3rd POV]
While Haley was pouring her heart out to Billie, snuggling up against her warmth. The Dunphy's had just gotten back to Jay's place. It was the farthest from the rest of the houses, and was the place they decided to talk regarding what the hell just happened.
It was the first thing that had been said when they got in the car. Mitchell demanding that they talk about what Claire just did, and why it was not okay in like a multitude of ways.
That car ride had been the most uncomfortable and awkward car ride they had ever been in. The silence was deafening, and Claire had to avoid the eyes of her own husband, brother, and father. As she could clearly see that the three of them were not pleased.
And that was saying a lot, because Phil was the most happy go lucky man she had ever met. And it was a part of the reason why she loved him so much.
Sitting in the living room of Jay's home, the group was alone. Jay had made sure that Gloria and Manny were away, as he had some things to speak about, and it was better off they were not there.
Gloria was his newest wife, and the woman he loved dearly. She was a Colombian woman that he had been married to for around three years at this point. While Manny was his step son, a child that was roughly the same age as Luke, his grandson. But because he was now his step son, he was also technically the brother of Claire and Mitchell, therefore making him the uncle of Luke, Alex, and Haley. It was a rather…interesting little family tree.
"…So, are we going to address the giant elephant in the room, or are we going to continue sitting here in this awkward silence?" Mitchell asked, sitting as he looked down.
"And what is the elephant in the room, exactly?" Claire asked, she knew what she did was wrong, she could feel that. But she just didn't understand…why.
"Oh I don't know? Maybe the fact that you had us stalk your teenage daughter?" Mitchell began, looking at his sister in disbelief.
"Or maybe the fact that you outed her because of it? Not giving her the chance to come out on her own, which is a huge huge huge milestone for anybody that is gay, trans, or whatever else" Cam said, staring at her with an incredulous expression.
"Or maybe the fact that you had us break into the apartment building that her very rich and powerful girlfriend owns" Jay added with a deadpan.
"Or the fact that you basically called our daughter an idiot and tried to accuse Billie of being a bad influence" Phil finished, looking at his wife with a defeated look, not even able to defend her right now.
The more that they spoke, the more Claire's expression began to change, as her eyes widened and she began to realize what she just did. Now that someone was saying it all out loud, she was realizing just how batshit insane what she did was.
"You did WHAT?!" A voice screeched as they all jumped in fright, turning to see Gloria standing there.
"Gl-" "No no no! You do not interrupt me right now Jay!" Gloria shut him down, as she began to reach down and grab a weapon that anyone who has been on the receiving end of it fears.
The sandal.
Claire yelled in alarm as she jumped out of the way as the sandal flew past her, while Jay scrambled and grabbed his wife, holding her back.
"Gloria! Relax, relax!" He yelled, as Gloria was trying to get out of his arms.
"Let me at her! This fool shattered that girls heart! All because sh-she didn't trust her!" Gloria screeched, as she was trying to rip free from her husbands arms, but Jay was a hell of a lot bigger than her, and she was failing.
"Alright alright! Will you relax if we let you stay? Because otherwise I'm gonna have to lock you in the bathroom, and considering Manny just finished his business in there, I don't think you want that" Jay said, as Gloria stilled slightly, before looking up at her husband before growling.
"Fine fine, let me go!" Gloria yelled as she was let go by Jay, allowing her to straighten out her clothes and to glare at Claire.
"What? Go on! And if you say anything stupid again, I shall beat you with my chankla!" Gloria warned, as Claire stared at her before looking back at them.
"Look, I-I didn't realize how bad it was, okay? I didn't even think about it. Bec-" "Because what? You can't make up excuses about this, Claire. This is our daughter you are talking about, and this is not something you can try to cover up" Phil said, giving his wife a rare look of warning, not pleased right now.
He had never been this furious with her in all their years of marriage. He was truly enraged at the moment, for she had just outed their daughter against her will, and might have just permanently ruined their relationship with her.
"I'm not going to make an excuse, okay?! I know what I did was wrong! I-I just didn't realize it until you said it out loud! I sound like a damn psychopath! W-What do I do to fix this? H-How do I fix this before Haley hates me forever?!" Claire yelled as she began to breathe heavily, realizing she might have just alienated her eldest child…forever.
She loved her children, more than anything. And while her actions that day were…not particularly the smartest, they were done because she thought they were right. Even if they evidently were not, and she was now realizing that.
"Well first of all, you need to apologize to not only Haley, but also Billie" Mitchell began, as Cam nodded.
"Probably should bring something to make it up to her too. Like chocolates or flowers"
"Or money" Jay added, as Gloria shook her head.
