"Pelican Town to Sims Town" - A Stardew Valley, Sims 3 Fanfic

Pelican Town to Sims Town
Continuation of Chapter 6...


The third day in the town of Appaloosa dawned just like any normal day in Pelican Town. Cool, faint-lit mornings which gradually led to the sun peeking out over the mountains, bathing everything below in an orange, lukewarm glow. That was when the shops would open and the town would become alive, the one thing the 12 new residents from another world were really beginning to miss. So it came as no surprise to the guys that the ladies arrived at the early hour of 8 o’clock. They’re desperation to be with others they are familiar with, and of the opposite sex, was much more appealing than spending countless hours cooped up in the drama that is an all female household. Admittedly, the guys had just as much drama going on and felt exactly the same towards spending time with the ladies.

The only one who seemed bothered by the ladies early arrival was Shane, who’d been awake since only the Lord knew how long the night before, wallowing away in the agony of uncontrollable withdrawal, and the extra voices in the house only made his head feel more noisy.

Sitting on the edge of his bed, he gripped his head with both hands, rocking and panting, almost forgetting where he was and what was happening; delirium beginning to rear its ugly head. Sparse bits of sleep left him feeling a tiny bit energized, but his body still shook rapidly as if suffering from Parkinson’s. The room felt freezing so naturally he grabbed some clothes to put on to warm up, forgetting that the crumpled up clothes in the corner reeked of body odor and were stiff from dried sweat. The smell and texture didn’t even phase him.

About twenty minutes earlier, Elliott had cooked a hearty breakfast for the guys - eggs, bacon, and hashbrowns - and left a plate of it on Shane’s desk with a tall glass of orange juice. He asked the tormented man in bed how he was doing, but only got angry mumbles. When he asked, “Would you like me to get Harvey,” Shane’s reply was an immediate and emphatic, “NO! I can take care of myself! Get out!”

With intense hunger seeming to gnaw at his stomach, Shane was reminded of the plate of food and whipped his attention toward it. He wolfed it down like a starving wild animal, crumbs falling all over the desk and floor, and when it was gone he promptly downed the glass of orange juice. He then slapped the empty glass down upon the surface and panted heavily. Suddenly he felt nauseated. It took every last bit of self control he had to keep himself from disgorging his much needed sustenance.

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“Ah HELL!” he groaned while gripping the sides of the desk, still trembling fiercely, and working hard to focus on enduring. He couldn’t let the guys see him like this. They could NEVER see him like this! So utterly broken and exposing his greatest weakness. Focus on Jas, focus on Marnie, focus on Charlie the chicken, you must...endure this...for them...

But a surge in the tremors caused his legs to give way and he fell onto his knees, nearly bumping his chin on the edge of the desk. Curse words flew out his mouth, ending with a loud cry of agony.

*****************************

Meanwhile, Sebastian, Sam, and Abigail went straight for the racing game to see who out of the three would come out victorious as the best racer.

Abigail gasped in wonder as they started the game and began picking out and customizing their drivers and vehicles. “Oh my gosh you weren’t kidding about the graphics Sam! It’s like a real life game! This is EPIC!”
Sam grinned. “Oh just wait until the racing starts. Talk about detail! I mean, there’s like all these people walking on the sidewalks wearing various outfits and you can see all the bricks, windows, and terraces on the buildings. You can even see smoke coming out of the gutters--”
“And the weather changes too!” Sebastian added. “One minute there’s sunshine and the further you get into the city, it’s raining.”
Sam gave an unamused look at getting interrupted.
“Wow,” the gamer girl breathed. “I think I could get used to living in this world with games like this!”
They all agreed.

