Around 11 in the night, the Dunphy's were finally going to return to their house after celebrating the website launch together with my dad and I.
"Thank you Claire." I said honestly as I was walking her and Phil toward the front door. Claire gave me a light hug and said, "You're welcome. You did really great Edward. You can be more proud of yourself."
Shaking my head slightly, I said, "Nah. That's not my style."
Claire gave up trying to get an enthusiastic reaction from me and opened the front door, only to find a goth girl standing in front of the house.
Wearing a one-piece black dress with knee high black socks, Abby decided to come by the house. She was wearing a black hairband on her head instead of tying twintail-style as usual.
"Oh. Am I too late?" Abby asked with some anxiousness in her voice. I had texted her about the celebration before this, but I didn't think that her mom would let her come this late at night.
"Who's this?" Claire asked with a knowing look, barely able to hide her smirk as she saw Abby.
"My girlfriend." I replied casually while looking at Abby, causing Claire to be taken aback.
Behind me, Haley and Alex were stunned when they saw Abby coming to my house late at night while dressing so prettily. Phil turned to his daughters to see their reaction, and then he turned toward Abby again.
Abby blushed when I called her my girlfriend. Then, she pretended to be angry at me and said, "A neglected girlfriend. Can't believe you're launching the website today and not telling me anything."
I didn't know why, but Claire decided to interfere, "In his defense, he didn't tell anyone about it except his father. I am one of his workers, and he didn't tell me anything about it until an hour before the launch."
Abby was speechless when she heard the defense from Clair, and she started thinking about the truth behind her words.
"Claire. Nobody likes a tattle tale. You guys should go home." I said and escorted Claire outside of the house. She called Ted from afar and said, "Ted. Make sure they didn't go to his room. It's very late at night and he's just 14-"
"I'm not going to do anything. Go home!" I said and threw Claire out of the house. Phil laughed at the situation and said to me, "She's just worried. But, now that… she was trying to control your life too…I guess that makes you one of my children. Welcome to the family ED!"
Stunned, I looked at Claire's direction with a shaky eyes. "What are you talking about Phil?" Claire said and pulled Phil outside of the house.
[Phil's commentary]
With a face full of seriousness, Phil said, "If he is not dating my daughters, then I need to consider adoption or being his god-father."
[Commentary ends]
"Is Edward my brother now?" Luke asked. "No!" Alex replied decisively. Then both of them exited the house.
Ignoring Luke, I said, "Abby, come in." Abby's eyes turned to something behind me, causing me to turn to see what she was looking at.
I saw Haley standing alone behind me after all of her family had exited the house, so I was confused as to why she was still there.
"What's the matter Haley?"
The question snapped Haley back to reality and her eyes started to dart between me and Abby instead of just staring at Abby.
[Haley's Commentary]
"So. When I went to register at the DMV today…I saw Abby over there. I thought she was taking the test late as she was 17 now…but when she went to the toilet…I…peeked into her registration form, and saw she was only 16 years old." Haley explained.
"Now, I wonder why she'd been lying about her age, and whether Edward knew about the matter."
Her voice then became anxious and she said, "That was not the clothes she was wearing before this! That means…she returns home first to change into cute clothes before she comes over…LATE AT NIGHT (laughs awkwardly) I mean…What are they going to do late at night together?? (laugh again) At his house!...LATE AT NIGHT!"
[Commentary ends]
"Ed. I need to go back to the ship. The crew were partying, and now all of them are a mess." Ted suddenly said and brought his jacket with him as the sea was cold at night.
Haley heard what Ted said and she shouted, "NO!"
I turned toward Haley in confusion and asked, "What do you mean no?"
"I-I mean. Shouldn't you stay here and…celebrate with your son? And…not leave him alone with his girlfriend without…any supervision…"
Abby blushed as she understood what Haley was trying to say. Although she felt a bit weird as to why Haley cared so much, Abby said, "My mom is only giving me 5 minutes. I can't stay long."
