Gen 9 Ch 7: We're So Different

Somehow Icarus and Amy had maintained a friendship through their divorce, though their contact was sporadic and mostly by mail.

Amy‘s latest letter informed Icarus about the few days their children had just spent with her in Parisim. She had been mostly busy with work, setting up her first solo fashion show, but the teens had enjoyed exploring the big city on their own. Jodie had returned home with dreams of traveling the world, while Julius had been glad to get back to his usual routine.

Icarus still couldn‘t help but wonder sometimes what life would be like had he gone with Amy. But these days, the tinge of regret was gone from that thought.

*

Jodie darted around the kitchen, scrambling to get everything ready before her guests arrived. Her dad had always been far from strict, but getting permission to throw a slumber party on a school night was still pretty special.

Jodie couldn‘t wait to spend the night playing games, eating snacks and gossiping with her friends. After all, they had to keep the rumor mill churning. Jodie was particularly excited because she had invited a couple of girls she was only vaguely acquainted with. She hoped to become closer friends with Shirley Marshall and to get to know Gwendolyn Mason—their parents were cousins, but Jodie had never exchanged more than a few words with Gwen.

As the guests trickled in, Jodie set out the snacks and they all started playing a new multiplayer game her dad had bought. The party was off to a great start! But things were about to take a turn…

Julius, ever hungry after his workouts, strolled into the living room and grabbed the last vegan hot dog off the tray.

"Hey, get out," Jodie protested, "No boys allowed!"

Shirley raised an eyebrow. "Well, you‘re not gonna like this then," she said, nodding in the direction of the door, where the next uninvited guest strolled in.

Donovan Marshall scratched his head, utterly confused. "Uh, Rosa? Why are you tutoring me here today? And why are we wearing pajamas?"

"Nevermind that, Don. Let‘s get back to your homework," Rosalinda Riffin sighed. As handsome as Donovan was, there wasn’t much going on beneath that perfectly disheveled hairdo of his.

Jodie was just about to ask Rosa to take her tutoring session to another room, when Julius came back with his own notebook. This prompted several other people to sit down and ask Rosa for help with their homework as well.

Jodie frowned, desperately trying to figure out a way to get her party back on track, but she was soon distracted by another arrival.

Malcolm Midden gave a a small wave. "Hey Jodie," he smiled, "Thanks for the invite."

Jodie had, in fact, not invited Malcolm, but at this moment she silently thanked whoever had. There was something about seeing Malcolm in his tank top that made her cheeks grow hot. But before Jodie could compose herself and strike up a conversation, Julius swooped in.

"What are you doing in my house," he demanded of a very startled Malcolm.

"Y-your house?" Malcolm stammered, "I thought this was Jodie‘s—"

"A-ha! So you admit to knowingly crashing an all-girls slumber party?"

"I…I…" Unfortunately, poor Malcolm wasn‘t astute enough to point out that Julius was technically doing the same.

"Your brother is so protective of you," Mary Lambert, who was also watching the exchange, whispered to Jodie, "It‘s really cute!"

"I think you mean annoying," Jodie scowled.

Having sufficiently irritated his little sister, Julius decided to retreat to his room for the rest of the night. He didn‘t even take a slice of the pizza that had just gotten delivered, despite its tempting aroma.

Lance Bedlington caught up with Jodie on her way to the bathroom upstairs and handed her a bouquet of yellow roses.

"For our gracious hostess," he said.

Jodie had never gotten flowers before and didn‘t quite know how to react. She brought them to her nose, took a whiff and smiled, "Thanks, they‘re pretty."

"They‘re no match for your beauty," Lance said, not missing a beat.

"Uhm…thank you." Jodie felt her cheeks flushing for the second time tonight. Lance was pretty cute. "You…look really nice yourself," she managed.

They parted, as Jodie actually had use the bathroom urgently. While she "freshened up", Jodie‘s thoughts wandered far, picturing a shy first kiss under twinkling stars, holding hands on a tropical beach somewhere…but her imaginary romance was short-lived.

She made her way downstairs, just in time to see Lance giving Gwendolyn another bouquet—red roses this time—and the same line he had fed Jodie minutes before.

"They‘re no match for your beauty," Lance said. Gwendolyn giggled.

Jodie harrumphed and stomped past them. How many times had Lance used that pick-up line before? And where was he getting all those flowers from anyway?! He was wearing pajamas, for plumbob‘s sake!

On that note, Jodie decided it was bedtime and crawled into her sleeping bag. It was a school night after all.

This did not seem to phase Lisa Bedlington, who spent the entire night hacking the family computer; nor her brother Lance, who continued to hand out multiple bouquets to every girl in attendance. All his efforts did not net him a date, however. As it turned out, he already had a girlfriend, Alyson, who had no idea what her boyfriend was up to.

Despite Jodie‘s disappointment, the next morning the guests collectively decided that the party had been a success.

Malcolm Midden evidently had the most fun out of everyone, despite his unpleasant encounter with Julius. He stayed up all night reading, then spent the morning playing in the sprinklers outside, almost missing the school bus.

When Julius came downstairs, he instantly regretted not taking a slice of the pizza the previous night. As it turned out, none of the guests had either, leaving the perfectly delicious pizza to spoil on the kitchen counter overnight. What a waste!

***

A warm summer breeze brushed across the fields as the sun neared the horizon. The sky glowed pink, but Icarus only had eyes for Ralph.

They had decided to have a small, private exchange of vows to reaffirm what they already knew in their hearts: they were going to spend the rest of their lives together.

Ralph‘s speech was well-planned and beautiful, about thinking he‘d never find love again, only to realize that he‘d had it all along.

Icarus had prepared a few words as well, but he was so nervous in the moment that he completely forgot them. So instead he blurted, "It’s crazy, we’re so different—you‘re into turn-based JRPGs and I like action RPGs—but no one gets me like you do."

Ralph would tease him about it for many happy years to come

_____
A short chapter, to finish a short generation 9! Thanks for bearing with me as I stumbled through this one :)

Jodie rolled the wish to throw a slumber party and I happily obliged, only later realizing that it was a Thursday! I went and blamed Icarus for being an indulgent parent, but it‘s entirely my fault. The party was pretty much all autonomous and a good example of why I love Sims 3 parties. A glorious mess!