<h4>Chapter 24: Chapter 24: Crush</h4>


    [3rd Person POV]


    -Dunphy''s house-


    "Oh my god, can''t you stop groaning? I''m trying to sleep here." Alex said to Haley as her sister kept tossing and turning in her bed after they had turned off the lights.


    Haley stopped tossing and sat upright facing Alex suddenly, causing Alex to flinch.


    "W-w-what?" Alex asked with a stammer.


    "You know Edward has a girlfriend right?" Haley asked.


    "Yeah. So?"


    Haley paused for a second and said, "Between her and m- Nothing. Goodnight." Haley said andy back down on the bed. Alex was confused by her sister, but she shrugged the issue and went to sleep.


    The clock ticked slowly, and Haley couldn''t fall asleep even after Alex had been sleeping for a while. She checked her T-mobile Sidekick phone(A/N: That''s the phone''s brand), and noticed that the time was almost 2 a.m.


    She checked her texts, and messages from Tara were at the top of the list while Edward''s was beneath Tara.


    "Hmm? He texted me?" Haley suddenly brightened up and opened the text from Edward.


    Edward: Goodnight. Tell me what you want to ask for tomorrow. If it''s not hard to do, maybe I''ll think about it.


    Haley chuckled a bit, and turned toward Alex hurriedly to see that herughter didn''t wake up her sister. Not that she cared that she was disturbing her, she just didn''t want Alex to see she wasughing gleefully from Edward''s text. She then texted back,


    Haley: I''ll talk to you about it tomorrow.


    Edward: Go to sleep, it''s 2 a.m. That''s why you never grow.


    Haley: I am not SHORT!


    Edward: You''re like 4''3 (129 cm).


    Haley: 5''1!!!!!!!!!!! (160 cm)


    Haley: Okay I''m not going to get into this. Goodnight.


    Haley sighed and then she got curious.


    Haley: What are you doing up anyway?


    Edward: I''m working on the website.


    Haley: When did you usually sleep?


    Edward: Around 3 or 4. I''m only staying upte until I''m done.


    Haley: Abby isn''t staying up with you?


    Haley was surprised when she saw her question. Halfway when she was typing to divert the topic, Edward had replied, "No. She can''t stay past 12. She isn''t capable of that."


    In Abby''s house, the sleeping Abby suddenly sat up from her bed half-asleep, before shey down again and continued sleeping.


    Haley cupped her face with her hand as she tried to sleep, wondering why she had asked Edward such an embarrassing question. She keeps squirming in her bed, causing Alex''s sleep to be disturbed.


    "SHUT UP!" Alex yelled and went back to sleep again. Haley was stunned by what just happened, and she stared at the texts before she finally fell asleep.


    -Edward''s POV-


    "Anyway. I need to focus otherwise it will be useless for me to stay up." I texted Haley and ended the conversation.


    Morning came quickly the next day. After taking a shower and wearing a long-sleeved purple t-shirt and ck pants, I walked downstairs to make some breakfast and my lunch at school for today.


    "Anotherte night?" Ted asked as he saw my eye bag after he walked downstairs to the kitchen, fully ready in his captain''s uniform.


    "Of course. Here." I gave him a cup of coffee as he sat at the kitchen counter.


    "I saw that you''re marinating chicken. What''s that for?" Ted asked as he saw the chicken I put into the freezerst night. There were also several desserts inside the fridge. The dessert was made inside a transparent packaging box, with a portion for just one person each box.


    "I''m making spicy chicken burgers today after I''m home." I said casually while frying some eggs and bacon for mine and Ted''s breakfast.


    Ted gulped his saliva and said, "What time?"


    I turned to him and said teasingly, "I didn''t prepare any for you. It''s for Mr Dunphy, Luke, and Manny who''sing by today."


    Ted lowered his head in disappointment before perking up as I said, "I could make you one now. You can eat it at your workce."


    "Let''s do that. ire Dunphy ising again today. I wonder when she will actually ept the work." Ted said to make conversation.


    "I will make one for her too then. Make sure to warn her that it is spicy." I said as I poured some oil into a pan. After making the burgers, I took the desserts from the fridge and rode my bike to school as usual.