Abby suddenly leaned in, wrapped her hands around my neck, and gave me a peck on the lips. Her action caused Haley to freeze on her spot again, while Ted's poker face turned into a smirking one.
"Well…What I'm here to say is…Congrats!" Abby said with some embarrassment in her tone as she was in front of my dad.
"Too bad my dad is here. Otherwise I will teach you how to kiss again." I said while staring into Abby's face. I wrapped my right hand on her back and pulled her body closer to mine.
Abby said with a blushing face, "Shut up! You don't need to teach me about it ever agai-"
[Haley's commentary]
"Yeah. he's not gay. I wonder why Uncle Mitch ever thought he is gay. Maybe his gaydar is broken." Haley said with a fake laugh.
With a hint of jealousy, Haley said, "The way that his face smolders while he was gazing into her eyes. Pulling her body closer and closer toward him, which I am sure they can hear each other's heart beats…"
Her face was a bit flushed after she remembered it. She fanned her face with her hand and said, "I mean…Even I never had any boys being that intense with me…ever…"
[Commentary ends]
Suddenly, Haley forced herself between the two of us and said, "Okay. No one needs to teach anyone anything. Abby, do you want me to walk you back to your house?"
"What?" Abby was confused by the suddenness, but Haley grabbed Abby's arm and pulled her away from the house.
"Edward, I will make sure she goes home safely. This is my congratulation gift to you."
"Oh. Okay. Byee~" I said and waved at the girls as Haley was waving at me from afar.
"What are you doing Haley?!" Abby called out and tried to break free, but Haley wasn't letting her grip go.
Shrugging my shoulder, I didn't stop Haley from walking away with Abby as I needed to continue working tonight. Now that the website celebration was done, I needed to get started with the Pritchett's Closet website next.
Ted saw my face and suddenly spoke, "Don't work tonight. Get some rest. When I get back, I will let you take your first sip of beer, as a celebration for just the two of us."
He was glad that the website launch was successful. Now, they didn't have to move to Wisconsin if they managed to build the business further and decrease Ted's working hours.
"I will take you up on that offer." I replied happily.
Then, my tone became a bit more serious, "Dad, any leads on a new ship's captain yet? You're going to be busy for the entire month. If there isn't anyone to take turns with you, I'm afraid that you will get burned out."
"I'm looking for it. There were a few potential candidates, but they were afraid to get on board as the business seemed like it was dying. Now, the situation has changed. I think I can convince them to take the job next."
"No. Don't convince them. Let them come to you." I suddenly said.
"W-what?" Ted asked in confusion. "Didn't we want them as soon as possible?"
"Dad. I think you really underestimated the rebranding. Now, the website is showing that we have more class than all other ships in the pier. Do you really think customers would pick the others if they can choose us?"
"Your status has skyrocketed. Act like it. You're now the big boss of the entire operation. You had already given them the option to come on board before this, so just wait for them to offer themselves."
Ted nodded in understanding and he said, "I will wait then. Also, the name Grand Boss suits you a lot."
I chuckled a bit at his joke and said, "Bring a pack of beer instead of just one can. We're going to drink a lot tonight."
[3rd Person POV]
As Haley dragged Abby further away from the Newgate's house, Abby finally broke free of Haley's grip and said angrily while moving her face closer towards Haley.
"What's the matter with you, you little twerp?!"
Not getting done in, Haley yelled back, "What's the matter with me? WHAT'S THE MATTER WITH YOU! What are you trying to do, dressing so sexily like that and going to a boys house late at night?!"
Abby was flabbergasted as soon as Haley said that. "H-He's my boyfriend. What's wrong with me going to his house? You're the weird one. Why the hell are you there again?!"
"Our family is close with one another, so I'm taking care of him." Haley lied through her teeth, but her expression didn't change in the least. "You. You're 16 right? And he is your first boyfriend?"
Abby quickly shut Haley's mouth with her hand and turned to look around to make sure no one else heard that.
"How do you know?" Abby asked with surprise and a bit of fear in her voice. Haley moved Abby's hand and answered, "I know everything. You need to stop throwing yourself at him and play a little bit harder to get."
