Fanon:A Pleasant Tale

A Pleasant Tale is a story created by Carman39, set in Pleasantview and based off of the Pleasant family, specifically Mary-Sue, Angela, and Lilith (Daniel is mostly absent in the story). The story deals with the aftermath of Mary-Sue and Daniel's divorce, the intensifying rivalry between the twins, and Lilith's growing connection with Angela's boyfriend Dustin Broke. The story is told mostly from Lilith's point of view and puts her as the main character, but other characters do have scenes and small portions told from their point of view too. Once this fan story is finished, there will be a sequel.

Chapter 1: New Lilith, New Attitude
7:00am, 215 Sim Lane 

The alarm clock beeped, signalling another bleak Monday had begun. Mary-Sue groaned and slammed her palm down on the clock, she didn't want to get up today. Sometimes it hurt for her to move, she'd been working her fingers to the bone at her job, she'd been demoted recently and had been doing everything in her power to make sure she gets her position back. Mary-Sue's first destination was the coffee machine, she just hoped that she'd be able to get a good cup of joe in before the twins wake up and have their daily "who has the bathroom first?" debate. The twins are both Mary-Sue's proudest achievements and the bane of her existance, Angela and Lilith. Angela is the apple of Mary-Sue's eye, a study addict at the top of her class, a beautiful young girl, and a generous soul. Lilith is... well she's Lilith. Lilith, to Mary-Sue, is nothing but an underacheiving angry bitter girl, jealous of the self-made successful girl her older twin is. When Daniel left Mary-Sue for that sleazy maid Kaylynn Langerak , Mary-Sue was almost begging Daniel to take Lilith with him.

"Mooooom!" Mary-Sue heard a shriek coming from upstairs. She rolled her eyes, the twins were both seventeen years old, they were getting closer to graduating, so why did they continue to fight like they were pre-schoolers? Mary-Sue chugged the cup until every drop of the coffee was down her throat, and stormed upstairs, waiting to see the warzone she was going to walk in to. When Mary-Sue entered the bathroom she was greeted by Angela with a red cheek and close to tears, Lilith sulking in the corner, and shampoo splattered all over the linoleum floor. Mary-Sue knew who was responsible immediately

"Lilith Marlena Pleasant! Explain this mess!" She ordered. Lilith turned around sharp, her arms still folded and also sporting a red but slightly faded cheek. Lilith opened her mouth to defend herself, but Angela jumped in.

"Oh Mom! All I wanted to do was wash my hair, but I couldn't even do that in peace could I, Lilith?! She came in, hit me, and knocked the bottle out of my hands and on to the floor, and now it's everywhere!" Angela choked up while telling the story, Lilith laughed slightly, knowing fine well Angela was forcing out these tears. Mary-Sue noticed Lilith giggle and fumed.

"And you're laughing Lilith? Your sister is hurt, and you're laughing? For shame Lilith, for SHAME! Clean up this mess!" Mary-Sue yelled, and stomped back downstairs.

7:31am

It was so unfair, Lilith was blamed for every single bad thing that happened in this house. Even since the twins were five, when Angela scribbled on the kitchen wall with Mary-Sue's favourite lipstick, all she had to do was cry out "Lilith did it!" and that would be the end of Lilith's TV privileges. Even if Angela owned up to doing it, she probably would have been praised for "being creative" and forced Lilith to clean up the mess. That was just her life though, Angela makes a mess, blames Lilith, and Lilith cleans up. Lilith's always had a theory that she was an unexpected twin, they only wanted Angela and so when Lilith came along seven minutes later they just chose to pretend she didn't exist. Lilith wasn't taught to walk, talk, or even use the potty, she learned it all herself. Angela was praised for learning the skills her parents taught her, while Lilith was ignored for basically teaching herself everything. Nobody noticed that Angela always threw the first slap in their fights, Lilith was just seen as a monster compared to "perfect" Angela.

Angela walked in, stood there watching Lilith clean up the mess of shampoo. Angela smirked, watching her pathetic twin take the fall as always. Angela scooped up some shampoo and threw it at Lilith's back.

"Missed a bit, sis!" Angela laughed and ran out, awaiting Lilith's retaliation. When Lilith didn't follow her into the bedroom, Angela went back into the bathroom, and Lilith was now brushing her teeth, the mess on the floor clear.

"You can't just ignore me Lilith." Angela said, folding her arms and leaning on the door frame. Lilith still didn't respond, she didn't want to give Angela any more ammunition against her for the day. Lilith spat, rinsed, and slipped past Angela. Determined to ignore her jabs. Lilith got to her bedroom mirror and started applying her makeup, black everything. Angela was determined to get a rise out of Lilith, she had a fiery temper when pushed and Angela loved using that to get her into trouble. Angela loaded her verbal gun with the most devastating bullet she had, knowing this could be the sentence that makes Lilith flip.

"Why do you even bother putting on makeup Lilith? I mean it's not as if you have a boyfriend to look "good" for anymore." Angela held back a cruel laugh as she said that, it did cut deep for Lilith. Lilith was in a relationship with Dirk Dreamer, and they got quite far in their relationship, but it was both their hesitance to go further that broke them up. Angela was happily in a relationship with local bad boy Dustin Broke, a boy who was formerly Lilith's childhood friend, but when he got involved with Angela they grew far apart. Lilith chose to not attack Angela with fists and waste another slap on her, but challenge her with words.

"You do realise we have the same face Angela, right? Implying that I'm ugly doesn't make you look good." Lilith said calmly, while applying her eyeliner.

"It doesn't matter we've got the same face, what matters is how you wear it" Angela posed and modeled her face by the door. Lilith finished her makeup and faced Angela.

"And you wear both your faces pretty terribly Angela, now get out of my room." Lilith remarked. Angela glared at her and walked away. Lilith smiled, she was proud of that comment, shame no one else was around to hear it.

