Gen 2 Ch 6: Fallen Star

The following days were absolutely fantastic for Bloom. He and Matilda had finally exchanged phone numbers and were meeting on a regular basis now. Usually at one of the many nightclubs, but often at the museum, talking for hours about art and painting.
 Work was going well too - Bloom had been promoted yet again. He was now getting known for his own work at the studio, rather than his coincidental run-ins with celebrities. Everything was great, until...

Rainy days were not uncommon in Bridgeport. But this particular one was a day that the Sims of the city would not soon forget. Bloom was working at the Simtendo office in the SBC building when he looked out the window.

Sure, it was overcast, but he had never seen clouds shut out the sunlight so completely. People started running for the elevators and down the stairs. Not knowing what was going on, Bloom followed them.

As he ran out of the building, he could only catch a quick glimpse of something enormous flying by overhead. Then there was a deafening noise.

A giant meteor had fallen from the sky and crashed right through the office building!

Bloom still could not comprehend what had just happened and wandered aimlessly around the building, singed from the meteor's deadly heat.

Many good Sims died that day.

Some of them, Bloom had met in passing in the hallways of the building.

Others were well-known celebrities.

Bloom could only watch in horror as the Grim Reaper took each of them, one by one.

It broke Bloom's heart to see Renee Littler, the mother of two whom he had met on his first day in town, beg for her life. The Grim Reaper knew no mercy.

The damage caused by the meteor was enormous.

The following days were a blur. The office was closed indefinitely, which was just as well, because Bloom could not have dragged himself out of bed had the world depended on it. The first time he left his apartment was on the day of the memorial service for the victims of the meteor.
He was much too late, however, and found the graveyard deserted when he arrived.

They had put up the meteor itself atop the graves. Bloom was too caught up in sorrow to ponder the possible tastelessness of it.

He stood there for a long while, thinking about all the Sims this city had lost that day. Most of all, he thought about Renee Littler and her children, and he couldn't help but cry.

As he walked back to his apartment building, he barely felt the icy chill that had crept over Bridgeport in the past days.

Bloom had survived. But feeling so empty inside, he might as well have died that day, he thought.

He immersed himself in reading his mother's research notes on PlantSims, even if his mind was often so distracted that he had to keep reading the same page over and over again.

 
Bloom's nights were spent in a restless slumber.

And so were most of his days.

His greenleaf plant slowly wilted, forgotten in the corner.

Bloom wasn't even able to take care of his own needs. His shower had broken days ago and with no energy to fix it or even call a repairman, Bloom felt his own body slowly wilting as well.

One night, Bloom was awoken from his dreamless sleep by a loud CRACK from the direction of his desk. His computer had broken as well. Looking idly at the sparks coming from it, Bloom was about to drift back to sleep when something else caught his eye. The sun-cut lapis lazuli.
"Don't let anything keep you from being happy."
Suddenly, he jolted upright in bed. Enough was enough.

He made his way over to the bathroom, holding on to furniture he passed by to steady himself. He had gotten weak. He needed water.
In the bathroom, he discovered an ability he had not known he had. He was able to absorb water through the soles of his feet! Ah, it felt good to be hydrated again. His mother would be excited to learn about this, too!

Thinking about his mother brought his siblings to mind, and Bloom instantly felt a little more energized. His siblings! Beryllium had given him one of her crazy potions for his birthday, had she not? Yes, here it was!

Bloom gulped it down.

He immediately went to work on fixing the bathtub. It took him mere seconds! This potion was incredible! Bloom had no idea about plumbing whatsoever, but right now, he felt like he could repair anything! He did the same to his broken computer, watching in amazement as his hands seemed to do all the work on their own.

Next up was the poor greenleaf.
"Here you go, buddy. Sorry to leave you hanging for so long."

Then he gathered up the dirty laundry that was strewn all over the floor of the apartment.

When he checked his phone, he was shocked to see all the calls he'd missed! Most of them were from Matilda. He called her back immediately and they arranged to meet downtown.

"Bloom, I'm so glad to see you! The meteor... it was all over the news. Are you all right?"
"Yes, I am... I mean, I wasn't for a while. But I am now."

"I knew you were alive because they mentioned your name as one of the survivors, but you never picked up your phone and I don't know where you live, so..."
"I'm sorry, Matilda. I... I...", he still couldn't bring himself to talk about the events of that day.
"It's alright, Bloom. We don't need to talk about that now. Let's go and have a couple of drinks!"

As they sat at the bar, Bloom could not take his eyes off of Matilda. It felt so good to see her again! It was as if all the gloom of the past days had vanished.

While Matilda knocked back yet another drink, Bloom made a quick call to his parents, leaving them a message that he was alright.

They danced for hours, and Bloom let himself get lost in Matilda's violet eyes once again.

It was a great night. They even met the pop icon Lola Belle - she was so famous that even Bloom knew about her! She was actually great to talk to and they bonded - yet again - over Bloom's love for games. She knew Simtendo through her son Jupiter, and Bloom promised to get her some merchandise for him.

Matilda really held her juice well, and Bloom felt completely safe with her as she drove him home.

"Now you'll finally know where I live!"
Bloom couldn't stop admiring Matilda's kind face while they were waiting for the elevator.

"Well, this is it!"
Boy, was he glad that he had cleaned up the place earlier! He watched nervously as Matilda took a good look around.

"It's a really nice place, Bloom!"
He released the breath he'd been holding.
"It suits you.", she said, smiling.

"I missed you.", Matilda whispered, as Bloom pulled her into a hug.

"I was so worried, Bloom. You never answered your phone. I even tried calling your office, hoping to find out where you live, but of course there was no one picking up there either..."

"But now you've found me and I've found you, Matilda. And I'm never letting you go again."

And finally, finally Bloom felt alive again.















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Author's notes: I was so shocked at the meteor strike! The first time for me, ever! (And I've played a lot!) I was barely able to take the few screenshots I got, I was so surprised. It was all so sad and terrible. I debated quitting without saving, but no. This is Bloom's story. I'm just glad he survived ;_;

Also, look at that cheeky Grim Reaper: