because it was so uncharacteristic.

He said, [half a dozen crying women are asking for help, and I need an emotional translator]!"

The group burst into laughter again.

Helix was confident working through strategies but couldn't hold a basic conversation to save his life.

He didn't know how to handle crying in any situation, either.

Even after dozens of people came to him crying, he didn't learn anything from it.

Helix genuinely lacked talent in it.

"So I said okay in confusion and went with him.

They said the water wells in their wing weren't working, and Lina and some girls were making fun of them.

He whispered, [please summarize the issue….] with the most desperate eyes possible." Riley continued.

The women burst into giggles, and Helix turned bright red.

"I told them that their bathtubs weren't working and couldn't bathe, so Lina and the jealous faction women were making fun of them for their smell.

I was too forward, and the women burst into tears again.

Helix almost had a panic attack and said [Riley, please. Gold. Magic circles. Whatever you want, please just do something to make them stop crying]!"

Everyone burst into laughter again.

Helix was bright red, and Elsa was eyeing him down with an evil grin.

"So I talked to everyone and helped them calm down.

Once everyone was calm and heard the issue, he went into his library.

A few minutes later, he blushed and panicked." Riley giggled.

"Why? Was it juice~y?" Charlotte asked in an evil tone.

"No. Helix found a circle that would fill an area with water.

However…." Riley burst into giggles.

"He needed to go to the female wing and go into everyone's bathroom to draw the circles."

The group burst into giggles and laughter again.

"So he turned to me with puppy dog eyes and begged me to come with him." Riley giggled.

"I didn't know why he asked me, but I was happy to go along."

"It's because you're… Riley.

I would've done the same." Atlas sighed.

"Yeeeep." Charlotte affirmed sharply.

"Me too." Marie giggled.

"Thank you, all. Anyway, the women agreed to let them into their rooms.

But they were so embarrassed to have him coming into the rooms, even though they were spotless."

"Player." Charlotte huffed.

Marie giggled, and Atlas chuckled.

Helix was staring at the ceiling of his trailer with a wry smile.

Elsa was eating it up.

"When he went to Millie's bathroom, she almost had a panic attack.

So Helix almost had a panic attack.

Soon the women were just panicking." Riley giggled.

"So he said, [Hey… ummm… please don't cry. Here! I'll make it a bubble bath]!"

The group detonated an explosion of bewildered chuckles.

"Helix starts pulling out all sorts of herbs and crazy things he bought in a panic." Riley giggled.

"Next thing you know, he draws out three magic circles and throws some stuff into the tub.

He looked like a witch working in a cauldron."

The giggling intensified, and Helix started chuckling.

"Then three magic circles lit up, and suddenly the water turned sky blue and started fizzing.

The women instantly forgot their embarrassment and started crying for joy and excitement." Riley giggled.

"After that, we left the room, and five women started begging him to go to their room next.

Of course…."

Riley burst into giggles, and everyone followed.

Helix had dead eyes.

He was cringing on the inside.

"... He didn't like that type of attention.

He sighed and said, [This is why I never help people]."

Everyone burst into laughter.

Helix was rolling around the ground with light tears streaming down his face.

Elsa was chuckling.

"I kept pointing out how many times he helped people.

He kept sighing and muttering, [I hate my life].

That confused me because I thought he was having fun."

"You're such a beautiful soul." Charlotte chuckled.

"We love you, Riley." Marie said while hugging her.

Helix knew she was hugging her because Riley squeaked from being squeezed.

Atlas chuckled in bewilderment.

"What about you, Marie? When did you fall in love with Helix?"

"Ummm… well…." Marie whispered.

"Hoh? Why do you look guil~tay?" Charlotte smacked.

"Haaaaaah. I've never seen someone turn twice as red before." Atlas laughed.

"This should be good."

"Marie. Please tell us." Riley requested with a warm voice.

Helix's eyes widened in disbelief.

He didn't know what would follow, but he gulped.

"I…. Um…. I kinda lied to him… oh my god, this is being recorded!" Marie cried.

"Too~late." Charlotte announced with an evil voice.

"Haaaah. Marie. Anything that makes someone turn that red isn't malicious." Atlas chuckled.

"I have a feeling this story is what Helix wants to hear."

"I…. Um. So this one time I told Helix that I was going to a party, and need to go… shopping." Marie whispered.

"Ooooooh. The date~bait'n switch. Class~say." Charlotte remarked with a mocking tone.

"How cute!" Riley cried.

"Woah. Did we just hear Riley exclaim?" Atlas chuckled.

