#in my head brindleton bay is just the suburbs of san myshuno

[softerpixels]

with kori's third trimester rapidly approaching, she and rocco figured it was probably time to look into moving. as much as kori loves the city, raising two kids in san myshuno is expensive enough without adding a third into the mix. they decided that it was probably time to invest in a home. preferably one upstate so that the city's never too far.

[victorluvsalice]

Sims Challenge Wednesday: Fallout 4

And for my second challenge -- one themed around the settlement-building mechanics of Fallout 4! Because that felt like a better fit than trying to do the main plot. . . here we go!

Fallout 4 Sims 4 Challenge

Premise: It was all going – fine, you suppose. Sure, you were living in an embarrassing imperialistic and xenophobic nation, which was fighting a terrible war with the other superpower over the last of the oil reserves in the world, but you yourself were doing good. You had a nice home in a little suburb, you could take advantage of personal domestic robots, you were getting enough to eat despite the food shortages – all in all, your life was pretty okay!

And then some asshole had to go and drop the bombs. By sheer luck, you’d been admitted to nearby Vault 111 mere minutes before the alarm sounded, and you made it there just in time. The staff there was very friendly too, telling you that your new life underground could start just as soon as you were decontaminated in these weirdly-cold pods. . .

210 years later, you wake to discover that:

a) you were totally lied to and you’ve been frozen for the past two centuries as part of some mad experiment

b) you are the only survivor of that experiment – everyone else’s pod failed, and a revolt by the security staff six months into your freezing means they all either died or skedaddled long before you woke up

c) oh, and the revolt was over dwindling food supplies, so you can’t even stay in the vault, you’ll starve

So out you venture into the world, to find – hmmm. People seem to be surviving, but they could probably use some help. Good thing you’ve got nothing but time on your hands. Time and the desire to make proper homes for the new friends you’re finding. Time to build a settlement and make it something this post-War world can be proud of!

Now if only you could shake the feeling you ought to be looking for someone. . .

This is a challenge loosely based around being the Sole Survivor of Fallout 4, specifically being the General of the Minutemen and building settlements. The goals are to build up the world of Brindleton bay from some ramshackle farms into a bunch of thriving settlements, create and manage a club for helping others and improving the world, and defeat the nasties that are making life harder for everyone else.

Packs required: Get Together, Get To Work, Cats & Dogs, City Living, Eco Lifestyle, Cottage Living, Island Living, Discover University, StrangerVille

Your Sim: Create your “Sole Survivor” in CAS. They can be a Young Adult or Adult, and have any traits. However, they are only allowed to have two outfits – a set of everyday wear (for everyday, formal, athletic, party, hot weather, and cold weather), and a set of underwear (for sleeping and swimwear). They will get more clothing as they survive out in the world.

Optional: Rather than start right out of the vault, you may play a brief one-week “pre-War” period with your Sole Survivor to gain some skills and whatnot. The Military or Law career is recommended if you want to follow the actual given backstories of the Fallout 4 Sole Survivors (Nate and Nora respectively), but you’re welcome to give them whatever pre-War occupation you like.

Their World: Set up the rest of the save file as per these guidelines:

Go to Brindleton Bay and wipe out all the existing architecture – you can keep the pre-made families, but not their houses. The apocalypse has happened, and the world has got to look the part! (If you really want, you can keep the lighthouse on Deadgrass Isle, but give a makeover to look wrecked.)

Pick one lot in either Sable Square, Whiskerman’s Wharf, or Cavalier’s Cove to serve as your “Diamond City” marketplace. This should include a small bar, a small clothing store, a grocery stall, a food stall, and whatever other stalls and vending machines you think your Sole Survivor could use to survive out in the wasteland.

In a different neighborhood to “Diamond City,” pick another lot to serve as your “Goodneighbor.” Build a lounge there (The Third Rail) with a bar, microphone for a singer, and plenty of seating. If you want, you can double up and have your lounge in the basement and put a little spa-type building (The Memory Den) up top. Feel free to throw in a goodies stall too.

All remaining mainland lots should be residential, and need to have the “Off The Grid” and “Simple Living” lot challenges enabled. You may enable other lot challenges or traits at your discretion (“Filthy” is recommended, given the state of post-nuke Boston in Fallout 4).

Pick two residential lots on the mainland (in different neighborhoods) to serve as “raider outposts.” Build up these lots to have three or four beds under minimal shelter, and off-the-grid compatible appliances. Each of these lots should have three or four Sims on it, all with either the “Mean,” “Hot-Headed,” “Kleptomaniac,” and/or “Slob” traits. Put all these Sims into a “Raider” club (you may choose your own gang name) and set their club activities to encourage them to “Be Mean,” “Fight,” “Swipe Items,” and “Sabotage Items.”

