Nathe07
patreon
MD - Chapter 12: What!?
🕑 Added 2024-12-14 16:26:12 +0000 UTC[Dunphy House]
"In a few hours, I'll be there with the girls. You're finally throwing a party," said Haley, brushing her hair in front of her mirror while talking on her cell phone in her room.
[It's not a party. Just a few people. Don't invite too many people] said Andrew, who was on the other end of the phone talking to his cousin, Haley.
"Relax. It'll just be my closest friends. With your friends, we'll be about twelve people," Haley replied with a slight smile.
[Mm. Will you be coming with your new boyfriend? I want to meet him.] Andrew asked.
"With Dylan? Why do you ask?" Haley said in a nervous tone for some reason.
"Hey, relax. I'm not your mom. I just want to meet him. I want to see if you can finally last more than a month in a relationship," Andrew responded mockingly.
"Don't make fun of me!" Haley yelled indignantly.
"I won't go with him," she added firmly. Andrew didn't understand why she didn't want to invite him, but he dropped the subject.
Just then, behind the door to Haley and Alex's room, Claire walked in with a basket of dirty clothes. It seemed like she had been eavesdropping on the conversation for a while, as she immediately began firing questions one after another.
"A party? When? Since when does Andrew throw parties? Do Mitchell and Cameron know about this? Where are they?"
"¡Were you eavesdropping, Mom!?" Haley asked, raising her voice and sounding offended.
"Eavesdropping? Of course not. I'm just doing laundry," Claire immediately denied, placing the basket of clothes at the foot of the bed.
"Give me the phone," Claire said, making a hand gesture. She wanted to talk to Andrew, as Haley wouldn't answer any of her questions.
"Mom!" Haley complained at such an irrational request. Claire didn't change her expression and made the gesture with her hand again. Haley knew she had no choice but to hand over the phone.
"Always so controlling! Here, and you'll see it's nothing!" Haley shouted, slamming the phone into Claire's hand, who didn't care about her daughter's yelling.
"Stop screaming like a pig! I want to study!" Alex said, lifting her eyes from her book, unable to tolerate her older sister's annoying voice any longer.
"Pig?" Haley repeated, turning around and glaring at Alex in anger.
"You should see your little, chubby nose! That's the nose of a pig. Besides, are you studying during vacation? Your social life is so sad. I guess you'll spend your Saturday night alone, studying," Haley said.
A shouting and shrieking argument began between the two sisters, insulting each other mercilessly about their tastes, fashion choices, and so on.
"Silence, girls!" Claire shouted suddenly, and both fell silent, though they continued glaring at each other. Alex grabbed her notebook, book, and pen, and stormed out of the room, offended.
Once silence was achieved, Claire put the phone to her ear. "Andy?"
"Hi, aunt... Did they stop yelling?" Andrew asked on the other end. He had pulled the phone away from his ear a while ago because the shouting was so loud.
"Just a little argument. By the way, are you having a party at home? Do your parents know? Where are they?" Claire asked, wanting to know everything.
Andrew spoke with Claire for over ten minutes to explain everything. In the end, she agreed to take Haley, as she trusted him and believed it wouldn’t be a party, just a gathering of classmates. Also, Mr. and Mrs. Thompson would be there to look after them in case anything went wrong.
"I'll pick you up at 10:30," Claire said, handing the phone back to Haley, who had sat at the edge of her bed, waiting with her arms crossed.
"That early? I'll be there for less than four hours. I'll be with Andy, what are you worried about?" Haley said, trying to negotiate for more time.
"You wouldn't understand. 10:30 or nothing." Claire said firmly as she grabbed the laundry basket and left the room.
"I know you're making fun of me. You don't want me to pick you up at ten," Claire said, with her back to Haley, who was indeed mimicking her mother’s face with exaggerated expressions.
"Do you have eyes on your back!?" Haley shouted, making sure to close the door so her mother wouldn't come back in.
"What were we talking about?" Haley asked, picking up the phone. Her tone, which had been annoyed and angry, changed to a pleasant one as a smile formed on her face upon hearing Andrew’s voice.
…
[Pritchett-Tucker House]
Andrew glanced at the clock in the living room of his house. It was ten minutes to seven in the evening. At that time, his friends, his cousin, and her friends would start arriving for the mini party that his parents had forced him to throw.
As for Haley, somehow she found out and invited her friends, who share a class with Andrew.
Andrew walked toward his room and tried the doorknob. "Locked," he murmured. No one would enter his cave/room.
First, he didn’t want his figures and posters ruined, and secondly, no one knew he was a geek. Only his parents, Haley, and the rest of the family.
He didn’t know why he kept it hidden from his school and football friends. Maybe he did it subconsciously because he might get teased or receive strange looks. Nerds or geeks don’t have the best reputation at school. On the other hand, Andrew didn’t see a reason to tell Archie, Reggie, and the others about his geeky interests, as they didn’t share those interests.
Why would he tell them if in the end they wouldn’t be able to talk about Star Wars, video games, or anything like that?
‘How did this become a secret?’ Andrew wondered as he sat on the living room couch. He wasn’t afraid of facing teasing or strange looks. Unlike the nerds, he knew how to defend himself. If he had to fight against an annoying bully, he would, and most likely, he would win thanks to his elite physique for his age.
