Before the prank

[Dunphy House]

January 6, 6:30 PM.

In the dining room, the whole family was having dinner. Tonight, they had a usual guest—Andrew. Tomorrow, school would start again, and he had wanted to come over for dinner and spend the night at his uncle and aunt's house.

It wasn't the first time he had done this. Though this time, he had ulterior motives—his prank on Alex.

The dinner atmosphere was relaxed and pleasant. No arguments, which were usually Claire versus Haley, Haley versus Alex, or Claire and Alex versus Haley (with Alex just adding fuel to the fire).

"Then there's a big explosion of bubbles. And that's where babies come from," Luke said, concluding his explanation with a triumphant look, as if he had just uncovered the great mystery of life.

The table erupted in laughter. Phil, beaming with pride, looked at his son, enjoying his simple logic. "That's almost right, buddy," he said, winking at Luke.

"Almost right? In the land of upside-down logic," Alex remarked, though this time, her tone wasn't as sarcastic as usual. It was clear she was taking the conversation in a more relaxed manner.

"Don't talk like you have much experience on the subject," Haley said, looking at her with a slight teasing smile.

"Oh, sorry for not being as knowledgeable and experienced in human reproduction as you, sister," Alex replied sarcastically.

'Oh no…' Claire thought, watching her daughters, who were sitting next to each other.

Haley looked at her sister, who returned the gaze. For a few seconds, they remained in tense silence. Claire and Andrew braced themselves, expecting them to start arguing and for the pleasant, relaxed atmosphere to be thrown in the trash.

Phil and Luke weren't even paying attention to the fact that the peace at the table was at risk.

But to everyone's surprise, Haley let out a genuine laugh. "That was a good one!" she said, not hiding her amusement.

Alex and Claire looked at Haley, visibly surprised that she didn't start a fight. Andrew figured it was because she was in a good mood due to the prank on Alex and what she would have to endure in the next 24 hours.

"Are you seriously okay with that?" Alex asked, narrowing her eyes at her.

"I'm in a good mood today," Haley replied casually, shrugging.

Alex stared at her for a few seconds before turning her attention back to her plate. She knew these days existed—when her sister was in a good mood. They were rare, but they did happen.

"What is going on here?" Claire muttered to herself, too quietly for anyone to hear.

The dinner continued in a relaxed atmosphere. Luke's plate was empty, except for the vegetables.

"Come on, Luke, eat your veggies. They're good for you," Claire said when she noticed that all that remained on Luke's plate was the broccoli.

"I don't want to! Broccoli stinks," Luke responded, frowning as he pushed the tiny green florets to the side of his plate.

Claire sighed with a smile. "But you asked for broccoli, Luke. You wanted an exact replica of Andrew's plate."

Luke looked at Andrew, who was finishing his dinner without much trouble with the vegetables. He was in that phase of wanting to do everything like Andrew.

"They're still gross," Luke said hesitantly. He had taken a bite of the broccoli, and it tasted weird with a strange texture.

"Broccoli is a great source of vitamins, minerals, fiber, and antioxidants. Plus, it contains a series of phytochemicals that have potential effects in preventing various types of cancer and other diseases," Andrew explained, trying to convince his young cousin to eat the broccoli on his plate.

Luke looked at him, not understanding a word of what he had just said and not really caring about those facts. "That sounds boring," he said.

"You'll need something better to convince him..." Haley whispered.

"Well... if you eat the broccoli, we can go to the backyard and throw some passes before you go to bed. What do you say?" Andrew offered.

Luke's eyes lit up instantly. "Deal!" he accepted, completely forgetting about the broccoli, his mind now filled with the idea of playing outside.

"I want to play too! I'm in for the pass game!" Phil said, raising his hand excitedly.

Luke finally took care of his vegetables. Then, with Phil, they hurried Andrew to head to the backyard.

Andrew wanted to rest a bit to let the food settle, but with Phil's enthusiasm and Luke's excitement, he couldn't say no.

