1.9 Prince of Embarrasment

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High school homework was harder than Dylan had even realized. While trying to solve his math problems he already missed elementary school, where the exercises were less cryptic and real numbers were used, not just bunch of x's, y's and z's. 

Luckily, he had his dad helping him. It made solving the problems a little bit easier, even though it was a while from Salim's school years.

"And then you subtract the value of y from x, and as pirates say, x marks the spot!"

Dylan just mumbled embarrassed from Salim's lameness. Dad was good enough home teacher for sure, but did he have to try to be so funny and youthful...

"Did you get it?"

"Yeah, I did. Thanks. That was the last exercise."

"Great! I'll go and continue working."

After getting free from the homeworkload, Dylan finally got to do the one thing he had been thinking of the whole day: to call Hilda and to ask her to hang out. For some reason, the girl had been in his mind quite regularly, and often accompanied with strange, but not uncomfortable feelings in his body. So why wouldn't he call her and ask her, if she had nothing better to do at a Saturday evening?

He could see right away, that something wasn't right. The girl, who usually was so lively and bubbly, was now slouching and gloomy. Dylan tried to figure out what was wrong, but her responses were very short. He didn't want to pry, but he wanted to make clear, that he was there for her, if she needed a shoulder to cry on.

"Hey, listen, everything's alright. I'm here, and I'm not leaving you."

"It's rather stupid, actually... I don't know why it keeps bothering me this much."

"Whatever it is, you are strong and you'll get through it. We could do something fun together, alright? I could show you my Fly-Man figurine collection! I also have a rare collector's edition with a golden suit. Would you like to see it?"

In his mind, Dylan cursed himself. Why, just why he had to start talking about Fly-Man? Surely Hilda wasn't the type who was interested in superheroes. Now he would just embarrass himself. But well, apple doesn't fall too far from the tree, he thought while thinking about his dad.

For his relief, Hilda seemed to be a little more cheered up. She even laughed.

"Thank you for the offer. Maybe I could come and see your golden Fly-Man, if it's so fancy."

Dylan felt warm when he saw the girl smile, and he was rather pleased with himself. Perhaps he wasn't as embarrassing as he was fearing he would be, or perhaps him being so embarrassing was attractive after all. Either way, mission accomplished.

He showed her the way to his room and where he kept his figurine collection, but then his mum called him to eat dinner. Hilda wasn't hungry, so she decided to wait for him in his room. Besides figurines Dylan had also a pile of comic books in there, and she started reading them a bit absent-minded. Dylan felt sorry for having nothing which could possibly interest her more, but no can do.

While eating he was pondering, if he had the courage to confess his feeling to Hilda, and if he did it, what would follow. He didn't taste the food in his mouth, he was just chewing it mechanically. Trisha didn't seem to notice his inner fight, she was treating herself with the leftovers of Dylan's birthday cake and chit-chatting with him rather pleasantly. Dylan didn't hear her words, his mind was too occupied.

Finally, he had built up enough courage to go and ask the question.

"Hii... So I was thinking... Would you like to, you know, be more than friends?"

For his disappointment, Hilda's reaction wasn't what he was hoping for.

"Jeesh, you have just grown up to a teenager! We don't really know each other at all! What, did you try to cheer me up just to get me more vulnerable and easier to flirt?"

"What? No, no! Oh Plumbob no, I was just..." Words were stuck in Dylan's throat. He hadn't thought at all the possibility of being rejected like this. Like other ways yes, but not like this. Hilda shook her head, but seemed to relax. Soon she was smiling again.

"Don't get me wrong, I like you very much", she said to him. "This was just too soon, you know? And besides, I have all kinds of drama going on at home, I don't want to start a relationship right now. But you are a good friend. And your Fly-Man collection is rather impressive! Especially the one with the golden suit."

"Good to hear. And I understand. No hard feelings, yes?"

"Here I thought you would try to mask your suggestion as a joke. Too many guys I know have done that", Hilda said, smiling. Dylan laughed.

