'Befriend him? That's a mission? For how many points?' Lucas questioned, continuing to be dragged by Miles.

[100 points will be transferred if you complete this sub mission.]

'Is that a lot?'

[The highest number of points Host can earn is 10,000.]

10,000 points, it would take a while for him to reach that high, he wondered what he could get with that much. 'And what can I get with 100 points?'

[Here is a list of items Host can recieve for 100 points:

Seduction Pill (100)

Truth Pill (100)

Skill Pill (100)

More items will become available the more points you collect.]

Pills? He could buy pills? This whole point thing was giving him a headache, but he couldn't help the curiosity that welled within him, 'What do each of these pills do?'

[A Seduction Pill will allow Host to seduce a target of his choosing, and they will then harbor romantic feelings for Host. A Truth Pill will make anyone speak nothing but the truth for an hour, they will be unable to lie. A Skill Pill will allow Host to master any skill.]

These pills would probably come in handy some time in the future, especially the Skill Pill. Even if he didn't use any of these pills, he could still save his points for something better in the future. He did feel a bit strange though, that he was able to play with this world so easily. He shook away that feeling, 'Okay, mission accepted.'

[Sub mission active: Befriend Miles Sawyer.]

Lucas felt a twinge of guilt that he was only going to befriend Miles just for points, but then reminded himself that this was for the best. It was best not to get his feelings involved anyway, or to get attached to the characters. He wasn't going to be in this world forever. He only had one mission, to be popular. Not to make life lasting friendships. And the friendships he did make would be based on lies.

Miles and Lucas stopped outside of Lucas's designated classroom, and Miles finally took his arm away from Lucas's shoudler, "Here you are. You were awfully quiet on the way over, you okay?"

Miles actually seemed concerned for Lucas's wellbeing. Which was confusing, he just met Lucas, why did he care about him? "Yeah, sorry. Just a bit nervous, it is my first day here, after all."

"Understandable, you just moved here, right? How about you sit with me at lunch today? One less thing to worry about." He offered, with a kind smile.

Lucas blinked. Really? It was that easy? He just openly invited him to Lunch, this was his ticket in. Lucas tried not to sound too eager, "That'd be cool, man, thanks. I'll see you at Lunch, then?"

Miles smiled, patting his shoudler, "Yeah, see you later, Lucas. Luke. Can I call you Luke?"

Lucas returned his smile, "Yeah, go right ahead."

Miles nodded and waved him one last goodbye before turning to leave. Someone instantly joined his side and they began talking causally as they made their way down the nearly empty hallway. Lucas's smile dropped once Miles was out of sight. Ugh, he hated being so friendly. He hated interacting with other people, it mentally drained him. But at least he made progress in his mission, and he had a place to sit at Lunch. Miles was most likely surrounded by popular people just like him, so Lucas had to take advantage of the situation as much as he could.

Lucas decided not to linger outside the classroom too long before plastering the smile back on his face and wandering in. He took an empty seat near the back and got settled. The class went by quickly, and Lucas tried his hardest to participate as much as possible. Even if his classmates thought he was annoying, at least he was drawing attention to himself. And any form of attention was better than nothing.

Lucas found his next class and chatted up who sat next to him. It was one of the girls who had helped him find his locker earlier, Diamond. She was pretty easygoing, laughed at his pathetic attempt to make jokes, and a few times he even thought she was flirting with him. But Lucas didn't know the signs of flirting, he wasn't an expert in that matter. The rest of the class went like the previous, with him raising his hand to answer as many questions as he could and he even threw in a few jokes here and there that the class laughed at and the teacher scolded him about.

He bid farewell to Diamond and a few other students that clung to him after class, and walked to the cafeteria with a hopeful smile. Today was going well. It was going exactly the way he wanted it to.

He walked into the cafeteria and stepped in line to grab a lunch, then began his search for Miles. He was quite easy to spot, his table being the most loud and crowded. He seemed to be the center of everyone's attention. He caught Miles's eyes and was relieved when Miles flashed him a smile and waved him over. Lucas grapped a chair from an empty table and pulled it up next to Miles. His group of boisterous friends quieted as Lucas sat down, and Miles threw an arm around Lucas, introducing him, "Guys, this is Lucas. He's new to town, be kind of him, yeah?"

With Miles's introduction, everyone seemed to direct their attention over to Lucas, who happily answered any questions thrown his way. He barely touched his lunch, too busy focusing on conversing with the small crowd. Lucas noticed almost the whole cafeteria seemed to be looking in their direction, and Lucas couldn't help but suppress a smile. The crowd around him grew, most curious to see what all the fuss was about. Miles joined in more than once, teasing and joking with Lucas as if they were old friends.

[Sub-mission complete: Befriend Miles Sawyer. You have gained 100 points.]

Lucas grinned at Sai's voice in his head. But then he reminded himself that Miles wasn't really his friend. Miles was his rival. He was an obstacle. Lucas looked at Miles from the corner of his eye, Miles was busy chatting with a girl that clung to his side. Right, he wasn't a friend. None of these people were your friends. They were just pawns to reach the end goal.

