Chapter 6: Did Someone Say Birthday?

Now ever since the twins had been born the household was feeling a little full, and so now as is the fate with all spares, we must say goodbye to the Yamaguchi family, and Cashew. Byeeeeeeee

And while the Stars missed the Yamaguchis, life quickly returned to normal as other members of the household picked up their chores

Although honestly, I'm not sure that I want Zoe doing the cooking

Regardless, the remaining members of the household only grew closer as the days passed. They especially enjoyed family days out by the pool.

SPLOOSH!

Even Ayden was invited to enjoy the festivities.

Although Storm is not paticularly fond of the water. Poor doggo :(

At this point, Zoe was close to her birthday and had not achieved near what she'd wanted to in her young adulthood. After all, by this point she'd expected to have a 5-Star restaurant not one where glitches reigned supreme and it was a hassle to even get food delivered to the tables.

So I decided to take matters slightly into my own hands... 

And with a new youth upon her, Zoe sold her restaurant and embarked on a completely different adventure, this time delving into the world of retail. Star Music Inc. is open for business in a prime spot on Magnolia Promenade

And even on the first day in business, the store attracted some rather......interesting clientele.  The Star name street cred does not disappoint. 

Elsewhere, Alivia was spending some quality time with her beau, whiling away the hours swimming in the boggy bacteria-filled waters. So romantic amiright? 

Ayden even showed off his *snickers* amaaaazing diving skills 

But Alivia still seemed to be quite impressed by it. 

The two even took a romp in a nearby bush that Ayden had just fertilized.... Sanitary. 

Apparently it was rather good because as soon as they emerged from the bush, Alivia spun her way into adulthood.

Aw, the little muffin doesn't look too happy about the transition does she?

Later that night, it was also birthday time for Grayson, which of course means a birthday party. If you haven't realized from the title already, this chapter is super-mega birthday time with a birthday about every other sentence, soz! BTW, this blonde cutie is actually his cousin, Akeno (Noelle's son) all childsized and whatnot.

PS. if the family starts to get confusing, just take a quick look at the Star Family Tree

Meanwhile, the rest of the party guests were gathered around the backyard stereo, dancing their hearts out. Somewhere along the way, Noelle had evidently lost her clothes as you do at family events. 

But soon enough, it came time for the birthday boy to huff and puff and blow out the candles

And on this go around, his mother was there to show her support

Mmmm yes, the genes are strong in this family if I do say so myself 

Oy, one minute as a teenager and he's already complaining -_- 

Now, when Grayson aged up he got the Insider trait and as such, he wasn't content to just sit around his house all day anymore

So when his mother suggested something, well Grayson couldn't have been happier to accept...

Y'see my extra-special mods that I have downloaded make sure that clubs stay running smoothly even after no one in the active household is in them, so the Terrible Teens had stuck around and were more than happy to return to their old haunting grounds with a brand spankin' new leader

Looks like the joy of rooftop hot-tubbing runs in the family

And naturally some good ol' flirtin followed 

I mean, with how smexy Grayson is can you really blame April for giving into his charms so easily?

But ultimately, Grayson's sights fell on someone completely different

Meanwhile on top of a lighthouse a romantic boat ride away, Alivia and Ayden were enjoying each other's company. They'd been dating for a while now and Alivia had something very important to ask him...

Life-changing in fact :)

Ah nothing like popping the question to get the ol' libidos goin

On another note, now that most of the extended family was moved out and Alivia was out galivanting around town with Ayden, Zoe and Grayson finally got the chance to grow closer to one another 

It was a surprisingly easy relationship to build, especially since Zoe's store was bringing in the big bucks and she spent most days at home

**SASSY DOGGO INTERLUDE**

But of course we can never have nice things for long as the maid promptly set the dryer and his own ass on fire. -_- 

I was mildly concerned about Storm but he didn't catch on fire even though he stood there barking at the git the whole time so I'm just gonna go ahead and assume that animals can't burn to death

Maids sure can though.... 

Dryer Fires: 5, Casualties: 2

Grimmie stopped by to collect the maid as Byron cried over his body. 

Then he just floated around our house, using our amenities! *grumbles* The nerve on this one. 

But oh what's that, you don't know who Byron is?  Well, he's a friend of Zoe's.

Her boyfriend in fact. They actually met at Zoe's Kitchen while it was still up and running, and have been dating for a little while now.  

I really lufs them :)  

I wouldn't say that Grayson seemed to be all too pleased with his mother dating though

My sims never tend to have long engagements, I just don't see the purpose, and so later that evening the household gathered on the top of the lighthouse to properly see off Alivia into married life. 

Although Zoe spent the whole evening on her phone, self-obsessed little bugger *glares*

As the moon rose in the distance, Alivia and Ayden exchanged their rings...

And then they were married! Congratulations to Mr. and Mrs. Schultz

Annnnnnd goodbye, as Alivia and Ayden moved out the next morning. Never fear though, I'm sure that MCC will take good care of them 

Ah yes, it did seem like love was in the air in the Star household 

And well...maybe something else a little more primal

The next afternoon, a small shindig was being thrown at the Star household, exclusively for the Terrible Teens

Grayson made sure to show off his backflip skills for his crew...although his head does look dangerously close to that platform

And then the poor sod lost his shorts 

*snickers*

Oh, that sly little bastard. Methinks the losing-his-pants might've been an act for someone in particular. Pretend to be all upset and lure her in, I see how it is, sneaky sneaky. 

And then this happened. 

Oh dear

0_o 

Errr....moving on.

