Still in Love With You

Chapter Twelve – Front Page News

Isabella sighs as she slowly opens her eyes the next day, the early morning light from the Sun beating down on her, illuminating the room. She groans, groggily regaining her vision, a slight panic striking her body as Isabella realizes she doesn't immediately recognize her surroundings. She sits up and blinks a few times, only to find herself in Vidcund's bedroom as memories from the night before come fluttering back to her. Isabella lies down on the bed and sighs, her heartbeat returning to normal. She turns to the side, finding Vidcund fast asleep next to her. Isabella smiles and hugs him from behind, causing her boyfriend to stir. Vidcund turns on his back and gives Isabella the best post-wake-up smile he can muster.

"Hey," Isabella states soothingly, sitting up on the bed, "I missed you."

"Oh," Vidcund says, rubbing her arm affectionately as he blushes softly, "I missed you too."

Isabella nods and lies back down beside him, resting her head on his chest as he holds her. Vidcund gently strokes her shoulder. "Are you going to break up with me?"

Vidcund pauses and stares down at his girlfriend, a peculiar look spread across his face, "I wasn't planning on it," he states, clearly puzzled, "Where did that come from?"

"I heard you and Pascal talking," Isabella confesses.

Vidcund nods. Suddenly, it all made sense. "Is that why you were so nervous on our date yesterday?"

"A little bit," Isabella says, resting her hand on his torso, "I was also scared about us doing it."

"Izzy, you need to tell me these things," Vidcund says, gazing at her in concern, "If we're going to have a successful relationship, you need to share your feelings with me. I don't want you to suffer alone," he adds, hugging her close to him, "We're supposed to be a team."

"Okay," Isabella nods. She holds him tighter.

Vidcund smiles, "Good," he states, giving a sigh of relief, "But honestly, Izzy, no matter what happened on our date last night, I'm just glad that we got to spend time together."

…

Across the Road to Nowhere, Crystal is stepping out of her bedroom, digging through her white purse for her house keys. Crystal sighs as she steps into the living room, wearing her classic, everyday outfit as she continues to scrounge through her purse. "Damn it! I just had them! Why do I always lose these things?" she questions. Crystal perks up slightly when her hands run across her floral key ring, "Yes! I found 'em!" Crystal beams, pulling the keys out of her purse and holding them up triumphantly. She glances at the clock on the wall, her face falling, "Wow. Just in time, too. I said I'd be there in fifteen minutes," she adds, placing the keys safely into her pocket and stepping towards the sofa where she assumes Loki is residing, "Hey, I'm going shopping with the girls this morning. Chloe wants us to help her pick out a purse that matches her personality," she tells him, stopping at the foot of the sofa. Crystal tilts her forehead, eyeing Loki's legs sticking out from beneath it, "Uh…why are you behind the couch?" she wonders.

"I'm, uh, just cleaning underneath it," Loki lies, his muffled voice barely audible.

Crystal laughs, adjusting her purse on her shoulder, "Okay, weirdo," she replies, backing towards the door, "Stay out of trouble. I'll see you later."

"Yeah…bye," Loki mutters, cautiously pulling himself out from under the couch once he hears the front door lock behind him.

Loki sighs, stands up, and brushes himself off, still staring longingly at the doorway. Loki groans and starts pacing around the living room. "Come on Loki, you don't really like her," he tells himself, trying his best to keep his emotions at bay, "You just think you do because you're always around her, and you're still emotionally broken from Circe," he states, attempting to explain his worries away through logic, "Of course, that doesn't explain the first year I liked her…" he stops in place before immediately waving away the panic and pacing in front of the bookcase, "But it's okay. I can beat this. The longer I stay here, the more I'll realize that Crystal and I have absolutely nothing in common."

