The Smith Legacy: 3.4
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The fourth generation had settled into their dorm life pretty well. They'd all declared majors, they were meeting new people and making friends... Their dorm was huge and could accommodate all ten of them and more! College was pretty sweet thus far. Once she'd gotten completely moved in, Roxie decided it was high time to call up Norris, who'd already gotten settled into his own dorm. She smiled when she saw him walking down the way, but her heart sank into her stomach as he came closer. It was just as she had feared. Something had changed.
"Hey there, stud," Roxie smirked, hoping she didn't sound as odd as she felt. Norris only smiled in response.
"You look different," he said. Roxie quirked an eyebrow.
"Good different?"
"...Just different."
Roxie went to another one of her cousins, a pretty good friend of hers, Persephone Smith. She explained her odd little situation with Norris and asked her cousin for advice.
"Well, the two of you were high school sweethearts, right? You're not in high school anymore, Roxie. You've grown up. He's grown up. People change."
Roxie knew that already. So why did the thought scare her so much?
Despite Roxie's relationship problems, the others seemed to be doing just fine in their dorm. The siblings usually hung out with one another, seeing as they occupied most of the rooms in the dorm, but sometimes they chilled with the other kids, just talking about this class and that major and whatnot. It was nice to branch out. The younger siblings (mostly just the quads) also did try to spend time with their older siblings, the ones who left the nest before they'd ever gotten a chance to know them.
Sometimes they got a little too caught up in the other dormies to do that, though....
Tyler, who was part Romance sim, let's not forget, thought it was necessary to give the girls in his dorm something to get excited about. Every morning. And afternoon. And night. It was quite rare that Tyler would be caught wearing a shirt. It was also rare that any girl who wasn't related to him would see him without a shit on anyway.
Roxie was still caught up in her dilemma concerning Norris and their relationship. Persephone's words had calmed her down a bit, but she wasn't quite ready to take her cousin's advice, so she went to her older sister instead. Sam told Roxie to wait it out and not make any rash decisions right off the bat. Sure, her feelings for Norris had changed, but if she were to make a decision she would regret later, Sam knew Roxie wouldn't be happy with herself at all. Roxie decided to listen to Sam although she had the feeling that she already knew what she was going to do the next time she saw Norris...
Ara turned out to be very popular in college, which upset her a little. Well, it upset her that she was only popular because just about everyone thought she was gorgeous. Every time she walked into a room, there seemed to be a queue of people just ready to swoon for her. At first it was flattering, but it quickly grew annoying, especially when all these people tried to chat her up or get her attention. It also sucked that the great majority of these people were males. How could she break it to them nicely that she was only interested in women?
Eventually, after the Smiths had been in their dorm for quite some time--almost two whole semesters, in fact--they felt that it was time to pledge for the AHC House! It was definitely time to reclaim what was theirs. Sam, who initiated the pledging, felt even more strongly about getting into the AHC House after she saw what a mess the man her parents, aunts and uncles had left behind to take care of it. Nawaaf Collin was a mess, no doubt about it.
Eventually, all the kids made friends with Nawaaf and officially became part of the AHC family. Some of the girls tried to be a little more than friends with Nawaaf, something that would indubitably cause trouble in the AHC House. Nawaaf didn't seem to mind the attention, though. It'd been a while since he'd been with a Smith girl and they seemed to be just as gorgeous as ever.
Tyler's fan service methods finally paid off. He grabbed the attention of a lovely girl named Zoe and though they liked each other, it was nothing serious. Tyler was just happy to get some attention.
In other relationship news, Roxie had finally called Norris. It was the second time they'd seen each other since getting to college although they'd been going to classes for quite some time. If that wasn't a sign... "Nor, I don't think this is going to work out," Roxie started, sighing. She really did love Norris, and she told him as much. "It's just...I don't feel the same way anymore, you know? I think we've grown up. We're different people in different places and maybe it's time to give it up."
Norris took it better than Roxie ever imagined he would. It probably had something to do with the fact that he felt the exact same way she did. He was proud of her, that she was brave enough to say it first, without any kind of sneaking around. The two promised to stay best friends, which wouldn't be hard for either of them. It seemed that everything would be just fine.
Caitlin didn't hesitate to "comfort" Norris moments after he and Roxie parted ways. She, unlike her older sister, was still very much attracted to the alien boy and jumped at the chance to be anywhere near him. Norris still hadn't thought of her as anything more than a friend, but Caitlin was sure she could change that in due time.
