Modern Family: New Life-Chapter 144: Always

In Pippa’s room, there was silence, except for the soft sounds of the movie playing on the laptop resting on the mattress a few feet away from her and Andrew.

They were lying on the bed, side by side, their legs casually intertwined. Andrew had one arm behind her, while Pippa rested her head on his shoulder, her hand absentmindedly brushing the hem of his T-shirt.

On the screen, Pride and Prejudice, a British adaptation of Jane Austen’s classic, moved along with elegant slowness.

Most people would call it a romantic movie. To Pippa, it was boring dramatic romance. To Andrew... a film with no explosions, no superpowers, no lightsabers.

With a small motion, Pippa stretched her foot, covered by a sock with a wide-eyed orange cat, and tapped the MacBook’s touchpad. The progress bar appeared: 45 minutes.

She sighed, not truly annoyed, but with a hint of resignation.

"When did we agree to watch this with Cara?" she murmured, snuggling further into Andrew’s shoulder.

Andrew chuckled softly, "The moment I made her watch the first three Star Wars movies with Leonard and Howard, and you made her sit through A Beautiful Mind twice in a row with your running commentary. We owe her."

"Oh, right..." said Pippa in defeat, "And this is already our third attempt at watching this movie. We’ve barely hit forty cumulative minutes. Cara’s gonna ask tomorrow, and I’ll have to lie."

"If she asks anything about it, just go ’Oh, yeah, of course,’ and nod a lot with confidence. Like you completely understood whatever scene she brings up," Andrew suggested, deadpan, though the spark in his eyes gave away his sarcasm.

Pippa shot him a sideways glance, raising an eyebrow, "Wow... sounds like you’ve done that before. Don’t tell me you’ve pulled that trick on me?"

Without waiting for an answer, she climbed over him smoothly, placing her knees on either side of his waist, a mischievous smile on her face.

Andrew, still lying back with his head on the pillow, raised his hands in surrender, "False accusations! I demand a lawyer."

Pippa laughed, amused, "Request denied, sir," she said, lowering her face until her lips brushed his. She kissed him once. Then again. And again.

Andrew slowly slid his hands to her waist, responding gently... but with a slight delay, like his mind was elsewhere.

Pippa paused and looked into his eyes, "What’s wrong?"

"Huh? Nothing... Shouldn’t you be watching the movie?" Andrew blinked.

"No," said Pippa, amused but suspicious, "That’s not it. I know you like my lips way more than that boring movie."

She said it with a completely intentional narcissistic tone, placing her index finger on her mouth with feigned pride and a flirtatious smile.

"Guilty," Andrew admitted, raising an eyebrow, "I plead addicted to your ego and your mouth."

"So... what is it?" Pippa asked more softly, touching his cheek with her fingers, now more attentive.

"Are you worried Victor might walk in and catch us making out?" she added teasingly, testing his reaction.

"It’s risky. He always tells you to keep the door open, and I’m seeing a very closed door right now," Andrew said, glancing toward it.

Pippa turned her head slightly and looked at the door. Then looked back at him with a half-smile.

"We’re on the second floor. And even though Victor gives out those rules by habit, he trusts you completely. So does Mom. If it helps, she said the other day you’re: ’the ideal boy: respectful, affectionate, loves his family, eats healthy, has a clear life plan’... Which, coming from her, basically puts you on par with a Marian apparition."

"Wow... Now I’m under even more pressure," Andrew joked, eyes wide like he’d just been canonized as patron saint of boyfriends.

"My apologies, Saint Andrew of Palisades," said Pippa with a mock-reverent bow.

He laughed, but then got a little more serious. "What about your brother?" he asked. "I don’t want him to barge in and see me kissing his sister... I’ve got a hero reputation to uphold in his eyes."

"Relax," Pippa said, placing both hands on Andrew’s chest, "Josh went to sleep over at a friend’s place. That’s why I invited you today. Every time you come over, he magically appears every five minutes with a new excuse: ’Just grabbing a pen...’ ’Can I play a round of Madden with Andrew?’... ’Can Andrew teach me how to throw a spiral pass?’ Like, nonstop. He won’t leave us alone for even two minutes."

"You’re such a evil sister," said Andrew, mock-scandalized, "You’re depriving your brother of seeing his hero in action. His role model."

"Whoa," Pippa chuckled, raising an eyebrow, "And I’m the one with the ego?"

She leaned down suddenly and kissed him.

"Well... we both have our strengths," Andrew replied with a laugh, "Perfect balance."

"So... what is it??" Pippa asked softly. "The thing about the offers you told me about the other day. Did you accept one?"

Andrew paused for just a second, then nodded. "Yeah. It was last Sunday. We had what Cam called a family senate. Everyone got together to talk about the offers and my future..."

"Everyone?" said Pippa, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes. My parents, Claire, Phil, Haley, Alex, Luke, Jay, Gloria, Manny... we were just missing a dog and a cat to complete the picture. Luckily, everyone agreed. And it was pretty fast. They were all on the same page. It was almost... miraculous."

Pippa gave a faint smile, picturing Andrew’s entire family gathered and debating, but then her expression turned more serious. "And what did they decide?"

"Mater Dei. Division One, like the others, but the best of them all. Trinity League is the top league in California, probably in the whole country. Tuition’s 100% covered. The only downside is... it’s 25 kilometers away," Andrew answered.

Pippa fell silent, processing the information.

"My grandpa’s getting me a car so I can go. My dad would always be late to work if he had to drive me," he added.