"I'm the Prince of Embarrassment, but even I have my limits!"

Salim asked Dylan to join him for a fishing trip, and after the men left the house Hilda stayed a bit longer and chatted with Trisha.

"Dylan is a sweet guy, but I'm not yet ready for a relationship! I mean, I really hope he got it. What do you think? I didn't hurt his feelings, did I?"

"Dyl doesn't get hurt from something like that. You're too important to him for letting that kind of minor setback to ruin the friendship between you two", Trisha calmed the younger woman down as she was mixing some cookie dough. Hilda seemed to be a bit more relieved and accepted the task thankfully as Trisha let her to eat the bowl clean. 

The last time Dylan and Salim were fishing together was a while ago. Dylan hadn't even remembered how relaxing it could be. Spending time with his dad was easy, because they both were the type who enjoyed a good book or just standing side by side quietly and enjoying the atmosphere. No words were needed, and no one felt awkward. Mum on the other had had always something to say about everything. It was fine most of the times, but on the long run, it was exhausting. Then it felt good to have a bit more room to breathe.

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"Hmm... What on Earth could I want anymore? I've already got the most important, the hamburger cake. Maybe some hamburger sauce for the cake?"

"Ah, this is how it wheels when everything in life is as it should be! What a wonderful fee- ouch, my back hurts. It's alright, just keep smiling!"

Salim's elderly birthday went peacefully and was celebrated with just a couple of friends. Trisha was working and Dylan doing whatever teenager stuff he was doing, so Salim had invited two of dear family friends, Riikka and La'ei, to eat cake and raise a glass. Especially Riikka was excited for him and didn't hesitate to tell him about each and every elderly pains and agonies, from osteoarthritis to tumours in all shapes and sizes. Salim just laughed heartily. He didn't fear becoming an elder, because he regretted nothing in his life. He had reached his life goal, he had a family, a career and a bunch of friends. Moreover, Riikka tended to exaggerate her stories quite a bit, which on the other hand made them lively and interesting to listen to. 

"If I won't get cataract I'll be quite happy", he laughed himself after the guests left.

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"How's gardening going?" Riikka asked Trisha cheerfully. Trish's friends had been asking the same question many times now, because everybody was waiting for the new park to be built. Newcrest was a pretty place, but rather dull, because there was no place for hanging together and spend time.

"Slowly but steadily", she responded. A couple of plants were showing signs of evolving, and many needed just a little more time for becoming perfect. The project advanced slower than she had thought it would, and even if she truly enjoyed gardening, she hoped she could soon fully focus on her chef career. Just a little more dirty work, she said to herself.

"Even though my joints are stiff, I can still dance!" Salim cheered. He had never enjoyed exercising, and now he feared, that his unhealthy lifestyle would pay him back at this point of life. For now he felt quite good though, and he planned on enjoying it for as long as it lasted.

"I must say, grey hair suits you", Trisha complimented him. "How do I look ashen-haired, I wonder?"

"You'll be the hottest elder in the neighbourhood", Salim said with a twinkle in his eye and got Trisha giggling like a school girl.

"But how is that possible, as the hottest elder in the neighbourhood already sits at this table with me?" she asked playfully and winked to her husband.

"You'll become hotter than me, that's for sure."

"No, I won't."

"Yes, you will!"

"No!"

"Yes!"

They didn't come to an agreement after their childish argument, but it didn't stop them for capturing the moment for later use - "so that we can compare later", Trisha said - and testing the springing of the bed. Although Salim took notice, that his old body couldn't take the same amount of stress as a younger and fitter one. And him being at a bad shape didn't help at all. Luckily Trisha was there and helped them both to the finish line.

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There was no one in the chat room. No wonder though, it was a Sunday morning and the sun hadn't even risen yet. Dylan had waken up early without knowing why, his eyes had just opened and he had been unable to fall asleep again. He had spent many hours at internet surfing and trying to figure out, what to do today.

