2. Welcome to Part Two of Life in a Bottle, Zane
Devereaux’s story. In the last part, Lillian had
been accused by the Sisters of the Dark for
being a rogue witch, and thus had gotten her
powers stripped away from her; at least
temporarily.
Zane, Lillian’s child, is a forced shut in, not
able to go to school or really even able to go
outside to play with any other children.
However, he had managed to secretly
befriend the little girl that lives next door, Tina
Traveller.
As for Sebastian Devereaux, the third
generation heir to the Devereaux Legacy, he
has almost fully recovered from his wife’s
death and has since been going out to find a
new potential wife to help him carry on the
family line.
It appears that he had finally found someone
who had caught his interest. Unknown to
him, that woman was an imported SimSelf,
Tribebohemian, who calls herself Kitty in this
mini-verse...

3. Chapter One
Sebastian was in such a good mood. He
would find himself singing along with
whatever piano tune he was playing,
pounding away with a smile on his face.

4. If he wasn’t playing the piano, he would sing
at the karaoke machine that the family had
set up in the party room.

5. Hunter and Ansley would both look at their
son curiously. He was never in such a happy-
go-lucky mood, even when he was married to
Tristen.
Sebastian didn’t tell them the reason for his
cheerfulness, for fear of jinxing it, but both his
parents had their suspicions.
And their suspicions were correct: Sebastian
had a girlfriend.

6. “Woot! Three strikes on the tenth frame! It
would have been a perfect game if I would
have gotten a strike on the ninth frame instead
of a spare! 277!” Sebastian proceeded to
cheer and do a little nerdy ‘Carlton Dance’ on
the lane, grinning happily.

7. Kitty grinned at Sebastian’s nerdiness. It was
one of the things about him that appealed to
her. She clapped at Sebastian’s score and
said, “Okay, now that we’re done playing a
game that you’re good at, how about we go
play some pool? I know I’m better than you
at that!”
Sebastian did a wide eye smile at her. “I
wouldn’t be so sure. I’ve been practicing.”
“Oh, it’s so totally on!” Kitty responded, rising
to the challenge.

8. “Nine ball, corner pocket,” Kitty announced.
She thrust the pool cue, and landed the ball
where she predicted.
“Aww. I thought we were playing slop.
Alright, you’re better at pool than I am,”
Sebastian conceded.
Kitty looked up at him with a grin. Sure, it
was just an outing, not an official date, but
every once in a while she would see
Sebastian looking at her with his special
smile. Of course, when he would see that
she was looking at him, he would blush and
look away awkwardly.
But, she was convinced that Sebastian liked
her as much as she liked him. While she was
thinking about that, she noticed an all too
familiar figure walk into the club. Kitty sighed
and casually walked over to the person, trying
to make it look like she was chalking up her
pool cue.

9. “I thought you couldn’t leave your house
because there would be a lynch mob after
you,” Kitty whispered to Ang.
“Kitty, you of all people should know that I
have no control over who shows up on
community lots. Besides, everyone here is
townies. They have no beef with me,” Ang
replied. “How are things going?”
“Are you spying on me? Wait, I know the
answer to that question. Let me rephrase
that. Are you checking up on us?”
“Well Kitty, it took Sebastian two sim weeks
to find you. I made him take two shots of
elixir to make sure that he wasn’t practically
dead when you get around to marrying him. I
have every right to be concerned.”
Kitty sighed. “Things are going fine. We both
have a respectable two bolts for each other,
and we’re best friends. Now go away!”
With that, Ang wandered off to go bowl.

10. After the game of pool was over, Sebastian
walked up to the bar and ordered a mixed
drink. He nervously fiddled with the glass as
he pondered his dilemma.
He liked Kitty.
He really liked Kitty.
He really really liked Kitty.
But, did she like him? He never really had this
problem before. He never dated in high
school, and Tristen practically fell into his lap;
so this was a new awkwardness that was
making it where he was getting in his own
way.

11. As he was thinking about this, two women
slid up to the bar next to him. One was Kitty,
but the other was a strange woman that
Sebastian had never seen before, but felt
strangely familiar. Before he could put his
finger on it, the red haired woman spoke.

12. “Ah, getting up some liquid courage there,
huh?” she asked, addressing Sebastian.
“Uh…”
Kitty rolled her eyes and sighed. “Ignore her
Sebby. It’s just the town drunk who has had
more to drink than usual.”
Sebastian glanced at the strange woman with
a half smile, thinking she would laugh. She
didn’t. In fact, it appeared that she didn’t find
the comment amusing at all. Before she
could respond, however, Kitty spoke to
Sebastian.
“I’m going out on the dance floor. Want to
come with, Sebastian?” And she walked
towards the dance floor, not before shooting
a strange glance at the other woman.