Loki stops beside the bookcase, a bright purple book catching his eye. "Huh," Loki mutters, "I don't remember seeing this before," he states into the silence, swiftly glancing around the room before pulling the book out of the shelf by its spine, "This is great. I haven't had a new book in ages! Now I can read all about-" Loki's face falls as he stares down at the cover, "Crystal Vu's Top Secret Diabolical Inventions?!" he squeaks, cowering at the cover. "It's fine, it's fine," he quickly tells himself, sitting down on the couch before his knees give out, "They're probably not even that evil-" he chimes. Loki opens up the book and flips through some of the pages. He stops on page thirty-seven, his eyes widening at the diagram, "Good God, that is dark!" he exclaims, throwing the book down on the sofa, his heart beating rapidly in his chest.

"It's okay," he says calmly after regaining his composure, "It's probably just fiction, you know? She's probably not really evil. It's probably just for show…even though she's never once mentioned it to anyone, and that's pretty much rule number one of the villain code," Loki states, feeling weaker by the moment. He flops back-first down on the sofa and covers his face with his hands. Loki releases a defeated groan.

…

Meanwhile, at the Curious residence, Isabella has just stepped into the kitchen wearing her plum purple pajamas. She sits down at the kitchen island next to Lazlo. "Hey Izzy," he greets, chewing the rest of his cereal as Pascal cleans the kitchen sink behind them, "I haven't seen you all morning. Where have you been?"

Isabella blushes, trying her best to hide her whereabouts, "Um, well-"

Vidcund enters the room, holding the latest issue of The Strangetown Monthly, which has the word 'Sexcapades' written across it. He stops at the base of the island, his facial expression friendly but firm. "Hey," he says, turning to his brothers, "are either of you selling us out to the press?" he wonders, eyeing Pascal and Lazlo suspiciously, "Not that I think you are, but I am wondering how they're getting some of their information."

Lazlo shakes his head, quickly waving off the accusation, "Nah, I don't like those magazines," he states, returning to his cereal.

Vidcund instantly narrows his eyes at Pascal. "What are you looking at me for? I only send them photos of you in your underwear," Pascal claims, "Besides, I would never sell out Izzy. That magazine is sexist enough as it is!"

"Well, okay, fine. I believe you," Vidcund states, slamming the magazine onto the counter. "But please stop sending them photos," he sighs, staring up at Pascal.

"Alright, fine, I'll stop sending them photos," Pascal caves reluctantly as he steps out from behind the island, "but only because I'm too busy trying to solve the world hunger crisis!"

Vidcund cocks his forehead, glancing down at his older brother's peculiar state, "Is that why your hand is stuck in the toaster again?" he wonders.

"No," Pascal huffs, attempting to cross his arms over his torso but accidentally hitting himself in the stomach with the toaster instead, "That was a result of me falling asleep on the counter," he pauses, "Now, you're a genius. Get this thing off of me."

Vidcund shrugs, "Okay, I'll try, but if I can't get this off of you, we're going to have to go to the E.R. again. And I really don't think they want to see us after what happened last time."

"Hey! Those crayons said nontoxic!" Pascal chimes, clearly offended by Vidcund's claim. "What else was I supposed to do?"

…

One hour later, after successfully avoiding another awkward trip to the E.R., Vidcund and Isabella are sitting alone in the living room of the Curious estate. They have pushed two of the blue plastic chairs together and are sitting in them side by side in front of the wall of televisions. The TVs are on, but they are too enthralled by and entangled in their make out session to notice. A few seconds later, Pascal strolls by and stops in front of them.

"Hey guys. Kissing I see," Pascal greets, casually rolling back on his heels, "It's okay. I'll wait," he says, glancing down at his watch.

Vidcund and Isabella reluctantly part, the former shooting a bizarre look in his brother's direction. Vidcund sighs as Isabella smooths out her hair next to him, "What is it?"

"Guess what?" Pascal beams, clearly too enthusiastic to properly read the situation, "I finally finished upgrading our television!" he steps back and gestures to the television mounted on the wall, presenting it like it is a prize on a game show, "Now all of the pixels turn exactly the same shade when it shows a picture of a cornfield. Check it out!"

