Re:life with Karmic Gacha (Modern Family)

(Last Chapter for this week. See you guys on Monday!)

-Edward's POV-

"Maybe 950 to 1. Listing will be at 1.05. But…why do you ask?"

"I just need to put it into consideration. Thanks Vitamin P."

The clock was already at 6.00 p.m. and I finally settled the sudden gathering inside my house. Even Mitch and Cam had dropped by, but they didn't stay long as they had a party to go to that night.

They also had passed a message from Pepper that he would bring me to the studio he bought this Saturday.

One by one, people started leaving the house. Claire and Luke were leaving first as Luke had become dirty from all the playing around.

Jay, Gloria and Manny said their goodbyes after Claire had left and Jay had arranged for me to come to Pritchett's Closet company after school tomorrow – leaving me with Alex, Haley, and Phil inside the house.

The last group was going to go home when I asked Phil about the matter. Standing in the living room near the front door, I finally asked Phil about how much the house would sell if Ted ever did have to do it.

[Phil's commentary]

"Honestly. The house shocked me. Not only was Eddy returning it to the original looks, but he also added a few things around the house to make it better. He has a talent in flipping houses, and also interior designs. I should bring him to open houses sometimes."

Phil was excited to see Edward's talent in home making. He had seen thousands of houses before, and not many people had the talent in flipping a house.

[Commentary ends]

"No Dad! Don't tell him!" Haley said, grabbing me by the hand again. Phil was visibly excited seeing Haley getting closer toward me, but then Alex did the same thing and pulled me towards her – making Phil's smile froze on the spot.

"Dad! Tell me if he's selling the house. You can't move away if you're not done making the invention. What about MY college credit?" Alex said, her face inches away from mine.

Haley tried to push Alex away and said angrily, "What about it? You're not the one creating it!"

"Girls. Girls. You're going to tear him into half!" Phil said, trying to free me from the girl's grasp.

[Phil's commentary]

"So…my plan for him to date one of my daughters is coming along nicely…" Phil said, and then he scratched the back of his head. "The problem is…which one?"

[commentary ends]

Suddenly, the doorbell rang, distracting Phil from the scene.

"Hmm. Who could that be?" Phil turned and opened the door for the new visitor. Haley widened her eyes when she saw the new visitor, and quickly released her hands.

"Hey Mister, is Edward here?" Abby asked as she walked through the front door. She saw Alex was holding me, and Haley at my side. She narrowed her eyes and said using a cold tone, "Mind telling me what's happening here?"

[Haley's commentary]

She said guiltily, "I…kinda forgot he has a girlfriend…Fuck!"

[Commentary ends]

"Abby. Why are you here?" I asked in confusion after seeing the goth girl entering my house with a laptop bag slinging over her shoulder. She was still wearing her long sleeve black shirt with striped black and white pattern on the sleeve and her long black pants.

"I came to have dinner here. Mom is gone and I want to mooch off of you." Abby said and walked towards me. Alex was frozen, causing Abby to stare at her as she was still hugging my hand.

I was unsure why Alex was frozen, maybe it was because of the gothic makeup Abby had on. Her smoky eyes and black lipstick does implant some terror into those who were stared by Abby.

Haley whispered to Alex quickly, "Get off of him. That's his girlfriend!" But Alex was too stunned to move.

"Sure. I'll be making some mushroom piccata tonight. You're welcome to join me. I will be eating alone anyway." I said and helped Alex to release her hand from mine slowly.

I turned to face Alex and said, "I cannot work on the invention straight away, but once I'm free, I'll give you a call and we'll work on that together. How about that?"

"What invention? What are you guys talking about?" Phil asked in confusion and excitement.

"Alex will tell you about it later. You guys should go home first and leave the couple to have some alone time." I said, hinting something at the family.

Abby reacted quickly and pinched my arm. "We're not going to do anything except coding."

"Well…At first…" I teased.

I said goodbyes to the family and started to entertain Abby next despite my tiredness. However, she saw through me.

"Just relax a bit." She pulled my hand to make me sit on the living room sofa. "Were you cooking for them all day?" She asked as she sat beside me and put her laptop bag on the coffee table.

"Kinda was." I replied and rested my back on the sofa.

"Why?" Abby asked in confusion. "You're not this type of person before. I came to your house a few times, but you never cooked for me once. Now, even your house is clean."

"Yeah. I am sick of living that way, so I decided to change." I answered.

She was looking around the house with wonder and awe in her eyes. While she was looking around cutely, I decided to rest my head on her lap while she was distracted.

Stunned, Abby poked my cheek while I was lying down, "Excuse me. What do you think you're doing?"

"Resting. Do you know about…that experiment?" I asked to distract her from the situation.

"What experiment?" Abby was intrigued, and then allowed me to continue resting my head there.

"When you sleep with your loved ones, the estrogen level in women increases – making them sleep more deeply. I wonder if it works for men too."

"Where did you read this kind of stuff?" Abby was in disbelief, but her hand was unconsciously playing with my hair, making me more and more relaxed. "Don't tell me wikipedia."

