Modern Family 07

Summer slips by in a sun-warmed blur of stolen kisses, lazy afternoons at the Dunphy house, and nights spent tangled together talking about everything and nothing.

But now it's September again, and Alex stands in front of her high school's familiar brick entrance, clutching her overloaded backpack, heart racing for reasons that for once have nothing to do with Jake.

This is it. Her final year before university. The year she plans to crush her classes, ace her baccalaureate exams, and prove to everyone, most importantly herself that all those long nights of studying mean something.

She tucks a loose strand of hair behind her ear and breathes out slowly, letting the familiar buzz of students milling around lockers ground her.

Jake comes up behind her, sliding an arm around her waist. "You look like you're about to face a firing squad." He teases.

"I'm just mentally organizing my entire academic year. By the hour." Alex rolls her eyes.

"So. normal Tuesday for you." Jake bumps her lightly with his shoulder.

"Funny. Keep it up and you can't copy my homework later."

"After everything I've done for you."

She turns to look at him fully, heart doing a silly little flutter. Somehow, he's even more confident this year, older, a bit more muscled, that lazy grin sharper.

Her expression softens. "Thanks for being here. Even if you're mostly just a distraction."

"Hey, I'll have you know I'm an excellent distraction." He leans in and presses a warm, lingering kiss to her lips right there in the middle of the crowded walkway.

"Now," He says, hand still on the small of her back as he steers her toward the front doors, "let's go conquer this year so you can get that shiny scholarship and leave me for some fancy Ivy League nerds."

Alex squeezes his hand. "Not happening. But I do plan on conquering."

Together, they walk through the doors Alex's head high, Jake's thumb tracing lazy circles against her hip, the start of the year feeling a lot less terrifying with him by her side.

Alex sits cross-legged on Jake's small bed, her notes spread around her like petals. A pencil rests between her lips as she studies, eyes narrowed, lost in concentration.

Across the room, Jake is at his desk, dual monitors glowing in the dim light of a desk lamp. The faint tap of his mechanical keyboard fills the small space, along with the quiet hum of his tower's fans.

It's become their ritual. She studies, he works the hours slipping by in a comfortable hush. Sometimes Alex reads formulas out loud just to process them, and Jake mumbles responses, eyes still glued over Ansible playbook. Tweaking yaml files.

Tonight, though, she finally sets her book aside and stretches her legs out with a tired sigh.

"You done conquering for today ?" Jake asks, swiveling his chair toward her.

"For now," She admits. "I still have to tackle electromagnetism this weekend. My brain's at capacity. Seriously, how can you maintain your grade so high so easily? " She adds, almost jealously.

"I'm a certified genius babe." Jake retorts, his eyebrows raised.

Jake pushes back from his desk and pads over, dropping beside her on the bed. He plucks her pencil from her mouth and tucks it behind her ear. "So delicate. So scholarly."

She leans into him, curling under his arm. They sit there for a minute, Jake's hand lazily strokes Alex's thigh as she leans into him, half-listening to the faint buzz of music from his speakers and the occasional car passing outside. Then, Alex looks up at him.

"Tell me something about you. Something I don't know yet." She asks.

Jake's eyebrows lift. "Wow, pop quiz. No prep time?"

"None." She says, poking his ribs.

He thinks for a moment, then huffs a small laugh. "Okay. When I was like ten, living in one of the smaller foster homes, there was this old guy across the street. Had a beat-up Honda he was always working on. I used to watch from the curb. One day he calls me over. I thought I was in trouble. Instead, he pops the hood and starts explaining what everything does. Spark plugs, timing belts, the works."

"Sweet." Alex says softly.

"Yeah. He let me help change the oil. Just this random kid, greasy hands, big grin. After that I'd go over almost every weekend. He moved a year later, but that's probably why I still kinda love working with my hands. Cars, servers, whatever."

Alex's heart squeezes. "I love that story."

"Tell me another story," Alex says, voice soft, almost shy. "Something.. not sweet. Something real."

Jake's eyes flicker, the usual spark dimming a little. He leans his head back against the wall, thinking. His fingers stop moving on her leg.

"Alright," He says at last. "You asked."

"When I was fourteen, I was crashing on the couch of this older guy I knew, he was into all kinds of shit. Small-time scams, stolen phones, some other stuff. I'd been messing around with writing scripts to rip off game sites, dumb stuff, and he wanted me to help him clone credit cards. I did. Made some good money in two weeks."

