Chapter 3.18 - No Inhibitions

*Warning: Bad language, as usual. Also, references to mature events and bad things that are generally a very good idea to stay very far away from.*

Lyra warily watched her daughter flip through a book, brows drawn sulkily together. She recognised the temper growing behind those brooding eyes, and Lyra found herself growing increasingly more and more weary of it. She couldn’t remember when she had last managed to talk to Mireille without finding the need to scold the girl about something.

It was, to be quite frank, extremely exasperating.

To make things worse, Blaise’s temper seemed to have shortened as well. He was constantly scowling at everything, and while she honestly didn’t mind his scowl, she did mind the snappy retorts he was increasingly spitting out. She knew he tried his best to keep his temper under control, but Mireille seemed to have made it her life’s mission to pick a fight with him about every damn thing.

It made life…very unpleasant.

Mireille scowled and slammed the book shut, causing Lyra to exhale wearily. Oh yes, she recognised those signs. Mireille was getting extremely irritated with her ‘grounded’ status, and it wouldn’t be long before she started devising ways to get out of it.

Problem was, it wouldn’t be in ways Lyra wanted. They’d have to keep an even closer eye on their daughter.

Grounding the girl just simply. Didn’t. Work. Maybe it was time to try out Renard’s advice, even if the part about taking her to Mike’s Karaoke had been an unmitigated disaster.

“Mireille, want to come jogging with me?” she suggested invitingly. Mireille immediately perked up, her entire expression lighting up.

“Sure!” she immediately agreed before dashing off to get changed.

The entire outing turned out a lot more pleasant than Lyra had expected. Years of jogging had increased Lyra’s fitness to peak condition, and to her mild surprise, her daughter easily kept pace with her, even whilst wasting breath by chattering happily the entire time. Her eyes were shining in a way Lyra hadn’t seem in a long way, and Lyra soon found herself smiling contently. It was such a welcome change, being able to talk to her daughter without needing to use harsh words.

It took a while, but Mireille eventually tired and slowed to a walk, forced by her body to take a break. Lyra indulgently slowed to a walk as well, even though she could’ve gone for longer still.

 “Ouch,” Mireille complained, breathing heavily and holding her side, “I’ve got a stitch in my side.”

“It’s because you’re not breathing correctly,” Lyra offered easily, remembering her own early days when she’d just started jogging. “You have to breath with your stride, not against it.” Even as she said it, her own breathing was calm and regulated, well used to the exercise.

Mireille shot her mom a sulky look.

“I know that,” she argued sulkily, but her eyes burned with challenge. She probably felt like she lost something by being unable to keep up with her old and aging mother, Lyra noted with amusement. The girl always did hate losing.

It soon became a part of routine. Mireille would come home after her after-school activities, finish her homework, and join her mom in jogging around the town for an hour or two. To Lyra’s surprise, it did help with Mireille’s behaviour. For the first time in a long while, Mireille was once again sweet, and occasionally, even helpful around the house. It was a very, very welcome surprise.

The entire mood in the house lifted.

 “Keeper, my parents are easy to fool,” Mireille confided in Lucinda, once again out in town, having snuck out of the house. “I just have to act a little bit like a good girl, and immediately I’m not grounded anymore. Best of all, they still don’t know I sneak out every night after they’ve gone to bed.”

Lucinda giggled. “I know, right? It’s so easy.” She was already mildly tipsy from the Pink Bunnies she’s been guzzling down the entire evening. Mireille herself was feeling a bit light-headed from her Bad Cheerleaders. She loved hanging out at Varg’s.

“Hey Mireille,” a voice sounded up from behind her. “Fancy seeing you here.”

Mireille turned around curiously, and a satisfied smile slipped onto her face.

 “Hi Blake,” she returned, recognising her classmate and not-so-secret-flirt. He’d broken up with Jeanne ages ago, and while it was disappointing Mireille couldn’t goad the other girl anymore, she still thought Blake was a lot of fun to kiss. Especially behind the gym at school, when they were bunking classes. He was great.

“What do you girls say we ditch this place and head over to the Red Velvet Lounge?” he suggested hopefully. “I’ve got a contact there who’ll let us in.”

Mireille tilted her head interestedly, and Lucinda looked up from the pool table, momentarily losing interest in the game. The Red Velvet Lounge was very, very difficult to get into, but also very, very prestigious. They’d been dying to go there.

Mireille met Lucinda’s eye. The other girl gave a small nod, and Mireille turned back to Blake with a devilish smile.

“Sure,” she agreed eagerly.

The Red Lounge was everything Mireille had expected, and more. The music was pounding and the lights flashing, and the entire air was filled with smoke and foreign scents that made her feel just a little light-headed. The bouncer looked intimidatingly at them, but with a single name-drop from Blake, he grudgingly let them in.