But then, another childhood friend crossed his mind. How was Anne doing nowadays? Nothing was stopping Dylan from calling her and finding that out. Soon it was so late that he could safely assume other sims being awake too. Dylan picked up his phone and searched the right contact information. Anne didn't take too long to answer the phone. They agreed to meet in one hour at Dyl's place. Better to search something to wear then.

"Hey, nice to see you! It's a long while, isn't it?" Dylan greeted cheerfully.

"It sure is. Last time was your birthday, I guess? How's teenage life going?"

"High school math sucks, but otherwise, no complaints."

"You said it! Are you also attending Ms. Hall's Advanced Calculus? Where they find these people to teach us, I just wonder!"

In addition of hating math Dylan and Anne had surprisingly many other things in common, such as passion for reading and interest in chemistry, so they had a lot to talk about. Dylan felt a connection between himself and her, and he became suddenly very nervous. She was nice and pretty and interesting, but what if she too turned him down as roughly as Hilda did? Now that Dylan had experienced it once he truly didn't feel like experiencing it again. So instead a straightforward question he decided to try a little more discreet approach.

His impromptu serenade seemed to impress Anne. 

"Wow! Where have you learned to sing like that?"

"Weelll, maybe I just have natural talent", he replied shyly. In truth he had surprised even himself, because he had had absolutely no idea that he had such a good voice at all. The Prince of Embarrassment was there ready to show his claws, were he to fail, and he could've make a joke about that afterwards, so he had had absolutely nothing to lose. Fortunately, everything went well. "Shall we go outside?" he suggested and leaded the way to get some fresh air.

"It's rather chilly in here. If you just wait for a bit, I go and get my coat", Dylan said and blew a kiss to test the waters a bit more.

"Sure", Anne giggled. "Don't stay away too long!"

Yeah, Dylan thought excited. This went rather well!

"Anne, in case you haven't noticed, well, I..."

The girl looked at her and waited, but finding the right words was very hard, and Dylan's throat felt suddenly dry as a desert. He tried to swallow and felt the Prince of Embarrassment inside him to wake up and wait for his turn to step up.

"IjustwantedtosayIlikeyouverymuch", he managed to blurt eventually. Anne raised her eyebrow.

"Oh really? I would've missed that for sure", she teased. Butterflies flapped in Dylan's stomach, as she looked at him with that face, and he felt his cheeks becoming red. She was waiting him to take the first step. Everything was depending on that.

"I'll have to leave soon", Anne said finally after he had been silent for too long. "Would you walk me?"

"Y-yes, of course", he managed to stutter and followed her to the front door side of the house. He had to do something, before it was too late.

At the front door it finally happened. Dylan got himself to lean front and pressing his lips towards hers, giving her his first kiss. And oh boy, how good it felt! After getting a taste of it he didn't want to stop kissing her, but continued from the lips to her neck, getting her to giggle.

"That tickles! No, seriously, I have to go now! My parents are waiting", Anne tried to calm him down.

"You taste too good, yum yum yum", Dylan mumbled against her soft and sensitive neck. That made her giggle even more.

Finally, he released her from his grip and let her leave for home. Before that they agreed to meet again (outside school of course, they would see each other at school next morning, but that didn't count) and planned, what would they do then. Dylan decided to play a gentleman while saying his goodbyes, which amused Anne very much. She promised to text him as soon as she got home and got some peace and quiet.

After Anne left Dylan went to his mum to give the good news.

"Mama! I have a girlfriend!"

"That's wonderful, honey! Is it the Landgraab girl? Hilda?"

"No, it's Anne! Anne Bjergsen! I have to go now, I must check my messages!"

"But didn't she leave just two minutes ago?"

"Yeah, but you never know!"

Dylan ran to his room and Trisha dived back to her book with a smile on her face. Oh, young love! Hopefully it would last, because a broken heart, that was truly painful.

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