Modern Family: New Life

"Pedal, Howard!" Andrew exclaimed, sitting up straight with his arms crossed in the back seat of the bike, perfectly balanced. He casually observed the scenery, as if he didn't even feel the rocking of the bike.

In front, Howard was pedaling with an expression of suffering, sweating as the sun beat down on his face. The combination of heat and the weight of Andrew wasn't exactly light, and every pedal stroke felt like punishment.

He had never been great at physical education, and physical activity always seemed more like torture than anything else.

Leonard, on the other hand, had luck on his side. He was riding another bike without having to carry anyone. Andrew only had two bikes, so he had no choice but to impose this arrangement.

He could have taken Howard's place, of course, but he decided that a bit of exercise wouldn't hurt his friend. 'It's about time he feels the satisfaction of pushing his limits,' Andrew thought with a slight smile.

"Come on, Howard! Haley's waiting for us!" Andrew cheered, and as if by magic, Howard sped up. It was clear that just mentioning Haley acted like extra fuel.

Finally, after a few kilometers, they reached the Dunphys' house. Andrew examined the details of the facade, identical to the one from the TV show.

Howard dropped the bike the moment they hit the sidewalk, collapsing on the ground while gasping for air, his gaze fixed on the sky, breathing heavily. Andrew, on the other hand, jumped off gracefully before the bike even touched the ground, landing with the elegance of someone who hadn't moved a muscle.

With a smile, Andrew leaned toward Howard. "See? There's nothing like the rewarding feeling of pushing your limits, Howard. This will make you stronger," he said, giving him a pat on the shoulder.

"Imagine the muscle gain, the cardiovascular endurance..." Andrew added, muttering to himself.

'Damn workout freak,' Howard thought, but said nothing, as he was still recovering.

While Howard was catching his breath, Andrew noticed Leonard pull an inhaler from his pocket and take a deep puff.

'Oh, right... I forgot about that,' Andrew thought, walking over to Leonard. He had forgotten that Leonard had asthma.

"Are you okay, Leonard?" Andrew asked with concern.

"Yeah... it was just a bit of exercise," Leonard replied, catching his breath. Unlike Howard, he didn't have to carry extra weight like Andrew, and he wasn't forced to increase his speed on certain stretches, so he took it at his own pace.

"How long have you been using it?" Andrew asked, referring to the inhaler.

"Since I was six," Leonard answered.

"Mm... I see. In the future, the exercise I'll give you will be more considerate," Andrew said with an apologetic expression, gently patting Leonard's shoulder. Leonard looked at him with a stunned expression.

'I don't want to train with you!' Leonard complained internally, but he didn't say anything. Now he understood why his school always won the district championships and why Andrew was so good at football.

"Let's go," Andrew said, walking toward the front door. He rang the doorbell and waited.

Howard and Leonard stood nervously behind him. They hadn't expected to visit Haley's house today.

…

"Phil, help Luke get his head out of the stairs!" Claire exclaimed, stopping what she was doing to prepare lunch and heading toward the door.

Phil, absorbed in his phone, looked up and replied, "Where's the baby oil?"

"I don't know, find it!" Claire shouted, exasperated, as she moved to open the door. When she opened it, she smiled widely upon seeing Andrew.

"Andrew, finally you arrive!!" she said with relief, convinced that with him there, she'd have an ally when Haley's boyfriend showed up.

"Hey, Aunt. We took a little longer because we made some... detours," Andrew said with a smile.

'This bastard!' Leonard and Howard thought indignantly as they remembered the route. Now it all made sense: the zigzag path wasn't to avoid traffic, but to force them to get more physical exercise.

Claire raised an eyebrow upon seeing the two unfamiliar boys standing behind Andrew. She gave them a quick once-over. They both looked like stereotypical nerds from movies.

Howard, wearing a Flash T-shirt, was short, with hair styled like Ringo Starr and a small frame.

Leonard, still holding his inhaler, wore large glasses and had a sweaty T-shirt with damp stains under his arms.

"And who are these guys?" Claire asked, casting a quick, inquisitive glance at Andrew. "Did you join a science club and not tell me?" The guy with the glasses reminded her a bit of her youngest daughter, Alex.

"Oh, they're my friends. This is Howard, and the one who looks like he's about to collapse is Leonard," Andrew said with a smile, patting Leonard's shoulder.