"I don't remember where." I said, closing my eyes to rest for a bit.

"So. You're testing it on me?" Abby asked, feeling a bit strange in her stomach. It was as if it was filled with butterflies.

"That will require us sleeping together." I joked, but Abby didn't reply, making me open my eyes to look at her face. I thought she was going to be offended, but she was seriously considering it.

"Perv." I said.

"What the-" Abby was stunned by the sudden accusation. "What about you? Sleeping on my lap like this. Did you really think we're a couple?"

"Couple of troublemakers." I added. "Anyway, lemme take a short nap."

"Hey!" Abby tried to protest, but as I made myself comfortable in her lap, she gave up resisting and continued playing with my hair.

"We're only a fake couple. Don't forget that." Abby said.

"I know. Then, to keep up appearances, we need to do things that a couple would do. Isn't that right?"

She was speechless again, and she didn't say anything until I fell asleep. I didn't plan to sleep, only to tease her a little bit. Maybe…the experiment succeeded, but I didn't know about it.

As she noticed that I had fallen asleep, she said, "If you want to…be a real one…I don't have any objections… Even though you're younger than me…"

…

I woke up half an hour after my nap. My soft 'pillows' had helped me to rest my mind a little bit, and I finally sat upright and released the pillow.

Every night after I realized that I had died and transmigrated here, I found myself going to sleep later and later than usual. I kept making myself busy so as to not be left alone with my thoughts – making inventions, websites, outfits, and so on.

Even when I was sleeping at night, my mind wouldn't let me rest. But sleeping on those soft laps had allowed me to break free of my chains of thought and just be there in the moment.

"Thank god. My leg is killing me." Abby said and knocked her legs with her fist as it had become numb.

"Sorry. Want me to massage them for you?" I asked.

"Perv." Abby said in a tiny voice, but she didn't reject my offer.

"Anyway,to thank you for your help, I will be making a special dish for you tonight." I said and I helped her massage her legs a bit to make the blood flow more smoothly. Unknowingly, she was blushing the entire time I was touching her.

Abby was helping me in the kitchen as I was going to cook for her. "No. You're tying it wrong." I said as I saw Abby was tying her apron knots in the back.

"What?" Abby was confused, not knowing what she had done.

"Let me." I said and I approached her. I moved my face closer to her, staring into her eyes as I untied the knot behind her. "'The strings are too long. You can't tie it at the back."

She moved her head away to avoid my eyes, but I used my finger to pull her face back.

"You-" Abby was blushing hard, and she couldn't hide her feelings at this moment.

"What? I'm just helping you tie the apron." I said teasingly and I brought the waist drawstring to the front after making a round on her body, and tying them into a bow in front of her stomach.

" Jerk." Abby cursed after I finished tying the apron. I smiled softly at her and we continued our cooking sessions together. I tasked Abby to boil the fettucini inside a large pot of boiling salted water while I was preparing the mushrooms.

"Why do you have that look of nostalgia on your face?" Abby suddenly asked.

"I…Did this with my granny before. So you know, I'm kinda missing her." I replied while continuing stirring the mushrooms occasionally until it turned golden brown.

"Is she.."

"Yeah. She had passed away."

"I'm…sorry for your loss." Abby said and hugged me from behind. I chuckled a little bit and turned to pat her head, with her hands still wrapped around me. "I'm fine. Go take care of the fettucini."

We talked for a bit, and the atmosphere returned to normal after we finished the dinner preparation. Although I wanted to pair the food with some wines, as we're not of legal age to drink yet, I made some iced tea for both of us. We're sitting facing each other at the dinner table.

We talked while we're eating together. She talked about her experience in the forensics camp, and how her school life had changed after she became entangled in my matters.

Although she was okay with it, I felt a bit bad because she had become the object of gossip that was centered around me and Haley in the school.

"You know, I'm only going to be here for 2 more months." Abby said while stuffing her face with the pasta.

A bit confused by the sudden statement, I looked Abby in the eyes and asked, "Why so suddenly?"

"I'm just saying. In these 2 more months, it's not like I'm going to date anyone." Abby said with a reddish blush on her face. " Isn't that sad? I'm at the peak age of 17, but I am wasting my time here in California all alone."

I chuckled a little bit and said, "Yeah. That's kind of sad. Want me to introduce you to some good guys?"

"Forget it." Abby said, angrily stabbing the pasta with her fork before she ate them.

With a smile on my face, I said, "You're really cute when you're angry."

She pointed her fork at me and said angrily, "Shut up! Don't call me cute! You're not even going to…"

"To date you?" I finished her sentence. "You know, I'd be lying if I said I didn't want to. If you're okay with it, we should date. For the next 2 months."

Abby widened her eyes and was speechless by the sudden confession. She then replied meekly, "Okay…"

"That's it? So, we're dating now right? I wonder what a boyfriend and girlfriend will do when they are alone in an empty house together." I said teasingly.

