Chapter 80: Returning Home 

The Williams family was standing outside their house, finally arriving home after many ups and downs.

"Ah, we're finally back home," Nathan exclaimed as he gazed around his house.

"Dad, I never asked you this, but why did we move here?" Ryan questioned, looking about at his house and the other neighboring houses. I mean, why this particular neighborhood?"

"Especially when we are so..."

"Rich?" Nathan finished Ryan's phrase.

"I was going to say well off but pretty much the same, I guess," Ryan responded.

Nathan looked across the street at the Dunphy house and noticed Phil staring at them through his blinds like some crazy stalker. He ignored Phil and questioned, "Why? Would you have preferred that we moved to a more posh location?"

Phil quickly closed the curtains and hid when he noticed Nathan looking over.

"I mean, I found a girlfriend, a wonderful school, and started my profession as a screenwriter while here. So no, coming here has been one of the best things to happen to me," Ryan responded.

Ryan explained on the inside, "I'm not going to lie. After all, being born into this world was one of the most significant events in my life."

"So, why the sudden question?" Nathan inquired.

"Well, it seemed funny, you know, like we're staying in a normal house, attending a public school, especially when I've seen personally how well-known you are," Ryan said.

Nathan said, "Oh, you're almost there. You have partially answered your question, but please allow me to elaborate."

"As you mentioned, I wanted to give you a more regular life before fame catches up with you, which, at the rate you're going, will be pretty soon."

"Also, because I am such a prominent figure in the industry, reporters don't just come up on our doorsteps as if they invaded our privacy. There would be repercussions."

Nathan assumed a severe look and pounded his right fist into his left hand to appear intimidating as he concluded his speech.

Ryan overheard this, and one of the questions he was about to ask was answered on his own by Nathan.

"Come on, what are you waiting for?" Amanda, who had entered while the father and son conversed, said when she saw them still standing outside.

-Dunphy Household-

Phil was pacing around the living room, waiting for Claire to come downstairs and report her results.

When Claire arrived at the stairwell, Phil asked, "So?"

Recognizing Phil's anxiety, Claire responded, "Well, they seemed to be discussing something serious."

Phil inquired, "So does that mean they actually saw me? What are we supposed to do now?"

Claire comforted Phil from the staircase and said, "It doesn't absolutely mean they were talking about you, honey."

"I just saw Ryan's dad make a fist-hitting hand gesture," Haley remarked from upstairs.

Claire said, "Oh my, I guess they were talking about you."

Haley, hearing this, asked, "What are we gonna do?"

Feeling that Haley's behavior was strange, Claire asked, "Wait, Haley, why do you care so much? This isn't normal."

Haley shouted from her room before rushing to the stairs, "What? Can't I care about my sister?"

Claire looked at Haley and retorted, "Haley!!" clearly seeing through her lies.

Haley scoffed and said, "Fine, I have an ongoing bet with my Tracy on if Ryan will break up with Alex."

"Winner will get what?" Claire asked.

"... I'd rather not say," Haley said guiltily and tried to run away from the living room, but Claire grabbed her shoulders before she could escape.

"Well~," Haley said with a tiny voice. "If she wins, she will get Ryan's phone number…."

Alex walked into the living room at this time. The family stopped their conversation and turned to Alex with awkward smiles trying to not come off as dubious.

"Why are you guys smiling like that?" Alex asked vigilantly as she was creeped out by the situation.

"N-Nothing," Claire said and approached Alex lovingly. She stood by her side and started to caress her hair, "So, Honey. Has Ryan talked to you since…you know?"

"Since Dad shot him with an arrow?" Alex blurted out.

Haley interjected, "Well, technically, Dad tried to shoot at Fizbo."

"I KNOW WHAT I DID!" Phil said with a raised voice as he was panicking.

"What are you guys worried about? He told you that he was not pressing charges last night." Alex said calmly.

"He did. He did say that." Claire nodded anxiously. "But we are still worried. So…" Claire finished prettying Alex up. "Haley, give her some makeup, please."

"On it," Haley said and took out her makeup pouch. "Also, we need to get her out of that shirt."

Alex was wearing a white shirt with black horizontal lines and a pair of jeans. "What's wrong with my shirt? And what ARE YOU GUYS TRYING TO DO!" Alex swatted Claire's hand away and moved two steps back from her family.

"Well…We need you to go there and ask…about it for us." Claire said, trying to reach for a brush.

"You guys are…PIMPING ME OUT!" Alex shouted in realization.

-Williams House-

"I am thinking of cooking turkey today for Thanksgiving," Amanda announced while wearing an apron and holding a ladle.

