Tell Me What You Want (What You Really, Really Want!)

Twinbrook: cold, murky, broken, scorned... Where dreams begin, but are never fulfilled. Here, the Kanes fled from their past, hoping to avoid the consequences of their mistakes... But where some consequences die, others are born.

Meredith, the mother of their three growing children, always wondered: why Twinbrook? It had certainly not been in any part her decision -- it was her husband's, who had set up this little ''Plan B'' -- and she was becoming increasingly irritated that she'd had no part in it. Why not a beautiful island in the Carrsimibbean (Plumbbob knows he likely could've afforded a home there at some point), or a bustling city where their faces would get lost in the crowd? Why, of all places... Twinbrook?

But, Meredith was not the only one that was no longer content with her life. It is in the nature of a Sim to be constantly wanting -- in fact, if there is anything consistent about Sims, it is that... It is only the content of those wishes that changes.

And, what each Kane wanted was certainly not the same.

---

Just another day in hazy ol' Twinbrook. Jebidiah was scooping for inside info on the town's residents with his trusty laptop... Meredith, working on her latest commissioned portrait with a little bit of guilt... Bradley, banging out the final touches on a new toy for his baby sister, and... Amelia, being cute. Because that's what toddlers do. Travis, the eldest son of the Kane Crew, was fighting a different battle entirely...



... The battle of dealing with an insane, obsessive, brutally annoying girlfriend.

As he looked at the caller-ID on his phone, Travis Kane felt a pang of irritation in his gut. "Again? This is the fourth time today..." While he was incredibly hesitant to answer, after several moments of contemplation, he hit 'Talk' and moved the phone up to his ear.



"Hey, Lolly."

"Well hiii Travis. So, I was wondering, do you wanna go to the movies tomorrow night? Bunny just told me they're showing, like, one of the best shows since that one about that Simbot disguised as the Mayer in Simtropolis, you know, the one where Will Simth had to go undercover and -- don't you remember, we went to see it that time we ordered a bunch of cheese fries and Jade tripped and knocked them all on that bald guy's head? Well, aaaanyways..."

And she went on.

And on.

And... on.

After a solid 15 minutes listening to Lolly Racket analyze every review she read on the film, talk about her latest craze in cooking class, and about how Bunny's-boyfriend-to-be was *so* not her type and... Well, you get the picture... Travis finally said, "I don't really feel like going out, Lolly. I've got practice all that afternoon, I'm going to be exhausted."

"Then why don't I just come over? I can cook you something... It'll be fun!"

"But I... Alright, fine. Come by at 8, I guess."


Once they'd done their ritual "I wub you, Twavis!" and "I love you too, Lolly...", (always followed by the usual "Traviiisss, I thought we agreed on my nicknaaaame..." "Yeah yeah, nunight Lolly-dolly."), Travis slammed his finger on the 'off' button and glared at the screen on his phone that showed the glowing picture of his girlfriend.

"Why am I dating her, again?" he grumbled to himself. He knew there had to be a reason... But, at that particular moment, he couldn't quite remember. In fact, Travis couldn't remember a good, solid reason to be enduring the misery of a relationship with Lolly-Clingwrap-Racket... unless you count that delicious mouth of hers.

Yeah. That's a pretty good reason. ... "I guess."

---

Meredith put her hands to her hips with a sigh, watching her youngest son's pleading face with as much conviction as she could muster. She knew, if she showed too much sympathy, she'd have to cave... And she couldn't. This wasn't something she even could cave about.



"Please, mom... Can't I get contacts? Or... Or... you know... That laser surgeee or whatever it's called? Please?" Bradley pleaded with his mother, looking up at her with the biggest puppy eyes he could make.

Meredith was not really impressed, but her heart sank at what he wished for."Honey, you know we can't afford either of those right now. Besides, your prescription is too big for contacts anyways."

"But all the kids at school are gonna make fun of me... And all the girls are gonna think I look funny... They already think I do..."



"There's nothing I can do, sweetie. You have to wear them, you know you can't see well without them." Meredith was trying to be as comforting as possible, but Bradley just wasn't buying it. "The girls will come around, and any girl that doesn't like you for the way you are isn't worth your time, anyways."

