(I'm sick af, but I'm back. Lol.)
[General POV]
-Highschool-
While Ed was playing a game with his friends at the school cafeteria, Tara, Abby, and Haley were also sitting around together at a similar table in another school trying to eat their lunch. However, unlike the warm, comforting air that enveloped Ed and his friends, the air around the girls was ice cold.
Tara carefully looked at Haley and then Abby who were ignoring each other. She picked her salad for a while before sighing and opening her mouth to break the silence, "So…What happened?!"
"This girl is a SKANK!" Abby said with hostility as she pointed at Haley.
Flabbergasted, Haley defended herself quickly, "Well…YOU'RE DELUSIONAL!"
The other students whistled and chanted for them to fight each other. Abby showed her middle fingers with both arms to those eavesdropping and returned back to Tara.
While calmly eating her salad, Tara wiped her mouth elegantly with a napkin as she swallowed her food before asking again, "You guys still haven't told me what happened."
Abby and Haley looked at each other warily before calming down a bit. Abby opened her mouth first and told her the entire story.
After Tara listened to it until the end, she nodded and said, "So. You guys are idiots."
"HEY!" x2
[Haley's commentary]
"Ugh. I can't believe HER!" Haley groaned as she flipped her hair back. "Can you imagine she's being possessive of Ed, even when she's NO LONGER his girlfriend?"
"In fact, even their first relationship was a fake one." She said, then realizing that she was badmouthing her friend, and shut up immediately.
[Commentary ends]
Tara pointed at Abby with her fork and asked, "You're not making a move, and you're mad he's hooking up with the blondie…that, for some mysterious reason you guys don't want to tell me the name of? Or…. might that be because she is a famous person…or the info will hurt Ed if it gets out?"
Tara's sharp instinct made both Abby and Haley flinch, but they just nodded without confirming, nor denying, Tara's hypothesis.
Tara narrowed her eyes at both of her friends before turning to Haley, "And you. Didn't you say you were not making any moves until Abby had gone away to respect her? And then got shut down by him before you could even do it?"
"Well. It's different now. Making a move is no longer a choice. It's a necessity. Otherwise Ed will be entangled in the creepy Hollywood scandals and influences, and will lose his way."
"And THAT'S why he needs ME." Abby added.
Haley glared at her and said, "NO! He needs ME! He's hurting right now. I can make him whole again!"
"Well I can too!" Abby said, not backing down. Tara just silently ate her salad while mocking both of her friends inside her heart as she thought about the whole thing.
"Is this because of the guy who asked Abby out to prom?" Tara asked.
Both of them flinched again and Abby started to stammer, "W-Who? No one asked me-"
"The football team quarterback, the one you broke the nose of on your first day at school? Gossip travels fast, you know?" Tara said casually before finishing eating and starting to drink from a milk carton next. She glanced at Abby's and Haley's chests and prayed that she could raise her cup size before the end of the year and not get stuck at A cup while disdaining both of her friends at the same time.
"There's a simple solution for this." Tara said, no longer pursuing the subject given that Abby didn't want to talk about the football player anymore.
"What is it?" Haley asked.
"Both of you….Hook up with him."
"W-Wh-WHAT?!" x2
[Abby's Commentary]
"So when I drove Ed to school today, I saw his text with"Taytay "… They were flirting, hard and he even planned to give her a kitten." Abby said in dissatisfaction.
"He even saved her name so intimately, can you believe that?!" She widened her eyes in disbelief as she crossed her legs and arms at the same time.
"I told Haley about it, and she reacted the same way as I am. I thought she was on my side, but it turns out she has her own motives."
Then, Abby slumped her shoulders and said, "I know I'm being a brat. Ed and I aren't even dating. But… I really don't want to see him dating someone else ... I wonder if Ed will not date Tay- "the blondie" after hooking up with both Haley and I at the same time."
Tara never said 'at the same time', but that's how Abby heard it.
