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Welcome to the seventh chapter of 'The Fate of Pleasantview' called 'Trick... or Treat?’
Before we begin I have two things to say:
-This chapter will mainly be focused on the College students. Their storyline turned out to take a lot of space and since it is necessary to the story, I decided not to cut it (having already reported it from chapter 6). You'll be seeing more of the other families next time.
- Due to recent computer problems, I decided to buy a new computer in the making of this chapter. I had already shot all of the college students' storyline before this purchase, so please understand why those pictures are of less quality than the rest of the story. The next chapter will be entirely made with new graphics.
Thank you & Enjoy!
PREVIOUSLY: After carrying out a secret experiment in his laboratory, Mortimer Goth goes into a coma. His body starts shutting down, but one night, a change occurs in his condition. Alexander Goth finishes work on a project, kept secret from his family.
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A yellow cab halted in front of Sim City General Hospital, and out came Cassandra and Don Lothario, accompanied by Bella Goth. The three of them rushed onto the pavement, not taking time to catch their breath, as they passed through the Hospital front gardens.
It was a fresh middle of October night, and a light breeze blew through their hair, while they ran to the entrance doors, anxious to know what had happened the sick family patriarch, who had been in a coma for almost two months now, and was only getting worse and worse.
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Ophelia Grenet sat in the lobby, waiting for them. The hospital was mostly empty that night and she didn't have many patients to attend to. This was probably why she had discovered the change in Mortimer's condition in the first place. As much as she hated to admit it, she had been neglecting to look after Pleasantview's favorite scientist lately, for there was nothing she could do about him. Yet tonight was calm and she had found time to check up on him, and her astonishment had been great.
She watched as the family ran into the building and rose to greet them.
"Doctor!" Cassandra called out, "You called to say there was an important change! What happened?"
"It is... how to say? There are no words!" she responded. "You just need to see this for yourselves..."
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She led them to the upper floor, where Mortimer had been for these last weeks. Dr. Grenet led the way into the room, knowing the shock would be immense for this family. Bella walked closely behind her, in a state of great anxiety. Ever since Mortimer had been in the coma, she had done her best to be strong and stay positive, yet it seemed that only more obstacles were appearing on the road ahead. What change could possibly be so unbelievable that it needed to be seen in order to become true?
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They all entered the room, almost expecting to find Mortimer dying, vitals dropping, or anything else that would witness a degrading terminal phase of his mysterious illness. However the surprise was all the greater as they lay eyes on Mortimer, the big change, now so obvious in front of them.
"That really is him?" Bella asked, knowing the answer to be affirmative.
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There lay Mortimer, in front of them, with short back hair, and a beard starting to grow. Mortimer had experienced hair loss about a week ago, and before that, his hair had turned grey four years ago, from the stress of losing Bella and his mother. This sight was most unusual, and difficult to absorb, but made Mortimer look healthier.
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"What are we looking at Ophelia?" Don asked his colleague.
"Well, it's hard to tell for now, seeing that this has never happened before, but it looks like his body is regenerating! Do you remember how his cells were destroying themselves? Well, it seems that those cells have left waste all over his body, which he is now using to make new much stronger cells. We just can't explain how and why this is happening..."
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"This is just... fascinating!" Don said, at loss for words. "If I know Mortimer a little bit, I'd say he planned this all along."
"That would sound like him..." Bella sighed unsure what to think of this.
The family stayed at Mortimer's bedside for a while that evening, almost hoping to see him wake up. They did not get that privilege, but they got to go home with something ever so precious when one is sick in a family: Hope.
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Back at Sim State University, the college students had been planning a Halloween party for several weeks, and continued to work hard at it. Lilith had initiated this project, and was now in charge of coordinating everyone, and had certainly not lacked creativity. Her biggest idea had been to have a stage built on the roof for her friends, and she to play music for the party guests. It hadn't been easy to get everything together, but they had all done a good job and the construction foundation was now complete.