"Besides," she continued, shrugging, and attempting to put a smile on her face. "Look at how much it makes you look like your dad... You're taking after him more every day! Having glasses just shows that you're going to turn out just as smart as your dad is."



"But I don't want to be like Dad!" Bradley yelled, apparently not concerned that Jebidiah was in the room with them. "All you guys ever do is fight, and I don't wanna fight with girls... I just wanna be happy. I just want people to like me!"



Meredith backed away, her smile fading as she watched Bradley explode in frustration, and Jebidiah leave the room with an unpleasant look on his face. That was definitely not the reaction she had expected... especially not from Bradley. "Brad, calm down... There are many people that like you, sweetie. Your family, your friends Tay and Parker, that girl Emerald..."

"No she doesn't." With a sigh and a sniffle, Bradley sat down on the floor, burying his face in his hands.



"Oh, honey..." Meredith quickly joined him, plopping herself down next to him as she tried to find the words to say to ease his mind. This was the part of parenting that Meredith didn't particularly like, but, she loved her boy too much to let him suffer this alone.

"You know, when I was your age, I was really awkward too... Did you know that?" When Bradley shook his head, Meredith continued. "It took a long time for me to make any friends, let alone a boyfriend... But then your dad came along and saw me for just the way I was, and loved me just the way I am. Someday, you're going to find that girl, and she's not going to want you to be anyone but exactly who you are. Funny nose, glasses, and all... Alright?"

"Alright."



As Bradley looked at himself in the mirror, he wasn't convinced... But, maybe she was right.
He just wished that he could toss out those stupid glasses.

---

"So then she talked my ear off for like an hour... I tell you June, I just have no idea what to do about this girl."




Travis and June had met up at the gym for some power body training after sport's practice, but neither one was really in the mood for the gym equipment... so the trampoline was the obvious solution.

"Well, do you actually like her, or are you just leading her on?"

"I dunno, I mean..."

"Travis, that's a retarded answer. You either like her or you don't. It's not a question of if's and but's."



After a few more bounces, and Travis flopping on his back, he rolled his eyes and sighed.

"I guess you're going to tell me to break up with her then, aren't you?"

"Isn't it obvious?"

"Hey, when are you going to get your own boyfriend, anyways?"

"Shut up!"



As they jogged home, Travis continued to try to avoid the subject, but June was... well, June. Blunt, easily annoyed, and definitely not one to put up with stupidity from anyone -- especially not her Best Friend/Cousin.

Once they reached his house -- June's was only a few doors up the street -- she gave him a "look" and laughed. "So, you're going to do it, right?"

"Yeah yeah, pushy-pants... I'll take care of it. I'm Super Travis, remember? I can do anything!"

"Haha, yeah... Except hit a baseball with all that hair hanging in your eyes. See ya later, loser!"

---

Once Lolly finally showed up that night, Travis realized he hadn't felt this nervous since their big game against the Strangetown Sharks. "It's not that big of a deal, Travis, you didn't want to date her in the first place, remember?" He told himself, walking down the steps to greet his girlfriend. "She'll get over it... I mean, she's aging up soon anyways, it'd be better for her if we broke up -- yeah, yeah, that's what I'll tell her! Easy peasy..."



But, once he got her into the house, and he asked her to sit down with him on the couch, those beautiful eyes of hers settled on his, and she grabbed his hand in that oh-so-cute-way that he always liked, and... Well...

"Aw heck, I'll just do it tomorrow."

She paused for a moment, looking up into his eyes with a heartbreaking expression. "Is everything alright, Travis?"

"Yeah! Everything is juuusst fine..." He grinned, and tugged her closer.

UGH. Boys. They are so retarded.

---

What do the Kanes really want? It's hard to see, from the way they act and the secrets they hide, but deep down.... The things that they long for are always resting on the surface, invading their dreams.



For Travis, it is wishing that it was easier to get rid of the girl that sucks him in every time he sees her...



For Bradley, it is wishing it was easier to deal with his unfortunate shortcomings...



For Jebidiah, it is wishing that he didn't have to turn to his mother for help with a certain monetary "problem"...



And for Meredith, it is wishing that a man that she couldn't possibly like would get out of her mind.

... Oh, if only.