8:54am, Pleasantview Community High School

The bell for the first period was going to ring in six minutes, Lilith was sitting on a bench outside the building, watching the crows eating remnants of food dropped by careless students. Dirk walked past her, and flashed her a sad smile, the breakup was only a month ago and things hadn't been the same since. As Lilith stared at two crows fighting over the last piece of a discarded croissant, she heard a giggle. She turned around and saw Angela and Dustin together by the school building, talking and laughing. Lilith scoffed and continued staring at crows. Some people think Lilith is bitter just for the sake of it, but Lilith has every right to be. Dustin was Lilith's friend from the beginning, and if it wasn't for her Angela would have never met her precious "Dusty", a pet name Lilith knows for a fact Dustin hates. Lilith cut Dustin off after finding out Angela had asked Dustin out, something Lilith had been planning to do for ages. Would Lilith still like to be Dustin's friend? Yes, she would like that a lot, but with Angela in the way it just can't happen. Lilith truly liked Dirk, but Dustin was the only person she truly connected with, and she can't even act on that either. It was never fair with Angela, whatever she wanted she got. A computer, the bigger room, the only boy Lilith truly felt connected with. The bell rang, and Lilith was snapped out of her own mind and into reality once again.

1:09pm, 215 Sim Lane

The bus finally stopped at the Pleasant house, Mary-Sue still at work of course. Angela, Lilith, and... Dustin, all exited the bus and entered the house. Dustin didn't come over often, but was always allowed to, Lilith was never allowed to bring Dirk home, big surprise. Angela and Dustin occupied the living room, forcing Lilith out. Lilith simply sat on the swing outside, watching Angela and Dustin chat by the TV. After an hour, Lilith saw Dustin was just leaving, so she figured it was okay to go back inside. Lilith took a bag of cookies out the cupboard and watched as Angela and Dustin said their goodbyes.

"I'll see you soon babe." Dustin hugged Angela. Angela puckered up hopefully for a kiss, but by then Dustin had already started to walk away. Dustin flashed Lilith a slight smile, and Lilith for a brief second felt like she was still in Dustin's world. Angela unpuckered and sulked for a bit, Lilith taking this opportunity to taunt her bully.

"What are you looking at, freak!" Angela yelled at Lilith. Lilith giggled seeing Angela so worked up.

"I just think it's interesting. Dirk and I almost got to second base in our relationship while you and Dustin haven't even had your first kiss yet." Lilith saw Angela go red.

"Maybe that's why you two broke up, you went too fast, and me and Dustin want to go slow."

"Maybe he doesn't wanna go slow, maybe he just wants to stop this thing dead." Lilith laughed as she saw Angela's anger rising on her face.

"Sounds like you wanna stop dead!" Angela got ready to charge at Lilith, embarrased and seeing red. Mary-Sue walked in, holding two pieces of paper.

"Good news girls, your school reports came in!" Mary-Sue chirped, Angela smirked at Lilith, knowing the outcome wasn't going to be in her favour.

3:00pm

"Good job Angela, all A+'s! You're going to be a real somebody someday. I see a lot of me in you, you know!" Mary-Sue fawned over Angela, Lilith turned her head to mask her absolute disgust. Angela sweetly thanked Mary-Sue and skipped off upstairs. Angela stopped at the top step and stood, she wanted to see Lilith suffer.

"Now Lilith, I'm very disappointed, but then again not surprised." Mary slammed the report card on the table. "Mostly C+'s, and a couple D+'s too, explain yourself."

"I'm not good at math? That a good enough explanation?" Lilith spat out. All her words sounded like they were being spat out like a bad meal.

"By the looks of this, you're not good at a lot of things. Lilith. I don't know what went wrong with you honestly. Look at Angela, she's got a stable relationship, good grades, a whole host of friends, and bright career prospects. What have you got Lilith?" Mary-Sue was just taunting Lilith at this point, Lilith couldn't tell what was worse, her mother constantly ignoring her or her mother belittling her. When Lilith didn't answer, Mary-Sue continued.

"Honestly, why can't you be more like Angela?" Mary-Sue said, Lilith had heard that statement used against her so much she simply mouthed along to Mary-Sue saying it. Mary-Sue sighed and left the room. Angela spoke from the top step once Lilith was left alone.

"FYI, don't even try to be more like me. I don't even want people to know I'm related to you." Angela said with an evil smile, and retreated to her room. Lilith used to cry after every report card meeting, but now she just sat there with a face of stone.

5:32pm, H&M Pleasantview

Lilith had to get out of the house for a while, and where better to go than the local shopping district. Lilith still had some allowance left she'd been saving up (she received $10 every two weeks, Angela received $20 every week). So far, Lilith had $20 saved up. As Lilith browsed the clothes, she found a bunch of dresses Angela owned. The words "why can't you be more like Angela?" rang through her head, but Lilith rejected it. "I don't want people to know I'm related to you" Lilith also recalled. An idea rang through Lilith's head, she didn't want people to know she was related to that stuck up cow either. Lilith grabbed a pair of jeans and a black T-shirt off the rack, a few piercings, and a bottle of hair dye. She wasn't going to look like that awful excuse for a girl any longer.

7:17pm, 215 Sim Lane

"Girls, time for dinner!" Mary-Sue stood at the counter and served up three equal plates of spaghetti, the dinner servings was usually the only thing that was equal between the twins. Angela came downstairs, and noticed Lilith wasn't the first one at the table like usual.

"Angela, will you get your sister out of the bathroom please?" Mary-Sue sweetly asked. Angela obliged and banged on the downstairs bathroom door.

"Hey zitface! Dinnertime!" Angela shouted. Lilith opened the door fast, giving Angela only a second to jump away and not get hit.

"Lilith don't just barge the door open like tha-WHAT ON EARTH!" Mary-Sue dropped her plate of spaghetti on the floor in shock. Lilith looked drastically different. Not only did Lilith have her nose, eyebrow, ears and lip pierced with small silver hoops, but her long orange locks were now straight black locks that reached just past her shoulders. She looked like a completely different person to Angela.

"Woah." was all Angela could make out seeing Lilith's new look.

"Well Mom, you told me to be more like Angela, and Angela told me to look less like her, so I figured I'd go for the second option." Lilith's confidence had started to grow recently, she found herself more able to talk back to her mother and sister, and now with her new look she was determined to fight back whenever possible, she didn't want to be pushed around by them any longer, this was the day Lilith Pleasant snapped. Lilith walked past Angela and collected one of the intact plates of food from the counter.

"I think I'll eat upstairs." Lilith smiled at Mary-Sue and carried her dinner upstairs. Mary-Sue snapped out of her shocked state to make one last remark.