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On the Sunday afternoon, a week before the party, Lilith was showing off the new decorations, which had just been delivered, to her boyfriend; among them, three big inflatable scary balloons. The two young adults stood in front a large plastic cauldron, out of which were reaching four green monsters, as if to cling on to anyone passing too close.
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They were interrupted by Dustin Broke coming towards them.
"Hey Dirk." he said, "Can I talk to you?"
"Sure. What's up?"
Dustin hesitated, looking towards Lilith, who, seeing she was unwanted in this conversation, took advantage of the fact that her friend, Sam Thomas, was walking by, to get away.
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"Hey, what's going on back there?" Sam asked her.
"I don't know. I'm sure Dustin is in love with Dirk though." Lilith joked, and the two girls went off laughing.
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They sat by the unfinished stage, and were joined by Ty Bubbler, another one of their friends. They chatted about their life's happenings, enjoying a good moment of relaxation and fun. However, Lilith got up quickly, about five minutes later, seeing Dirk and Dustin leaving the roof.
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"Hey, where are you two going?" she asked them.
"Err... We’re just going for a walk." Dustin said dismissively, obviously wanting to get away.
"Fine, but come back soon, okay?"
"Who are you, our mother?"
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"Don't be an idiot." Lilith sighed with an exasperated tone. "We're supposed to paint the stage this afternoon. We're starting in half an hour, and you two signed up for it. Now, I want you both here then."
Dustin simply smiled and the two boys walked off.
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However, two hours later, they still weren't back and Lilith was getting very angry, and her friends were making sure not to do anything wrong to make it worse. Sam and she were painting the stage walls, while Ty and Jimmy were mounting the track lights.
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Dirk and Dustin eventually appeared on the rooftop and made their way to the stage.
"Oh, great! You guys are back!" Jimmy called to them, jumping off the table he had been standing on, adjusting the center light. Ty imitated him, and descended from the barstool he had been working on.
"Come on you slackers! It's time to help out a bit!" he laughed.
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Lilith, on the other hand, was not in such a light mood. She turned away from the wall she was decorating, to face both boys.
"Where the hell have you been?" she yelled at them.
"Take it easy, we don't have to justify where we go all the time." Dustin laughed.
"When you say you will help out, you commit to it! I don't care what you were doing, but I do care about this getting done on time. Don't let this happen again! Now get to work!"
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Ty and Jimmy, returned to installing the lights, Dirk went to paint the front of the stage, and Dustin, Lilith and Sam painted the back of it. They all worked in silence for the most part, only speaking to ask for a paintbrush or a cable, tension still between them.
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However, when the work was finally done, they were all proud enough of the work they'd done, to forget the afternoon's incident. They ordered pizza for dinner, had a few drinks and relaxed, as the new lights, which they had turned on as a test, flashed all around them. It was good evening between friends.
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After dinner, they all went back inside, to wash up and change into some more comfortable clothes. Once this was done, Lilith took Dirk aside.
"Say honey, what did Dustin and you do this afternoon?"
"Oh... It was nothing. Dustin just needed some help with something. It's not important." Dirk replied before kissing her on the forehead and walking away. Lilith noted that he was as evasive as Dustin had been earlier.
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Lilith spent the rest of the evening in Sam's room, to express her worry about the situation:
"It's not like Dirk to keep something secret from me. I mean, I can't imagine him doing anything that would need to be hid other than if he was... cheating on me."
"Don't jump to any conclusions; didn't he say it had to do with Dustin?"
"Sure, but if he's hiding something, he might also be lying to make excuses. Blaming it on someone else is easy..."
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"Come on, why would Dirk cheat on you? You two love each other!"
"Well, you know, we started going out when we were still kids; things change, people change. I fear that he might want to change sceneries, you know? But he's probably afraid to break up with me, because we've been together for so long..."
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Sam did her best to reassure Lilith, but there wasn't much she could do, to convince the young woman that she was overreacting. That night, Lilith couldn't sleep; haunted by the idea that Dirk might be leaving her. She didn't care if Dustin kept things secret from her, but Dirk and she had always told each other everything. In her head she tried to see what she may have done wrong, what could be turning Dirk away from her, but wasn't able to understand. Her pessimism started building up and soon, she was sure that he was cheating on her.