13. Sebastian sighed nervously and finished his
drink. He closed his eyes and took a deep
breath. He could feel the strange woman
looking at him, and even stranger yet, when
he looked back at her, her expression was
one of…sympathy?
“She likes you. I think you should know that.”
“How do you know?”
“I just…do. Does that make you feel better?”
Sebastian was surprised when he found
himself answer, “Actually…yeah. It does.
Thanks.”
The woman smiled again at Sebastian and left
the bar.

14. Sebastian joined Kitty on the dance floor and
the two of them danced for a while; not really
saying anything but enjoying each other’s
company.
After the song ended Sebastian spoke. “She
was kinda right.”
“Who was kinda right about what?” Kitty
asked.
“That woman. She was right about the whole
liquid courage thing.”
Kitty arched an eyebrow at him. “What do
you need courage for?”

15. Sebastian closed his eyes and bent her back in
a deep kiss, surprising Kitty.
When he was done, he blushed furiously.
“Sorry, I just…really wanted to do that.”

16. Kitty smiled at him, her own cheeks flushed.
“It’s about time.” He blinked, surprised at her
response.
“What?!”
“Sebby, I’ve been wanting you to do that
since the first time I met you. I was beginning
to think that you were never going to get
around to doing it.”
He felt a stupid grin spread out on his face.

17. He was going to lean in for another kiss, but
then he noticed Mrs. Crumplebottom looking
over at the two of them, giving them her
patented stink eye. She began hefting her
purse, testing to see if it would hit her
intended target when she whacked them.

18. Sebastian grabbed Kitty’s hand, and he found
himself holding it. “You want to get out of
here and maybe get some coffee or
something?”
Kitty nodded in response, and they both left,
managing to avoid a purse beating from Mrs.
Crumplebottom.

19. The two of them sat at a table in the nearly
empty coffee shop, both thankful that it
wasn’t bar close, so they could have a quiet
conversation without obnoxious drunks
interrupting them.
Rather, it was Kitty who carried on most of the
conversation. Sebastian found his thoughts
landing on Tristen. Actually, he was
comparing Kitty to Tristen. Kitty was funny,
intelligent, and well…pretty much a lot of
things that Tristen had not been. Those
realizations made him feel disloyal to his dead
wife, but the thoughts wouldn’t go away.
He blinked, startled, when Kitty snapped her
fingers in front of his face. “Earth to Sebastian.
Hello? Is there anybody in there?”
“Sorry, I was just thinking.”
“Well, that much is apparent. What about?”
“About…well…about how much fun I have
with you,” he said with a lopsided smile.
She smiled, pleased. “Let’s go to the photo
booth and get a picture of the two of us.”

20. They giggled a lot when the pictures were
being taken, striking weird poses. The
pictures came out goofy, but that just made
the two of them laugh more.
“Do you want this?” Sebastian asked Kitty,
hesitantly. He really wanted it for himself, but
he was willing to give it to her. But, she just
shook her head.
“Nah, you can have it. Maybe we can take
more another time?”
He couldn’t stop grinning.

21. They both looked outside and noticed that
the sun was starting to come up. Sebastian
sighed, not wanting the outing that turned
into a date to end. This thought was further
solidified when he saw Kitty popping her leg
up when he kissed her again.
“I can walk you home if you want,” he said to
her shyly, suddenly feeling very old fashioned.
“I would like that very much.”

22. They strolled hand in hand down the street
towards where Kitty lived. The sun rose over
the buildings in a flash of beautiful bright light,
despite the bit of drizzle that was falling down
upon them. The two of them stopped, awed,
and sat down on a park bench to watch,
comfortably cuddling with each other.
If I were looking for a sign, then I needn’t look
any further than this, Sebastian thought
happily.

23. When the magic in the air died down a little
bit, and the two of them saw people starting
to enter the park, they both realized that is
was way past their bedtime. Sebastian sighed
as he stood up, and held out his hand to help
Kitty to her feet. Pulling her into another
embrace, and still feeling very old fashioned,
he asked her, “Kitty, do you want to come
over tonight to meet my parents and have
dinner?”
Mentally reminding herself not to refer to
Ansley as an Ice Queen now or at any other
time in the future, she responded with a
smile. “Yes. I would love to come over.
Sixish sound good?”
Time agree upon and one last parting kiss,
Sebastian watched her leave. “I think I’m
falling in love with you Kitty,” he whispered to
her retreating form. Kitty stopped, turned
around and grinned.
“I know I’m falling in love with you,” she said
and walked away, very aware of the surprised
look on Sebastian’s face.

24. Before going to bed, Sebastian quietly
hammered a nail over his bed and hung the
picture of the two of them over his bed.
He fell asleep with a smile on his face.

25. Chapter Two
When he woke up and got ready for the day,
Sebastian would find himself whistling a
nameless tune. With a hop in his step, he
found his mother. “Hey Mom? Is it alright if
we have an extra person joining us for dinner
tonight?”
Ansley’s eyes widened and she smiled.
“Would this ‘extra person’ be the girl you’ve
been spending all of your time with?”
“How did you know I was seeing someone?”
Ansley laughed. “Mother’s intuition. Is she…”
she trailed off, not wanting to pressure him.
Sebastian understood the unasked question,
though. He smiled.
“She’s pretty special. I hope you like her.”