Soon after Roxie and Norris' breakup, the siblings moved out of their crowded dorm into the AHC House! They were all really excited about the move and just inhabiting the same beds as Smiths before them had! Fiona pointed out that some of them would be sleeping in the very beds they were conceived in--nothing any of them wanted to hear.
Sam, who seemed to be the Olive of her generation, wasted no time in trying to get other students to pledge to the house. The AHC House was unrivaled on campus (much to the chagrin of the other single-sex frats and sororities), but Sam was not about to slack off and let the house's honor fall on her watch. Eventually, her siblings followed in her footsteps and started making friends in their classes and with the students who walked by. Anyone could be a pledge. The kids would need someone to look after the house once they all graduated--and Sam wasn't sure Nawaaf would be up for the job.
Speaking of Nawaaf...he was certainly up for another job, if you get what I mean. Many of the Smith girls were attracted to him (and he to them). Fiona and Nawaaf actually had the strongest chemistry, but Nawaaf seemed to be initially drawn to Alyssa and her charm. Alyssa sure didn't mind his attentions.
Roxie, who had started to move on from Norris, was upset that her ex-but-still-very-best-friend hadn't contacted her since their breakup. She wanted him to come over and see the house and hang out with her, but she was worried about their lack of communication. Initially, she'd been too stubborn to call him herself, insisting that if he wanted to hear from her, he'd call himself. But nearly a week went by with no word from him, so Roxie caved and called. It seemed that Norris simply couldn't strike up the nerve to call her.
He came over the next day, all smiles and laughs, and he and Roxie spent the whole day together just talking like old friends--mostly about how their college life had been thus far. It wasn't anything too heavy and Roxie honestly enjoyed it. She only hoped she wouldn't have to reach out to Norris every time she wanted to see him.
Alyssa's one night spent with Nawaaf left her with some pretty lasting consequences. Carver and Kittredge were not happy (but also not surprised) to see a pregnancy so early in the Smith's college careers. Alyssa fully planned to keep the baby even though Nawaaf seemed very nervous about the entire situation. Alyssa wasn't a Family sim at all, but she knew that this wasn't the first college pregnancy the family had been through and she was certain it wouldn't be the last. She would survive and be more than able to take care of her child.
Nawaaf's nervousness about Alyssa's pregnancy festered in unexpected ways. He turned his attentions away from Alyssa and towards her sisters, who were all too eager to accept his come-ons, despite their sister's situation. Roxie, who had been looking for some action since her breakup with Norris, was one of Nawaaf's first choices.
Sloppy seconds seemed to be the theme of the semester in the Smith house. Roxie was at least happy for Caitlin and Norris.
The same could not be said for Alyssa and how she felt about Nawaaf's relations with her sisters. She hated seeing Nawaaf with her sisters. How could they? How could he? Here she was, carrying his child, and yet, he threw his relationships with her sisters in her face constantly. Alyssa didn't know what to think or how to act, so she said nothing and just let it happen.
Everyone else in the house pretty much did the same thing. If anyone noticed any tension, no one commented on it. Instead, they took to the bubble blower and let all their problems fly away.
But for some reason, whenever he wanted to return to her bed, Alyssa always let Nawaaf back in.
Maybe that was why he thought he could get away with anything.
Tyler managed to stay out of trouble when it came to his lady loves, although since moving out of the dorms, he'd had more than a couple of female visitors join him in the hot tub outside...
And finally the day came for Alyssa to go into labor!
She gave birth to a lovely baby girl named Eliza. Eliza had Nawaaf's (and her grandfather Clay's) brown hair, but her mother's striking green eyes and pale skintone. Alyssa thought she was the most darling thing in the world, even if her relationship with Eliza's father was...complicated.
Eliza's birth didn't seem to change anything in Nawaaf's attitude either. He didn't suddenly want to change for his child. Heck, he hardly was a presence in her life, never mind a father figure! He continued gallivanting around the house with Roxie, stealing kisses anytime she was near, or flirting up a storm with Fiona or Samantha... Alyssa was more at a loss than ever. She had secretly hoped that Nawaaf would want to reform for Eliza's sake, but as the days went on, it became clearer and clearer that he had no such interest. It didn't seem like Nawaaf wanted to be in Eliza's life at all.
