—
𝗬𝗢𝗨'𝗥𝗘 𝗡𝗢𝗧 𝗠𝗬 𝗨𝗡𝗖𝗟𝗘
—
You were sat in the cafeteria reading over Will's summer essay, listening to Rose complain in your ear about having not been elected debate captain. A half eaten apple sat in your hand — all while you hummed half-interested at your friends endless complaints.
"Like, can you even believe those jerks?" Rose asked, scoffing at the thought.
"Oh the injustice!" You cried out, giggling at Rose as you took another bite of your apple — the girl sat before you not impressed, "make fun of me all you want, but it is injustice!" Rose huffed.
"I mean, it's completely unfair! Katie Bell doesn't even scream leadership material." She continued, picking apart the cheap cardboard milk carton in front of her. Harper walked over to the table, greeting you both as she sat down in the empty chair at the end in between you and Rose.
"What's this?" Harper asked.
You took another bite of your apple and sighed, "Rose is upset because Miss Passwater picked Sarah Chong as classroom monitor."
"It's not just class monitor!" Rose pouted, glaring at Harper as a snicker left the red head's mouth — tossing a grape in her mouth with a hum.
"And here we go" you mumbled, "When I apply for Harvard, they're gonna laugh because pug faced Katie won the title." Rose said glumly. You paused for a brief moment and turned to look at Harper, "do you think the word exquisite is too much?" You pondered.
"For you, no. But for Will?.. better to go with radical or awesome — more believable."
"Does nobody care about my problems? Hmph— might as well let me wither away." Rose whined dramatically, pouting as she stared at the two of you. Harper rolled her eyes and continued munching on her food, "can you wither away quietly? I'm eating my grapes." She said.
You laughed and looked up at Rose, "I don't think Harvard would deny you entry because of a dumb position as class monitor, Ro. You're the smartest kid we know"
"Plus you're only eleven." Harper cut in, tossing another grape into her mouth, "we have four good years of dreaming about ponies and stuffed animals before the awful reality of deciding our futures kicks in." She said sincerely, reaching over and patting Roses hand with a grin.
That seemed to cheer her up (oddly) as she relaxed, "you're right Harps. Thanks."
You rolled your eyes at the two and glanced over at the table, Luke, Manny and Will normally sit at — only now noticing it empty. None of them were one to miss out on lunch, so the deserted table confused you.
Harper and Rose were talking about the newest Lizzie Maguire episode from last night, when you tapped their hands. Earning their attention, "hey do you guys know where Luke, Will and Manny are?" Both girls turned their heads to the empty table, "well they aren't over there." Harper said.
"Oh wow, really?" Rose asked sarcastically.
Harper stuck her tongue out at Rose and looked around, "come to think of it, where is everyone?" She asked aloud — the three of you looking around at the almost deserted cafeteria. Your whole grade was missing from their usual seats, That was odd, especially on sloppy joe Mondays.
You opened your mouth to speak but a sound from Harpers blackberry cut you off, the red head checking the device — her eyes widening.
"Oh my god.." she said muffled, taking a moment to swallow the grapes in her mouth, "Luke and Will are fighting Manny!" She said sniggering; turning the screen to show you and Rose the thirty second clip Reuben had sent her.
•••
The three of you ran down the hallway, Harper informing you that they were by the lockers.
You rounded the corner and saw a cluster of kids crowded around cheering. Rose and Harper helped pushed through them, the three of you stumbled to the front, just in time to see Will holding Manny's legs down so he couldn't kick him while Luke sat on his chest.
"Get off me!" Manny yelled, trying to get out from under Luke.
"What are you idiots doing?!" You screamed at them, ignoring the encouraging cheers from the other kids in your year.
Will struggled to keep him still, "he won't stop calling Luke his nephew!"
"That's because he is my nephew."