[Host, the remaining two rivals have entered the cafeteria.]

Lucas looks up, his eyes glancing towards the cafeteria entrance. Two people walk side by side. The man on the left is dressed rather professionally, with a white button down shirt tucked into black dress pants. He was tall, slim. His eyes were a dark blue, pointed, staring down at the ground as his long slender legs took careful, calculated steps. His features were sharp, precise. His nose was high and pointed, his skin pale, almost porcelain. Dark black hair that was flawlessly styled to the right fell into his eyes, but he didn't bother push it away. His brows were pulled close together, and his thin pale lips were pursed together, as if he were in deep concentration. He seemed intent on listening to the boy next to him, who looked just that, like a boy.

It was obvious he was so much younger than the man next to him. He seemed to be a freshman, maybe 14 or 15. He was extremely short, maybe 5'4. He barely reached the man's shoulder's. It seemed as if he hadn't quite went through puberty yet. He wore plain clothes that didn't flatter him in the slightest. His jeans were too baggy, his shoes were old and dirty. He wore a t-shirt that had the logo of a television show that looked familiar but Lucas couldn't quite put his name on it. He looked eerily similar to the man beside him, sharing the same dark blue eyes, only his were round and shining. His features were less defined and soft, his brows straight. His mouth was curved into a natural smile as he spoke, laugh lines prominent in his plump cheeks. His hair was black, that reached down to his shoudlers, like it hadn't been bothered with in years and he just let it grow.

It didn't take long for Lucas to figure the pair were siblings, 'Anything else to know about them?' He asked curiously, intently watching as the pair sat at a table across the cafeteria. The boy continued to blabber on, while the man just listened with a slight smile on his face.

[Ben and Charlie Marks. Ben is a teacher here.]

Ben was the older man, who looked to be about in his early twenties to late thirties. He could've sworn he had seen him in the hallways, it made sense that he was a teacher. So these two are his other rivals? Even the boy? What harm could they possibly do?

'Can you elaborate on what exactly a rival is, Sai?'

[A rival prevents Host from completing his mission. Rival's might lead to the destruction of Host's soul. Some Rival's are not aware that they are Host's rival, but they are still very much a danger.]

To the destruction of his soul? The things that lead to his soul's destruction was his death, if he told anyone else about the system, or his failure to complete his mission. That meant Ben, Charlie, and Miles were all capable of killing him. He just had to figure out how they were a threat and devise a plan to avoid them, or how to defeat them. He was going to have to get close to both Ben and Charlie. And luckily for Lucas, Lucas had Ben's class after lunch. That gave him a chance to talk to the man, and learn as much as he possibly could. But Charlie... how could he grow closer to him? He didn't seem unfriendly, maybe he could just go up and talk to him?

"Whatcha looking at, Luke?" Miles interrupts Lucas's train of thought, following his line of vision.

"No, it's nothing," Lucas dismisses, diverting his attention.

Miles seems to know exactly what Lucas is looking at, his brow twitching. He watches the pair, his fists clenched under the table where no-one could see. Ben notices his gaze and his features twist into a glare. Charlie flinches as he notices Miles staring at him. He looks away, his smile tugging into a tight frown. He immediately feels small, his shoulders pull together in an effort to hide himself. Miles smiles, before nodding his head towards Ben who tries his hardest to keep his white hot anger contained, and turning back to Lucas to continue conversing. Lucas doesn't notice the tension between the three, or when Ben drags Charlie out of the cafeteria and away from Miles.

Lunch soon ends, and Lucas follows the group of students out of the cafeteria and into the hallway. Miles keeps his arm around Lucas and they soon part when they reach Ben's classroom. Lucas waves goodbye before heading to his seat, putting down his stuff. Lucas looks up, his smile faltering when he makes eye contact with Ben who sits in his desk. Ben holds an intense glare towards Lucas, and Lucas looks around to make sure he wasn't looking at someone else. But there was no one else around him, he was looking at Lucas, alright.

Lucas fidgets in his seat, swallowing the lump in his throat. Why is he looking at me like that? What's his problem?

Lucas feels his glare in the side of his head as everyone walks into the class. Does he hate him already? Does he have some sort of grudge against him? Well, he is one of his rivals, but Lucas didn't know exactly what he did to piss him off. Was that his natural face? Maybe he just had a naturally angry face. But Lucas noticed he wasn't looking at anyone at him. Perhaps he would put off on talking to him today, perhaps that would be for the best. Lucas endures the rest of the class, where Ben turns to start the lesson. He avoids whenever Ben looks his way. His voice contradicts his glare entirely, low and eerily calm. But Lucas can't help but think there is a certain poison lacing his voice, directed right at him. This is the only class Lucas hasn't raised his hand for, the first class he didn't want any attention drawn to him in fear he would meet Ben's glare once again. He felt small under his glare, it was almost as if Ben could see right through his act, like he knew exactly who he was under his shell. He hated it.