26. He was far more outgoing about the issue
when he told Hunter about his girlfriend
coming over for dinner tonight. Hunter was
also not very surprised. He had noticed
Sebastian’s general attitude change over the
last few weeks, but he smiled at his son’s
exuberance.

27. A little before six, Kitty strode up the walkway
to the Devereaux big house. She nervously
futzed with her hair. She could be as glib as
she wanted with Sebastian, but meeting his
parents was a whole different story.
Being a SimSelf, she knew exactly who
Hunter and Ansley were, but she sincerely
hoped that she wouldn’t slip up and reveal
how much she actually knew. That would be
a deal breaker.

28. She sighed nervously and jumped a bit when
she heard Sebastian say, “Don’t be nervous. I
know my parents will adore you.” She
smiled. Grinned actually. He was waiting
outside. Waiting for her.
He was so cute!
She ducked her head shyly as he held the
door open for her, and the two of them went
inside.

29. The initial introductions went well. Hunter
and Kitty took and immediate liking to each
other. After those two were introduced, Kitty
went into the kitchen to ask Ansley if she
needed any help. The two of them chatted
amiably while they prepared dinner.

30. “She seems nice Sebastian,” Ansley said to
her son as she pulled the fish out of the oven,
“I can’t help but feel that…oh for the love of
God! What on earth are you doing?” She
asked when she turned around.

31. “Mom. I’m checking to make sure there’s
nothing stuck in my teeth. How gross would
that be?”
Ansley rolled her eyes in an amused manner.
“Check after dinner. It would make much
more sense.”
Sebastian looked one last time before putting
the mirror away. “It doesn’t hurt to look you
know, just to make sure” he said with a smile
as he followed Ansley into the dining room.

32. Conversation at dinner was light and easy,
though Ansley kept feeling a familiar vibe off
of Kitty. She was silent through a lot of the
meal as she contemplated that vibe. Then it
clicked.
Kitty reminded Ansley of the author. She
peered intently at her son’s girlfriend. Like
the author, but obviously she wasn’t.
Sebastian wouldn’t know, as he never met the
author. Hunter wouldn’t either; as the author
had withdrawn by the time they got married.
But Ansley remembered, from her childhood.
Abruptly, Ansley asked Kitty, “What are your
intentions towards my son?”

33. Without missing a beat, Kitty caressed
Sebastian’s hand and smiled at him. “I intend
to make him happy, whatever it takes. And I
think he intends to do the same for me.” And
the two of them smiled again at each other,
making the young Ansley inside squick a little;
but the older, outside Ansley overrode it as
she contemplated Kitty’s answer.
She smiled. “Well, that’s as good of an
answer as any,” she replied to the happy pair.
Who was she to question when it came to
love?

34. The rest of the evening went by in a blur, and
soon it was time for Kitty to go home. The
three Devereaux family members waved
goodbye to her as she got into her cab and
drove off.
“Well?” Sebastian asked. He knew he didn’t
need their permission, seeing as he was the
controlling heir, but approval always made life
easier. Hunter nodded his approval and
Ansley gave him a rare hug.
“We like her.”
“Good, I’m glad you do. I do, too. An awful
lot. More than like, actually.”

35. The next evening Sebastian called Kitty and
asked her out to dinner, trying to keep the
nervousness out of his voice.
They both agreed to meet at the fancy
restaurant in downtown SimCity.

36. Kitty had a pretty good idea where it was all
going, and she knew what her answer would
be, but his shyness and nervousness still
made her smile. The fact that he didn’t know
how cute he was made him all that much
better.

37. As dinner progressed, Kitty began to grow
nervous. He didn’t propose while they were
eating, and he didn’t propose when he
toasted her (though that was awfully sweet).
She silently cursed herself for being a SimSelf
at the moment. If she were was vague as the
rest of the Sims in the world, she wouldn’t
feel as tortured as she did at that moment.
She sighed softly and then she noticed him
putting something on the table in front of her.

40. “Kitty, I feel like I can accomplish anything
with you by my side. Uh, I don’t know how
to say this in a Don Lothario type of way, but,
I love you and I would be so very happy if
you married me. Please say ‘Yes,’” Sebastian
winced, wishing terribly that he were just a
little bit smoother. His practiced proposal
had flown completely out of his head.

41. Kitty placed the engagement ring on her
finger and smiled gleefully at Sebastian,
holding his hand. “Yes,” she said, simply.
And I thought I would never be happy again,
Sebastian thought. I am glad I was wrong.