Set up the remaining residential lots with the bare minimum for survival: If the lot has Sims living on it, make a small hut for them to sleep in, with just enough beds for everyone, and one outhouse with a toilet and sink. No working lights, and they must have only a small fridge or cooler. If the lot doesn’t have Sims living on it, you can only have two beds maximum, and no food source at all. You can build whatever structure you wish there. Regardless of whether or not it is occupied, each residential lot must have a woodworking table, and an outdoor cooking station of some description. Other crafting items (candle-making, juice-fizzing, fabrication machine, robotics station, etc) may be placed at your discretion.

Choose an uninhabited lot for your Sole Survivor to start on – once they are moved in, set their money to zero.

Goals: Your Sole Survivor is looking to complete the following:

Build up every empty residential lot in the world so it can support at least five Sims, one pet, and one robot helper

Improve the occupied residential lots so everyone has adequate food, water, and shelter

Complete the Master Maker aspiration

Complete the Leader of the Pack aspiration as the “General of the Minutemen” and build up the club to full strength by befriending the other “settlers” in the world

Defeat all of the raiders in fights and force their club to disband

Rules:

Your Sole Survivor cannot have a normal job, as those just plain don’t exist anymore. They must earn their “caps” via selling things they have found or made (or, with the right traits, swiped) to other Sims, or via doing Odd Jobs for the people already living in the post-War society.

Your Sole Survivor is only allowed to purchase basic build mode items (e.g., walls and wallpaper, floors and flooring, roofs, doors, windows, columns), animal sheds, chicken coops, and basic pet supplies (food bowls and beds) directly from the catalog. Everything else must either be obtained by scavenging (dumpster diving for items or harvesting wild plants), building it themselves (making furniture at the woodworking table or using the fabricator), or “purchasing” it at the DC marketplace (either by genuinely buying it from a stall or visiting the lot and spending money on SOMETHING to represent a shopping trip). This includes clothing – you may either visit the marketplace once every three days to buy a new outfit for any category, or “scavenge” one by finding something that could reasonably contain clothing from a dumpster.

In order to increase the variety of their scavenging, your Sole Survivor may visit the Bramblewood of Henford-on-Bagley, or go on brief vacations to Granite Falls. Other locations depend on if you can make them look suitably post-apocalyptic (for example, creating a post-apocalypse Newcrest or Forgotten Hollow shouldn’t be too hard, but I think you’d be hard-pressed to justify San Myshuno!).

Your Sole Survivor must build up every lot in their world to the standards of a good settlement – enough food, water, and sheltered beds for all residents, along with power for items that may need it: Food is produced by farming crops and owning livestock. A small crop counts as 0.5 units of food; a tree or over-sized crop counts as one unit of food; a chicken coop with at least four chickens, a cow, or a llama counts as two units of food. (Yes, you are strongly encouraged to regularly trade animals for meat – or, if you feel bad, ingredients and produce.) You must have enough units of food to cover all residents (so a minimum of six). Water is produced by setting up dew collectors or water generators. Each dew collector or water generator counts as one unit of water. You must have enough units of water to cover all residents (again, a minimum of six). Sheltered beds are beds in an enclosed area with a roof. There must be one bed per Sim – you may use double beds, but they only count as one bed for one Sim! (Think of it as making sure there’s “spare beds” for anyone passing through who may stay overnight – Fallout 4 has traveling traders, after all!) Power is generated by generators, solar panels, and wind turbines – each provides one unit of power. You don’t technically need any power on your lots, but it will make your settlements happier if you can actually power things like salvaged TVs and computers.

Once a settlement is set up with all the basics, if it is empty, your Sole Survivor should go out and find homeless Sims to populate it. You may move the Sims in normally, or ask them to be roommates – though given your Sole Survivor will be moving to each settlement in turn to “renovate” it, it’s recommended you move in at least one Sim normally to look after everyone. Once you have all the human Sims, your Sole Survivor should adopt a stray cat or dog, then build a helpful robot to help with gardening, repairs, or generally just keeping people happy. Optional: If you have the Dream Home Decorator game pack, you may, at your discretion, allow your Sole Survivor to join THAT career and make use of it to renovate the lots of settlers who already live in the world. Given how buggy the pack is reputed to be, though, I’m not sure how much I recommend this! (Though I guess if you’re just willing to go room by room, since those gigs seem to work relatively well. . .)