"I think he needs a glass of water," Andrew whispered to Claire, who nodded slightly.

"Hello, Mrs. Dunphy," both of them greeted in unison, somewhat shy under Claire's curious gaze.

Claire returned the greeting and invited them in.

The first thing they saw upon entering was a boy about ten years old, probably younger, whose head was trapped between the bars of the railing. His expression was calm, as if he was used to it. His arms hung limply as he looked around and noticed the guests.

"Andrew!" Luke exclaimed with a smile.

"Hey, Luke. Stuck again?" Andrew said with a slight smile, roughly ruffling Luke's curly hair.

"Yeah, I was defeated... again," Luke replied with a sigh.

'Defeated... by the stairs? Again?' Leonard and Howard thought, exchanging incredulous looks as they tried to process the scene.

Claire gave the boys a nervous smile and shrugged. "This is my son, Luke... Let's just say he has a pretty... active imagination," she explained.

"Hey, Luke, I bet you're tougher now. What if we try getting your head out without the oil? Remember, no pain, no gain," Andrew suggested.

This way, in the future, Luke could get out without anyone's help. He'd finally defeat the stairs on his own!

"Mm... pass," Luke murmured, remembering the last time Andrew "helped" him by pulling him out forcibly. The experience had been, in Luke's words, traumatically painful. He wasn't willing to relive that.

"Come on, show some courage. It won't hurt as much as last time," Andrew said, heading to the other side to pull.

"Dad!" Luke started shouting, twisting his head as much as he could and directing his voice upstairs, "Dad, come quickly, please!"

Luckily for Luke, hurried footsteps were heard from upstairs, and Phil appeared with a bottle of oil in his hand.

"I got it, champ! Baby oil to the rescue!" Phil said with a smile as he came down.

"Thank goodness," Luke murmured, sighing in relief at seeing that Andrew wouldn't yank him out roughly.

'Such a shame,' Andrew thought, shrugging.

"Oh, hey, Andy. Is one of them Dylan?" Phil asked as he began the rescue procedure for Luke, applying generous amounts of oil around the boy's ears.

Claire didn't respond, as her comment would have been too rude. She would have said, "Do you really think Haley would go out with either of these two nerds?"

She didn't have anything against these two boys, but seeing her oldest daughter interested in one of them seemed, well… unlikely.

"No, Phil. Neither of them is Dylan. This is Leonard, and this is Howard," Andrew said, pointing to each with a slight nod of his head. "They're my friends."

Leonard and Howard instinctively straightened up, as if those words filled them with unexpected pride. It was the second time Andrew had called them his friends, and there was something really comforting about it, like they had finally leveled up in their social life.

Phil put the baby oil down and extended his arms to give them an enthusiastic handshake. "Phil Dunphy, dude."

"Nice to meet you..." Leonard and Howard responded in unison, noticing how their hands were slightly oily after the handshake.

[Phil's comment]

"I'm the cool dad, or in this case, the cool uncle. With Andy and his friends, we always get along. No drama, just good vibes. I'm the head cheerleader (a title he gave himself) of the team," Phil said with a confident smile.

[End of comment]

While Phil continued with the rescue operation, Andrew, Leonard, and Howard followed Claire into the kitchen.

The boys entered the kitchen, where they found a girl around twelve years old, with long straight black hair and large glasses that gave her an expression of unshakable intelligence.

She was sitting on a stool, absorbed in a thick book she held with one hand while making meticulous notes with the other. It was Alex, Andrew's younger cousin.

Andrew greeted his younger cousin enthusiastically, but she only nodded without even lifting her head. He also introduced Howard and Leonard, but she simply nodded and didn't even glance at them.

Claire shot Andrew a conspiratorial look. "You know what we'll do when this Dylan guy shows up," she said, pouring a glass of water for Leonard, who happily accepted it.

"Yeah, yeah, give him threatening looks with our arms crossed, all very intimidating," Andrew replied with a smile, amused by his aunt's intensity.

Leonard, who hadn't fully understood what was going on until that moment, turned to Andrew with a confused expression. "Dylan? Who's Dylan?"

"Oh, he's Haley's boyfriend," Andrew replied casually, as if it were no big deal.

