Jack and Ellis arrived at the store at about eight-thirty, noticing the sign out front indicating the store had finally opened. Luckily, the store was not damaged during the fight between him and the wraith and was opened for business with two or three people moving around inside. The pair entered the shop, the pale lights humming slightly above them, illuminating the room unnaturally as one of the salesmen approached with an equally synthetic smile.

“Welcome! Please, come in and have a look around, and let one of us know if you need any help.”

The man was decently short, not really fat but not thin either, wearing a button-down, bright blue shirt that was partly covered by a black vest, which matched his dark pants. His blond hair was combed neatly to one side, though it had a waxy look to it when the light hit it and cast a glare on Jack’s vision.

Jack had gone to the store after the ordeal with Charles White, and bought himself a new pair of clothes to replace the tattered remains of his old ones. However, the old lady behind the counter who was clearly checking him out made him very uncomfortable, and he ended up ditching some of the items to speed up the process and escape.

Jack began his search for a new phone with Ellis, who was making suggestions based on each device’s features rather than it’s functionality and cost. With a limited budget, Jack was forced to ignore most of her suggestions and pick from the much cheaper flip-phones instead of the more aesthetically pleasing smart phones, moving his gaze to the back corner of the room. There were several different types; ones that slide to the side, ones that actually flip, and ones that were just a screen with a keypad attached. He thought for a second before settling on one of the flip phones, thinking the enclosed screen would protect it better form damage it might receive during his future “activities”, not to mention some of them looked pretty sleek.

(I don’t think you know what sleek means.)

Ellis disapproved of the flip phones, but didn’t complain very long since she knew how limited his finances were since Val had moved in, and because he was hosting Jenny and Fae in the past few days. He still thought of himself as lucky, because in the past the only person he could spend money on was himself and Jenny, even though he was living off student loans at the moment since jobs in this area are pretty rare.

He summoned the salesman from earlier over and bought the phone, ignoring the man’s constant compromises and deals that were alway just out of his budget, and leaving the store quickly before he was able to be tempted. Flipping up the top, Jack wondered if he could somehow find a way to get paid by fighting monsters, but dismissed the idea as stupid. The government already had people doing that, and he had attacked one of those people, so he would more likely be attacked that welcomed if he showed up asking for a job.

‘Where do you even apply for a job like that?’

He thought the question to himself rhetorically, but Ellis who was floating next to him seemed to take it pretty seriously, a thoughtful look on her face as she considered an answer. Jack was going to stop her, but the image of her trying to think up an answer was really cute, so he decided to let it be. After.a few moments of intense thought the girl came to a conclusion, visibly changing her expression as her excitement filled the air around her.

(I bet Val would know!)

She was right, Val used to work for Timothy Grant, who in tern worked for the government slaying monsters and probably making a lot of money. Jack praised her, patting her on the head lightly, though he was barely able to fell any substance as she giggled to herself in happiness.

(Don’t forget your promise, okay?)

Jack froze, awkwardness visible in his stiff movements as he recalled their conversation from earlier and laughed nervously, withdrawing his hand, and placing it back at his side.

“What?”

Jack was confused by the request and still thought Ellis didn’t get the full implications of this action even though he had just explained it to her. He shifted his weight, but she didn’t move from her place on his chest, showing no intention to let him get out of this conversation.

(I was the goddess of love. I saw billions of people find happiness in their love for each other, but never got to experience it for myself. I was only sixteen, and the closest thing I had to love was a crush on another god that was thousands of years old, one that I thought was way out of my league but showed me kindness in every interaction and led me on. His name was Phobos, the god of fear-but was very kind despite what everyone assumed, and was always able to lend an ear whenever I needed it. He was the one who killed me, poisoning me with a black knife that I had often admired when I came to his home.)

Jack remained silent. He may not understand Ellis very well, but he wasn’t foolish enough to interrupt someone that was opening their heart and revealing their vulnerabilities. Ellis continued, her tone calm and controlled.

(I definitely feel something for you, but I don’t know what it is. It’s like I want to be with you all the time, and I don’t know what I would do if I didn’t have you around... it’s hard to explain, but it’s kind of like a missing puzzle piece, something is obviously missing and it will keep on bothering me until if find it. I think mating will show me just how big that piece is, so please promise me, the moment I am whole again you won’t say no.)

Jack’s mind raced. She went a whole lot deeper than he had expected, even using a metaphor to describe how she was feeling and asking him to do something about it. He sighed, letting his body relax on the rubble as he formed his response.

“Ellis, I can’t promise that I won’t say no.”