42. Later that night, Hunter was confronted by his
very happy son. Sebastian clapped his father
on his shoulder and gave him a thumbs up.
“We’ve got a wedding to plan, Dad.”
Hunter smiled back at his son proudly.

43. Chapter Three
“Daddy? Will Mommy be coming in for my
birthday party?” Tina asked her father.
“No dear. Your mother is on a hunger strike,
protesting against the lack of trees in
Pleasantview,” Trent responded to his
daughter.

44. “You should be very proud of your mother,”
he continued, “because if her protest reaches
out and touches the heart of even one
person, then we are that much closer to a
better, happier Pleasantview. These are the
sacrifices we must make, one person at a
time.
“So in that vein, your mother and I hope that
you enjoy the tree that we planted in your
name. That is our birthday present to you.
And now that you will be old enough, we
both hope that you will also join in our
cause.”

45. As Trent continued on, Tina looked at her
father doubtfully. Starving oneself for a
useless cause seemed rather….useless. Plus
she felt kind of bad that she was going to be
eating a birthday cake with her mother
practically killing herself in the next room
over.
As for Zane, he was very excited that his
mother allowed him to come over to Tina’s
house for her birthday party. He had been
certain that she wouldn’t let him. “So what
are you going to wish for, Tina?” Zane asked,
excitedly.

46. “Zane, silly, you should know that if you say
what you wish for out loud then your wish
won’t come true. Everyone knows that.”
Tina closed her eyes, silently made her wish,
and blew out the candles on her cake.

47. Zane closed his eyes and sighed when he saw
how Tina grew up.
“You’re so pretty, Tina!”

48. Tina smiled and bent down to hug Zane.
“Thanks squirt.”
After hugging Zane, she turned to her father.

49. “Daddy, is it okay if I go out with Alexander
Goth tonight? He said that he would pick me
up when I was done here.”
“I don’t see why not,” replied Trent,
“Alexander is a fine upstanding young citizen
with the interests of Pleasantview in mind.”
Zane looked on, disappointed. Tina’s
birthday party wasn’t over yet, and she was
planning on leaving anyway. He had hoped
that he could stay longer.

50. Tina, for her part, didn’t really care that
Alexander had ‘Pleasantview’s interests in
mind.’ What she DID care about was the fact
that he was a little bit older, had a car, and
best of all, just broke up with Lucy Burb.

51. Zane watched, disappointed, when Tina got
into the car that Alexander pulled up in. He
had been hoping that he and Tina would get
to spend time together.
But, he was just a kid, and now she was a
teenager.
Zane was jealous, and that feeling was
completely new to him.

52. “God, Tina,” Alexander said in a
condescending tone, “I would have thought
that by now you would have ditched Boo.
Really, what will people think? More
importantly, what would my father think?
You know how he feels about any Devereaux
family member. I do not think it would be
appropriate for you to socialize with such
trash. It will ruin your reputation, and mine.”
“Aww, Alexander, he’s just a little kid. He
can’t help…”
“Tina, if we are to see each other, I really
must insist.”

53. Zane watched as the car pulled away.
Alexander Goth didn’t like him. But that was
okay.
Because Zane was beginning to not like
Alexander. Not at all.

54. Chapter Four
Tina and Alexander went to the movie theater
to see the newest action movie. Tina wasn’t a
fan of them, but Alexander was, so she was
willing to go along with it. After they had
found their seats, Tina excused herself to use
the restroom.
As Alexander was sitting there, he noticed
Lucy sitting in the row ahead of him. He
leaned forward and tapped her on her
shoulder. He smiled and winked at her when
she turned around. “Hey baby doll. What’s
up?”
Lucy blushed and looked back at him, about
to respond when Tina came back.

55. “What’s she doing here?” Tina asked,
possessively. Lucy quickly turned away,
aware that Alexander was still looking at her.
Irritated that Alexander was not paying
attention to her, Tina asked him again, “Really.
I thought you broke up with her. Is she, like,
stalking you or something?”

56. Alexander quickly tuned to Tina. “Is this
going to be a problem? I told you that Lucy
and I agreed to see other people, to broaden
our horizons, but that we would still be
friends. Really Tina, your jealous attitude is
most unbecoming.”
Tina looked away. Alexander was one of the
most popular boys at school, so she didn’t
want to rock the boat.

57. That didn’t stop her from glaring at Lucy
though, when she saw Lucy hanging around
after the movie. Alexander was going to be
her boyfriend. Lucy had her chance; now it
was Tina’s turn.
Alexander paid no attention to either of them
as he walked out of the theater.

58. To prove her silent point, Tina pulled
Alexander in for a possessive kiss, making
sure that Lucy could see.
Oh, and to show anybody else who might be
watching, that she was with Alexander Goth.