    The goth bully stopped my bike again today as I passed through her house. Today, she was wearing a ck shirt with striped ck and white long sleeves and a ck jeansplete with chains as an essory. With a ck lipstick and eyeliner, Abby stared into my eyes as she got up close to my face again.


    "Gimme." Abby demanded. I reached into my bag and helplessly gave her two strawberry cheesecakes that I had promised her the night before. From the transparent container, Abby saw a strawberry that was cut in half at each of the container''s walls being surrounded by the white cheesecake.


    "It''s...pretty?" Abby said in disbelief as she turned the box to see it from all sides.


    "Another one is for your mom. Tell her I said ''thanks for the dinnerst night''." I said casually, ignoring Abby''s suspicion whether I made this myself or not.


    "I need to taste this first." Abby said and opened up the lid while she was standing on the sidewalk.


    There was a spoon attached to the lid. Abby grabbed the spoon and decided to taste the cake right then and now. As she put the cake in her mouth, she started to swoon and danced a bit.


    "IT''S SO GOOD!" Abby eximed while touching her cheeks.


    "Are you really goth?" I asked.


    She pointed her spoon at me and said, "Shut up." Then, she took another bite of the cake. She kept moaning and making exmations, making my hormones a tad awry.


    "Okay, I''m going to go and leave the two of you alone. Maybe...get a room?" I said and cycled the bike away from her.


    "Wait. Will youe by today? We need to continue the game!" Abby shouted from afar.


    "After dinner!" I shouted back as my bike reached the main road. As I got to school, I sat at the back of the ss as usual and started to catch up on my sleep.


    -3rd Person POV-


    After Abby saw Edward had turned into a corner, Desiree finally walked out of the house to start the car. The milf was wearing a tight green blouse that hugged her body and had a deep cut that would surely make her a star to a teenage boy''s...dream.


    "Abby. Let''s go." Desiree called. Abby wiped her mouth hurriedly and hid the untouched strawberry cake that Edward asked her to pass to Desiree.


    "Mom. Edward gave this to us." Abby said while taking a spoonful of the cake and tried to feed Desiree. Her mother tried to avoid the spoon, but it was helpless. Abby forcefully inserted the spoon into her mother''s mouth, and a tiny bit of the cream fell into Desiree''s cleavage.


    "It''s good." Desiree said with glittering eyes. "It''s not too sweet either. Did Edward make this?"


    The mom slowly traced her finger on the fallen cream, wiping it off her skin and then licked her finger filled with the cream seductively. Abby rolled her eyes at her mother''s sensualness and said, "Mom. Use a tissue."


    "Oh. Right." Desiree said and then followed her daughter''s advice, however even using the tissue couldn''t hide her sexiness.


    Abby''s eyes lost all hope and she gave up on the matter. As Desiree was reaching into the deep part of her chest with a tissue, ire was passing around the street in her minivan and saw the particr scene. She opened her mouth, but no words could describe what she had just seen.


    She quickly called Phil who just started driving to work.


    As the call connected, ire said hurriedly, "Phil. Don''t use the east road."


    "Why? Is there construction there?" Phil asked as he entered his car.


    "Yes. There is a lot of shaking...a cliff...and all that stuff..." ire said as she found herself couldn''t look away from Desiree. "Also, don''t forget to pick up the dry cleaning when you get back."


    "Okay Honey. Leave it all to me. You go out and investigate the job." Phil said reassuringly while simultaneously forgetting about the dry cleaning from his mind. "Just go, and learn what you need to do. I know you will manage to learn it in no time."


    ire was touched at her husband''s trust, "Thanks honey. Are you really sure you can handle it?"


    "I think I can ire. Pick up Alex''s cello from the shop, buy some broli, and don''t forget to take Luke to ser practice. I''m on it!" Phil said, beaming with confidence.


    "...and?" ire waited for Phil to continue, but he didn''t.


    "What?" Phil asked.


    "THE DRY CLEANING PHIL!" ire said urgently. "...I know. I''m just messing with you." Phil said with augh and tried to list out his chores today hurriedly while he was driving.


    -Edward POV-


    As I fell into dreand at school, I was suddenly called by the teacher to solve the problem on the board.