"So, instead of asking Claire to talk with Jay and Gloria about it you both decided restraining him was the best option?!" You asked, dropping your school bag and walking toward them; trying to pull Will off. Luke shoved a hand in Manny's face, dodging the frantic hits being thrown at him, "Reuben and the others keep calling me his 'little nephew'— so take it back!" He huffed.
The crowd around you slowly begun to break up as the bell for fourth period rung — you were too caught up with Will and Luke fighting Manny to also see the principal stalking towards you.
Rose and Harper tried getting your attention, but it was too late. You had just lightly shoved Luke when, "Miss Carter!" A deep voice scolded, causing you to stop struggling against the three boys and look up.
You retracted your hands, "It's really not what it looks like, Principal park—"
"—Save it for your father, Miss Carter. The four of you in my office, now!" He said sternly, and gestured for you to follow him — "the bells rung, off to class girls." He added looking at Rose and Harper.
The two gave you a sympathetic look and told you that they'd wait for you in English, both girls leaving for class. You got up to follow after the principal; Luke, Will and Manny quickly following suite.
° 𝗬/𝗡, 𝗪𝗶𝗹𝗹 & 𝗝𝗼𝘀𝗲𝗽𝗵
"You think you know your children." Joseph sighed dramatically, "I raised two perfect angels, so imagine the shock I had when learning not one, but both of them openly participated in a school fight."
You folded your arms and sat further back into the couch, "I didn't participate in a school fight. Luke and Will were the ones fighting Manny, I tried breaking them up!"
"Absolute delinquents."
"Dad—"
"Save it for the judge!" Joseph said in a deep voice, and putting on a pair of shades, making you and Will roll your eyes and look to the floor dejectedly.
...
Jay and Gloria were the first to arrive at the principal's office, greeting Mr. Parks politely before Gloria looked to Manny and tsk'd; lecturing him in Spanish as Jay shook his head at you, Will and Luke in disappointment. "L
"I'm really sorry you got in trouble." Luke said quietly, his head hung in shame, you looked to him and sighed; but said nothing.
Mr. Parks' office door swung open, and Joseph, Claire and Phil walked in, "what are you guys doing here?" She asked surprised.
"These three knuckleheads were fighting each other" Jay huffed.
"But I wasn't fighting—"
"—Or so she says." Jay interrupted, causing Joseph to sigh and stand behind yours and Will's chair; placing a hand on either back.
"Could've been worse. I was not ready to face Durkas today." Phil muttered to Claire, closing the door to Mr. Parks' office and taking a seat in the chair besides his wife.
"So, what happened?" Joseph asked dryly.
"Well, apparently there was some name-calling and shoving over by the lockers. By the time I'd arrived on scene, Mr. Dunphy and Mr. Carter here had Mr. Delgado pinned to the ground." Mr Parks explained, eyeing the three boys.
"Luke, thats not like you." Jay said shocked.
"And my daughter has yet to be mentioned, so what was her part in all of this?"
"Well, Mr. Carter, your daughter was caught shoving Mr. Dunphy off of Mr. Delgado here, and if that wasn't bad enough she also helped pin Manny to the ground — while he was screaming for them to get off of him."
"I was trying to break it up!"
Jay hummed, "that doesn't sound like [Y/n], Will or Luke." He said dismissively, Principal Parks perking up in interest.
"Wait a minute, you're Luke's father?"
"Grandfather." Jay corrected.
"So Manny is—" Mr. Parks started, pointing towards Phil; who was gesturing over to Gloria, who cut him off.
"Javier. Crazy guy!, that's where he gets his fire." She said proudly, looking to Manny with a smile.
"Okay, and you're?—" Mr. Parks pointed to Luke, Claire putting an arm around him, "he's our son." She said, gesturing to her and Phil.
"And my grandson." Jay said.
"I'm his daughter." Claire added on.
"So you're—"
"His uncle!" Manny interrupted.
"Stop saying that or I'll sit on your chest again!" Luke threatened, "Ho! Wait a second. Is this what this was all about?" Claire questioned.
"He keeps calling me his nephew!"