Still, there were those moments. Alyssa was only human and oddly, so forgiving to the father of her child. Deep within her, she wanted them to be a little family. An odd trio that clicked. But she had to face the reality; that would never happen. Nawaaf only came to her when he couldn't get his action from other sources. In fact, Alyssa was beginning to think that even when he could get his action from other girls, he came to her just to rub it in her face that he could come and go as he pleased. And Alyssa, who didn't understand why for the life of her, always let him back in. Always.
No matter what he did.
No matter with whom he did it.
And no matter where he did it either.
Fortunately, her other sisters weren't so forgiving. The dynamic in the house was certainly an odd one. Nawaaf had carried on relations with Alyssa, Roxie, Samantha and Fiona, but hadn't touched the other girls in the house. Even if Ara had been straight, she most definitely would've avoided him and the drama that followed in his wake. Phoebe just wasn't attracted to the man (and certainly didn't get why her sisters were). Leya was too focused on her studies to have any time for romance (or at least, that was her excuse), and Caitlin... Well, even Caitlin couldn't help but fall for Nawaaf's strange charm.
Sam was not a fan.
Nawaaf must have realized that he was slowly tearing the sisters apart, but he seemed not to care. There was something about him, about his total lack of consideration for others, that inspired the sisters to do the same and throw caution to the wind. Fiona arguably had the strongest attraction to Nawaaf (and the best chemistry) and she sometimes used that argument in her defense, but Fiona was also a Romance sim. There was hardly a guy in LFT she wouldn't go to bed with. So why did she have to pick the guy that got her sister pregnant?
Speaking of baby Eliza, it was time for her first birthday! Nawaaf was allowed to take her to her birthday cake only because Alyssa was out of the house. He wasn't too happy about it at first, but Eliza's coos and giggles softened his heart and he found himself warming up to the child a little bit. Had he been missing out on moments like those the whole time?
Eliza aged wonderfully, looking almost like the splitting image of her father. Nawaaf was a little weirded out by it. It struck him then that he truly was a father and that he had helped to bring this bundle of joy into the world. A small pang of regret and guilt struck him in his gut as he thought about his actions concerning both Eliza and her mother. But a little guilt wouldn't be enough to right any of his wrongs and Nawaaf seemed to understand this. At least, he wasn't thinking of asking for forgiveness or trying to correct his ways.
No, Nawaaf was not asking for redemption at all. He was unapologetic about all of his actions and it was this attitude that incited Samantha and caused her to attack him in front of just about everyone in the house. Sam had initially been wary of Nawaaf only to later succumb to his charms, but she had been the first sister to truly see the error in his ways. She was tired of this man coming in between her and her sisters.
Unsurprisingly, Sam won that fight. Not only did she have the betterment of her family in mind, but she was also about ten times stronger than Nawaaf could ever even dream of being. You know, robotic genetics and all.
The aggression didn't stop there, though. Sam still had a lot of fight within her. She took to snapping at Nawaaf, especially if he as much as looked in the general direction of any of the Smith girls. It got so bad that the girls took to avoiding him completely to avoid Sam's deathly glares. He couldn't even ask them the time of day!
Sam's method seemed to work, because within the week, Nawaaf had given up and moved out of the house. He was still technically a member, but he'd be graduating that year and moving back to Eden anyway, so it wasn't as if he could guard the house until the next generation swooped in. Besides, Sam didn't want him anywhere near the next generation.
Still, his move took a toll on the house dynamic. Now the sisters had no one to blame for the tension but themselves. Alyssa wasn't keen on making her sisters feel guilty, weirdly enough. She just wondered how she was going to explain all this to Eliza once the young girl was older. There was no easy way to tell Eliza that her father was a no good womanizing bastard who left her and Alyssa for his own selfish reasons.
Meanwhile, Ara was having a little romantic drama of her own. She wasn't technically out and it was hard to be when she had so many male suitors coming after her. But she was slowly developing a crush on Susie the cheerleader, a former pledge who had fulfilled her pledge duties and was ready to come into the house as a full member. Ara was torn between asking Susie to move in and not--if Susie moved in, it would no doubt make things awkward. It was well known that Susie was bisexual, but tended to go for women. With Susie in close quarters to her, Ara didn't know if she could handle herself. It was bad enough with Susie visiting just about every other day.
So Ara distracted herself with her lovely niece, who was ready to age once again! The Smiths couldn't believe so much time had passed already. It was almost time for them to graduate and Eliza was about to become a child! That made her an almost fully functioning and independent sim. It really was almost too much for Alyssa to handle. She'd been calling Clay over on a weekly basis to see Eliza so that he didn't miss his granddaughter growing up. Clay certainly appreciated it; it made the main house seem a little less empty when he returned to it, alone.
