Chapter 16: The Dunphy's

"Phil, can you give me a hand with this?" Claire yelled from inside her kitchen. It was hectic and messy; ingredients were everywhere.

"Coming, honey! Now, Luke, do you have it all set up?" Phil replied from within the family room.

"Yeah, it's all ready." Luke told his father with a smile.

"Good. We'll start operation Jumping with the Karate Kid once dinner is over."

"Yes, sir!" Luke saluted as he ran off.

"Phil!" Claire yelled in frustration.

"Coming!"

•••

"Haley! Can you please put on some more conservative clothes?" Alex repeated her question to her sister.

"Ugh! Why do I have to change my clothes just because you invited your little boyfriend over?" Haley rolled her eyes as she kept swiping her phone; she was lying lazily on her bed.

"He-He's not my boyfriend!" Alex stuttered. "Can you please just change!"

"Aaahh! Fine, I'll change. I wouldn't want him to eye me all night. I'd hate to steal him from you."

"He… he wouldn't do that. Plus, you can't steal him from me. We're not… together or anything. He's just a good friend." Alex said lowly and rubbed her arm. "I'm gonna go help Mom downstairs."

"Alex. Alex, wait!" Haley called out to her sister. Alex ignored her and went downstairs. "Why am I the bad guy here?"

Getting up, Haley walked over to her closet and looked through her wardrobe, finally landing on a more boring choice. Haley grabbed the outfit and began to change. Once she was done, she looked at herself in the mirror and decided it was good enough for tonight's dinner.

"You owe me one, Alex." A rumbling sound alerted Haley; looking outside her window, she saw someone in a red motorcycle stop in front of her house. "Who's this?"

The driver then turns off the bike's engine and gets off the motorcycle. Once he removed his helmet, Haley saw their dinner guest for the night.

"Alex's boyfriend is here." Haley said to no one as she headed downstairs. "I might as well get the door."

Once on the main floor of her house, she turned to the sounds of chaos that was her mom and dad. They were arguing about trampolines and doing dangerous stunts. Haley rolled her eyes at that; her father probably had another dumb idea. Most likely involving Luke in some way.

DING DONG

"He's here!" Alex yelled from the kitchen.

"I got it!" Haley yelled over her shoulder. Walking over to the door, she opened it to reveal Harvey. He had a dish in his hands.

"Oh, Roof girl. It's good to see you again."

"Ha ha, very funny. I told you, it's Haley."

Harvey smiled at her, and a soft chuckle came out of his mouth. Hailey smiled back; she found his smile infectious. Eyes widening, Haley forces her smile away and steps aside.

"Ah, come in!"

"Thanks, Haley."

Haley smiles again but quickly makes it go away. Shaking her head, Haley walks before Harvey and tells him to follow her to the kitchen. Harvey nods and follows behind her.

"Harvey! Welcome!" Her mother says in an excited tone. Haley raises an eyebrow at that.

"If it isn't Daniel-San! Please, make yourself at home!" Her father smiled at Harvey. Haley was confused as to why he got Harvey's name wrong.

"Dad, this is Harvey. Not Danielsan."

"Oh, I was just…" Her dad had an odd expression on his face; her mom looked at her and made a familiar face she made almost everyday.

"He's referencing one of the greatest movies ever made." Harvey turned to her and explained. "Nice one, Mr. Miyagi."

"Yes… It's happening." Her father said in awe.

"Oh, Mrs. Dunphy. Here, I brought something for tonight." Harvey walked over, placed the dish down, and removed the aluminum foil. It was a pumpkin pecan coffee cake—one of her favorite desserts.

"This looks amazing! Did you make this?" Her mother asked.

"Yeah. I would have made something different, but desserts can be made quickly. After all, I just got the invitation earlier today." Harvey told them as he rubbed his neck a little.

"No! No, this is great. You're not the only one who got the invitation a little last minute." Her mom did the thing she always does when making a jab at someone.

"Oh, I see. Where's Alex and Luke?" Harvey asked as he looked around. "You have a lovely home."

"Thank you. Alex is- was right here, hm. She was just here."

"Oh, Harvey. I see that you're here. Welcome!" Haley saw her sister walk around the corner, acting as if she wasn't the first one to freak out at the doorbell.

"Alex. Thanks for having me! I made a cake." Harvey said as he motioned at the cake. "I hope you like it."

Haley could see the deep affection her sister had for the boy. This was something she hadn't seen before, considering Alex hadn't had too many relationships in the past. If any. Turning to Harvey, she inspected him to see his feelings about her sister. Squinting her eyes, she finally noticed his own. They were a brilliant brown, almost orange. They were one of the most beautiful eyes she had ever seen in a boy.

Haley felt her cheeks tingle a little. Looking down, she finally noticed the dark circles under his eyes. Was something wrong? No! Stop! Focus! She inspected him and didn't see any surface-level romantic hints that could indicate that he likes Alex. Maybe he's playing it cool in front of their parents?

"Harvey, why don't you follow me out back? I have- I mean, Luke has something to show you!" Her dad spoke to Harvey as he tried to walk outside.