When class was over, Lucas was one of the first ones to leave, rushing out of the door and away from the toxic atmosphere he was forced to endure for 60 excruciatingly long minutes. He had to remind himself to smile once again, to put back on his friendly act. He distracted himself with greeting people in the hallway, some he recognized from Lunch. Lucas approached his next class. This time he would raise his hand, participate as much as possible. Why did he even let Ben get to him? No, he didn't. He didn't know what the hell his problem was, but he didn't care. Next time he would smile in the face of his glare, kill him with kindness.

Lucas entered the class, searching for an empty seat. He froze once he saw Charlie, who was sitting by himself at one of the lab tables. Charlie was looking out of the window, resting his head on his arms. Lucas smiled to himself at the opportunity, before he started to approach Charlie. He tapped on the table to get his attention. Charlie jumped and lifted his head, his wide emerald eyes darting to meet Lucas. Lucas shined him a friendly smile, to reassure him he didn't mean any harm, and Charlie seemed to somewhat relax at the sight of his smile.

"Sorry, didn't mean to scare you. Mind if I sit here?" Lucas asked.

Charlie cleared his throat, sitting up to readjust himself in his seat, "N-No, go ahead."

Lucas mumbled a thanks and slid into the seat. Charlie seemed a lot different than his brother, he was glad for it. Lucas observed Charlie in the corner of his eye. Charlie seemed to shift in his seat a lot, obviously nervous. He avoided looking at Lucas, twiddling with his thumbs. This was his rival? He looked harmless, like he wouldn't hurt a fly. What threat could he possibly be? Though, the more he looked at him, the more he reminded him of someone. He reminded him of the old Ethan, in a way. He wondered if that was what Ethan looked like to others... pitiful.

Lucas decided to introduce himself, "I'm Lucas, by the way."

Charlie tensed up again and turned, "C-Charlie!" He stumbled over his words, his face flushed with embarrassment as Lucas smirked, "M-My name... it's Charlie..." His voice became less and less sure, and his eyes dropped to his lap. His bottom lip started to tremble, as if he were about to cry.

Lucas was taken aback by this. Was he really about to cry? He could see his emerald eyes glaze with tears, his face continuing to flush a deep crimson red. Lucas found himself trying to reassure Charlie, "Uh! I like your shirt, Charlie. It's a cool shirt."

"T-Thanks..." He sniffed, rubbing his nose with the back of his hand, "I'm sorry, I know I'm weird. Y-You don't have to feel obliged to talk to me. It's okay if you don't want to... I'd understand..."

Jesus, was this dude that unpopular that people refused to talk to him? Is that why he was a rival? Because he was so unpopular, if he talked to him, would it hurt his own popularity? Lucas felt bad considering it, it would make his mission easier if he didn't talk to anyone unpopular. But... he knows what it's like to feel invisible, he knows that feeling as if everyone was looking down on him and laughing at him behind his back. He hated that he sympathized with Charlie, this small fragile boy. He hated that he saw himself in Charlie. He would probably regret what he was about to say further down the road, but he said it anyway,

"But... I want to talk to you." Lucas mustered.

Charlie's eyes glinted with hope as he finally looked up to stare at Lucas with awe and admiration. Charlie couldn't believe with words he had just heard from this stranger, no, from Lucas. Charlie was used to people not giving him a chance, used to people only taking to him because of a dare, he never expected anyone to talk to him because they wanted to. For the first time time Lucas really sat down did he only now truly take in his presence. His eyes looked so kind, so understanding. His smile was so beautifully pulled together, Charlie could feel his heart twist.

"R-Really?" Charlie breathed, not wanting to look away from the beautiful brown eyes that focused only on him and him alone.

"Really." Lucas confirmed, and with that Charlie could feel the heat rush to his cheeks. Lucas was cute... really cute. Charlie tore his eyes away from Lucas and pinched his arm as a form of self punishment. No, not again. He couldn't fall in love with someone just because they were nice to him. He was smarter than that. The last time didn't end so well, the last time made him what he was now, an outcast. The last time... his heart was broken, broken beyond repair. But was Lucas like that? Would Lucas be able to mend the hole in his heart, or would he break it even more than it already was? Charlie didn't want to take that chance.

"Are you okay?" Lucas asked, leaning forward to get a better look at his face. It was red; was he going to cry again?

"I-Uh-" Charlie stammered at the sudden close proximity. "Fine! I'm fine! Haha... ha..." He turned away, taking a quick inhale of air and awkwardly smiling with clenched teeth.

Lucas frowned, but didn't get a chance to say anything else as the teacher walked into the class and started the lesson. Charlie watched him silently for the rest of the class. Lucas so easily raised his hand and participated as much as he could. He was so carefree, so kind. Charlie didn't know anyone like him existed in this world. But his brother's warning words popped into his head, 'Don't trust anyone, Charlie. You can only rely on me, because I'm the only one who truly cares for you.

We won't have a repeat with what happened with Miles, I promise.'