Alex stiffens slightly, heart fluttering not from fear but from the realization that this is the part of Jake she only half-understands.

"He decided he didn't need to pay me anymore. Thought I was just some stray kid. So one night while he was passed out, I wiped his drives, cleaned out his wallets, took all the money, and left. Didn't see him again." Jake finishes.

Her eyes widen. "What if he found you?"

Jake just shrugs, but there's something cold and calculating in the curve of his mouth. "He wouldn't. And even if he did I'm not fourteen anymore."

There's a silence. Alex feels her pulse pick up, torn between fascination and a faint chill.

"Don't look so worried." He teases lightly, tracing her jaw with his thumb. "I'd never hurt you." She nestles closer, pressing her face to his neck.

"I know." She whispers. "It's just.. hard sometimes. Knowing how different we grew up." She tilts her head up to kiss him.

Jake kisses the top of her head. "Your turn."

She laughs, leaning back so she can look at him. "Okay, um.. when I was eight, I tried to teach myself Latin because I thought it would make me like Hermione Granger. I gave up after three days because the grammar was horrifying."

They drift after that Alex nestles closer while Jake wraps his arm around her shoulders, thumb tracing idle circles on her arm. His laptop still hums on the desk, her highlighters are scattered everywhere, and it's all so ordinary, so strangely perfect.

[ Weeks later ]

Jake lounges on Alex's bed, hands folded behind his head, staring at the ceiling like he's planning something. Alex sits between his legs, her laptop open on a spreadsheet of university programs. Her room is quiet except for the hum of her desk fan.

"So you're really serious about this." Jake says. "You, me, college. Together."

Alex pushes up her glasses, a small, hopeful smile playing at her lips. "Yeah. I mean, it makes sense. I want to study engineering. You could do computer science officially."

Jake gives a low chuckle, but there's a sharp gleam in his eyes. "Alex, you know.. I don't wanna be one of those guys with a nine-to-five and a mortgage. I want something bigger. A company, contracts, money that makes other people nervous. Maybe college helps get us there faster."

Alex's stomach flips, part thrill, part anxiety. "That sounds... like a lot. But also kind of amazing."

Jake pulls he back his to face her. "You've been pushing your whole life to be the best, Alex. This is just the next level. And with me? We'd tear it up. Your brains, my hustle we'd be, unstoppable."

Alex's chest tightens. She's never felt more seen, or more terrified.

"Okay." She says after a beat, her voice soft but steady.

Jake grins, then pulls her down so she's lying beside him, wrapping his arm around her.

"That's my girl." He whispers into her hair. "We're gonna own this world. Just wait."

Alex's laptop is propped on her thighs now, her glasses sliding down her nose as she scrolls through a list of universities. Jake shifts closer, leaning his chin on her head so he can see the screen too.

"Look at this one." Alex says, pointing. "It's got a really solid engineering program, and you'd have your pick of computer science tracks. There's even a cybersecurity lab. You'd probably live there."

Jake snorts. "Hell yeah. I'd hack their servers from inside just to prove I could."

Alex teases him lightly. "Please don't get expelled in the first semester."

"No promises." He drops a quick kiss on her neck, then look at the tuition fees. His brow furrows. "Not cheap."

Alex watches his expression carefully. "Scholarships. Part-time freelance gigs. And your less official income streams. It's MIT, it can't be cheap."

Jake gives her a sly look. "You mean my creative financing solutions?"

"Exactly. But seriously if we plan it right, it's doable. We could even try to get a small apartment for us." She rolls her eyes but can't hide her smile.

Jake squeezes her waist, voice softer. "You'd really wanna live with me like that? Day in, day out?"

Alex glances at him, heart fluttering. "Yeah. I would."

"Then that's settled. Find us the place that gets you the best shot at that fancy doctorate of yours, and I'll make it work for me too. One way or another." He grins, a little crooked, a little surprised

"Deal."

They go back to scrolling, pressed together, occasionally breaking into laughter over awful campus dining hall reviews. Alex starts picturing her future not as a distant, stressful blur but as something she actually wants and she's eager for.

[ A couple days later ]

Alex is buried in online practice exams for an upcoming big test. She groans when she realizes she's double-booked herself with a volunteer tutoring shift.

"Jake, could you give Haley a ride to her hair appointment? I promised I'd come with her but-"

Jake smirks from where he's lounging on Alex's bed, phone in hand. "Sure, I can handle your terrifying sister for an hour."

