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deedee_sims
Warnings: Classical music, shooting booth, wounds (but not from the shooting booth), blood, drunk Rhett, Minecraft, Ollie talking on the phone for a whole scene
He leans closer, and I meet his lips.
It's definitely not as good as Rhett's kiss.
Why the hell am I thinking about Rhett when I'm kissing another guy?
When we part and I open my eyes, I see a very familiar flock of black hair gliding towards the entrance.
Fuck.
"See you!" Wyatt says his goodbyes, and I snap back to the present.
"Bye."
I wait a bit, until he turns away, then hurry into the building.
I catch up with Rhett at the apartment door.
"Hey." He smiles at me faintly, and lets us in. "I'm glad your date was good! I mean, I wasn't trying to look or anything, but it was hard to miss."
"It was... nice." Damn, I don't want to discuss my date with him. It just doesn't feel right.
"Awesome!" he says, his face not quite matching his words. "I'm thinking about going out, to watch the basketball finals somewhere."
"Right. Take care." After I say that I realize that it might've been an invitation. Fuck.
"I always do!"
Watcher, what the hell am I doing?
***
In the afternoon on my short Wednesday, I meet up with Lainey. Dan is out of the city all week, due to his work as a cameraman, and she’s probably just bored by herself. Her stated reason is to make a list of the wedding guests.
"Do you think I should invite my sister's boyfriend?" she wonders, touching the pen to her temple. "What if they break up before then? That wouldn't be very unexpected of Maisie."
Ah yes, I guess Lainey's seventeen-year-old sister still changes her boyfriends like bedsheets.
"Maybe just send it like, if she wants to bring whoever, she can," I offer.
She hums, not convinced.
"It's just one person. Plus or minus, I don't think it should count."
"Yeah, right." She scribbles something on her paper. "We're going to order a lot of food anyway."
"Sounds good already. Guess I should attend after all," I joke, which makes her chuckle.
She smiles at me sweetly. "I'm not going to get married if you're not there."
"Oh, so if Dan's not there, you'll still get married?"
"Of course!"
"To who?"
She raises her eyebrows. "Maisie's current boyfriend?"
"He might be too young for you, no?"
"You don't know," she says with a cheeky smile. "What if she starts to date a much older guy?"
"Ew." I don't want to imagine Lainey's teenage sister with a much older man. But I guess it's too late now.
"You haven't heard the saying, that love knows no boundaries?"
"I have..." I mutter, while thinking about Harry. It indeed has boundaries, at least to me. "Will you invite the Baby?"
"Ah, of course!" She adds one more incomprehensible scribble on her paper. "We have to see the Baby!"
The Baby, also known as Lainey's youngest cousin, who was born about half a year ago, is a quite puzzling part of their family, as we still don't know his name. Just that he's cute. I'm certain that it's enough to earn him an invitation to the wedding.
Lainey adds the name of some more of her cousins and their significant others to the list. She gets all her information from Simsbook.
"Will you bring someone?"
Her question hits me quite unexpectedly.
"Like, who?"
"Dunno... Wyatt?" she asks expectantly. "How was your date? You weren’t very chatty about it on text."
I say the first thing that comes to my mind. "It was pleasant."
"You like him?"
"He's fine." I sigh. "But he's not-"
"Harry. I see."
I let her believe that this is the name I wanted to finish the sentence with.
"But it was just the first date, so it can change, right?" I suggest, to which she nods.
"I guess I'm not gonna add him to the list yet."
That's probably for the best.
She adds some of her colleagues too. Then scratches out some of them. I have no idea why she doesn't use a word document for that purpose. Yay technology.
"I think that's mostly done," she announces, and puts down her pen. "We still have a couple of weeks to add people if we need. Or remove. It depends." She sighs dramatically. "If I knew getting married was that stressful, I wouldn't have said yes."
"Don't worry, everything will be alright," I say reassuringly.
"Well, after that many hours of planning, it should be at least perfect," she muses.
I'm pretty sure it will be.
