Hal was beaming when he was walking down to the studio with Delta to grab Cat's stuff. Delta smirked at him. "Does your pride really depend on the amount of pushups you can do?."

Hal grinned back. "No, not exactly, Delly," he said, making Delta frown at the nickname, "But it does feel good. And I did do more than Kylian Castillo. And he didn't even hold back. And," he chuckled, "did you see her face? She was ready to get the earth to swallow me whole." Hal cringed at the awful pun. Not that Delta would get it.

Delta chuckled, her face brightening at the thought. "Yep. Ruby was definitely mortified. I don't know why she decided to take him unable to keep up with you so personally. But then, we've always knows she's got issues." She peered at Hal, a twitch at her lips. "And you've gotta admit. He was charming."

"Sure," Hal nodded, "at least now you'll stop stalking my brother and get a new interest in our celebrity."

Delta sighed loudly and dramatically as they turned around the corner, and swiveled around to face Hal so that she was now walking backwards. "But I feel like he's just that. All smiles and charms. Nothing real and fathomable." She stared at Hal and shook her head in disbelief when he nodded along. "Seriously? You felt nothing? You know, I thought you guys would...click."

Hal smiled at Delta. "Oh, I felt something, but it wasn't love at first sight. And we just met, Dee, and like you said, he was just smiles and charms."

"Why?" Delta pushed, as Hal opened the door, "You never show any sign of planning to date anyone, you're never interested in anyone and there's just some many great guys out there, but you just push them away." She frowned at him. "Aren't you gay?"

"No, it's because he's already got a boyfriend." But it wasn't Hal who had answered.

Hal froze on his tracks, his hand still on the door knob. He stared at Catalina who was standing next to a mannequin, her hands folded, a smug look on her face.

"Cat!" Delta cheered, dropping her backpack and launching herself at Cat, who swiftly stepped to the side, allowing Delta to plummet to the ground with a yelp.

Hal blinked uncomfortably under Cat's gaze. "He-he's not my boyfriend," he said indignantly. "He's just...a boy-space-friend."

"Ah, yes," Delta said, rolling over to her back. She pulled one leg closer to her body and draped a piece of netted fabric that was next to her over her face and neck as if she were in a photoshoot. "The mystery boy who will probably kidnap you and hold you for ransom, after which, he will swiftly murder you." She ran a finger over her neck. "Just like that."

Hal folded his arms, raising his eyebrows. "He'll murder me. Because we don't have that kind of money. He knows that much."

Cat tsked, turning to the mannequin donning one of her designs, a black one-piece-suit that seemed to be designed with constellations. "He's still not good for you."

"He's perfect for me!"

"Aha!" Delta yelled, jumping to her feet. 

Hal felt himself going red. "No. He-I didn't mean it like...you know-you have no idea-"

"Admit it, Hals," Delta sauntered over to him, reaching for his shoulder with one hand, circling him with the air of a femme fatale. "Abin. Kylian." She paused. "Jean? And who that German dude?"

"Christian," Cat supplied.

"Hm," Delta said and cocked her head, stopping her hawk-like circling in front of Hal who was considering shoving Delta into drama club again, "you have a thing for foreigners."

Hal wanted to say that he wasn't even interested in that German boy, who's name Hal had even forgotten till Delta reminded him. Delta just thought he was. He rolled his eyes, letting out a long sigh. He turned to Cat, desperate for a change of topic. Cat had her back to him. On her left leg, she had a cast, and most of her weight was on her right. 

"So, how's the...body?" Hal frowned. How's the body? "Uh, I mean, how's the-the leg. What did the nurse say? We didn't know you'd even be here. In the studio, I mean." Shut up, Hal thought.

Cat snorted. "The body's alright. Just got a hairline fracture on my left calf. Should be fine with a few weeks of rest." She turned to look at Hal. "I can go to the Showdown as long as I don't move around much."

Hal let out a relieved sigh. God, the Showdown. He had almost forgotten all about it.

Delta hummed. "Must have been one heck of an ankle twist." 

Cat raised her eyebrows and let out a long breath. "Yep. Heck of an ankle twist."

Hal looked at his watch guiltily to avoid eye contact. He couldn't believe he was going to say what he was going to next. "Uh," he pushed his hands into his trousers pocket, "um, well."

"What?"

"Erm. Ch-Charly...could help." He mumbled.

Cat turned around all the way to look at him, her eyes soft. "Perfect!" Cat clapped her hands once, and turned to her mannequin, shooting Delta a look. "Let's go give you're mommy's boyfriend a hard time."

Hal was about to argue, but then shrugged. "I suppose that's why we're friends," he said as he started to help Cat and Delta. But it bothered him. Cat still hadn't mentioned anything about what had happened.

Charly was waiting at the front of the school, inside his Swift, the window rolled down. He was bobbing his head to something on the radio. When he noticed Hal, Cat and Delta struggling with the mannequins, clothes and boxes, he rushed out of the car to help. 

"Oh, God, Hal," Charly said, taking the boxes from Cat, seeing her bandaged leg, "you could have called me for help."

Hal nodded stiffly, giving him a tight-lipped and awkward smile. "Is it okay if Cat and Delta come? Can you drop them too?"