"Good! And stay up there, I don't wanna see you for the rest of the night, you hear me?!" Mary-Sue yelled. Lilith didn't care, she felt like a boss, a new person with a new attitude. It's amazing what a new look can do to a person. Lilith ate her dinner, humming the tune of Patti LaBelle's "New Attitude" under her breath. Lilith wasn't into old 80's pop music, in fact she only knew the song because of her forced attendance at one of Angela's dance recitals years ago, but at this moment the lyrics of the song struck a chord with her.

I'm feeling good from my head to my shoes

Know where I'm going and I know what to do

I've tidied up my point of view

I got a new attitude!

Chapter 2: The Centowski Party
6:45am, 215 Sim Lane

Lilith had set her alarm fifteen minutes earlier than everyone else this morning. It was difficult and Lilith felt tired and groggy, but it was all worth it if it meant she could avoid another bathroom debate with Angela. Lilith sat for a second, things must be pretty bad with her family if it meant she was waking up early just to avoid them. Mary-Sue was still mad over Lilith's new and even darker style, and Lilith just wanted to have a day where she could avoid conflict with her family as much as possible. When Lilith entered the bathroom and looked at herself in the mirror, she saw a stranger for a second and was startled. Less than 24 hours ago, Lilith was still a long orange haired smooth skinned girl, and now what she saw before her was a shoulder length black haired girl with holes over her eyebrows, nostril, and lip. Once Lilith adjusted, she liked what she saw, nay, she loved it. Lilith washed her face, brushed her teeth, and slipped out of the bathroom just as the 7am alarms rang and she heard Mary-Sue and Angela stir in their beds. By 7:30, Lilith had done her makeup, added her piercings, put on her brand new black shirt, and headed down to breakfast.

"Lilith I honestly can't believe what you've done to yourself!" Mary-Sue was still going on about Lilith's new look over their morning pancakes.

"Well believe it Mom, I love this look! It gives me an edge, and makes me look different from all the other basic girls in my school" Lilith said, glancing over at Angela who was busy texting and smiling, texting Dustin probably.

"Angela, put the phone down while we're eating please, and won't you please tell your sister she looks ridiculous?" Mary-Sue snapped in a rare moment of discipline against Angela. Angela obliged.

"Lilith you look really, uhhh, how do I describe this. Like a nightmare from 2004?" Angela smirked. Lilith rolled her eyes and finished her last mouthful of pancakes. As much as she despised her mother, Lilith could admit Mary-Sue made some amazing pancakes, but then again she also made Angela so that takes some points off for her. Lilith put the plate in the dishwasher and went up to get her bag, but Mary-Sue stopped her.

"Lilith, you're not going to school with those piercings on, not on my watch."

"Then I may as well not go." Lilith shrugged and retreated to her room. For a moment she genuinely thought Mary-Sue would keep her off, but when the bus came Mary-Sue yelled for Lilith to come down and get on the bus, showing obvious disappointment when she saw the piercings remained on her face. When Lilith entered the bus following Angela, there was an audible gasp, Dirk and Dustin's mouths dropped open. Lilith didn't care whether the attention was good or bad, she was at least getting people talking.

11:45am, Pleasantview Community High School

Ah lunchtime, the one period of the day Angela didn't have to be around that freak of a twin she had. She had Lilith in almost every class of hers, but lunch was the time of day she could act like Lilith didn't exist to her. During lunchtime, Angela hung around with her friends, Meadow Thayer and Tosha Go.

"Hey Angie, my boyfriend's having a party tonight, you should stop by, have a few drinks and dance a little, it's gonna be great!" Tosha's boyfriend was Orlando Centowski, one of the more popular guys in the school. Angela had a huge crush on him before she met Dustin, one of the only good things Angela ever got from Lilith. Angela wanted to go, but declined, she knew her mother would be mad if she didn't finish her book report on Murder in Pleasantview. "Sorry I can't, big report due tomorrow."

"Aw that's lame" said Meadow. "But Dustin's gonna be there, just something to help you reconsider." That made Angela want to go a little more, and she really could get that first kiss she wanted, but she really had to keep her reputation up as one of the class geniuses.

"Sorry, I can't. If you see Dustin, tell him I said sorry and I'll see him some other time." Angela walked off to the library, feeling prettu guilty, but knowing if she wanted a place in Sim State University she had to keep her head in the books.. Lilith had been watching the conversation happen in the background, she felt sorry for Dustin in a way. There was an opportunity for Angela to really get Dustin to like her more, and she threw it away. She could always finish her book report some other time. Just as Lilith started thinking about Dustin, he seemed to materialize behind her.

"Hey Lilith." he said. Lilith jumped, and turned around to see Dustin.

"Jesus Christ, you scared me!"

"Haha, sorry bout that Lil." Dustin said. Lilith swallowed, Dustin was the only person ever who called her Lil, and she loved it.

"Listen, I'm going to Orlando's party tonight, and almost the whole school is pretty much invited. I was wondering if you want me to give you a lift? Or would that be weird with Angela there?" Dustin said sweetly. Lilith was at least kinda glad Dustin was aware of her battle with Angela. Lilith took the opportunity to tell Dustin the "sad" news.

"Not at all, Angela's not coming anyway. Some lame old book report she's finishing." Lilith shrugged. Dustin looked a little hurt.

"Aw really? Yikes. Anyway are you coming then Lil?" There he went calling her "Lil" again, everytime he called her that it made Lilith's heart melt a little bit. Part of her knew she shouldn't be catching feelings for Angela's boyfriend, but after all she'd known him longer, cared about him longer (and probably more than Angela does now and ever will), and it was Angela who stole Dustin away in the first place.

"Yes. I'll come. Pick me up at 7, okay?"

"You got it, it's a date. No. NO. Not like a date date, but uhhh... yeah, 7 it is. Haha." Dustin stammered before awkwardly walking away. Lilith smiled, she thought he was so cute when he's flustered. The bell rang for the last period, and Lilith skipped inside, she had to plan what she was gonna wear.

6:03pm, 215 Sim Lane

Lilith was out the shower. She had managed to successfully avoid Angela for most of the day, Angela was in her room doing her book report as predicted. Mary-Sue was doing some work downstairs, so Lilith had the rest of the night to be Lilith without distractions. Lilith skimmed through the clothes in her wardrobe. Should she wear a dress? Lilith had this lovely black dress she could have worn, but decided against it. Lilith instead chose a Paramore T-shirt she'd bought recently, and paired with with her jeans and ankle boots. The finishing touch was this purple plaid flannel shirt, which instead of putting on she simply tied around her waist. Paired with her new look, Lilith felt a sense of confidence she hadn't felt in a while. Lilith stared at the clock until at 7 exactly, she saw Dustin from her window and her heart skipped. No one noticed her sneak out. Dustin was waiting by the car.