"Because you are my nephew!"
"Shut up!" Luke and Will yelled.
"Okay boys, that's enough. Now I'm getting the sense that you are all related.. somehow, so that makes you three.." Mr. Parks pointed to you, Will and Joseph, "Uh, no. We're just family friends. No relation to them." You informed.
"Not yet anyways." Manny said smirking, making you snort in laughter.
Luke growled underneath his breath as he and Will shot a deadly glare at Manny. Your dad pulled you closer into him and looked over at the boy, narrowing his eyes, mouthing 'I will hurt you.' As Manny blinked in surprise.
Mr. Parks sighed and removed his glasses, reaching up to rub the bridge of his nose, "Okay! well I think it's best if you work this out at home. So the boys can go back to class, but I'd like Miss Carter to stay here."
"What, why?" You asked.
"I'm just wanting to get your side of the story." He half-smiled, then turned back to look at the three boys, "and remember we aren't happy about this guys. This isn't how mature, young men behave. Here's your late note for Miss Passwater." He said handing Luke the note.
"Hehe, passwater." Joseph giggled with Phil.
You waved bye to the three of them and slumped back in your chair. Manny, Will and Luke got up from their seats and left the principal's office, mumbling a goodbye to you and their parents.
Once in the hall, out of ear shot, Luke turned to look at Manny, "so, do you like, [Y/n] or something?".
"Maybe a little, she's really pretty, and Jay says that the pretty women are the ones to go for". Luke grimaced and folded his arms,
"You think she's pretty? Clearly you've not seen my sister in the morning." Will scoffed shaking his head, "who needs horror movies when Y/n can give me a scare for free?" He joked — but the two boys ignored him and continued their conversation about you.
"[Y/n] isn't just a pretty, she's a lot more then that." Luke defended, not liking the response from Manny one bit.
"Oh barf." Will groaned.
Manny chewed his lip in thought, "Well, uh, I'd like to be friends. So, let'a be men and put this all behind us." Luke arched a brow at Manny and tilted his head.
"But what do we do about, [Y/n]?"
"We'll be spending a lot of time together no doubt, so let's just say.. may the best man win". Manny said confidently.
Luke merely nodded in agreement, not sure what they were gonna win — "Seriously, what are you guys seeing?" Will asked. Following Luke and Manny into Miss Passwater's classroom.
•••
It was just after five when you arrived at Jay and Gloria's house with Claire, Phil and the other Dunphy bunch not far behind you.
"Hi, hi, hi, hi!" Jay greeted warmly as he opened the front door, "how you lot doing?" He asked, moving to the side to let us in. Claire gently pushed past you to hug Jay and kiss his cheek, "Let me guess, game is on?" She questioned knowingly, "Just started." Jay laughed.
Joseph and Phil waited for you, Will and Luke to enter before stepping in the house themselves "Where's Juni?" Alex asked, noticing the boy nowhere in sight.
"He's on a date with Courtney." Will said.
"Aw, poor girl." Haley chimed in from besides you, not once glancing up from her phone. Gloria strutted in a second later, coming up to greet your dad and Phil with a warm smile.
"Hey, uh, for you," Phil said awkwardly, handing a bottle of wine to Gloria, "it's nice to see you."
Joseph smiled at her, both men giving Gloria a friendly hug, "Ah!, two times today!" She joked.
"Okay, well—"
"Uh, Phil.. she means we've seen them two times today." Claire interjected bluntly, Gloria turning away from Phil and walking off as he tried to hug her. Joseph chuckled and patted his buddy on the back, walking off towards the living room.
"Okay, everybody! the food's in there." Jay said, and pointed to the kitchen where Cam and Mitchell were sat with Lily, "and the drinks are in there." He said, pointing to the living room where his built in bar sat, "I'll be in there."
"Hold on, Jay. I think we should address the elephant in the room." Phil said, looking to you, Manny, Will and Luke; the four of you sat together on the stairs. "Boys, [Y/n], bring it in!"