'Whatever’ he thought, shrugging as he grabbed a handful of Lay’s chips and ate them. On the coffee table in the living room, there were various snacks, sodas, and glasses.
Mitchell and Cameron had already bought everything needed for him to throw this little party at home.
At exactly seven o'clock, someone rang the doorbell. Andrew got up and opened the door. Archie and Kevin had arrived. Archie’s dad brought them. He was a friendly middle-aged man.
They greeted each other with laughter and a handshake before entering the house. In less than ten minutes, everyone had arrived. They were very punctual, as it was the first time Andrew had hosted a gathering at his house, and no one wanted to miss it.
"Don't do anything crazy. I'll ask for Mrs. Thompson's number just in case," Claire said from the door, looking toward the upstairs.
"Mom, stop embarrassing me," Haley whispered to Claire. Her friends were beside her, and she didn’t want them to notice how crazy her mom was.
"She'll give me the house phone number. She doesn’t know how to use a cell phone," Andrew said, cooperating with Claire, who was satisfied with his willing cooperation.
"You should learn from your cousin, young lady," Claire said, taking out her phone and writing down the number Andrew had given her. Haley huffed slightly and entered the house, followed by her friends.
Andrew said goodbye to his aunt and followed them.
"Hey, Haley," Andrew called, but she didn’t hear him as she was talking with her friends.
"Little Hal! Can you hear me?" Andrew called again, raising his voice.
"Little Hal?" repeated one of Haley's friends, raising an eyebrow. Her name is Veronica. She has long, straight black hair, a tanned complexion, and is wearing a black t-shirt with a matching skirt.
"I told you not to call me that anymore!" Haley exclaimed, turning slightly red and pushing Andrew aside to speak with him privately.
"Sorry, sorry. I forgot," Andrew said with a slight smile. It’s very easy to annoy Haley.
"What do you want?" Haley asked.
"You said there would be twelve people, but I see more than twelve. More than half the class is here, and people I barely recognize," Andrew replied. There were already 18 people in his house. His trusted friends were Reggie, Archie, Kevin, and Steve—all from the football team.
"Hey, relax. They're all classmates. Of course, they don't want to miss your party, especially since there are no parents. Don’t be a party pooper," Haley said with a slight smile. All they need is alcohol, but it's impossible for them to get any since they're only 14-15 years old.
"It’s not a party," Andrew said, crossing his arms.
"Stop being so grumpy," Haley said, giving him a light tap on the shoulder before heading toward the living room where everyone was chatting and laughing.
‘Am I grumpy?’ Andrew wondered with a strange expression. He’s usually the most fun and enthusiastic of them all; maybe he should relax a bit.
Just then, the doorbell rang again. Andrew, who was near the door, headed back there.
‘More people?’ Andrew thought as he opened the door and saw two boys his age. There was a car parked on the street with a middle-aged woman in the driver's seat. She must be the mother of one of these boys who brought them here.
One of the boys was short and slim, with brown hair cut in a bowl style that gave him a peculiar look. He had blue eyes and was wearing a turtleneck sweater. He wore tight pants and an odd belt buckle.
Next to him was another boy, a bit shorter and with a slightly thicker build. He had brown hair that fell messily over his forehead and brown eyes. The most distinctive thing about him was the thick, square-framed glasses he wore, which were very noticeable.
"Hey..." Andrew said, trying to remember the names of these two boys. They must be from his class, and it would be rude not to know their names. Their faces were familiar, but he didn’t know from where.
"Hi, I'm Howard," said the boy with the bowl haircut, forcing a smile as friendly as he could. "I came to check out the party. Hope there's food! And I hope there are girls too!" he added confidently, though not entirely, as it was a front he was trying to put on in front of Andrew.
"I'm Leonard. We share science class. Remember?" said the other boy, adjusting his glasses and avoiding eye contact.
Andrew frowned, looking confused. "What?" he murmured, trying to process what he had just heard.
"I told you he wouldn’t remember us... We only share one class," Leonard whispered to Howard, his voice filled with nervousness. Not getting into the party would be embarrassing.
"Relax... Don’t show your nerves. Act confident and leave everything to me," Howard whispered back while standing up straighter and adjusting his sweater as if it were a fancy suit. It was clear he was trying to project confidence he didn’t actually feel.
Andrew watched them in silence. Their appearances, names, even their personalities… everything felt unsettlingly familiar. They were like two characters he knew very well from his past life.
It couldn’t be true, right? He had been reborn into the world of Modern Family, but this… this was too strange. Still, he couldn’t shake the feeling that he was right.
Suddenly, he felt the urge to check something. He parted his lips with a mix of doubt and curiosity, and finally, he spoke: “Howard Wolowitz and Leonard Hofstadter?” he asked, staring at both of them intently.
Howard and Leonard exchanged surprised looks, their eyes wide open. Then, an enthusiastic smile lit up their faces. “Yes!” Howard exclaimed, almost proudly. “That’s us!”
Leonard, a little more shy, nodded but was also smiling at the fact that Andrew had remembered their last names. “I didn’t think you’d remember us… This is incredible. You even pronounced my last name correctly,” he said, unable to hide a bit of relief.
Andrew felt a mix of surprise and confusion. So it was true. The characters from The Big Bang Theory were standing right in front of him, in the flesh.
What the hell was going on right now?