I *ahem* reset Grayson out of his Cirque Du Soleil-esque glitch, and his mission to woo Harley continued with this uh, interesting face. Luckily for our boy, she didn't seem to mind.

The two teens moved their flirtations somewhere with a little more privacy. 

Where he proceeded to drop not so subtle hints...

All right, all together now: Awwwwwww

Later that night, they shared their first kiss...in front of all their closet friends. Interesting choice but I'm not here to judge.  

I think that Grayson's face really says all there is to say

And as there's never a dull moment in my game, across the pool a blue light encircled Zoe as she gaped into the sky

Oh dear, that face is not a good sign

Yea, the Star household does seem to be a lightning rod for freakishness

Good good, Byron, just sit there and snicker while your girlfriend gets abducted by aliens. Helpful, yeah? 

But never fear, Byron's nonchalance wasn't completely unwarranted as Zoe was returned in a flash of light just a few hours later, seemingly in one piece

We interrupt this regularly scheduled legacy to bring you PUPPY ADORABLENESS. 

This little munchkin's name is Noodles and she is actually Storm's daughter. I guess the doge somehow went and got knocked up without me realizing. 

Moving on!

Zoe and Byron's had now been dating for quite some time and as such, moving in seemed to be the reasonable next step. Thankfully, Byron felt the same way :)

It was excellent timing too as Zoe popped out a baby bump the next day. Now at this point, I was a little wary considering the timing of the pregnancy, I mean she did just get abducted. I personally am really hoping they're aliens but ya never know. 

So let me know down below whether your suspicions about parentage were right or not when it's revealed ;) 

Of course Byron was understandably thrilled about the news, especially since Zoe left out the rather sordid details of her abduction out. 

Weirdly enough, not everyone felt the same way... Zoe ran into Alivia here while out walking, and the little bint burst into tears as soon as Zoe told her the news! Jeez, I mean I know she Hates Children but she could be just a little supportive.

The next day, the entire extended family gathered for some bonding time. While the adults watched a movie and chatted...

The younger members of the clan enjoyed a nice night of bowling. Although we haven't seen much of them in photos, Grayson and his cousins have actually built up a strong friendship and really enjoy spending time together when they can. 

But the night of fun must have been too much for Zoe as she had barely left the venue before she wet  herself on the sidewalk and then promptly went into labor. 

I speedy-zapped her back home where she huffed and puffed by the crib

Welcome to the world Ash Star...

...Annnnnnnnnnnd Nova Star. 

And I'll just go ahead and tell you that Byron's the father! Soz for all you alien-baby-wishin readers out there, I was just as disappointed :/

And since the baby stage is short and boring, we're going to breeze right past it as the next day brought about the birthday of the twins. Byron proudly caught them as they spun out of the bassinets. If you'd like to see them as toddlers, scroll down....

This picture really does a magnificent job of showcasing both the twins personality. Ash was a dream through toddlerhood, always laughing and playing...

Nova on the other hand was a bit of a whiny bint. Probably has to do with the fact that she has the clingy trait honestly, which makes her a real pain in the ass to deal with. 

As usual, after their age-up I set the toddlers to skilling right away. Skill or be skilled right? haha, ha, ha...no one? Ok, I'll escort myself out...

Later that day, Noodles aged up into a very cute doge yeyyyy

I think Storm was more than a bit excited to see her tiny pup turned into a big dog judging by the way she jumped all around. 

The only members of the household who loved the twins more than Byron were the dogs. They latched on so quickly to the little ones that they ended up spending almost all of their time in the nursery, only leaving to eat. 

Noodles and Ash established an especially strong bond. 

Elsewhere, Grayson had finally worked up the courage to ask Harley to be his girlfriend. Now when the girl pulled this face it worried me a little. I like to think that I've gotten pretty good at reading sims expressions but sometimes they still surprise me 

But I had nothing to worry about after all because Harley enthusiastically said yes 

And, well, then she said yes some more...

Although I've gotta admit it, there's something just a little bit off about Harley. See, she likes to creep, as was evidenced by the fact that immediately after celebrating with her boyfriend she snuck into Zoe's room and watched her sleep for the next couple sim hours 0_o

She and Grayson do make an adorable couple though. I mean come on, look at those goofy little grins.

Later that night, Byron spun into old-age out on the street which I, ahem, didn't get any pictures of I'm such a professional, right?

To be honest though, I didn't even realize that Byron was that old :/

But despite his wrinkliness, Byron continued to dote on the twins. 

Every once in a while, I would direct Zoe to go help but it always ended up...weird 

And yet more sparkles in this chapter as Storm spun into elder dog-hood. 

Now Grayson may have had tons of friends and a beautiful girlfriend but he was still a teenager and so was subject to the doubting voices that everyone is...especially since the addition of Parenthood and mood swings. Every so often I'd find him around the house lamenting his issues. 

BAHAHAH...I mean.....oh poor dear :/

The next night, everyone gathered at the Terrible Teens usual club, ready to support their leader as he joined the next life-stage

Yep, that's right. It is once again birthday time and time for Grayson to enter young adulthood. As his mother glares at him creepily from behind...

Well, he doesn't look very happy about the transition does he?

Perhaps it was just nerves?

Ey! Zoe get out of the shot, this is Grayson and Harley's moment! 

Never fear, I doubt that anything could perturb these two at the moment, even Zoe's nosy face

Now dear readers, I will leave you with a picture of Byron being his most extra self. What will Grayson and Harley's wedding be like? How will Ash and Nova turn out? Who IS the heir? Read the next chapter to find out ;) 

PS. vote down below for who you think will/should be heir! :)