[Next Day]
Jack stood in front of the mirror, studying his reflection as if it might suddenly offer a better solution. It didn't. The same face stared back at him, carrying the same problem.
He adjusted his shirt for the third time, then ran a hand through his hair. He paused, frowned slightly, and fixed it again. He took a deep breath.
"Alright," he muttered under his breath. "You've done harder things than this."
A brief silence followed.
"…have I though?"
He let out a quiet breath and leaned closer to the mirror, bracing his hands against the edge of the dresser. His reflection stared right back at him, calm on the surface, but he could feel the tension sitting just under it.
"You're just telling your girlfriend about a scene," he said quietly, trying to keep his voice firm. "That's all. You're not confessing to a crime."
His thoughts pushed back immediately.
'She's going to hate it and probably break up with me. Or she'll first yell at me, then break up with me. But, coming clean right now might be better than lying and then when she goes to watch the movie with her family and the kissing scene appears, she'll freak out in the hall and then leave me. Ah! Crap. What the hell, let's do this.'
He straightened up again, grabbing his phone from the dresser and checking the time. He was supposed to meet Haley in twenty minutes. Today, they planned to go out for a nice lunch after talking to her parents about the Disneyland trip. 'If things go well, that lunch is happening, if not... I have to eat alone while drowning in my tears.'
Enough time to overthink everything ten more times.
"Great," he muttered, slipping the phone into his pocket.
He grabbed his jacket, hesitated for half a second, then shook his head and headed out.
....
[Dunphy House]
Jack slowed his cycle as he turned into the Dunphy driveway, his mind still running through every possible version of the conversation he was about to have. None of them ended peacefully in his head. Some ended with yelling, some with silence, and a few with Haley just walking away without saying anything.
"Yeah, great," he muttered under his breath. "This is going to go really well."
A basketball bounced loudly nearby, snapping his attention away from the spiral. Phil stood in the driveway with Luke, both of them mid-game, or at least something that looked like a game.
"Pass it, Dad, you're hogging," Luke complained, hands out and already moving into position.
Phil spun dramatically, clearly enjoying himself more than necessary. "I am creating space, Luke. This is called strategy."
//Phil's Confession//
Phil sat on the couch with a basketball in his hands, attempting to spin it on one finger. It wobbled for a second before dropping straight into his lap. He caught it quickly and cleared his throat, acting like that had been part of the plan.
"Today is a big day," he said, holding the ball up like it meant something important.
"I am going to teach Luke how to score three-pointers."
He nodded to himself, fully confident.
"Because last game… the junior basketball team lost. Badly." He winced slightly. "And by badly, I mean the scoreboard looked like a typo."
Phil leaned forward, lowering his voice like he was about to reveal a secret.
"But this time, things will be different."
He pointed to himself with quiet pride.
"Why? Because I have a system."
He tapped his temple.
"It is called P.H.I.L."
Phil raised his fingers one by one as he explained.
"P is for precision. You aim like you are sending a love letter to the hoop."
"H is for height. You arc the ball like it is trying to touch a cloud."
"I is for instinct." He paused for a second. "Which I believe I have naturally."
Another small pause.
"Luke is still developing his."
He lifted the final finger.
"And L is for luck."
Phil shrugged, completely at ease with that part.
"Which is just skill wearing a disguise."
He tried spinning the ball again, this time barely managing to catch it before it slipped away.
"So yeah," he continued, recovering smoothly, "with my guidance, a little practice, and maybe a slightly shorter hoop if we can adjust that…"
He nodded, fully satisfied with the plan.
"Dunphy basketball is about to enter a new era."
//Phil's confession End//
He took a shot.
The ball hit the pole with a loud clang and ricocheted straight toward the road.
Jack reacted without thinking. One hand shot out, catching the ball cleanly while the other kept the cycle steady. The motion was smooth enough that he barely slowed down. He glanced at the hoop for half a second, then flicked the ball back with a casual throw as he pedaled forward.
The ball arced perfectly.
Swish.
Phil froze, then turned slowly toward Jack with wide eyes. "That was so cool."
Jack stopped the cycle, got off, and parked it on the side. "Thanks. I've been practicing basketball for like three months now for my next movie."
The ball bounced and Phil caught it.
Phil looked genuinely interested. "A new movie? That's awesome. What's it about? Action? Comedy? Do you play the hero who saves the day with killer basketball moves?"
Luke says, "That'd be so cool."
Phil smiled, "I know, right?"
Jack gave a small, apologetic smile while he locked the bike to the rack. "Sorry, Mr. Dunphy. If I tell you now, it's going to spoil the movie for you when you go to watch it. I don't want to ruin the surprise."
Phil froze for a second, absorbing that, then pointed at him like he'd just uncovered something important. "Oh, that's good. That's actually very good. Protecting the audience experience. I respect that." He lowered his voice slightly, leaning in like they were sharing a secret. "But if I guess it correctly, you have to confirm it."
Jack let out a small laugh, shaking his head. "Nice try, but no."
Phil straightened up, clearly not discouraged. "Okay, okay, I like this. Mystery project. I'm into it."
Luke, who had been watching the whole exchange with growing impatience, stepped forward and held his hands out. "Can you do it again?"
Jack blinked. "Do what again?"
Luke pointed at the hoop. "The shot. That was sick. Do it again."
Phil nodded immediately, backing him up. "Yeah, yeah, let's see if it was skill or a once-in-a-lifetime miracle."