"No! Phil, we discussed this." Her mom grabbed her father's arm. "After dinner. Luke! You hear that!?"

"Okay, mom!" Her brother yelled from somewhere in the house.

"Okay! Let's set the table and eat!" Her mom announced as the whole family, and Harvey helped get everything ready.

Haley decided she would inspect Harvey and see if she could find anything to help Alex get together with him. After all, she feels she owes her after everything they've been through together. Not that she would ever admit that.

•••

"So, how did you do in your calculus test yesterday?"

Alex asked Harvey as he swallowed his food. Harvey nodded and drank some water. After wiping his mouth, he turned to her.

"Much better! I got an eighty-six on it."

"Oh, uh, here it comes." Luke spoke out.

"Here, what comes?" Harvey asked.

"The whole 'I get straight A's and perfect grades' shtick from Alex. Alright, let's hear it." Haley responded with a roll of her eyes as she played with her food.

"NO! No! I, uh, don't do that! Come on guys, very funny." Alex awkwardly laughed as she tried hiding her face behind her arms.

"Yeah, you do. You did it to me yesterday when-" Luke started saying until Alex interrupted him.

"HAHAHA! Hilarious Luke, just a joke machine today!"

Alex looked over to Harvey to gauge his reaction. He was chuckling lightly at the situation. Alex felt her face redden in embarrassment.

"It's okay, Alex, I get it. Let me have it!"

Harvey joked with a smile. Alex felt her face redden even more, if it was possible. She thought Harvey was making fun of her when she saw him smiling at her. Oh, Was he requesting her to do it?

"Okay then… If you studied a bit more, you could raise your grade to 95 by the next test. I have some studying schedules and some helpful resources you could use! I'll give them to you after dinner! You see, I use this proven method of-"

Alex started talking quickly; her family looked at her with odd expressions. Harvey, however, continued to listen and nodded alongside it all. Alex began to feel her heart swell at the undivided attention. Nobody has actively listened to her in her talks about studying and academia. It encouraged her to keep going.

"-and by the end of senior year, I'm sure you'll be able to get at least three scholarships if you start tonight! So what do you think?"

"Not bad. I have some questions about how to set up all those different note cards to help me study two subjects simultaneously. It might be a bit much for me. I'm not as brilliant as you, so I think I'll struggle a bit." Harvey told Alex.

"He… got all that?" Her mother said in disbelief.

"I… think he did." Her father replied.

Alex smiled and was about to answer him when her brother suddenly stood up.

"Okay! Dinner is over! Dad and I have plans with Harvey!"

"We do?" Harvey asked in confusion.

"Oh, we do!" Her father exclaimed as he stood up. "To the backyard!"

Luke and her dad pulled Harvey up, and he was then dragged outside. Alex looked on in confusion. Finally, it hit her that Harvey paid full attention to her. He didn't pretend to listen to save her feelings but actually listened and absorbed everything she said. Coupled with how he acted in defense of her earlier at school, it caused her mouth to form a broad, dumb smile. Her heart was beating fast, and she felt something she'd never felt. What she said next was spoken out loud unconsciously.

"I think I'm in love…"

"WHAT?!"

Alex jumped at her mother and sister's shouts. Suddenly realizing what she said, her face soon felt like it was on fire. Did she say that out loud!?

•••

"Okay, one more time!"

"You got it, Phil!"

Harvey jumped on the trampoline and performed a trampoline windmill trick. It required him to flip himself into a spin while twirling his legs around.

"You got it!"

"Now, do a triple backflip!" Luke yelled.

"Oh! That's perfect! Here, I'll try it first!"

Luke saw his dad jump on the trampoline after Harvey climbed down. His dad started jumping, trying to build momentum.

"Has your dad ever done a triple backflip?" Harvey asked.

"One time, but he hurt himself, so he hasn't tried again."

"Ah, I see. Should we stop him then?"

"Nah, he's pretty confident today. I'm sure he'll land it today."

"If you say so." Harvey responded as he walked closer to the trampoline.

Luke smiled and saw his dad try and attempt his trick. Repeatedly, he kept failing but kept trying with a smile. He saw Harvey hype his dad up, encouraging him to keep trying. Luke wondered if this was what it was like to have an older brother. Sure, he loved his sisters. Something he would never say out loud. But he never had that connection they had with each other; he was left wanting that.

He saw his dad almost fall off the trampoline due to jumping a little too close to the edge. Fortunately, Harvey dashed to where he would have fallen and caught his dad—breaking the fall. His dad yelled he was okay and thanked Harvey. His friend only laughed and said it was fine. Luke ran up to his dad and checked on him. He looked unhurt. Harvey must be a lot stronger than he seems. No surprise there; he did hold that dipstick from earlier in the air without struggling.

"Oh my god! Phil, are you alright!" His mom came out of the house, probably due to seeing his dad fall off the trampoline.

"I'm okay, honey! Harvey here stopped me from hitting the ground."

Luke turned his head and saw his sisters run out and freak out over their dad, acting like they always did. They ensured he was fine and didn't need to go to the hospital. Luke turned to Harvey and asked a question that was plaguing his mind.