"No no, she's rich now. Money will not do anything. Give her something meaningful, from the heart" Gloria said, as the others looked at her.
"How do you know she has a lot of money?" Phil asked with furrowed eyebrows as Gloria blinked before moving and turning the tv on, causing them all to look at it with wide eyes.
"She's all over the news, both of them are. Haley's a superstar!" Gloria said with a bright grin, as on the front page of the news was a picture of Billie and Haley side by side, singing.
"…Life is about to get a lot more complicated, isn't it" Phil said slowly, as the others nodded.
"Absolutely"
"Definitely"
"Yep. Not sure if it's a good thing or a bad thing. Guess it matters on the way the kid takes it" Jay said, with Mitchell and Cam agreeing. Her new stardom was going to affect the entire family, and whether or not that is harmful was entirely dependent on the actions of Haley and Billie.
"Hey, at the very least I'll get more clients!" Phil said, looking a bit excited with that. His real estate business was hopefully going to boom from this. Upon mentioning this, Jay also looked excited, realizing that this would help him too.
He ran a surprisingly large closet business that made millions, and since Haley was his granddaughter…
He was already imagining the commercials he could make with her.
"Let's not take advantage of her, okay? For now, we just need to focus on helping Claire make up with her, and hopefully not piss off Billie more than she already has. Because I really really want an autograph" Cam said, adding the final part with excitement.
He could be the first person in the world to have a Billie Eilish autograph!
He'd treasure it forever if he could get one from her.
And as they began to plan for the gift that could make it up to her, they all had one thought on her mind.
'…Let's just hope she doesn't hate Claire forever'
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That's the end of the chapter!
Next chapter will be the meeting and makeup. They will still have some tension for a bit, but it's Modern Family! It's not meant to be super angsty or whatever, and is meant to be fun and full of family moments.
And this fic will have a lot of that.
Anyways, have a good day!
Chapter 11 : Alex and Luke find out
[3rd POV]
It was the next day, and Haley had still not returned back to the Dunphy home. Claire and Phil were getting increasingly worried the longer it got into the day. And her brother and sister were also growing worried about what was happening with Haley.
Claire and Phil had not said a word to Luke or Alex about what happened with Haley, and the two were trying to find it out on their own. Mostly through sneaking around and trying to listen in on their conversations.
But considering they had their uncle Mitchell, his boyfriend, and even their grandpa over, that meant that something big was happening involving Haley. Something that was important enough that the entire adult part of the family had to gather for it.
That just increased their worries. As while yes, they messed around with their sister, she was still their sister, and they still loved her.
It all came to a head when the two were in the living room, waiting for their parents. They had been told not to turn on the news…for some reason. That had caused some confusion on Alex's part, making her wonder what could have happened to Haley that would be part of the news.
Her heart dropped when she first heard it, as usually when someone is on the news…it's not a good thing.
That is what she thought at the moment at least, but it all changed when the turned to the news channel as the adults were away in another room. Their eyes wide as they both watched their own sister dance and sing on a stage in front of thousands, the largest artist on the planet up there with her.
"Whoa…I didn't know Haley could sing!" Luke said in awe, staring at the tv screen.
"Haley…she's HD?" Alex muttered to herself, embarrassment beginning to form.
HD was her favorite pop artist by a long shot. She regularly listened to her music when she was doing her homework, and loved to listen to it when in the car going to school.
And the same HD that she loved the music of, was her sister.
Talk about awkward.
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[Confessional]
"Alright, I know that my sister is this super big artist now. But like…what about it is so bad? Cause mom and dad were acting like she died or something" Luke said to…something.
"Honestly I just hope this means I can meet Billie Eilish" Luke said with a grin on his face, not outwardly speaking it, but it was pretty clear that he had a huge crush on the woman.
Oh he'd be regretting these thoughts pretty soon.
_____________________
"…So…if she's HD does this mean that we're like super rich now?" Luke asked, deciding it was an important question. Since all the singers he knew about were filthy rich, meaning Haley should be like…very wealthy now.
At least that's what he assumed.
"Haley's rich, Luke, not us. None of that money would go to Mom or Dad. And even then, we don't know for sure if she's rich or not. She could just have a bit more than normal" Alex responded, it was a flimsy excuse, as she knew that HD had been blowing up recently, so it was almost guaranteed that her sister was now the wealthiest person in the family.
If she wasn't already, she would definitely be in the future.
As the two sat there watching the tv, absorbed into the headlines that were talking about her sister and how she was HD, they heard the doorbell ding. Alex glanced at her brother who ignored her, before grumbling and getting to her feet and walking over to the door before opening it.
Only for her eyes to widen.
"Are you going to let us in?" The figure on the other side asked, and this was…
Haley.