Your Sole Survivor needs to form the “Minutemen” club to help out others in the wastes, by befriending other Sims living in the world and inviting them to join. The club’s required activities should include any of the activities from the following list: Be Friendly Tend Animals Tend Garden Fish Woodwork Work Out Build Robots Fabricate Objects Fight (Raiders)

Related, your Sole Survivor needs to get rid of the Raiders making life harder for the people just trying to survive in this world! Have regular fights between your Sole Survivor and their Minutemen versus the Raiders and keep track of the winners and losers – once each Raider has been bested in at least one battle, disband the club. Your Sole Survivor will then take over their outposts to turn them into functioning settlements. The Raiders themselves can either be moved out or rehabilitated and allowed to live in the new world so long as they don’t start too many fights.

Optional Hard Mode – Expand The Map: More space, more problems – rather than setting up in Brindleton Bay, set up in WINDENBURG. You are allowed two community lots to build up “Diamond City” and “Goodneighbor” in this instance, and a third of your choosing.

Optional Hard Mode – Join The Clubs: Your Minutemen are not the only faction out there in the Wasteland – there’s three others, and oh look, they all seem to hate each other. Set up three other clubs, one each for each of the mainland neighborhoods:

The Railroad – required activities “Debate,” “Hack,” “Be Mean (Institute),” “Be Mean (Brotherhood of Steel).”

The Brotherhood of Steel – required activities “Swipe Objects,” “Work Out,” “Be Mean (Railroad),” “Fight (Institute)”

The Institute – required activities “Build Robots,” “Use Science Objects,” “Fight (Railroad),” “Fight (Brotherhood of Steel)”

All members of these clubs should live and hangout on the same lot (The Old North Church and its basement for the Railroad; the Boston Airport for the Brotherhood (though if you think you can make the Prydwen, go for it); the CIT Ruins and the labs beneath it for the Institute). Make sure they all dislike each other, and make them all “invitation only” clubs. Your Sole Survivor needs to join all of these clubs, work toward becoming the leader of each other, then decide who stays and who goes based on your “ending:”

Railroad Ending – Disband the Institute and the Brotherhood of Steel once you’re the leader. Exile the members of each from the world.

Brotherhood of Steel Ending – Disband the Institute and the Railroad once you’re the leader. Exile the members of each from the world.

Institute Ending – Disband the Railroad and the Brotherhood of Steel once you’re the leader. Exile the members of each from the world.

Minuteman Ending – Disband the Institute once you’re the leader – at your discretion, the members may keep their lot, though they have to give up their basement labs and live in the ruins up top. The other two clubs may remain depending on how friendly their members are with your own Minutemen club. Check everyone’s relationships with each other – if the majority of either club hates the majority of the Minutemen, that club must be disbanded.

Given the size of this hard mode, I would recommend running it in tandem with “Expand the Map” above so you have more room to breathe with each club!

Optional Hard Mode – Automatron DLC: Create a placeholder Sim, get their Robotics up to ten, have them make a Servo, then kill the Sim and either let the Servo live on the lot alone or have them wander as a homeless NPC. In order to get access to the Robotics station, your Sole Survivor must find and befriend this Servo.

Optional Hard Mode – Vault-Tec DLC: One of your lots is not a traditional settlement, but an unfinished Vault-Tec vault! This settlement must be built entirely underground, and does not have any beds, water, or food when your Sole Survivor arrives. However, it does have at least three generators for power! Also, the first Sim you recruit to live there must have either the “Good” or the “Goofball” trait.

[therichantsim]

I have come to love Brindleton Bay. I have two empty lots left but a world I constantly forget about is Windenburg and it’s a beautiful world with many different style neighborhoods. I think for my legacy story Windenburg will be a neighboring state near Brindleton Bay. There are 27 lots there and I have only used two in my legacy save. 
In my head and my story San Myshuno is Washington, DC. Newcrest is an affluent suburb in P.G.County, Maryland and Brindleton Bay is Northern Virginia. All the smaller worlds are neighboring suburbs/cities like, Magnolia Promenade/ Glimmer Brook/Forgotten Hollow (daylight mod)/Granite Falls. Pretty much these worlds are used for commercial lots or temporary lots. 
Evergreen harbor, I know is somewhat modeled after Washington State but story wise it’s a neighborhood in Baltimore City/County. Britechester is just a college town on the outskirts of San Myshuno.
Sulani and Selvadorada are tropical worlds like Hawaii and South America. West coast is Del Sol Valley, Oasis Springs and Strangerville. They are like LA, Palm Springs and Nevada.
I know it’s a game but my brain has a hard time reasoning with gameplay style in a story geared towards realism. Which if I’m really being honest spills over into my gameplay. I’m out here trying to make geographical sense in this head of mines.

