Chapter 6-10: Get Some

          This is nice. Having reached the top of her career, Evangeline seemed to have more free time than she worked. When all the kids were at school, she languished in the bathtub, enjoying the solitude of a quiet, empty house. It would have been nice to share the solitude with someone but, so far, she hadn’t met anyone that she’d want to share it with.

          Flynn started high school and, after his first day, he was already in love with a girl. Her name was Sarah and she was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen. She was older but his high marks put him in the same math class she was in. 

          “We’ll be in high school together soon Flynnie!”

          “Now, look here! Don’t call me Flynnie! And even when we are in school together, you’re not to talk to me. I don’t want people thinking I’m a loser like you.”

          “You’re my family! We’re supposed to stick together.”

         “Flynn Avendale,” Hanley adopted her ‘mom’ voice. “Don’t be so mean! Mean is ugly.”
         Flynn’s comeback was a typical teenage retort. “Whatever. No one asked you.”

          “Don’t worry Gemma. When we’re in school together, we can hang out all the time and have lunch together and everything,” Hanley proclaimed with a hug.

          Flynn was studying in the library during his free period when Sarah walked in. He tried to keep his eyes on his book, only sneaking a quick peek at her every minute or so. He glanced her way for a third time and met her eyes. Busted.

          “Uh, hey, you’re Finn, right,” she asked, approaching him with a book in her hand.

          “Flynn, but yes.”

          “You’re in pre calc with me, right?” He nodded, trying to get control of his nerves. “You seem to really get this stuff. It flies right over my head. Would you mind helping me out?”

          So it began. Sarah always had a new question about work and soon he was helping her in a lot of different subjects, not just math. They met in the library after school Tuesdays and Thursdays so he could proofread her papers, check her math homework, and quiz her for upcoming tests.

          “Hey, uh, Sarah,” he started, one afternoon as he was reading over her shoulder as she typed up an English paper.

          “Oh, is that not right,” she questioned, delicate finger poised over the backspace key, ready to delete her words at his command. If only he felt confident enough outside of schoolwork.

          “Oh, um, that’s fine. I was just wondering if, um, if you would want to get together sometime, you know, outside of school.” There, he said it! 

          “Like study at my house? I’ve got a lot of siblings so it’s always noisy. Plus I don’t have a car right now. My parents took it away when I got a D on my midterm.”

          He wanted shout his true meaning at her, that no, not to study but go out on a date sometime but the inkling of courage he’d had was already fading away and he found himself mumbling an okay instead.

          “Han, what’s that?”

          “His name is Chubs. I found him outside. His momma must’ve pushed him out of the nest. I had to rescue him.” She glanced up, suddenly a little worried. “You won’t tell, right?”

          “Of course not. Here, I have a big box that we can put him in.” They dumped the contents of the box on the floor. Gemma snuck downstairs for the newspaper which they then shredded into pieces to make a nice nest. Soon, Chubs had a nice cardboard box for a home and none of the parents had to be any wiser. 

          Thinking over Sarah’s reasons for not being able to go out with him, Flynn’s mind worked over possible solutions in his head. Maybe mom could drop me off somewhere? Nah, that’s too lame. Maybe we could walk somewhere after school? Sarah doesn’t seem like the kind of girl to want to walk. If only I had my own car. Struck with the solution, Flynn worked up the nerve to talk to his mom about driving. “You want me to what?”

          “Teach me to drive. I’m a teenager now, it’s my right.”

          “Driving is a privilege, not a right. You’re smart enough to know that.”

          “Mom, please?”

          “Let’s wait and see how you do after this first semester in high school.” He sighed knowing that there was nothing he could say to change her mind. Especially if he told her he wanted to drive so he could take a girl on a date. 

          So he was restricted to only seeing Sarah at the library. She’d been having problems in a lot of her classes lately so their study sessions seemed to drag later and later. As a result, he felt his grades slipping. Not as lack of knowledge on his part, just lack of time to keep up. He decided to bring it up to her at their next meeting.

          “So, um, we’ve been studying a lot lately.”

          “I know. You’re so sweet to help me,” she smiled shyly at him.

          “Well, um, about that. I need to get straight As this semester. Like, really need to.”

          “Flynn, you’re not thinking of leaving me stranded, are you?” Her brows furrowed with concern and he saw her lower lip quiver, just a little.

          “I’ll still help but I need to get my work done too.”

          “Please Flynn. I just, well, I don’t know what I’d do without you. Besides, I really enjoy the afternoons we spend together.” She coyly reached over to him, placing her soft hand atop his own. He tried to object but how could he say no when she was obviously grateful for his help?

          Every time he brought up needing to spend more time on his studies, Sarah would persuade Flynn to continue to tutor her. Slowly, her persuasions became more physical; first a peck on the cheek, then a lingering stolen kiss at the table. Until one day, they were making out against the bookcases in the back of the library where no one was likely to find them. She didn’t protest as he brought his hand up, sloppily groping her breast like the inexperienced teenager that he was. 

          Finally, breathlessly, she pushed him away. “I’ve really got to get home. Thank you so much for editing my paper for me!” She waved over her shoulder at him as she flounced through the doors. It wasn’t until after he got home that he realized her paper was mostly just ideas jotted here and there. Remembering the way she had kissed him and the feel of her warm skin through her sweater, he smiled and wrote the paper himself, careful to misspell a word here and there like she usually did.

          “Flynn,” Hanley whined. “What are you doing in there? You’ve been in that bathroom for an hour. I’m telling! Mom, Flynn is hogging the bathroom again!”