Vidcund turns back towards Isabella and gently grabs her hand. "That's okay. We believe you-"

"Nonsense! You have to see it up close to really notice the difference!" Pascal exclaims, grabbing Vidcund by the arm and flinging him up towards the television. He presses Vidcund's face towards the screen, "See?"

"Pascal, I honestly can't tell the difference," Vidcund replies, squinting uncomfortably at the screen, "I'm still wearing my glasses, so everything looks green."

Pascal shakes his head and tisks as Vidcund and Isabella stare longingly at each other, "Now, whose problem is that, Vid?"

…

Crystal smiles as she arrives back at her residence later that afternoon, still surprised that the shopping trip went well beyond her and Chloe's expectations. She takes out her keys and walks through the doorway, immediately stopping in place moments before knocking into Loki, who is standing firmly in the center of the room. "What's this?" Loki wonders, holding up the bright purple book that he uncovered that morning.

Crystal puts her keys in her purse and drops it on the floor, turning away from Loki before she can meet his prying eyeline. "Oh, uh – it's nothing," she states, her stomach dropping when she saw the book.

"No, it's not," Loki replies, still holding up the book in disbelief, "It's a book of diabolical inventions," he claims, opening the cover and flipping through the pages, "And it's written by you," he adds, even more shocked as he says this statement. Loki shuts the book and holds it up to Crystal once again, one question blaring through his mind, "Are you evil?"

"Loki, come on," Crystal sighs, picking her purse off the floor, walking over to the kitchen, and carelessly tossing it onto the table, the former physicist watching her every move. She turns back to him, "Do I look evil?"

"No," Loki answers honestly, stopping in front of her, "That's why I'm so surprised by this. I feel like I just discovered Haley's Comet."

Crystal sighs as she rubs her aching forehead. She throws her hands up and walks out of the room, "Okay, fine. I'm evil," she confesses, clearly having enough of the interrogation, "Are you happy?"

"No," Loki cries, quickly turning away from Crystal before she can see him blush, "Oh man…" he mutters, feeling himself growing hotter by the second.

…

Later that night, Vidcund and Isabella are walking down the Road to Nowhere, the pair silent and frustrated after a day filled with interruptions and romantic disappointments, most courtesy of Pascal. Vidcund sighs as he gazes over at his girlfriend, who is staring down somberly at the sand.

"Hey," he states, "I'm sorry we keep getting interrupted. I'll make it up to you, I promise," Vidcund completes, holding his hand out.

"It's okay, Vid," Isabella responds, taking his hand and giving a small smile, "I understand that you're the mayor and that we live in a house with five other people…"

"But…?"

"…but I guess it would've been nice to have at least a few minutes alone with each other," Isabella confesses, a small blush blooming on her face.

The pair stops at a street sign, still holding hands. Vidcund gazes up at the all-too-familiar estate in front of them, a small smirk looming in the corner of his lip, "Come on, I have an idea," he states, pulling Isabella towards the Beaker castle.

"Vid!" Isabella chimes as he leads her to the main archways.

"Izzy, it's abandoned," Vidcund tells her, stopping short of the entrance to stare back at her, "No one will see."

Vidcund leads Isabella into the house. They meet in the main foyer and kiss a few times.

"Wow," Isabella awes, stopping to gaze at the high ceilings, "This place seems so much smaller now," she comments, her body filling up with excitement, "Come on, let's go upstairs." Isabella grabs Vidcund's arm and leads him up the staircase with her, giving a small laugh as she does so.

Vidcund stops and looks around, now noticing that Isabella has led them into the guest bedroom, shocked by her brio. "Man," Vidcund says, happiness lacing his tone, "you don't mess around."

Isabella nods gently and pulls Vidcund forward, leading him in for a kiss. Vidcund moans as Isabella pulls him towards the bed, accidentally kicking his coat pocket. His cell phone falls out and slides into the closet, the noise causing the two lovers to immediately turn around.

"It's okay, I'll get it later," Vidcund whispers, giving a small chuckle before returning to their tryst.