"Hey, Harvey. What's your family like?"

•••

Claire felt her heart sink into her chest at her son's question. From everything Luke could have questioned, that's what he said!? She turned to Phil and saw his face mirror hers. Slowly, they turned to look at Harvey. He had a sad, slight smile. He turned away from them and looked up at the sky. It was sunset, and the night sky would soon envelop them all.

"…Well Luke. My mother was an incredibly nice and passionate woman. She always fought to help the little guy, no matter what." Harvey stated. "She was… was always smiling. No matter what, you could always count on her to help raise your spirits. That's the kind of person she was."

Claire saw Haley have a confused look on her face when it seemed to have finally dawned on her. She brought her hands up to cover her mouth. Alex had a sad look as she continued to listen to Harvey. She looked like she wanted to walk up to him but held herself back.

"My father… I guess I didn't know my father too well. He left us- me a while back. Now, he's just some memory I remember now and then." Harvey then looked back at Luke, the slight smile returning. "You have a great family, Luke. Remember that."

A soft, rumbling noise jolted everyone from the current mood. Harvey pulled out his phone and nodded his head. Putting his phone away, he looked up at everyone.

"I have to get going now. Thank you for inviting me over tonight… It was fun." Harvey then walked around the yard towards where the door in the fence was. Standing by it briefly, Harvey turned around and wished everyone a good night.

No one made a sound as they let him leave. Alex looked like she was about to run towards him but ultimately decided to stay in place. Haley walked up to her and held her shoulder. Luke's face slowly morphed into one of realization; he then ran off and followed Harvey.

"Luke!" She called out to her son.

"Honey." Phil held her hand, stopping her.

"Phil?!"

"Let Luke talk to him."

•••

Harvey felt like such an idiot. He knew he must've killed the happy mood the family built tonight. What did he think would happen when he started talking about his family in the way he did? He should have just played it off and made a joke. Or something! Anything!

"Why did I say that?"

Harvey was about to grab his helmet when he heard Luke yell his name. Turning around, he saw his friend have a look of shame on his face.

"I'm sorry! I shouldn't have said what I did." Luke said. "Alex always says I never think before I speak. It's true. It was true tonight, just like that night at the fair with Sienna!"

Harvey said nothing as he stood there and listened. Luke then walked up and hugged him, an action that shocked Harvey.

"This time, I thought this through! You're what I always thought it would be like to have an older brother! We may only have known each other briefly, but that doesn't matter to me. If you don't have any family left, then you can think of me as family! Because I do, you're like the older brother I never had! You give me advice, look out for me, and always listen to what I have to say."

Harvey lifted his arms slowly and hugged Luke back. Suddenly, all the feelings he's been repressing started to swell up and get stuck in his throat. The grief of losing his sister and mother in the other half of his life. The loss he felt when that hit-and-run killed his other mother. The rage and despair he felt when his father left him. The sadness of losing the first friend he made after returning to life. It all came to the surface like a geyser about to explode.

"I'm here for you, Harvey. I know that my family will be too. No matter what." Luke finished saying as he tightened the hug.

Harvey's legs collapsed from under him, causing him to kneel on the ground. Luke panicked as he saw him fall, only to stop as he saw Harvey's shoulder shake. Soft sobs escaped Harvey's mouth. Tears fell slowly onto the sidewalk. Luke frowned and bent down; he then hugged Harvey and stayed with him while he unloaded everything. Tonight was the night Harvey realized he was no longer alone; he had people he could rely on now.

And a friend he could call a brother.

•••

Phil stood by the front window and watched his son and Harvey sit on the curb. They sat next to each other, talking. Luke must have said something funny because they both started to laugh. Harvey then wrapped an arm around Luke's shoulder.

"How's it going?"

Phil turned to look at his wife and his daughters. They stood behind him with worried expressions. After Harvey walked off, he convinced them to let Luke handle the situation. Claire then explained to the girls what Mitchell told them regarding Harvey's family situation. Haley's eyes teared up slightly, and Alex looked disappointed at herself.

"They are doing just fine. I told you, Luke's got this."

Claire walked up to him and wrapped her arm around him. Laying her head on his shoulder, Phil kissed the top of her head. They stood there, just watching the two boys continue to talk. Phil smiled and rubbed her side.

"I'm proud of him. I knew he could do it."

"Yeah, me too."

"Mom, Dad." Haley spoke. "Should we... Do something?"

"Should we go talk to him too?" Alex asked.

"No, let's let Luke talk to him tonight. I'm sure they're what they need right now." Phil told them as he guided his wife to the couch. "You can talk to him tomorrow. Just give them some space right now."

Alex wanted to argue against this, she walked up to the front door and placed her hand on the knob. She stood there and dropped her head. Letting go of the door knob she then excused herself and went upstairs.

"Alex, wait!"

Haley called out and followed behind her. As soon as they went into their bedroom, Haley closed the door. Claire sighed and rubbed her eyes. Phil smiled at her and grabbed a bottle of her favorite wine. Holding it up with a smile, she smiles at him and holds up a finger.

"Just one."

"Of course, My lady."