"Hey Lil." he said, smiling at her in the adorable way he did earlier.

"Hey Dustin. I'm ready." Lilith smiled back and jumped into the car. She was actually alone in a car with Dustin, oh god, what now.

"You look great by the way." Dustin said quietly, obviously looking a bit hot and bothered, and probably a bit awkward that he was daring to compliment his girlfriend's sister. Lilith smiled and thanked him, and they stayed pretty silent for the ride.

7:10pm, 210 Wright Way

When Lilith arrived at the party, the first thing that hit her was a wave of music blasting through. Dustin left her side to talk to Orlando, leaving her virtually alone and helpless. Lilith stood by the door for a full minute, unsure of what exactly to do in this situation. She collected her thoughts and decided to go get a drink, deciding there was no point in spending the duration of the party chilling in the corner by herself. Lilith collected a Dim and Gusty cocktail from the refreshments table, a handful of potato chips, and just kinda stayed by the refreshment table waiting for Dustin. The music changed to an old house song called "Dreamer", and of course, whenever this song comes on anywhere, Dirk was singing along at the top of his lungs. Lilith rolled her eyes and focused back on her drink, then she got another one, and another one, until things just seemed a little bit lighter. Lilith wasn't super juiced, just a bit juiced, and she was ready to drink another one and head home, but the song suddenly changed to something by Paramore. Dustin finally appeared.

"Requested this for you." Dustin announced with a smile. Lilith about melted onto the refreshment table.

"Awww, that's so sweet. How did you know I like Paramore?" Lilith said, slightly slurred. Dustin simply pointed at her shirt.

"It's a little obvious." Lilith and Dustin fell into laughter. And they stared at each other for a moment, Lilith didn't want to leave Dustin's side for the rest of the night.

8:48pm

The party downstairs got a little boring, so Dustin and Lilith decided to hang out upstairs for a bit, away from the prying eyes and the loud music just to talk about their lives. They talked about everything, the death of Dustin's dad Skip, the divorce of Lilith's parents, their respective relationships, and then they got onto the subject of their friendship.

"You know I was so hurt when you cut me off, right?" Dustin said sadly, very quietly too, almost like he didn't want Lilith to hear.

"It hurt me to cut you off too. I just couldn't do it though, you and Angela wasn't something I wanted to see. Tell me though Dustin, do you really connect with Angela?" it may have been the juice talking, but Lilith just felt like she needed to ask. Dustin hesitated for a moment.

"Yes, but not really like that anymore. I care for Angela and I want to make this work, but sometimes I feel like we're drifting apart, or that maybe she's not into me. Everything I've talked about with you tonight I've never gone that deep into with Angela." the last statement surprised Lilith. Dustin couldn't tell Angela, his girlfriend, but he could tell her twin sister who he had a pretty nasty falling out with only a few months back.

"I'm sorry I cut you off Dustin. I know you had a lot going on and I wish I was a better friend. I care about you a lot, like a lot lot. If I hurt you further than you were already hurting, I feel awful." Lilith spilled out, suddenly she wished she fought harder for Dustin instead of letting Angela sink her home manicure set nails into him. Dustin gave her a sad smile, but accepted her apology. In that moment, Lilith didn't know what came over her, but she leaned over on the bed and kissed him. It felt really wrong for many reasons, one of which was that this was Dustin's first kiss, what if he wanted that with Angela and not Lilith and this is just driving the wedge between them further? But it also felt really right, because Lilith was doing what she wanted to do for months, she forgot about Angela, she forgot about Dirk, all she thought of was Dustin for that brief second. Then she broke the kiss.

"I- I'm sorry I don't know what came over me, I'll just get up a-" Lilith was about to leave, but Dustin grabbed onto her arm and kissed her back. Lilith didn't know how to react, but she let it happen. Suddenly, the door burst open, and Lilith and Dustin stopped. When they looked, no one was there. Lilith leaped up from the bed and dashed over to the door, but she couldn't see anyone outside the door or in the hallway, everyone was downstairs.

"Someone saw us!" Lilith shouted back at Dustin. Dustin looked terrified.

"I'm sorry, I'm so so sorry. Aw god Lilith, this can't get out! It was a mistake." he yelled. Lilith looked back at him, she said nothing, she just looked. She knew it wasn't a mistake and so did he, but they needed to tell themselves that in case it got out. Lilith ran out of the house, "Pound the Alarm" playing in the living room as she ran. She looked and saw the silhouettes of party-goers jumping to the beat. Then she just ran home, wondering which of those silhouettes saw her kiss Dustin, and which one is going to tell everyone the next day.

Chapter 3: A Scandal in PCHS
7:34am, 215 Sim Lane

Throughout breakfast the next morning, Lilith's head was pounding. Not only because she ended up slightly juiced after the party, but because she was ashamed. She hated Angela with a passion and knew that Angela only started dating Dustin to spite her, but nonetheless Dustin was taken by her, and Lilith had taken his first kiss. Lilith wasn't some boy-stealer, she wasn't her sister. Dustin and Lilith got caught during their moment, but they had no clue how much they saw and who they were. The worst part is Lilith couldn't tell if Angela already knew because she was always cold and harsh to Lilith whether she had a reason or not.

7:36am, 55 Woodland Drive

Lilith. Angela. Lilith. Angela. Those were the only two people Dustin could think about that morning, he felt guilt at kissing Lilith, but he's always connected with her more than Angela, losing her as a friend over the last few months crushed him. But Angela, Angela was cute, fun, and had a dark side that nobody else seemed to know. Dustin was caught between the two Pleasants, and he had no idea what to do. He wished his father was still around to talk him through his girl trouble.

"Dustin, honey are you alright? You've barely touched your leftovers." his mother Brandi showed genuine concern. Being a single mother of three boys must be tough for her, especially with Beau starting pre-school soon and baby Brian still demanding attention, Dustin wonders how Brandi finds the time for him.

