Chef in the Apocalypse

Jayce waited in the central square, staring out in the direction of the mountains, a vacant expression on his face. He was currently deep in thoughts surrounding the Event Quest and steps to complete it while mitigating their losses.

He would have been more confident if they had more time to fortify the defenses of Bastion, but unfortunately not everything had gone to plan. If the Beast Tide had come a few weeks later, he could have possibly saved at least some of the residents of Qinling city, bringing them into Bastion.

If he would have set out earlier from Bastion to scout, he might have been able to prevent the deaths of thousands of people. In the next moment he shook his head, he had been relying on the information he had from his previous life. However, due to his dramatically different actions, the future that he once knew was changing slightly.

This meant that Jayce was currently at an impasse. Should he reign in his actions so as to be able to utilize his knowledge of the future most effectively? Or should he continue on his current trajectory, in hopes that he’ll be strong enough to endure whatever is thrown at him.

He frowned, wondering which direction was the right one. After a few tense moments, he decided to wait until he completed the class upgrade quest. If his new class was strong enough, he would have no issue going with the second option.

As Jayce contemplated by himself, Lianna rounded the corner, seeing him staring at the mountain range, deep in thought. Her eyes lit up instantly and she made her way over, it wasn’t until she got closer that she finally remembered her brazen peep show last night, making her stop in place.

Her complexion turned bright red as she recalled the muscular figure bathing in the moonlight with nothing but briefs on. Her breathing became a little heavier as a wave of embarrassment and shame overcame her.

Jayce must have sensed something, because his head quickly turned in her direction, catching her frozen like a statue mid-step. "Ah, Lianna. You’re early" he said with a smile, walking towards her.

"I haven’t seen you in almost a week, how have you been?" He asked earnestly. Thankfully, he had finally gotten used to being in his 18 year old body by now, therefore he could have a conversation with Lianna without embarrassing himself anymore.

When he first arrived, his hormones were so out of control that he was at risk of exploding every time she was near. While they were still volatile, he was at least able to control them somewhat.

"H-Hi Jayce. I have been a good girl– I mean, I’ve been good." She stammered briefly, her face feeling warm once more.

"I-I see." Jayce suddenly felt a little awkward for no particular reason. Hoping to change the subject, he said, "If you see Jackie, can you thank her for organizing my bath and cleaning my clothes? It was much needed."

Lianna’s eyes lit up for a moment before dulling slightly, "I... Okay, I’ll tell her." Inwardly she wanted to tell Jayce it had been her that had done those nice deeds, yet she did not have the confidence to tell him to his face.

It was then that Macie, Heath and Jackie arrived on the scene, breaking the awkward atmosphere that threatened to consume the two youths. "What are you thanking me for?" Jackie asked with an eyebrow raised, looking from Jayce to Lianna.

"I was just wanting to say thank you for setting up a bath and washing my clothes last night, it made my life so much easier." Jayce said with a smile.

"Huh?" Jackie looked at Jayce with pure confusion, "Look buddy, I hate washing my own clothes, let alone your stinky–" Jackie was cut short by a painful kick to the shins, delivered by the teenage girl that had turned bright crimson in front of her.

Before she could question what the hell was happening, Lianna ran off in embarrassment, prompting the remaining people to look at each other with confusion. Jackie paused for a moment, before a hint of understanding crept onto her face, "I will be right back." she said, before chasing after Lianna.

"Well, that was weird." Jayce said, unsure what had just transpired.

Macie shook her head in exasperation, "Jayce honey, You’re really smart when it comes to some things. But extremely stupid when it comes to others."

Heath nodded, crossing his arms, "She’s right Jayce, a man needs to also be emotionally intelligent, if he wants to get a good woman."

He gazed at the man who had been his mentor for so many years, resisting the urge to bow and ask for guidance as he had done so many times in the past. "What do you mean?" he eventually asked.

Macie let out a sigh, she was not angry at Jayce, more at what the world had become. "I’m going to cut through all of the finer details and just tell you outright. Lianna was the one who ran your bath and washed your clothes last night."

A short gasp rang out, followed by an exclamation, "Really?" However it was not Jayce who cried out in surprise, it was Heath who still had his arms crossed and was trying to look wise. Macie facepalmed, feeling slightly embarrassed by her husband’s actions.

Jayce, on the other hand, became silent. ’Lianna did those things for me?’ he thought, becoming slightly embarrassed. He remembered the disgusting state of his dirty clothes which smelled like mold and old sweat that had been left to simmer in a pile on the floor.

"Ah, damn it." he muttered, suddenly feeling a headache coming on. No matter how awkward it would be, he would have to thank her properly. It seemed that she was too embarrassed to tell him that she had been the one to do those nice things for him.

Thankfully, before Jayce could become even more depressed, more and more people began to arrive in the central square one by one. Jayce saw the two teenagers Daniel and Allie from the shelter, who used to be friends at school before the cataclysm descended. He saw them walking together and holding hands as they entered, chatting away like two lovebirds.

"Hi Leader!" Daniel smiled warmly, happy to see him again.

Jayce’s face darkened a little, seeing that even the two teenagers seemed better at dating than himself. Yet he still managed a small smile, returning the greeting.

Soon enough, the central square began to fill up. Jayce waited patiently as everyone fell into place, surrounding him. He did a quick head count, noticing that everyone was here apart from two people.

Looking around, he finally saw Amber and Ben arrive on the scene. Amber’s hair looked like it had hastily been fixed before arriving, and Ben looked to be a walking zombie. Jayce’s eyes darkened once more, instantly understanding what was going on.

He locked eyes with Ben for a moment, only for him to look away in embarrassment. Perhaps he felt bad for fraternizing with someone in their own party

’It looks like every bastard is pairing up except for me’ he screamed internally.