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“Alright, best 2 out of 3 races,” Sam set forth.
“Aww, just three?” Abigail playfully whimpered.
“Heck no! We’ll do 5 sets of 3 races and whoever wins the most sets is the winner. Unless there’s a tie then we’ll do a single tie breaker race.”
“Oh there won’t be any tie,” Sebastian said with a smirk, “you both know I’m gonna kick a$$ on all 5 sets and come out on top!”
“In your dreams Seb!” Sam countered. “Racing games are all I play! That would be me!”
“Guys please,” Abigail said, doing a calming gesture with her hands, “you both know that I’M going to be the one to come out on top! I’m a better gamer than both of you combined and you two know it!”
Sam and Sebastian shot a quick glance at each other. “Nah,” they both expressed, playfully ruffling at her hair.
“Hey!” she cried. “It took me a half hour to curl my hair this morning so don’t touch it! Now, let’s get these races started!”

Outside, the “Hoops Contest” between Haley and Alex was going pretty well...for Alex anyway. He’d already shot the ball into the basket six times, while Haley kept missing and pouting about it. Alex didn’t mean to chuckle at her, he just thought she looked so incredibly cute in her annoyance.

While Alex attempted to take another shot Haley said, “I dunno why you thought it was such a good idea to challenge me on this when you know I’m not very good at Basketball. Is it because you get off on winning?” She smirked at him.

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Into the basket the ball went. Seven. “No,” Alex half-truth replied, “I just thought it would be fun. Besides I wanted to see if you’d gotten any better at Basketball since middle school,” he winked, coming over to stand beside her.
Haley subtly licked the corner of her lip for a moment, watching him approach. She may never enjoy playing Basketball, but she sure enjoyed watching Alex play it shirtless. “Yeah, no,” she expressed, “I’ve been too busy studying fashion and taking photography classes since then to even attempt getting better at something I hate!”
“Oh c’mon now, you don’t hate it…”
She huffed. “Okay, maybe hate is a strong word. I don’t LIKE it!”

Alex blushed at her. “Look, learning to shoot the ball into the basket isn’t as hard as you might think. It’s all about proper stance and wrist movement. Here, I’ll show you.” He got himself into position, his arm accidentally grazing hers a bit, which he didn’t mind. “You wanna keep your legs shoulder width apart while gripping the ball with your strong hand, your right I presume, underneath it and your other hand on the side of it.” Haley followed suit. “You’ll be shooting with your right hand so your left hand is to help guide the ball in a straight line towards the basket when you shoot. Got it? Now, raise the ball just above your head, keeping your right hand on the bottom, and focus on the net. When you’re ready to shoot, you’ll wanna jump upward, straightening your knees out, while flicking your right wrist forward to launch the ball into the direction of the hoop. Does that make sense?”
“I guess…”
“In a nutshell, hold the ball steady, find your target, jump, and flick. Give it a try.”

Haley positioned herself as best she could and took a few deep breaths while locking her eyes onto the basket and then launching the ball.

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“Oooh, good flick of the wrist!” Alex complimented.

The ball hit the rim, bouncing upward a bit, and both lost a breath for a moment as it seemed the ball might land right into the hoop.

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But not so...it fell just behind the hoop and bounced away. “Ugh!” Haley grunted as Alex went to go fetch the ball before it rolled too far away.
“It’s okay,” he said. “That was much closer this time around so good job!” He tossed the ball over to her and she barely caught it. He then returned to her side and said, “Here let me demonstrate it one more time.”
Haley watched as he flicked his wrist beautifully, sending the ball forward, and straight into the basket again.

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She lowered the ball and her head in defeat. I’ll never get this down. This is exactly why I don’t do sports.

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“You know what Alex,” she then voiced. “I give! Let’s do something else.”
“Aww, c’mon! You were just getting better at it,” he griped. “Alright, let’s forget about the contest and I’ll coach you on your shooting for a bit okay?”
Haley had the hardest time resisting his handsome face. “Alright,” she reluctantly consented, but still shot him a coy smile.
Alex smiled in return and placed his ball down before going to stand behind her, taking her arms to help position them properly. Haley pleasurably enjoyed the touch, and so did Alex. In fact that was really the whole idea of moving on to coach her anyway and both had no problem with it.

As those two played, Elliott and Leah were sprawled out on the grass underneath the fruit trees, their heads touching, chatting and giggling.