***
As I get home from uni next Thursday - thank heavens, it’s Flower Day tomorrow, so the weekend is here - I see Rhett on the way to his bedroom. He sends me a warm smile before closing the door behind himself.
It suddenly occurs to me that we haven't really talked for a week or so - we were both busy with school stuff on weekdays (and Rhett also with whatever he does in his freetime). Furthermore, last weekend we both visited our respective homes; in his case because it was his mother’s birthday, and in mine, I needed to help out Mom with the chores, because she had about a hundred tests to grade. Just one of the many reasons why I don’t want to be a teacher.
I kinda miss Rhett. Hell, I even miss the times when he randomly trots into my bedroom. Now that I think about it, he’s been a bit distant lately, he doesn't seem to search for my company that much nowadays.
I have to admit, it makes me a bit sad.
I quickly put down my bag, and decide to do something about it.
I can't help but feel nervous as I knock on his door.
"Come in!"
As I step inside, I realize that I've never seen his room. Looking around, I’m not surprised, not even a matching thing in sight.
It feels weirdly like him.
"Hey!" he greets me, and I'm happy to see his radiant smile once again. "What brought you here on this overcast Thursday afternoon?"
"I just thought we could go out? Like, for a coffee. I want to show you my favorite cafe?" I say uncertainly.
"Was it a question?"
"No?"
"It was!" He laughs, and I flush.
"Whatever, I’ll go alone then."
"Oh, c'mon, I was joking!" He jumps up from his chair, still laughing. I could get used to hearing his laugh. Next thing I realize, he turns me around and pushes me out of his room. "Show me the way!"
***
It feels good, catching up with him. He tells me how dull his mom's birthday party was, as there were a lot of boring business people around, for appearances. His dad owns the biggest telecom company in the country after all, and it's important to them. Not to Rhett, though.
On a happier note, he finally shows me pictures of their dog - Miss Fluffy, who seems like a very good girl. I express my intentions about meeting her, and he just smirks and laughs, and my face hurts from smiling so much.
"Do you think I could play that piano?" Rhett points to the instrument, tucked away in the corner.
"Well, if you know how to play." I shrug. "It's free to use."
His face lights up and hurries to the piano so fast, I can hardly follow him.
I watch him with a healthy amount of doubt, as he traces his hand carefully over the keys. He hits a note - Watcher knows what note it is - then sits down.
"It's been a fuckin' lifetime," he whispers with a small smile forming in the corner of his mouth.
And he starts playing.
To my greatest surprise, it's not just him hitting random notes, but he's actually playing. It's a song that I faintly recognize.
"Für Elise?" I immediately regret asking, because he stops playing to look up at me. As his gaze meets mine, I suddenly forget how to breathe.
"Nah, Für Oliver, I don't know any Elises." He beams, and goes back to playing.
His fingers slide on the keys so naturally like he was born to do it. Or at least practiced a lot. It's a side of him that I've never seen, I didn't know it existed, even, but here he is, luring that beautiful music out of the piano. I can't stop smiling. As he finishes his hands linger on the keys.
"That was beautiful," I say softly, and he looks at me with a half smile.
"You should hear my brother playing."
"I don't think it would make yours less beautiful." I shrug, then I experience something that I've never seen before.
He flushes.
First the piano, now this. Is it possible that someone exchanged him with a clone overnight?
"Thanks. I used to play when I was a kid. But I stopped because I wasn't good enough."
"Who said you weren't good enough?"
"I did." He shakes his head a bit.
I'm about to argue, but my phone buzzes. I look at the device, seeing that Wyatt sent me a message.
Wyatt: Hi! There are some cool festival activities going on, would you like to go tomorrow? :)
Um, is that supposed to be another date? I take a quick peek at Rhett, who's looking at me curiously.
Well, it’s not like I have any other plans for tomorrow.
Me: That'd be nice :)
Wyatt: Great! Let's meet there at 5?