Jack spoke out loud, and Ellis flinched at his words as if they had stung her, but he wasn’t finished yet.

“What I can promise is that if you are absolutely certain that the feeling you just described is love, then I will not say no.”

Ellis floated up, a wide smile displayed on her face that lit up her features in spite of the dark night sky behind her, but her eyes remained serious as she looked at him. Jack became a little uncomfortable at this, and sat up, facing her with a questioning look.

(What if I’m not the only one that loves you?)

Jack sighed at her ridiculous question, letting out the breath he didn’t know he was holding as he shook his head from side to side. He chuckled to himself at the thought of more than one girl falling in love with him, but the reality in his mind dismissed it, since there was only one girl in the world with even slightly confused feelings for him. He leaned forward, bracing his right arm on his knee as his left hand cradled his broken ribs.

“That’s not likely to happen, but if it does, then I’m sure I’ll figure out what to do.”

He gave a half-hearted response that Ellis just smiled at, not knowing of Ellis’s secret plan that had just begun it’s first step into taking shape. Jack stood up, painfully stretching out his already healing body, then stepped down out of the hole and into the world, ending the conversation.

“Yeah, I won’t forget.”

The sun was just peeking over the horizon, a golden light flooding the empty street and signaling the time for Jack to return home. He had been out walking with Ellis for over eight hours, healing from and thinking about what he should do about Charles White, and the army he was building to “Fix the world”. Jack was planning on leaving it alone and leaving it up to a hero to defeat him later, but Ellis had informed him that heroes didn’t usually arise until decades after a demon king’s reign of terror begins, so he definitely had to act. The main issue was that he was weak when compared to the wraith, so weak that it would take little more than a flick of Charles White’s wrist to end his life on the spot before he could do anything.

Jack considered his options taking in to account the fact that he couldn’t go through another magical enhancement for at least another two days if he was lucky. He had decided to attack smart and slowly weaken the demon king’s army and delay him for as long as possible until he could go through another magical enhancement before a direct confrontation. Ellis had located a group of second evolution monsters moving underground not too long ago, apparently trying to keep their presence a secret. Jack assumed they were working with the wraith since, according to Ellis, this is uncommon behavior for second evolution monsters who were usually independent and even hostile towards each other.

Jack thought it was a better idea to prepare before this fight, specifically telling the girls where he was going and not to come after him under any circumstances. Even though Val and Fae were strong, he did not want to put Val under any more pressure after what she went through with Timothy Grant, and hopefully keep her out of fights from now on until she decided she was ready. As for Fae, Jack still did not trust her. He didn’t think she would kill him, but he was still unsure whether or not she would go against his plan and end up with both of them six feet under. Jenny was still human, and Jack never wanted her near a fight, whether it’s between two magical beings or not, he figured it would be best to keep her safe.

(Do we need money?)

Ella asked a question that was likely a continuation to the conversation about working with the government to pay for his living and educational expenses. Jack chuckled, shaking his head reassuringly as he strolled down the sidewalk, his apartment building coming into view.

“No, it’s nothing to worry about. I was just thinking out loud.”

In reality, Jack did not think things would stay the same for much longer and the world will soon find out about the things the government had been hiding all this time. Charles White is going to cause a ruckus, there was no doubt about that, and unless someone stops him, there will likely be many human casualties. He remembered the wraith talk about “trimming the hedges” and did not think that just meant localizing people into more organized groups-no Charles White was much smarter than that. He knew there would be people that rebelled, people that would stick up for mankind, and his plan was to cut off anything that sticks out. For lack of a better metaphor, trim the hedges.

The two stopped at the front entrance of his apartment building, the words [Jamison Apartments] written in black cursive letters on the front window along with the picture of a small red house. Jack paused out front, thinking he may pass the point of no return in the next couple of days, fully committing to becoming the god of love at the sacrifice of the human known as Jack. He hated to admit it, but anyone tied to him now would be drug along with him to this world of monsters and magic where a life could be extinguished in an instant. Before he faces Charles White, he would have to face his friends, and tell them what they would be getting into if they decide to remain by his side.

He had a couple of days to prepare before he would face the demon king, and he had decided that he would take the girls out to do something nice after he fought the monsters. He figured he would be done by about ten thirty, and after that the rest of the day would be theirs, a small vacation from the insanity that was now their lives.

(Fu fu fu. Such a greedy boy.)

Ellis thought to herself privately so Jack could not hear, fading out of his vision so he could concentrate on the task at hand.

(Three dates at once is a bit much, even for you.)