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The next morning, when she could hear that people were starting to wake up in the dorm, she got up leaving Dirk sleeping in the bedroom. She descended to the cafeteria, where Sam and Jimmy were already seated at a table. She observed the two of them: happy, holding hands, a couple. She headed towards the counter and grabbed a plate of pancakes prepared by the cook, and went to sit down with her friends.
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Jimmy looked up at her and greeted her.
"How did you sleep?" Sam asked casually.
"Awful, I'm just a mess right now..."
"What's going on?" Jimmy asked her genuinely concerned.
"Oh, you don't want to know. It's just something between us girls. Lily will be fine" Sam replied.
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However, the thoughts that had been running through Lilith's mind all night started surfacing again, and she wasn't able to hold back the tears. Jimmy looked at her, in confusion, not understanding the reason, for which this was happening.
"Oh, dear!" Sam sighed, picking Lilith up from her chair, and bringing her to her room.
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She closed the door behind her and held her friend in her arms for a moment, rocking her like a child. She whispered reassuring words to her, but Lilith couldn't let them become true inside of her. She had been brewing thoughts of betrayal for many hours now and wasn't even thinking clearly. She was sure that Dirk was going to end things, and was already admitting defeat.
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Lilith did her best to avoid Dirk for the rest of the day. She tried not to speak to him, as much as she could, and got out of any conversation he started up. It obviously wasn't going to help her, but overnight, she had developed anger for Dirk and wasn't able to be with him.
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She decided to deal with her feelings by working on the roof party, laying out the tables and chairs that would be needed. She was clearing the dust from one of the tables when Dirk appeared on the roof and headed for her. She didn't know what to do, but she knew that she wouldn't be able to pretend she was busy anymore.
"What's going on?" Dirk demanded.
"What? I'm just washing this..."
"You've been avoiding me all day." Dirk interrupted.
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Lilith turned away from him, and didn't answer. He walked around the table to face her.
"Lilith?"
She continued not to answer.
"Lilith, answer me!" he shouted.
"Now, now Dirk. People are starting to look; you might want to keep your voice down..."
"I don't care if people are looking. Are you mad at me?"
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"No not at all..." Lilith lied, her voice starting to tremble.
"Then, why aren't you speaking to me? What did I do?"
What did you do? Lilith thought, what did I do for you to be hiding things from me? Dirk attempted to hold her hands.
"Please, don't..." she said pulling her hands away, out of reach.
"What? What is going on?" Dirk repeated.
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She put the sponge she was using down and turned away from Dirk, pretending to go get another chair, to not be seen crying. Once again, tears were streaming down her cheeks and she didn't even have that big a reason for it.
"Lilith?" Dirk called after her.
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She clutched onto one of the chairs in front of her, trying to find support, as her legs started trembling.
"Can you please just leave?" she choked, trying to keep her voice steady.
Dirk realised she wasn't going to speak to him and returned downstairs, not wanting to upset her more.
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As he walked back inside he crossed Sam who was walking out.
"Hey, I need to speak to you." he said. "Do you know why Lilith is so upset?"
"Well, I think it may have to do with the fact that you disappeared for two hours yesterday, without warning, and refused to tell her where you went, or what you did." Sam stated sarcastically.
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"That's what it is? Well she shouldn't worry about that. It was just... it was nothing, it was Dustin's thing..."
"See you're still doing it! If Jimmy were hiding things from me, I wouldn't be so calm about it. You're lucky to have Lilith; she loves you and always stands by you."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
Sam realised she may have gone too far.
"Look, I don't want to get in the middle of anything..."
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"Well, it's too late for that, you already are in the middle of this, now what are you talking about?"
"Well, she's upset about the fact that you're lying to her. Faithful boyfriends don't usually keep secrets from their girlfriends..."
"I'm not... This isn't even..." Dirk was trying to pick his words but knew he couldn't speak openly to Sam. "Look, this isn't even about me! Dustin needed me for something, and he'll tell you when he thinks it's right!" He finally said annoyed.