"Mom? If you were stuck between two guys but you were scared to hurt either of their feelings, what would you do?" he found himself asking, If he couldn't ask Skip, he could ask Brandi.

"Hmmm, I sense you really mean two girls? But what I would do is I'd go with the one I connect with the most, hurting the other's feelings is difficult to do but it's kinder than leading them on when you don't like them as much as you want to." Brandi's advice was surprisingly profound, but Dustin wanted to like Angela in that way and no matter what wanted to be her friend, but the night before with Lilith proved to him that he still had that connection with her he had before. Dustin knew whatever happened it would hurt Angela, whether she found out from him or the mystery party guest who caught them, but maybe it would be kinder to find out from him. Dustin texted Lilith.

"Yo Lil, i think we should tell her before whoever saw us does, also i need to talk to u - D" Suprisingly, Lilith texted back within about 10 seconds.

"Wat! R U Crazy? We hav to keep their mouth shut, Ang will kill me, literally probs. - L" Dustin saw how worried Lilith was about Angela finding out, but no matter what she was going to eventually, Dustin couldn't keep this inside forever.

8:39am, Pleasantview Community High School

Lilith was on her usual bench outside the school, the bell wasn't going to ring for another 21 minutes, she had some time to talk to Dustin. Dirk walked past and gave Lilith a dirty look, Lilith smiled back at him, wondering what his problem was. Then she noticed he was approaching Angela and her friends, then she noticed he was telling her something, then she noticed Angela's face getting angrier and angrier. Oh no, not Dirk. Of all people who could have seen what happened, not Dirk! Angela, Meadow, and Tosha all looked at Lilith, and she felt herself sink into the wooden bench. Angela yelled out some words that Lilith wouldn't even dream of saying, and charged for her, Meadow, Tosha, and Dirk all trying to hold Angela back. Eventually she broke free and slapped Lilith. Lilith felt the anger behind the force of Angela's slap, and fell to the ground. Dustin came running over and pulled Lilith up.

"Are you okay Lil?" he asked with concern as he helped her up, he briefly examined the red hand mark on her face.

"Oh of course! You want to know if SHE's okay, but not the girl you cheated on?!" Angela yelled at Dustin. Dustin sank in his spot next to Lilith. Dirk came charging up to Lilith.

"I can't believe you Lilith, you and I broke up only a month ago because you weren't ready to go to the next step, but it looked like you were completely ready to go to the next step with him!" Dirk pointed at Dustin with disgust, and Dustin's anger level rose to a whole new high.

"It was YOU? You're dead Dreamer!" Dustin threw a punch, knocking Dirk to the ground. Lilith grabbed onto Dustin's shoulder and held him back from doing anything else. Angela saw red once again and shoved Lilith. The bell rang and Mrs. Hogan called over to the fighting teens.

"Dreamer, Broke, and both the Pleasants! My office, now!"

9:10am, Pleasantview Town Hall

Mary-Sue was doing important filing work at the town hall where she worked when she got the call. Work was her only escape from the hell of being a single mother of two squabbling daughters.

"Ms. Pleasant? This is Mrs. Andrea Hogan, I'm afraid your daughter has been involved in an altercation at school this morning." Mary-Sue groaned, Lilith had been so good about not causing fights the previous day, what happened?

"What's Lilith done now then?"

"Actually, it was Angela that was the problem, she attacked Lilith outside the school." Mary-Sue was shellshocked. Angela? She wasn't violent, she was the victim. Mary-Sue was ready to storm down to the school and talk to that headmistress, when she was called into a meeting by her boss.

"Look, I can't come right now I'm really swamped at work, so please just deal with it."

"But Ms. Pleas-" and with that, Mary-Sue hung up.

11:01am, 215 Sim Lane

Angela was given a weeks detention for attacking Lilith, as well as Dustin for punching Dirk. In addition, everyone involved in the fight was sent home. With Mary-Sue at work, being alone with Angela was the most awkward thing imaginable for Lilith. There was this thick air of silence for the next five minutes upon entering the house, Lilith expected that she was about to get into another fight, but Angela stayed dead silent. Eventually, Angela went up to her room and didn't come back down for another half hour. Lilith went to her bedroom to change, and heard from the room across from hers a soft sob. Lilith couldn't help but feel a small inch of guilt, but in a way she felt glad that Angela was feeling what Lilith felt when she announced that Dustin had asked her on a date, a feeling of losing someone you thought you had a connection with, the only difference was that Lilith actually had something special with Dustin and Angela clearly didn't. Lilith decided to not spend another moment grappling between her simultaneous guilt and hatred for Angela, and instead go visit Dustin and see how he is after the events of that morning.

11:38am, 55 Woodland Drive

Lilith knocked on Dustin's door, this was the first time she'd been inside the Broke house in months. She missed it a lot, she missed Brandi and little Beau and Brian, she missed spending time with Dustin in his bedroom. She waited for a minute, and it was Brandi who opened the door.

"Oh hey Lilith, look Dustin's grounded for now, so maybe come back in a few days." Brandi said calmly, she was about to shut the door but Lilith put her foot over the frame.

"Please Ms. Broke, ten minutes is all I want." Brandi considered it for a second, before letting Lilith in.

"Ten minutes." Brandi re-iterated, and gestured to Dustin's room. Lilith knocked first and opened, Dustin was playing on his pinball machine.

"Mom please I'm bu- Lil?" Dustin looked surprised to see her.

"Hey, your mom gave me ten minutes but that's all I really need. Can I sit?" Lilith gestured to the bed, Dustin nodded and sat with her. This brought back memories of the previous night, did she really need to be sitting on a bed with Dustin again?

"Last night, when we kissed. That wasn't a mistake, was it. At least it wasn't for me." Lilith felt awkward springing that subject on him first, but they had to talk about what happened, there was no way around it. Dustin sighed.

"Honestly Lil, it wasn't a mistake. What was a mistake was letting her find out about it from Dirk Dreamer, it would have been kinder to tell her ourselves, that's why I wanted to do that this morning." Lilith saw his point, finding out about it from Dirk must have been heartbreaking for Angela. But then again, Lilith found out straight from Angela about Dustin asking her out and was hurt the same way.

"I wish I didn't say yes when she asked me out. I like Angela, but she was always more of a friend to me. I lead her on and that wasn't okay at all. We're all young though, we make mistakes I guess. And you know what also wasn't okay?" Dustin asked.