Me: Alright :)
"Uh, sorry," I say, looking up to Rhett again. "I just-"
"It's fine, it must've been your guy," he teases, but something is different in the way he says that. "Anyway, I think it's getting late."
"Right..." I obediently follow him out of the cafe.
But as we walk home, I can't stop thinking about the way he said he wasn't good enough.
***
I thought I was going to be late, but I actually arrive ten minutes early to the festival. I spend the remaining time thinking about what would be the appropriate greeting. I don't feel any urge to kiss him again. Would hugging him be awkward? A handshake is probably way too distant and polite, though.
Wyatt arrives right on time, and immediately leans in for a hug, which makes all the time I spent dwelling on the appropriate greeting pointless.
We make some small talk as we wander around. There are a bunch of booths offering goods, various games, and the sweet smell of cotton candy floats in the air.
It reminds me of Rhett.
We end up in some shooting booth, because I really want a Ranger Stanley plushie. Of course, I'm awful at shooting, and when I hand the gun to Wyatt, I almost see the relief on the booth owner's face. He's just glad I didn't shoot him accidentally.
Wyatt is obviously better than me, and he manages to shoot a Ranger Stanley that he gives to me.
We keep trying different games, and I beat him in this oversized chess thing - finally something. All in all, it's a fun afternoon, or more like night at this point.
Wyatt excuses himself to the toilet, and I plop down on a bench, checking my phone.
I exchange a couple texts with Lainey. She's now apparently indecisive about how many flowers and ribbons the wedding decorations should contain, and in what proportion.
I also check Simstagram as a routine, and find a picture of Rhett at some house party. He's surrounded by a bunch of people, and he's smiling wide. But somehow it's not that radiant smile of his.
I put away my phone and shake my head. I'm imagining things.
That's when Wyatt appears.
"On the way back, I exchanged some of our tickets for lollipops," he announces, and hands me a huge, colorful one. He’s already started consuming his.
"Uh, thanks," I say, because I'm really not going to refuse it, even though I don't like lollipops. Lacking a better idea, I put it in my bag.
Unfortunately, this gesture doesn't go over his head. "You don't like lollipops, do you?"
"Um, not really."
"Shit, sorry, I should've asked you first."
"Nah, it's fine, I... will eat it later," I lie.
"Okay."
We sit in an awkward silence for a couple seconds, and I can't stop thinking about Rhett.
Wyatt is the first to say something. "You wanna try some other games, or…?"
"I think I'm going to head home soon. It's getting late."
"Ah, okay, right." He sounds disappointed, and I feel like shit.
I know I'm supposed to feel something like... attraction? He's nice, he's good looking, but I don't feel anything. Only shame due to the lack of feelings.
Is there something wrong with me?
When we say our goodbyes, he doesn't try to kiss me. It's probably for the best.
***
Rhett comes home around midnight. I peek out of my room to see if he's okay.
He waves at me, and that's when I notice the bloody bandage on his hand.
I quickly emerge from my room. "What happened to your hand?"
He looks at it, like he just realizes that he's hurt. "Uh, I think I cut it or something."
"It's soaked, let me change it," I offer, which sounds more like a command as it comes out. I grab him by his wrist, and pull him to the bathroom.
He's not complaining.
I take off the bloody bandage, and start to wash his hand. It's a rather long cut, but not that deep.
He rests his head on my shoulder, which sends a funny feeling into my stomach.
"You're going to stitch it too, Dr. Pearson?" he mutters into my shoulder.
"If you wish to sue me for malpractice, I can try."
He starts laughing, which makes it harder to keep his hand steady during my impromptu medical practice. "You're funny."
"And you're drunk."
"Uh, I am." He sways, and ends up pressed to me. "Ouch."
I stop for a moment. "It hurts?"
"No."
I continue more carefully, but it makes it quite hard to concentrate that he's all pressed against me.
I finish by putting a clean bandage on his hand, and prop him up on the bathroom counter.
"It's gonna heal shortly, just keep the bandage on."
"Thanks doc," he says, his smile hazy.
"That'll be fifty."
He reaches for his pocket.
