Chapter 36: Bike.

Chapter 36: Chapter 36: Bike.?

(sorry I lost track of time. lol)

[Luke's Commentary]

"My original plan was, go buy a bike with dad. Then, return home and pick up the old bike, bring it to Edward's house, and paint it together. When the day is done, I will have... two new bikes."

Luke was sitting on the sofa while crossing his arms, face full of dissatisfaction. He slapped his forehead and he said, "Why did I ask him to come with me to buy them? Think Luke! Think!"

Then, Luke seemed to get an idea after he slapped his forehead. "Wait...If the new bike goes missing..." He widened his eyes and stood up abruptly. "I need to call my friends."

[Commentary ends]

[3rd Person POV]

Before Luke had entered the house, Haley stampeded outside and called out to Phil who was trampolining while Luke was watching him bounce.

"DAD!"

Phil stopped bouncing and asked in concern, "What's the matter Haley?"

"Ed Kissed me- I mean...didn't kiss me- How the hell- Heck should I explain this! Anyway, you need to scold him!" Haley stammered, trying to find the right sentence to explain what had just happened. Her heart was beating quickly from how close Edward's face was against her face before.

"Wait. You guys kissed?!" Phil widened his eyes and said in excitement. He ran down the trampoline, put on his shoes, and hugged Haley suddenly. His hug picked up the petite girl from the ground and Phil spinned one, twirling Haley with his hug.

"You did well Haley!" Phil laughed while hugging his daughter in excitement. "Are you two going out next? Wait. What about Abby? She seems like a nice girl." Phil's face suddenly contorted and he tried to figure out whether to be sad for Abby or be happy for Haley.

Haley's face froze with her mouth being half opened and eyes fully widened.

"I'm not dating him! He kissed...I meant...didn't kiss me to teach mom a lesson!" Haley explained angrily.

"Oh too bad." Phil muttered while pulling his belt upward.

"Too...bad? TOO BAD!?!" Haley yelled angrily.

"So which part are you mad at? The part where he didn't kiss you? Or only using you to teach your mom a lesson?" Phil asked, trying to get all the information he could before reacting.

Haley was stunned and froze again.

'So...Which part am I mad at again?' Her mind short circuited as she couldn't believe that she did in fact, get mad because Edward's thumb was blocking their lips from touching.

[Edward's POV]

"Wait. Let me apologize to your sister first. You'll go after lunch right?" I asked Luke who was munching on the food at the dining table. He came back to finish eating after he was kicked out in the middle of his brunch before.

"Yes. Do it slowly. I will go to your house to call you." Luke said while scheming something inside his mind. I exited the back door and walked to the backyard of the house where Haley was frozen in front of Phil.

"Hey. Ed. Not Cool buddy." Phil said sternly while pointing at my face. Haley finally realized that I was heading toward her, so she got mad at her dad instead, "That's it?- It's the same thing with Luke all over again!"

Phil shrugged as he felt that he had done his best.

"Haley. I'm sorry for using you to make a point." I said directly to the point to ease up the young girl's anger.

"See. He's apologizing already." Phil said, trying to get credit for the matter.

"You're not the one who did this! Go away!" Haley said as she pushed her dad to the side. Phil laughed and entered the house. Phil's laugh infected me and I started chucking too, only to be met by a death glare from Haley.

"You know what you did wrong?" Haley asked in a tone a mother used to scold her child.

"Not asking for your consent. Playing with your feelings. Not telling you that I will give you TWO hand made dresses of my own design as a compensation for your help."

"I'm sorry. What is the last part again?" Haley asked as she didn't quite understand the meaning of the sentence.

"I meant. I should tell you first that you will get 2 new dresses if you help me. It's my mistake. Now, I can't even soothe your anger with the dresses. I guess I will throw it away-"

"Noooo!" Haley yelled in despair. Then, she changed her tone, "I mean. Give it to me. It's my compensation right? I won't be mad anymore."

Smirking at Haley, I asked, "You understand that I had manipulated you to forgive me right?"

She smirked back and said, "Then you need to know that I was going to ask for the dress compensation in the first place."

"Touche." I replied, acknowledging a fellow hustler.

"I would settle for one. But if you want to give me two, I won't reject it." Haley sniggered in excitement, causing me to flick her forehead.

"Oww...What's that for?!" She asked while rubbing her forehead in discontent.

"For being a hustler. Okay, let's go back inside. I need to return home and take a shower." I muttered.

"Can I go with you?" Haley asked suddenly.

"To take a shower together?" I muttered in confusion.

She rolled her eyes and said, "To your house. I want to see the dress designs!"

"Ah. Later then. I will be going out with Luke and Phil after this to buy Luke's new bike. Come after school tomorrow. Abby is going to be there too."

Haley said in annoyance, "Why? So you two can flirt in front of me? No thanks!" She stampeded away from me, so I said casually from behind her.

"I'll add in some accessories."

She stopped in her tracks, turned back with a face full of zen and asked politely, "What time?"

...

After I returned home and took a shower, I made lasagna for the main dish and roasted veggies for the side dish for my lunch.

"Hey. I got others too." I said and showed Luke some of the other options. There were one of a skateboarding duck with a cap on that said Luke on the duck's cap, a dog biting a bone that said Luke on it, and a lightning emblem which was made with countless tiny Luke's names as the line for the emblem.