"What?"

"Ignoring what we had. That wasn't right. Sometimes I feel like Angela only dated me to spite you, sometimes I feel like she actually genuinely liked me. It's hard to tell." Lilith didn't speak, she just listened.

"If I'm honest, I like you a lot Lil. I like you the way I wanted to like Angela." Dustin held Lilith's hand and looked straight into her eyes as he spoke. Lilith gave Dustin a small kiss, then decided to ask him a question that had always plagued her mind.

"Then why didn't you tell me, why did you chose Angela? Why did you make me feel like that only to go off with Angela?" Lilith wanted the truth on this, that was one thing Dustin failed to answer previously.

"I'm young, I'm new to love, and when she asked me out I just said yes. I didn't have the guts to say no because I feared hurting her, but I just ended up hurting you both in the end." Dustin explained. Lilith took a deep breath and they sat in silence for a moment.

"So, where does that leave us." Lilith asked. Dustin sighed sadly.

"We've spoken more in the last two days than we have in the last seven months, and already we've become a high school scandal. The boy who kissed his girlfriend's twin. Lil I really like you, and I've told you more about my life than Angela has ever bothered to ask, but we need to wait for this to die down before we can really continue." Dustin said with a sad expression. Lilith was upset, but he was right, they needed some space. Lilith was about to go in for the kiss, but stopped herself, she simply stood up, sadly said goodbye, and left.

4:59pm, 215 Sim Lane

With Dustin asking for space, and wanting to avoid Angela. Lilith spent the rest of the morning and afternoon at the arcade. Eventually, she realised she would have to face the dreaded place called home. Lilith slipped inside, Mary-Sue was watching television and Angela was probably still upstairs. Lilith decided to chill upstairs too, listen to some music, forget about the events of that day. When Lilith opened her bedroom door, she received a nasty shock. All her clothes and makeup was thrown across the floor, her mattress pushed off her bed, her alarm clock lay broken on the floor. Angela had trashed Lilith's room. Lilith picked up her broken clock and dropped it once again, she barged into Angela's room.

"You trashed my room?!" she shouted. Angela swivelled round in her desk chair.

"And? You trashed my relationship. You trashed my reputation. That's all you do isn't it Lilith, trash things. Maybe it's because you're utter trash!" Angela's voice rose to a screech, she stood up quickly and pushed away her chair.

"Why are you so upset, you only asked Dustin out to spite me." Lilith finally told Angela what she felt.

"And what if I did? At the end of the day, he stayed with me, he said yes! We were real!"

"Yeah, well if you were so real why did he kiss me when he hasn't even so much as kissed your cheek? If you were so real how come I know more about his deepest thoughts and feelings than you do? You know what's real? Me and Dustin!" Lilith began to yell, and Angela slapped her. The twins had a stare off, both of them felt each other's intense anger. Lilith broke the silence.

"I'm staying at Grandma and Grandpa's tonight." Lilith calmly, stated. She walked out the door and didn't look back, knowing that she'd be returning the next morning anyways.

"Don't come back!" Angela yelled from her window. Lilith just kept walking. As she walked to her grandparent's house, she put her earbuds in. "Monster" by Gabbie Hanna came on shuffle, a song Lilith could relate to in her life at many moments in her life. Maybe she was the monster who had been here all along. As she walked, she came by Dustin's house, wanting to go in so badly, but she couldn't, she had to respect Dustin's need for space if she had any chance of being close to him again.

5:31pm, 50 Middle Lane

Lilith knocked on the door in the freezing cold, Coral answered in her bathrobe.

"Lilith, what a pleasure! Do come in dear." Coral gestured for Lilith to come in, seeing her granddaughter was one of her favorite things. Unlike Mary-Sue, Coral deeply cared for Lilith, in fact she had no bias towards the twins at all, you can tell Mary-Sue was adopted by their drastically different personalities alone.

"Grandma, can I stay the night? I'm not gonna bore you with details, but things aren't great right now and I could just use a night off." Lilith tried not to cry into Coral's shoulder. Coral hugged her.

"Of course dearest, tell you what. You help Herb out with the garden, and I'll make you some cocoa, would you like that?" Coral said in her honey-sweet voice. Lilith nodded. While she was out in the garden helping her grandfather, it took her mind off things for a while. Sometimes Lilith wished Coral and Herb raised her and not Mary-Sue and Daniel. Of course, once she retreated to her bedroom, the thoughts began to plague Lilith once more. She wondered how much it would take for Dirk to hate her less than he does, how long she would need to put up with an even angrier version of Angela, and when Dustin and her would be able to live out what they both want.

Chapter 4: Eight Days
10:18am, 215 Sim Lane

It had been a whole week and a day since that fateful Friday that wrecked Lilith's life. So here's just a little recap; Lilith made out with the love of her life/her sister's (ex)boyfriend Dustin Broke, admitted that she had feelings for him and he told her he felt the same but needed space, Angela wrecked her room, and Lilith spent the weekend at her Grandma Coral and Grandpa Herb's house until Mary-Sue basically dragged her back home on the Sunday morning. Since that dreadful Friday, eight days have passed. Angela is still FUMING with her but has been oddly silent, Lilith is absolutely convinced Angela's coming up with some sort of plot or voodoo spell or whatever it is crazy sisters think of doing. Lilith and Dustin are still apart but flash each other an awkward smile in the hallway everyday while Angela seethes. Lilith still has hope there's something there, and she knows Dustin feels the same. Her current priority? Get her life back on track.

It was a Saturday morning, and Lilith had just woken up from a well-earned long sleep. Lilith needed to forget about the absolute horror of last week and get back to how she was feeling the day she got herself a new look. She felt like a whole new person with a better outlook on life, ready to show Angela who's boss. But first, some music.

"Alexa, shuffle music." If Lilith was to get herself back together, she was to start her day to music. The small electronic device resting on her dresser complied and shuffled a random playlist. A song titled "How Will I Know" began to play, not exactly Lilith's music, but she shrugged and went with it. Getting herself in front of her mirror, she applied her makeup and brushed her hair, gussying up for the day ahead.

"How will I know, if he really loves me? I say a prayer with every heartbeat!" Lilith sang into her hairbrush. That song really grows on you as it goes on honestly.