“I can’t believe how incredibly right this feels, you and me,” Leah expressed, rolling over onto her stomach and propping herself up on her elbows to face him. “I mean in all my previous relationships there’d always be some kind of feeling that would nag at me, hinting that the relationship wouldn’t last or wasn’t the best idea, you know? Like one time, my partner took my hand as we were sitting on the couch watching a movie, and all of the sudden I got this sick feeling in my stomach and my chest would tighten.” She held her hand up to her chest as if to demonstrate. “It was so strange. And I couldn’t figure out why I would have such a feeling when we really liked each other. It was almost like I felt a little...disgusted by their touch or something. Then two weeks later we broke up.” She shrugged. “Then with my next partner we’d have these trivial little arguments and each time I’d get that same sick feeling. But with you,” she paused, stroking his cheek and then his hair, “I’ve never felt that at ALL! I’ve felt normal and at peace; blissfully, yet truly in love. I can say whatever and be exactly who I am and not worry about driving you away.” She brightly smiled. “We are just so meant to be! Do you feel the same?”

Elliott propped himself up on one arm and leaned in to kiss her, gently stroking her lips with such passion. “Does that answer your question?” he asked with love in his eyes. “If not, Yes, I completely feel the same.” They chuckled, Leah feeling great joy from the validation. “I could totally relate to what you were talking about because I’d get those same nagging feelings in previous relationships too. But never once has there been any nagging with you. I guess this is what truly being in love is like.”
“Oh Elliott…”

Pretty soon they were standing and getting lost in each other’s kisses again.

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Then Leah expressed feeling a little hungry after taking notice of how delectable the oranges looked.

“They are ripe enough for picking,” Elliott observed. “Shall I pick one for you my love?”
Leah blushed. “You’re very sweet, but...I’d kinda like to pick out my own if that’s alright?” She’d already eyeballed the perfect one.
“Well of course.”
“Alrighty,” she said, stepping forward and reaching up into the branches. It was a little higher than she thought so she got on her tippy-toes. “If I could juuuust…”
Elliott saw an opportunity and took it. He gripped her beautifully curvy hips, which caused her to shriek for a second, and lifted her up just high enough so that she could pick the orange her heart desired.

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It was a deformed one, that probably would’ve been left on the tree until it rotted away, but it was perfect in her eyes because it was shaped like a heart. She handed it to Elliott after he put her down with a blush. "Here. I wholly give this to you."
He studied it for a moment. “Oh I see,” he grinned once he recognized the shape. “Perfect.”

A few feet away from them, on the back porch, Emily stripped down to her swimsuit and carefully entered the steaming, frothy hot tub. The hot water stung her skin a bit, but her body quickly adjusted to it. She closed her eyes while leaning her head back and slowly drew in a deep breath, allowing herself to relax.

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Once again it’s just me, she thought, since everyone else has paired off. Oh well! She was kinda used to it. But then her eyes shot open as she was reminded of someone who was probably feeling just as lonely as she was. She thought she could hear another loud moan through his bedroom window and was nearly dying to come to his aid, but...it was highly unlikely he’d let her in.

For the past two years she had developed a soft spot towards the mysterious, new man in town, who came to the Saloon every night where she worked the bar, ordering the same hard drink, and standing a few ways off leaning against the wall beside the fireplace, just sipping and sipping. His eyes were always glazed over, staring ahead into nothingness, like he was carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders. Oh how often she longed to ask him about it, but the negative energy - she preferred to call it - surrounding his presence always held her back. He never spoke to anyone, unless someone was brave enough to approach him and if they did he always threw out a rude or an insulting comment to drive them away. It’d cause her to shake her head. What has this poor guy been through that’s made him so cold and distant towards everyone? She’d ask herself. The man’s ability to make a person hate him upon their very first meeting was clearly intentional and preferred, but why? It was that why that drove her so mad, a person who got along with most everyone, but even with her God given gift of intuition, she couldn’t crack the mystery behind this scruffy, yet handsome man who always had her so mesmerized.