 “Who’s ‘Shan’?” Mireille asked Blake curiously. While she wasn’t personally acquainted with everybody in town, she had heard of almost everybody living in Moonlight Falls.

 “Shan Bernier,” Blake shrugged easily. “We work together, sometimes. He’s…well, he’s quite the regular around here. You’ll meet him soon enough.” With that he brushed apart a curtain of beads and led them into a dark room.

Instantly the foreign scent grew stronger, and through the haze filling the air, Mireille could vaguely make out bubbles floating around. Mireille felt an excited, anticipatory shiver run down her spine. A bubble bar. She’d never used one before, but she’d heard so much about them, and it always looked so fun. She’d heard the experience was even better when the water inside was swapped out for something…a little stronger.

And that sure as hell wasn’t water in there.

Oh yes, she’d love to try it out.

She almost didn’t notice there were someone else in the room until she glanced across the bubble bar and met the most vivid eyes she had ever seen. They stood out sharply against the dim light in the room, brightened by an unnatural glow, one Mireille immediately recognised.

Werewolf.

They weren’t rare, by any definition of the word, but they were unusual. They tended to stick to their packs, never mingling with others. There were a couple at school, but even then, people tended to stay away from them. They were dangerous.

Also, very, very interesting. She tilted her head and smiled challengingly at the werewolf, relishing the way her heart instantly beat faster at the promise of possible danger, and those vivid purple eyes narrowed for a second before the owner smirked at her, flashing white fangs at her.

“I see Blake brought guests,” the werewolf stated, his voice low. Lucinda gave an uncertain little step backwards, but Mireille immediately took him up on the subtle challenge. She twirled her hair flirtatiously around her finger, and smirked daringly at him.

 “We’re not intruding, are we?” she asked coquettishly.

The werewolf returned her smirk, fangs barely revealed, and Mireille felt another shiver run down her spine. Every part of him screamed ‘danger’ at her. It was absolutely thrilling.

 “Not at all,” he allowed easily. “Any friends of Blake’s are welcome here. Feel free to join us.” He gestured at the two empty seats left at the bubble bar.

The girls shared once nervous glance before they smiled in concert. Oh, this was going to be fun.

When asked about the night later, Mireille would be hard pressed to give a clear answer. The scenes all seemed to blend together in her mind, from the first breath of bubbles she took.

The music was pounding in the background, drumming through her bones and whispering strange thoughts to her mind. Blake’s laughter was loud and feral, and Mireille’s blood rushed through her veins, filling her body with heat.

She remembered…

Bubbles.

Bright, colourful drinks.

Vivid eyes, and flashing fangs.

Roaming hands, and hot, desperate kisses.

A vial, filled with a viscous glowing liquid, the colour of vivid, too-brilliantly glowing eyes, held lazily by the neck.

Low whispers.

“A single sip of this will show you Bliss, the like of which you have never experienced before. Wanna try it?”

It tasted like honey, and magic.

Like Bliss.

She could hear the colours hidden in the music, and taste the flashing lights.

It was terrifying.

Exhilarating.

Mind-defying.

Bliss.

A self-satisfied smirk, wrapped around barely-hidden fangs.

Warm breath on her neck.

 “You’re very intriguing. If you’re ever looking for something to do, come look me up. Let Blake know, and I’ll find you. Until then, have fun. I’ll see you again.”

She couldn’t remember anything else of that night.

_~…~_

Mireille laid on her bed, idly studying Reagan’s scout badges still displayed proudly on the wall while she contemplated the past night.

The Red Velvet Lounge had been…unlike anything she’d experienced before. It frightened her little, that she couldn’t remember much of the night, or even how she’d gotten home, but it had been…indescribable.

She yearned to have another experience like it, but at the same time…

She had had no control. After that potion, that…Bliss, Blake, Shan, or even a complete stranger could have asked her to sleep with them and she would’ve agreed. They could’ve asked her to kill someone and she wouldn’t have refused. The way the Bliss had coursed through her veins…she had been completely unable to resist.

No inhibitions.

She didn’t want to feel like that ever again. The Red Velvet Lounge with the bubble bar and the drinks and the music and everything was a hell of a lot of fun, but the Bliss…

Yeah, there was no way she was gonna take that shit again. And yeah, maybe it wasn’t just the Bliss. Maybe it was a combination of bubbles and drink and exhilaration, but the Bliss certainly didn’t help. She wasn’t a stranger to the effect of juice, and the bubbles had been a unique experience, but definitely not something that could cause her to lose control over her actions. The Bliss though…

She was pretty sure it was the Bliss.