One passionate Woohoo session later, Vidcund and Isabella are lying down bare on the guest bed cuddling with one another, their clothes spread careless across the floor. "It's nice to have some time alone," Isabella sighs, lovingly embracing Vidcund as she rests her head delicately on his chest.

Vidcund breathlessly nods, his head still rushing, "Yeah."

All of a sudden, creaks echo through the residence, the pair instantly tensing up and latching onto each other when they hear footsteps coming up the staircase. "What's going on? I thought you said this place was abandoned!" Isabella frantically whispers.

"I thought it was!" Vidcund defends, whispering back at her, "Loki's at Crystal's and Circe was arrested!"

"Oh, that's right," Isabella begins, a realization abruptly washing over her as she narrows in on the sound of Gucci heels hitting the top stair, "I saw Circe at the pool last week."

"What?!" Vidcund shrieks, quickly covering his mouth with his hand before his reaction can reverberate through the premises. His eyes widen as he hears what appears to be Circe stepping outside the door. Vidcund quickly grabs Isabella and pulls her into the closet. He slides the door shut as quietly as possible and turns back to her, his heart racing a mile a minute. "Okay, this is bad," Vidcund cries in a hushed whisper, "This is really bad. But don't worry, all we have to do is just exit out the back."

"But what about our clothes?" Isabella wonders, her voice more squeaky than usual, "Won't she know that those are ours?"

Vidcund turns to the side, eyeing their clothes spread across the guest room floor, "Damn it! Why do we always wear the same clothes?" he whisper-exclaims, taking a deep breath before reassessing the problem, "It's alright. It's okay," Vidcund tells himself, hoping to find comfort in these words, "I'm a Knowledge sim; I can come up with a plan to get ourselves out of this," Vidcund brings his hand up to his chin, pondering this over before his face lights up, a Eureka! moment sparking in his brain, "That's it! My cell phone!" he chimes, scrounging the closet for it.

A mere ten seconds later, he has the device up to his ear, embracing what may very well be his last lifeline.

Across town, Pascal is sitting in the TV room holding Amelia. The pair is watching their favorite cartoon show, Camp Lazlo, when Pascal's cell phone rings on the desk behind them. Eyeing the name on the screen, Pascal answers the device, holds it up to his ear, and smiles. "Hey, Vid. Long time no see! You should really check out the new TV again," he rambles, "Amelia and I are enjoying it now-"

"Yeah, that's great. I'll do that," Vidcund mumbles, sounding more frantic by the moment, "Hey, remember a few months ago when you guys made me hit on Circe so that we could escape Loki's wrath? Well, you still owe me one, and now I'm cashing in on the favor."

"I remember," Pascal nods, "What do you need?"

"I need you to get Circe out of her house so Izzy and I don't get arrested for trespassing," Vidcund hisses into the receiver, "I don't care what you do, just get her out of here."

Pascal snaps his fingers as Lazlo appears in the kitchen doorway, "Oh, right. I knew there was something we forgot to tell him."

"Wait. You guys knew Circe was back?!" Vidcund cries, "Why didn't anyone tell me? That would've been nice to know before we – uh, went out."

"You guys are naked in the closet, aren't you?" Lazlo says, snatching the phone from Pascal.

Vidcund sighs, "I'd prefer not to answer that question. Now please get Pascal to distract her, so we don't get murdered by the scariest woman in the city."

Lazlo scrunches his forehead, "What about Olive?" he wonders.

"Hey, she's dead," Vidcund reminds him, "And I know what I said."

"Don't worry, Vid!" Pascal shouts from his place in the TV room, "You can count on me! After all, I have the perfect plan!"

…

Fifteen minutes later, Circe approaches the front archway, troubled by the young physicist who is leaning up against the castle dressed in a formal, purple sparkle suit. "Hello Circe," Pascal greets, sporting a suspiciously-wide smile as he makes eye contact with her.

"Hello," Circe replies cautiously, unsure whether to be amused or creeped out by the Curious brother's appearance. She gives him a once-over, "May I help you…?"