"Yeah, you just keep saying that, in the meantime, your girlfriend is still losing your trust."
Sam walked away before Dirk could respond, leaving the young man very frustrated.
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Lilith and Dirk didn't speak for the next couple of days. The following Thursday, just two days before the party, the two girls were back on, continuing the preparation work for the event.
"Where's the duct tape?" Lilith asked Sam.
"I think Dirk said he put it in your room, yesterday... "
Lilith grunted to this remark, as she had been doing, every time someone mentioned Dirk's name lately.
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She went to her room, one floor below, and started searching for the duct tape. Lilith and Dirk shared their two rooms: they had rearranged Dirk's room, to fit a double bed in it, and used Lilith's room to keep their clothes and to study, so if Dirk had put the Duct tape away, it was surely in here. It wasn't anywhere in sight, and Lilith looked in the dresser, hoping to find it in there. She pulled one of Dirk's drawers open, but instead of finding tape, she found the answer to her question.
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She didn't even take time to close the drawer and ran straight back to the roof, her heart beating from the discovery she had just made. She jumped up the stairs, taking them two at a time and ran towards Sam who noticed her friend, who seemed to be panicked.
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"What's going on?" she asked.
"You'll never believe it!" she panted trying to catch her breath. She took a moment to breathe, to be in a proper condition to speak.
"Dirk is going to propose to me!"
"What?" Sam laughed with big smile, unable to belive this turn of events. "How do you know?"
"I opened his drawer, looking for the tape, and I found an engagement ring!"
"Oh my God!" Sam cried enthusiastically.
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"What are you going to say?"
Lilith smiled for a moment, thinking.
"I think I'm going to say yes." she said with a sweet smile.
Sam gasped with excitement.
"Congratulations!" she said, pulling Lilith in.
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The both of them stood there, holding each other for a moment, gigling like little school girls. Then Lilith pulled away saying:
"Okay, I've got to go make up with Dirk!"
"Yeah! See you later, Mrs. Dreamer!" Sam called out to her laughing.
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Lilith walked into the dorm common room, where she found Dirk. He looked up at her, and turned away without saying anything, used to leaving an akward silence between them. Lilth joined him on the couch.
"Hey, you." she smiled.
"What? We're talking now?" he replied quite unpleasantly, but Lilith knew she deserved it.
"Come on, don't be mad at me. I'm sorry, I was under stress, I didn't mean to take it out on you..."
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Dirk finally turned to face her, and looked to see her bright face, that he had missed so much these last few days. But still, he wasn't too sure of himself, he was afraid she might get angry quickly.
So, Lilith knew she had to show him there were no hard feeling left. She reached for him, pulling him towards her.
"I am sorry." she insisted. "I didn't mean to be a control freak..."
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Dirk finally put his arms behind her and held her close, hoping this wasn't a dream. Lilith snuggled into his neck, the warm feeling of being loved coming back to her, tightening her grip on him, wishing never to be apart again. They were a couple again, and she was going to be a bride.
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Meanwhile, Sam returned to her room, to find Jimmy standing behind the door starring into space, unsure what to think of her boyfriend being alone in her room in such a fashion.
"Look, I would ask what you're doing here, but I have something to tell you and you can't tell anyone I told you."
Jimmy gazed at her for a moment, to make out what she had said and then nodded.
"Okay, Dirk is going to propose to Lilith!"
"What?" Jimmy asked surprised by these, like she had been before.
"Lilith accidentally found an engagement ring, in Dirk's stuff. He's going to propose!"
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The two of them continued to chat excitedly about this gossip for a while and then, Jimmy went upstairs to take a shower. As he crossed the common room, he saw Dirk and couldn't help but stop and smile at the young man, who was speaking on the phone.
"Yeah... Okay... Uh-huh..." Dirk said looking at Jimmy suspiciously.
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His conversation ended and he turned around to face Jimmy.
"Okay, why are you standing there looking at me?" He asked with a slightly annoyed tone.
"Nothing, nothing... Who was that?"