Charly opened the trunk of his car, carefully placing the boxes inside before taking both the mannequins from Delta. "I believe that is why I am stuffing these inside my car."

Hal smiled sweetly at him, surprising Charly that he paused his work. When Hal saw that it worked, he dropped his smile and returned to the unimpressed scowl he wore around Charly. Catalina got in first with Hal's help, careful to not move her left leg much. 

"Thank you, Mr. Van Straaten," Delta said, grinning up at him before following Cat.

Charly smiled happily. "Oh, no. I've told you. Just Charly is fine."

Hal was about to get in the car when Delta called out, "I'm sorry, Mr. Van Straaten. I'm big on formalities."

Charley took a hesitated look at Hal, who ignored him and got in, closing the door after him.

Hal didn't hate his Mum's boyfriend. But he never allowed him into his life, and it drives Mum mad. Mum and Charly met two years ago. At least, they started dating two years ago. They knew each other even before that since he was an Aldane family friend. Even knew Dad. And no, Hal didn't hate his mum for moving on from her reclusive, workaholic, husband who ended up being killed by his staff.

Mum was struggling financially, though prospering as a mother in whatever ways she could, up until Charly confessed his love for her. She's still prospering as a mother, but since Charly happened, she's been able to relax a little now. She still needs to do extra jobs, but she's definitely been doing better.

Hal remembered the day Charly first reached out to Mum. It was a rainy day and Mum, Hal, and the twins were stuck inside the grocery store, having forgotten an umbrella. He remembered how Mum rejected Charly, fearing Dad's parents would stop coming over to their place and would resent her. He remembered Charly crying, not because Mum rejected him, because she refused to move on from Dad because of that one fear. Mum wanted to keep her family together, she wasn't going to let one man tear them apart.

Charly ended up confronting Gran and Papa, asking their permission if that was what Mum had wanted. It moved them so much that they told Mum about it. They told Mum that she has every right to move on and start anew with someone if she wished to, but they just hoped that they could continue their visits. So Mum accepted.

The twins fawned over him, even though they played the occasional prank on him under Hal's request. They were thrilled to have a father-figure in their lives. They would run after him, trying to please him while he tried to do the same with them, too. Lou was reluctant with him at first, but slowly, the two had started to bond in small ways, although their relationship was awkward. 

But Hal never gave him a chance. He remembered his dad very well, and there was fat chance that he'd let some guy, who was once Dad's friend, move into his life and replace Dad. The rest of his familymight have a relationship with him, no matter how thin and feeble it was, but Hal didn't even give himself the opportunity to try. Their relationship was next to nonexistent.

No, Hal didn't hate Charly. He resented him for the reason he stepped into their lives. Charly can be part of the family, they needed someone like him. Hal just wished Charly would leave him alone and not try to force Hal to like him.

They were silent on their ride to the flower shop where Hal worked part-time after school, after they had dropped Cat and Delta at their homes. Hal kept his eyes trained out the window and avoided the rearview mirror where he knew Charly was taking glances at him, trying to formulate a way to start a conversation with Hal without setting him off or getting a scowl in return.

Charly cleared his throat. "So, how was your day?"

Hal bit back his sigh. His mind immediately fled to the woods. Cat's arms flailing around helplessly as she fell twelve feet down to what could have been her last fall. Her face set in a look of pure terror, her mouth forming a gaping o as she screamed for her life, her mind white with panic-

"I'm guessing it didn't go well." Charly chuckled nervously, then seeing him scowl, Charly arranged his face into a somber look. "Sorry."

A heavy silence enveloped the car, the only noise heard was the low, droning buzz of rubber on asphalt as the car drove on.

"Mind if I ask what happened?" Charly bravely tried again. Hal almost rolled his eyes. He didn't for Mum's sake. When will Charly learn to stop nosing in his business?

"No," Hal replied curtly.

"So, what went wrong?"

"Nothing," he said automatically, as if it was already written into his motherboard. Hal could hear a knowing smile in the short puff of air Charly let out. "Can I ask you something, Charly?" Hal said slowly, "why are you so weird around me?"

Charly peered at him through the rearview mirror, light surprise written all over his face. "Why are you so hostile around me?"

Hal scoffed. "Because, you're dating my Mum, aren't you? You're going to one day get married to her, bang her up, get me a new sibling aren't you?"

Charly let out a single sound that seemed like an attempt at a chuckle. "And that bothers you?"

Hal thought for a moment. "No," he decided, even though they both knew he was going to say just that. "It's not that."

"Then what is it, Hal?" Charly asked, his voice soft and gentle. And he remembered just how similar it was to Dad's. How the way Charly treated him was so much like how Dad would if Hal was being outright horrendous. Patient, hesitant, hopeful that Hal'd help him understand what's bothering him. Charly had all of Horan's better qualities and none of his worst, and it bothered Hal the more it dawned on him.

"You," he said decisively, his voice softer than he had meant it to be. Recovering from whatever had lulled him, he said more loudly, "you're the problem."

"Me?" Charly asked a little incredulously. Hal continued his vigil out the window and nodded.

No, it wasn't why he was here that bothered Hal. It was him.