The following day Iris wakes up from the same dream, only this time the dream seems real, and much more intense. After receiving her first kiss in her dream by Stone, Iris puts on a cheesy grin without realizing it and walks around the pretty Victorian house in a daze; a fantasy world inside her own head. However, when she realizes it isn't real she becomes annoyed, gripping everything far too tightly so her laundry is lined with creases thirty seconds after she took it out, and one plate gets crushed in her palms. If only it were real, she thinks to herself, then everything I am will be complete.
A few hours later when Iris has to go to work, she is happy about everything apart from the horrible uniform her boss is making her wear. Iris isn't stupid - she knows that being busy will help her forget about Stone not being the man she dreams of, and that talking about it to her friends will be good because they can give her advice on what to do. Lauren will end up swearing, everyone else will laugh at the wannabe comedian's jokes about him, and Iris will end up feeling better about the whole situation. Smiling a little, Iris blinks her long eyelashes and hops into the taxi, ready to start a days work.
She gets to work and finds one client, a stylist she doesn't know and the tattoo artist, so she puts a hand on her hip and discusses fashion with the client - an old man. Feeling sweat on her palms and forehead, she tells him what he's doing wrong and praises what he's doing right, praying that he'll agree as this is her first proper client. Fortunately he agrees, and Iris gets to work on his hairstyle, dying it jet black, snipping off split-ends, putting hair gel in the locks so it stays in place. By the time she is finished the old man looks a lot younger, and pays her £65 for his haircut and the new shirt he picked up off the shelf.
Contrary to her beliefs, Iris finds herself worrying about Stone. If they do end up together, what will he say if she tells him she has never kissed a boy? Even though he's not particularly flirty she bets Stone has kissed before, and will mind terribly if she tells him that she was waiting for 'The One.' Would he find that weird? Even if Iris finds out Stone doesn't mind when they meet again she is simply not taking any chances. She hates it, but she has to be a teaser.
Gathering up her courage, she goes to the best looking person in the room and says," You're looking nice today, baby." Secretly her mind throws up, but she paints a fixed smile on her face and lets him reply.
Luckily he is a flirty boy, and he flirts with her back, occasionally brushing hands.
He grabs her and they lock lips. As it's a first kiss Iris expects wobbly knees, insides crashing: everything, but instead it's just nothing. Iris doesn't even care when he smiles at her and tells her she is an excellent kisser: she just stands there, eyes filling up with tears as she tells him she was only playing with him. Being a good Sim, she feels really bad.
However, he just smiles and tells her it's fine - that most boys don't care what attention they get from girls as long as it's sexual, but she isn't really listening as she knows he is wrong. Lots of boys care - it's just him that doesn't mind being played with. With an awkward "thanks," she leaves him to his thoughts - probably of the girls he has kissed in the past.
Despite being really busy, Iris can't help but look out of the window to see if Stone is there. She really wants him, and she's absolutely devastated that he doesn't want to love. Now she can't think about how she's going to have children and continue the legacy, as the man she's fallen for will never love her back. She can't think of a time when she's been more upset, even when her grandmother died.
When she isn't knee deep in thoughts Iris is styling, putting on fake pouts and gestures like she imagines one of the stylists who help famous people do. Nobody laughs at her, so she continues until she gets promoted. However even though she earns more money she isn't satisfied, as her heart has a hole that only Stone can heal - that is, if he shows the slightest bit of interest in her as a girlfriend.
Iris was getting quite good at art now, and this opens her mind to new clothes, hair makeup designs. What's more, her portfolio is building and this helps her get more clients, therefore more money. However, she doesn't need the money - she needs Stone. She is an optimist though, so she counts her blessings - first, she is succeeding in her career, and second she hasn't seen the man-whore of the century, Tyger.