"My father..." Dirk replied slowly, still eyeing Jimmy, who continued to stare at him.
"All right, spit it out! What are you looking at?" he demanded.
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"Okay, fine. I know I'm not supposed to know, but I heard that you're proposing to Lilith, and I want to tell you, that I'm happy for you."
"What?" Dirk asked confused.
"Oh come on! Don't play stupid! Lilith found the engagement ring in your dresser; we know you're going to do it! We're all happy for you!"
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"Oh, no... She found that?" Dirk asked embarrassed.
"Yeah, but come on, don't worry. You know Lilith isn't a fan of cliches anyway, she's happy to know that you're not cheating on her. She's going to say yes, so there's nothing to worry about there either..."
"That ring isn't mine!" Dirk said awkwardly.
"What?" Jimmy asked abruptly.
"It's Dustin's, he's going to propose to Angela! He asked me to keep it, so that she wouldn't find it in his stuff. Apparently he had his reasons..."
"But she thinks, you're proposing!"
Dirk swore with anger and frustration.
"This is bad... I'm going to have to tell her..." he sighed.
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"And Fate would have her walk in right now." he continued, seeing Lilith walk into the common room.
"You're going to tell her now?" Jimmy asked panicked.
"I don't have choice." Dirk replied sadly walking away.
"Okay, good luck, man."
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"Hey!" Lilith called out to him, seeing him walk towards her. "The sound system is sweet! I just tested it on the roof. We are going to rock that party on Saturday! We only need to get the instruments out and correctly plugged in now. I think we'll do that tomorrow..."
Dirk watched as she chattered on enthusiastically, and knew he would be breaking her heart in a few moments.
"Lilith, I'm not proposing to you!" he blurted out awkwardly.
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"And also I think... err... What?" the young woman asked, obviously not expecting this remark, and taken off guard.
"Look, that ring you found in my drawer isn't mine. It's Dustin's. He needed my help to pick out a ring, that's why we were gone for so long on Sunday. He's proposing to Angela and wanted me to keep it, so that she didn't find it. I never meant for you to find it... I'm so sorry!"
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"Oh my God... Of course you're not proposing to me, why would you? I feel so stupid!' Lilith said hiding her face
"No, it's my fault, I should have told you. I never thought you would find it..." he continued uncomfortably shifting his weight from one leg to the other.
"Oh, please don't cry, I'm so sorry." he wrapped his arms around her as tears began streaming down her face.
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At that moment, Sam climbed the stairs and entered the common room, where people were looking towards Lilith and Dirk.
"What happened?" she asked, confused.
Jimmy told her about the misunderstanding that had taken place.
"Oh no!" she sighed, knowing that this evening couldn't end well.
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"Lily, I'm so sorry." Dirk continued to repeat, desperately trying to comfort Lilith, but it seemed there was nothing he could do. She choked and continued to sob, feeling so silly, and crying for something she had never had.
"I'm sorry, I have to go." She told him, pulling away from his grip and running across the room.
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"Lilith!" he called after her. But she didn't look back and ran past all her dorm mates, who were watching the scene.
"I'm going to go talk to her." Sam told them through the awkward silence, and walking to Lilith's room.
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She entered hearing sobs coming from behind the dresser, where Lilith was hiding. Sam closed the door behind her, to not be disturbed.
"Please go away!" Lilith called out, but Sam walked forward anyway.
"Oh, it's you. I thought it was Dirk." she said between her tears.
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"Come here." Sam said, hugging her friend, who silently continued to shed her tears, in her arms for five minutes. She was grateful to have a friend to rely on in such situations, where she felt as though her heart had been torn out.
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"I feel so stupid!" Lilith cried. "I don't even know why I'm crying; I don't even want to get married, I didn't expect a proposal! I'm just so pitiful: all I've been doing lately is crying!"
"Crying is good for you." Sam assured her. "You can't always be tough; it's what makes you human."
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That night, Lilith slept in Sam's room, unable to face Dirk again. It was just too painful to see him again now, even though he hadn't really done anything, she just felt ashamed of what had happened. How would they ever be able to be in the same room again? They couldn't pretend nothing had ever happened, but yet how could they go back to normal?