[zoeygreensimblr]

Mine (Episode 12)

Monday morning, 9am and Mrs Caliente decided would be a great time to call an "Emergency" year 12 assembly

"Today officially marks 4 months of your time left in year 12" She reminds us, as if none of us are counting down the days until we are free of this place. "For some of you it will be time well spent studying for your upcoming exams but there are others who will waste this opportunity and will crash and burn so close to the finish line"

"Such a motivating speech" Cassie whispers to me and I can't help but laugh. I swear the teachers at this school spend their weekends thinking up inspirational speeches that do nothing to inspire any of us to try harder, it's just time in which we could be doing what they keep harping on at us about, studying.

"From today there will be no more new modules taught in any subject" She continues and we all cheer, "But this time will now be devoted solely studying and revision. Extra tudor time will be offered before and after school as well as a lunch times, use the tools we have on hand wisely students and you will go far."

"She realises Winter break is next week right" Cassie asks me, "Im not spending my whole time in Del Sol Valley with my nose in a book, I'm coming back with a tan, even if I have to fake it, then Sam might look my way". We both look at Sam, sitting a few rows back from us, his nose in a book and we giggle

"We have a special announcement from your school captains, Teresa and Declan, the floor is yours" Mrs Caliente says, handing the microphone to Tess.

"What is up Year 12", My sister, always the professional captain, I swear she just does the role for the attention it brings her and the roaring crowd proves my point, "We are 4 months away from Formal and tickets will go on sale at lunch time today and will be available for the the next 3 weeks only so get in quick because we need to pay our deposit to Myshuno Meddows and there is no refunds on tickets. Partners are welcome too but alcohol is not" This last part is met with booing from the crowd.

"Is Angus taking you to the formal?" Cassie asks excitedly

"I haven't asked him, I'd love for him to take me but he's 22, I doubt he wants to spend the night with the whole year of 18 year olds" I confess

"We could bring it up today at training if you want to, like in a subtle way?" Cassie suggests and I like that plan, that's Cassie for you, she's great at finding stuff out without asking directly

"That sounds great. Are you going to ask Sam to formal?" I ask her

"No, I'd rather just go stag than embarrass myself getting rejected by Sam" She laughs, "How was your weekend with Angus? Did you do anything fun?"

"If I tell you a secret can you not tell Tess?" I ask her

"YES!!! Must be pretty big for you to keep it from Tess though, you two share everything" She's excited to know something Tess doesn't but I know I can trust Cassie to keep a secret.

"I slept with Angus" I tell her, her eyes go wide

"You had sex?" she asks

"Yes, Saturday Night" I fill her in on all the details, what it was like what he said, what I said, our bath and the sheets.

"Why haven't told Tess though?" curiosity gets the better of her

"She will tell me it's too soon" I tell her

"But she has been on board with You and Angus from the beginning, she even jokes about you sleeping together" She reminds me

"She made a big deal about waiting a year to sleep with Declan, she may joke about Angus and I but I know how she would react and I don't want to subject Angus to Hurricane Teresa coming after him" I explain

"You wanted to do it though right? He didn't pressure you?" She says sounding concerned

"It was always my choice, the whole way through, he gave me opportunities to stop, many times and I didn't want to" I assure her

"He's so dreamy" she says

I'd never kept a secret from Tess before but I felt like I had to, to protect my relationship.

We caught the train to San Myshuro in the afternoon, Angus was out the front of the gym when we arrived, phone to his ear, deep in conversation, he looks angry and I can hear him getting frustrated with whoever is on the other end, he looks up and sees us walking towards him.

"I'm at work, I'll talk to you later in the week" He tells the caller, his tone is so angry, it scares me a little but the anger fades once we are in front of him, the others wave at him and walk inside to check in but I hang back, I need to know that he's alright. He pulls me in for a sneaky hug and I look into his eyes.

"bad day?" I ask him

"Little bit" he says, kissing my forehead

"Wanna talk about it?" I offer

"It's OK, you've got enough on your plate. How was school?" He's changing the subject.

"We have reached the 'study and revision' part of the speeches they want to drum into us" I complain

"They're not wrong though, it's important" He reminds me

"Not you too, I just want to feel less pressure" Now I'm getting frustrated

"Sorry baby" He apologises and kisses me, "Does that help?"

"Yes, thank you" I hug him tightly and then walk inside and notice the absence of Annabelle, when I question Angus he just tells me she's off sick.