She snapped her fingers, watching her magic spark along with the motion. Her binding had snapped sometime during that night. She could remember the way her magic had filled her up when the binding snapped, but that was after she had taken the Bliss, and right now, she couldn’t help but feel like the experience had been tainted.

Her magic was still wild, still untrained, and combined with the Bliss? She could’ve hurt someone so bad. Even now her magic was stubborn, sparking at random times and mulishly doing nothing when she willed it to work. She had to get training.

But she was so scared of telling her dad.

What if it had been the Bliss that had caused the binding to snap? What if her magic was still immature, and when she asked for training her dad noticed and realised something had happened to snap the binding? She’d have to come clean about the Bliss then and Keeper, she didn’t want to.

She definitely felt like she had crossed some line she shouldn’t have. She was absolutely terrified.

A knock on the door jerked her out of her reverie.

“Mireille?” her mom’s voice sounded muffled through the door. “I’m going jogging, are you coming with?”

Mireille seriously considered refusing for a minute, but the moment passed, and she slid off the bed. Maybe the exercise will help clear her head.

The familiar scenery of Moonlight Falls passed by them in a steady, unaltering pace. The clean air and earthy smell of the woods around them normally filled Mireille with peace, but today it didn’t help much. The woods made her thinks of werewolves, which led her to think about Shan, which led her to remembering the Bliss.

It didn’t take before her mom noticed.

She slowed to a stop, forcing Mireille to stop as well.

“Okay, spill,” her mom ordered, fixing her with a stern look. “What’s wrong?”

Mireille scowled and looked away.

“Who says something’s wrong?” she murmured defensively.

Her mom gave her a deadpan stare, brows lifted, unimpressed.

 “You’re not fooling anyone, Mireille,” she scolded. “Now talk.”

Mireille opened her mouth to protest further, but that wasn’t what came out of her mouth.

“I did something stupid,” she confessed. She slammed her mouth shut, surprised at herself. She knew she trusted her mom, but she didn’t want to tell her anything.

Her mom sighed resignedly, a frown forming between her brows.

“Are you pregnant?” she asked bluntly.

Mireille reared back, revulsed by the suggestion.

“No!” she immediately protested, face burning with embarrassment. She did not want to have this conversation with her mom. “I’m not…I haven’t…why would you…I’ve never slept with someone!”

“Oh good,” her mom nodded. “That means whatever you did it won’t result in my worst fear. So, what did you do?”

Mireille opened her mouth to spill the entire sordid tale, and immediately closed it again. There was no way she was gonna tell her mom she was still sneaking out at night. But she still had to share something.

 “I’m not gonna tell you what I did,” she refused guiltily. “But…the binding on my magic snapped and it might be because I did whatever I did, and I’m scared of dad finding out about, whatever it is I did. That’s it. That’s all you’re gonna get.”

“It’s enough,” her mom remarked wryly. “If you’re having trouble with your magic, Mireille, you have to tell your dad.”

“I know,” Mireille agreed pointedly, “and that’s why there’s a problem, because I don’t wanna tell him. He’s only gonna yell at me, and he’s already disappointed enough.”

Her mom sighed resignedly, and started moving again. Mireille effortlessly joined in on the exercise, realising the worst of the interrogation was over.

“Fine,” her mom relented several strides later. “I’ll tell him, and ask him not to blow his top. In return, you have to train with him, and listen when he does. I’m not happy it’s come to this, Mireille, but I am glad you told me, because the alternative would’ve been much worse. In the future, when something like this happens again, please let us know.”

“Fine,” Mireille agreed reluctantly. She didn’t really want to make a promise like that, but she could see the necessity. Even so, she wasn’t sure if she would keep that promise. Better to deal with things herself.

After all, what the eye doesn’t see the heart doesn’t grieve over.

_~…~_

Her dad hadn’t found out.

Although her mom had made good on her promise and informed her dad about her magic, when he started training Mireille he never breathed a word about her mistake. It put her a little bit on edge, constantly wondering when the other shoe would drop, but it never did.

She’d been worried about absolutely nothing, it seemed. Her magic was fine, and the snapping of her binding had been normal and complete. Nothing to worry about at all.

She felt so stupid. Of course he couldn’t have found out. It wasn’t like Bliss left tangible proof that someone had drank it. Once it was out of the system it was gone. The only thing that kept her from using it again was her own self-control.

She opened her eyes when she felt Blake’s lips leave hers. She normally really enjoyed kissing him, but today her mind just wasn’t in it, and he clearly must’ve realised it, because they normally made out much longer than this.

“Am I doing something wrong?” he asked disgruntledly. His thumb was still on her jaw, and his eyes was still burning with desire, causing Mireille to feel a little guilty. She really hadn’t been paying attention.

 “Nope,” she chirped, giving him a sweet little smile. “Nothing wrong. I just haven’t been paying much attention, that’s all. I’m sorry. Let’s go again?”