Leonard and Howard exchanged surprised glances, their expressions quickly shifting from confusion to indignation.

'Her boyfriend?!' they both thought, turning to Andrew with accusatory eyes.

"Didn't you think that was a small detail to mention before making us pedal all the way over here?" Howard asked, whispering so only Andrew could hear.

"I didn't think it was fair to lose sleep by myself. Suffering is better when shared," Andrew said with a slight smile.

He was even still very tired! He wouldn't suffer alone!

Leonard and Howard exchanged a glance, realizing that Andrew wasn't as innocent as he seemed.

"By the way... I heard you got a girlfriend, is that true?" Claire asked, switching to investigative mode.

She found out about this through Haley, not because she was told directly, but because she overheard her talking with a friend about Andrew and his new girlfriend. Her oldest daughter didn't seem too happy, which only concerned her.

[Claire's comment]

"I'm so glad to hear that Andrew finally got a girlfriend. It's strange given his situation that he never had one. Very strange, and I was concerned about something... though I guess I don't have to worry about it anymore," Claire said with a relieved smile.

[End of comment]

Alex looked up from her book with a mix of amazement and skepticism in her eyes.

"You got a girlfriend? Don't joke," Alex commented, not hiding her doubt.

Andrew raised an eyebrow. "Why does that seem so strange to you?" he asked.

"Because..." Alex closed the book and placed it on the table, looking at him directly. "I don't know, you're the most disciplined and obsessive person I know. Most guys your age who play football do it just to be popular or to get invited to parties. But you... You're different. You seem more interested in constantly improving in every aspect of football. I can't imagine you having the time or interest in anything other than improving your performance," Alex explained.

Over the years, Alex had come to respect Andrew for this obsession, though it was different from hers—it was more about sports.

"Wow, I didn't know you saw me as some sort of training maniac," Andrew laughed.

"Because you are," everyone in the room said in unison, including Howard and Leonard.

"..." Andrew.

"It's not a complaint, by the way. Everyone thinks I'm weird for studying so much, so I get that obsession. I'd even say you're more obsessed with your thing than I am with mine. But... a girlfriend? It's like if suddenly someone told me that Haley got an A on her chemistry exam or that she's getting married. Can you imagine? Haley lasting more than a month with a guy," Alex said with a mocking snort.

"Don't make fun of your sister. But you're right about the other thing. Since when do you have time for dates, Andy?" Claire asked, clearly interested in the topic.

"I..." Andrew began but didn't know how to continue. In reality, he wouldn't have accepted, but the situation required him to say yes so Veronica wouldn't be exposed to rejection in front of everyone.

"This guy... always so focused on his training, on football, with no time for anything else... But now, it turns out he gets a girlfriend, and she's the one who confessed, not him..." Leonard said, thinking aloud and starting to put the pieces of the puzzle together.

"True. During his middle school years, he didn't date anyone, and now, out of nowhere, he has a girlfriend. Very convenient..." Howard said, exchanging a knowing look with Leonard.

"What are you talking about?" Alex asked, looking at the two nerds, who reminded her of herself. It seemed strange to her that there were two nerds with Andrew, but she didn't care that much.

"Well, turns out..." Leonard began, telling them about how Veronica confessed her feelings to Andrew.

Claire and Alex now understood where Leonard and Howard were going with this.

"So, it was all because you didn't want to reject her in front of everyone?" Claire asked, and everyone looked at him.

"Of course not..." Andrew said, turning his head robotically to look the other way. His movement was unnatural, and his tone of voice was very doubtful.

'You're lying horribly!' everyone thought.

"That's very mature of you, Andy," Claire said with a proud yet slightly disappointed smile, as her nephew still hadn't gotten a real girlfriend.

[Claire's comment]

"My earlier concern is back. Also, if Haley finds out about this, she'll be in a good mood," Claire said, crossing her arms and shaking her head.

[End of comment]

"How long are you going to pretend you're dating her?" Leonard asked.

"It'll take time away from your training," Alex said with a slight mocking smile.

"I don't know. Maybe I should act like Howard, and she'll dump me instantly," Andrew said with a thoughtful look. When he referred to acting like Howard, he meant acting desperate.

Leonard couldn't hold back a laugh.

"Hey, show some respect!" Howard said.

Just then, someone rang the doorbell. It had to be Dylan.

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