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The next morning she woke up, her face wet from the tears she'd cried. She slowly walked out into the hall and went to get some breakfast, trying not to think of Dirk, but was quickly reminded of him, as she heard his voice coming from the cafeteria, through the wall. She halted and stood next to the door, listening to the conversation Ty and he were having.
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"I just wish I could make it all go away, it was such a big mistake on my behalf." Dirk was saying
"Yeah, I can't imagine." Ty responded not knowing how to support his friend.
"I gave Dustin his ring back; I told him he had to keep it now. I know that no harm can come of it now, but I just can't stand to look at it. I hate this so much! And the worst is that she won't talk to me now. I broke her heart, I know it, and I can't be there to mend it! And I love her so much, I do..."
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From the other side of the wall, Lilith could hear everything and closed her eyes in despair. She wanted to run into the cafeteria and tell him she loved him too. She wished she could just see him and tell him that they could start over again with no hard feelings, but she wasn't able to. She was still so scared to face him, not knowing how they could recover from this.
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Unfortunately, she was forced to see him that day, for they needed to finish installing the instruments on stage. Dustin hadn't shown up again and Lilith was using Dirk to take out her anger on, she didn't know how else to be with him than angry. Ty was assembling the drums, as Jimmy and Sam were hauling the piano onto the stage, trying to ignore Lilith's screaming.
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"I can't take it anymore! Why is it that he can never show up? You tell your buddy that I'm tired of him not taking this seriously, because I don't even want to see him right now! What is his excuse this time?"
"Take it easy. He's at the sorority house; he's going to propose to Angela today, you can't be mad at him for that." Dirk replied calmly, trying to sound apologetic.
"Oh well in that case, hurray!" Lilith yelled sarcastically. "You can imagine how happy I am, seeing that my sister is going to get married, in her perfect life, and I'll just die alone!"
"Lily, you're not going to die alone."
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"Oh gee, well thank you for explaining that to me! I feel all better now!" she continued on the same tone.
Seeing things were getting out of hand, Sam ran towards them, took Lilith by the shoulders and pulled her away.
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She tried to reason her friend, but Lilith wouldn't have it. Her whole body was tense, as she walked away with heavy steps. She and Dirk avoided each other for the rest of the day, trying not to pick a fight every time they would see each other. It seemed they wouldn't be able to get back together.
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Meanwhile at the Tri-Var sorority, Dustin's afternoon was not going as planned. As he was making his way towards the door, Angela and her best friend Tiffany stood behind a window in the entrance hall, on the look out.
"There he is! Let's go!" Angela told her friend.
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They rushed outside and ran out towards the car. Dustin watched them, confused.
"What’s going on?" he asked.
"No time to explain! Just get in the car..."
Dustin did as he was told, not sure how grave the situation was.
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Angela got in driver's seat and honked twice. Almost immediately, their sorority sister, Heather, ran out in the same manner they had just done, and climbed aboard, slipping into the back seats. Behind her was Brittany, the head of house, who yelled after them as they drove off. For a few minutes, the three girls laughed loudly and talked excitedly about what had just happened, but Dustin wasn't able to grasp a word.
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Finally they stopped at the Campus square, where the girls exited the car, and Dustin followed them.
"Can one of you tell me what's going on?" Dustin asked, still confused.
"Well, I made the mistake of leaving skid marks on the front lawn, with my new car." Heather told him. "Brittany was totally pissed, and she started yelling at me like crazy! I'd never seen her, this mad, and you know how she can get!"
Dustin laughed, finally understanding the situation. Brittany was very picky with her sisters, and could throw a tantrum about almost nothing. Her temper was legendary on campus.
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The group spent the rest of the afternoon hanging out by the fountain in the park. What Dustin had hopped to be a romantic date with Angela, turned to be a relaxed afternoon, between friends. He was somewhat disappointed by this turn of events, even though he did enjoy catching up with the sorority sisters. If Angela did accept to be his wife, then he would probably know Tiffany and Heather for a long time afterwards, he thought.