So time went on in the AHC House, as time always does. The siblings found new ways to bond with one another and with Eliza. They found new people to share their beds with. They found new ways to cram for their finals and still get amazing grades. And somehow, they managed to stick together and still have fun through it all.
Towards the end of their junior year, the kids started going out on campus in groups a lot more often. For some of them, they wanted to try out the activities and facilities that the LFT campus had to offer. For the rest, there were other things on campus they wanted to occupy their time with...
No matter what they were going out for, the Smiths always came back to the house happy and fulfilled.
Though it was strange for Alyssa to be such a young mother, she looked at Eliza--who seemed to be growing up alarmingly fast--and she often wondered what it would be like to have more kids, this time with a father in the picture. And not just a father for her kids--a husband for her. It was thoughts like those that prompted her to call up her own high school sweetheart, Marvin Hurt. Marvin had graduated from LFT a while before Alyssa had even arrived and had since moved back to a suburb of Eden.
They'd been such good friends, even before they were lovers, and Alyssa realized how much of Marvin's life she had been missing. She didn't think it was too late to right it though. They small talked for a bit, mostly about Marvin's budding career in Politics. Alyssa had no idea he'd been aspiring his entire life to be the Mayor of Eden.
But before she knew it, more of Marvin's new life without her just came crashing down upon her. "Okay, Alyssa. We both know why you called me here tonight," Marvin said sternly, the smile gone from his face. He crossed his arms and in that movement, Alyssa caught the glint of gold on his ring finger. It seemed to have been a purposeful move.
"Oh."
Marvin left soon after that and Alyssa felt more hollow than ever. Even her first love had moved on from her. Was she to be alone for the rest of her days?
In other (more pleasant) romantic news, Ara finally struck up the courage to approach Susie and ask her out on a date. Susie accepted with little hesitation.
The girls got along famously. Ara couldn't have been happier. Finally, she had found a woman. And not just any woman, it seemed. But only time would tell for the couple.
Soon, junior year came to a close and the siblings started their senior year of college. This was it. They couldn't believe the time had passed so quickly! It seemed like only yesterday they were young, impressionable freshmen trying to get their heads around life without their parents, but now they were almost full-fledged, completely independent adults. It was a lot to process.
The Smiths never truly forgot their roots either. Nawaaf's move also helped the family get back on track. Only Smiths inhabited the AHC House--which was the way it was meant to be--and it was a beautiful thing. They got together every night, no matter what, when Jasper cooked the whole house a delicious meal and just talked about their days, the way any family should. It was those moments of pure pleasure and calm that made the Smiths really appreciate what they had.
Of course, not everything could be perfect. Living in the desert really took its toll on the Smiths, who were not exactly used to the harsh rays of the sun twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. A particularly sweltering day caused some unhealthy heatstrokes, leaving some of the Smiths sick and exhausted for days.
And maybe it was the sudden relief from the heat, or maybe it was love, but something caused Ara to one day get down on her knee and propose to Susie--in the rain. Susie accepted (with no hesitation this time) and made Ara the happiest woman on Earth.
A different woman had managed to capture Jasper's attention and make him quite happy himself. Sure, Nerissa was high maintenance, but Jasper could deal with that if her wants truly made her happy. She was a charming, beautiful, smart and witty woman--Jasper was almost certain she was the woman he wanted to marry.
The Smiths were heading quickly into the second semester of their senior year and they still hadn't picked out a caretaker for the AHC House. Ara took matters into her own hands and asked Oliver Schweber if he'd want to pledge for them. Oliver said yes right away--he was an old family friend after all. How fitting that he would end up guarding the AHC House for the family.
Fiona managed to get herself inducted into the LFT Secret Society--the first Smith to join the society in two generations! It was really quite the honor, but everyone wondered why Fiona in particular was chosen.
Nearing her teen years, Eliza spent most of her time in the house skilling and reading books. Because it was always summer at LFT, that meant she was constantly on summer vacation and had an abundance of time on her hands. At the rate she was going, she would max at least two skills before her mother graduated.
Once Oliver hung around the house a little more often, it became obvious why Fiona had been chosen to enter the Secret Society. She knew quite a lot of people, just from swapping spit with them. It was no secret that Fiona was both a Romance and Pleasure sim--and easily the most promiscuous of her siblings, so it was easy to connect the dots. However, her little rendezvous with Oliver could potentially cause some trouble.