59. Naturally, Alexander took it a step further,
taking Tina to a couch that was in the lobby
and making out with her there, disgusting
some of the more sensitive and prudish
patrons.
After while, he broke away. “Let’s go hang
out at the junkyard,” he said to Tina. Tina had
heard about what went on at the junkyard,
and while she was excited that she was finally
cool enough to go, she was still hesitant.
“I don’t know Alexander…”
“Lucy would have gone with me,” he
responded in a hurt tone. Tina didn’t notice
him looking at her sideways to see what her
reaction was.

60. It was because of the hurt tone and the
desperate need to fit in and be cool that Tina
found herself sitting on an old seat from a car
looking warily into a bottle of homemade
fermented juice. She looked around and saw
Alexander socializing with the other kids, and
some adults, completely ignoring her.
She shrugged and drank the juice. After all,
the cool kids were doing it.

61. What the cool kids were not doing, however,
was throwing up after only one bottle; a fact
that she was painfully aware of when she saw
everyone gathering around and looking at
her, laughing.
Miserably, Tina looked around for Alexander,
hoping that he would come over and soothe
her, or at the very least hold back her hair.
She didn’t see him anywhere. He had left the
junkyard with a bunch of his buddies, leaving
her alone.

62. Chapter Five
And so it went. Tina would spend a lot of her
days at school hanging on Alexander, and
then she would rush home from school to
change out of the uniform that even the
public school kids had to wear, so she could
see him at night.
Her school work was sub-par, considering
that Zane was no longer able to do it for her,
but her parents were too wrapped up in
whatever protest rally, or peaceful
demonstration they were participating in to
notice.

63. She did spend a bit of her time with Zane, but
that would be mostly because Alexander
would be late in coming over…if he came at
all.
On one day that it appeared that Alexander
was going to stand her up again, Zane started
to point out what he thought was an obvious
truth.
“He’s not a nice person, Tina. He’s mean to
you, and it makes you sad.”

64. Tina laughed and leaned over to tickle her
young friend. “Oh Zane, you don’t
understand how it is when two people are
dating. He’s not being mean; he’s just under
a lot of pressure. Did I tell you that he’s now
that captain of the debate team?”
“Yes,” Zane responded dryly, surprised at his
own tone, “you mentioned it a couple of
times. But…”
“But nothing squirt. When you’re older you’ll
understand.”
“Tina, I’m not that much younger than you. If
I were the same age, then I…”
“Come talk to me when you are, then. Oh!
Here he comes. See? I told you he wouldn’t
stand me up again.”
Zane found himself privately fuming.

65. He set his face into a complacent look,
something he was used to doing, and ignored
Alexander when he got shoved by him. “Beat
it Boo,” Alexander said meanly to Zane.
Tina looked on, feeling a little bad for Zane.
“He’s just a little kid…”
Alexander rolled his eyes. “Tina, I didn’t
come here to fight about a creepy little kid. Is
this what you want? I know Lucy would have
been concerned about how things went at
debate practice…”

66. Immediately Tina started giving Alexander a
backrub. “I’m sorry babe, that was
inconsiderate of me. What happened
today?”
As Alexander vented about his day, Tina
rubbed his back and made sympathetic
murmurings.

67. When he was done, Tina asked him what he
would like to do.
“Do you want to go dancing?” She asked as
she did an ungraceful dance move.
“You know I detest dancing”
“How about roller skating?”
“I do not know how. Is that what you would
like to see? Me falling down?”
“Maybe go to the park?”
“I am not in the mood.”
“Well then, what do you want to do?”
“Tina, why must I always make the plans?
Can you not come up with any ideas?”
And on this went.

68. After a while, she came up with the only idea
he agreed with. “Well, I guess we could just
stay here and you can make out with your
girlfriend,” she said as she held his hand. He
gave her a confused look.
“Tina, you are not my girlfriend. I mean,
perhaps some day, but right now, I do not
think I am ready to be in another committed
relationship.”
“Oh…” Tina trailed off, rather hurt.
“But, we can still make out. That was a good
idea,” Alexander replied magnanimously.

69. And so they did. Tina didn’t let on about her
hurt. She understood that he was just not
ready.

70. Chapter Six
Zane’s birthday came, but there was no
birthday party for him. His mother seemed to
have mellowed a bit, but he knew that asking
to throw a party would be pushing it. He
stood before his mother as she lectured him.
“Now that you are older, the time is drawing
near for us to carry out my plans to live at the
big house. I suggest, my son, that you do not
forget all that I have taught you.”
Zane forced a smile on his face. His mother’s
magic was gone, so whatever plans she may
have had died along with that loss. Of
course, he was not about to question her
about it, so he just nodded.
“Okay Momma…”
“Child, I do believe it is time for you to stop
calling me that in such a childish manner.
‘Mother’ will suffice.”