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As the sun was setting, Dustin took Angela aside for a moment alone.
"So I'll see you tomorrow at the party?" he asked
"Absoluetly."
"Your friends can come if they want to..."
"I don't think they would." Angela laughed.
"What? Are they too popular to hang out with dorm students?" Dustin joked.
"No, they're going to be renting scary movies and having their own Halloween celebration."
The lighting was beautiful, the scenery was perfect, why not propose now? - he thought. Somehow he couldn't bring himself to do it. He just hadn't planned it this way; he wasn't ready to do it. He would have to report it.
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The following day was Halloween. Bella Goth invited her daughter and son-in-law to spend the day over, for a homemade, Halloween lunch. It was a crisp day and a perfect time for a family reunion. Mortimer was getting stronger everyday, and Don, who had returned to work, kept an eye on his condition, hoping he would soon wake up.
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Upstairs, Alexander Goth had his own guest: Lucy Burb and he had been going out together for almost a week now. They had met at school and had first become friends, and then Alex had summed up the courage to ask her out. It was the first time either of them was dating someone and it was new and exciting of the both of them. Alex was about to show her his room, but stopped before opening the door.
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"What?" she asked.
"I'm about to show you something I've never shown anyone before." he told her.
"You don't have a dead body in there or something, do you?" she joked.
"No, no, It's just... well come on, you'll see..."
And with that, he turned around and led the way into his room.
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"Here it is!" he said showing her the project he had been working on intensively, lately. "So, what do you think?"
"Oh my... Alex it's just... You made it?"
"Yep! All by myself!"
"Well it's genius!"
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What they were looking at, was a metallic figure, in a human form, in a foetal position, sitting on a working counter. Alexander had created a humanoid robot.
"Well, does it work?" Lucy asked him.
"I don't know." he admitted. "I haven't tried it yet."
"Why not? How can you not try it?" she asked amazed.
"Well, I think I'm afraid it won't work, or that it won't be as I planned it."
"You have to try it! Oh please, can you turn it on?"
Alexander looked at Lucy with a smile, happy to see she was enthused by this project.
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He lifted the heavy body from the counter and gently laid it on the ground next to him. He got back up, slightly hurt in his back from the weight of the robot.
"Ow!" he laughed, and Lucy smiled.
"Okay, here we go!"
Alexander flicked the switch behind the robot to the 'on' position.
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Immediately the robot started moving, as the lights started flashing, and it emitted little beeping noises. Alexander laughed, hardly able to believe that it was really working, as Lucy watched in disbelief.
"Oh Alex! He's perfect!" she said.
The robot's initialization ended and an electronic voice began reciting:
"Hello, I am Servo, domestic robot to help you ease your daily life. My functions allow me to work as fast as a human being, and I will always obey an order. Please take the time to finish this process..."
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"He’s wonderful." Lucy smiled at Alexander.
She looked so beautiful, and in his euphoria of the last few moments, Alexander believed that anything was possible. He pulled her closely and, slowly, they both leaned in, and on that Halloween day, Alexander Goth and Lucy Burb shared their very first kiss together, as the robot continued it's speech.
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That night, over at the dorm at Sim State University, the Halloween party finally began. After weeks of planning, Lilith was glad to see her project come to life. Her friends and she were on stage, singing their favorite songs to the crowd. Of course, the concert was most unusual, it being a Halloween costume party. Sam was at the piano, dressed in a traditional Sari; Jimmy had found a giant ape costumer, while Ty was dressed in a very unfashionable way. Dirk and Lilith decided to dress up as Mr. and Mrs. Claus a few weeks ago, together. How ironic, Lilith thought, that even their characters were happily married.
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"You're only digging your grave!" she sang the final notes of 'Haunted' by the Full Moons, one of the most popular groups at the time, making the crowd cheered loudly.
"Thank you. We're going to take fifteen minute break and we'll be back with more of your favorite songs afterwards." she told them.