"You can change the sticker anytime you want." I said and handed all the stickers to Luke. The stickers were in case Phil saw a similar kid's bike on the street and decided to steal it to teach Luke a lesson as per the original plot.

With the sticker on, Phil could recognize Luke's bike anytime now that such a thing could be avoided.

"You're the best Edward!" Luke said and hugged me suddenly. I patted his head and said, "Okay. Go and play."

"Wait. One more rule!" Phil suddenly joined in.

"What?" Luke turned to his dad and asked.

Putting a helmet on Luke's head, Phil said,"Have, like, three buttloads of fun."

"Thanks, dad." Luke said and finally rode his new bike for the first time.

"Three buttloads? So, your butt, his butt, and my butt?" I joked, causing Phil to laugh out loud. After he finished laughing, he said seriously, "No. I meant to get 3 times the fun."

"..." I was speechless by the unnecessary remark.

"I will go and look around the magic shop. Want to go with me?" Phil asked.

"Sure." I said and walked with Phil to the magic store.

...

[Luke's POV]

(A/n: A 10 years old kid POV. I tried hard to keep the sentence simple.)

"Okay. Now, the first step is finished."

After cycling away from Dad and Edward, I arrived at the playground where my nerdy friend Reuben was waiting.

"I feel uncomfortable with this Luke." Reuben said while being a coward again.

"No. Follow the plan. You bring the bike home. When I get Edward to paint my previous bike, I will take the new bike from you and say... that I had found the stolen one. That way...I will have two!"

Reuben freaked out, "What if your dad reports it to the police? What then? I don't want to go to jail! I'm only 10!"

"No one is going to report anything! Just trust me!" I tried to convince my friend hurriedly.

"What's in it for me?" Reuben asked when he knew he couldn't say no to this. I was afraid that he would ask me for something, but luckily Edward had given me some...leverage.

Taking out the stickers from my pocket, I showed them to Reuben. "You help me. And I will give you one of these."

"Deal!" Reuben said and we shook hands on it. Then, he gets on my new bike and rides away. He stopped when he exited the playground and turned toward me before he yelled, "Luke. YOUR NAME IS ON THIS!"

I shouted back to him. "A deal A deals? Wait. How does it go again? A deal deals?"

"A deal is a deal." Reuben shouted as I got confused.

"Yeah. That. Take good care of my bike!" I said and waved goodbye to Reuben before I walked toward where my dad was parking his car. Luckily, dad's car was still here. He must be skulking around in the magic shop again. So I waited for him to get back nearby.

...

[Edward's POV]

The magic store was filled with numerous ridiculous and overpriced items as I entered the store with Phil.

"Do you see this? This is a replica of the original Houdini's handcuff, and also the replica of his original cape." Phil explained excitedly while I was bored the whole time. Then, I saw the chinese finger trap and picked it up from the magic store shelves.

"Be careful with that. Once an ordinary man is trapped, you won't be able to escape!" Phil used his showmanship to try and scare me into falling for it.

"Why don't the experts show me how it's done?" I said and gave the finger trap to Phil. He picked it up excitedly and put both his index finger through the trap hole.

"See here. Now, my finger is stuck between the traps." Phil said and pulled his finger out of the trap, but the cylindrical trap extended instead of releasing his finger- gripping his finger tighter as he pulled it away.

"Then the Magniiiificent Phil. How are you to escape the trap?" I said using the same showmanship Phil used before.

"It's a fairly simple method, young apprentice. First, you need to.." Phil said, then he stopped and thought hard about the methods to get his fingers out. He pulled his fingers in a slope, but it couldn't escape the trap. His face turned ashen, and his eyes lost the initial excitement that he had before.

"Are you okay Phil?" I asked in concern. "Want me to get the scissors?"

"What- No. I can do this. I just need to remember how!" Phil said and then started a struggle with himself, trying to get out of the finger trap in various ways. I sighed as Phil started squirming on the ground and walked to the counter.

"We'll buy the trap."

"Yes. It'll be 2 dollars." The female shopkeeper said. I handed her the money while Phil screamed at me from behind, "No. I can get out of this! Don't buy it!"

I ignored him and finalized the transaction with the cashier.

Even after 5 minutes, Phil couldn't get out of the finger trap. Breathing heavily, Phil sat on the chair prepared by the kind shopkeeper. His face was filled with sweat, and his hair was disheveled from his numerous attempts to get out.

"Why don't...You push it inwards instead of pulling it outwards?" I couldn't take it anymore, so I advised Phil while disguising it as a question. Devoid of any hope, he turned to look at me, and followed my advice without saying anything.

"Oh. I'm...out." Phil said as he got his fingers out easily. He looked at me without saying anything, and I did the same thing.

"A-Anyway. I haven't had lunch yet. Why don't we get something to eat?" I said to Phil, changing the subject to spare his feelings.

"O-Okay. I'm hungry too." Phil said and threw the finger trap out in the trash, wanting to destroy any evidence of his dark history today.

As we got out and walked to the car, we were surprised to see Luke standing by the car with his new bike nowhere in sight.

"STOLEN!" Phil yelled out in disbelief after hearing Luke's fabricated story.

I turned to Phil and said, "I bet that insurance thing is looking real good now isn't it?!"