"A car?" Pippa repeated.

"Yeah, I’ll share it with Haley. I thought it was only fair, Jay shouldn’t buy one just for me when we both turned sixteen. We’re both his grandkids. In fact, she has his blood, I don’t," Andrew said with a laugh, trying to lighten the mood.

Pippa looked at him with a mix of tenderness and something deeper.

"That was really thoughtful of you," she said quietly. "And for the record... Jay does see you as his grandson. Even if you were joking... and I know you know that."

She looked down, as if still piecing together the new picture.

Andrew took the opportunity to speak, remembering Leonard’s advice. "Look, we’re not going to the same school anymore, yeah... but it’s not like our relationship depended on that. I can still come over for lunch like today, we still live really close. And weekends will be free. We can go out in the morning, the afternoon, or at night, just like we do now."

Pippa nodded slowly. Her mind understood the logic behind Andrew’s words.

"Besides, we don’t actually spend that much time together at school like it might seem. We’ve got different schedules. How many classes do we even share right now?" Andrew continued.

"Just one," Pippa replied. "You’re right. Most of our time together at school was lunch in the cafeteria and breaks."

Andrew nodded, and for a moment, it felt like everything had been said.

But it was Pippa who picked up the thread again, her voice calm and honest:

"And even though I won’t get to watch you practice anymore... it’s not like I did that every day. Practices are daily, they last about two hours, and honestly... I always knew it didn’t make much sense for me to sit there watching the same thing over and over. Besides, I know you never thought it was all that productive either, me sitting there wasting time."

"Of course," Andrew agreed with a smile. "It was very unproductive watching a bunch of sweaty guys yelling and shoving each other for two hours. A spectacle only meant for bored students or patient scouts."

Pippa let out a soft laugh.

There was a pause.

Then Andrew spoke again, more gently this time.

"And about the Friday games... if you can’t make it, it’s okay. I don’t mind. It’s far. Plus, you’ll still have Palisades games, your school—"

"Go to a Palisades game without you on the field?" Pippa interrupted, raising an eyebrow with theatrical indignation. "Absolutely not."

She sat up slightly, just enough to make a point, with an adorable firmness.

"I’ll be at your Mater Dei games from the very first Friday. Just so we’re clear."

"It’s like a twenty-five minute drive. One way," Andrew pointed out, half-joking, half-warning.

"So?" Pippa replied with a defiant smile. "At most, that’s an hour round trip. Not a big deal."

To emphasize her point, she gently lifted the arm Andrew had resting on her waist and rolled up the sleeve of his black T-shirt.

On his wrist was a golden bracelet, elegant and a bit feminine. It was the Valentine’s Day gift Pippa had given him.

She turned it slightly with her fingers until the engraving became visible:

[To my favorite quarterback. I’ll always support you. With love, your girlfriend, Pippa]

She didn’t say anything at first. Just pointed to one word.

"Always," Pippa said at last, looking him in the eyes. "I didn’t write it to sound cute. I meant it."

Andrew looked down at the golden bracelet for a second. Then he looked back at her, his expression changed.

There was tenderness in his eyes, yes, but also an emotion that didn’t need exaggeration.

"I think... I just fell even more in love with you," he murmured with a half-smile.

Pippa smiled with a mix of irony and sweetness. "You’re already completely in love," she replied. "Just like I am."

She kissed him again, unhurried. A slow kiss.

And this time, Andrew kissed back without hesitation. His hands naturally rested on her waist, pulling her just a little closer, as if they weren’t already as close as humanly possible.

When their lips parted, just barely, with their faces still close, Pippa whispered, as if the words didn’t want to break the intimacy of the moment:

"Who would’ve thought you’d still be wearing the bracelet...?" she said with a faint smile. "I thought it was too girly for your taste. You’re not exactly the accessory type."

"Guilty," Andrew admitted with a smile. "But now I love it. Especially after what you said... that you didn’t write it just to sound cute."

She didn’t respond. She just looked at him in silence... and kissed him again.

The kiss, at first slow and tender, inevitably grew in intensity.

Her hands slid up to his neck, and his gripped her waist more firmly, moving slightly lower.

For a moment, there was nothing else but the two of them.

Until a voice rose from downstairs:

"Guys! Dinner’s ready! Get down here now or the salmon’s going to dry out!"

It was Leanne’s voice, firm but warm, and absolutely uncompromising when it came to her signature dish.

They slowly pulled apart, like waking up from a dream.

Pippa wiped her lips with the back of her hand, discreetly and with grace, blushing just a little.

Then she got off of him, sliding down with natural elegance.

"Well..." said Andrew, adjusting his T-shirt as he sat up, "Guess we’ll have to finish the movie another day."

Pippa picked up the MacBook and paused the playback with a single tap.

"We can ask Howard to give us a summary," she said, heading toward the door with him.

Andrew raised an eyebrow. "Why do you think Howard’s seen Pride and Prejudice?"

"Oh, please," Pippa said with a playful smile. "It’s a favorite among a lot of girls. And Howard, with his hormonal radar always on, definitely watched it so he could pretend to have something in common. Flirting through literary sympathy. Basic playbook of the desperate."

Andrew couldn’t help but laugh as they walked down the stairs together.

"Makes sense. I can totally picture him saying, ’I am Mr. Darcy,’ with full conviction."

"And in a terrible British accent," Pippa added, amused.

And so, with the topic settled and the mood light again, they headed down for dinner.

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