Pausing for a moment, Abby then asked, "Why?"
"For him to appreciate you of course. Boys are stupid at that age, and they will say whatever they can to get into your pants. You need to stir him crazy at first before-" Haley then realized that she almost taught Abby about her tactics, so she stopped quickly.
"I'm not helping you with this!" Haley said and stampeded away angrily.
"Wait!" Abby grabbed Haley's shoulder from behind and asked, "What should I do?"
It was her first ever relationship, and she knew that Haley had dated a lot of boys before this. Therefore, Abby wanted to ask for some advice from Haley to finally get the upper hand in this relationship.
Although she knew it was a bit selfish, she wanted Edward to like her more than she liked him.
"I'm not teaching you anything. We're not even friends." Haley said and tried to remove Abby's grip from her shoulder, but it was impossible.
"How about this, do you want to see a live studio recording session?" Abby asked.
"What do you mean? Like…making an album?" Haley asked.
"Yeah. Edward is going to record his songs this Saturday. I can get you inside the studio if you want." Abby offered. "But…in exchange…you need to teach me how to…you know."
Haley thought hard about this matter that smoke could be seen coming out of her ears…metaphorically.
"Okay! I'll teach you! But I want to be there from the start till the end!" Haley finally decided. Although she didn't want Abby to get closer to Edward, she was a big fan of his songs that she would be willing to yield a bit to see his recording session personally.
"Deal!...Do you have your own car?" Abby asked carefully as to not let Haley change her mind.
"No. I can hitch a ride with my friends or ask dad to send me there. How far is it?" Haley asked. "You know what, give me your phone number. We'll discuss in text rather than here in the middle of the streets."
"Okay." Abby replied calmly and exchanged her phone number with Haley. Inside of Haley's phone, Abby was saved as the 212th phone number. But Haley was saved as the 6th phone number in Abby's phone.
"Now. Go home! Don't you dare come back to his house at this hour!" Haley said and ran toward her house while Abby entered her house. Like Haley promised, she escorted Abby back to her house safely.
Abby received a text from Edward asking if she had returned home safely at this time. Abby smiled and texted back, "Yeah. Haley had sent me to the front of my house. We even exchanged phone numbers."
Edward texted her again, "I see. Then, she will be your first female friend in California. Me being the first in the male, and overall friend category."
Abby scoffed, but then Edward added another text, "And also the best boyfriend ever category." Her face became flushed, but her text didn't convey what she was feeling right now.
Abby: Piss off.
…
[Edward's POV]
After getting beer with my dad and shocking him with how much I can drink without getting drunk, I went to sleep that night in drunkenness and went to school in the morning as usual.
Wearing sunglasses inside the classroom, I was trying to sleep without the teacher noticing me before the girl sitting next to me started to talk to me. Going braless and only wearing a black tube top, Jenna leaned towards me instead of the teacher while we're listening to the English class lecture.
"Eddy. Did you know about your dad's website launching last night? My mom bought a few trips to support your dad's business after I told her about it." Jenna said, trying to instigate my attention.
"Hmm.." I replied, still trying to sleep.
Jacob and Elsa were sitting next to each other behind me and Jenna, but they weren't looking at one another. Elsa read a text message from Jacob, and she closed her mouth to gasp. She wanted to tell Jenna something, but Jenna was too focused on me.
"You know, my mom is thinking of getting together with a few of her friends from work on the ship." Jenna started talking as she actually got a response from me.
"Hmm.." I replied again.
"You know, my mom is an ex-Play- I mean ex-model. She and her friends will probably party hard on the ship…Maybe even… partying nude.." Jenna revealed a bit and she studied my face carefully after she said that.
She wanted to know whether I was really interested in milfs, so she revealed something about her mother's private life. My face twitched a bit after I heard that and I unconsciously broke into a smile.
Jenna pouted and stopped talking about the matter as she thought I was excited at the thoughts of the nude milfs. What I was actually thinking about was, 'Ohh. Dad is going to get some.'