Standing slightly behind her was Billie Eilish herself, her long sleeves and baggy clothes on as they always were. She wore clothes for comfort, not to show off. Whereas her girlfriend liked to mix the two, wearing comfortable outfits that looked good.
"U-Uh-" "Well dork, you just gonna stand there or…" Haley said to her sister as Alex glared and moved out of the way.
Hearing the voice of his sister, Luke looked up surprised, only for his eyes to widen and his jaw to drop as he saw who was standing with her, as they both walked into the home.
"Whoa, your Billie Eilish!" Luke exclaimed with wide eyes as Billie looked over to him, amusement on her face while Haley sighed.
"Don't bug her please, Luke. This is already going to be annoying enough, you two harassing her for a signature will only make it worse" Haley said, as Alex glanced at her sister, noticing that she was talking and acting quite different compared to before.
"It's fine, Hales. And you must be Alex, right? Haley's told me that you're the "Genius" of the family" Billie said with a small smile on her face. Alex stared at her for a few moments.
"Yeah um, I'm Alex. I-It's nice to meet you, Billie" Alex said, stuttering over her words slightly. She was talking to the biggest artist on the planet after all, a woman that was only a few months older than her sister, and had been listened to billions of times across the world.
"Nice to meet you too, Alex. And you're Luke, right?" Billie said, before turning to Luke who stilled before nodding rapidly.
"Yep! I'm Luke, it's nice to meet you Billie Eilish, and I gotta say it's an honor to meet you! I'm a huge fan!" Luke said, barely holding back his excitement over meeting his favorite artist.
"God you are embarrassing me right now" Haley said quietly, looking away from her brother who was excitedly shaking her girlfriend's hand.
She knew about Luke's crush on Billie, and wondered what he would think if he knew they were together. She honestly thought it would be a funny interaction, but decided not to bring it up until later. They were here for something way more important than her little brother's crush on her girlfriend.
"Where's Mom and Dad?" Haley asked, noticing that Phil and Claire were nowhere to be found.
"Upstairs. They're talking about you I think. But we don't really know, cause they yell at us whenever we get near" Luke responded with a shrug, not really sure what they were doing. Only that they didn't want them to know about it.
Hearing this, Haley and Billie glanced at one another. They both knew what they were talking about, and decided it was time to intervene.
Haley didn't say a word to her siblings as she walked away and began to make her way upstairs, and towards the room that the adults of the family were in.
"Um…can I ask what exactly happened? Everyone's acting like it was something serious" Alex asked, a little worried with the way that her sister was acting.
"You'll find out soon enough, Alex. It's better that you hear it from your family than me" Billie responded with a calm expression, as Alex's worry was only deepening when hearing this.
She hoped it wasn't anything too terrible.
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That's the end of the chapter!
A shorter chapter that is basically just Alex and Luke and their reactions to this. Next chapter will be the meeting, and then things will start to get more lighthearted after that.
Anyways, have a good day!
Chapter 12: the talk
3rd POV]
Walking upstairs, Haley listened in for her parents, before noticing that they were talking in her parents bedroom. An…interesting choice to have a conversation like this one.
Stepping towards the door of the room, Haley breathed in before lifting her hand and knocking on the door. She could hear the conversation on the other side begin to still, as she heard her mothers voice a few moments later.
"Alex, Luke! We told you two that we'd be out in a bit" Claire said on the other side, causing Haley to sigh.
"It's me mom" Haley said simply, as she heard shuffling on the other side, and the group of people whispering rapidly to one another. She rolled her eyes as they began to argue about who should open the door, before eventually Cam opened it.
"Heeeey! What're you doing here? You look fantastic by the way" Cam said with a smile on his face, glancing to the side as Claire gave him a deadpan.
"Thank you, and you know why I'm here. So tell my mom and everyone else that's hiding in their to come downstairs, we have some things to talk about" Haley said, before walking away from the door, beginning to make her way back downstairs to where Billie and her siblings were now sitting, waiting.
"They're coming" Haley said, as she walked into the living room where they were sitting.
"Should we be here for this? Kinda feels like it's something that we shouldn't be involved with. Like it's a bit…personal" Alex asked, a little uncomfortable. She wasn't sure if it was okay for her to be involved when she knew nothing about what happened, beyond the fact that Haley was HD, and knew Billie Eilish.
"It's fine. You're going to find out either way, better to do it sooner rather than later" Haley said, waving off her little sister's concern. She didn't mind her siblings knowing that she was lesbian or anything, as they'd be finding out no matter what she did.
Alex listened to her words a bit nervously, as she sat down next to Luke, while Billie was standing absentmindedly watching the news that was talking about the two of them. She had already gotten dozens of notifications on her phone from the parties that were involved with her business, but it wasn't anything that she wasn't already prepared for.