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Immediately, the guests flooded the buffet area, so help themselves with a few tasty treats with spooky names. They all took a moment to admire the brilliant decorations that gave this party just the kind of mood it needed.
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Dustin, who wasn't part of the musical performance, walked up onto stage to join his friends. He had decided to dress as a ninja for that evening.
"Hey, great job you guys!" he congratulated them all.
"Is Angela here yet?" Dirk asked, knowing that Dustin had reported his proposal to that evening.
"No, but she said she'd come a little later... Look, I'm feeling a little tired and dizzy, I'm going to go lie down for a bit. Warn me if she gets here, okay?"
"Yeah, sure. Are you feeling all right?"
"Yes, I think I'm just a little nervous."
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"So, you're really going to propose, huh? Are you sure you want to do it on Halloween?"
"Yeah, it doesn't matter, I'll take her aside... Well, I'm going to go rest. See you guys later."
Dustin left the rooftop and returned downstairs.
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He walked into his room and lay on his bed, feeling quite dizzy. Soon, he heard the music start up again, and wondered when Angela was going to arrive. However, he just kept feeling more and more tired and soon, he fell asleep...
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Meanwhile, at the sorority, Angela was running late. She'd just finished showering, and passed by the upstairs living room, where her three sisters were already watching their movies.
"Oh my God, guys. I'm going to be so late for this party. It started almost an hour ago!"
"Then just don't go..." Heather suggested, tired of having seeing her friend preparing frantically for the past hour and a half. "Wouldn't you rather watch these guys die each one after the other?"
Angela rolled her eyes and headed towards her room, as Tiffany screamed loudly and Heather continued to laugh.
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She still needed to get dressed, but she wanted to look at her best. She took a moment to check her face in the mirror, arranging her hair, until it looked close to perfect. She slowly inspected each detail of her skin, applying beauty products, if needed, making sure she was ready to go to a party.
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From the living room, Heather, Tiffany and Brittany heard a high-pitched scream coming from Angela's room.
"Oh great!" Heather said "The princess probably found a zit, or something."
"Why must they continue to go there?" Tiffany asked, speaking of the movie they were watching, where the characters were behaving most irrationally.
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About half an hour later, Dustin was awoken by Dirk in his room. The music had stopped and there were several people whispering in his room.
"Hey, is Angela here?" he asked looking up at his friend.
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Dustin looked around his room, where Sam was holding Lilith in her arms, and where many people seemed to be talking beyond the open door.
"Err... listen man, Angela's not coming" Dirk stated after thinking for a moment, choosing his words carefully. "There was an incident at the sorority..."
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Immediately, Dustin leaped from is bed and ran across the room.
"Dustin, wait!" Dirk called after him, but it was no use. The young man made his way through the crowd outside his room and no one attempted to stop him.
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He quickly found himself outside, running as fast as he could down the street, aware that he was being watched through the dorm windows, and that Dirk was chasing after him. He sprinted through the cold autumn air, in the darkness, wondering what this incident could be. All he knew is that he couldn't leave Angela alone, if there was a problem, where she was.
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He arrived at the sorority within minutes, out of breath, but not taking his time to catch it. There was a group of people, gathered outside by the house, and Dustin made his way towards them, to see what they were all looking at. As he approached they all turned to face him, and made space for him to join the group. What Dustin saw next, was a sight he would remember his whole life; a sight so strong, that it put him to his knees.
He broke into tears as he lay over Angela's inanimate body.
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TO BE CONTINUED...
Thank you for taking the time to read this chapter of 'The Fate of Pleasantview'. Somehow, even though I recently got back to school, this has been the shortest delay I've ever done between two chapters! All the while it s true that I have dedicated my heart and soul to it: buying a new computer, and staying on the Sims until midnight just to finish up. Special thanks to Ricardo (aka Dolphinsimo5), who's there to support me when I'm writing.
I think you can expect the next chapter in 3 to 4 weeks, but my blog always gives detail about my progress, so I recommend you check that.
As usual, I give you my email address, if you wish to contact me: alexi035@hotmail.fr
Until next time!
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