71. Zane just gave his mother a thumbs up,
which she looked at derisively.
“Okay Mom…Mother. Can I go over to Tina’s
house now?”
Lillian looked into Zane’s eyes and gave a
small smile at what she saw there.
“Of course child,” her smile widened a bit,
“have fun.”
Zane grinned back at her. “I will! Thank
you!” And he left the house, happily grinning.
Lillian looked after him, her smile turning into
a sneer. “Yes,” she whispered to herself, “I
suggest you have all the fun you can…”

72. Tina rushed to the door, thinking that it was
Alexander. He was a bit late, but he had
promised that she would see him that night.
Instead of it being Alexander, though, it was
Zane. She plastered a smile on her face.
“Zane, all grown up I see,” she said. Zane
smiled shyly.
“Yeah, and you said to come over and talk to
you when I did grow up. So, well, here I am.”
Tina looked at the clock and then shrugged.
“Okay, yeah, sure. Come on in. We’ll go up
to my bedroom and hang out.”

73. All of the pink was startling to Zane, but it fit
Tina. His visit was going well. Tina was aloof
at first, but as they began talking he could see
that she was truly interested in what he had to
say, a first for him.
The conversation turned to the Devereaux
family at the big house, and he told her about
what had happened when he met them. It
still stung a lot. He sighed unhappily.

74. “But, if you’re their grandkid, you would think
that they would have taken an interest in you.
They haven’t tried to contact you at all?”
Zane shook his head.
“No. I don’t think they liked me. My Uncle
Sebastian certainly didn’t. But I also think he
was sad about something. He and Momma…
er…Mother were yelling at each other. I don’t
know,” he finished miserably.
“So why don’t you call them? Maybe they
want to talk to you now.”
Zane blushed. “I don’t have a phone…”
“I do. Use mine right there. Tell them that
you want to see them again. I’ll coach you
on what to say if you get stuck.”

75. In an unladylike manner, Tina swung her legs
up and propped her feet on the top of the
canopy of her bed. She started snapping the
gum she had in her mouth as she watched
Zane pick up the phone, his hand trembling
nervously.
He hesitated a bit, looked at the phone in a
dismayed manner, and hung it back up. “I--I
don’t know their phone number,” he said
sadly. He walked towards the other end of
the room. Tina sighed, got up and walked up
to him.

76. “Ah, don’t worry about it. Maybe we’ll go
over there tomorrow and see them.”
Zane looked at her in an uncertain manner.
“We?” Tina nodded enthusiastically. She’s
always wanted to see the inside of the
Devereaux house, and now she might get
that chance, seeing as Zane was their relative
and all.
“Yep. We.” She put her arm around him. “I
think they will be happy to see you and they
will think you’re pretty neat.”

77. Zane looked at her happily. “You think I’m
neat?” Tina looked at him and shrugged.
“Sure, why not?”
He smiled even bigger. “I’m glad. Because I
was wondering, you know if maybe you and I
can be boyfriend and girlfriend. I wouldn’t
forget to come over and stuff like, well, like
how Alexander Goth does.”

78. Tina sighed and put her hand on his chin,
making him look her in the eye. “Zane,
Alexander is my boyfriend,” or he will be
eventually, she added mentally, “I can’t just
break up with him, you know that.”
Zane sounded disappointed when he
responded with, “Why not? He’s mean to
you. I wouldn’t be. I think you are the nicest
and prettiest girl ever, and I would tell you
that all the time.”
Tina sighed. “Zane…”

79. He leaned in and gave her a kiss on the lips,
interrupting her. He blushed shyly afterwards.
“I’m sorry. I really like you, and I don’t know.
I’m sorry.”

80. Tina sighed again and brushed her hand
across his cheek. “It’s okay,” she said to him.
“You’re cute Zane, you really are. Perhaps
you should go now, though. I have to call
Alexander and see what’s taking him so long
to get here. I’ll talk to you tomorrow though,
okay?”
Zane nodded and left with the familiar feeling
of disappointment in his heart.

81. But, when he was washing his hands after
using the bathroom, he caught a glimpse of
himself in the mirror. Peering intently a giddy
smile appeared on his face.
“She thinks I’m cute,” he whispered happily.

82. Chapter Seven
“Are you sure you want to do this now?” Lucy
asked Alexander with a look of concern. He
scoffed a bit before replying, “Better now than
later, otherwise she’s going to keep calling
and calling.”
The two of them waited on the doorstep
when they saw Tina come outside with a
happy smile on her face. “Hey Alexander, I’ve
been waiting…” she trailed off, seeing Lucy.

83. “Tina,” Alexander began in a strident tone,
“you and I can no longer see each other.
Lucy and I are back together so it would be
most inappropriate for me to continue
slumming the way I have been.”
Tina felt as if she had been slapped in the
face. “Slumming? What do you mean?”
Alexander rolled his eyes. “Surely Tina dear,
you must understand. Lucy and I make sense.
We both can trace our roots back for a
number of generations. The same cannot be
said about you. You have no roots to speak
of, and while that is not directly your fault, it is
still unheard of for someone like me to
continue seeing you. I’m sure you will come
to realize in time that this is for the best.”