Not having much of a choice, you all begrudgingly walked over to Phil.
"Come on. Huddle up!— Heh Football." Phil grinned and looked to Claire, "Ok, Now, in the light of what happened today.. I think this is the proper forum—"
"For god sakes!" Jay muttered, pushing Phil out of the way and grabbing Manny and Luke by their shoulders, "alright, the four of you. Now, do we punch and kick one another, Or do we love each-other?" Jay asked us.
"We love each other.." you all said in unison, Phil quietly complained to Claire how Jay had cut him off and stole his moment while the boys all moved in to group hug you.
"That's right!" Jay said happily, hitting Luke and Manny on the back of their heads; making you giggle and pull back from the boys.
"Ow!"
"Job well done. I'll be in the den." Jay said congratulating himself and walking into the living room, Joseph, Mitch and Cam following after him. You smiled at Lily and bounced over to see her, taking a seat opposite her highchair.
"So, I brought desert!" Claire cut in, turning to Gloria and holding out the pie for her to take.
"Okay, thank you. I made pie too." Gloria smiled in thanks, putting her pie onto the kitchen counter — barley glancing at Claire's
"Can never have too much pie, am I right?" Claire joked, placing hers on the bench.
Gloria flashed a forced smile and nodded, "Okay woah. Woah." Phil chuckled awkwardly, walking up to stand near the bench, "Everybody take a deep breath. Let's think about getting real."
"Phil, no—"
"Why, 'Phil, no'? What is Phil doing?" Gloria asked skeptically. You continued to sing quietly to Lily, holding her hand while eavesdropping on the drama happening between Phil, Gloria and Claire in the kitchen.
"That's it, I'm just gonna say it.." Gloria looked to Phil curiously, "there's tension between you two. Bam! It's out there."
"I'm gonna kill you." Claire said to Phil, causing him to slowly move back.
"I think he's right, I think we should talk about it." Gloria said softly.
"That's what I'm talking about!, you two talking about it." Phil said happily, going to take a piece of pie; but Claire smacked his hand away; making him retreat back immediately.
"Okay, the truth?, I sometimes feel like you do not like me!" She confessed, Phil finding this the perfect opportunity to talk. Once again.
"Woah, powerful, powerful stuff. Claire?, tell us how you feel about it."
"Right now?, I'm feeling a lot of anger."
"No, don't tell us, tell Gloria." Joseph chipped in, walking over to take a seat at the table, taking a sip of his orange juice.
"Gloria, right now I'm feeling angry at Phil."
"Let's respect the process.." Joseph said.
Claire sighed heavily and ran a hand through her hair, "Gloria, I don't know why you think I don't like you!" She huffed.
"Well, sometimes when you see me, you make that face" Gloria said frowning.
"what face?"
"Like this." She dropped the tongs and made a weird face; her lips curved up into one of disgust, and her eyes looking away from Claire as her nose was up in a snobbish way.
"I do not make a face like that—"
"Oh my gosh!, that is so Claire!" Mitchell said laughing, walking into the kitchen, grabbing a plate and taking a slice of pie.
"Mitchell!" Claire hissed, making the face Gloria and her were just discussing.
"See?, she does that with everyone. It's just her face!" Phil said, immediately dodging a swat on the arm from Claire — stumbling back into Joseph.
"It's not just the face!" Gloria argued, folding her arms as she looked over at Claire, "right from the beginning, I feel like Manny and I are not welcome in this family."
"That is crazy." Claire scoffed.
"No, it's not crazy. That's how I feel."
Mitchell muttered something incoherent to Claire, giving Gloria a small smile before leaving the room, "I am really sorry you feel that way. I really am, because from the moment I met you... I have tried to make you feel welcomed with us." Claire apologized.
"Do you think it's all in my head?..."
"No. Kind of?— I don't know. I mean we really love having you and Manny in our family."
"Really?"