"I… think so? Okay. It's a must, we need to hear this story!" Charlotte declared.

"Deets. Who went with you two?"

"I… um…. I told him that I was super embarrassed, and asked for it to be… just us."

Helix stared at the ceiling with shock in his eyes.

"That… was only a week after I woke up from my injury…." He whispered.

Elsa watched him with interest.

"Nooooo way! That's a bold move, you foxy con-woman!" Charlotte cried with excitement.

"I'm impressed. This must be a magical world if a woman's so forward." Atlas chuckled in bewilderment.

"I like it." Riley commented with a gentle voice.

"Ummm… yeah. So he agreed, and looked… happy." Marie recounted with a flushed face.

"I~bet." Charlotte chimed.

"He's always had a thing for you.

Hoh? Hell~oh, miss blushy! My name is Charlotte—ow!"

Half of the group burst into laughter.

"Please continue." Riley requested.

"Ummm. Yeah. So… I told Helix that I wanted to impress people.

So I asked him if he'd find shops beyond Burlow Street and said I liked his fashion, so I asked for his help.

Surprisingly, he agreed without sighing. It… made me happy."

Helix was still in shock.

That day amazed him, but he never dreamed it was a [date] to her.

"What were the conversations like?" Charlotte asked with a sassy tone.

"Ummm… we were silent for a while, but he kept trying to strike up conversations, and I was super nervous."

Helix's eyes widened even more, causing Elsa to giggle like a school girl.

He was so awkward that day.

Believing that the fearless Marie Skybolt was awkward was a shock to him.

"I look super confident, but I'm still an anti-social geek that only becomes vibrant over a video game headset, so it was embarrassing."

Everyone but Helix and Marie burst into laughter.

The two of them were blushing.

"But… he kept trying, which made me happy.

I thought he'd take me as cold instead of awkward, though. It was scary."

"So what happened? It seems like things worked out." Riley asked with a gentle voice.

"I… I asked Helix about magic in Myriad.

He asked me what my favorite type was, and after telling him, he started telling me about the spells." Marie recounted.

"Soon, we were talking about all sorts of interesting things.

He's an otaku like me. So he had researched cliche videogame tropes, and we laughed about them." Marie giggled.

The women giggled between themselves, and Helix and Atlas were awkward.

"I remember how entranced I was by his knowledge.

He made me excited to be here, and I enjoyed our conversation.

So much so… we didn't end up buying anything…."

"The blush returns!" Charlotte cried.

"You didn't buy anything?" Riley asked with confusion.

"... Yes. We went to a store, but ended up talking in front of it until the shopkeeper yelled at us to leave." Marie chuckled awkwardly.

The group burst into laughter again.

Helix was chuckling with a happy look on his face.

Elsa was smiling kindly upon him.

The atmosphere was amazing.

"We decided to get food, and he took me to an [Alka] shop." Marie continued.

"Alka?" Riley asked.

"Yes! It tastes like uncarbonated soda.

However, Helix pulled out a carbonator called [Star Sparkles], and everything tasted like cola and lemon-lime soda!" Marie cried.

"No way!" Charlotte cried.

Everyone burst into an uproar over the situation.

"Why didn't you tell us!?" Charlotte snapped indignantly.

She was pretty salty once she realized that Marie didn't share the deets on the soda drink.

"I… well…." Marie replied hesitantly.

"I never go shopping, so I always forgot about it."

Her voice was genuine and remorseful.

Once people connected the story's context to her confession, they burst into laughter again.

Helix was chuckling in bewilderment.

He didn't understand what was going on.

However, he was happy that things were happy for both of them.

"Well, we ended up drinking the soda and talking some more." Marie recounted.

"Then we had another soda and another.

Suddenly it was dark outside, and he looked at me, sighed, and said…." Marie giggled.

Everyone listened close except Helix, who was flushed red and cringing.

"[I'm sorry to ask on your day off, but it's nighttime.

Will you be my bodyguard]?"

The group burst into laughter again.

Marie giggled with a smiling voice.

"Well, that's the day I decided that my interest was my crush." She continued.

"After that, I guarded him twice as much as necessary to spend time with him.

Now… we're dating. Oh my god, this is still recording!" Marie cried.

The group burst into laughter.

Everyone's sides were splitting.

"Ummmm. Helix. I… I love you. And…."

Charlotte started snicking and pushing her lightly and yelped with pain after pinches.

"And… I'm sorry for lying to you!"

—

Power stones and grammatical errors = more content. :)