"We should go shopping for Formal Dresses on Saturday girls, I know we have 4 months but still can't hurt to start looking" Cassie throws into casual conversation mid training

"Zoey and I will probably need that 4 months to pay dress off so yeah, I agree we go on Saturday. That ok with you Zo?" Tess asks me as if I really have an option to say no

"As long as it's not too early" I request

"Why? Do you have a hot date the night before? Did you know Zoey has a boyfriend Angus? And she spends all weekend with him and now I'm all alone" Tess says playfully

"Ah, I'm right here Tess" Declan reminds her

"I haven't heard a thing about Zoey's boyfriend" Angus plays along, "Did he ask if he can take you to the formal yet?"

"I don't think that would be his thing, hanging around a bunch of kids" I say shyly, hoping he will sense still how much I want him to accompany me but I feel like I can't ask him

"I think he might surprise you Zoey but only if you want him there" He says

"I want him there" I tell him and he smiles that cheeky smile.

"Ugh get a room" Tess laughs at us

"Declan is Sam going to the formal" I ask for Cassie

"No idea Zo, we're guys, we don't really talk about anything other than how the Llama's played on the weekend" Declan explains, "Oh by the way Angus, thanks for Sunday, seeing a game played on a screen that big was unbelievable"

"They're playing a home game this Saturday, we should go, I've got a box. Ladies, you're welcome to join us after shopping" Angus suggests, Declan is fully on board for seeing a live soccer game but the rest of us couldn't imagine anything worse

"Zoey, Declan was very impressed my car" He tells me, flashing that cheeky smile, "I even let him drive it"

"How does it not do it for you Zo?" Declan joins in on teasing me

"Maybe I'd be more impressed by it if Angus would let me to drive it" I tell them

"Can you drive Zoey?" Angus asks surprised

"I can but.."I'm too embarrassed to tell him, luckily Tess is not so shy about throwing me under bus

"She failed the test 3 times before passing, can't drive outside of Brindleton Bay because traffic scares her and can only drive auto" Thanks Tess, always there to show off my flaws, "Whereas I passed first go in a manual" She talks herself up

"An over confident driver doesn't make you the best Teresa" I tease her, knowing she hates when I use her actual name but she just laughs at me

"You can drive my car" Angus tells me before adding in "We'll go to suburbs though, not in the City"

"You're a brave man Angus" Tess teases him

"I'm an insured man Teresa Green" He fires back and Cassie shoots Tess a look of shock

"Wait, your surname is Green, as in Trees are Green?" She laughs loudly

"No, My surname is Lothario thank you very much" She corrects Angus, "I had the common sense to change that a few years ago"

"Why is yours still Green then Zoey?" Cassie asks me, "You hate your father for what he did, why still carry his name?"

"Because I don't want to wait 8 hours at City Hall, spend hundreds of dollars and have to fill out a stack of paperwork just to become Zoey Lothario, Don knows I love him and consider him our father, he's ok with it" I explain, adding "Anyway I only want to change my surname once in my lifetime" I put my head down, feeling silly for my own admission in front of Angus.

"Run Angus, run" Tess teases, adding to my insecurity but Angus saves me by telling the others

"Why would I ever run from this girl? She's gorgeous" and I blush, he's being my hero and I love him for it.

Our session is done for the day and we get ready to hit the showers.

"Can I borrow you for a moment before you go tonight?" He asks and of course my answer is yes.

I let the others know I won't be long and Angus walks me to his small office, he closes the door behind us and steals a kiss from me.

"I got you something" He tells me

"You didn't have to do that Angus" I explain to him as he hands me a small box, I open the box and inside there is a beautiful gold necklace with a diamond encrusted 'Z' charm, "I love it, thank you but I feel bad that I have nothing to give you". He takes the chain from the box and places it around my neck, clasps it and kisses my neck softly

"You gave me you're ultimate gift on Saturday night so I wanted to get you something to show you that you are special to me and I appreciate what you gave me, I love you Zoey" He explains

"I never thought of my virginity as a gift that I was giving, for a long time I'd viewed it as a burden, it showcased my inexperience" I tell him

"I like your inexperience, It's like I'm the captain of a ship and I get to help you discover yourself" He says and I know exactly what he means, this is all new territory to me but he's always there to guide me.

"I love you Captain Angus" Tell him, kissing him and he spanks me lightly. I love how sweet and cheeky he can be.

On my way out of the room I spot the photo of us from Sulmi, in it he's kissing me on the cheek, we look good together I must admit

[zoeygreensimblr]

Enchanted (episode 2)

I woke up well before my alarm went off, every muscle in my body felt like it was being pulled apart. How do people do this exercise thing and just love it? This is torture and now this trainer guy wants us to do personal training 3 times a week, ugh kill me now. Stupid Angus with his stupid pretty face making it impossible to say no to. Stupid Tess for roping me into this stupid pack, I swear she just wanted to see me suffer while convincing me "It's for the greater good, think of how fit we will be come Summer". Stupid Summer, I can't hide under layers when it's boiling hot. Curse everything!!!