Jack took the ball from Phil and walked a few steps back, rolling his shoulders once as he lined up the shot. He bounced the ball twice, more out of habit than necessity, then looked at the hoop for a second longer.
"Alright," he said casually. "Here goes nothing."
He shot.
The ball arced cleanly through the air, spinning just right before dropping straight through the net again.
Swish.
Luke's mouth fell open. "Whoa. That was sick." He looked up at his dad. "Can you have him train me?"
"Sorry, but no can do." Jack caught the bouncing ball and handed it over to Phil. "Your dad has much more experience than my three months of training. So, listen to his advice and I'm sure you'd do much better than what I can teach you."
"Jack," Haley waved through the open window.
"And..." Jack waved at Haley. "I got very important things to talk to Haley. So..." He pointed at the door. "Can I go in?"
"Yeah, go ahead. Have fun," Phil said with his usual smile.
...
[Inside the house]
Jack knocked once on the door, then pushed it open.
Haley stood near her mirror, adjusting her hair. She turned the second she heard him, and her face lit up instantly. She was wearing a blue shirt and simple jeans and that simplicity made her look more beautiful in Jack's eyes.
Jack paused for half a second, taking it in. A small smile tugged at his lips. "Okay… you look really good."
Haley's smile widened like she had been waiting for that. "I know," she said playfully, already walking toward him.
She did not slow down. When she reached him, she jumped.
Jack caught her automatically, his hands settling at her waist as she wrapped her arms around his neck. "Hi," she said softly, already leaning in.
"Hey," he replied with a smile.
Their lips met easily, familiar and warm. For a moment, everything else faded. All he could think of was her.
After kissing for a few seconds, Jack pulled back.
Not abruptly, but enough.
Haley blinked, still close to him, her arms resting loosely around his shoulders. "Hey… where are you going?" she murmured, trying to lean in again.
Jack shook his head slightly, keeping his hands steady at her waist. "We need to talk."
Haley froze for a split second. Then her eyes narrowed just a little, clearly unimpressed. "Or," she said, tilting her head with a small smile, "we could kiss for like five more minutes and then talk."
Jack let out a quiet breath, almost smiling despite himself. "Haley…"
She leaned in again, brushing her lips lightly against his before he could stop her, as if trying to negotiate physically. "Five minutes is not that long," she added softly.
He pulled back again, more firmly this time. "It is kind of serious. We really need to talk first."
That did it.
Haley's expression shifted almost instantly. The playfulness faded, replaced by something tighter and more uncertain. Her arms slowly slipped from his shoulders as she stepped back, putting a small space between them.
"Wait," she said quickly, her voice rising. "Are you breaking up with me?"
Jack blinked as he was caught by surprise. "What? No."
"Is this one of those speeches?" she continued, her words coming faster. Her panic mode has been activated. "The 'you're amazing but' speech? Because I hate those. They are the worst."
"Haley..."
"Did I do something wrong?" she pressed, her brows pulling together. "Did I say something? Is this about the Disneyland thing? Because I can just fix it."
He shook his head. "It is not—"
"You are not dumping me for Dakota, are you?" she blurted out, her voice jumping again. "Because that would be insane. Like actually insane. I love you and if you leave me now, I'm going to punch that skank."
Jack stared at her for a second, completely thrown. "Dakota? What?"
Haley kept going, her thoughts spiraling faster than she could filter them. "Is this because of my breath? Oh my God, wait, do I smell bad?" She leaned back slightly, bringing her hand to her mouth in mild panic. "I brushed my teeth, I swear. Okay, maybe not after lunch, but it should not be that bad. Wait! Do I smell?" She sniffed her underarms. "I knew it, I shouldn't have used Alex's bodywash."
Jack stepped forward and gently caught her arms, stopping her before she could keep going. Then he pulled her into him.
She stopped mid-sentence as his arms wrapped around her, holding her close enough that she could not pace or spiral any further.
"Hey. Hey," he said softly, kissing the top of her head. "Stop."
Haley froze against him, her hands resting against his chest as she looked up, still tense.
Jack took a small breath before speaking again, more clearly this time.
"I am not breaking up with you."
Some of the panic left her eyes, but not all of it.
"And no, Dakota and I are just friends. Nothing more than that. We've gone out for ice cream once and she came to see me when I was injured. I've already told you that back then, remember? You wanted to punch me with a cute pout, but I was already hurt, so we decided that you get to punch me twice after I got better, and I shouldn't have reminded you of that. My bad," he continued, holding her a little tighter like he wanted that part to land properly. "And no, you don't smell bad. Your breath is fine. Did you eat a blueberry cheesecake without me?"
Haley blinked, her expression slowly shifting from panic to something softer, more embarrassed. "Sush! Don't say it out loud. That was Alex's cheesecake."
Jack chuckled at her reply, his forehead resting lightly against hers for a second. "You naughty girl. I love kissing you. And I love just… being like this with you," he added, his tone easing. "So yeah, you can calm down."
Haley stayed still for a moment, processing everything. Then she let out a small breath, her shoulders dropping as the tension finally drained out of her.
"Okay," she muttered quietly, her grip on his shirt loosening.
She was still a little unsure, but no longer spiraling. "Then why did you sound like you were about to ruin my life?"
"Yeah, about that. I got a revised movie script a few days back," Jack started small.
"Okay," Haley nodded, her smile was back again. "Sounds cool. So, what about it?"
"There's a 30-second kissing scene."
Jack finally dropped the bomb.
--[Bonus chapter: 500 PS]
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