Pascal throws his head back towards the sky, letting out an overly exuberant laugh, "Look, there's no doubting that you and I have a connection," he states, trying his best to sound flirty but sounding more like a constipated monkey, "An undeniable spark that shines brighter than the very world we're standing on!"

Circe tilts her forehead, "What? That doesn't even make any sense-"

"Perhaps," Pascal coos, pushing his body off the castle and shooting her his best smoldering look, "But you know what does make sense? You and I going on a date, cutie."

Circe glares at Pascal, her face unsympathetic and unmoving. "No," she says, turning back towards the house and heading towards the staircase.

Pascal's stomach sinks as she grabs the banister. "Wait!" he cries out, rushing over to her. Surprisingly, Circe stops what she is doing and looks at him. "Uh, um…" Pascal stutters, nervously playing with his hands a bit as he struggles to come up with some sort of distraction. Finally, he leans back seductively against the side of the staircase, "God, it's hot," he moans.

…

A few minutes later, Vidcund continues to freak out in the closet with Isabella, his blood pressure only rising since he heard his brother enter the residence. "This is bad. This is really bad," Vidcund whisper-panics, his body tensing up, "Oh God, this is a terrible situation!"

Isabella leans into him and comfortingly rubs Vidcund's arm. She has never seen him in such a frenzied state in her life. "Vidcund, relax," she states, doing her best to console him as they sit side by side in the cramped closet, "This isn't that catastrophic."

"Izzy," Vidcund replies, his face filled with fear, "I broke up with Circe while she was chained to a radiator. Then I took my new girlfriend to her house, had sex with said girlfriend in her bed, and trespassed on her property!"

"Okay, yeah. That actually does sound pretty bad," Isabella agrees after thinking the situation over, "But, in all fairness, Circe did try to kill you and she actually did kill me."

"Exactly!" Vidcund squeaks, "And if Circe already tried to do that once, what makes you think she won't do it again?!" The pair pause as the familiar vibration of Vidcund's cell phone chimes through the closet. Vidcund takes a deep breath. He picks up the device and stares down at its screen, "It's Pascal," he says before holding the cell phone up to his ear, "So, are you in yet?" he wonders.

"Well, Circe is a very tricky woman. And I think she may have read too far into my bluff…" Pascal replies, his voice sounding awfully close to the couple.

Vidcund scrunches his forehead, "What makes you say that?"

"Oh, just a feeling," Pascal completes. A few feet away from the closet, Pascal is tied to the bed posts, where he was surprisingly able to make a phone call, despite the fact that all four of his major limbs are tied to the four corners of the bed frame. "So yeah," he uneasily continues, "I'm going to need you to come save me."

"I can't. I'm trapped in the closet!"

"Well I'm tied to the bed posts, so who's in the greater danger here?!" Pascal barks.

Vidcund shakes his head, unable to wrap his mind around what his brother has just told him. "How did that even happen?" Vidcund begins, stopping himself short before the thought can rack his brain, "Oh for goodness sake!" he rolls his eyes, now knowing that he's going to have to come up with a more elaborate plan to save all three of them, "Alright, fine. I'll just call Lazlo," Vidcund sighs, scrolling through his cell phone for his little brother's name, "Probably should've called him first anyway…" he mutters.

"Oh, I'm sorry!" Pascal spews, sarcasm lacing his voice, "Is me taking time out of my busy schedule and getting tied up by your crazy ex-girlfriend all while on a mission to stop you from publicly disgracing yourself not enough for you?!"

"You're right. I'm sorry, Pascal," Vidcund states genuinely. He takes a deep breath, trying to recollect his thoughts, "I'm just stressed out because we're still stuck in Circe's guest room closet."

"Uh…Vid?" Pascal speaks up, eyeing the discarded clothes that are spread across the floor beneath him, "that's not the guest bedroom; you guys are in the master."