I reach for my phone to shut off my alarm and I notice I've got a text message from a number that I don't know.

See you at 4pm, looking forward to it

Clearly it's been sent to me by accident because, lets face it, I very rarely make plans with anyone and if I I do then I spend all week trying to think up ways to get out of them, Im just going to reply and tell them they have the wrong number.

This is Angus BTW, Your personal Trainer

Great, Mister perfect is a morning person who sends early morning messages reminding his victims he hasn't forgotten he scheduled more torture.

Upstairs I can hear Tess dancing around the kitchen as she makes her breakfast. Tess is also a morning person, it's extremely annoying when you're a night owl like myself and you get woken up by the sound of her singing out of key.

The dancing has stopped and has been replaced the sound by her shoes stomping down the stairs

"Zoey, wake up, we are leaving in 30 minutes" she bellows down the hall "and pack your gym clothes, we have training after school and I don't wanna have to make a trip home and then back into the city, it's easier to go from school"

"Im up, going to shower now" I reply, while I still lay there knowing she won't leave without me

My door flies open suddenly and she's now invading my space with her perkiness.

"you're not up at all, get up!!! Did you see Angus' texted us, I'm so excited to start personal training, arn't you?"

Why must she be so happy all the time?

"Im sore Tess, all over, maybe I shouldn't go today, I'll start PT on Friday" Please Tess, please hear my plea, don't make me go back there but no, she doesn't listen to a word I've said, instead she's shoving my gym clothes into my school bag.

Im up, Im showered, Im ready for school and it only took 40 minutes.

We attend a very elite private school in the heart of Forgotten Hollow. I love going to school here, Tess and I share a great group of friends and Im a straight A student.

Tess' Boyfriend Declan meets us the the school gate, just like he has done every day since he and Tess started dating in year 9, he kisses her on the cheek and greets me with a wave.

"Our personal trainer has a thing for Zoey, I know it, Im never wrong about these things" Tess greets him every morning with useless information that he pretends to take an interest in.

"Way to go Zoey" He enthuses, as if he really cares

"He doesn't have thing for me, he was just being friendly to get us to sign up for his stupid torture sessions and now we have to go back there again this afternoon so he can whip us into shape" I moan

"Tess we have school captain meetings after school today, did you forget?" Declan reminds her.

"Oh shit, I did forget, sorry Zoey, you're facing the torture chamber alone today, don't worry, you'll be fine though" she said, not looking one bit apologetic, she's almost laughing, "You should see Zo in front of this guy Declan, she goes bright red and he just keeps staring at her, he's so into her"

That afternoon I board the train alone to San Myshuno, arriving at the gym just before 4. As Im checking in at the reception desk Angus comes running up to me.

"No Tess today?" he asks and Im left wondering if he's somewhat disappointed that he's realised he's going to be stuck attempting to make conversation with the socially recluse twin

"She forgot she had a meeting to attend today so Im sorry but it's just me this afternoon, did you wanna cancel?" I struggle to get my words out through bouts of shyness creeping in.

Please say yes, we can cancel and wait until Tess returns.

"That's ok, her loss is your gain because now you get me 100% to yourself for a whole hour. How are you feeling after yesterday's session?"

"If I can be honest with you, Im hurting a lot, everywhere"I reply, in the hopes he will send me home to rest.

"I thought you would be sore today but you put in an amazing effort last night, you should be proud of yourself, Im really proud of you, Ive had a lot of women run away mid class and never come bak but not you, you stuck it out, that shows you've got stamina" He flashes me that million dollar smile and I feel my face going bright red, "Ok, lets get started, I'll take things nice and slow with you today, due to the recovery pain you're in"

He leads me to the treadmill and starts me on a low setting, just as promised.

"We're going to be working pretty closely together a lot so what do you say we work on kicking this shyness to the curb too? Lets get you to be a strong, confident woman"

The redness is creeping back into my cheeks, why does he care if I'm shy and not confident?

"We can try but I can't make any promises, I'm socially awkward, Tess is the social butterfly, she loves going to parties and to clubs whereas I'd much rather sit at home binge watching Grey's Anatomy" Why am I volunteering information about being a wallflower? He's going to think I'm such a loser.

"McDreamy and McSteamy are the way to any girls heart" he laughs "I love a good binge watch myself"

"You watch Grey's Anatomy?" I ask, shocked, Ive never met a guy who likes Grey's, but to be fair I don't really talk to many boys, just Declan and only because he's always hanging around Tess.