[commentary ends]
"Anyway, forget about Ed for a moment. Abby, you're staying here for the entire summer right?" Tara's eyes lit up as she heard the news from Haley today.
Although Haley and Abby were 'fighting', Haley was extremely delighted that Abby had extended her stay in California before she had to go back to New York.
"Yeah. I don't know what my mum's plan is, but she requested to transfer her station to this town city hall. If they accept her, we will stay here until I graduate. But if she can't get the transfer, then I will just be here for the summer."
"Ohhh We should buy bikinis!" Haley said in excitement.
"Totally! And Invite Ed to the beach!" Abby was excited too, and both of the girls giggled as they planned for the summer.
Tara narrowed her eyes at her friends and thought, 'Weren't they fighting before?'
A few hours passed by, and Abby drove Tara and Haley home after school.
Haley was not backing down when Abby kept being wishy washy about Edward. It pissed her off. Before they knew it, they were fighting again.
"You're already his Ex- girlfriend. "EX"! Your relationship is already over. It didn't work out. Move on. Don't be so pathetic."
"Why? So you can date him? I saw the way you were looking at him. I never imagined you would betray your friend like this."
"Betray you? What did I do to betray you!? You and Edward are over! Don't you remember? You BROKE UP with him. Also, he's already dating Tay-"
As Tara was there, Haley stopped her words halfway and looked warily at her friend. Tara shook her head in disdain and said, "You don't have to force yourself to censor it anymore. I can already guess who it is."
Abby was silent for a while and was contemplating hard before she said, "He's sleeping over right?"
"Yeah. Why?" Haley replied in confusion.
"Then, try to seduce him." Abby declared.
"EEEEEEXCUSE ME?!" Haley exclaimed in disbelief.
"Seduce him, and if he makes a move on you, that means he's only hooking up with Taylor. If it's like that, then we still have a chance." Abby explained.
"We?"
"I don't want to argue. I want both of us to have the chance. Besides, I'm not staying in LA for long. I will be gone after summer. So let's have a fair fight for Ed. "
Haley was touched and both of them hugged as they made up, but then Tara chimed in, "You guys are so cringey."
Haley showed her tongue at Tara while Abby grinned hard before pressing the pedal, making Tara almost fall from the whiplash.
"Bitch." Tara cursed before they all laughed together.
…
[Edward POV]
The smell of broiled salmon spread to the entire Dunphy kitchen.
"Ed. Are you cooking today?" Alex asked in disbelief after she came downstairs from her room as she smelled the intoxicating aroma. Of course, while still holding on to her books.
"Yeah. Your mother let me stay here today. It's the least I can do." I said with a kind smile, making Alex blush inexplicably before she went to sit at the dining table.
"What?" I asked in confusion as Alex was behaving strangely after the second part of school today.
"No-Nothing."Alex hid her face behind her book as she stole glances at me once in a while as if studying me.
[Alex's commentary.]
"Am I behaving weirdly now!?....Well…Maybe…but it's all ENID's fault!" Alex grunted as her face flushed when thinking about what Enid said to her before.
-Flashback-
Alex was standing next to Enid as she opened her locker, and was shocked when she saw the numerous 'Edward Newgate' merchandise inside the small metal box.
"You…Seriously?" Alex looked at Enid in disbelief as she saw her caressing Ed's abs for luck before closing the locker door.
"What? He's hot." Enid said casually.
"He's our friend." Alex said sternly.
"Nah, he has a dual identity. Like Hannah Montana.Friend and an artist. I'm a fan of the latter, and good friend with the first one."
Alex was confused and asked, "So what's with the inappropriate touching then?"
Enid took a deep breath before she explained with a dazed expression and turned on voice, "Well…Ed has given a lot of young girls– like me, the courage to explore the suddenly… unfamiliar topography of their changing bodie-"
"Okay stop!" Alex said with a blush. Enid grinned and continued, "I stick up the poster next to my bed, every single night and…-"
"NO ENID! DON'T!" Alex ran away while Enid chased her from behind to stimulate Alex's prudeness and open up her mind to higher possibilities.
