The Goddess At My University

"Why are you still here?" Chase asked, sinking into the couch with a tired expression.

"Hmm, I just wanted to spend the day with my new brother," Lila said with an exaggerated sweetness, tapping her chin as if in deep thought. "Even if that means dealing with his… narcissistic girlfriend." Her tone was casual, but the words were like daggers.

Diana's silver eyes burned fiercely, her fingers gripping the controller tighter. It was taking every ounce of restraint not to act on her anger—for Chase's sake.

"Chase, I'm warning you," Diana said through gritted teeth, her voice trembling with fury. "If she taunts me one more time, I won't hold back."

Chase exhaled, pinching the bridge of his nose. Why did their problems always seem to land squarely in his lap? "Lila, can you stop taunting her? Please?" His tone was more weary than commanding.

Lila tilted her head, feigning innocence. "Of course, if you say so," she said, her lips curving into a sly smile. "I just thought a goddess would have thicker skin."

Diana's glare didn't waver as she resumed playing the campaign, her frustration evident in the sharp movements of her character on screen.

"So," Chase began, trying to steer the conversation elsewhere, "you said you wanted to spend the day with me. What exactly did you have in mind?"

Lila's eyes lit up at the opportunity. "Well, we can do whatever you want!" she declared eagerly.

Chase raised an eyebrow, already sensing trouble. "But I don't really want to leave the house," he said flatly. "I still have to make dinner soon, and then I need to sleep. Final orientation is tomorrow morning, remember?"

Lila's enthusiasm visibly deflated, but only for a moment before she perked up again. "Then how about we stay in and play games together?" she suggested with renewed excitement.

Diana's frown deepened at the thought. "I doubt you'd enjoy them—or be any good at them," she said bluntly, not bothering to mask her skepticism.

"And how would you know?" Lila shot back, her voice rising with irritation.

Chase sighed for what felt like the hundredth time. He quickly stepped in, waving his hands to defuse the brewing argument. "Okay, fine. You can stay and play. But… I agree with Diana. I don't think you'll like video games as much as you think."

"Hmph, how hard can it be?" Lila said, crossing her arms and eyeing Diana's screen with a stubborn pout.

Chase handed Lila his controller, walking her through the controls step by step. Diana, seated nearby, couldn't help but feel a pang of annoyance—she had figured everything out on her own, and now she wished Chase had taught her, too.

But teaching Lila was no simple task. Unlike Diana, who had quietly picked up the basics with minimal guidance, Lila bombarded him with an endless stream of questions.

"Why are the buttons shaped like this? Do I have to use a gun? Are there any prettier characters? Why do I have to shoot people?"

None of it was remotely relevant, and Chase's patience was running thin. Still, he managed to walk her through enough that she could fumble her way around the controls. Once she seemed to grasp the basics, he loaded her into an online match alongside Diana.

It was a mistake.

Lila was, quite possibly, the worst player Chase had ever seen. She somehow managed to get two kills, but both were flukes. Most of the time, she missed every shot. And then there were the grenades—she kept tossing them only to have them ricochet back and hit herself.

Chase's frustration reached new heights. He could already picture his kill-death ratio plummeting thanks to her disastrous performance.

Meanwhile, Diana was doubled over with laughter, holding her stomach as she watched Lila's character flail across the screen.

Lila's face turned red with embarrassment. "I can still do better than her," she snapped, glaring at Diana.

Diana wiped a tear from her eye, her voice steady despite her amusement. "I doubt it."

Chase, however, had an idea. A devilish smile crept across his face. If Lila wanted to prove herself, this was the perfect opportunity to teach her a lesson in humility.

"Okay," he said, his tone neutral enough to hide his plan. "How about a custom match? Just the two of you. It's called a 1v1."

Lila blinked, her confusion evident. "A one-what?"

Chase sighed, already anticipating more unnecessary questions. He quickly explained, "It's just you two against each other. No rules, no distractions."

Diana nodded, already intrigued. To her, it sounded like a simple duel. Lila, however, looked less certain, her brow furrowed as though she were trying to decipher a foreign language.

Chase cut her off before the inevitable deluge of pointless questions. "The game is starting," he said firmly, clicking the button to begin.

As the match loaded, Chase leaned back, a faint smirk tugging at his lips. Lila was his sister, whether he liked it or not—but sometimes, a lesson needed to be learned the hard way. And what better way to bring her back down to earth than by letting her lose spectacularly in a game she thought would be easy?

Diana, much to Chase's expectations, didn't hold back in the slightest. She had picked up plenty of tricks while playing with him—learning how to predict enemy spawns, anticipate movement, and land precise shots. Every time Lila's character appeared on the screen, Diana eliminated her with ruthless efficiency.

It was almost unfair. Chase had no doubt that if Diana had headphones, she'd be even better.

Lila, meanwhile, was growing increasingly frustrated. "Stop cheating!" she yelled, gripping the controller tightly.

Diana laughed, a playful edge to her voice. "I just learned how to play yesterday. Why would I even bother cheating against you?"