"I live with my older sister and she's somewhat obsessed with it, she rewatches it every Summer and we only have one TV in the apartment so I'm also forced to watch it too" He laughs, "Do you like movies?"

"I love movies, it's one of the only times I enjoy leaving the house, when something new comes out. I sometimes think I just go for the popcorn though" I reply "what about you?"

"I also love going to the movies but I don't go for the popcorn" He explains "I usually bring my own snack, I don't do carbs, Im just really careful about what I put in my body" He winks at me like I'm in on some secret joke. Is he flirting with me? Is this what flirting is? No way, he's just being cocky, I'm sure of it, Who would flirt with a sweaty introvert who just admitted to carboloading as an excuse to see a movie?

Ive got a plan, if I just stop talking then he will stop talking and I can just stop overthinking everything. I blame Tess, she got into my head with this whole "He likes you" bullshit that she carried on with. I wish Tess was here so the focus wasn't all on me. Why did she have to be popular and be voted in as School Captain? Why couldn't she just think of what coming here alone would do to me.

My plan is working, he's not even trying to talk to me, he's typing something on his phone. Good, just stay focused on your phone buddy, no more chatty chats to Zoey.

My plan lasted all of 3 minutes, he looks up from his phone and asks "Your surname is Green right"

"umm, yeah"

"and it's Zoey, spelt with just an E or EY?"

"EY, why?"

"Im just searching for you on simstergram, oh yeah, there you are. Following and I expect a follow back"

"Do you also expect interesting content too because you will be sadly disappointed" I throw in my own wink at the end and he just laughs.

As I'm about to leave I see that it's started to snow, it wasn't even forecast to snow today, it's been unseasonably warm since the middle of last week so I didn't even consider to bring a jacket. The train station is a 10 minute walk from the gym and the another 15 minute walk to my house. Im going to freeze if I go out there without cover. Best to wait inside and call Don to come pick me up. I pull out my phone and start typing in my home number, hoping that he's home, when I hear Angus behind me.

"Oh wow, it's snowing.How are you getting home Zoey?"

"I was going to catch the train but I didn't bring a coat so Im just going to call my step dad and ask if he can come get me"

"From Brindleton Bay? That's crazy, I'll take you home"

"Oh no, you don't have to, that's well out of your way"

"How do you know Im not already going that way?"

"I just assumed you lived in San Myshuno when you mentioned you live in an apartment"

"ah, umm, yeah I do but really it's no trouble, you were my last client for the day anyway and I'll just be going home to an empty house, my Sister is travelling at the moment, so I really don't mind and it would give you someone to talk to on the way home, although Im sure Im no substitute for Tess"

"Tess could talk under water, I swear." I laugh "well as long as you're sure it's no trouble. I'll call Don though and tell him we are having a guest for dinner, can't have you driving me all the way to Brindleton Bay and back in the snow on an empty stomach"

He smiles "Thanks Zoey, you're a sweetheart"

Here comes the blushing again

The traffic leaving the city is congested with everyone finishing work at 5 and heading back to the suburbs and the snow storm is picking up.

"I wouldn't be surprised if we get a blizzard tonight" Angus muses

"I would love that, Tess and I have a tradition of watching movies and getting drunk in our basement on nights of a blizzard because school get cancelled for the next day"

"That's awesome. You two are really close hey?"

"Yeah, she's not just my twin sister, she's also my best friend. She pushes me out of my comfort zone all the time, which can be annoying but she's always got my back whenever someone pushes me around"

"she pushed you into coming to the gym didn't she?"

"Is it that obvious that I don't want to be there?"

He laughs, "Ah yes but I think you'll slowly warm up to it. I hated it at first too but I had a lot of weight that needed to come off, not like you, little miss petite"

"Are you seriously trying to convince me that you didn't always have washboard abs?"

He looks at me, raising an eyebrow "Have you been checking me out Miss Green?"

SHIT!!! I've somehow stumbled into unknown territory, flirting, I can feel my breathing becoming more rapid, I'm going to have a panic attack, which is not unknown territory but Im trapped in a car with a virtual stranger.

"Oh fuck, Zoey, shit, I can't pull over, just deep breaths hun, in and hold it then out" He's trying to not get panicked himself as he's trying to calm me down and it's working.

A few moments of silence pass until he asks me "Does that happen often?"

"unfortunately yes" I tell him, embarrassed. "I just get overwhelmed with some social interactions"

"like flirting?"

"Yeah, I don't  flirt, ever"

He looks over at me again and says with a smile "We're gonna work on that"

We arrive at my house just as the storm starts to get worse. We make a mad dash to the front door where we are greeted by Tess, who is obviously amused with the whole situation.