After that improptu karaoke session, she ran downstairs, grabbing a croissant and heading for the door.

"And where are you going?" Angela was standing by the living room door frame, raising her eyebrow. She'd noticed Lilith's skip in her step and was confused as to what had changed, Lilith spent a considerable amount of time moping in her room (after about two days of fixing it back up) and suddenly was...happy?

"Out. Toodles!" Lilith simply said. To be quite honest, Lilith didn't know where she was going. Her legs were moving her towards the direction of Dustin's house, but her heart was telling her she needed to let him come to her. But after a week and a day without speaking to each other, she was doubting the possibility of that even happening. Lilith didn't have friends to go hang out with, all she could do was think of Dustin. She almost turned back into the direction of her house, but if she was to take charge of the day she needed to grow a pair and actually make the first move.

"Hey I know it's been a while but r u still grounded? L x" She whipped out her phone and texted Dustin. She had to talk to him, it's like everytime they'd been within two feet of each other at school there was this huge elephant in the room and they needed to sort this out.

"Naw just got ungrounded yesterday. I'm ready to talk if u r? D."  This was the best news Lilith could read. She was finally gonna get to sort things out with Dustin. Still with a spring in her step, she headed off to Dustin's house.

11:09, 55 Woodland Drive

Now that she was actually outside Dustin's house, she felt nervous. What if the day went badly? What if they decided to just stay friends or worse just continue avoiding each other? Lilith sighed, and knocked on the door. She waited for a few seconds and Dustin soon answered. In a towel.

"Hoo." Lilith made out, flustered at the sight of a towel-only Dustin standing right in front of her. Dustin giggled.

"Sorry, what was that?" He laughed, he really thought her shock was so adorable.

"I meant hoo-ello! Sorry I uh- I just- why are you in a towel Dustin?"

"Just had a shower, Mom and the boys are at the park so I've got the day to spend with you, if you want that is." Dustin smiled, Lilith tried her best to keep her composure.

"Of course, just uhhhh... put some clothes on and we can go to the café." Lilith said, Dustin smiled at her again and went into his room to change. Lilith sat down on the step.

"Oh. My. God. That's a sight." Lilith kept thinking about Dustin, lost in her own world until he came back out.

"Ready to go?" he suddenly startled Lilith. She jumped and fell off the step. Dustin helped her up and laughed.

"God you're adorable." He said. They stared into each other's eyes for a moment. Dustin turned bright red, not quite sure why he said that out loud.

12:31, One-Twenty-Five Café

Dustin and Lilith sat across from each other, each devouring a plate of syrup covered pancakes.

"Best breakfast ever honestly." Dustin said to break the silence.

"Yep, you can never go wrong with pancakes." Lilith replied. There was still some tension, not only because of the events of that morning, but because of the last few days of not communicating at all. Lilith was about to bring it up, and then Dustin spoke.

"I'm sorry." He simply said.

"For what?" Lilith wanted him to elaborate.

"For just not talking to you for the last week or so. I knew people would be talking about what happened at the party and I just didn't wanna add fuel to the fire. But now people have stopped gossiping, and even then I was stupid to care. I really don't wanna push you away." Dustin reached his hand over the table and invited Lilith to take it. Lilith obliged.

"Don't worry I know you won't push me away. You think I'm adorable." Lilith joked. For a second she thought she broke the mood, but when Dustin laughed and she laughed alongside him, she knew she'd just made it better. They didn't finish their pancakes, they just spent the rest of the morning together talking, and then in the afternoon they went to the park and did the typical teenager thing of sitting on the swings and talking to each other.

4:52, 215 Sim Lane

Dustin walked Lilith back to her front door. They stood there for a moment. After a moment of silence Lilith spoke.

"Well, this is me then." Lilith put her hand on the door handle, ready to walk inside. Dustin grabbed her arm and pulled her in close and kissed her deeply. She returned the kiss. This was really the first time they'd kissed without drama. With Dustin finally away from Angela and no-one watching them, it felt real. Like the first one but better.

"I really don't wanna be just friends anymore, I wanna make this official. I don't care who knows." Dustin said, face right up to Lilith's. Lilith could have done a little weep of joy there and then. Dustin took a step back and yelled out.

"Lilith Pleasant is my girlfriend!" He yelled out into the neighborhood. Lilith laughed and kissed him again, then watched as he left. Lilith gave out an infatuated sigh as he left, and then turned the handle and walked inside. She was greeted by a stream of water hitting her face, and she looked up to find Angela holding a crumpled water battle, looking absolutely furious.

"So, official now are we? Oh, sister dear, this is a new low. And just when I thought he came to his senses and realised what actual trash you are." Angela's words didn't affect her, Lilith simply started to walk off to her room to dry off.

"You know what, Lilith Marlena Pleasant, you have won this battle but you will NOT win the war!" Angela shouted up at her as she left. Lilith rolled her eyes, too happy to care. It's Angela's problem if she wants to be so dramatic.

After drying off, Lilith spent the rest of the evening in her room, texting Dustin. Dustin Broke was her boyfriend, it felt so good for her to finally say it.

Chapter 5: Gossip Folks
7:39am, 215 Sim Lane

Lilith avoided Angela for most of the morning, in fact for the rest of the weekend. It was a Monday morning, where most of the drama between the twins happened. The morning was oddly drama-free, Mary-Sue was busy collecting some important documents for work, and Angela was blasting music from her bedroom. Lilith was half expecting Angela to burst out of her room and slap her completely unprovoked as per their Monday tradition, but she's been very quiet. Maybe since Lilith is now official with Dustin, Angela is backing off... or maybe this complete silence is her planning something. Either way, Lilith was focused on gussying up in front of her mirror. This was her first day at school going public with Dustin, or at least she wanted to go public. Dustin's a popular boy, and Lilith is basically only known for being the popular girl's weird twin sister.

''"I really don't wanna be just friends anymore, I wanna make this official. I don't care who knows." ''Dustin's words from Saturday rang in Lilith's ears. She was sure he meant it, but when push comes to shove is he really willing to show Lilith off as his girlfriend especially after all the very publicised party drama? All logical thinking said yes, he is, but Lilith's anxious brain went into overdive. When she was with Dirk, things were simple, neither were really notable in school and their relationship went under the radar. But with Dustin, things weren't simple, which was good because Lilith didn't want simple. Lilith wanted excitement, something she gets in excess with Dustin.