Lila glared, puffing her cheeks in defiance. "You're definitely using your godly powers to find me and kill me so easily!"

"Activating my powers for this would be a waste," Diana retorted, rolling her eyes.

"They're obviously passive!" Lila snapped. "Aren't you the goddess of hunting or something? Your brain is probably hardwired to figure out the best route to kill someone!"

Diana stared at her in disbelief, momentarily at a loss for words. Was this mortal serious? Maybe Aphrodite dropped her on her head as a baby. That would explain a lot.

She finally replied, "Fine. If I am passively using my powers, doesn't that mean I should be better than him?" She pointed at Chase, who was watching the match unfold with mild amusement.

Lila didn't hesitate. "Clearly. But you're definitely going to hold back against him."

Diana looked insulted. "Why would I ever hold back?"

"Because he's your boyfriend," Lila said matter-of-factly, her smirk returning.

Chase let out a long, exasperated sigh. "Can you stop saying that?"

"Stop saying what?" Lila asked, feigning ignorance.

"That I'm her boyfriend," Chase replied, though there was a faint edge to his tone that made Diana's heart twitch in irritation.

Still, Lila didn't miss a beat. "But you would still hold back against him just to prove me wrong."

Diana's expression darkened as if Lila had just issued a challenge. "Fine," she said, setting her controller down for a moment. "Give him the controller. I swear on the River Styx, I won't hold back at all."

Chase blinked. Swearing on the River Styx for a video game match? This was getting serious. Diana, however, seemed almost eager as she readied herself for another shot at competing against him. She'd come close to beating him in their last match, and now the idea of a direct 1v1 with Chase lit a competitive fire within her.

Lila, however, frowned skeptically. "You swore on some river? That doesn't mean anything."

Diana froze, slowly turning to look at Lila as if she'd just uttered the most blasphemous statement in existence. "The River Styx is the most sacred vow a god can make," she said, her voice dripping with disbelief. "How dare you call it 'just a river'! I dare you to risk your life by swearing to it and then breaking that vow."

Lila blinked, suddenly unsure whether Diana was joking or dead serious. Chase just sighed again, knowing full well this argument wasn't over anytime soon.

This was Chase's fault again. He knew pitting them against each other would only lead to more arguing, yet he'd done it anyway. Sighing, he took the controller from Lila and sat down, ready to take matters into his own hands.

Diana's mood instantly brightened, her silver eyes glinting with excitement as she watched him prepare. Chase, meanwhile, went to adjust his class loadout, a plan already forming in his mind.

If I beat Diana outright, Lila won't have any reason to argue. And if I do it using her own weapons, I can humble Diana a bit, too. It'll be rough, but it might work, Chase thought.

The match began, and Chase selected a sniper class, which made Diana raise an eyebrow in surprise. She hadn't seen him use a sniper before.

When the game started, Chase let Diana take the first kill to avoid suspicion, but after that, he didn't hold back. The score quickly shifted to 20-1 in Chase's favor. Diana stared at the screen, utterly betrayed.

Her hands tightened around the controller. "You were holding back before. In all of our matches. You made them seem close on purpose," she said, her voice trembling between anger and embarrassment.

Chase avoided her gaze, letting her frustration simmer. He hoped Lila would take this as proof that Diana hadn't held back in her own match, given how genuinely furious she was now.

Just as Lila opened her mouth to say something, Diana spoke again, this time more livid. "Why would you hold back against me? Do you think I'm unworthy of being your opponent?"

Chase winced. He hadn't expected her to take it this personally. Lila, sensing an opportunity, chimed in with faux concern. "Oh my, brother, maybe you shouldn't date her after all. Look how mad she's getting over a video game." She grabbed Chase's arm, trying to drag him away from Diana.

Diana's fury wavered. She immediately felt a twinge of self-doubt. Is he… scared of me? she wondered, watching him go. But her anger didn't fade completely. She hated when people underestimated her, no matter the reason.

To her relief, Chase stopped midway and gently pulled his arm free from Lila.

"I'm sorry," Chase said to Diana, his tone calm but apologetic. "I thought if I held back a bit, it'd help you get better faster. I didn't know it would make you angry."

It wasn't entirely true. Chase had mostly held back because playing at full effort was exhausting, and he played games to relax—not to sweat over them. But Diana didn't doubt his explanation for a second.

"I'll let it slide this time," she said with a serious expression. "But in any future competitions, don't hold back at all."

Chase nodded but silently doubted he'd follow through. Holding back was just easier.

Lila's face lit up as a mischievous idea struck her. "Why don't you two play together while I watch? Since I'm clearly not good at this."

Neither Chase nor Diana saw any issue with the suggestion. Chase shrugged, and Diana agreed as long as Lila didn't "breathe her way."

The pair loaded into an online game together. Their levels, 32 and 27 respectively, reflected how much time they'd put into playing the game. Lila sat back and observed for a while, watching them easily outplay their opponents. They were clearly a lot better than her.

"Brother," Lila said after a while, a teasing lilt in her voice, "can I ask you some questions to learn more about you?"

"Sure," Chase said absentmindedly, too focused on the game to care.