He frowned, and Mireille thought he was going to refuse, but he leaned forwards again and recaptured her lips, and this time Mireille allowed the activity to drive the thoughts out of her head. There was enough time to think about stuff later. A part of her still remembered the way he’d felt her up that night at the Lounge, and she kinda wanted him to do it again. There had been something about the way his hands had slid around her skin that just made it…so thrilling.

They got interrupted by the ringing of the bell, signalling the end of lunch break. Blake groaned and dropped his forehead onto her shoulder, well aware that their fun was over for now. Mireille at least tried not to skip too many classes. It resulted in way too many detentions, and she was trying to convince her parents that she was a good girl, so they wouldn’t ground her again.

Good girls didn’t get detention.

She straightened her skirt and gave Blake a smile full of promises.

“Well, I guess that’s it for now,” she apologised. “We can either continue this tomorrow, or today after school.”

 “Or,” he suggested, “we can continue this tonight, at the Red Lounge. I’m going: wanna join me?”

Mireille eyed him, happily considering the invitation. She definitely wanted to go there again.

“Sure,” she agreed easily. “See you tonight then. Just let me know when.” She gave him another promising smile before dashing off to class, eager to tell Lucinda of her plans.

Mireille slipped into her seat beside Lucinda just before the teacher started the next class. Lucinda threw her a welcoming smile, well used to her cousin’s antics, but before she could say anything, the teacher starter lecturing.

Lucinda grabbed her pencil and notebook, causing Mireille to perk up. Lucinda didn’t take a lot of notes, especially not if the teacher had only just started lecturing. There was only one reason she’d grab a pencil at this stage.

Sure enough, Lucinda scribbled something down and pushed the notebook over to Mireille.

Dedrick asked me out! I said yes ;)

Mireille gasped at the news. She knew her cousin had a crush on the guy for ages, but she never thought they’d actually get together. She grabbed her own pencil to scribble out a reply.

No way! Congratz girl!

Thank you :D We’re going on our first date tonight <3

Mireille pouted a bit at the news. That meant her cousin wouldn’t be joining her at the Lounge tonight. Even so, she felt happy for Lucinda. She’d been mooning over Dedrick for way too long.

Have fun ;)

That night found Mireille staring at the Red Velvet Lounge, alone for the first time since she and Lucinda started sneaking out at night. She didn’t think it would be the same without her cousin, but there was no reason she couldn’t have fun on her own. With her head held high and filled to the brim with confidence, Mireille walked into the building as if she owned it.

The Red Velvet Lounge was still just as captivating as the first time she’d visited it. She found Blake just inside the entrance, and the bouncer let them in without even sparing them a second glance. The music was pounding and the lights dim and flashing, and Mireille felt her smile broaden.

Oh, how she had looked forward to this. Varg’s just wasn’t the same anymore. She loved how everyone had private little rooms in the Lounge where they were free to do whatever the hell they wanted and nobody would stop them.

They weren’t in the room with the bubble bar, this time. They stayed mainly in the central hall, guzzling down drinks and dancing and chatting, and when Mireille wasn’t boldly flirting with Shan at the bar, who was easily returning her advances yet never quite committing to anything, she was stealing kisses with Blake on the darkened dancefloor. She was offered Bliss once more, but she resolutely refused it.

She did not need that shit to have fun. It didn’t escape her notice than neither Blake nor Shan took it either.

Later on, she retreated to one of the private rooms with Blake where they eagerly continued their activities that had been interrupted at school. She went further with him than she ever had before, allowing him much more leeway, and when his hand slipped somewhere it didn’t belong, pausing for a bit as if to wait for her reaction, she didn’t stop him.

To be honest, she had been rather curious about this for quite some time. They were alone in the room, the lights were dim, and the taste of the Deathflower Drops she had left unfinished on the table still lingered on her tongue.

She saw no reason not to proceed. She was ready for this. And yeah, sure, she didn’t ‘love’ Blake, but it had never been about love in the first place. She was just curious, that’s all, and she felt comfortable enough with him. Besides, she knew there would no talk of touchy-feely emotions with him afterwards.

And well, she might as well try it sometime, right?

_~…~_

A/N: “Sims who drink this won’t be bored or lonely anytime soon.”

I don’t know about everyone else, but that description always made me feel like a Vial of Bliss is some kind of highly illegal drug. Which is why, in this blog, it is. There are actually quite a couple of things in the game that makes me raise my eyebrows at times, so Mireille’s behaviour is actually a bit of a play on that. I mean, whoever decided children aren’t allowed to drink coffee but teens are allowed to order drinks from a bar?! I’m not complaining, because it does give the potential for some lovely drama, but still. That logic bugs me. XD