Abby rolled her eyes and said, "We're programming. What else would we do? I want to finish the game before I return to New York."

Pretending to be hurt, I said with a sad tone, "So, you're only dating me to use me as a tool?"

"No!" Abby replied hurriedly. "No. That's not it! I…"

"What?" I urged after she paused her sentence.

"I…Urgh, nevermind." Abby replied defeatedly and was looking a bit dejected. "I see." I replied in understanding, and stood up from my seat and took mine and her dishes with me after we had finished eating.

We started coding and creating the game after we had finished eating. Without me realizing it, the clock was almost at 10 pm, and Abby had to get home because of her curfew. I wanted to walk her back to her house, but she stopped me from doing so.

"You should rest a bit, Panda eyes. Your face is looking worse and worse everyday. Aren't you going to make money with your face?" Abby said.

"Isn't it a boyfriend's job to send his girlfriend home? I'm just doing my job." I said teasingly.

Abby rolled her eyes and said, "If the boyfriend is 14, then it does not matter."

She grabbed the doorknob with her right hand, but I grabbed her left one.

"What?" Abby asked in confusion.

"Aren't you forgetting something?" I asked.

Abby was puzzled, so I inches closer towards her, making her retreat and had her backs on the door. I placed my right hand on the door, preventing her from running away from me.

"W-what?" Abby was flabbergasted as my face was inches away from her.

"A good night kiss." I said and pointed at my lips. She rolled her eyes, but I continued, "This is what boyfriend and girlfriend do right?"

At this moment, I already noticed that she had no experience whatsoever in the relationship department. I couldn't help but bring myself to tease her every chance I got.

Abby hesitated, and she inches closer toward me before giving me a peck on the lips.

"Enough?" She asked.

"You never kissed before huh?" I asked teasingly.

"As if you'd ever kissed before!" Abby said, but before she could continue any longer, I kissed her on the lip, gave her a deep kiss and showed her what a true kiss should feel like. She closed her eyes as did I. My hands hugged her back, pulling her closer towards me.

Her soft lips parted, and I invaded her mouth using my tongue. Abby finally stopped resisting the kiss and pulled me closer every time I wanted to separate, and mimicked the things I had done with my tongue inside my mouth. She started playing with my hair, and we kissed for almost 5 minutes before we let each other go.

"Haa..haa.." Abby pants breathlessly as we separated, a bridge of saliva could be seen connecting our lips before it disappeared.

"So…That's a goodnight kiss?" Abby asked with a red face.

"I might've mistaken it for a kiss…at night. But Yeah… I think so" I replied casually and kissed her on the nose. "You really don't want me to walk you back? We can repeat the kiss at your house…you know, based on the relationship rules."

"Perv." Abby said, giving me a peck on my lips again.

"Said the girl who's not letting me go." I said and I kissed her again. Her heavy breath and seductive gaze almost made my teenage hormones go crazy. Instead of her lips, I traced my lips on her neck and started to nibble on them, causing her to let out her moans in pleasure.

As the atmosphere was heating up, suddenly someone was knocking on the door of the house – the door we're making out against.

"Hello Hello! Anyone home?"

I heard Pepper's voice from behind the door, and I reluctantly released Abby from my arms. I opened the door and greeted Pepper in confusion.

"Pepper? Why are you here?"

Dressed in a gray-ish white suit and wearing a fedora on his head, Pepper said excitedly. "I need to tell you VERY Big NEWS! In person!" He walked inside the house and finally saw Abby who's standing behind me.

"Ah. I'm sorry. Did I interrupt your makeout session?" Pepper asked. "W-w-w-what make out session?!" Abby stammered as she couldn't understand how Pepper could know about what they were doing.

"Hun, your lipstick is all over his face." Pepper said teasingly. Abby turned towards me and saw traces of her black lipstick on my face. She squealed in embarrassment and ran outside the door hurriedly.

"Abby!" I called her, but she shouted, "Don't follow me!"

"Ah.. Teenage love." Pepper said teasingly. I turned to him with a face filled with dissatisfaction, making Pepper laugh once more.

"You want to clean up your face first or you want me to tell you the news right now? I did call your father, and he was on his way home."

"We will wait for my dad then." I replied and I went to clean up first. While I was washing my face, I remember the kiss Abby and I shared. "Fuck!" I cursed slowly as I realized that I had gone too far before.

When my dad came home, Pepper finally shared the news as he couldn't wait any longer.

"A band that was supposed to open an up and coming artist concert had an accident. So they were trying to find a replacement artist for the music festival." Pepper said in excitement.

"Wait. You don't mean?" Ted widened his eyes in shock and turned toward me.

"Yes. My friend is an organizer for the event. The artist had seen… Edward's videos on youtube, and she had no problem with him replacing them." The extraordinary Pepper said.

"Edward my boy, next Sunday, you'll be performing in front of a crowd of 5000 at California University in Santa Barbara, if you say yes." Pepper continued.

I paused to think about it for a while, and then I said, "...Yes."