"Really, so you don't have to get defensive." Claire said in a sickly sweet voice, but eh, it's the thought that counts. "I do that, don't i?" Gloria giggled sheepishly, "well.. a bit." Claire chuckled along, Phil smiling in awe at the sight.
"I'm feeling a hug." He said, walking over to the two women, Gloria smiled at Claire and pulled her into a hug.
"I was thinking group hug, but this is nice."
You smiled widely and shook your head at Phil, Haley walking in shortly after; chatting on her phone, "I'd be there if I could— oh my god they're hugging!" She whined, looking at Gloria and Claire with wide eyes.
Claire pulled back, "Alright, Haley, get off the phone already." Mitchell walked past, beelining straight for the fridge to grab a beer, "where'd you go?" Cam asked, walking into the kitchen a few seconds later.
"You heard him. 'Get out of here!'"
"Oh my god, you're such a girl!" Jay scoffed, taking a sip of his scotch as he walked over to Gloria, Mitchell sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, "Dad— I was, I was coming to get a beer anyways. Oh, and by the way, Nice apology!"
"Mhm, Nice beer."
"Maybe Claire and Gloria aren't the only ones that need to talk their differences out." Joseph said suggestively, you took the orange juice from his hand and knocked the rest of it back, "ain't that the truth."
Mitchell rolled his eyes and took a seat on one of the bar stools; with Cam beside him. Luke's laughter filled the room as he, Will and Manny ran in giggling, a football in hand, "hey!, there are the little roustabouts" Phil smiled widely, stopping them in their tracks.
"You look like you patched things up pretty good huh?." Phil asked em, "Yeah." Manny and Luke said together, your eyebrow raised as they both looked to you before answering.
"Ah, we can learn so much from the children. Bet it's kind of silly now, what were you even fighting about, huh?"
"I made fun of his accent." Will said bashfully.
"What accent?!" Gloria joked, gaining a laugh from everyone in the room, "I made fun of him for having the same thing for lunch everyday." Manny confessed, you giggling quietly to yourself as he gestured towards Will.
"I made fun of him, because his mom use to dig coal."
"What."
Alex stopped making up a plate and turned around to face the boys, "he said you were a coal digger." You glanced over at Claire and saw her go pale, covering her face as Phil tried to get the boys to be quiet and stop talking.
Gloria three down the tea towel on the bench and placed both hands on her hips, "who said i was a Coal Digger?" She asked harshly.
Luke playing with the football nervously, "That's what my mom told me.." he said guilty, you looked to your dad in confusion, "what's a coal digger?"
"Not now, peanut."
"Sweetheart, you heard it wrong. It's Gold Digger" Phil corrected you, Joseph covering his mouth and quietly cursing to himself.
"I'm gonna have to call you back..." Haley said into her phone, everyone looking at a guilty looking Claire — "I really, don't remember me ever saying that." She defended. Luke furrowed his brows, "Well, you said it in the car, you said it at Christmas, the Mexican restaura—" he was cut off by you putting a hand over his mouth.
"Okay, Mr. 'Leaves his sweatshirts at school everyday.. and suddenly remembers everything. Thank You."
"And it was all in my head, huh?"
"Oh, listen.. Gloria, it was.. it was like a year ago, before I knew you."
Claire tried to fix her mistake, Gloria having already walked away; tears glossing her eyes as she walked upstairs, feeling humiliated.
"Nice going. Now my mom and my sister are fighting!" Manny spat at Luke, walking out of the kitchen. You removed your hand from Luke's mouth and went after Manny, seeing no one else had — as Claire did for Gloria.
° 𝗖𝗹𝗮𝗶𝗿𝗲
"If I say something that everyone else is thinking, does that make me a mean person. Or, does it make me a brave person?"
The cameraman didn't answer and just shrugged, Claire continued on, "One who is courageous to stand up and-and say something... behind someone's back. To a ten year old.. ah dammit." She cursed, realizing how bad she sounded.
...