She yells out to our Mother Ruth and Don "Zoey brought a boy home"

I could kill her, I really could, she has no tact but Angus just laughs like he's in on her joke and I just roll my eyes.

Don ventures out from the kitchen to greet today's unexpected dinner guest, he use to Tess bringing Declan for dinner but this is a first, Zoey with a boy.

Don reaches out to shake hands with Angus, "Hey, Im Don, Zoey and Teresa's step father, their mother is around here somewhere" He turns around to yell out to mum

"Ruthie, come meet Zoey's friend" he turns back to Angus "Sorry, I didn't catch your name"

"Angus, Angus McKennzie"

Tess and I exchange looks, we didn't know his surname until now either.

"McKennzie? You're not Imogen McKennzie's younger brother are you"

Angus smiles, "Yes, how do you know Immie?"

"We were high school sweethearts back in the day, I use to help her babysit you, you've certainly grown, granted you were only around 2 or 3 back then" Don explains

"Oh look out, old Donny boys got his throw back thursday voice on" Tess muses and I laugh. We love Don but he does like to go on, a lot, about "back when I was in high school"

"Girls, stop picking on Don, he's cooked us a lovely roast for dinner" My mother says as she enters the room. "Hi Angus, welcome to the mad house, these two like to stir their step father non stop"

"He loves it" Tess and I say in unison.

"What's Imogen up to these days anyway? I imagine she's still travelling the world and  breaking hearts" he laughs to himself

"well it's funny you say that, she's on a jungle adventure in Selvadorada right now but she'll be back in a few months. We own the gym together and coming into summer we get an influx of new sign ups so I'll need her help real soon"

Tess and I again exchange looks, He owns the gym?

After dinner, Tess and I do the washing up and Don goes outside to look how much snow has fallen, he comes back inside and informs us that the streets are covered in a thick blanket of whiteness. "You're not going to be able to get home tonight Angus and I highly doubt there will be any work or school tomorrow so it looks like you girls have a playmate for drunken shenanigans, best go make him up a bed in the basement"

"Im sure he wouldn't mind bunking in with Zoey if he had to" Tess teases and I shoot her a dirty look.

"Come along Angus, you can help us mix cocktails" Tess says, taking charge.

We've never had an intruder join us on Blizzard night and Tess is finding it all too exciting.

"Full warning, the more drunk Zoey gets, the less awkward she becomes" she informs Angus, I throw a cushion at her to try and get her to shut up and Angus sits there grinning at us.

We pick out "He's just not that into you" to watch and set our drinking rules. I can feel I'm getting tipsy midway through the movie, "She's such a light weight" Tess announces to Angus.

"No I'm not, you just made my drinks really strong for your own amusement" I protest

Tess and Angus exchange looks and just burst out laughing, I knew it!

"So Angus, don't you have to call your wife and tell her you're not coming home? That you're staying with your mistresses tonight" Tess asks, not so subtle

"I'm 22 Tess, I have no wife"

"Girlfriend then?" she presses on, I know where she's leading us to and Im sure he does too.

"No girlfriend either" he explains and we exchange looks, "very much single and have been for 2 years now"

"Why did you break up?" there's never a question Tess doesn't feel she can't ask, no matter how personal

"She cheated on me, for months, with my best friend"

"Aww Angus, that's heartbreaking, isn't that heartbreaking Zoey?"

"What a bitch " I interject and they both look at me shocked, ok I may be a bit more than tipsy

"Zoey, you should give Angus a hug to heal his broken heart"

"Ok" I reply "But only if you let me feel your abs"

Angus looks at Tess "Is she drunk?"

Tess nods, laughing "I told you, less awkward, she can't overthink when she's drunk"

"Stop talking about me as if Im not here" I shout as I run my palm over the bumps on Angus' torso, while looking him in the eye.

"sorry Zo" he whispers in my ear.

We reach the end of the movie and the bottle of vodka, which isn't surprising when Tess is the mixologist.

"That's Zoey's favourite movie" Tess informs Angus

"It's pretty good but I think they need to do a sequel and call it "He is into you but can't tell if you're into him" what do you think Zoey?" Angus asks

"I'd watch the shit out of that" I reply

Angus and Tess both burst out laughing, I've clearly missed the joke and I just don't care, Im having too much fun.

"Angus you are welcomed to join us again for blizzard night, you're too much fun and Tess, he's so pretty too"My speech is becoming slurry

"Well  Angus, I think she just answered your question without even realising it was directed at her" Tess muses

"Stop talking about me like Im not here" I shout, yet again

"Sorry Zo" they both say in unison.