7:45am

"Oh she's sweet but a psycho, a little bit psycho." Angela paced around the room singing along to her music, texting Meadow and Tosha at the same time.

"They're official now. Can you believe it?!"

"Honestly IDK what he even sees in her. She's such a freak." Tosha replied.

"Guess she's just a rebound. Total downgrade imo." Meadow chimed in.

"I need to think of a plan to get back at them. Seeing them together makes me sick to my stomach." Angela was right when she said she'll win the war. Dustin and Lilith are welcome to each other, Angela doesn't care about splitting them up. She wants them to suffer, she wants them to hurt like they hurt her.

"I might have something..." Tosha texted.

"Ooh, are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Meadow replied.

"The Randy London expulsion scandal?"

"Bingo."

"If all goes to plan, Lilith will be expelled, and she won't have her precious Dustin to stick by her."

Angela smiled at the texts coming through. Lilith was about to get what was coming to her. She took Angela's boyfriend, now Angela is going to take everything Lilith has.

8:01am

The bus pulled up outside the Pleasant residence, and the twins started heading towards it. Neither of the girls got a goodbye from Mary-Sue, still sorting out her important documents. Lilith put her hand on the bar to get up the steps, when she heard a car beeping. Behind the bus was a black Smoogo Minima, with Dustin in the driver seat. Lilith grinned and rushed away from the bus, knocking Angela over in the process.

"Watch where you're going you freak!" Angela shouted back. Lilith contemplated turning around, but she was drawn into Dustin's car. Angela watched as the couple kissed and drove around the bus and off to the school. Angela looked up and saw some snickers from inside the bus. Furious, she got inside the bus and sat next to Tosha, with Meadow in the seat behind.

"Girl, you okay?" Tosha asked. Angela turned to her and pointed to her grazed elbow.

"That little witch isn't going to humiliate me any more after tonight. First she takes my boyfriend, gets me put in detention, and now embarrasses me in front of all the neighborhood kids." Angela started ahead intently, she was absolutely enraged.

"Tonight? I didn't think we'd do this tonight, I have a nail appointment!" Meadow pleaded. Angela swiftly turned around.

"Well. Cancel. It." she said through gritted teeth. "I know exactly what the plan is, meet me under the bleachers at lunch break."

8:04am

Dustin drove down the highway, ready to drop them off at school. "100% Pure Love" blasted on the radio with the windows open. Lilith had never been more happy.

"Since when do you have a car?" Lilith asked, looking out the window. She didn't see Dustin gulp and cough in response.

"It's my mom's work car... I'll need to return it later. Just thought we could escape from the gossip on the bus this morning is all." Dustin flashed Lilith a smile. Lilith smiled back, but in her mind she felt like maybe he didn't want to take the bus so he didn't have to be seen as her boyfriend. Logically, it was because Dustin didn't want to subject Lilith to all the ooh-ing and ah-ing of the Pleasantview High students, but Lilith couldn't be sure. She just spent the rest of the journey laughing with Dustin and bopping out to the music.

Once they arrived outside the school. Dustin took Lilith's hand in his, and she felt her cheeks go red and a great big grin came across her face. Dustin did want to show her off. Together, they got out of the car and walked towards the school entrance. Some classmates wolf whistled, some stared in shock, one kid even yelled "I knew it!", but for the most part everyone just got on with their day. Dustin lead Lilith over to three fellow teens.

"Lilith, I want you to meet my friends. Sophie, Ricky, and Patrick. Guys, this is Lilith, my girlfriend." Dustin introduced Lilith to them. The three stared at her for a second, then Sophie reached out and fist bumped Lilith.

"Wassup! So, you're the infamous "Lil" huh?" she said.

"Infamous?" Lilith responded.

"Haha, yeah, all he's done for the last few days is talk about you." Patrick said. Lilith looked over to Dustin and saw him blush and scratch his head.

"You guyyyysss..." he said sheepishly.

"Yeah. Not seen him this happy in ages." Ricky said. Lilith's heart almost skipped a beat.

Across the school yard, Angela, Meadow, and Tosha looked on as they got off the bus. Angela saw Dustin and Lilith laughing with Dustin's freak friends. Angela scoffed, she never really got along with Dustin's friends, what was a guy of his status in the school doing chilling with those losers? But still, seeing Lilith perfectly getting along with them made Angela's blood boil.

"Lunchtime. Remember girls." Angela said to Meadow and Tosha, and then stormed off.

11:49am, Pleasantview Community High School

Lilith fit in well right away with Sophie, Ricky, Patrick and Dustin. They spent the lunch break sitting on the grass behind the school, Lilith cuddled up to Dustin under the blue sky.

"Honestly I'm just glad to have more female energy here. Being the only girl gets a bit tiring." Sophie said with a laugh.

"Don't lie Soph, you love the attention you get from other girls." Ricky replied.

"Other girls? Oh you're-" Lilith began.

"Gay? Yep." Sophie said with a smile. Lilith smiled back. "Bet you'd make a great wingwoman though, Lilith."

"It's settled." Lilith giggled. She had a great guy on her arm, and some fantastic friends, and Angela was leaving her alone? Lilith could never have seen this happening to her.

"Bro, why'd you ever go for that Angela chick? Lilith is waaaay cooler!" Patrick said. The group laughed, except Dustin. Of course Dustin was really into Lilith, but he still cared for Angela and wanted to be her friend, and he hated that he hurt her feelings, no matter how happy he was with Lilith.

Just around the corner, Angela was gathered under the bleachers with Meadow and Tosha. They both waited with baited breath to hear her master plan, like witches waiting to hear from the Grand High Witch.

Will finish chapter later...

Soundtrack
A Pleasant Tale features a lot of music in the story to help paint a clearer picture of the story. The songs that are featured throughout the story (so far) are:
 * 1) Patti LaBelle - New Attitude
 * 2) Livin' Joy - Dreamer
 * 3) Paramore - Misery Business
 * 4) Nicki Minaj - Pound The Alarm
 * 5) Gabbie Hanna - Monster
 * 6) Whitney Houston - How Will I Know
 * 7) Missy Elliott featuring Ludacris - Gossip Folks
 * 8) Ava Max - Sweet but Psycho
 * 9) Crystal Waters - 100% Pure Love