Manny sat on his doorstep, the night air making him shiver as he sat pouting — too caught up in his mind that he didn't hear you come out and take a seat besides him.
"Are you okay Manny?"
"No." He answered truthfully, "how can I be okay when the people who are meant to be my family aren't even happy to have me and my mom here? They still see us as intruders." You frowned and placed a hand on Manny's shoulder, "That's not true, Claire was just being silly. She really does like you and Gloria, showing how much she cares just isn't really her strong suit."
Manny nodded but didn't answer you, he was sure you meant well. But it all just sounded like excuses on her behalf.
"I can't really say sorry for Claire or tell ya I know the feeling, but just know im super duper happy to have you and Gloria here."
"You're just saying that." Manny muttered.
"Because it's true. I mean, when we first met you and Gloria two years ago I liked how well spoken you were — it made me feel less alone." You confessed, smiling bashfully as Manny turned to look at you, "and about Luke, it's a big change for him. Getting a new step-grandma, and step-uncle whose the same age as him isn't easy."
Manny hummed in agreement, "I wasn't trying to embarrass him, my mom taught me that family was never something to be embarrassed about." He said looking down guiltily.
"It'll take a while for Luke to get use to, but there's no harm in trying to be his friend."
"I'd like that. You really think he'll come around?" Manny asked.
"I promise! And then, trust me, he'll be the most loyal friend you've ever had." You assured him, reaching out and taking his hand in yours. Manny looked down at your hand in his then back to you, a small smile on his face,
"And Will?" He asked.
You giggled and waved him off, "oh, you mean Luke's boyfriend? Don't worry. He'll come around as well, make him a sandwich and he will be puddy in your hands." Manny chuckled and smiled, for the first time he felt like he belonged somewhere. You were heaven in his eyes.
"Thank you, [Y/n]. It means a lot." You smiled back and reached over to pull him into a hug, Manny's crush on you growing more and more as each second passed.
The front door opening pulled you both away from the hug, Luke standing at the door with Will by his side, "Gloria's gonna push my mom into the pool! You have to come see!"
A grin took over your face, "well I can't miss that!" You said, and took Luke's extended hand.
"Yah coming, Manny?"
"Wouldn't miss it!" Manny replied, getting up and following after you, Will and Luke through the house — exiting out the back door to see everyone crowded around the pool.
Claire looked uneasy as Gloria smiled in delight.
"Honey, is this really necessary?" Jay asked with a sigh, pushing through Mitchell and Cam to reach the front. "Dad, it's fine." Claire interjected, "if I need to jump in this water to prove to Gloria how sorry I am, I will do it."
"You do not look good wet." Joseph noted, Phil nodding in agreement, "got that right buddy."
Nobody said a word as they waited for Claire to jump, "you're serious?, you're not gonna stop me?." She scoffed, "Why would I do that?" Gloria questioned smugly.
"Because I am standing here, I am showing you my willingness to— no?.. no. Alright." She sighed and walked off the edge, you all laughing in shock before cheering and clapping.
"Are you happy?!"
"Yes! I forgive you!"
"Then give me your hand."
"Yesh, that's the oldest trick in the book. She's gonna pull you in there." Jay said, "and that's my job." He laughed, pushing Gloria into the water, a shriek leaving her mouth. Phil walked forward, stupidly standing on the edge of the pool, "This is funny, but this is also a teaching moment"
"Oh, you bet it is buddy!" Joseph yelled, running up and tackling Phil into the pool.
Manny ran up and pushed Jay into the pool, falling in with him, a gleeful shriek leaving his mouth. Mitchell picked up Alex and jumped in with her, the two of them laugh as Luke and Will lightly tackled you and pushed you with them into the water.
"Cannonball!" Cam yelled, jumping into the water as you and Luke surfaced. Haley sat on the pool chairs furiously typing away on her phone, uninterested in the whole scene before her.
A family doesn't have to be perfect.
It just has to be united.
•••
Word Count; 4504