The questions started off harmless enough. Favorite color? "Blue," Chase answered. Favorite thing to do? He hesitated. "I don't really know."

But then Lila's next question caught him completely off guard.

"Are you a virgin?" she asked innocently, her eyes glinting with mischief.

"What did you just say?" Chase froze, glancing at her in disbelief.

Diana turned bright red, her face burning as thoughts raced through her head. She couldn't help but wonder, and her brain immediately went into overdrive.

Lila, unbothered, repeated the question. "Are you a—"

"Okay! That's enough for one day," Chase quickly interrupted, standing up and escorting her toward the door. Lila pouted in disappointment but let herself be pushed out.

"You're no fun," she muttered as he closed the door behind her.

Chase let out a breath, shook his head, and returned to the couch, resuming the game. Diana, however, remained silent. Her curiosity had been piqued, and no matter how much she tried to focus on the screen, the question lingered in her mind.

Meanwhile, outside the door, Lila smirked to herself. Getting kicked out didn't bother her in the slightest. If anything, she thought her brother was too nice for his own good. She'd asked that question on purpose, knowing it would fluster both of them.

When she'd knocked on the door earlier, she hadn't expected Diana to answer. The moment she saw her, the teasing had been inevitable. Diana's reactions were always so extreme—and therefore hilarious.

Unbeknownst to Lila, her mother, Aphrodite, would have fully approved of her antics. Teasing a maiden goddess like Artemis about love and its acts had always been one of Aphrodite's favorite pastimes.

Diana's curiosity was eating away at her. She was missing shots and playing noticeably worse. Finally, she couldn't hold it in any longer.

"Chase…" she began hesitantly, her voice uncharacteristically unsure. "Are you… a… virgin?"

Chase paused mid-game, staring at her in disbelief. Was he being pranked? Why did they both want to know this?

"Why?" he managed to mutter, his tone tinged with suspicion.

Diana, flustered and panicking, blurted out the first excuse she could think of. "Well… I thought it might have something to do with your powers!" she stammered, her face turning crimson.

Chase narrowed his eyes at her, unconvinced but too tired to argue. After a moment of hesitation, he reluctantly answered.

"Yes," he admitted, before quickly adding, "but it's because I choose to be one." He had to salvage a shred of his pride somehow.

Diana, however, barely registered the second part. She was simply relieved—she wasn't the only one. Her mood lightened considerably, and her gameplay improved as they both silently agreed to drop the topic for now.

But Diana's curiosity wasn't so easily satisfied. After a while, her thoughts drifted again.

"Chase," she asked, her voice quieter this time, "what do you think of me?"

The question caught Chase off guard. He glanced at her, noting the slight nervousness in her expression. She seemed genuinely scared of his answer.

Diana's mind raced as she waited. He probably hates me, she thought. After all, he always sighed when they were together, which he'd once mentioned was something he did around annoying people. Not to mention, she'd forcibly moved in with him and declared ownership of his space—something Alice had later told her was wrong.

Chase considered his response carefully.

"Hmm," he began, "at first, I didn't like you too much. But… you're not too bad. You help out a bit, at least, and you make things livelier around here."

He paused, almost adding something else. He thought about mentioning how beautiful she was, or how he found her reactions to new things oddly endearing, but it felt too personal—and maybe a little creepy. Instead, he settled on a lighter note.

"Although," he added with a chuckle, "you did force your way into my house and take my bed."

Diana tilted her head, pondering his words. "Hmm. Then how about you sleep on the bed?"

Chase raised an eyebrow. "Nah, the couch is comfortable enough. And I doubt you'd want to sleep on it."

Diana shook her head firmly. "No, I'd sleep on the bed too."

Chase froze, his brain short-circuiting. Wait… is she saying she wants to share the bed with me? That didn't seem right. She should hate the idea.

"Is this a ploy to try and kill me because of Lila's teasing?" he asked warily.

"No," Diana replied, her expression dead serious.

Before Chase could protest further, she continued, "From now on, you're to sleep in the same bed as me."

Chase blinked, staring at her in disbelief. What did I do to deserve this?

Still, there wasn't time to argue as the next match loaded. Diana seemed completely unbothered, but after a moment, another question escaped her lips.

"Am I beautiful to you?"

Chase froze again. This had to be a setup. "I think you already know the answer to that," he said cautiously, hoping to dodge the question.

"But I want to hear your opinion," Diana pressed. "I want to know."

Realizing he wasn't getting out of this, Chase sighed and answered, choosing his words carefully.

"Well… I'd say you're the most beautiful person—or, well, goddess—I've ever seen."

Diana's face lit up with satisfaction, a triumphant look crossing her features. It felt like a successful hunt.

With that, she abruptly stood up and walked to the door.

"Where are you going?" Chase asked, confused.

"I have to do something real quick," Diana said, practically bouncing with joy. "I'll be back."

Chase stared after her as the door shut. Did I say something wrong? Is she going to kill me?

He sighed, sinking back into the couch. Somehow, dealing with Diana felt more exhausting than any game he'd ever played.