"No, it was a joke!" I insist, and grab his arm to stop him.
So now I'm holding his arm, and looking at his pretty eyes.
"You're blushing," he notices.
"I'm not."
"You're cute when you're blushing."
Now I'm blushing even more. But as I continue to gaze into his eyes, I see that weird sadness in them which I saw on that Simstagram photo. I force myself to let go of his arm.
"Are you… okay?"
He blinks like he just came out of a trance. "Yeah, I mean, not gonna lie, I’m dizzy as fuck-"
"That’s not what I meant."
He averts his gaze. "I’m fine, really. But I think I'm just going to sleep. I'm tired."
I’m not convinced, but… I shouldn’t push him if he doesn’t want to talk about it. "Right. Sleep well then."
"Night, Olls."
When I finally get to bed, I'm trying very hard to ignore that weird feeling in my chest.
***
Next day, on Saturday, I'm just peacefully minecrafting my own business. I mean maybe peacefully is a bit misleading as I'm currently in the middle of a raid, when I hear the doorbell ring.
"Coming!" Rhett shouts, and I leave it to him.
Ugh, I just managed to survive a freaking raid, when another wave starts. This game will drive me crazy one day.
Also, Rhett's been talking to the visitor for a while now. I try to eavesdrop, but I don't understand much. I think it's a man. My curiosity rises.
Fuck, I'm dead, and I even lost my enchanted diamond pickaxe. I mutter a curse under my breath.
This is when Rhett knocks on my door, despite the fact that it's literally half open. He’s really gotten the hang of that knocking thing lately.
"Could you come out for a bit?" he asks, unusually politely.
"Yeah, sure," I answer and follow him to the living room.
There stands a tall man, who looks strikingly like Rhett. Better dressed, though.
"So, um, Oliver, this is my brother, Callum."
"Nice to meet you," I say as we shake hands.
"So, Oliver," he begins, "have you settled in well?"
"Yeah-"
"Great! I hope my little brother is not too annoying!"
"No, not since he learned how to knock."
Callum starts laughing, and Rhett averts his gaze. Which is weird, because we joke about it all the time.
"He'll come around," he pats Rhett's shoulder.
"As you can see, at least we keep the flat in a perfect condition." Rhett changes the topic, with a not entirely honest smile.
"Yeah, that's nice."
"Anyway, we were about to head out to grab something," Rhett continues, changing topics again. "You need anything?"
"No, thanks."
"It was nice to meet you, Oliver!" Callum shakes my hand again.
"You too."
"I'll be back... at some point," Rhett waves, and pushes his brother out the door.
"Bye!"
Well, that was strange.
***
I return to playing Minecraft, and I begrudgingly make a new pickaxe. Despite this, I can't stop thinking about Rhett's brother, and that strange encounter. I try to remember the things he’s said about Callum so far. I think once Rhett called him insufferable? I also think he’s working with their father? And he said Callum plays the piano better than him. That's pretty much all I remember. They don't seem that close to me. But maybe that's normal, I have no idea, I have no siblings. This is the point when my phone starts ringing.
It's Lainey.
"Hey!"
"Heeeey, Ollie!" She greets me happily. "I've heard you went on another date with Wyatt!"
"Are you spying on me, or what?" I say, a bit annoyed.
"News spread fast!" She chuckles, and I can't be mad at her for long. "How was it?"
"It was fun, I got a Ranger Stanley plushie."
"And?"
"He's nice, just..." I really don't know how I could express what I feel. "I don't feel that thing, you know? When I started dating Harry, it was all sunshine, and sparkles, and rainbows, but now, it's just. Dunno."
"I see."
"Maybe I should just give it some more time," I mutter, but I don't have much faith in what I said.
"Yeah. Just don't give up on it completely."
"Right."
She changes to a happier tone. "There's another thing I wanted to discuss!"
"Should I be worried?"
"No!" She laughs. "It's just, do you think the wedding invitation should be like, plain white? Or some other color? Maybe purple? I like purple!"