Jenna's mother was Alexandria Karlson, an ex-Playboy model who had now entered into a career as a minor supporting actress in low-rating tv series and shoddy movies with unnecessary nudity.
Jenna didn't lie about the crazy party her mom and friends were going to get into as she had witnessed them a lot before this.
There was also a time where she had walked into her mom while she was servicing some tv show producers and other actors.
Her mom did that to make sure she had a part in the movies or series they were producing, and she wasn't ashamed of what she had done– therefore Jenna grew up to think that it was normal for a woman to use their body to get what they wanted.
"If you want, I can get my mom to ask around about a website developer. I'm sure that your dad's business will grow even further. The website right now is fine, but it's not fun."
Elsa tapped into Jenna's shoulder multiple times, trying to get her attention, but Jenna was still ignoring her.
"We can shoot a party with the models on the ship. Take a picture of them, and put it on the website. If you want, I can get you into the party…together with me." Jenna offered.
I finally turned toward her, causing her to be taken aback.
"Nah. I'm too busy with some work right now. Besides, my dad will kill me if I cockblock him."
Jenna was confused by my words, and Elsa finally got a word in. Using a whisper, Elsa said, "Jenna. Edward was the one who created the website!"
Jenna realized that she had said the wrong thing, and she started to stammer, "No. N-No Ed. I didn't mean the website isn't fun. I…"
Before she could spiral any further, I said, "It's okay. I wasn't offended. Besides, I was thinking about putting pictures of the customers too.."
Jenna was relieved and said, "Thank god."
"Now. Let me sleep. I was up late last night tweaking the website." I said and turned to the teacher again. Behind the sunglasses, my eyes were already closed and I wanted to take a short nap when the teacher suddenly said.
"For your assignment this week, you need to pair up with your desk partner and come out with a 1000 word long book report together."
"Ah damn." I cursed while Jenna's eyes glittered in excitement. After the class was over, Jenna asked her questions in a rapid fire mode.
"Which book do you want to pick? Do you want to come to my house and do it? Or should we do it at a restaurant? Or should I come to your house? What do you want me to wear? What hand do you use to write? When should we meet up? How big is your-"
Before she could go on any further, I shook my head and said, "I can do it alone. I can guarantee we'll get an A in the assignment."
Jenna objected hurriedly, "NO! We need to do it together. The teacher told us to! You can't ignore the teacher's words."
I heard Elsa mutter underneath her breath behind Jenna, "You ignore the teacher all the time. Why do you care now?"
Jenna heard it and turned to shoot a death glare at her friend. Elsa giggled awkwardly and walked away to the next class alone. I saw Jacob was laughing at my misery, so I decided to make him realize his situation.
"Why don't… We do it at Jacob's house? Elsa and him also need to do it together, so we can all get together to do it."
Jacob finally realized that he needed to be alone with his crush to do the assignment, and he almost fainted on the spot.
Jenna turned toward Jacob and asked, "Can we go to your house?"
Jacob couldn't answer a girl, so I answered him, "Yeah. We can. I'll see you then. Talk to Jacob to know when we shall get together."
Jenna nodded, while Jacob couldn't understand what just happened. Even after the bell had rang and all the students had gone to their class, Jacob was still standing frozen in the hallway. Suddenly, he got his sanity back and yelled, "EDWARDDD!!!!"
I heard his scream while I was listening to the math teacher's lectures. With a smirk on my face, I muttered, "Am I to mean?...Nah, he's too annoying."
Then, I closed my eyes and went to sleep for the whole math class. The balding teacher looked at me and sighed as he saw I was sleeping. 15 minutes before the class was over, the teacher suddenly made an announcement.
"Okay class. This test here is optional. It won't be counted in your final marks, nor would it affect your records in any way."
The teachers then walked and handed out the test questions to each of the students in the class. Jacob shook me to wake me up when the teacher had arrived at my spot.
Groggily taking the paper from the teacher, I picked up my pencil to answer the question as I didn't hear about the optional announcement before this.
As I read through the questions, I muttered, "What the hell are these weird questions?"