"Don't forget to peek behind the door while he's staying over at your house. If you have any pictures-"
"I Won't PERV ON HIM!" Alex declared as she ran away from Enid again.
-Flashback ends-
"See. It's all Enid's fault." Alex muttered with a hot face.
[Commentary ends]
I ignored Alex and focused on the cooking for a few minutes before Phil walked into the kitchen after he got back from work.
"Hi Phil, did you sell a house today?" I asked casually as he stopped to look at what I was cooking.
Phil grinned and said, "A Victorian Era, 3700 square feet, 40% down payment, all in only one day!"
I nodded while amazed at Phil's selling skill and thought for a bit. Despite Gil Thorpe usually being the best salesman in the area, Phil was usually just behind him in sales, making him the second best salesman here.
By my calculation, he could get up to a million dollars in sales revenue even if he only sold 4-5 houses per month, given the horrendous price of the houses in the city.
Even the ordinary 3 bedroom house with a picket fence that the Dunphy's was currently living in was priced at 1.3 million dollars nowadays. Sure, they bought it almost 2 decades ago, but still.
"Nice job Phil." I said and raised my right hand up. He smiled from ear to ear and high fived me before Claire walked into the kitchen. Before Phil could greet her, I pulled his ear close and whispered something to him. He chuckled a bit and looked at Claire.
"What is it?" Claire said with a smile, hiding her wariness.
"Hey Claire, it's nothing. Ed just asked me what a bee makes."
"Honey?" Claire replied.
"Yes dear."
Phil and I both laughed while Claire thought for a few seconds and then rolled her eyes at us. "Don't hang out with Phil anymore. You're infected. You need to make sure not to ruin your artist image by doing this kind of puns outside."
"Nah. People will love it." I said as I bit on a macadamia nut before finishing with the broiled salmon. Claire rolled her eyes and walked next to me and started helping out with the dinner preparation. However, the house's doorbell rang at this time.
"Hmm? Who is it?" Phil asked from afar as he walked to the door.
"It's Gloria!"
Phil opened the door in excitement and asked, "What brings you here?"
"Well I heard Ed is staying here for a boys night. Soo…." She dragged the reluctant Manny in front of her with a huge grin on her face.
"Mom. It's not a sleepover." Manny tried to argue.
"No. You need to stay here and have the boys time with Luke! and Ed!" Gloria said in a reprimanding tone.
"I don't mind." I said. "The more the merrier. But, someone has to sleep on the floor."
[Gloria and Jay's commentary]
"Today is the anniversary of our first date, and Jay had planned something special…for just the two of us." Gloria said as she looked at Jay with a smitten look.
Jay smiled with his mouth, but not with his eyes as he waited for Gloria to finish talking.
"Manny didn't want to say it, but he's feeling a bit… what's the word?"
"Isolated. Estranged. No friends want to hangout with him?" Jay guessed.
"Yeah, that last one. So when Claire told me Ed is staying over with Luke, it was a perfect opportunity for Manny to have his first sleepover with his friends. I know Ed will take care of him, so I can leave him there with an easy heart." Gloria said.
Jay didn't want to correct Gloria as he wanted to keep her in a good mood.
[Jay's commentary]
He took out a CD and said, "Ed had given me the songs I wanted. 3 songs in Spanish. But the problem is…I…lost the translation paper, and have no idea what the songs are all about."
He rubbed his forehead in frustration as he said, "Now. I already promised Gloria something special for the 'dating' anniversary…luckily Ed hinted to me after Gloria told him about it. Otherwise I would have no idea she was hoping for something special today."
Jay was silent for a while and muttered, "How the hell should I play the songs now?"
[commentary ends]
After dinner, the family went on to do their own things. The hyperactive Luke was reprimanded by his mother and had to finish his homework first before she would allow him to play with us, therefore he was thrown to his own room for him to do his work under Claire's supervision.