"I like white, though, it’s classic," I admit.
"But it's boooring!" she whines, and I roll my eyes. Why would she want to consult with me if she already decided on it?
"Could be white with some purple?"
"Hm. I'll think about it."
"Lainey?"
"Hm?"
I hesitate a bit, because I don't know how I should bring up the topic.
"Please tell me you’re an expert in sibling relationships."
"Um, well, I can’t tell you that." She hesitates. "Why?"
"I just met Rhett's brother." I admit, scratching my forehead. "And, I dunno, he was acting strange? I mean, Rhett was. I think he's acting rather weird a lot lately," I end up saying awkwardly.
"What exactly do you mean by weird?"
Watcher, how am I supposed to explain this? I just feel like he's slipping away from me. But maybe it's just how he is, and he just acted differently because I moved here? I don't know.
"Nevermind."
"Maybe you should talk to him?"
Why is that always the first thing she says?
"I don't really want to disturb his personal life."
"So you'll just continue worrying forever?"
"I'm not worried!" I lie, and I don't even have to see her face to know that she knows.
"Of course you're not-"
"Whatever," I groan. "I have some stuff to do, so-"
"Maybe you should just ask him out?!"
"Who?"
"Rhett, obviously!"
Fuck. I feel the hotness creeping up on my neck.
"What the hell, Lainey! That's not gonna happen!"
"Why? You like him!" she points it out angrily.
"Like... a friend!"
"You literally wanted to sleep with him a few weeks ago!"
"I didn't!
"Okay, maybe you didn't." She changes to a matter-of-factly tone. "Because you didn't want to just sleep with him. You want to date him, but you're just afraid that he only wants you for a fuck."
I let out a desperate groan. Damn her and her ability to read me like an open book.
"It doesn't... matter. Talk to you later," I mutter, and throw my phone on the bed.
I sigh, and bury my head in my arms. I think about all the times his gaze or touch sent shivers through my body. I think about our drunken kiss (like I don't think about it often enough), and all the feelings I tried to bury during these past couple weeks come bubbling up in my chest.
What if I just ask him out, really? What's the worst that could happen? Well, he could kick me out of here, which is definitely something I don't wish for.
I hear a door bang closed, and I jump up, startled.
I peek out of my room, to see Rhett storming off to his room.
"Are you-"
"Leave me alone." That's all he says, before he shuts the door behind him.
Okay, if I wasn't worried before, I am now.
I sneak up to his door, and knock, carefully.
"Leave me alone!" he repeats, and my heart sinks.
Should I really leave him alone?
---
I hope you enjoyed this mile long chapter! But what should Ollie do? You can VOTE HERE of course! I close the voting in two weeks on the 12th of September!
Again, many-many thanks to Anachronisims for being a wonderful beta! <3
Not gonna lie, I kinda wanted the no kiss version to win, because I wouldn't have had to build the festival lot (which was a pain, and of course most of it wasn't even properly visible on the pictures). But if we just look at the story part, I like this version better, so no pain no gain I guess XD
About the piano scene: Originally I wanted Rhett to play Moonlight Sonata, but I thought Für Elise would suit the scene better. I mean I'm no expert in German, but I know für means for XD (yeah, Rhett literally serenaded Ollie, if you were wondering).
I'm very curious about your thoughts! About everything that's going on! Feel free to analize every word if that's what you want :P I love reading every feedback! :D
Hopefully the next chapter won't take this long! (mainly because it's shorter) We'll see! Thank you for reading! ^^
no subject
Date: 2020-08-29 18:36 (UTC)I also can't believe Rhett walked by during the kiss!!!
Good on Lainey, confronting Ollie with his feelings like that. Somebody had to. He was dating Wyatt out of politeness lol XD
I voted for Oliver to insist on trying to talk to Rhett. He's obviously hurting and I don't think it would be good for him to be alone right now. Even if Ollie is just another thing he doesn't feel "good enough" for.
no subject
Date: 2020-08-30 08:29 (UTC)How else would I make it harder for them :P
"He was dating Wyatt out of politeness" if that's not true, I don't know what is XD
Well, we'll see what happens! :D I'm curious which option will win!