After tossing the football around for a while, it was almost eight o'clock. Claire sent Luke to bed, who complained about wanting to stay up like Andrew, Haley, and Alex, but there was nothing he could do to convince his mom.

Andrew and Haley stayed on the living room couch, whispering to each other about the prank.

"I already got that kid Austin to agree. Tomorrow after school, he's going to confess to Alex," Haley said in a hushed tone, giggling at the thought of the scene.

"You actually pulled it off…" Andrew said, shaking his head.

"Yeah, it was easy. By the way, we need to get out of class a few minutes early so we can witness it," she added. Alex's middle school was only about a five-minute walk from their school.

"We're going to get in trouble for that," Andrew pointed out.

"But it'll be worth it. Just imagine Alex's face," Haley said, laughing.

"What are you two scheming?" Alex asked, appearing in the room with a strawberry yogurt in hand.

Seeing Haley and Andrew sitting on the couch, leaning towards each other, whispering with mischievous expressions, was clearly suspicious.

Andrew and Haley were startled by Alex's sudden arrival.

Haley fell silent, unsure of what to say—something that rarely happened, as she could usually come up with a lie effortlessly. So Andrew had to speak up. "Nothing!" he said way too quickly.

Not knowing what else to say and noticing that Alex's gaze was growing more suspicious by the second, Andrew added, "By the way… that yogurt has artificial sweeteners and flavorings. It's not very good."

"Not this again," Alex said, rolling her eyes.

"The last time you made me try one of your homemade yogurts without sugar or sweeteners, I almost threw up. It was sour and disgusting," she added with a grimace as the memory resurfaced.

"Don't remind me. I had to drink an entire bottle of water just to get that awful taste out of my mouth," Haley said, making the same disgusted expression.

"Your taste buds are ruined by all those chemicals…" Andrew sighed.

"Well, I'd rather have my chemicals than feel like I'm eating expired milk glue," Alex retorted, taking another spoonful of her artificially flavored yogurt without the slightest regret.

"Same," Haley nodded.

Andrew said nothing. He knew he was on this path alone. No one in the family fully shared his culinary preferences, and at this point, he had come to accept it.

"So… what were you two whispering about?" Alex insisted.

Andrew and Haley exchanged a quick glance, but neither answered.

Alex raised an eyebrow. "Oh, I see…" she said in a teasing tone, taking another bite of her yogurt. "Are you finally confessing your forbidden love?"

Haley and Andrew froze for a second before their faces turned completely red.

"ALEX!" Haley shouted, outraged.

"I'll leave you to it. You have my support," Alex said, laughing and enjoying their reaction. She quickly walked away before risking any verbal or physical retaliation from her sister.

"Well… at least she doesn't suspect anything," Andrew commented once Alex was out of sight.

Haley nodded, but when she looked down, she realized she was sitting too close to Andrew. She was sitting cross-legged, and part of her legs was touching his.

In almost perfect sync, both of them quickly moved apart, sitting up straighter and looking anywhere except at each other.

Luckily, before the awkward moment could drag on, Claire walked into the room.

"Alright, kids. Time for bed. I've already set up the mattress and sheets in Luke's room," Claire said, looking at Andrew and Haley, who immediately stood up.

"Thanks, Aunt," Andrew said.

"It's nothing. Luke is already sleeping like an angel. Maybe playing passes before bed is a good method to drain his energy," Claire said.

Andrew and Haley said goodnight to Claire and went upstairs.

"Good night. Remember, the first prank is at four in the morning," Andrew whispered to Haley, who nodded.

"Yeah, I'll set my alarm."

"Use your headphones, or you'll wake everyone up," Andrew warned.

"Yeah, yeah, I know. Good night," Haley said before quickly slipping into her room and closing the door.

Andrew entered Luke's room, trying to make as little noise as possible. Not that it mattered—his cousin was fast asleep. Near Luke's bed, there was a mattress on the floor with the sheets already set up.

'Just four hours...' Andrew thought, glancing at the time on his phone with a slight smile as he lay down.

-------------------------------------------------

You can read 15 chapters in advance on my patreon.

Link: https://www.p@treon.com/Nathe07