          “You’re so naïve Flynn,” Danica, his best friend, scoffed as he told her and Rose about his plan to ask Sarah to the homecoming dance.

          “What do you mean?”

          “She’s a senior. You’re a freshman. There is no way she’s going to go to a dance with you.”

          “Why wouldn’t she? She really likes me.”

          “So you say. No one has ever even heard her utter your name before and you’re the only one who knows about the library.”

          “I think Dani might be right Flynn,” Rose offered apologetically. “I have gym with her and she’s always hanging out with Arthur.”

          “Because Arthur’s her boyfriend. Everyone knows that,” Danica smirked. 

          “I’m sure she just hasn’t figured out how to break up with him.”

          “We’ll see.” Danica remained unconvinced. 

          “If she won’t go with you, I will,” Rose smiled, always happy to help out a friend.

          “Hey Renata, what’re you doing here?” Emerson was surprised to see Renata at his door one morning more so when he realized that Gemma would be in school.

          “I just wanted to stop by to discuss the details for Gemma’s party.” They sat, somewhat awkwardly and went over where the party would take place and when. They’d never officially broken up but had just drifted apart, seeing less and less of each other.

          “Okay, that settles things,” she smiled, standing. “Don’t forget, okay?” He stood as well and, without thinking, leaned forward, grabbing her into a kiss.

          Surprised, she pulled back, staring at him with questioning eyes. He hadn’t kissed her like that since, well, since they had been in university. They’d gone on some dates after Gemma was born but it was always a little awkward and felt forced and they always said goodnight with a quick peck. What the hell? She pulled him back towards her, throwing all caution to the wind.

          It wasn’t long before they had worked their way back to his bedroom, shedding articles of clothing along the way, like a breadcrumb trail so they could find their way back to normal. 

          After, there was no lingering lovingly in his bed. Renata made her way down the hallway, pulling on her clothes as she came upon them on the floor. She could hear Emerson rustling behind her to do the same. 

          “That was…,” Emerson stammered as they made it to his door.

          “A one-time thing, yeah,” she finished.

          “So we’re…”

          “Good, yeah. I’ll see you, at Gemma’s party?” As he nodded she fled into the afternoon, hoping to make it back to the house before anyone could ask questions.

          With all the kids at school, it was up to Evangeline and Renata to keep the house looking nice. So one afternoon, they changed into some workout clothes and went out front to rake the leaves that had accumulated on the lawn. “So, did you talk to Emerson?”

          “Talk, yeah, we talked. That’s it, just talked,” Renata sputtered, praying that Evangeline wouldn’t notice what felt like a scarlet letter emblazoned on her chest.

          “He’s coming then?”

          Renata grinned, thinking something completely off topic. “Oh, yeah, he’ll be at the party.” She felt her cheeks flush and bent to rake the leaves faster. She wondered if Evangeline would ever forgive her if she found out about the secret she was keeping. I’m a grown woman, I can sleep with whomever I choose, she rationalized. 

          Gemma’s party did not get off to a good start. Pauline, Miles’s girlfriend appeared unannounced and uninvited.

          “Paula, what are you doing here?” Evangeline purposely messed up her name in an attempt to make the girl (that’s all she could think of her as, a girl) feel unimportant. Pauline pretended not to notice.

          “Miles got an invitation. He’s out of town. He left it on the counter and I figured that someone from the family should show up.”

          “You’re. Not. Family.”

          “Not yet but there’s no need to pretend it’s not inevitable,” Pauline pursed her lips in a triumphant half smile.

          “Well, not yet is certainly good enough for me. How about you head on home now? You can tell Miles you came without having to bother with actual niceties.”

          “Ugh, you’re impossible.” She did, however, decide that a child’s birthday party was the last place she wanted to spend the evening without a friend and left quickly.

          I just want one friend. Just one person my age, that’s not family, to be friends with. Gemma made her wish simple and hoped that wishing realistically would make it more likely to come true.

          As she blew out her candles and was cheered on by all the people around her, she clapped, knowing that being a teen would be different. Right?

          “I told you so,” Danica shook her head as she watched Sarah and Arthur walk hand in hand down the hallway. Flynn turned, seeing them, and balled his fists up, unable to contain his disappointment and anger.

          “Just let it go man. She’s not worth it.”

           For once though, Flynn’s anger gave him enough confidence to step forward and confront her.               “Sarah, I thought you and me, I mean that we were a thing?”

          “You what?” Her face was a mask of shock and amusement.

          “You know, all those afternoons in the library? We kissed. A lot.”

          “Oh Flynn.” Her voice was mocking, with a slight pitiful tone that more than conveyed how pathetic she found him. “I’m a senior. Seniors don’t date freshman.”

          “But, those kisses?”

          “A sloppy kiss is certainly worth an A. And thanks to you, I have a lot of A’s. I barely had to do any work at all.”

          Arthur meanwhile was busy cracking up next to her. “Avendale, you really thought she’d leave an older jock like me for a nerd like you? Oh Watcher, you’re hilarious.” 

Chapter 6.9                                                                                                                                                     Chapter 6.11

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This chapter was painful to get out. My game has been acting really strange lately. Or, more specifically, this save. Half the time the game would get stuck saving, then it was lag city, then my sims WOULD not change outfits. Finally it started behaving again and I worked up the next chapter. Thankfully I've decided that my sims are moving next generation, no matter what.

Flynn is a teen and now Gemma is as well. Which means that with the twins likely aging up next chapter (depending on what ends up in the chapter) we should have an heir vote with Chapter 6-11. Yay! If you've stuck with me this long, thank you for your endless patience. You guys are awesome.