Manny needed to do his homework too, therefore he joined Luke in his room. Alex had gone back to studying, leaving only Phil, Haley, and I in the living room.
"Hey Ed. Wanna watch this?" Haley said as she took out a DVD. It's titled, 'The Unborn.'
"A horror movie? Really?" I widened my eyes in surprise.
"Yeah. It's going to be fun." Haley said with a grin and a slight shoulder tilt before she clung to my arm and dragged me to the sofa.
[Haley's commentary]
"I'm not an idiot. It would be very dumb of me to try and show him a sensual move…while he's at MY house." Haley said with a sly grin.
"So I'm going to make a few girly moves. Such as-"
-Living room-
Haley was on Ed's left side as they watched the movie. They cuddled underneath a blanket with Haley looking fearful as she watched the movie.
"BOOM!" The ghost popped out on the screen.
"Kyaa!" Haley screamed in fear and clung into Ed's arm while simultaneously pressing her body into his as she covered her eyes from watching the horror scene.
Ed was helpless and couldn't help but pat her to comfort her. For him, the movie was boring. He couldn't help but laugh a few times because of how fake it was.
-Back to commentary-
"See…" She said while pointing at her temple. Then, she sighed and said, "It would all have worked better though …if my dad wasn't there too…"
-Living room-
"BOOM!" the ghost popped out on the screen.
"Kyaa!" Haley screamed and clung onto Ed's arm.
"KYAA!" Phil screamed in a high pitched voice before he clung onto Ed's right arm. Then, he collected himself and tried to laugh it off by saying, "I knew that was going to happen. God Haley, stop being such a coward. I'll go make some popcorn."
Phil walked away quickly, and when the ghost popped out on the screen again, he almost fell while he was walking behind the sofa.
"Guys. Luke needs my help, so I'm not going to be able to protect you guys." Phil said, trying to act tough as if he was going away for Luke's benefit. The ghost came on the screen once more, and Phil yelped before he ran away quickly.
…
[Edward POV]
Haley's leg was on my lap as she cuddled with me on the sofa. She kept squirming and intimately clinging onto my neck as she laid her head on my chest after her dad had moved away.
"You…did this on purpose right?" I said as I brushed her hair.
"Maybe." She said slyly and kissed my neck without any warning. I widened my eyes in surprise and said hurriedly, "Are you crazy? What if your mom saw that? Also, what are you doing?"
"Nothing. What did I do?" Haley asked innocently. I pinched her ass, causing her to yelp seductively. I looked into her eyes and said, "Don't play too much. I don't want to get into trouble."
Haley smirked and rested her head on my chest again before muttering, "You know. You can just do the easy thing and push me away."
"Nah. Your body temperature is pretty nice. It's like cuddling with a heat pack. Also, I'm feeling pity for you."
"Huh? Why?" Haley said in confusion. She moved her head to look at me in the eyes as I said, "Well. You have been single for so long, I think you're having relationship withdrawal syndrome."
" I AM NOT-"
Before she could finish, I pushed her head back to my chest again. She pouted and punched me before saying, "You're having the competition tomorrow. Why aren't you studying like Alex?"
"I have already finished studying. Alex too, but she insisted on revising the materials." I explained. Suddenly, Alex walked into the living room with a book in her hand. She glared at Haley in disdain before saying, "Playtime is over. I need to study with Ed. MOVE!"
"What? We're watching a movie! YOU MOVE!" Haley argued.
Alex turned to the room direction and shouted, "MOM! Haley is-"
Before she could finish, Haley already jumped out and cupped her mouth anxiously. "Okay Okay!"
Alex narrowed her eyes at Haley before walking to the sofa and sat extremely close to me. She put the book on my body and asked, "This. Have you read this part?"
"Yeah. Do you have any questions about it?" I asked casually.
"No." Alex replied.
"... Then why did you come down?"