Number three: exactly as she predicted, her friends are ever so kind and give her advice - some helpful, like," make him a friend then go with him into a club, where you'll dance - not dirty dancing - and he's be smitten, you'll see," from my boss, some complimentary, like from a woman called Caroline who says," if he doesn't see how totally awesome you are, forget him - he doesn't deserve your presence of amazingness," and some that puts Stone completely in the wrong, like Lauren when she says," what a shithole - don't pay any attention to what that twat tells you." This leaves Iris in a better mood.
That night Iris is burled, the alarm ringing through her ears at half past three in the morning when she is still in bed. Sitting up groggily, she rubs her eyes and stands up, wobbling with exhaustion. She heard police sirens, which make her become wide awake as she runs downstairs and sees a dog-faced woman in black and white being beaten up as a police woman grabs hold of an almost empty sack and tugs. Inside the sack is a computer, and Iris knows this because she can see the keyboard.
After placing the computer on the floor, the police woman grabs some handcuffs and struggles to get them on the burglar, eventually grabbing hold of her so she can't break free. For a terrifying second Iris thinks the police is going to fail and the burglar will run off with some of her stuff, so it comes as a relief when the burglar sighs and gives in, walking over to the police car with pieces of metal holding her wrists together.
Iris is glad of the promotion because she gets dressed in more comfortable outfits which are pleasing to the eye, therefore attracting customers to look in her portfolio. An old man smiling with his newly trimmed mustache, the high heeled boots of a beautiful young woman which Iris suggested she tries on, a perfectly fitted leather jacket she gives to a teenage boy... it's all so small, but the attention to detail picks up many a customer.
However, the next day - Sunday - is special. She had earned another promotion (along with some comfortable clothes and a terrible hairstyle) and a day off was just what she needed - just to rewind and spend some time with her friends. She had only just put on her favourite jeans and a lightweight top when the phone rings... and it's Stone.
"S-s-stone? Hello, what do you want?" Iris tries desperately hard to keep her voice cool and alluring, but she ends up stuttering and squeaking, her voice going as high pitched as a mouse.
"I'm just bored, so do you want to go out to the amphitheatre and hang out?"
Iris is about to decline when she realizes that this is just what she needs. If she can be friends with Stone, wont he like her more? So when she starts flirting he'll accept? "Yes, I will. See you in half an hour, yeah?"
"Sure! Bye!"
The amphitheater is absolutely beautiful. Ancient columns rise up, looking like they touch the sky with the marble, so old it looks like stone. Small lights are dotted around the place, giving it a more modern feel. Everything else is raised grass and stone paths, but what makes it so pretty is that it's really quiet. It's silent apart from the rustling of the trees surrounding it and the birds chirping in the distance, so far away they sound like they are conjured up in Iris's brain.
When Stone runs up to Iris and gives her a big hug in greeting she is instantly shocked, although in a good way. He is so gorgeous Iris can't believe she didn't faint when she sees him, and when he smiles her purple-blue eyes glaze over. They get chatting, laughing and having a good time.
They find out they share traits and star signs, and although she knows she looks like an idiot Iris can't help but cheer silently as she finds out that he's good. He would never leave her.
Unfortunately, the fact that she was with a new friend made her less self-conscious, so she ended up pulling a stupid face at her crush. What the hell am I doing? She thinks, but it's too late.
Luckily he shares the same sense of humour, and he returns the face with a grin. Iris silently sighs in relief, and they carry on like that for hours - even when Iris really needs the toilet, or when she's so hungry she could eat Stone's brother.
All too soon it's time for everything to end, and Stone grabs hold of Iris's hands and stares intensely into her strange coloured eyes. A small smile plays on his lips, and she smiles back, thinking about how gorgeous he is. She thinks Stone is just about to kiss her - something she has dreamed of since she was fifteen, unbeknown to Stone - when he says," I've gotta go," and runs off. Tears spring into Iris's eyes. He was about to kiss her, so why did he run off?
This leaves Iris wondering whether Stone is as big as a teaser as his brother, Tyger.
