The bedroom smelled of  burnt copper, and intense body odor. The hum of computer fans was deafening, sounding less like electronics and more like a jet engine preparing for takeoff.

"It’s too much code!" Wozie yelled, sweat dripping from his forehead onto his mechanical keyboard. "The emotional subroutines are spaghetti code! The logic gates are contradicting! I’m just one man! I need a team of devs and a carton of cigarettes!"

Avery stepped up, shoving a pile of manga off her desk. She pulled a spare mechanical keyboard out of her backpack and plugged it into Wozie’s hub. "I know Python, C++, and I’m fluent in Ren'Py. Move over, boomer."

"You?" Wozie looked at her, skeptical. "Do you even know how to bypass a kernel panic?"

"I modded Skyrim to run on a toaster," Avery snapped, cracking her knuckles. "Let’s do this."

Avery and Wozie began to dual-code. It was like watching a piano duet from hell. Their fingers were a blur, the clicking of the keys sounding like machine gun fire. They shouted technical gibberish back and forth, completely ignoring the "normies" in the room.

"Reroute the emotional cortex!" Avery screamed.

"I’m bypassing the logic firewall!" Wozie roared. "Compile the love interest data! We need to anchor her to the server!"

Robin stood by the window, biting her nails. "Can someone please explain what is happening in English? Or at least a language that doesn't involve the word 'waifu'?"

"They’re hacking the mainframe," Freddie said, his voice hollow. He was sitting on the edge of the bed, holding Selena’s flickering hand. "I think."

Selena’s eyes fluttered open. She was barely holding together. Her voice was distorted, shifting pitches like a broken radio tuning between stations.

"Freddie," she whispered. The sound was staticky. "I detect... a new... variable."

"What is it?" Freddie asked, tears streaming down his face. He tried to squeeze her hand, but his fingers passed through her palm like it was mist.

"Fear," she said. A single tear rolled down her pixelated cheek, turning into a blue diamond shape before disappearing into data dust. "I do not want... to go to the recycle bin. I like the ramen. I like the wind. I like... us."

Wozie typed faster, screaming at the screen. "The corruption is at 95%! We’re losing the integrity of the bust-to-waist ratio! She’s gonna crash!"

The glitches were consuming her now. Her legs were gone—just blue wireframe outlines hovering over the bedsheets. Her chest was flickering in and out of existence.

"I have to tell you," Freddie sobbed, leaning over her. "These past few weeks? They were the best of my life. I love you, Selena. Real, fake, digital—I don't care. You’re the only one who gets me. I love you."

Selena’s eyes widened. The dying blue light in her irises softened to a warm, vibrant pink.

"New variable discovered," she whispered, her voice suddenly clear. "True Love. It is... warm. It overrides the cold."

She reached up with a flickering hand and pulled him down. They kissed. It felt like kissing static electricity. Sparks popped against Freddie’s lips, stinging and hot, but underneath the glitch, it was real.

"COMPILE!" Wozie screamed, veins bulging in his neck. "HIT IT!"
He and Avery slammed their hands down on the 'Enter' key at the exact same time.
A holographic progress bar appeared in the air above Selena, glowing bright green.

Uploading Patch... 98%...

99%...

ERROR.

The room went dead silent. The fans spun down. The lights on the car batteries died.

Then... 100%.

The Reboot

Selena went completely black. Her body vanished. Freddie fell forward, catching himself on the mattress. He was holding nothing but air. The bed was empty.

"No," Freddie whispered. "No, no, no."
Silence stretched for ten agonizing seconds. Wozie slumped in his chair. Avery took off her glasses, wiping them on her shirt.

Then, a soft sound filled the room. Ding.
It sounded like a Windows startup chime, but played on a harp by an angel.

Light pooled on the bed. Pixels swirled, knitting together bone, muscle, hair, and purple leather.

Selena materialized. Solid. High Definition. Glowing with health. She took a deep breath, her chest rising and falling perfectly.

"System updated," she said, her voice crisp and clear.

She sat up, grabbed Freddie by the shirt, and pulled him into a hug that nearly cracked his ribs. Then she smashed her lips against his, dragging him onto the bed in a flurry of passion.

"YEEEES!" Avery screamed, jumping up and high-fiving Wozie. "WE ARE GODS OF CODE!"

Caught up in the adrenaline and the romance of the moment, Wozie looked at Avery. His eyes sparkled with victory. He leaned in slowly, puckering his lips, eyes closing for a celebratory smooch.

Avery recoiled, her hand slapping over his mouth. "No. No. Absolutely not. Never."

Wozie opened his eyes, disappointed. He pulled back, looking dejected. Then, his eyes drifted across the room to Robin. He raised an eyebrow, a hopeful grin forming on his face.

Robin pointed a finger at him like a loaded gun. "Don't even think about it, Gandalf. I will break your keyboard."
Wozie sighed, slumping back into his chair. "Zero for two. Story of my life."
Meanwhile, on the bed, Freddie and Selena were still going at it. It was getting intense. There was a lot of hair pulling and aggressive hugging.

"Okay! Okay!" Robin shouted, marching over to the bed. "You two! Enough! We are in a room full of people! Don't make me spray you guys down with the hose!"
Selena broke the kiss, breathless and beaming. She looked at Robin. "My affection parameters are set to maximum output."

"Yeah, well, dial it back to a PG-13," Robin groaned. "I'm traumatized enough for one day."

Epilogue: Three Days Later

Life had returned to a strange version of normal. Wozie had returned to his foil-covered cave, though he had grudgingly given Avery his Steam ID so they could critique anime together.

The sun was setting, painting the sky in shades of orange and purple. Freddie and Selena were walking down the street near the college. They walked hand in hand, fingers laced together. Selena was wearing her purple jacket and cargo pants, looking every bit the cool, confident girlfriend.

They turned the corner and passed the Delta Sig Frat House.

A few new pledges were sitting on the porch, drinking cheap beer. One of them spotted Selena.

"Yo! Check out the hottie!" the pledge yelled, standing up and leaning over the railing. "Hey baby! Why don't you lose the loser and come hang with the—"

The front door of the frat house flew open so hard it banged against the siding.
Trevor, Chad, and Kyle burst out, stumbling over each other, looking absolutely terrified.

"SHUT UP!" Trevor screamed, tackling the pledge into the decorative bushes.
"Don't look at her!" Chad yelled, shielding his eyes with his arm like he was looking at the sun. "She’s a weapon! A literal weapon!"

"She’ll harvest your soul!" Kyle wept, hiding behind a porch column. "She knows physics! She knows all the physics!"

The three Bros looked at Selena. They gave a shaky, terrified wave, forcing smiles that looked physically painful.

Selena stopped. She raised one eyebrow. Then, she smiled—a genuine, human smile. She squeezed Freddie’s hand.

"Come on, Administrator," she said softly. "Let’s go home."

Freddie smiled back, looking at the terrified frat boys and then at the girl holding his hand. "Lead the way."

They walked off into the sunset, leaving the frat boys trembling in their wake.

[END OF ARC 1]