84. Tina began screaming at him. “But you said
that you weren’t ready for a full committed
relationship with me! Why do you think you
are better than anybody else? You lost
EVERYTHING to ‘Project Pleasantview’! And
I let you…YOU WERE MY FIRST KISS!” Her
shriek echoed through the night.
Alexander leaned back and smiled. “Well my
dear, I was not going to mention it, but you
also lack class, which is an essential thing that
I am looking for when I reform Pleasantview.
I cannot be with a screeching harridan such
as you. Please calm yourself, before you
make more of a scene.”
Tina screamed even louder and stomped her
foot. Alexander just shook his head.
“Perhaps I should have not gotten involved
with you period. But you know what they say
about hindsight.”

85. As Tina turned to start yelling at Lucy,
Alexander heard a voice ask him, “Then why
did you get involved with her?”
He turned around and saw Zane glaring at
him with his arms crossed. He waved his
hand dismissively. “Nobody asked you for
your opinion.”
Zane continued to glare. “I will ask you
again. Why did you ‘slum around’ with her if
you knew that she wasn’t right for you? What
kind of person are you?”

86. Losing his own sense of propriety, Alexander
screwed his own face up into a mean glare
and shouted at Zane, “NOBODY ASKED
YOU FOR YOUR OPINION BOO!
NOBODY WANTS YOU AROUND. WHY
DON’T YOU JUST DIE IN A FIRE?!”

87. And then, he shoved Zane away from him as
hard as he could. Zane stumbled back a step,
but he was not as easily shoved as he had
been when he was a child.

88. Clenching his fists, Zane cocked back his
hand, ready to punch the daylights out of
Alexander. Before he moved his fist though,
he dropped it. Gritting his teeth, he shook his
head and said, “You’re not worth it.”
He ignored Alexander’s sputters as he went
over to Tina and gently ushered her into her
house, not bothering to look back at
Alexander or Lucy.

89. Tina was not better the next day. She sobbed
as if her heart was breaking and Zane had no
idea how to console her. He couldn’t
understand why she was so upset. Alexander
had treated her poorly and girls who were
attracted to jerks confused him, not having
the life knowledge that this situation was,
unfortunately, a common thing.

90. “He said he almost loved me!” Tina sobbed
as Zane rubbed her back. “He said he was
almost at the point where he would write me
poetry! And now he wants me to give back
all the presents he gave me, because he said
that those were signs of his growing
commitment and now that he’s not
committed to me anymore, he wants them
baaaaaack!” she wailed.
Of course, that was the stupidest thing Zane
had ever heard, but he said nothing of the
sort. “Maybe he just said that to make you
jealous?” he asked, lamely.

91. Tina’s head snapped up and she wiped the
tears from her face. “What did you say?”
Zane blinked and shook his head, “He’s not
worth it Tina…”
“What did you say about making me
jealous?”
Zane was confused. “I just said that maybe
he wants to make you jealous…”and he trailed
off when he saw her smile strangely.
“Zane, want to come with me to the junkyard
tonight?”
“Um…sure.”
Tina smiled even stranger, but she flung her
arms around him and hugged him.

92. At the junkyard that night, Tina and Zane
made their appearance. Nobody noticed the
two of them as she leaned in and started
whispering to Zane. “Is he over there?” She
asked.
Zane looked over her shoulder and nodded, a
sinking feeling settling in his stomach.

93. Lucy was sitting on Alexander’s lap laughing
as he brushed his hand on her bare leg. In a
playful motion, she shoved his hand away,
“Come on Alexander,” she giggled, “not
here.”
“Aww, come on Luce. Tina would have let
me…”

94. Tina led Zane by the hand over to the couch
where Lucy and Alexander were, making sure
that they were in plain site. Tina pulled Zane
to her and began kissing him.
Zane, stunned, kissed her back hesitantly.

95. Zane felt himself being torn away and shoved
by Alexander.
“What on earth do you think you are doing,
Boo?” Alexander asked, ready to throw a
punch at Zane. “Do you honestly think that
people will think you are less creepy if they
see you with a girl? Everyone knows all about
you. They know that you are a Devereaux, so
you are one of the people who cased all of
the trouble here. Making out with some
classless girl will not change the public
opinion.”

96. Tina stepped in and poked him. “Don’t you
DARE talk to my BOYFRIEND that way
Alexander! Zane is a much better kisser than
you are, so you’re just jealous.”
Both the boyfriend statement, as well as the
better kisser statement, was news to Zane.
But he felt the nauseous feeling in his
stomach go away, to be replaced by happy
butterflies.

97. Alexander just rolled his eyes. “You two
deserve each other. I most certainly am not
jealous. Why should I be? But believe me
when I say that you both are going to regret
this when I am running this town. Come on
Lucy, the smell of cheap perfume and
desperation is making me sick. Let us go.”
And the two of them left.
Tina and Zane stood there, both aware of the
stares they were getting. Growing
uncomfortable, Tina grabbed Zane’s hand.
“Let’s go back to my house.”
Things had not gone as well as she had
hoped.