Especially seeing as his pledge period was over. He was now officially a member of the AHC House (moved in and everything). Fiona was just glad that he was also a Romance sim and understood that once she left the house, their little fling would be over. At least, she hoped her understood that. Apparently, Oliver had had his heart broken by a Smith girl before...
He got his own little makeover and was more than happy to look after the house once the current generation graduated.
Then again, what didn't he have to be happy about?
All too soon, it was time for the Smiths to graduate! Leya, as the oldest, was the first to go.
Her party was a sweet success, especially when she finally got a little romancing of her own. It had taken all of college for Leya to get her head out of her books, but her efforts had surely paid off! Now it was time to really go out and live her life.
She sure was going to miss living with all her siblings though. It felt weird to know that they wouldn't live under the same house ever again--unless they decided to room together. In all likelihood, Leya could see she and Tyler doing something along those lines. That was, if she (or he) didn't end up being heir...
Speaking of Tyler, his graduation party came next and he also got some sweet tender loving as a kind of parting gift, so to speak.
Perhaps he and Zoe would see more of each other once they got back to Eden.
The next graduation party was Alyssa's...but an uninvited guest dropped by in the middle of the festivities.
Apparently, Eliza had passed out from heatstroke and no one had discovered her for quite some time.
Luckily, Alyssa managed to plead to keep Eliza and the social worker gave her one more chance. That was all Alyssa needed.
Once the party was over, she grabbed Eliza and their things and headed back to Eden, still a little shaken up by the social worker's visit, but still optimistic about her future with Eliza.
The next to graduate was Ara, and all through her party, there was love, romance and sex flying all about the air.
Ara got to introduce Susie to Clay and announce their engagement at the party. Everyone broke into applause and catcalls and Susie and Ara's smiles stayed on their faces until it was time for the party to end.
Ara was truly excited to go back to Eden. She'd enjoyed college life despite what drama there had been, mostly because she'd met Susie, but she was also excited to really get into gear and start her own life. Whether she was heir or not was really not that important to her; she just wanted to focus on building her own legacy, whether that meant in the main house or not.
Sam was the next to go and she continued the trend of finding a surprise lover at her graduation party. It must've been nice for the kids to release whatever sexual tension they'd gotten all wound up and to have their last real college hurrah, absent of real responsibilities or repercussions.
However, it didn't seem like Sam's new boyfriend would be leaving her side anytime soon. Sam was okay with that.
The next to go was Roxie. Her party was short and sweet, even if rather uneventful. As much as she would've liked to be heir, she wasn't sure if she was ready for the pressure. She was still discovering herself and it would be hard to really come to terms with who she was if she was supposed to find a spouse from the get-go and do that whole family and settling down thing.
Fiona graduated after Roxie. She spent most of her party making out with Oliver. The other half of her party was spent explaining to Oliver that she would likely never see him again.
Caitlin's graduation came next and her main guest was Norris, who was more than happy to spend all his time with her in the hot tub in the back.
Caitlin kind of really wanted the heirship, for no other reason than for the attention. She also missed her father terribly and the main house had so many memories for her. It would've been great to be able to return to that and build her own family there.
Phoebe threw her graduation party the next day and although she didn't get any, her guests more than made up for her lack of action. (Mind you, that's Janet Leelaporn and Joel Smith up there. They are second cousins.)
Phoebe didn't seem to mind though. She grew up into a rather odd outfit, but I think it signified just how ready and eager for adventure Phoebe always was. She was definitely the sweetest of her siblings, never minding anything and never getting in anybody's way. The scientists were actually pretty worried about how her siblings would fare in life without her there to calm them down or mediate potentially violent situations...
Jasper was the last to leave and he spent his entire party with Nerissa, his beloved. The night they spent together only reaffirmed Jasper's thoughts that Nerissa was the one for him. Perhaps a proposal was in the near future?
Jasper hoped that wasn't all that was to come. Being heir wasn't the most important thing for him, but it would've been nice. He'd certainly become a lot sweeter and more agreeable through college and he thought he deserved the title. He also wanted Nerissa to live in the main house; he was sure she would love it.
So the fourth generation graduated college. It seemed like only yesterday Leya, Tyler, Alyssa and Ara had been born in the AHC House. (Sam had also been conceived.) Now it was time for them to continue their legacy elsewhere. But who would get to be the heir?
You decide! Heir polls will go up here (on LJ), on Boolprop and on SWG! Get your voting fingers ready!