Alex shoots him a mock glare, then kisses him quickly before gathering her books. "Behave. Both of you."

Haley sits in the passenger seat, legs tucked up, tapping her phone. She's in cutoffs and a tiny top that probably cost more than Jake's entire outfit.

The late afternoon sun cuts across the dashboard, and Haley stretches, deliberately arching her back as she scrolls on her phone. Jake catches it out of the corner of his eye and only shakes his head with a smirk.

"You sure you can't make Alex drive you next time?" He says, teasing. "I'm starting to feel like your personal Uber."

"Oh please. You love it. A hot girl in your car, what's there to complain about?" Haley laughs.

Jake snorts. "You are so full of yourself."

She tosses her hair over her shoulder, gives him a sly smile. "Yeah, but it's not like I'm wrong."

There's a moment of silence, then Haley shifts in her seat to face him more directly. "So. Be honest. Have you ever thought about it?"

"Thought about what?"

"Me. Instead of Alex." Her grin is lazy, like she's playing a harmless game but her eyes glitter with curiosity.

Jake's brow rises. "Seriously?"

"Don't act so shocked. You did say I was hot. Once." Haley shrugs, leaning forward, her perfume sweet and bright.

"That was like a totally harmless compliment."

Haley giggles. Then her voice dips lower, teasing. "But come on. You've thought about it, right? Even for a second?"

Jake shakes his head, but he's grinning despite himself. "You're relentless, you know that?"

"Yup" She says brightly. "So? Have you?"

"No." He says simply, but then leans back, studying her with an amused tilt of his head. Haley sticks out her tongue, pretending to pout.

After her appointment they end up deciding to stop for iced coffee.

Haley comes back from the counter with two iced coffees. Instead of sitting across from Jake in their tiny corner booth, she slides right onto his lap, crossing her legs neatly.

Jake raises an eyebrow. "Really?"

"What? The seats are uncomfortable. You're warm. And besides," She says with a playful smirk, draping an arm over his shoulder, "you're practically family now. Gotta get used to it."

"Yeah, sure. This is totally normal sister-in-law bonding." He huffs a laugh, hands resting carefully at her hip.

Haley giggles, then shifts just enough that he feels exactly how close she is. Her eyes sparkle with mischief as she leans in a fraction.

"Oh my god. Alex is so lucky.." She sighs dramatically. "You're all.. solid and muscly under there. And you're packing some real firepower. And you smell annoyingly good, by the way."

Jake just gives her a dry look. "I'll be sure to let Alex know you're jealous of her boyfriend's deodorant."

"Shut up." Haley laughs, but she doesn't move, still lounging comfortably against his chest. Then her grin softens into something more genuine. "Seriously though she is lucky. Not just because you're hot. You're… like, obsessed with her. I'm kinda envious. I know, I know, it's pathetic."

Jake's expression shifts something warm flickers behind his eyes. "It's not."

They walk back out to the parking lot. Haley's still giggling, nudging him with her elbow.

"I still can't believe she snagged someone like you. If you ever get tired of the little nerd, you know where to find me." She teases.

Jake laughs outright. "Not gonna happen. But hey thanks for testing me, I guess."

"Oh please!" Haley rolls her eyes, flipping her hair. "Like you'd ever pass my tests if I really tried."

But when she looks at him again, there's genuine affection in her smile. Almost a sisterly approval shining through her usual flirtatious chaos.

"Come on, stud. Drive me home before I start catching feelings."

Jake only shakes his head, unlocking the car for her, amused despite everything. Haley may be trouble but she's also clearly rooting for her sister's happiness in her own dramatic, meddling way.

With a mischievous grin, he smacks her ass as she moves past him to the passenger side. Haley squeaks, nearly dropping her bag, then whirls around. He laughs, raising his hands in mock surrender.

"Hey, you basically dared me all afternoon." He says.

Her glare melts into helpless giggles, cheeks pink. "You are so lucky I like you otherwise I'd tell Alex you're being fresh with her sister."

"Yeah, yeah. Get in the car, trouble. " Jake says.

Haley climbs in, still giggling, shaking her head. "I'm telling Alex you're a menace. I'm gonna have the mark of your hand for days." She says while Jake just smirks, getting in and turning the car on.

— Don't expect a lot from this story. This synopsis is true to its purpose.