On rare occasions he’d be so wasted that he’d actually carry on a light conversation with her over the bar. It was mostly small talk, those typical little exchanges between the bartender and the patron. However she soon began to look forward to those moments. Because each time it filled her with the hope that maybe they were becoming friends and she could finally learn his story; maybe even help him. But every time afterward, when they happened to run into each other outside of the Saloon, she’d greet him...but he’d pay her no mind. It was as if she never even existed, or was forgotten, existing only within his drunken mind. It pained her heart greatly.

Until one fateful night…

Meanwhile back inside, Sam had just won the first three sets of races and Sebastian and Abigail were getting quite annoyed.

As the fourth race began, Abigail leaned towards Sebastian and whispered, “Let’s take him down together. Do whatever it takes to slow him down so one of us wins!”
“Got it! Teammate,” he whispered back with a smirk.

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Upstairs, during all that time, Harvey had been fiddling with the Science Station to get more familiar with all its components and features while Penny looked through some of the medicine compounding books. Maru was excited to find that Harvey had a telescope just like the one in her bedroom and just HAD to take a long peek through it before assisting in the studying and research. Her love of astronomy would certainly come before anything work related.

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Eventually Harvey joined Penny in delving into the medical texts, especially when she said, “Wow. This medicine compounding stuff looks kinda complicated to do, but extremely cool at the same time! Although some of these terms I don’t understand...Could you enlighten me Harvey?” Her blushed and “I want you to be closer to me” look was hard to resist even for a second. He promptly made his way over to her and sat down. Maru shot a quick glance over at them with a smile, thinking Penny’s little flirt there and Harvey’s quick reaction were adorable. The two were still continuing to surprise her in their flirtatious behavior that was so rarely seen back home.

“Alright, let’s see what you got here,” Harvey said, leaning in closer toward her to read what she was pointing at. Her perfume smelled delightfully intoxicating, and he tried hard to ignore it so he could show off his intelligence. “Oh yeah, some of these are toughies. What this one means is…”

Soon Penny had the idea to quiz Harvey on all sorts of medical terminology and procedures to refresh his mind - the teacher in herself coming out - to which he gladly consented while looking through a book about illnesses in this world that were completely foreign to those in their homeworld.

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“Hmm,” he simply said in response to one of her questions which obviously wasn’t the correct answer, so she gazed at him for a moment. “This virus here sounds a lot like the Flu, but carries with it some additional symptoms. More fatal symptoms.”
The color drained from Penny’s face for a moment. “Well...that’s not good.”
“No,” Harvey agreed, glancing up and staring straight ahead for a moment. “It’s not.”

They both lowered their books. With great concern, and a touch of fear, so prevalent in his eyes, Penny felt to rub at Harvey’s back for a moment to provide comfort. “We’ll be okay,” she soothed. “We’re trapped in a bubble, remember?” she tittered, but since he didn’t she went right back to being serious. “There aren’t any locals around to pass something like that onto us. So there’s nothing to worry about.” She pleasantly surprised herself with that one.
Of course! I should’ve thought of that! Harvey turned to look at her with a thankful smile. “Did we just switch roles there?” he asked with a smirk.
“Yeah,” she grinned. “I think we did.”

“You two having fun over there?” Maru playfully asked, moving on to check out the Science Station.

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“Always,” Harvey replied, which made Penny blush all the more.
“I don’t mean to be a bother,” Maru began, “but Harvey could you bring me up to speed on how this thing works? I don’t want us to waste any more time getting ready to compound, especially with Shane being in the state he’s in…”
“Right,” Harvey concurred, slapping his hands down upon his thighs, and stood up to go join her.
“I’ll...see what other books I can find,” Penny said and headed for the bookcase.

Meanwhile, down below in the hot tub, Emily wove her fingers together behind her head and closed her eyes while expelling a very deep sigh, taking her thoughts back to that fateful night.

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***The remainder of this chapter I will need to refer you to my Blog as the content is not forum appropriate. You DON'T want to miss it! :) ***