"WHAT?!" Vidcund sits up suddenly, accidentally nudging into a stack of Loki's overhanging clothes in the process. The clothes knock off the pole and land on top of him.

…

"WHAT IS GOING ON HERE?!" Circe voice fires throughout the estate, her outburst a mere half hour later waking the sims trapped on the second floor, "WHY THE HELL DO YOU CURIOUSES KEEP BOTHERING ME?!"

Vidcund and Isabella slowly sneak out of the closet, the pair dressed in the only clothes they could reach while hiding. The pair creeps over to the bed. Isabella stops at the edge of the bed frame, trying her best to untie Pascal while Vidcund scoops up their clothing.

"Forget it. Leave me," Pascal whispers to Isabella, shaking his head as she continues to untangle him, "Get out of here before she catches you."

"Too late," Lazlo speaks from the doorway, the young man in a choke hold courtesy of Circe. She lets go of Lazlo when she locks eyes with the guilty party. Lazlo sighs and rubs his neck, "God, she's strong." Lazlo tilts his forehead, puzzled as he stares at Vidcund and Isabella, who are now dressed in Loki's and Circe's everyday clothing. "Uh, were you guys roleplaying?"

"Vidcund!" Circe shrieks, her face turning redder by the moment, "I should've known it was you two. What the hell are you doing in my house?!"

Vidcund steps back, nervously scratching his head as he tries his best to come up with a stellar response, his face sweating, "Uh…out of curiosity, if you were to come up with a reasonable explanation as to why we trespassed on your property and dressed up like you and your ex-husband…what would it be?"

Circe stands stationary, mouth agape before her eyes drift down to the pile of clothes that Vidcund is holding in his hands, immediately making the connection, "Oh my God, were you guys having sex in my house?!"

"Uh…" Vidcund begins, nervously exchanging glances with Isabella as he fidgets with his hands, "About that…"

Isabella steps forward, surprisingly calm despite the circumstance. "Yes," she answers firmly, "Yes, we were."

"Izzy!" Vidcund squeaks, his cheeks florid.

"I just think she deserves to know the truth," Isabella explains, silently praying that this whim-of-the-moment plan was the right decision, "…that I'm crazy about you."

Circe groans as she rolls her eyes up at the ceiling, "Oh Good Lord!" she screams, "Just get the hell out of my house before I call the cops on all of you! After all, I'm sure the press and the entirety of Strangetown would love to know what the mayor has been up to," she smirks, crossing her arms over her torso as she narrows in on Vidcund.

Isabella sighs and slouches her shoulders in defeat. "It's okay, Izzy," Vidcund tells her, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder as they walk towards the bedroom exit with Lazlo, who has just successfully untied Pascal, "I'm sure Circe will do the right thing."

Vidcund stops in the doorway, allowing his three housemates to walk past him. He briefly scans the area before walking back over to Circe, lowering his voice to a whisper. "I'll give you a thousand simoleons to keep this between us," he proposes.

Circe smiles, simoleon signs flashing in her eyes, "Make it twenty-five hundred, and we have a deal," she bargains.

Vidcund sighs and reluctantly pulls out his check book from his coat pocket. "Fine," he caves, quickly writing out a check.

Circe smirks as she snatches it from him, "Pleasure doing business with you, sweetheart," she coos, shaking his hand, smiling even wider when Vidcund groans and exits down the hallway.

…

"Well, that was a lot less mortifying than I thought it would be," Vidcund admits upon rejoining Isabella and his two brothers at the front of the Beaker castle, the sky pitch black above them.

"I guess…" Isabella sighs as the couple trails Pascal and Lazlo towards the Road to Nowhere, "But now everyone will know what we did," she says, her stomach sinking at the thought.

Vidcund smiles, wraps his arm around Isabella, and pulls her in close. "No, they won't," he states, gazing up at the night sky, "I bribed her to keep quiet. Money is the only thing that appeals to Circe," Vidcund reveals, giving a shrug before addressing the peculiar look that is now spread across his girlfriend's face, "Hey, all politicians are corrupt…even me."