With a smirk on his face, the Squip says, "I'm honestly a bit surprised at how well you managed to pull that off on your own. You almost lost her in the middle there, though. 'Tenth Night?' What were you thinking?"

Jeremy is a bit surprised at the Squip's praise. Usually, the bot spends his time chastising the teen and telling him how terrible he is, so a genuine compliment comes as a shock. But for now, back to business. 'Look, I got myself this far, alright? What else do I need to do?'

"I suppose you have earned a reward for how well you've done. I could assist your next few interactions with Christine, but only if you make your final decision afterwards, of course," The Squip says. "The Upgrade will be simple; all you have to do is allow me to block Michael from your field of vision and direct you in your romantic and social lives." The bot pats him on the shoulder.

Jeremy brushes it off. The thought of not being allowed to see Michael puts him slightly on edge, but he decides to worry about that later. 'Right, right. And you're sure this is going to work?'

The Squip retreats, going back to floating by the teen's side. "Remember, Jeremy, I can see probable futures. According to my calculations, the chance of you and Christine entering a relationship within the next six months is 99.7%, so long as you follow my instructions."

That's honestly a lot higher than the teen thought it would be. The thought of being able to date Christine is thrilling, especially since he thought the whole thing was hopeless. But there's still one last thing on Jeremy's mind. 'But wasn't I supposed to start by dating Brooke?'

Without missing a beat, the Squip replies. "All in due time. For the moment, you just need to focus on gaining Christine's trust, now that you have time alone with her. Think of this as… more of a side-quest, as you would put it."

'Got it.' Jeremy pauses for a moment. Okay, maybe there is another thing bothering him. 'Do you think I was a bit too hard on Michael? He looked terrible after everything I said to him.'

The Squip dismissively waves a hand towards him. "Not in the slightest. In fact, I would've recommended you use stronger language with him, but I obviously wasn't around to direct you."

'I didn't want to hurt him…' The teen rubs the back of his neck, feeling a bit guilty. Despite knowing Michael for over a decade, he had rarely seen his friend seriously upset. And he had certainly never seen Michael cry in public, at least, not since the two were in Pre-K.

The Squip stares directly into his eyes, almost as if looking through him. "Pain is a necessary part of life, Jeremy. That's a lesson even you need to learn."

A chill runs down the teen's spine. Slightly doubtful, he prepares to respond when Christine cuts him off. "So what's the name of the gift store? I don't think I've ever been to it before."

Back to reality. Jeremy takes a second to gather his thoughts. "The Enchanted Quill. Kind of a dorky name, I know, but they have some pretty cool stuff."

Christine's eyes light up. "Oh my God, I love cozy little stores like this."

The two enter the gift shop and are quickly greeted by the cheerful, elderly owner. The store is a flurry of literature, with gifts ranging from entire anthologies of classic series to keychains with the names of gothic authors on them. Soaps, ribbons, perfumes, and pens litter small tables around them, all themed around various writers and playwrights. A humble yet classy display is in the center of the store; a spotlight for the author of the month, who happens to be Neil Gaiman. He's the one who wrote about the creepy people with button eyes, right? That scared the shit out of Jeremy when he was a kid. He walks over to the display and leafs through a copy of "Coraline" before the Squip delivers a sharp shock to his spine.

"Show her the Shakespeare section."

Jeremy leads Christine to a section of the gift store comprised of Shakespeare books, Christmas tree ornaments, post-cards, stationary, chocolate figures, and a few other types of trinkets. The store is filled with natural light, giving a cheery look to the warm, yellow walls and deep blue carpeting.

Christine flutters between each of the aisles, bubbling with joy. Not surprisingly, she seems really into all of the Shakespeare merch. She soon finds herself standing in front of a rack of Shakespeare themed post-cards, each with a quote and a relating image on one side. "These little post-cards are adorable. I just love the quotes on them, too."

"Accessing Shakespeare Quotes Database…"

Prompted by the Squip, Jeremy says, "Well, as a wise man once said, "To be a well-favoured man is the gift of fortune; but to write and read comes by nature.""

"Wait, I think I remember that one!" Christine snaps her fingers, trying to think. "Um, Verges? No, no! Dogberry! Am I right?"

Jeremy has no idea what he just said, or what the meaning is behind Christine's response, but the Squip guides his words. "Of course! Man, the watchmen have to be my favorite part of Much Ado."

The girl smiles at him. She looks absolutely adorable. "I kinda like how sassy Beatrice is. She just doesn't take crap from anyone. I can really respect that, you know?"

Christine's phone emits a sharp beep. She pulls it out and checks it quickly, then turns to Jeremy. "Yikes. My ride is here, are you still down to come along with me? If the mall is still open, we could come back after."

He has two options to choose from.

One: He could accept the Squip's offer and spend his high school career popular and dating Christine. He wouldn't have to worry about Rich bullying him, or sitting alone at lunch, or being chosen last for group projects, or not having any experience with the opposite sex. He would finally get to know what it feels like to be wanted by others, and invited to parties on the weekends, and he would finally feel like something more than just a loser. But he would lose his friendship of twelve years with Michael. Michael had stuck with him through thick and thin, and had seen Jeremy at his very worst, and vice versa. Michael had almost become something of a brother to him; they told each other everything and spoke to each other on the daily in a language of inside jokes that only they could decipher. They've known each other for as long as he could remember, and Jeremy doesn't want to leave behind all the memories of them playing on the swings at recess in elementary school, or failing at pulling all-nighter sleepovers in middle school. Jeremy doesn't want to just give that up.

Or there's option two: He could go back to being friends with Michael and pretend nothing had ever happened. That would mean losing any chance of getting Christine, or any girl for that matter. He would lose the entirety of his popularity, and Rich would definitely go back to bullying him as soon as he lost the favor of the other popular students. This would also cause his Squip to become indignant, which would come with its own set of negative consequences. For one, he has no idea how to get the Squip out of his head, and Jeremy has a feeling the bot wouldn't take kindly to being ignored constantly. He could be alone possibly for the rest of his life, and would spend his high school career with one friend and bullying to look forward to every day. Between his parent's divorce, Rich pummeling him, and being a social outcast, all of his problems are almost too much to bear. High school is seriously shit, and college probably won't be much better. Especially since Michael may end up going to a different university than him, and they could be separated anyways.

The Squip places a hand on Jeremy's shoulder. "So, have you made your decision?"

Jeremy grins, a look of dauntless determination on his face. 'Optic Nerve Blocking, on!'

If you've made it this far, thank you for reading! I don't usually end my fics on a sad note, but this is meant to take place after 'Upgrade' and before 'Halloween,' so it's bound to be a bit sad anyways.
Have a good one, y'all.