Daiana
Date: 2020-08-29 22:14 (UTC)I agree with Keoni. Lainey is golden.
I really enjoyed the chapter! Thank you so much DeeDee! ♥♥♥
Re: Daiana
Date: 2020-08-30 08:34 (UTC)We all love Lainey in this house!
Thank you so much, I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter! ^^
no subject
Date: 2020-08-30 05:28 (UTC)I'm very slightly annoyed at Ollie for responding to Wyatt's text when he was literally being serenaded by Rhett. Like, c'mon Ollie, he's almost always on your mind when you're hanging out with Wyatt or Lainey... treasure your time with him!
I came into this chapter hoping that they'd have a good, proper, sober kiss, but maybe now is not the time. I voted for Ollie to insist. My initial reaction was to leave him alone, but I gave it some thought and realised that when I'm upset, it makes me feel worse if the people around me just leave me alone. Like it makes me think they've just thrown their hands in the air and said "whelp, she's obviously in a mood, I'll deal with that later". Rhett seems like a person who bottles up his emotions and needs to talk them through with someone to actually figure 'em out. It might make him feel better?
no subject
Date: 2020-08-30 08:40 (UTC)Yeah, Ollie is making some questionable decisions, that's true. He's just making it harder for himself at this point XD
They would need to sort out their feelings first... Rhett definitely bottles up his emotions, and has troubles talking about them with other people. So yeah... we'll see!
no subject
Date: 2020-08-30 14:08 (UTC)no subject
Date: 2020-08-30 14:01 (UTC)But why did he check his phone after Rhett told him, he wasn't good enough? You can't give someone else attention, when someone says something like that. He should have given Rhett his whole attention. Argh, insensitiv boy.
I'm so curious what happend to Rhett in his family and his childhood. The feeling of not beeing good enough is so terrible. I'm working with kids feeling the same way so yeah, I am absolutely worried af. I voted for Ollie to insist. Sometimes it's better to leave somebody alone. But I think Rhett should at least know that Ollie cares about him and won't leave him alone. He doesn't have to talk. Just see that there is somebody caring. It breaks my heart to see him this way. (Although I like seeing another facet of him. Just not this one.)
no subject
Date: 2020-08-31 14:46 (UTC)Ollie is confused and making... not so good decisions lately.
Some of Rhett's past and family dynamics will be discussed later, so I don't want to spoil stuff, but you're thinking in the right direction. We'll see which option wins! :)
(an anachronisims by any other name)
Date: 2020-08-30 15:08 (UTC)i've struggled with the choice all week (as i often do), but i think ultimately ollie would retreat after being rebuffed again. he seems like the sort of guy that would respect boundaries, if for no other reason than it permits him to indulge his natural impulses to be shy and avoid potentially life-changing action because it's SCARY. now that i've read it twice that's how i'm voting.
Re: (an anachronisims by any other name)
Date: 2020-08-31 14:50 (UTC)Ollie definitely respects others and boundaries, but he also wants to help. I honestly wouldn't know what to vote if I was a reader (it's easier that I know Rhett's side, haha!)
no subject
Date: 2020-08-31 14:25 (UTC)Anyway, the moment piano is so sweet and wholesome! Wyatt could never be forgiven for interrupting it >(
no subject
Date: 2020-08-31 14:53 (UTC)I'm glad you liked the piano scene! Poor Wyatt didn't know he was interrupting XD It's on Ollie that he answered :P
no subject
Date: 2020-08-31 16:16 (UTC)no subject
Date: 2020-09-12 02:31 (UTC)Ollie is definitely dating Wyatt out of politeness to Lainey, he just doesn't have that sparkle. Ollie needs to find out whats going on with Rhett.
no subject
Date: 2020-09-13 06:34 (UTC)Ollie, poor thing is kinda confused right now, but he'll try to sort everything out! :)