    "Mr. Newgate, as you''re confident you can pass the final exam, why don''t you solve the problem in front?" The old, african-american teacher with a puffy jacket on and a bald head called out for me.


    I peeked at the board while still half-asleep, and I muttered, "Eleven."


    The teacher and the other students were all stunned after they heard my answer.


    "Mr. Newgate, this is a geography ss!" The old teacher shouted in anger. The other studentsughed at the situation and me, and I managed to avoid being called by the teacher for the rest of the first period.


    "Hey." Jenna called out to me after ss while I was opening my locker. Although I wanted to ignore her, I turned toward her and saw that she had returned to her usual self, but her hair was shorter now.


    "Won''t your hair be damaged if you constantly change its color?" I asked. Jenna touched her hair and said, "Well...It does. Anyway, I hired a tutor yesterday. So you need to make sure to keep your promise!"


    "I will." I replied. Elsa walked nearby and spoke to me without growling or being angry at me for the first time.


    "Hey. What''s the deal with Jacob?" Elsa asked with annoyance. "Why does he keep running away from me? Did he never talk to a girl before?"


    Elsa had tried to talk to Jacob since the beginning of the first period as they have Spanish together, but Jacob keeps ignoring her.


    I knew that Jacob''s condition didn''t allow him to speak to women, therefore I tried to help him.


    "No. He can speak to other girls. Just not you." I said, causing more confusion inside of Elsa''s mind.


    I also saw Jacob stalking us from the corner of the hall, making me want to tease him even more. He desperately shook his head after he saw my evil grin, begging for me to stop whatever it was I had nned.


    "Why can''t he speak to Elsa?" Jenna asked in confusion.


    "Because, everytime youe closer to him, his heart beats quickened. Every time he saw you smile, he felt like the world had stopped. Everytime he heard your voice and yourughter, it was as if he heard the most wonderful song in the world."


    Elsa opened her eyes wide while Jenna smiled widely while looking at her friend as she also felt the second hand embarrassment from "Jacob''s" words.


    "He was frozen because....he couldn''t help it. You''re the one thing he desired the most in his entire life. You''re his golden apple in Adam and Eve''s garden. If he talked to you, and messed it up, then he''ll spend the rest of his life... in suffering. Therefore, he will pretend that you didn''t exist... so that he could keep living in reality with you in it. "


    I used a pitiful tone, causing Elsa to close her mouth with her hands as she heard all of it. She had a boy crushing on her before. But not like this. This was more towards love then like.


    Unknowingly, her mind became filled with her encounters with Jacob, and she realized that he had been stealing nces at her through the years they had studied in the same school together.


    "Really?" Jenna asked excitedly, the love story had aroused her curiosity to the peak.


    "Yeah. So, maybe you cannot speak to him in real life, but you could text him." I said and gave Elsa Jacob''s phone number.


    The second period was starting, so the two girls quickly walked away after getting Jacob''s phone number. Jenna wanted to ask for my phone number or me to ept her Facebook friend request, but as I didn''t have a Facebook ount, I gave her my email instead.


    After the girls walked away, I turned to Jacob who was frozen at the corner of the hall while still peeking at me. I tapped my chest twice and pointed at him. "I got you bro."


    Jacob staggered and almost fell down after he heard my statement. I smirked evilly and walked to the next ss, leaving the despairing potato kid contemting life in his initial spot.


    After school was over, I waited at the street near Palisades highschool to meet someone. Dn walked his bike towards me with a face full of despair and a bandaid on his broken nose.


    "Hey." Dn greeted pitifully. I looked at him in pity and wondered what kind of luck he had in his life. In the span of one day, his nose was broken, his girlfriend broke up with him, and he lost his car to an arsonist.


    "Why are you pushing your bike?" I asked.


    "The chain broke." Dn said with a tone of holding back his tears.


    "..." I was speechless after I heard him. "Have you eaten yet?" I asked.


    "No. My wallet was inside the car. All of my money was destroyed in the fire." Dn said, causing me to be speechless again.


    I let out a long sigh and I said, "Let''s go eat."


    "B-But I don''t have any money."


    "Bitch, did I ask you to pay? Just order. It''ll be my treat." I said to Dn and led the way to the restaurant nearby, not taking no for an answer.