98. Chapter Eight
Back at home, in Tina’s bedroom, Zane finally
was able to speak. “I’m your boyfriend?” He
asked confusion on his face, but hope in his
heart.
Tina looked him over in a calculating manner.
Alexander Goth was popular and was a real
somebody, but Zane…Zane had legacy family
connections. It was a win-win situation.
“Sure, why not,” she responded with a shrug,
“You were really my knight in shining armor
when you were dealing with Alexander.”

99. Zane was giddy as he grabbed Tina’s hand
and kissed it. “I always will be, if you want,”
he said to her sweetly. He saw her blush a
little, but that strange look in her eye never
really left.

100. He thought nothing more of it though when
she began kissing him vigorously. His own
heart thumping, he responded in kind,
happy…so very happy.

101. Both of them fell on her bed and continued
kissing. He paused and looked at her, smile
wide on his face. “I love you Tina,” he said.
Tina looked at him. Think how jealous
Alexander will be when he finds out, she
thought. She smiled at Zane and said, “That’s
nice,” and she turned off the light.

102. That was the shortest three hours of my life,
Zane thought happily to himself when he left
Tina’s house. Three hours of kissing made his
lips a little chapped, but he couldn’t help but
grin up at the stars as he practically floated
home, utterly and completely in love with
Tina.
He was her boyfriend. He had a girlfriend!
That thought made him clasp his hands
together and smile again.

103. Those happy thoughts were disturbed
somewhat when he entered his own house.
Something felt different. Zane unconsciously
rubbed his neck when he felt the hairs rise
upon it and he walked towards the front
room.

104. Lillian cackled at the look of astonishment on
Zane’s face. That part of her plan worked.
She had her magic back.
“Momma,” Zane said, reverting back to his
childhood name for her, “what happened? I
thought that you…”
He stopped and trembled at the look on her
face.

105. “Ah my son,” she began, “it appears that you
no longer love me the way you used to. That
is alright. I forgive you, for you see, you have
finally proven yourself useful to me.”

106. Zane felt tears fill his eyes. “No Momma, I
DO still love you. I never stopped, I just…”
“SILENCE!” Lillian commanded. “I will carry
through as I originally intended. I wanted this
to be easy, but time and again my plans have
failed.”

107. “But this time, I am successful. No one can
stop me from taking what I want.”
She began waving her wand at Zane, relishing
in the power that flowed once again through
her veins.
A burst of magic shot forward and enveloped
him.

108. “MOMMA! PLEASE! NO!”
***

109. As morning was breaking, Tina found her
mind a bit foggy, as if she had a dream that
she couldn’t remember. Chalking it up to
tiredness, she glanced over at the house next
door she looked at it in a pondering manner.

110. “Huh. I wonder if anybody is ever going to
move in and fix this abandoned place up. It’s
been empty forever!” Something nagged at
her mind again, but when she tried to catch it,
it disappeared completely.
Shrugging, she stepped onto the school bus
and went to school

111. Epilogue
In the time it took for me and Keith to settle
in, we learned a few things.
#1: A picture of dogs playing poker is always
classy, and should be the center piece of
every conversation.
“Too bad it’s not dogs playing Warhammer.
THAT would be classy.”

112. #2: Telemarketers will always find you, even
in the Sim world.
“I’m sorry, I don’t speak English. Goodbye.”
*click*

113. #3: Promises made should ALWAYS be kept.
“I thought we promised not to go to the
bathroom in front of each other.”
“Shhhh, I’m reading.”

114. #4: Cute toddlers are cute.

115. #5: Cute toddlers turn into cute kids who
have their mother’s sense of humor.
“That’s right! I’ll crush your head!”

116. #6: Keith still likes to strut around in his
underwear, no matter how inappropriate it
may be.

117. The best thing we learned of all though was
this:
#7: Makeovers are awesome, cheap and
easy; even when you have absolutely no skill
in Photoshop.

118. “So, there is no texture to this shirt. It’s just a
big block of black with the Order of the Stick
thing on it.”

119. “HEY! I’m proud of them! And I look
awesome…I mean, WE look awesome in our
new threads.”

120. Oh yeah. We totally do. And pay no mind to
the jar with dead butterflies in it…
(Keith’s shirt says “Your d12 cries itself to
sleep” and the d4 (triangle die) is calling the
d12 a Loser.)
(My shirt says “Your approval fills me with
shame.” We actually own these shirts in real
life.)
***
Thanks to Tribebohemian, author of “The
Victorian’s: A Legacy” (which can be found
on boolprop.com) for participating in what
she refers to as “Operation Save Sebastian.”
Those two are so freakin' cute in the game,
they make me want to gag...
Thank you all for reading and for your
awesome comments. See you next time.
Until then, Happy Simming!