So she had some responses already prepared. Just like she already had a Forbes article ready to go, working with very specific people beforehand in order to keep her identity a secret until the reveal. This way she can answer the questions all of these people inevitably have, without having to do it herself.
A few minutes of awkwardly waiting later, they heard shuffling, as in walked Claire, Phil, Mitchell, and Cam. While Gloria was seemingly home with Manny, at least that is what Billie was assuming at this point.
"Soooo…what did you want to talk about?" Phil asked awkwardly as they had been standing there for a few moments now. He was also trying not to glance at Billie, knowing that this entire conversation was more than likely going to be about her.
"You know what I want to talk about dad. It's about the way mom decided that I cannot be trusted, and intruded into my privacy. Not only that, but she got rid of my chance at coming out in the way I wanted to, and potentially threatened my relationship with Billie" Haley said seriously, staring at her mom as she spoke.
Luke and Alex looked at her with wide eyes. As even Luke, who wasn't the smartest, could tell what she meant by that.
'S-She's gay?' Alex thought in shock, never expecting that out of her sister. Haley was the girliest person she had ever met. And she was well known for liking boys, and having several boyfriends over the years (none of them ever lasted more than a month though). So to hear that she was dating a girl, and not only that but she was dating Billie Eilish herself.
It was a shock.
"I-I'm sorry, Haley, I-I didn't think about what I was doing. I was just so worried-" "Yeah, you didn't think. And thanks to that you've permanently destroyed my trust in you. The fact that you can't even trust me enough to let me go out is one thing. But the fact that you literally stalked me for an entire day, broke into my girlfriends apartment, and yelled at her as if she is the bad guy, is another" Haley cut her mother off, glaring at her enraged.
She was barely holding herself back at this point. Alex glanced between the two, staring at her mother in disbelief.
If that was true, it was insane. Not only insane, but stupid. Haley was dumb yes, but she wasn't dumb enough to get with someone that would genuinely be a threat to her. And she was getting smarter, Alex knew that for a fact.
She had seen her recent scores in school, and was genuinely impressed with how much her sister was improving. With her getting consistent A's in all her classes, and being one of the best in the grade.
She suspected that that was mostly due to her girlfriend, but either way, it was a great accomplishment to improve that much that quickly. Not everyone can go from D's and C's to A's and the very rare B.
"I know okay!" Claire yelled, stopping Haley from speaking as she saw her mom begin to cry silently, the rest of her family awkwardly standing there.
Jay, Mitchell, and Cam all glanced at one another before deciding that this was not a conversation they needed to be a part of, so they walked out of the room and went outside for the time being. So that they can talk freely without the awkwardness of them being there.
"I know I messed up, and I hate myself for it! But I couldn't just ignore the way you - my daughter - was changing! You got better grades, you stopped asking for money, you went out more, I was concerned! But now-now I see why you changed so much. And I hate myself for distrusting you so much, for potentially ruining what you have" Claire said, tears leaking from her eyes as Billie silently looked at her.
'I feel like I shouldn't be here for this' Billie thought, getting uncomfortable. This felt like something her girlfriend should be doing on her own, but the look Haley was giving her was telling her otherwise, so she stood still. Hoping that things would begin to get more upbeat soon, because this was depressing.
"And what, you didn't think I could do it on my own?" Haley asked with a frown.
"No-no, I just…I just was blindsided by the fact that my daughter, my baby girl, began to grow so much. To turn from the girliest girl I've ever seen, to this strong soon to be young woman. It…was just shocking. Completely and utterly shocking, crazy even" Claire responded with a rapid shake of her head, denying her words.
She had seen her daughter working hard at school. She had noticed the way she'd linger in her room longer, and she noticed the fact that her schoolbooks that previously looked completely pristine and untouched, were now bent and worn, showing that she had been using them a lot more than she used to.
If she had ever used them before meeting Billie.
"And I know you can't forgive me yet for not trusting you. But…I hope you'll at least give me a chance" Claire said, as she looked into the eyes of her daughter, who glanced at her girlfriend. Billie smiled softly and gave her a nod.
"…If you want to start earning my forgiveness, then you have to do one thing first" Haley said seriously, staring at her mother who nodded.
"Yes, of course, what do you need me to do?" Claire asked. And listened as Haley began to speak a moment later.
"Apologize to my girlfriend"
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That's the end of the chapter!
Next chapter will be when things start to get more upbeat, and will be a dinner/lunch with the family and getting closer to them. After that we'll likely do a chapter about Billie doing her own thing, and some more.
Anyways, have a good day!
Chapter 13: Apologies