    Dn rubbed his eyes, causing me to wonder if he was crying. He quickly said as I turned toward him, "No. Dust got into my eyes. I am definitely not ..(sob) crying."


    I let him have a moment to calm down before we entered the restaurant. I treated him to a burger and we talked for a while – mostly him venting about how unfair his life was, and how he was still in love with Haley and so on. I tuned out most of what he vented because I got bored after he started to repeat his topic.


    "Dn, you''re 18 right?" I asked.


    "Yeah." Dn replied while stuffing his face with the donut we ordered.


    "Are you going to college next year?" I asked.


    "No. Me and my band are going on a tour." Dn replied.


    "Oh. Did you sign a contract with an agency?" I asked in wonder.


    Dn shook his head and said, "No. We didn''t."


    "You have a manager... right?" I asked again.


    "No." Dn replied while scratching his head, wondering why I was asking him all those things.


    I sighed and said, "Dn. Your music dream. Is doomed."


    He got a bit irritated and said defensively, "But we didn''t start yet. Why do you say that?"


    "Because. You don''t actually know what to do to seed right?" I asked while interlocking my fingers together on the table, getting into my business mode.


    "It''s undeniable that you can sing. But honestly, your music is so-so. You don''t know how to advance further in your career, and you have no one to back you up in your dreams. Once life starts getting too much for you, believe me, you will stop singing and maybe find some odd jobs to get by... as you don''t have any other skills right now."


    Dn was silent, so I got straight to the point. "Go to college."


    "Even if I want to. My SAT score...and my family situation wouldn''t let me do that." Dn confessed. "I was fucked from the start."


    With a hippie mother and no father, Dn had been living his life in a hard mode. But one thing I really admired about him was that he had never stopped trying to get his life together, and to better himself as a person because he wanted to deserve Haley.


    "No. Not yet." I said. " I can help you."


    I stared into Dn''s eyes and asked, "Do you trust me?"


    "I...I don''t." Dn replied. "But...I''ll gamble on you."


    Maybe because his intelligence was like the small animals that were attracted by my afterlife aura, Dn easily let his life fall into my hands. If I wanted to, I could break his life into pieces and make his life a misery.


    But I wouldn''t do that. I knew better than anyone how it felt to be so lost, you just wander around in the streets to look for a purpose in life.


    "Okay. Tonight there will be an event on my dad''s ship but theyck the crew. Do you want to work part time tonight? You might get harassed by some olddies, but the pay is good. 300 dors for a night."


    "Really?" Dn widened his eyes in surprise as he heard the pay.


    "Yeah. If you''re lucky, you could also bag a few of those cougars tonight." I teased.


    "What''s a cougar?" Dn asked.


    I paused for a bit, and then I replied, "Never mind. It''s better if you don''t know. Starting next month, I will produce a music video and a new song for Youtube. You''re going to be the main singer and be inside the music video. It''s a parody song so don''t expect much."


    Dn lunged towards me,grabbed my shoulder and started to shake me front and back, "Really?"


    "Yes. Please release me...and wipe your hand. This... is a new shirt." I said helplessly and I saw his ketchup filled hand had thered onto my shirt.


    "Sorry." Dn apologized sincerely and I let the matter go. I gave him the number of the crew, and one of them would pick him up before they went out to the open seas tonight.


    As Dn and I finished our talk, we bumped with Mrs Henderson as we walked out of the restaurant.


    "Hello Mrs." I greeted. Dn also greeted the teacher politely as he knew she was teaching in the middle school.


    Mrs Henderson has a rare, bright smile on her face, "Mr. Newgate, how''s your face?" She asked with a kind tone.


    "Are you waiting for someone here? Why are you smiling like an angel?" I asked.


    Mrs Henderson flinched, and replied, "No. I wasn''t waiting for anyone. I was just getting some lunch."


    "Oh. Try their number 45. It''s very good." I said and waved goodbye at the teacher before bringing Dn to my house. I repaired his bicycle chain easily, earning me a hug from the 18 years old kid.


    He hugged me for 5 seconds and didn''t seem like he was going to let go anytime soon, so I said, "Okay. now. Get off me."


    A/N: I''ll open a patreon for this story on Thursday for 10 advanced Chapter