"Hmm? That's great, hun." Nathan agreed with Amanda. It was Thanksgiving week, so the family gathered to celebrate the event.

"Ryan, you should invite Alex too…if she doesn't have anything with her family," Amanda said.

"Sure. Can we go into my room and play?" Ryan asked.

"NO!" Amanda said sternly and bonked Ryan's head with the ladle.

Ryan replied, "Awh, but I thought it would be fun. I could show her a good time."

Amanda looked at Ryan in shock as she felt Ryan was hinting at something inappropriate. She, however, decided to ask first before reprimanding him.

"A good time? What do you mean by that?"

Ryan, who had jokingly said this, was instantly wakened back to reality and knew he had to cover up for this slip. Otherwise, who knows how much scolding he would face?

So Ryan decided to act innocent and replied, "I mean, we could fool around."

Hearing his words, Ryan couldn't help but scold himself for such lousy phrasing, and the atmosphere became quite intense.

Amanda raised one of her eyebrows and repeated, "Fool around?"

Ryan immediately covered, "I mean, play board games, you know, like monopoly."

Amanda, who was about to K.O. Ryan, was relieved and nodded, saying, "I see."

"I need to call Alex. Be right back…." Ryan said and walked to his room.

-Dunphy's house-

[Pretty Woman Song is playing]

♪Pretty woman, walkin' down the street.♪

Haley started off by putting light eyeliner on Alex's eyes. Alex rolled her eyes and tried to protest.

"Honey, you'll be wearing your contact lens. So try to not roll your eyes so much." Claire said. She was blowing Alex's flat hair with a hairdryer to make it seem more voluminous and curling the edges of her hair.

♪Pretty woman, the kind I like to meet♪

♪Pretty woman, I don't believe you. You're not the truth♪

♪No one could look as good as you, mercy♪♪

Suddenly, Alex's phone rang. "It's Ryan," Alex said as she read the caller id.

"Dad. Shut off that song, or I'll swear I'll convince him to press charges." Alex warned Phil, who was playing the song 'Pretty Woman' on his phone.

"Sorry, honey," Phil said apologetically.

Alex picked up the call, "Hey. You're back yet?"

"Hmm? I thought your dad already saw me?" Ryan asked in confusion from the other line. Alex turned to her dad, not knowing what to say.

"Ask if you can meet," Claire whispered. But before Alex could say anything, Ryan said, "Hey. Are you free today?"

"I'm… I'm free…I guess." Alex replied with eyes cautiously, staring at the rest of her family.

"Great. Want to have Thanksgiving dinner at my house? It'll be the first time you formally meet your in-laws." Ryan teased. He expected sarcastic remarks or an admonishment from Alex, but she unexpectedly answered, "Okay. What time should I be there?"

A bit stunned, Ryan paused for a second. "Mom just started cooking, so I guess in 4 hours. But you can come now and sneak into my room." He tried to tease her again, but she replied, "Okay. I'll meet you in…" Alex turned to her mother. "An hour," Claire whispered.

"Hey, we may need more time to change her from dork to hot," Haley whispered to Claire.

"We need to do it quickly," Claire whispered back.

Alex put the phone on her chest and whispered, "You guys know I can hear you?!"

"We will meet in an hour then," Alex said.

"Great. I'll come by your place to pick you up." Ryan said.

"...You live next door." Alex said in confusion. "Just say yes!" Claire said desperately. If Ryan could come by, it would be easier for her to ask him about the matter.

"Yes. I'll wait for you." Alex replied to the call.

-William's house-

"That's a weird call," Ryan said after hanging up the phone. "Anyway.." Ryan threw the matter to the back of his mind and reached for a blank paper.

"Let's see what level the sketching skill I got," Ryan said and picked up an ordinary 2B pencil before sketching. He sketched Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, The Flash, and Green Lantern one by one.

"Nice. A simple sketch could be sold as a poster for these superheroes." Ryan said as he admired his artwork. It took him only 30 minutes to complete all the sketches.

He decided to continue a bit more – Batgirl, Robin, Harley Quinn, before he changed his clothes to go and pick up Alex from her house.

As the Dunphy house was right across the street, Ryan took his sweet time. After all, it wasn't like the Dunphy house would suddenly grow legs and start running away from Ryan.

Ryan got out and happened to meet a neighbor who was getting out at the same time and politely greeted, "Hello."

The neighbor replied, "Hi." as well, before going towards his car outside in the parking lot.

Ryan continued on his way and soon came to the Dunphy house. Seeing an innocent, sweet kid like Ryan enter that devil's house, the neighbor was startled and yelled out from his car, "STOP."